A Day in the Life

A Reason to Believe

2011-02-11T16:46:00.004-05:00

I am a cycling fan, plain and simple. I love this sport and everything that it has to offer. When I first picked up the road bike four and a half years ago I wasn't thinking of turning it into my profession, I was riding simply because I loved it, just as I do today. I watched the Tour de France on television, along with countless other races throughout the season, and marveled at the ability and skill of the riders. I was fascinated by the dedication and determination that this sport brings out in people. Thoughts of cheating were the farthest thing from my mind.

Today, I find myself a saddened and disappointed in both cycling media and some people who claim to be fans of this sport. In cycling, as in all aspects of life, their will be cheaters. However, I challenge you to find one profession, sporting or not, that is truly one hundred percent honest. It simply doesn't exist. Every day, kids cheat on exams in school. Stock brokers are caught for insider trading. The list is really endless.The fact is, certain people will do anything to get ahead, this is not isolated to sports. We compete in one of the most pure sports in the world. While football players can take a cortisone injection at half time and be welcomed back onto the field as a hero pushing through their pain, we would be called cheaters, we would be banned from our sport. We go to all lengths in order to prove that what we do on a bike is not impossible, not some chemically enhanced feat, but instead the result of a life spent in pursuit of perfection, paying attention to every detail, training ourselves to exhaustion, pushing our limits in ways most people cannot begin to imagine. Still, this is not enough for some.

We can be tested at any time, day or night, we have no semblance of privacy. We can be asked to pee in a cup, have our blood drawn any time, any where. I welcome it. The truth is, as hard as this may be for some "fans" and so called "journalists" to believe, we all do. I welcome anything that shows that our results are those of hard work and our love and dedication to this sport. People say you cannot prove a negative but we do, every single day, our sport does. With our performances and our openness, we as riders prove that we are clean.

To anyone who doesn't believe, to the individuals for whom this is not enough,stop reading here. Leave our sport. Don't share your comments on the internet, don't watch another race on tv, sell your bike, just leave cycling alone. If you truly believe that what you are watching is not real then why do you watch? You sit in your chairs at home, sit behind your computer before the deadline comes, and fabricate flat out lies that do nothing but hurt the sport we love so much. Please, for your sake and mine, leave.

Tomorrow, I will line up at the start line with my teammates and competitors, and we will race. A deserving winner will stand on top of the podium. That is what I believe. I love my sport and I will do anything to share that love with all the real fans out there, to give journalists something real to write about. So here is my challenge to all of you: BELIEVE! If you are capable, believe in me, believe in my team, believe in my competitors, believe in this sport. I do. It has so much good to offer, so much excitement to share, so much inspiration to provide, all you have to do is believe.

Today is the day

2010-09-05T06:00:00.000-04:00

As I sit in my hotel forty kilometers from the start of today's prologue everything starts to blur. The past few weeks have become one big whirlwind and all I can think about is the here and now. Months of preparation, endless hours spent pushing ourselves to the limit in search of any extra edge. Today, it starts. The biggest race of the season, the Tour de l'Avenir.

The prologue is a right of passage, a proper start to any race. Each rider is given the opportunity to don the leader's jersey heading into stage one. 7.8 kilometers, less than ten minutes, to embrace the pain, remember what it means to suffer. It's a cleansing feeling, standing on the starting ramp, adrenaline pumping through your body. You clip in, tug on your shoes, adjust your glasses, anything to keep your nerves in check. You hear thirty seconds. Ten. Five, four, three, two, one, allez. I'm ready. We all are.
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Today is the day

2010-09-05T05:58:00.000-04:00

Onwards

2010-07-27T13:46:00.002-04:00

Coming down the starting ramp a month ago I knew it was going to be one of those days. Having just returned from Europe I wasn't sure what to expect but from the first pedal stroke I knew I had a chance. The only person standing between me and my first national title had started thirty seconds in front of me. This was bike racing, one on one, no excuses, no tomorrow to fix today's mistakes. In the last kilometer I knew I had it. I crossed the line, waiting for the officials to announce it, but inside I knew. A feeling of elation swept through me, I had won. It was something I had dreamed of, something I thought about constantly on cold, wet rides this winter. The following day it was announced that I would be riding for Garmin-Transistions, beginning a three year contract in 2011, another dream come true. During that time I began to think about this sport, think about what cycling really is. Sure, it is something I love, it is a job, but deep beneath it all it is a pursuit of your dreams and goals. That doesn't mean winning every race you go to. For some it can mean making it over a climb with the first group, for other's it can be riding (and for a very select few) winning the Tour de France.

A month later I returned to Bend, after a mid-season break I was ready to get back into the swing of things, planning to use Cascade as a good week of training. It's tough coming back after being in fantastic shape, your mind wants your body to do things it is not yet capable of, you have to harness yourself and make sure you don't push to far to fast. It's a bit like being Icarus, flying towards the sun on melting wings. For now, I'm content to hover above the ground, letting that wax harden for a while, the next big goals of the year are still a ways off. Unfortunately, a few days into the race things came crashing down. As cyclists, we constantly put ourselves at risk, it is an inherent part of the sport, one that we all recognize and accept. Occasionally, we are put at unnecessary risk by race organizers. Before anyone decides to be an armchair critic I'd like to address a quick point. Unless you have raced at this level and dedicated your life to this sport, you have no right to comment. After nearly 130 kilometers of beautiful racing disaster struck in the last thirty seconds of the race. Taylor Sheldon of the Garmin u23 team was airlifted to the hospital. I followed soon after in the team car. Luckily, we were both okay. Taylor lay on the ground unconscious for ten minutes. Despite my own pain, seeing a fellow rider in such shape is one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. When I saw him conscious and coherent at the hospital it felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.

The finish of the race was routed through a ski area parking lot, full of chip seal pavement, gravel, and potholes all marked out by foot high orange cones. Throw in a u-turn a couple hundred meters before the finish and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out it might be dangerous. Rather than accept fault and apologize (I was expecting the organizers to be at Taylor's bedside, making sure he was okay) people chose to deny. The interviews with race staff put fault on the riders, their tones were defensive, somehow trying to justify their mistake. It was heartening to hear other riders comments, top names in the sport acknowledging that the finish was dangerous even though they and their respective teams had come through unscathed.

Now, the healing has begun and it is time to move onwards. This sport, and life for that matter, is full of obstacles, each one a test of our merit and determination. Every obstacle is an opportunity and there is always something to be learned and something positive to be taken from it.

Upcoming Race Schedule:
August 24-29 Giro Ciclistico Valle D'Aosta
Tour de L'Avenir September 4-12
World Championships September 29- October 3

Ups and Downs

2010-06-22T18:27:00.000-04:00

45, 50, 55km/hr...The speed creeps up as the climb approaches. My team is on the front leading me out to the start. As the road tilts upward the attacks begin to fly. Those who are tired instantly give up. Those who push on, going over their limit, pay dearly for their efforts, cracking spectacularly midway up the 10km mountain. Riders are hurting so I up the pace. Suddenly I'm alone, one glance back and I go for it. Despite the fact that there is an 8km descent to the finish, before we even reach the top, I know I'm going to win. I can just feel it. No one was catching me, mind and body were getting me to that finish line first. Down the descent, through the town of Thuile in the mountains of Italy people yell and cheer. I cross the line with my arms raised and enjoy the feeling of a job well done by myself and my team. We executed to perfection.

Fast forward four hours, we find ourselves on stage two of the day and climbing in the pouring rain. The temperature drops to freezing. Rain and wind pummel us as we make our way up. Everyone is suffering. Riders attack but nothing stays. The cold has sapped our legs. As we near the top riders struggle to put on jackets, stuff newspaper down their jerseys, anything to stay warm. Halfway down the descent I can no longer brake. I'm shivering from the cold. Riders are on the ground at every corner, some get up and continue, others get in the car, no longer able to deal with the conditions. My team car pulls over and I get in. With the heater on full blast I put on more clothes and try to regain feeling in my hands and warm my core. Finally I get out, get back on the bike, determined to continue. I'm probably at the back of the race but I no longer care. Finishing is the only thing that matters. For the next two hours some inexplicable force keeps me on my bike. I'm still freezing, practically incoherent, it's all I can do to keep pedaling. My teammates find their way up to me and together we ride to the finish. No one wants to quit.

Cycling is the toughest sport in the world. Physically and mentally you can go through more ups and downs in one day that most people do in a year. We suffer for sufferings sake, we make our living by being able to tolerate pain day in and day out. We ask our bodies for more than they are willing to give. I love it. I love all of it, even if I don't realize it at the time. Every experience shapes us, hardens us, forces us to expand our belief of what is possible. This sport is true and pure, human nature at its most raw and beautiful state.
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The waiting

2010-06-01T05:12:00.003-04:00

As I wake up and roll over to see what time it is I remember where I am. Today, I'm in Tarragona spain for five days of racing near the Mediterranean coast. Ronde Isard in France seems like it was yesterday. It was a success for me and the team, coming away with third on a stage and third overall was a good way to begin our racing campaign. In France, stages started just late enough that we could sleep in, take our time with breakfast, and by the time the racing was over and we were back to the hotel, it was almost time for dinner. Here in Spain it is a different schedule. Meals are later, stages are later. We don't begin till past 3pm each day which makes for long days. Some rider's go for a morning spin. I lay in bed and relax, passing the time sending messages to friends and family, catching up on what's going on back home and filling them in on my current races.

The waiting is always the hardest part. The two days before the races begin are tedious. The training is done and there is nothing left to do but rest and recover. My mind is racing, going over the courses, the riders, the possibilities. Control what you can control. That is what I tell myself, and really, that is all we can ever do. Nervous excitement rises as I think of the mountains that we'll climb, the descents we will fly down, the building energy in the field as the finish approaches. As I learned a long time ago, for me, nervous is good. It means something is expected. In a few hours we will head out in search of victory. Time will tell.

So it begins

2010-05-15T14:32:00.001-04:00

As we sit in the Brussels airport waiting for another rider to arrive, I pass the time, observing the people, my surroundings. Teenagers pass by in large groups, no doubt beginning their summer backpacking excursions around Europe now that school has ended. Families reunite, hugs and smiles are plentiful. Businessmen stride by purposefully, not wanting to waste a minute of time.

Several differences from the United States are instantly visible. No armed security guards, no sense of fear from the travelers. No one yelling to move your car from the curb if you stop for more than a few seconds. It seems that people have a very different way of life here. Purposeful but relaxed, comfortable in their surroundings rather than anxious and nervous. Maybe this is why I don't feel any apprehension.

The next five weeks hold a plethora of unknowns. New races, new competition, new culture. Despite this, I feel comfortable. Life on the road is just another part of the job. A few weeks ago it was New Mexico, last week it was Arkansas. Now it's Belgium, France, and Spain. The location doesn't really matter, the concept is always the same. We are here to race, here to put our hard work, our dedication, our mind and our body, to the test. At the end of the day, although only one rider will stand on the top step of the podium, all will have suffered.

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In Transit

2010-04-20T12:09:00.001-04:00

Large crowds, everyone in a hurry, over priced food... This could actually describe quite a few places but, in this case, I'm talking about the airport. Right now it's Los Angeles, earlier it was Oakland, and in another few hours I'll arrive in El Paso.

I'm on the way to one of my favorite races of the year, Tour of the Gila, in Silver City, New Mexico. It's an American classic that always brings out a great field and this year is no exception. The racing begins on the 28th of this month so I'm arriving a week early to give my lungs a chance to get used to the altitude.

It seems as though time as flown, races have passed and it's a bit to much to recount all of it. San Dimas was a huge success for the team and for me personally. It was validation, showing the hard work and dedication through the winter is paying big dividends already. Now that the season is in full swing it's back to life on the road. Which brings me to my current "in transit" state. Countless hours this season will be spent traveling by car and plane so you have to get used to the constant movement. Just getting everyone, along with all their equipment, to the races requires some serious planning. Luckily I'm on a team where this doesn't seem to be much of an issue. Our manager, Anthony, along with some of his staff at CalGiant, make sure that all things run smoothly. Last year, I had to drive myself the nearly 20 hours each way to and from Gila. This year, I'll be hopping around on planes, going from Gila to Joe Martin in Arkansas and eventually ending up back in San Francisco (or some airport thereabouts) before driving the hour north home to Napa. A much smoother and more enjoyable experience if I do say so myself. Of course, the trip is just beginning so I'll let you know how it's progressing. Off to my next flight now, thanks for checking in.
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The TTT

2010-03-06T14:19:00.000-05:00

The team time trial (TTT) is not just a race, more appropriately it could be called an art form, albeit one that involves quite a bit of suffering. If you have watched the Tour or the Giro in recent years then you know what I am talking about. Some squads execute it perfectly and when they do it looks smooth and fluid. Others struggle more with it. Riders fly off the road or crash into each other, and drop like flies as their teammates punch it too hard out of a turn or up a climb. Either way, it is one of the most spectacular events to watch in the sport of cycling.

Yesterday I got to be part of a TTT. Calgiant lined up against several other squads in the town of Merced to kick off a weekend of racing. It was a near forty minute all out effort, 20 miles of pain, suffering, and teamwork. While in an individual time trial you play with your own personal limits, pushing at certain times and taking it a little easier at others, the TTT is very different. It is a violent effort, pulling near your maximum at the front and then finding your way into the draft as you attempt to recover before hitting the wind again. It is the hardest interval session of your life and, if all goes well, the most satisfying. As we crossed the line, all of us at our limit, leaving every last bit of effort out on the road, our grimaces of pain turned to faces of relief. As we cooled down together we all felt the sense of accomplishment that comes with good teamwork.

We didn't win, that honor was left to Bissell who have the some of the country's best men against the clock on their squad. However, we could all be satisfied knowing we did our best and sometimes the competition is just better. That is after all what makes cycling so special, anyone can win on any given day. With two more races to go before the weekend is over we will do all we can to make sure one of our riders is standing on the top step of the podium.
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Hopper Time

2010-02-22T12:08:00.001-05:00

As nearly 250 cyclists gathered in Occidental Saturday morning I took a moment to enjoy the scene. All ages, all categories, everyone together ready to ride 80 miles and climb 8,000 feet simply because the love to ride their bikes.

No, this was definitely not a race (although we rode it like it was) and there were no prizes for the fastest finisher, no podiums to stand on at the end of the day. This was grassroots, getting back to what cycling is all about. This my friends was the Chileno Valley Grasshopper.

An event that originally started as a group of friends racing one another, it has turned into cycling legend in the NorCal area. Cyclists from all around gather in the morning cold and fog to be part of something that has become tradition. Saturday was my first experience being a part of a "Hopper" and it was a great one. There are several of these events that take place throughout the year, some are pure road rides like this one and the others require a bit more technical skill on the mountain or cross bike. Don't be surprised if you encounter a few creek crossings either. The Grasshoppers are, after all, a self proclaimed "adventure series".

So when you're looking for something exciting to do with one of your weekend mornings, looking for a little more motivation to get out the door, check out http://www.grasshopperadventureseries.blogspot.com/

See you out there!
Andrew
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Don't Call it a Comeback...

2010-02-11T18:52:00.001-05:00

Despite a several month hiatus I am back to the blog which I have promised myself to keep updated throughout the season. So what more appropriate way to begin writing anew than on my way to one of the first races of the season.

As I write this I'm squeezed into the back seat of a car that's filled to the brim with bikes, wheels, bags, and all the other various things that we as cyclists feel the need to bring to races. I'm on the way to Valley of the Sun, a three day stage race around Phoenix, AZ. For many riders on the west coast this is a great test of early season fitness, an opportunity to shed the winter training gear and once again feel the burn in our legs and lungs and we have missed for the past few months.
As my training has built both in hours and intensity throughout the winter, races such as this one have been in the back of my mind. While the more important goals of the season are not for months to come it is still important to have something to look forward to, a more immediate reason to get yourself out the door when you're facing a cold, wet, lonely day on the bike. That's where races like VOS come into play.

So while the next few days will not by any means make or break the year, it will be a start. The first of many stepping stones to come as I continue to build fitness for the rest of the season. When I think of the opening time trial tomorrow I feel the familiar flutter of excitement, the kind that can only come from racing. I remember what it feels like to suffer and tomorrow, with my mind and body rested and ready, I will once again welcome the sensations that I know will come as my I push my body to it's limit.

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Fall is in the air

2009-09-29T14:30:00.001-04:00

The 2009 season has flown by. It feels like yesterday that I was getting on a plane for Italy, nervous and excited to travel and race in Europe for the first time. There were many firsts this year, too many to list them all but I am grateful for every experience, both good and bad, that I had. When I started the year I had no idea where I would be by the end. Turns out I'm in a good place. Despite not having any amazing results this season it was a consistent year, did a lot of solid racing and gained valuable experience that will certainly serve me in the future. I was able to wrap up the year on a high note with a weekend of local wins in a road race and downtown crit. Even when it's not on a large stage winning feels great, especially when you have the time to sit up and savor it, to fully appreciate the effort that garnered such a result. That feeling is what keeps me going, it is the same feeling that made me fall instantly in love with the sport. As I've progressed, I've learned to take the same pleasure out of working for teammates and doing my job well. I am still finalizing my plans for next season but I have no doubt that wherever I end up 2010 holds great things. This year felt like that transitional year where I would have glimpses of great form, a few days here and there where there was "no chain", but I couldn't seem to make it appear when I needed it most. I was always solid, always near the front, but not quite there yet. Next year I plan to bring that amazing form to all the big races, to make sure that I am ready to perform on the large stage when the opportunity presents itself.

Now, as I step outside my door and feel the cool wind whipping around me, I know that it is time for a break. Time to hang up the bike for a bit and let my body recharge mentally and physically so that I can approach my training for next season with fresh legs and a fresh mind.

Paradise

2009-07-10T00:46:00.004-04:00

Don't have much to post but I'm in Truckee, CA right now. If you've never been here you should check it out. A quick drive and you'll find yourself on Lake Tahoe. Endless sunshine, warm temps and good riding plus sleeping at 6,000 feet... can't ask for much more than that. Heading back to the bay area tomorrow for a couple days to race in San Rafael on Saturday night then back up here Sunday. More races coming up soon which means updates are on the horizon. Ciao

2009-06-16T01:45:00.000-04:00

Lining up at Philly for the second year in a row was an experience not soon to be forgotten. Not 1km into the race I took off chasing Daniel "Hollywood" Holloway from the Garmin U23/USA squad. It took a little longer than I would have liked, about 80 or so km's before I caught him, but I wouldn't change a thing about the race. Well, except for the chasing part. Wasn't quite clear on why he didn't wait for me but every team and director has their own priorities.

Getting to ride up "the wall" in Manayunk solo, hearing the people scream and cheer was an amazing experience, one I would like to repeat in years to come. I was hoping that since I was off the front the guys would have an easy ride in the field but some bad luck pretty much took us out of contention for victory at the end of the day. C'est la vie, that's bike racing. After twenty or so hours of car and travel time we found ourselves in Minnesota, home to the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

The race started off pretty blandly for us, nothing special in the TT for anyone but it got better from there. Lots of top fives and close calls all week until Mamos finally showed everyone how its done on the final day taking home the W. Props to Chad who always seemed to find his way off the front and earned himself a day in the most aggro rider jersey as well as taking home the KOM jersey overall. I wasn't anything special at NV but I did what I could to help the guys. Thank you Linda for housing Rich, Chad, and myself, you were great! Next up is some local flavor with tour de nez thursday through saturday and Nevada City on Sunday.

Wish me luck and legs,
Andrew

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We've got the dreamer's disease...

2009-06-05T09:45:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Philly, temporarily the city of dreams. For our team that means standing on the top step of the podium come sunday. Each night before bed I picture how I'd like the race to go. You can feel the tension building as we get closer to race day. At the race hotel riders walk around saying their hello's, doing everything they can to ease their nerves. A win here is huge for any team but especially for the american squads as this is one of their only chances to measure themselves against their european counterparts. On paper it looks like Columbia-Highroad is the team to beat with big names such as Boasson Hagen and Greipel.

Philly is a truly unique event where seemingly anything is possible. The fans come out and creat a european atmosphere with screaming cheers heard all along the course. As the riders struggle up "the wall" in the latter part of the race, the masses are quick to offer a much needed push and a shout of encourgement. It matters very little to the beer fueled fans whether you're leading the race or suffering at the back, they're just here for the show. Big group, small group, bunch kick, breakaway. Only time will tell. Like I said, we've all got dreams, hopefully we can turn them into reality come sunday.

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2009-05-29T14:43:00.000-04:00

Left San Fran this morning and I'm currently en route to Virginia via DC. I have some time before hopping on my plane out of ATL so figured it would be a good time to throw up a post. After recovering Jose Martinez I fit in a solid block of training to get ready for the upcoming races. Felt nice to be at home for a couple weeks although I'm pretty sure I've forgotten how to use a closet.

So Amore-Vita is coming stateside...world get ready. Hope all the domestic boys are ready to toe the line with Yuri. If he's riding like he was in Italy he's going to be a tough guy to beat. We've also got Starchyk aka Starsky, Mamos, and Rich England along with some team staff making the journey to the US. Starchyk is my pick to win something over here, he's like a Russian energizer bunny on the bike. Flat, uphill, downhill, doesn't seem to matter with this guy, he's hardman without a doubt. As for me, I'm feeling good, the training has gone smoothly so no excuses, ready to race.

On a random note I got stung by a bee yesterday while riding. Glad I'm not allergic. The last time I got stung I was in Banner Elk and it was the tongue. This time it was the lip. I have a theory that the bees are attracted to the honey that I usually eat for breakfast and they're trying to get a taste. I take small consolation in the fact that the little bugger is most surely dead now. Ha.

Race Schedule:
Sat, may 30- CSC/Clarendon cup crit
Sun, may 31- Air Force
Sun, june 7- Philly
Wed, June 10-14 Nature Valley

Anyone remotely near Philly come check out the show. Biggest one day event in the US, great racing, and a huge party atmosphere for the spectators. See you there

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Gila monsters and jose martin

2009-05-05T10:35:00.001-04:00

Wham, bam, thank you tour of the Gila for one of the nicest weeks of racing I've had in a while. Nothing super as far as results go but this year was a fantastic event with the best/biggest field the race has ever seen. I'll be back for more.

Now its off to a race I have dubbed Jose Martin...Joe just sounds to plain. Plus, its cinco de mayo so a little hispanic flair is in order. Right now I'm in my favorite blogging spot, the airport. This time its Phoenix and I'm off to memphis in a couple hours. Pretty excited to be heading out to Arkansas for a couple reasons. One, I'm a happy camper after getting some solid racing in and I'm ready to put the good form to use. Never done the race before but I hear good things and its a solid field. No Lance, Levi, or Horner but I'm sure it will still be tough. Secondly, I'm going to be tagging along with my good friend Trent Talley for the week, haven't seen him since MTB nats at LMC back in october so it will be nice to catch up.

Finally I have to throw some thank you's out there. First off thanks to Chris and Jim, my most accomodating hosts and great friends. It was great having a place like home to come back to after the races. Another huge thank you to my mom and grandma who came along and helped me out as crew for the race. From making bottles to getting me my feeds everything went off without a hitch and I couldn't have done it without them. Lastly, thanks to Tom and Nancy for their great cheering, to Gila Hike and Bike for help with all things mechanical and to everyone who came and and supported the race, the fans this year were incredible. See you all in Silver next year.

Feliz cinco de mayo,
Andrew
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And BAM!

2009-04-21T10:58:00.000-04:00

Just like that I'm on the road again. Spent a couple days at home in Cali, hit up a great local race by the name of Copperopolis, then packed up a few bags and zoomed my way south. I've been in Silver City, NM since last tuesday getting some sunny training rides in and getting used to the altitude. The first few days here I think I would have had better luck breathing through a straw but it's starting to get better. This town grows on me everytime I come here. Plenty of mexican eateries, a very eclectic mix of people, and the kind of sunshine you only get above 6,000ft. Gotta love it.

The next few weeks are going to be action packed: heading to Bisbee the 24-26 for some tune up racing, hitting Gila starting the 29th, then flying out east for Joe Martin on the 5th. This is what it's all about, suitcase style living has never been so appealing.

A big thanks goes out to the people helping me cart myself around the country. Chris and Jim Macintosh are two of the greatest hosts and friends I could ever ask for here in Silver. As far as JM goes, thanks to Trent who's going to be picking me up from the airport and hooking me up with a place to stay. Trent is an Arkansas native so you can bet he'll put his stamp on the race as well.

For those of you who think the blog updates aren't enough, I've become a part of the twitter revolution at: twitter.com/andrewtalansky. Enjoy

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That's a wrap

2009-04-08T18:59:00.001-04:00

Italy part 1 ended this morning. After a night of festivities with friends new and old I headed to Florence, downed my last italian coffee for a while, and said ciao to a country I've grown quite fond of. Thanks to Matt for making sure I didn't forget anything important (my bike for instance) and to Chad for the ride to the airport.

Im on the plane heading to Cali right now so when this post goes up it will mean I'm back in the USA. Weird. The last two months in Italy were a blur, met a lot of great people, experienced countless new things and got a taste of what euro racing is all about. It's harder, faster, and crazier and I love it. Goes without saying I will be back for more.

For now though I'm going to enjoy hitting up a few races in the US, try to take home a few W's. It's been a little to long since I've stood on the top step of the podium so I'm going to have to fix that.

On another note travel has been nice and smooth so far despite the usual hassel of the bike bag. I actually got off easy, only paying for the bike and getting them to overlook the two other bags that I had stuffed to capacity. Look for an update with pictures in the near future now that I'll have "real" internet again.

Recirculated air rocks,
Andrew
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So that was France

2009-04-03T18:55:00.000-04:00

Nice people in this country. They all smile and wave and are nuts for cycling. I like it. Sitting in the car on the way back to Lucca after Route Adelie. The race was hard but what's more entertaining is the trip as a whole so here's a rundown:

-3,000 km's roundtrip for 200km of racing, not the best ratio of car to ride time
-made a detour into downtown paris on the way there...not on purpose. Caught a glimpse of the eiffel tower
-things that france does right: dessert, croissants and bike racing
-things that france does wrong: coffee and pasta
-Phil's clown car (aka the mini mercedes) was looking like it might explode. It was leaking some sort of fluid and blowing out smoke clouds every 10 minutes. Somehow, it made it.
-I love driving in europe. Speed limits don't exist at least not in Italy or France. I think Müller set a few landspeed records on the way to the race
-# of guys who finished the race from our team (out of 7): 1
-number of normal riders it takes to equal one jens voigt: at least 4, in this case all from boygues telecom
-fans at the race: upwards of 30,000 from a few reports

Overall an alright trip. At least so far...still another 7ish hours of car time to go.

On another note I'm heading home a little earlier than planned, the 8th to be exact. There was one race I really wanted to do in the US this year and guess what, I'm doing it even if it means cutting the europe trip a couple weeks short! Not going to tell you what race it is just yet but I'll give you a hint: it takes place in Silver City, NM. Had a great experience there last year and I'm hoping to make it an even better one this time around. Alright, the road is calling, gotta go.

160k/hr or bust,
Andrew
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

When it rains...

2009-03-29T06:13:00.000-04:00

It pours here in good old Lucca. Started last night and twelve hours later it's showing no sign of letting up. So of course rain means less riding, equals more time in the villa which turns into more blog time, funny how that works.

No grand news to report of late, I may have something interesting and a little exciting (for me at least) to post in the next few days though. If I told you now that would ruin the surprise and where's the fun in that.

The guys came back from Coppi last night, big props to Yuri for taking home a stage win. For those of you who don't know him, Yuri is the guy who won thr first day of philly week last year in Allentown. Another shout out goes to my friend Brent Bookwalter and his BMC team who have been dominating at Redlands. It's nice to see great people/riders get their due.

Oh look, it's still raining. Back to books dvd watching. Maybe it's time for another poker tourney...

Andrew
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Spring is here

2009-03-26T12:32:00.000-04:00

Well, kind of. Supposedly spring has begun but I'm pretty sure there are three moods displayed in the early part of the season: happy, average and downright pissed off. Average usually means a semi cloudy day, temps around 15(C), so nothing to crazy. A good example of pissed would be this past tuesday. Ride starts off decent enough, little overcast and chilly. An hour later the sky is black as far as the eye can see and the storm of the century rolls in. Three of us were 20k from home when the wind and rain started and the last 10k we were treated to pelting hail. Hands down some of the craziest weather that I've ever been caught out in.

Which brings me to today which was definitely one of spring's happier days. Temps pushing twenty degrees and lots of sun made for a nice easy cruise into Pisa. Despite riding through there probably two or three times per week since I've been here I had never taken the time to check out the inside of the wall...cool stuff, especially the leaning tower.

After staking out a cafe for a while and getting a solid reminder that in Italy the customer is never right, we took a few pics, and headed back home. Pretty sure we almost got into an altercation with a bum/panhandler but that's a story for another day.

So aside from experiencing all that spring has to offer I've had the treat of hanging out with one of the LMC gals whose over here with the natty team. Went over to the deluxe SRM apartments last night where Ally cooked up an awesome dinner. Very nice to get out of the villa for a night, especially with good food and company.

Sorry for the lack of updates but I'll try to stay on top of it from here on out. Thanks for reading.

Andrew
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

2009-03-03T04:22:00.000-05:00

So about that race a while back...it was hard. And fast. Not the subtlest of ways to wake the legs up and kick off the season but it was an awesome first taste of european racing. Lining up with the guys you watch on TV was a little intimidating at first but once you're off the starting line everyone is just another rider. Need proof? I got dropped with Kurt Asle Arvesen from Saxo Bank and this guy will ride the tour in july.

So onwards and upwards. Except things went downhill. Last week that nagging head cold turned into what felt like the plague. Good news is that I'm beginning to feel normal and healthy for the first time since camp. I would venture to say that I've finally found a rythm to life over here. The weather is getting warmer, albeit at a snails pace. Still, its nice not to have to wear gloves and winter jackets in the villa to avoid freezing.

Other than that there's not to much to say. Next race is the middle of the month, plenty of time to get back into the swing of things and find some legs.

Thanks for reading,
Andrew
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

And we're off...

2009-02-20T04:35:00.000-05:00

The season starts in earnest tomorrow with Trofeo Laigueglia, a nice one day race in northern Italy. Training is great and all, especially since the sun has been out the last couple days, but racing is why I ride my bike, and slowly but surely I'm feeling the excitement come back to me. I haven't been on a starting line since August so I'm ready to get back into it.

We're on the road heading to the race right now with a solid crew. Aside from myself we've got Phil, Nissen, Muller, Starsky, Matt, and Mamos. I think I might be forgetting someone but oh well.

That's all for now. The races might be crazy but I don't think they can hold a candle to the trip there. Loric has it pinned at 150 k/hr (in the camper) right now and we just got passed by an ISD team van. Police don't exist in this country. That or they just don't care.

Racing to the race,
Andrew
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The Villa

2009-02-15T11:39:00.000-05:00

It's old, it's cold and, for now at least, it's home. Normally housing wouldn't warrant a post all to itself but I'll make an exception for the villa.

It was built in the 1600's and feels like it hasn't been touched since and I don't mean that in a good way. Electrical outlets are few and far between. The house is made of stone which seems to suck the heat out of everything in it. Which brings me to a favorite topic around here: heat. Central heat? In my dreams. Here we do it room by room if we're lucky. You might think that since people have been living here for years electric heaters would be plentiful. Wrong! Every morning and every night before bed we have the pleasure of turning on a propane umbrella heater. Yeah, the kind you see outdoors at restaurants...but in our room. Forget to turn it off before bed and you might not wake up since it has the tendency to suck all the oxygen out of the room. Fun stuff

Here are some facts and musings about the villa that I've put together in my spare time:
-standard clothing (sleeping or awake): 2 pairs of socks, skins and pants, 2 long sleeve shirts, sweatshirt and/or jacket. Essentially dress like an eskimo
-everyone drinks tea...lots. Like 5 or 6 cups a day. Keeps you warm.
-if the nutella is solid in the morning its going to be a cold ride
-we have the smallest fridge known to man to hold food for 6 people
-we wear cycling gloves inside
-the one thing keeping everyone sane is MTV...I fear for the day the cable goes out

Does it sound like I'm whining and complaining? I guess I am a little bit but believe me you would to if your fingers and toes were numb. But at the end of the day I'm really glad that I'm here. The riding is out of this world, the team is good, racing starts soon and I'll probably miss my time at the villa. Or not. Either way im living the dream as they say. Wish I could leave you with a few pictures but who are we kidding, after everything I've said do you really think I have wifi?

As one of my teamates, ex CSC rider Christian "the terminator" Muller said: It's not that I can't get used to it, it's the fact that I can that scares me". Sums up the villa perfectly.

Andrew
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The sun came out

2009-02-09T10:32:00.001-05:00

So I went for a ride. After a few days of going stir crazy in the hotel in an effort to get healthy things are looking up again. I'm feeling better and thoroughly enjoyed my spin along the coast today. Luckily (for me at least) a couple other guys weren't feeling 100% either so I had some company. Camp is wrapping up in a few days and the first race of the season starts on friday. Still no word on the team we'll be sending but we should find out soon enough.

The new kits came in and suffice it to say everyone was pleased. Great quality and no complaints on the change from white to black. Team photos are tomorrow...the sun came out of hibernation today so viareggio may actually live up to its reputation of paradise.

Life is different here and not necessarily in a bad way. Shops close on sunday and take a siesta everyday between 1 and 4pm. People saunter in and out of cafes, sipping leisurely on their miniscule espressos and tasty capuccinos. Every bakery is better than the last. Best of all though, people love cycling! They appreciate the sport and its riders, evidenced most clearly by the lack of honks and expletives on the roads. In short Italy is everything you expect it to be. I'm not sure how else to describe it. Come pay me a visit and see for yourself.

Off to the cafe,
Andrew
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Italy

2009-02-06T04:17:00.001-05:00

Thanks to the blackberry I am back to blogging. Wifi is scarce here so there won't be pics until I can post from my computer. I made it to Italy in one piece and with all bags in tact just over a week ago...the flights weren't to bad and I arrived to a sunny day in florence, definitely a nice way to start my trip.

After spending a night in the villa in Lucca where I'll be living (worthy of a post of its own) it was off to training camp down on the coast where I'll be till the 12th. Bikes are nice and it feels great to be back in the team atmosphere. Unfortunately the sunny italian coast has been a myth so far and wet/overcast has been the trend as of late.

Managed to pick up a little cold yesterday...a few days of rest and recovery and I hope to be back to 100%. Right now we're at the sports center in Lucca getting probed and prodded for some random tests so that's all for now. Time to go pedal till I collapse which in my current state shouldn't take to long.

Send some good health my way,
Andrew
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

It's about that time

2009-01-16T13:20:00.003-05:00

Group rides are growing, training crits are popping up everywhere, and half wheeling is at an all time high here in sunny NorCal. The start of the new season is fast approaching and I can see it on the giddy faces of nearly every rider I've passed during the last week. I for one am keeping the giddiness to a minimum because, as I learned last year, the season is long and hard and there will be racing aplenty so I'm not to keen on throttling myself at local rides just yet. Training has been fantastic... I've managed to find one local guy by the name of Robert who's crazier than I am to keep me company on some of the longer rides. Last weekend he led me on a journey up some the steepest climbs in the area. And by steep I mean I wish I had a compact, I'm going 4.5 mph steep. But aside from training life has been slow in a fantastic, savor every moment of it sort of way.

Spent monday on the beach in Half Moon Bay home to the world famous Maverick's surf break. There's a big contest at Mavs coming up pretty soon so I'll be heading down again to check it out. It's kind of crazy: all the guys invited are on call for a month and then once the contest is called they've got 24 hours to get to Half Moon Bay and be ready to go. On a cycling related note training camp kicks off at the end of the month... in Italy. Camp will wrap up on the 7th or 8th of Feb and racing starts shortly after. Despite numerous trips south of the border I've never been to Europe so I'm looking forward to it. I'm flying out on the 29th so I'm sure I'll have some good stories soon.

Oh my wallet also ran away... anyone seen it?

more (and better) updates to come,
Andrew

Only in Miami...

2009-01-02T15:07:00.000-05:00

cbs4.com - Thousands Of Shoes Dumped On Miami Expressway

2009

2009-01-02T00:43:00.000-05:00

Brought the new year in with a beautiful ride over the golden gate
bridge to Mt.Tam. It was probably the best day ever for pictures but I
forgot the camera...sorry. I promise I'll make up for it soon though.

So instead of pics i offer you New years resolution #1: practice what
I preach. I advise people to do a lot of things (be kinder, eat
healthier, go to bed earlier etc;) so now I'm going to take all of my
own wisdom (if you dare to call it that) to heart. Hope everyone had a
great time welcoming in 2009.

Andrew

Sent from my iPod

My take on the 9 to 5

2008-12-08T23:54:00.006-05:00

Some people sit in an office... I sit on a bike:

So I start off into the endless maze of roads...
make an occasional stop at the Pescadero bakery...
then it's up into the mountains...
I go fast but not to fast...
and sometimes I head down to the coast...

Yeah, life is great.

Andrew

Tis the Season

2008-12-01T15:27:00.005-05:00

for riding and eating and sleeping oh my! Sorry for the lack of updates but there really hasn't been that much to say and in this case, no news is good news. Training is going well, the riding is out of this world and the weather is great too. Got my favorite training partner back a while ago (my powertap) and we've been logging some solid ours together. Another new friend moved in recently by the name if iPod shuffle. He's been keeping me company on many of my rides as well. Seriously, despite all the people who ride around here it is surprisingly tough to find good training partners. People seem to think I'm a bit crazy when I tell them to ditch work and come ride with me... go figure. So since I haven't put anything good up for a while here's a list of 6 reasons why everyone SHOULD NOT move to california (or at least the bay area):

1) Some of the roads are rough. I mean how I am supposed to train on roads that are not perfectly smooth?
2) It rains once a month. Completely unacceptable
3) There is to much mexican food and it's all amazing. This makes choosing where to eat very difficult
4) The sun is unusually bright. I mean piercing, bone warming, bright that just puts a smile on your face. Yep, way to sunny.
5) Everything is close: supermarket, bike shop, coffee shops, etc. This gets rid of commuting via car which is no good. What would life be like without sitting in traffic? Pretty boring I'd say
6) Drivers are far too courteous. Riding just isn't the same without having obscenity's yelled at you on a regular basis

So do those reasons sound lame and more like an argument for coming here? Well that's because they are. I tried my darndest to come up with something good and that was all I could muster. One thing I have noticed while riding around here is the interesting/funny choice of street names. Towards the top of one 3.5 mile climb, right when the road really starts to kick up, there is a sign indicating that "Upenuf rd" is to my left and "summit rd" is to my right... cruel joke since there are at least another 5 minutes to go before the top. Okay, that's it. Oh, I'm riding for Amore-Vita next season in case there was any question. I'm a proud employee of McDonalds (italian style) starting January 1... who would have ever guessed? Must be some truth to that never say never thing.

Living the simple life,

Andrew

land of the golden sun

2008-11-10T21:39:00.002-05:00

I'm alive and well in Cali, still getting settled in but loving every moment of it. A recap of my cross country journey is on the way so don't stop reading just yet.

Learnin about west coast living,
Andrew

Cachet out the Ying Yang!

2008-10-03T23:20:00.004-04:00

Boredom and excitement. You may think they are opposite but let me assure you they go hand in hand. Boredom relating to the fact that training has not yet started in earnest so there are countless hours each day to fill. I have tackled this task like a true expert by spending ridiculous amounts of time at the bike shop, watching season after season of Seinfeld (which explains the title of this post), and spending some time (but not nearly enough) with a pretty special girl. And boredom also means blog updates so get excited.

As for the excitement part California is quickly approaching and I can hardly wait. Dreams of the quaint little bakeries scattered around the San Mateo area along with the never ending redwood covered roads will soon become reality. So you see, dreams really can come true. Excitement also comes in the form of having absolutely no idea who I'll be riding with next year. E-mails have been sent, small talk has been made, but firm plans have yet to materialize. Let's be real though... who would you take: Chris Baldwin or me? With so many riders looking for jobs the cycling world turns into the circus complete with big tent and dancing elephants. But there's usually popcorn and funnel cakes at the circus so it's not all bad.

Maybe I'll have some news on teams in the next couple weeks, maybe not. Either way I'm alright with it... I've still got a couple tricks up my sleeve, a few plan B,C,D and even E scenarios. Look for some more updates on my last couple weeks in the big, bad town that is Miami.

Wakin up late to ride,

Andrew

Alive...

2008-09-24T18:16:00.002-04:00

and well in Miami, FL. Sorry for the lack of updates but that should change soon. Hanging out with the old florida crew before beginning the long drive out to California which will be my new home. pretty excited about that. more to come... hopefully I still have a couple readers left.

blogging once again,
Andrew

The Fitchburg

2008-07-05T11:14:00.003-04:00

Currently hanging out in the fitchburg state dorms figuring out how to do something special in today's stage. Fitchburg started two days ago with a TT that I did surprisingly well in after fighting tooth and nail just to finish Vuelta Puebla in Mexico. On that note, the team finished up with all kinds of great performances in Mexico including Hagman in 3rd overall followed by Dan and Mark both in the top 20. Back to the action in Massachusetts...yesterday's road race was disappointing but thats the great thing about stage racing: you might make mistakes one day but before you know it you're racing again and you get another chance. Today is a 75 mile circuit race which I expect to be absolutely ridiculous. The top GC guys will all be looking for some time and everyone else will be going nuts trying to win the stage. No GC hopes to protect now so in a few hours I'll be one of those guys going crazy trying to get off the front. Wish me luck.

getting ready to race,
Andrew

Greetings from Mexico

2008-06-24T19:43:00.003-04:00

Who needs Europe when you've got Mexico? That's my new motto after getting absolutely throttled on today's stage. The mountains in Mexico are unlike anything you can find in the US and the riders absolutely love to race their bikes. It's amazing to come down here and see so many young and talented riders racing on old bikes for no money who turn themselves inside out, day after day, simply because they love this sport. Today was the queen stage, either up or down all day with something like 10,000 or more feet of climbing in 110k... pretty epic. Alex Hagman put in an amazing ride to finish up the day in third place also slotting himself into the top 3 on GC. My day didn't go quite as well with an early mishap changing my mentality from make the front group to simply finishing the stage. Tomorrow is supposedly flat but really we wont' know till we're out on the course. Time to go watch the OC and pass out.

Hoping for better legs and luck tomorrow,
Andrew

Lately...

2008-06-02T15:48:00.004-04:00

life has been pretty good. Back on the road which means I'm back to posting. Whenever I find myself sitting around for hours with nothing to do I remember my trusty blog and feel obligated to throw up a few pics and some stories. Right now I'm chillin with the team in some interesting digs a few miles outside of philadelphia. Apparently some of the guys got distracted last year by endless attractions that philadelphia has to offer which resulted in some tired legs for Sundays race. So this year the team found a little backwoods hostel for us stay in... its a little sketch but its got wireless internet, a kitchen, and there's a Chipotle and Starbucks with 5 minutes of here so its not too bad. It is a bit funny to look back on the collegiate season and think of the places we stayed... compared to where I'm at right now they may as well have been the Ritz. On that note, for those of you who don't know, I'm opting out of school next year in favor of riding my bike full time. Before anyone loses interest here are some pics from my life as of late:
Jackson and I bought a grill...this was the first time we lit it up and I have to say that dinner was amazing
A couple days after Arkansas Sheedy took me on a 3 hour death march up and down Grandfather mountain
Jumped off some waterfalls to get ready for Philly
Who would have guessed that Lancaster, PA would be home to the best bakery in the world

So back this past week... here's a quick summary. Raced CSC last sunday, 100k of crit racing was just what I needed to jump start my legs and get them ready for this weeks races. Tuesday was Allentown which I was allowed to start but was told to pull out by our DS after 60 miles. Thursday was Reading which in my opinion was harder/faster than Allentown since the whole course seemed to be either up or down. Add in a 1.5 mile climb on the last three laps and you end up with nearly half the field listed as "DNF". I somehow managed to hang on until the final lap but for the life of me I couldn't get to the front before the last time up the climb. I tried sidewalks, pushing, yelling, and even riding through a gas station parking lot but nothing seemed to be working for me. Still managed to finish. Tomorrow is Philly... not much else to say about that. To sum it up, every race I've done this week has been the biggest race of my life and tomorrow is no exception. I can't express how happy I am that my team has given me the opportunity to line up at the biggest one day race in the country. Gonna go ride/melt now. Did I mention that the temps are hovering in the mid 90s and its so humid it's kinda like riding with a wet blanket thrown over your head... fun.

Home Sweet Home

2008-05-20T15:03:00.005-04:00

Back home after nearly a month on the road. After Gila I headed off to Collegiate nats in Ft. Collins, CO where the team put up a fantastic performance to take the individual and overall omnium titles for both the men and the women. After partying like rockstars on Sunday night a couple days of traveling found me racing my bike around Arkansas which, contrary to my previous beliefs, is not flat. Our Toshiba team rode strong everyday and Prokic schooled everyone (except for Glen Chadwick) on how to fly uphill to clinch 2nd overall. Not a bad few weeks if I do say so myself.

Carla won which gave me some inspiration to do the same

href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_HcTab__xmoY/SDMkQAabPvI/AAAAAAAAAIU/o83euXa6r2c/s1600-h/Girls+celebrating.JPG"> The team won and the girls found a cause for some sunday night shenanigans
href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_HcTab__xmoY/SDMkNwabPtI/AAAAAAAAAIE/fo6ix7EIfEo/s1600-h/Paco.JPG"> Saw Paco in Arkansas where he kept our legs fresh and our stomachs happy
Sick digs for for the first few days of racing in R-Kansas
The serbian climbing sensation
Jo came to Arkansas and attacked the crap out of the women's field

Now its chill time for a few weeks in BE during which I plan to get reacquainted with my good friend Roan Mtn, bake and cook a ridiculous amount of food, and lounge around in my hammock. If anyone has any other suggestions on ways to pass the time (or some good recipes for me to try out) let me know. On a side note, summer has begun to bloom here and I have to check myself several times during each ride to make sure I'm on the right roads... they look so different now that the grey of winter has receded and the green of summer has come out to play. Guess I'll have to bring my camera along soon so I can show you what I'm talking about.

Don't ride carbon...

2008-05-03T11:15:00.003-04:00

But if you have to make sure these guys are there to help...

Big thanks goes out to Todd Anderson from SRAM for keeping me in the race

2008-05-01T18:52:00.003-04:00

Bike racing is an odd sport. After sliding at 30 mph across the ground and discovering that I'd been impaled by an errant chainring (later I'd figure out that it was my own) my first thought was how the hell I was going to get back to the front group while any worry I may have felt about the nasty looking gash on my leg was saved for later. I've decided that racing warps the mind and normal thoughts are discarded until crossing the finish line. So yesterday was pretty crazy: everyone seemed to have first day race jitters and that, combined with a steady 40-50 mph crosswind for the majority of the stage led to some pretty taut nerves and a lot of unnecessary flicking going on. Unfortunately I got caught out pretty bad and went down hard with a few other guys. My bike was screwed so I rode the rest of the stage on a neutral and despite a crazy chase involving holding onto a car at 60 mph I never made it back. Finished the stage pretty blown and then got to sit in the medical tent for a few hours before heading home

Today was much better despite the wind kicking up again overnight. At least today we had more than one turn so for a few precious miles the wind was at our back. Tecos rode at the front, driling themselves all day while everyone else enjoyed the ride. It's going to be interesting come sunday: I can't wait to watch the throw down between Totyota, Bissel, and Tecos... hopefully I'll be feeling good enough to follow along. There are pictures but finding my camera requires energy which I'm seemingly lacking right now so maybe later.

Question of the day: We lost over 25 riders yesterday... a great prize will go to whoever can guess how many more we lost today.

2008-04-28T23:09:00.005-04:00

Had today off the bike so I went off in search of some sightseeing with a few local guys and ended up having a great time. Finally cracked and got a new camera so less talk more photos for now.

The day started off with a reminder of why my breathing has been slightly heavy as of late

Spent some time in the hot springs

And occasionally jumped in the river

Met a funny guy named Charlie... he lives in a trailer and drives a hummer so go figure

Managed to drive over some of Sunday's race course... $600 to whoever crosses this summit first

After crossing about 50 of these...

I made it to my home away from home

Spent some time playing with these guys before bed. Kinda makes me want one.

I'm how far from Silver City?!!!?

2008-04-26T23:18:00.002-04:00

Set out to ride the last half of Gila's stage 1 today with the intention of getting a feel for the final climb and got a lot more than I bargained for. The plan was for me to be picked up at the top of the climb before descending down to Mogollon but alas, as I crested the top things of course went haywire. No car was in sight and, as I would later learn,a lack of communication (or being super specific) on my part lead to my picker upper driving down to Mogollon where I most certainly was not. After 3 hours spent in a bar eating food bought for me by admiring fans (or just people who felt bad for me) a rendezvous was arranged via about 100 collect calls on a pay phone and I was back in Silver City by 6 o'clock. Pretty fried from chilling in a chamois all day but after a shower and a good meal the world makes sense again. 3 days till Gila starts and the adventure has already begun!

On the Road Again

2008-04-23T22:00:00.002-04:00

Finally back to life on the road after a pretty solid block of time at home. The trip technically begins tomorrow but I figured I'd get a jump on things by staying in Charlotte tonight to avoid waking up at a ridiculously early hour manana to make my 7 am flight. The plan is to go do Gila as prep for collegiate nats and then tear it up with the LMC team in Colorado. Apparently I'll be able to borrow a camera from some of my relatives in AZ so expect some pics from my upcoming adventures. Laters

By Golly Miss Molly I Love Kate Nash!

2008-04-19T13:38:00.011-04:00

Well the races are going and I'm not . I'm sitting here at home getting ready to go watch our home crit and cheer on the LMC boys and girls. I'm pretty bummed no to be racing but hey, when life gives you lemons make lemonade right? So in that spirit I've decided, with some encouragement to recount my tale of an awesome concert in Asheville that I attended this past wednesday. It all began with a phone call, Rebecca asking me if I wanted to go because someone bailed on her and she's got an extra ticket. I figured since I couldn't ride I might as well do something fun so off I went and about 15 minutes later Jo, Rebecca, Consorto and I were off to Asheville to take in the Kate Nash concert. Before I get any comments about this, she's really not half bad so don't judge before you listen. After doing a few "hot laps" around asheville we figured we'd go grab some food before the show started around 9. Eventually we stumbled upon a nice looking japanese place that also housed a couple hibachi grills and, as we would come to find out, one extremely entertaining, if not a little inappropriate, hibachi chef. I have to say that this place was way better than Benihana's... the food was good and the entertainment was priceless. So off to the show.

First off, the venue was really nice. It was held at a place called the Orange Peel and I would definitely go back their again.
So the opening band walks out on stage and while Rebecca had warned us that they were a bit unique but nothing could have prepared us for the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players... they had some pretty off beat music and they ran a slideshow full of random pictures that matched the words being sung.. like I said, definitely interesting. Then after quite a bit of waiting the main attraction of the night, Kate Nash, took the stage and did her thing. I have to say I was a little skeptical when I heard who was going to be playing at the concert but I was pretty impressed by the time she was halfway through her set. Unfortunately some shenanigans saw a couple of us forced to leave the concert early but it was still a great time. It was pretty late by the time we all regrouped at the car and we decided it would be in everyone's best interest to split a hotel room for the night and drive back the next day.

The next morning was nice... I've never been to downtown asheville so I enjoyed walking around there and checking all the cool little shops that line the roads. After a quick bite to eat it was back in the car and off to BE where mountain day (we were sort of supposed to be doing something good for the community) was busy taking place without us. Oh well, Asheville was worth it and hopefully I'll be back there again sometime soon and I plan on staying for the whole concert next time. Thanks for reading.

Rebecca and Consorto having a bit to much fun
Rebecca's T-shirt from the concert.. unfortunately they only had women's sizes
We told Jo to open her eyes for a photo...
and this was the result
the one and only Kate Nash
We woke up to a beautiful morning in Asheville

2008-04-15T19:44:00.002-04:00

So I was reading Mike Friedman's latest blog entry and I was amazed at how many things rang true for me. Often times its easy to criticize ourselves and judge ourselves in a negative manner. I know I have and sometimes and occasionally I still do. Take a few weeks ago for example: I was feeling a bit down, wasn't able to complete a couple of workouts and instead of realizing that a little bit of rest was all that was needed I started thinking that something was wrong with me.. maybe I was sick, burnt out, etc; but after a few days of taking it easy and putting things in perspective it all came back for me. The legs had that familiar snap to them and I once again began to fly whenever the road headed upwards. You see, despite claiming that I understand the value of recovery, apparently I'm still struggling to truly grasp the concept that without rest, all the hard work in the world won't make me a better cyclist. However, each time I feel a little tired and rest up with a few easy days, I always come back stronger and more motivated than before.

So after about a week with very little riding, nearly all of it easy, I ramped back up again and nailed three great days of riding down in Dahlonega, GA home to the famous Six Gap ride as well as the Brasstown Bald stage in TdG. So to summarize, the power numbers were good, my confidence came back, and I had some fun. On saturday I decided to throw in an interval up Brasstown towards the end of my ride. While going up it I got excited just imagining what it would be like to ride up it during Georgia, an experience that I will hopefully be able to have in the next couple of years. It's pretty awesome to see all the names painted on the road on the local climbs. Spray paint from the Lance days still lingers and apparently there are some hardcore Hincapie and Ekimov fans in the area as I must have seem their names at least 50 times while I was riding. So as I've said before, I guess the lesson I've learned for the thousandth time is to keep things in perspective and if I have a bad day, realized that it's just that and nothing more. Last year at this time I was injured and riding the trainer, wishing that I could be preparing for Gila. Now I'm a year older, a year stronger, and perhaps most importantly, a year more experienced. There are about two and a half weeks till the racing begins and I can hardly wait! Look for an update after this weekend as it should be a good one.

The last few weeks....

2008-03-31T17:30:00.002-04:00

have been a blur. Looking back its amazing to see how time flies especially when you're caught up in the moment. Life passes quickly and its nice sometimes to take a look in the rearview every now to remind ourselves to slow down and savor every moment of it. On that note I have found the inspiration to throw up a short post about my recent adventures. I have a whole elaborate stage by stage description of my trip to Mexico saved somewhere on my computer but I figured that it's so long people would probably decide never to read my blog again by the time they were through. Instead here's a quick update on where I've been and what I've been doing"

Vuelta a la Ciudad de Mexico was a good experience for me and a great one for the team. We took six guys down there, including myself, for the four day race held mainly in central Mexico City. The only day where it looked like I'd have a chance to do something was the 2nd stage which was essentially a mass start uphill TT finishing atop a 33 kilometer climb. The entire stage was only 55 k and the first 22 of that was a neutral rollout so yeah, pretty interesting stuff. Despite not being able to respond to the main attack of the day, my teammate Alex Hagman and I rode up the mountain together to finish in 12th and 13th place a fair ways back on the leaders. Why the lackluster performance you may ask? Well the answer is simple: the stage started at around 7,500 feet and topped out at over 11,000 feet. From my experience I can say that breathing becomes significantly harder at such altitudes and everyone from the team was feeling the effects during each day of racing. Despite the lack of oxygen the team still showed the locals how it was done coming up with 4 podium finishes. Durango took 2nd the on day one out of a break, Yosvany won the third stage in a bunch sprint, and Frank and Durango went 2/3 on the final day. It was a fun experience to visit Mexico and stay in the 1968 olympic village and even better was the fact that I got to see some of my teammates who hadn't seen since camp and probably won't see for a while to come.

After a one night stay in Miami on the way back from Mexico it was back to BE and then off to a collegiate race in Auburn, AL this past weekend. Even though we were facing a long 7 hour drive I was still excited to be going to a race that I actually had a chance of doing well in. After feeling good saturday morning in the TT I got to relax for a few hours with the LMC guys (and a few gals) before the road race went off at 1:00 pm. 80 miles of sunny racing awaited us and it was on almost from the gun. Our team had the numbers which meant we also had the responsibility, something that we weren't quite ready for although I'm sure we'll be more prepared with each coming weekend of racing. I finally managed to get into the winning move and despite not racing as intelligently as I could have, with 10 miles to go it was down to Kevin, myself, Spencer Beamer and Chris Butler (Furman) and the always crafty Peter Fairbanks (Cumberland). After some attacking it was down to me and Butler in the final 5k with Beamer and Fairbanks working to get back up to us and Kevin trailing them closely. Unfortunately, I got stuck leading out the sprint and Butler came around me for the win. I was pretty upset with 2nd place as I knew I had the win in me but I won't get into that too much. As long as I learn from my mistakes I can be satisfied with the way that I raced.

Sunday was a crit, not to much to say about that. Once again, we had the numbers but not the strength and Butler managed to get away solo for the win about 15 seconds ahead of the pack. We did manage to throw quite a few people into the top 10 though and Sean Condron took a flyer for 2nd place on the day. Did I mention I got 2nd in the TT to none other than Spencer Beamer of Furman... pretty disappointing to get three 2nd place finishes in one weekend. Next weekend holds another batch of races though where the LMC cycling team can redeem itself and get a few W's. Thats all for now but watch out because the count down has begun... less than one month till Gila starts and already I'm excited. Thanks for reading.

Viva Mexico!

2008-03-18T07:57:00.003-04:00

I'm in the Charlotte airport again waiting for my flight to board... I guess this is becoming something of a habit to throw up and update whenever I'm flying somewhere. This time its off to Mexico City for 5 days of racing and at altitude no less. I think the city is at about 6000 feet so it wont be such a big jump for me coming from Banner Elk (around 3500-4000ft) but some of the other riders may feel it. All the stages are pretty short, under 100k which is kind of odd but I'll take it. The highlight of the race for me will definitely by day 2 which is apparently only 50k but it goes something like this: 20k of flat roads then a brutal 30k climb... sounds like my kind of thing Had a few knee problems this past week which was a new experience for me but I'm all patched up now and ready to race. We have a good group of guys going down, most are sprinters with Alex Hagman and myself serving as the goats. Hopefully we can get a few more W's in the book and if all goes well I'll finally get a chance to see how my climbing legs are doing... should be a fun week. Check back soon for an update if I can find internet..

Vuelta Valle in the Books

2008-03-12T12:02:00.006-04:00

After a 5 days of rockin racing in Colombia I've finally made it back to BE. What's more, I've made it back in one piece and with my health intact which is more than can be said for about half the peloton back in Colombia. Valle was a sweet 5 day race that traditionally opens the Colombian racing calendar which means that all the big boys usually show up. This year a few teams bailed but it didn't affect the race much as we still lined up on day one with over 200 riders from 28 different squads. Our team for the race was small but strong with me, Joe Fernandez, John Freddy Parra, John Durango, and Alejandro Bello reppin TOSHIBA.
So to summarize the race went pretty much like this: One insane team prologue on the Cali velodrome followed by 4 road stages between 100-130 km. Every day was fast and crazy ending in a bunch sprint which, without fail, took place on crappy roads in sketchy little villages which meant that it was perfect for our in house nutcase, John Durango. He was up their everyday finishing in the top 10 and on the last stage he finally took the W. It was great to see him up on the podium in his home country with all the fans cheering him on... definitely a great way to cap off the race.

After this trip I've determined that bike racing is where its at... you get to travel to foreign countries, meet new people, see new things, and gain experiences that would not be possible if it weren't for being a cyclist. Its interesting and also a little depressing sometimes to travel to other countries, especially in South America. Here in the US, we have everything and more. Over there, many of the people have very little yet they still manage to walk around with a smile on their face day after day. It would just be nice sometimes for America as a whole to understand how priviledged we are rather than continually complain about the few things we dont. Okay, thats my philosophy for the day... now on to other matters.

Since returning from down south I have compiled a list of things you need to know before going to race in any south American country. Here are 10 things that should get you through any South American racing trip... ready, here goes:
1) Be prepared... for anything and everything

2) Look both ways before you cross the street. This may seem trivial in the US but you're risking your life if you don't look in South America... totally different driving style down there where pedestrians definitely do not have any right of way.

which brings me to

3) Choose your taxi driver wisely. I recommend going with the ones who don't seem to be to hurried about things. If they're rushing you into the car then they will most likely be rushing to get to wherever you are going which may result in death or sever bodily harm for you, the passenger... don't say I didn't warn you.

4) On a more serious note, always keep your bags/bikes where you can see them. While people are, for the most part, very nice in other countries there may always be a few who aren't so happy with Americans beating local boys. I've heard stories of loosened seat clamps and stems so just be aware.

5) Bring chain lube because apparently it doesn't exist in South America. Nearly everyone rides a super dry chain there so the peloton sounds like a thousand shrieking mice when its in full flight... not pleasant for your ears or your bike.

6) Make sure you have a large supply of energy bars. This becomes crucial when you feel your stomach growling after eating the very tasty but meager portions provided by race hotels.

7) Don't bring race tires. Some hard case training tires are much more appropriate. The roads are usually pretty crappy and in the event that you do end up racing on a nice one, odds are you will be riding up the side and through the grass at some point in time. Add this to the fact that you will most likely pass through one or two towns each day with a ridiculous number of speed bumps and other road furniture and you'll be happy to have the extra protection.

8) Bring a pump. Not a little half-ass frame pump, I'm talking full blown tire pump. If you don't then you will probably end up using one belonging to the Colombian national team that looks like it was originally produced in 1950. Plus, your team will love you when they see you pull that shiny, air dispensing wonder out of your bag.

9) Learn spanish... or at least try to. The locals usually appreciate it when Americans at least make an effort at the language. Know how say basic things and its also good to learn a few phrases to be used in interviews so you don't look like a total gringo on the afternoon news.

10) Have fun. Take a day when the racing wasn't too tough and walk around the city, see the sites, and meet the local people. Bring a camera and take pictures because racing in South America is usually an experience that you wont want to forget.

So there you have it, my guide to travel in a nutshell. Maybe this will help you someday, maybe not, but either way hopefully you were at least mildly entertained while reading it. Now I've got some pictures to take you through my Colombian journey:

And so the journey began at 4:30 am in the Miami airport... here's Joe messing with his computer
Our hotel for the week
Me Durango and Alejo the morning of the prologue at the Cali track
Me after stage 2
Jenero, our Colombian mechanic for the week. The bikes were spotless everyday thanks to his hard work and some diesel fuel
Juan, our Miracle Man soigneur for the week
We got tired of hotel food so we went out for dinner one night
This poor guys bike hit the curb at 55 k/hr
One of my new Colombian friends... this guy rode for DFL-Cyclingnews last year in Europe
I had to get a photo with the TOSHIBA girls after the last stage... the company actually sent them out to help us out the last day which was pretty cool

Off to the races

2008-03-03T13:42:00.005-05:00

So the season has finally started at a nice leisurely pace which I am liking more and more. Unlike Florida racing which traditionally kicks on the first weekend of February with Tour of Bahamas and doesn't stop till June, I have been able to ease into the racing this year, building fitness and regaining handling skills. The contrast is remarkable: much like comparing being bludgeoned on the head with a light, friendly tap. On February 23 I headed off with the LMC boys and girls to Greenville, SC for a weekend of training races. I felt pretty good in the week leading up to it and managed to pull off what I would consider one of my best workouts ever on thursday. Friday was a shorter ride with a few efforts to keep the legs loose and read to go then it was off to the races at 4 am saturday morning. While my race didn't go off till later in the afternoon, many of the other people on the team were racing the 4/5 categories which started at ungodly early hours while the weather was still foggy and cold(think back to Junior days and this may ring a bell). One of the girls on the team started the day off well for us with a W in the womens field and a few hours later the rest of us rolled to the line clad only in jersey and bibs, a first since returning from Miami in January. The race went off fast and attacks came until the break went away. That was fine except for the fact that I wasn't in it. Scott Jackson read the race correctly and was in the move but I, along with the rest of the team, were left as unhappy stragglers in the field. Now Jackson is a great racer in his own right and when he's in form its hard to beat him. But this was the first race of the year and we didn't like our odds since skinny Phil (Phil Gaimon) was in the move and in surprisingly good form for such and early/unimportant race. In the end, Phil rode away from the break and Jackson placed in the top 3 and we had the rest of us rolled in with the field, the race having ended about 3 or 4 minutes before we arrived. Sunday was a crit (if you are so bold as to call it that) on a BMW test track. Cool because we got to go for a ride in an M5 around the drift course with and ex-F1 driver.... not so cool because the course was pretty flat/long and resembled a short circuit race. Despite attacking from start to finish it ended in a bunch sprint and we managed to snag a top 5 with our Michigan man, John Doyle. So overall, nothing to exciting but a good/safe start to the season.

The next weekend held the first collegiate racing (for me at least) of the season. All was well but on thursday disaster struck in the form of illness. Not really that much of a surprise given the crazy weather Banner Elk has been having along with the fact that I rode for 3 hours in the snow on the MTN bike the day before. So after sleeping all day and consuming massive amounts of garlic I hoped to wake up on Friday feeling better. And I did, but still not 100% so the race was still up in the air. When I couldn't get ahold of Todd (eventually I found out this was intentional because he wanted me to make the decision on my own) I decided to go race. The weather in BE was looking pretty crappy and honestly I just believed that I would wake up the next morning feeling good. So after a few more courses of Garlic I boarded the bus and we headed off to Athens, GA for the UGA race weekend.
Saturady morning was an 11 mile TT. I woke up feeling better, maybe not completely on top of my game but at least I didn't have a hammer pounding against my head and my legs had stopped aching. So we role up to the course with plenty of time for me to get a nice warmup in before I went off at 9:02 ( I was the third guy off which I was not so stoked about). Or at least I would have had plenty of time if it weren't for the lack of functioning TT wheels. I switched the rear wheel at least 3 times and the front wheel 4 times before I found ones that would hold air and fit in my TT frame. by that time it was 8:50 and I had ten minutes to roll around before going off. So I headed out, rode steady for 10 minutes feeling tight and stiff and then rolled up to the line. I had my HR on so the plan was to ride at/above threshold at a HR I knew I could hold for the entire effort. The first 5 minutes were not good... I was cold and not feeling it but then I loosened up and started to rip it. I passed both guys who had started in front of me and went as hard as I could from that point on. I finished the rolling course feeling good about my effort and confident that my time couldn't be too bad. Also, my TT position felt super good and I felt fast out on the course so that was some good news. Then results came in and guess what: I won! Go figure, two days before I can't get out of bed and then I'm winning a TT. Bike racing is funny like that...
Saturday afternoon was a 55 mile RR which consisted of 5 laps of the TT course. I was excited and feeling good but once again I missed the move and spent the rest of the day in no man's land. Collegiate racing had a totally different rhythm (or lack thereof) from normal racing. Still, it wasn't a bad day with Jackson once again making the winning move and winning the sprint for 2nd after a Furman guy had ridden off the front.
Sunday was the crit and I wanted some redemption but it was not to be. A pretty big group of us lapped the field and then, despite attacking till we were all blue in the face, we couldn't split the field again. So a bunch sprint it was... I'm sure we had almost all our guys in the top 10 but we still failed to get the elusive W. Overall, a solid weekend of fun racing, hanging out with some great guys (and gals) from the collegiate team, and a good learning experience. As long as I don't make the same mistakes again I'll be satisfied.

Now I'm sitting in the Charlotte airport waiting to board a flight to Miami. I have to say I love the airport here because of the free, yes that means totally, absolutely FREE, wireless internet. After a quick spin this morning I packed up my bike, finished throwing some clothes into my bag, and headed out on the road again. My final destination is Vuelta Valle in Colombia. Joe Fernandez and I fly out of MIA tomorrow at 6:30 am which means it will be another day of early breakfasts and foggy eyes en route to 5 days of what I hope will be balls to the wall, curb to curb racing. This race is the first one on the Colombian calendar so some big teams should show up. For Toshiba-Santo we have me, Joe, Jonn Freddy Parra, John Durango, and one other Colombian dude who we're bringing from the amateur team. It'll be a good time and I'll try to throw up an update up if the internet situation permits it. Till next time...

Rip Roarin Ready to Go!

2008-02-20T13:20:00.002-05:00

It's amazing how much blogging I can get done when I've got all this time on my hands. Despite being enrolled as a full time student I have somehow managed to escape the the part of school that requires my attendance in class. Yep, thats right, I pulled out the pro cyclist excuse and now my teachers are happy to see me on a bi-weekly or even tri-weekly basis. Of course this set up does require that I e-mail all my work to my profs but then again, thats a small price to pay in return for some serious leniency in attendance policies. Everything is working out really well so far especially since I have more time to update my readers on my not so exciting (not yet at least) daily activities.

If I had to come up for a term for yesterday's activity it would have to be "stupendously freezing". I took off yesterday morning for a short two hour ride with some leg speed sprints thrown in (picture me sprinting and you may already be laughing) and it seemed like it would be a nice brisk and sunny day. However, when I stepped outside armed only with leg/arm warmers and a wind vest I immediately ran back in. Previously unbeknownst to me, wind chill can seriously affect what meteorologists like to call the "feels like" temperature. So despite an actual temp of around 40, the feels like was around 30 courtesy of the 25 mph winds. So after throwing on another couple layers I ventured outdoors again believing that all would be well. And everything was great up until about 1 hour into my ride when I started my sprints. The cold started to roll in for real and little snow flurries even started making an honorary appearance. Okay, temp intervals, hill climbs, and every other imaginable type of workout done in this weather would have just added to the epicness of such a workout. But sprints are a whole different story. For sprints, its nice to feel sweat forming on your legs, to have the sun beating down on you while your muscles get loose and relaxed and ready for action. However, when its below freezing outside something very different occurs. From sprint #1 I was like, "oh man, this is not good". Cold legs+Not having done sprints in over a year= Me feeling like Pinochio. Hey everyone, look at me, I'm the wooden sprinting bicycle boy! After cursing the weather and finally making it home I had to begin the process of unthawing my various appendages: fingers, toes, face, etc; All good stuff and easy to deal with... not so good was the fact that a certain lower region of my body had become essentially numb (not to self: windproof boxers are a must when the wind is fierce). Eventually though, feeling was regained all around and I was able to laugh it off with a freshly brewed hot tea in hand (thats right Hagman, TEA not Coffee).

So now I'm chilin at home, getting antsy for the weekend. As long as mother nature permits, I will be heading off to Greenville, SC, home of one George Hincapie, for a couple training races the the LMC boys (and a few girls). As of now I'm pretty sure I want to go because even if it rains a little there it will still be warmer than Banner Elk. (It seems like the endless winter here, I mean its almost march for crying out loud and the average daily temp is still hovering around freezing... whats up with that?) So back to Greenville. I'm excited. I'm prepared and rip roarin' ready to race! Plus, I'd like to get a few race days under the belt before heading off to Colombia for Vuelta Valle on March 4. So this weekend, send me some good vibes and who knows, I have a feeling the first "W" of the season isn't too far if you catch my drift. Until next time.

Photos at last!!!

2008-02-18T19:44:00.005-05:00

As the title says, the photos have arrived... of course I didn't take any of them. In fact they've already but put up on Nankervis's blog but I figured I'd put them up anyway. Tommy, if you happen to see this, sorry for stealing your pictures but I needed something to entertain my every dwindling number of readers.
Our hosts for the week: Josh and Leigh. The french toast that morning was amazing!
Paco our Miracle man Soigneur
Hekman, Nankervis, and Hagman in the new kit
The team around the car for this year... and yes, Norris is surfing on the roof
Team riding during the photoshoot
Me on the trainer, fiddling with my bike position pretty late at night. No I'm not in bike shoes because thankfully I was almost done.

Training Camp

2008-02-11T20:59:00.001-05:00

After spending the last week with my new team in the mountains of Dahlonega, GA I can confidently say that its going to be a great season. It all started with an early morning drive last monday to the Hiker Hostel where we would be camped out for the week. I know what you're thinking: A Hostel... whats up with that? Well it was actually super cool. It had a full kitchen for us to use, a living room for us to hang out in and a movie collection that included 221 different titles on VHS and DVD so yeah, it was cool. Did I mention that Leigh and Josh, our hosts for the week, cooked us an amazing breakfast each morning that went something like this: Pancakes, French Toast, Waffles, or Biscuits with oatmeal, grits, and eggs prepared in amounts large enough to feed a team of hungry bike racers. Big thanks to Leigh and Josh for the killer meal every morning. So after everyone arrived on monday it was out for a short afternoon training ride to spin the legs and meet everyone. Then it was dinner time and lights out... a big ride awaited us in the morning.

I was paired up in my room with Winston David, a cool younger guy who can climb with the best of them, and our token Serbian rider, Pedrag Prokic who has a career waiting for him in the restaurant business if he ever decides to stop riding his bike. Every night without exception Prokic would be on his computer and Winston would be talking with his girlfriend back in Florida while I fell asleep. For the first couple days the talking kept me awake but by the end I was so tired at night I hardly noticed it.

Day 2: The plan was to do six gap, a tough route that takes anywhere from 4.5-5.5 hrs to complete and would take us over some of the steepest pitches around Dahlonega. At breakfast it was clear that everyone was prepping for the ride; all that I had to do was take a glance around the room and watch plate after plate of food being inhaled by my teammates to know that fuel was the name of the game for the long day ahead. It was pretty quiet around the table the first morning because everyone was still getting to know each other and the team chemistry wasn't quite there yet but it would be well cemented by the end of camp. So off we went with a pretty large group of guys into the cool, sunny morning with Gus Carillo, our DS, and Paco, our miracle man souigneur in the car behind us. Every time the road went uphill the pace followed. Every climb we drilled it until we were thoroughly spent by the end. After getting back home after 4.5 hrs a few of us decided to add on an hour to spin the legs out and add some time. That night, Prokic cooked dinner and everyone ate with gusto after a hard day on the road.

Day 3: Short ride, around 2 hours or so, in the afternoon because of a rainy day. Fortunately, it was the only one we would have all week.

Days 4 and 5: Hard, long days in the saddle. I got to ride my new bike both days and I was pretty pleased with it. Aside from a few tweaks to the position it was pretty spot on courtesy of our superstar mechanic, Dennis. All through the camp he worked tirelessly, fueled only by Mountain Dew and candy, to make sure that everyone had everything they needed when they needed it. The routes for the training days varied a bit but on both days we hit many of the same climbs that we had seen on tuesday. Whlie the riding is very good around Dahlonega its tough to find new roads to take when you're riding 5-6 hours each day. The tempo was pretty much like tuesday with a few harder surges thrown in here and there for some KOM's but that was bout it. A solid two days of training brought us to Saturday where we would spend a bunch of time in front of the camera and only a few hours on the bike later in the afternoon.

Day 7: Last day of camp and everyone definitely realized it. We all knew that we would sorely miss having breakfast laid out for us each day so everyone packed it in and took serious advantage of the locally made honey that was laid out for us to smother out oatmeal and toast in. Off we rolled into another beautiful, yet quite windy and chilly, day for what would be our hardest and longest day of riding. It started off easy with about 1 hour of spinning with some local riders who showed up to ride with us. Its still funny to think of myself as a professional cyclist but it hit home when the locals started bombarding me with questions about my racing, training, eating, and sleeping schedules not to mention asking for advice on their next bike purchase... I almost laughed out loud because I'm probably the last person to ask about a bike. So after getting to know the team a bit, the local guys peeled off and the real ride began. The first intensity of the ride came up quickly in form of Neil's gap, a pretty legit 20-25 minute climb. Neils was hard... I pulled for a bit keeping the pace high at the front and then everyone else did the same thing which meant that by the top of the climb we were down to about 8 guys or so. People caught back on for the long descent but soon we were at the base of Hog Pen, a ridiculously steep two mile pitch. We were doing our best to trace the Tour de Georgia route from a few years ago so we opted for the shorter steeper side rather than the longer side.. either way its a hard climb. When the road went up, I went backwards. I was definitely feeling the week of riding in my legs and I had tripped on the stairs last night which meant that I had to deal with a pretty severe pain around my left knee for most of the ride today. But I clawed my way up and managed to come over a just a few seconds shy of Alex Hagman and Dan Vaillancourt. After flying down the descent it was time for a quick fuel stop and then we were off again. Everyone knew that Brasstown Bald was awaiting those who could make it that far so the pace up the next climb was fairly tame but still hard enough that we lost a few more riders. FInally, we saw a nicely painted patch of road that read: "climb start here". Really, the message wasn't necessary because about 100 meters past it the road went straight up. But alas, we still weren't on Brasstown. About 3 miles later the real stuff began. Brasstown was brutal, no other word to describe it. In time and intensity I felt that it was very similar to Beech Mountain which is located about 2 miles from where I live. I was so blown going up it that there was a point where I was zig-zagging, standing in my 25 just praying that I wouldn't have to get off my bike. But the steep section ended pretty quickly and a nice tail wind aided me in making it to the top in one piece. The KOM of the day went to Alex Hagman who managed to shake Prokic towards the top. Later, Alex told us that Prokic threw it into the big ring to try and drop him... we all just opened our mouths in awe wondering what use the big ring could possibly be on a climb that steep. Props to Prokic for even trying such a crazy move. About 2 hours later, the death march ended and everyone heaved a sigh of satisfaction and relief. After laying around for a few minutes everyone went into travel mode and started packing things up at warp speed to scatter off in varied directions. Of course, most of us made a quick stop at Moe's for a Homewrecker burrito before hitting the road.

So that was the training camp in a nutshell. That was the training part at least... no camp would be complete without the obligatory comical stories that ensue when bike racers get together. I'll begin with the local law enforcement. Without being negative I'll just say that they were not very helpful at best. You'd think that they'd be happy to have a pro team training around the area, always being courteous to cars, riding tightly together in twos but oh no, none of that is good enough for the Dahlonega Sheriff's Department. We were harassed all week, yelled at through megaphones and we even had a few complaints filed against us. The best part came on Friday about one hour into our ride. Tommy Nankervis had stopped to adjust his handlebars so Paco, who was driving the car while Gus was riding with us, stopped with him. After straightening his bike out, Tommy held onto the car and Paco floored it for about 5k trying to catch up to us but alas, we were nowhere to be found and now Paco was thoroughly lost. Add to this the fact that Tommy doesn't speak a lick of spanish and Paco only speaks spanish and you can see how the situation was rapidly deteriorating. So they pull over so Paco can call Gus and find out where we are and meanwhile Tommy decides to take a "nature break" on the side of the deserted road. Well, the moment Tommy begins to yield to the call of nature cars start to roll by and yes, you guessed it, one of them was a cop. So off pulls Mr. Dahlonega Sheriff's tough guy complete with big hat and sunglasses (and a pissed off look according to tommy). Here's how the dialogue went:

Sheriff: What are you doing son?
Tommy: I was takin a piss
Sheriff: You can't do that in a public road son
Tommy: Oh I didn't know that. I'm from Australia.
Sheriff: We're not in Australia son, we're in Georgia.
Tommy: I know but in Australia I wouldn't think twice about taking a piss in the middle of Melbourne
Sheriff: What are you going to do with your bike son?
Tommy: I'm gonna ride it (picture the confused expression and belligerent Aussie accent while Tommy said this)
Sheriff: No you're not son because you're going to jail
Tommy: What!?!?
Tommy didn't elaborate on the rest but eventually he was let go with a warning and a stern look. The whole time Paco was on the phone frantically talking with Gus thinking he was going to be sent back to Mexico but the Sheriff didn't even look at Paco once. When they finally made it back to us, Paco looked relieved and Tommy looked pissed off and shaken. That was the worst of it though and besides being yelled at a few times on the weekend, we were able to complete our training in relative peace. I'll put up pictures when I can find some to steal from someone else's blog. Thanks for reading.

P.S.-I'm currently accepting donations for the "AT digital camera fund" so leave a comment if you're interested

As the season approaches...

2008-01-31T20:22:00.001-05:00

I'm becoming more excited with every passing day. Contrary to my previous post I will not be going to Tour of Bahamas so that means that my season won't start for at least another few weeks but for my teammates who are going down there I wish them all the best and hopefully the season can start off on a good note for my new team. About that... a few things have happened since you last read this blog. Nothing too catastrophic but there was a quick moment of panic when AEG pulled out of their sponsorship commitments and a man by the last name of Santo stepping in to fill the void. So in the end, everything worked out alright and the only thing that changed is the team name which is officialy: Toshiba-Santo pro cycling team presented by Herbalife. In other team news training camp is coming up this next week in Dahlonega, GA. We'll be staying in the Hiker Hostel (aka middle of nowhere) due to the close proximity of good roads and lots of climbing. I checked out a few pictures on the website and despite the somewhat shabby images that come to mind when I though of a hostel it actually looks pretty cool... good rooms and a kitchen means I'm a happy camper/hiker/cyclist/whatever.

On a more personal note, life is going good here in BE. The weather has been as kind as can be expected for this time of year and I can safely say that I am ready to have a great 2008 season. This week I'm enjoying a nice drop of hours to let my body and mind recover from the past two months. Since starting training at the end of November it has been a consistent pattern high hour weeks to get me ready for the longer distances and higher intensities of the racing that I'll be doing this year. In fact, it has been so consistent that this week is my first "real" rest week so far. Now I'm feeling recharged and ready to go!

Now on to what I really want to say. With all the time I've had on my hands this week its given me the chance to think about a few things, namely what I expect of myself this coming season. After some soul searching and deep introspection I've come up with the following: I expect to do my best... very cliche, I know. But its the truth. By doing my best I mean doing everything on and off the bike possible to become the best rider and person that I can be. Last season I caught a few glimpses of what I am capable of on the bike and I was happy with what I saw. However, each time these quick glimpses were followed by obstacles that kept me from moving forward and fulfilling my potential. Looking back, each one of those obstacles that I encountered could have been avoided. This season I am prepared to overcome and conquer these obstacles that have hindered me in the past. I am ready to begin my rise towards top and I am prepared to disregard all preconceived limits that others may have placed on me. More importantly, I am prepared to disregard the limits which I've placed on myself in the past. Feelings of dismay or discouragement have been replaced with a more positive outlook stemming from my deep belief that anything is possible this year.. the sky is the limit! So with my newfound attitude and continuing dedication to the sport that I love I plan on having a great season, surrounded by my friends, family and new teammates! Check back next week for some training camp updates and pics (internet permitting of course) Thanks for reading.

P.S.-Ever since leaving Venezuela all the buttons on my blog have been appearing in spanish... any advice on how to change it back to my native tongue?

Today's Ride

2008-01-20T18:18:00.001-05:00

Here are a few fun facts from my ride today:

Start time/temp: 10:00am/ 3.5 degrees Farenheit
End time/ temp: 4:00pm/ 15 degrees Farenheit
Hours spent riding: 5
Food Consumed: 1 PBJ sanwich, 2 clif bars (cool mint chocolate), 2 enervit gels, 1 snickers bar, half a honey bun
Number of body parts that went numb: 4
Coldest temp: -10 degrees with windchill
Warmest temp: 25 degrees
Acts of random kindness: 1 (read below for explanation)

As you may be able to gather from the information I provided above, today's ride was rather interesting. For one thing, it was rather cold. Now this is not to be misinterpreted with mildly cold or chill, no, today was absolutely freezing! I have to admit though, all the suffering was self imposed as I was given the option of driving an hour away from BE to where it was a bit warmer to ride with a few other guys but I figured I'd rather spend the time on the bike rather than in the car. Overall I must say that I"m happy with my choice, at least I am now that I've regained feeling in all my appendages.

So the day started off on an interesting note: As I'm getting kitted up to ride I hear Kevin (roommate) talking with our landlord who's going on about how someone attached the hose last night and forgot to take it off which means that our water pipe could possibly explode due to the expansion factor of frozen water. Well, the person who attached the hose was me. Of coure I never figured that such a possible catastrophe could result from my nighttime bike washing expedition but oh how wrong I was. Luckily, the pipe was thawed out with the help from a few space heaters and one very powerful (and now very broken) hair dryer. So all was well by the time I left for my ride.

From the moment I rolled out the door I thought about turning back simply because within a period of about 2 minutes I could no longer feel my feet and my face felt like it was getting sandblasted. However, I perservered knowing that things would get better was the road turned upward. The climb up Roan mountain (possibly my favorite climb in the world) was absolutely great today. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, and since I was climbing the cold temps and wind were of no bother. The last few miles of the climb had a thin layers of snow still on the road but no ice so all was well. It was a very peaceful climb up to the top today mainly because not many people venture out of there houses, let alone drive to the top of a 6000 foot mountain, when its freezing outside. Which brings me to the act of random kindness.

After descending Roan and once again feeling like the skin was being cruely ripped from my face, a man in a red truck pulled up next to me and started asking me questions about my ride (where did I come from, how far was I going, how many watts was I doing up the climb etc). I didn't think much of it but when I pulled over to thaw out at a gas station this random man pulled his truck in as well. After talking for a few minutes a few things became clear: 1) This was not some crazy redneck who secretly planned to throw me in a local river 2) I was extremely cold and in need of warmth 3) Paul (name of random man) was offering me hot tea and warmth at his house which was just a mile down the road. So I followed him to his house and after being introduced to one of his friends who was chopping wood I decided that if was some crazy guy that at least someone knew where I was. But, he was not crazy and in fact was one of the most kind and generous people I have ever met. I was given hot tea by his lovely wife, I was poked and laughed at by his baby daughters, and I came to the realization that genuinely good people are really not that hard to find. I spent about half an hour talking with Paul about cycling. Before I left, we exchanged phone numbers and made the intention to get together for a ride sometime in the near future. He also gave me a balaclava which helped to keep my already wind-burned cheeks protected for the remainder of my ride. I have to say that one day I hope I can do the same for some young cyclist (freezing or not) who just happens to be passing nearby my house. So onto the rest of the ride.

It was good. Until the last hour in which I proceeded to crave food and water (my bottles were frozen solid most of the time so in all, I probably had 3 bottles in 5 hrs of riding... not smart I know). I made it home though and after a large smoothie and a hot shower all was well. All in all, I had a great time today: I met a nice family, thoroughly enjoyed the sunny day despite the cool temps, and best of all, I finally had something post worthy for my blog. Hope everyone enjoyed my little anecdote. There will be more to come soon as I'm leaving soon to race in Tour of Bahamas on Feb 2-3 and then off to team training camp in Dahlonega, GA from Feb 4-10. Hope everyone had as much fun today as I did.

Living the Life

2007-12-26T16:49:00.000-05:00

The training for 2008 is officially in full swing. For the last few weeks I’ve been putting in big hours on the bike and spending every other second of my day either eating or sleeping. Ahh… life is good. In all seriousness everything is going really well. The training has been going smoothly, I’m feeling strong and healthy, and according to a little lab testing which involved getting my finger pricked about 50 times, all this riding I’ve been doing has actually been helping me to improve. I believe that a lot of this improvement can be attributed to my most faithful and dedicated training partner: my powertap. I received my new wireless PT a few weeks ago and I can already feel the difference. Looking back, its easy to see that for the several months I was without a powermeter were not very productive as far as training goes. That’s not to say the riding I did during that time hasn’t made me better, I just think that training with power lets me make the best use of the time that I spend on the bike. Plus, I love staring at the numbers as I ride and watching them improve as the season quickly approaches.

Winter break began for me on December 12th and by the 15th I was home sweet home in Miami, FL. I got in a solid 10 days of riding there and let me just say it was awesome! I got to see a bunch of old friends, catch up with my coach, hit up a few of the local group rides (for those of you wondering I came pretty close but didn’t quite manage to take home the chicken), and perhaps most importantly, I was able to appreciate how nice flat roads can be. I do love the mountains but when you’re on a chill ride there’s nothing better than being able to cruise to a café on the beach with a few friends and just enjoy the scenery.

Now my time in MIA has come to an end and as I write this I am on my way to California to see my Dad for a bit. I am also looking forward to the riding around the San Mateo area where he lives… in my opinion it is definitely some of the nicest in the US. You have flat roads with a plentiful amount of fantastic bakeries for the easy days and nice climbs up from the coast for the hard days. I’ll be sure to take some pictures to show everyone what I’m talking about.

On the team front, there’s a training camp in Athens, GA from February 4-10 which I’m planning on attending. Apparently that’s a bit later than the one they had last year which is absolutely fine with me... more time for base and resting. Plus, the later date should give me a chance to go back to Banner Elk to get settled into my new house which I’m super excited about. Before I left for vacation I paid the first months rent and moved all my stuff in. Luckily for me, I didn’t have very much stuff so it was a pretty painless process but still, carrying a dresser down three flights of stairs by myself was no easy task. I’m happy to have experienced living in a dorm but it is not something I need to repeat more than once. It’s kind of like when you have a bad race which makes you appreciate the good ones just that much more… like I said, not something I’d like to repeat.

As far as school goes, I’m planning on making it through the semester but in actuality, riding is going to be my number one priority. I have high hopes for this season so I’m going to do what I need to in order to meet the goals I have set for myself… more on those to come as the season starts up. So that’s it for now… as the title said I’m living the life, traveling to beautiful places to ride my bike and loving every second of it. Life is good!

Thanks for reading and happy holidays to everyone!

New House!

2007-12-07T20:33:00.001-05:00

So as promised here are some pictures of the place I'll be living starting mid January. I'm pretty psyched about it...

Here's what I'll be greeted by after riding
Living room
The kitchen... the guy renting the place to us is buying a brand new stove and fridge before we move into it... amazing I know
Another kitchen shot
Perhaps the highlight of having my own place: a washer dryer means no more laundromat visits!

Big News...

2007-12-06T20:45:00.000-05:00

I learned to ride rollers today. Never ridden them before but man are they better than sitting on the trainer! Of course nothing is better than being on the road but when there's snow mixed with some ice I think its better to spin for a few hours in the comfort of home while watching classic cycling videos. I got to watch Tafi, or the "energizer bunny" as Phil Ligget calls him, win Flanders so it was a good day. Snow and ice should be gone tomorrow so all is well here in Banner Elk.

In other exciting news: me and Kevin Holdber, a senior on the cycling team here at LMC, found ourselves a house for next semester. Really good price plus 2 bed/1 bath plus fully functional kitchen= awesomeness! I'll throw up some pictures of our new place when I get a chance.

Thats all I've got for now.

Vuelta Zulia...

2007-11-11T11:08:00.000-05:00

Was short and not so sweet (for me at least). Coming into the race I was super excited. After the Guatemala trip falling through I was all ready to race but with nowhere to go. So when I got the call about going this race in Venezuela I was all in. We had a pretty solid team lined up to go as well: Matthew and Seth Hensley, David Sommerville, Emile Abraham, another guy named Lisban and finally me. After flying down to Miami from BE and doing a nice shakout ride in the morning with David it was time to hop on the plain again to head down to Maracaibo, Venezuela. Luckily for my bag and bike arrived with our flight... unlickily for Emile and Matthew their bikes did not arrive. How this happens when we all checked in at the same time with the same airline for the same flight I do not know. Oh yeah, we were also starting the race down one guy becasue Seth decided not to come at the last minute. I was kinda bummed about that becasue he's always funny when things are getting tough during and after the race.

So to start day 1 we had 5 guys ready to rock. Well it was more like 2 guys on ancient spare bikes lent to us by the Colombian team (Emile and Matthew), 2 guys feeling decent (Me and David), and 1 guy who had just drive through the night from Colombia and arrived just a few hours before breakfast (Lisban). So off we went for 145k of flat, hot racing. about halfway through the race I managed to lose the nosepiece for my sunglasses. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal since it was approaching dusk and the light was fading fast but then about 5 minutes later it started to piss rain. My advice to you, my dear readers, is always be prepared. Have an extra set of glasses in the car or something... I wish I had. Then with about 50k to go I got my first flat tire in a race ever. It was a rear flat and it happened when I slammed into one of the many holes that they have in the roads here. It is important to note that these holes could are probably large enough to provide shelter for a small family and easily big enough to pinch flat a tire. I got back in the pack easily enough though so all was well. I think the most exciting part of the race came in the last 15k when it was balls to the wall, hovering around 50+ k/hr in the rain, and then we hit a section of road with the pavement torn up. This meant that it was essentially a slip and slide on grooved gravel. Emile flatted with 5k to go and Dave stopped to give him a wheel but everyone else made it to the finish safely in the group... except for Matthew who double flatted earlier in the day and rode the last 100k by himself.

Upon arrival in a small town called Machiques there was no electricity. This was definintely my first experience with a cold, dark bucket shower with the entire colombian team. Luckily, after we had dinner, the elctricty came back on and all was well. We pumped up the AC and hit the sack for the night. Next morning we downed some food and the rolled over to the start about 2k away from the hotel. The race was fast for about the first 30 minutes and then the pace settled in to about 24-26mph which is pretty much where we would stay for the next 2 hours. The only times the pace went up was when an intermediate "metabolante" sprint was coming up. Lisban wasn't feeling it so Emile was on his own for the sprints. Me and Dave made sure everyone had enought water/food to make it to the end of the 165k day. Unforutnately with about 30k to go the guy right in front of me decided it was imperative that he move to the left side of the road ASAP... this resulted in him taking me and a few other guys down to meet the pavement. I popped up and after a quick bike check I was off. Luckily, no one else from the team went down. It was definitely an experience chasing back to the peloton, flying through traffic full of dumptrucks and buses that have no concern whatsoever for a straggling cyclist. I chased like a man possessed for 20k and after almost cracking numerous times, drafting off every moving object, and performing some seriously sketch caravn moves, I made it back to the front. After that it was sit in and relax for the next 10k to the finish. Emile had a good set up for the sprint but then he was almost taken into a 2 foot hight curb by another guy so that was the end of stage 2. So after the day our team was as follows: Matthew was not allowed to start due to time cut after stage 1, Dave was dropped when he got stuck at a toll booth behind a parked car, I was slightly banged up but ok, Emile was ok but starting to feel the spare Jens Voigt like drop that he was rocking on his loaner bike.

So back to the hotel, eat some lunch surf the internet, eat some dinner, then, for me at least, proceed to wake up in the middle of the night and throw up for the next 6 hours. Bad chicken combined with tired body=food poisoning. Now I know Todd was right when he said to live off Clif bars if I had to. I of course didn't listen because I was thinking that my babied stomach accustomed to my fine cooking of organic foods would be able to handle the rigors of south american food. Boy was I wrong. Next time I'm brining the kettle and hot plate and I'll live off of rice, oatmeal and clifbars. So that was the end for me, I spent the next few days laying in bed, watching spanish MTV and surfing the net. Hope everyone else has been having a better week than me. Lisban DNF'd the next day and Emile and Dave were our two lone survivors at the end of Vuelta al Zulia so congrats to them. I'm back in BE now recovering and trying to keep my stomach happy with some nice home cooked meals. Thats all I've got for now. I am still without a digital camera but I'll try to snag a few pics from Gus and post them up soon.

Thanks for reading.

P-R-O

2007-10-22T16:04:00.000-04:00

Oh my, its been a month already? It's amazing how fast time can pass when you're not paying attention. Well the good news for you, my dear, faithful readers, is that one month with no blogging means lots of cool/funny stories and even a few pictures courtesy of my good friend Mike Anderson, one of the most badass mountain bikers to ever hit the trails. So where to begin... I think we'll start with a few training stories.

In the last month I've done a lot of riding, all of it on the road. Why you may ask? Well essentially it comes down to the fact that I've already had so much time off this season that I'm not really in need of a long off-season. I mean I had 6 weeks on the trainer, then 3 or 4 weeks during July without touching my bike and then another week totally off the bike about a month ago. What all that means is that I'm feeling motivated and ready to put in some solid training towards next year. Which brings me to the title of my post. It's true, next year I'll be riding for the AEG-Toshiba pro cycling team, I had to sign some papers and everything. I'm super excited about about this change and for me, I feel like its the next logical step to take in my cycling carreer. So be on the look out for me in some bigger races next year! Anyways, back to the training. I've been putting in some solid hours, most of it solo, just nice endurance riding. After a couple weeks of buidling up, this past week I actually did my biggest week of training ever and felt good doing it too! But of course you want some stories, Well, I have a valuable lesson to impart to everyone: beware of dogs. Suffice it to say that I learned this lesson last week in rather painful manner that involved sliding across the pavement. So just heed my advice and be kind to our furry friends. You never know when your actions may come back to bite you!

On the racing front, I wrapped up my season 2 weekends ago with the Greenville Cycling Classic. It was a great event put on in large part by George Hincapie and I am definitely planning on returning the next year. Some nice prize money combined with a cool course and solid fields made for a good weekend of racing. Of course, no race weekend is complete without the olbigatory hitch here and there. My first hitch occurred when I spent about an hour trying to find the course when I was within 5 minutes of it the whole time. I had my directions saved on my computer (I don't have a printer) so I had to stop at 2 gas stations, carry my computer in, and ask how to get to such and such a street. Both times, the clerks looked at me like I was nuts. Add to this the fact that I was getting stressed out to making it to the race on time and you had an interesting situation. Finally, after getting a random passerby to point me in the right direction, I sped off, only to park in the wrong place for the race. Apparently, there is a big festival in the streets of downtown Greenville the same weekend as the races which means good crowds but confusing parking. I of course thought that the festival was the crit so after navigating my was through an endless sea of people (and being told that I must walk my bike by about 10 different police officers) I found my homeboy Seth Hensley who directed me to a primo parking spot about 10 feet from the race course. In the end, all was well, I made it to registration on time and even squeezed in a 20 minute warmup before heading to the line. So now the race...

Considering that I had only done a few motorpacing sessions to get some leg speed back in I guess I could say I was feeling decent. Still, when I got on the line, I knew it was time to go. And that's exactly what I did. After about 10 laps of spinning the legs out (the races was 50 laps on saturday) I started to attack. I knew I needed to be in a break to win the race so my mentality was pretty much attack until they crack. Unfortunately, a strong field combined with a fast course meant that I wasn't going anywhere despite my numerous attempts. Eventually, I tried to bridge up to a move by Andy Baker from the Time Devo team and made it within about 5 seconds of him until cracking. Turned out that he was feeling good and he managed to stay away solo from laps 11 to about the start of lap 1. I don't care who you are, thats freakin impressive! But alas, Craig Lewis decided it should be a bunch sprint so he single handedly pulled poor Andy back into the grip of the peloton making for a crazy last lap. No team really took control besides AEG-Toshiba in the last 500 meters. Scottie Weiss did a super lead out for Bobby Sweeting who went on to take the win. I did some wheel hopping to come across the line in 9th place. Not great, but not bad consiering it was after all a sprint.

Before I talk about Sunday I have to give a big thanks to Doug Owen, the head coach for the LMC cycling team. Our MTB boys had a race in Clemson about 40 minutes away from Greenville so I had a place to stay, a nice dinner, and a solid breakfast/lunch before racing on Sunday. Thanks Doug! I even got to watch the MTB races before heading off to the crits. It was pretty cool to see our guys take the top 2 or 3 spots and just ride away from the rest of the field.

Okay, so Sunday. I got to the race course on time and got a nice warmup in me to work out all the kinks from the day before. I was ready to go for the W and motivated to make a break work. So just like saturday, I went to work attacking after a few laps of sitting in. I was in one move that lasted myabe 3 or 4 laps before being reeled back in and after that I thought that maybe i was just out of luck but boy was I wrong. In the next few laps, Bobby Sweeting launched a solid attack to bring back a break and that was it. I followed a few people who caught Bobby's wheel and we were gone. Everyone worked well together and we essentially did an awesome TTT to establish our gap at over 20 seconds from the chasing field. With ten laps to go and an every expanding time gap we all knew this was the move. So I started to think about how I could win the race. I was worried about going too soon and then missing the counter but I figured that going too soon was better than not going at all. So with 3 to go I attacked on the rolling backstretch but it was a no go. So I figured I'd gather for one last move in the final lap. I waited and waited, and ended up in perfect position, 4th wheel of about 6 or 7 guys, heading into the backstretch on the last lap. I gave it a go, but mistimed it just a bit and it cost me. They were able to bring me back then I knew it was going to be a sprint. I tried to set up the best I could and managed to eak out a 4th place finish which I was pretty satisfied with. I knew that I had raced to win but it doesn't always work out. Still, it was some positive racing overall and I'm sure I'll learn from my mistakes.

Well, thats about it. I've got a mountain bike set up for me to ride so I'll keep you updated on how that goes. I know what you're thinking.... me on a mountainb bike, oh boy! Check out the pics below for what some of the riding around here looks like. Thanks for reading!

One of the many amazing roads around BE

View from the parkway

Cool log house

Some backroads climbing action

Still Kickin'

2007-09-21T01:36:00.000-04:00

I'm alive and well in Banner Elk, NC or the BE as I've become fond of calling it. It has been an interesting last few weeks getting settled into school and living by myself but I'm finally getting the hang of it. I've gotten pretty good at cooking massive amounts of pasta and making ginormous salads to keep my appetite in check. That along with a killer mexican restaurant that is about 2 minutes away is making life pretty good. On the cycling front I'm doing okay. The riding here is absolutely amazing... endless miles of climbing and gravel backroads that can keep me entertained for hours. The only downside is the dogs... they like to chase me, often times uphill, for long periods of time. Recently, I think they've been hanging out in packs and waiting for me on my regular training routes so I've taken the liberty of buying some HALT (essentially a pepper spray for dogs) in case they deside they want to rumble. Take that pesky dogs!

It has been a bit of a change going from what I now consider to be a large room into a small dorm room but I'm actually liking it pretty well. It forces me to keep things organized, a skill which I'm sure will always serve me well. School is okay, not my favorite thing to do but I guess I'll hang in there, at least for a little while. There's a pretty cool group of guys to hang out with here but not so many people to actually train with. I've always been a bit of a lone rider so it's not a problem for me but I still miss the comradery of the group rides back in Miami. There's no way you could get nearly 70 guys to show up in Banner Elk at 6:30 am on a weekday or 7:30 on the weekend just to throttle each other. In fact, I don't think there are even that many serious cyclists which is really a pity. It's a beautiful area and for anyone looking to move somewhere to ride their bike I highly recommend coming here! I've had a couple of epic rides, one 5.5 hour ride last saturday followed by a solid 4 on sunday which has left me feeling like I've been hit by a truck today, 4 days after the weekend has ended. Hmm.... guess I'll have to work on monitoring the intensity a bit better. Delayed Muscle Onset Soreness (DOMS) definitely exists! I can't wait for my powertap to get here which should be sometime in the next couple weeks. I make sure to look at it everyday online and urge it to arrive at my doorstep (or PO box) as soon as possible. My powertap is my best training partner and I'm starting to feel a bit lonely without it. I'm guessing that the KJ's I've been putting out riding here have been pretty big, significantly more than in Miami for sure!

Well I'm tired and its late so I'm going to sleep right now. I'm still working on a camera so pics are coming soon. I'll make sure to bring it on some rides with me to show you the kind of roads I'm on. Plus, you'll get to see my dorm room.... definitely something to look forward to.

Thanks for reading.

More ups and downs

2007-09-03T11:22:00.000-04:00

Fall down seven times, get up eight. This is what it takes to succeed. I've had many opportunities to put this into practice this year and I recieved yet another opportunity this past saturday. After moving into school and having a rough week on the bike I went to race in Tennessee last week and actually came out pretty well. The weekend was highlighted with a 4th place finish in the road race on saturday morning. Despite a few decent results, my legs were not feeling very good, I felt like I was lacking race intensity efforts, the type that you can't simulate in training no matter how hard you try.

My plans for this past weekend were to go to the NC/SC state road race in Greenville, SC on saturday and then continue on down to Atlanta for the 100k on monday. I was pretty excited for the 100k becasue there was a big pro field there but alas, I never made it to the starting line. Let me explain. On saturday the race was a bit odd. I'm not going to name names or point out specific teams but suffice it to say there was a very negative vibe about the race. People seemd more interested in acting macho and threatening to knock people off their bikes than they did in actually racing bikes. I on the other hand was looking to get in a hard day to prep for Atlanta. Everything was going pretty well, I attacked solo and about 10-12 people bridged up and that was pretty much the race. I kept attacking, looking to shake the race up a bit but the Time devo team had 5 people up there so my odds weren't very good. Finally I decided to just use the rest of the race as a workout, riding tempo on the front because Time refused to take responsibility for the race which I didn't find very professional. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who was upset with their tactics after crossing the finish line as I heard that quite a few other racers in our front group were berated in one way or another by a Time rider. So with 8 miles to go in the 90 mile race things came crashing down, literally. We were going about 35 mph on a downhill stretch and someone crossed wheels with me. Why this happened I am still not sure. I glanced to my right quickly and when I looked back there was rear wheel coming right into me. Granted everyone was tired and thats when dumb mistakes happen but it was still completely unnecessary. So down I went. When I sat up the first thing I noticed was a pain in my left collarbone. My first thought was: Oh crap, not again, please not again. Eventually I got back up on my bike and finished the race just because I wanted to. I rolled in over 10 minutes down on the front group I crashed out of and I was extremely dissapointed. Then it was off for some x-rays.

We drove back to Banner Elk and then went to a hospital not to far from here. After getting x-rays taken the doctor came up with the brilliant diagnosis of "well, it might just be badly bruised but it may be slightly fracured as well. Give it four or five days and if it still hurts follow up with a specialist". Gee thanks doc, I love when they're so specific. So I'm in a sling right now, I'm planning on hopping on the trainer today and we'll see how I feel this weekend. Hopefully I'll be back on the road in no time.

Time for a new Chapter of my life

2007-08-17T21:24:00.000-04:00

College is going to start in a few days. I'll be attending Lees-McRae in Banner Elk, NC this year and I'm pretty excited and very nervous at the same time. I'm actually writing this blog to ease my nervousness about finally having to live on my own. I've been looking forward to this moment but its still a shock to realize that after tomorrow I'll be on my own. No one to remind me where I left my shoes or cook me dinner when I'm tired. It will be a new adventure, a new chapter of life, one that I hope will be filled with good experiences.

On the bike racing front I'm doing pretty well. I made my comeback with the Dahlonega Georgia Cup last weekend and I felt pretty good throughout the weekend. 6th in the uphill TT, pack finish in the circuit, 5th in the hilly RR equals a 4th place finish overall for the weekend. I'm going to Tennessee this weekend for an omnium which apparently contains a nice climbing RR and fast, short TT along with a wide open crit to finish it off. I've had success in the volunteer state before so I'm looking to continue it this weekend. Wish me luck and if you're ever passing through banner elk be sure to let me know. I plan on becoming the local riding route expert within the next few months.

Oh yeah, my digital camer is no longer functioning so until I get a new one this blog will be pictureless. Maybe a solid weekend of racing could provide the necessary funds...

Working my way back

2007-07-30T00:31:00.000-04:00

So I'm back on the bike. I just kind of headed out and the collarbone felt ok so I kept going. Been riding on the road since three weeks ago and it has been awesome. California is amazing and I found a bunch of new roads to ride. Its pretty simple: head down to the coast and choose a road to ride back up on. There are so many to choose from its ridiculous. Once you start climbing its absolutely amazing... no cars, just a few horses and farms here and there. I had a couple epic rides even though I should have been taking it easy. I just couldn't resist doing some crazy stuff. I got in a nice 6 hour day on friday which I actually took pictures on. It was pretty cool, 96 miles, 10,000+ ft of climbing, not to shabby I dare say. Today was cool too even though I forgot the camera. I decided to take a road labeled "dirt" on the map back up from the coast. It was, how should I say this, interesting. It started out nicely enough, a nice dirt path rolling along a creek but then it kicked up pretty harshly. I figured it would level out a bit but after another 20 or so minuts of climbing on what was apparently a trail designed for mountain bikes I knew I was a bit screwed. I couldn't descend because it would be super dangerous so the only option was to keep going up... and up and up and up! There were a few times that I had to unclip and walk the bike but eventually I made it out on the top and had a nice 30 minutes of descending to get me home. So anyways, here are some pictures from my time in sunny San Mateo.

Cool Bike Path

How often do you see a sign like this?

Beautiful California roads... no cars
Pacifica, CA
This fruit stand saved my life

Hotel California

2007-07-23T21:45:00.000-04:00

Well I'm not actually in a hotel but I am in California. I figured after my last doctor's visit where I was informed that I still wasn't ok to ride on the road I decided that I'd head off to Cali to visit my dad for a bit. I haven't seen him for any significant period of time since my winter break way back in december. I did see him at my graduation in early June but it was only for a couple days. So my flight was good, managed to pack everything up the night before including my bike. I decided to take my trusty steed to cali because the Tour de France started and I figured that I could at least ride the trainer to start getting some fitness back. The bike didn't quite make it in with my other clothes bag but with a little coercing from my dad and me the airlines got me my bike later that night. I checked it out while putting it together and was pleased to find that everything was all safe and sound.

So I've been on the trainer watching the Tour everyday so far. It kinda sucks because I'm up at around 5 am most days partly because I have nothing else to do and partly because I like to have my ride done in the morning and listen to Phill Ligget and Paul sherwen commentate. Al Trautwig annoys the heck out of me so I've been boycotting the "primetime" showings in favor of early morning training. I rode to Jamba Juice in town today after my trainer session and I've decided that my collarbone is healed. It's been just over 5 weeks since I broke it so that's pretty standard as far as healing time goes. I'm going to venture outdoors tomorrow and as long as there's no pain then I'm planning on putting in a nice week of training here in Cali before I leave.

On the food front, I've been having some seriously kick ass mexican food. for $5.00 I get an awesome freshly made burrito with some sort of special sauce. My favorite place so far has been La Pinata and boy is it good. If you are ever in the San Francisco or San Mateo area I highly recommend finding this place. It's tiny, a bit of sitting room, completely different from your typical "chain" mexican restaurants. That isn't to say I don't love some Chipotle now and then but this is just plain better. Other than that, I've had some good italian food courtesy of my dad's culinary skills. For me this is as good as it gets. I can live off of Mexican and Italian. Put me on a desert island with a burrito and some pasta and I can live forever.

I'm looking forward to getting back to racing and training. I just want to have some fun on the bike. I'm going to go to some group rides here in Cali and then say my goodbyes when I get back to Miami. And by saying goodbye I mean that I'm going to attempt to rip some legs off and win as many group rides as possible before I leave miami for Banner Elk, NC home to Lees-McRae college. I found out that I'm getting a single room so I'm super psyched about that. It'll just be easier not having a roomate with all the biking stuff that I'll have laying around. Also, I'm looking for a mountain bike to work on my bike handling skills so if anyone is looking to get rid of one let me know. Pictures next time, I brought my camera.

I'm broken... again!

2007-06-16T19:33:00.000-04:00

It began with a journey up to my uncle's house for a few days before continuing up north in Florida towards Ocala for the state RR. My uncle's house was nice... I did a couple easy rides, a few leg openers on friday before the RR and then it was time to rock n' roll. I didn't feel spectacular during the week but I was coming off a pretty solid block of hard efforts so I wasn't to worried about it. U23 race on saturday was like going back to Junior racing until the last 15 miles. A break got away, one minute they had about 10 seconds then suddenly it was 1 minute. With seven miles to go I attacked my group and bridged just over 1 minute in 4 miles. Pretty cool huh? Would have been even cooler if I hadn't had to bridge that gap. That was a serious match burner. So anyways, got outspritned at the finish by Seth Hensley and one other guy. So overall a decent day. My legs were certainly there so I was excited for the pro 1,2 race on sunday. The team went to Carraba's and had a kick a** italian meal over which we discussed the plausibilty of having an omnium race put on by Herbalife (our team sponsor) in miami. After much laughing and heated debating it was determined that the odds of this happening were slim to none. Oh well, maybe one day...

So sunday began well with a nice breakfast of oatmeal and toast with nutella. Whenever I eat nutella it turns out to be a solid day of racing so now I travel with a jar wherever I go. Off to the course, a nice 5 mile loop, really a circuit race rather than a road race. So it was about 100 degrees outside and I immediately hopped into a team van to pin on my number and put on some sunscreen in the nice air conditioning. We had radios for the event and for a nice change they actually were working! Off the race went and I stayed solid in the middle of the pack following Todd's instructions and not worrying about anything for the first 50 miles of the 80 mile race. Everything went pretty smoothly with good feeds and the team working well but I did drop my chain, luckily at a relaxed part of the race, and had to chase back on. It was no big deal though and then it was back to sitting in, eating and drinking. Finally, Todd found me and asked if I was ready to go. I said I was as good now as ever so I went through the hill near the feed zone and found myself with Joel Chavez and a few other guys. Chavez was looking super strong and in no time were were up to the break which upon our arrival contained about 5 or 6 preferred alliance guys. I pulled through a few times and then Stefan (team DS) for the race told me to sit on and wait to see what happened in the Peloton. My odds of winning the race were not good becasue many of the people could outsprint me at the line and Joel was looking super strong. So I conserved but did not follow when Joel started to go solo. I wasn't sure that I would be able to hang with him so I hesitated and that was the end of it... he was gone. So now the race was for second. Coming up on 5 miles to go I attacked again uphill through the feedzone and managed to make it about 30 seconds in before both my legs seized in pain. I thought my race was over at that point, I even had to unclip and shake my legs out but they were still cramping. Stefan told me to pedal through it, so did and luckily it went away for the moment. I tried to give it a little go through the final climb before the downhill run in to the finish but it was a no go. I got in a decent position behind Daniel Chavez for the sprint and was able to take 4th in the sprint, so 5th overall becasue Joel won solo. Pretty nice weekend huh?

From there it was off to a USA cycling development camp being hosted in Greenville, SC, home to George Hincapie and one or two other domestic pros. The camp was kind of odd... it consisted of a ton of junk riding with a few 5-10 minute all out TT efforts thrown in on Tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. It is also intersting to note that we were not allowed to warm up for the TT efforts so needless to say my muscles were not very happy with me after that. It was still a fun week, I met some cool people who I will hopefully see again next year when I'm racing locally around the NC area. One of the kids who was at the camp is actually going to Lee-McRae next year. After a prank filled thursday night to celebrate the end of camp it was time to leave for Banner Elk, NC for a week at Brian Sheedy's house (pro rider for Priority Health and assistant cycling coach at LMC). I was pretty tired on the drive over here and after a little lunch I passed out on the bed even though we were supposed to ride pretty soon. Sheedy let me sleep for a while and then came in to ask if I wanted to ride. I debated this for a second becasue I felt super tired and just wanted to keep on getting som zz's but I figured it'd be better if I spun it out for a couple of hours. Wrong choice. Never force yourself to ride when you're tired because that's when accidents happen. So I kitted up and rushed out the door, clipped in and then, not 40 seconds into our ride, I proceeded to crash on the descent from Sheedy's house. The road was wet and there was a hairpin bend which I was not aware of so I guess I rode the back brake to hard trying to slow down because I slid out, tried to save it, and promptly topsided. Bike stopped moving, I kept moving... bad combo. The moment I sat up I knew I had broken something and a quick feel over my left collarbone confirmed it. Damn... not a good feeling. Aout 3 hours later I was walking out of the hospital with Scott Stewart and Sheedy feeling like a total moron and a drugged up one at that. My body doesn't respond well to painkillers so I was slightly dizzy. Combine that with my early tiredness and it was not good. So learned a lesson... don't ride when you are super tired. Listen to the body. It was a dumb mistake which I probably could have avoided by paying more attention.

Since this incident I have had a couple days to ponder the hefty amount of bad luck I have had this season involving crashing and such. During this pondering I have come up with a theory: When I was younger I participated in tons of sports (skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, aggressive inline skating, wakeboarding etc;) which are usually associated with injuries involving broken bones and such. During all the years I did those sports I never broke a single bone, never had to sit out even a day due to an injury. So I've figured out that I'm making up for thsoe years by continually eating crap on my bike. Time to get on the trainer again and ride some more. I think I've had my share of bad luck for this season and hopefully several more to come. Look for me in August and September becasue I'll be back with a vengeance. Until next time.

Victory at last!

2007-06-07T20:39:00.000-04:00

I got the first win of this season (and my first pro 1,2 win) at Rosewood last Sunday. The course contained one fairly tough kicker with a nice headwind so that was pretty much going to be the deciding factor. The run in to the finish was uphill, but it was a tailwind and not really a good place to launch an attack. I'm a little tired so this will be brief. I tested the field a few times during the race and decided to wait till the end when people were on the edge. I ended up attacking over the last half of the hill with about 3.5 miles left to race. When I went, no one reacted and I was able to get a nice gap. From there, I buried myself to open a solid gap on the field and then held it to the line. I crossed solo, 25 seconds off the front. Despite the win coming in a smaller race, it was extremely rewarding nonetheless. I love winning solo... there's just something about having the time to enjoy the win that feels great. My teamates did a great job setting false tempo once I went away so a big thank you goes out to Steve for helping me get the W. Hopefull this is the first of many more to come. I'll give my all at the state RR this weekend and then it's off to Greenville, SC for a USA cycling development camp. Ciao for now.

I'm back.... from Tennessee that is

2007-05-31T19:58:00.000-04:00

Okay, first off, it's been quite a while since my last blog. The reason for this was the fact that I decided to try bloggin on my wonderful mac laptop and to be frank, I like blogspot much more. So the end result is that I'm back for good this time. And guess what, I even have pictures.
So about the Tennessee thing... it was great. I left about one week ago with my mom to drive up to TN for the Edgar Soto memorial stage race: a 4 day event complete with a TT, circuit, crit, and epic 110 mile road race to finish it off. So after two rather interesting days of travel which were highlighted by frequent sightings of cows and horses, we made it to Brentwood, TN where we would be staying for the first 3 stages of the race. We also stopped at a Cracker Barrel along the way and let me tell you, it gets better everytime. There's nothing like grits, eggs, and some whole wheat toast to start the day off right! So anyways, after getting in and picking up my race packet I was off to for a 3 hour shakeout ride to preview the TT course. I decided to head out from our hotel which was about an hour away from the course and have my mom bring the TT bike over so I could hop on it for a little while. It may be important to note at this point that I hadn't ridden the TT bike for about 2 months or so but I figured it would come back pretty quickly. And come back quickly it did.. the course was awesome and the bike, complete with zipp disk and new high tech 4 spoke front wheel (this was supposedly the same type of wheel used by Jan Ullrich for his tt's on several occasions), was super fast. I rode the course three times total, once on the TT bike and then I headed back to the hotel. On my ride back I was just in awe of how beautiful the countryside was around Brentwood. I almost ran off the road a few times while sneaking glances at the sunset. So after a nice dinner and some good visualisation exercises for the next day, it was off to bed. So now, here's a day by day race recap... hope you enjoy.

Stage 1 TT 6.9 miles: The day started off well, I felt nice and rested when I woke up and got a solid breakfast under my belt. I talked to Todd quickly on the phone and he suggested I take a nap mid day since I didn't start my TT till about 6:00 pm. So I fell asleep around 2:00, woke up about 3:00 and started my day over again. This technique really works well because just sitting around all day tends to mess with the mind and body, especially when you're jonesing to get the race started already. Now I must include a quick anecdote about cycling myth. I recently read a blog on velonews from none other than Slipstream/chipotle rider Will Frischkorn that was all about cycling lore and how little sense most of it makes. I actually do abide by a few things such as keeping warm right after a race and wearing socks practically everywhere I go but then again, I'm a little quirky that way. So as I was saying, two very prominent rules written in stone by old school cyclists are 1) don't shower the day of a race because you will absorb water and ride horribly and 2) don't shave the night before a race because you will waste energy regrowing it or, as Frischkorn said, you may as well climb everest if you're going to shave your legs. So guess what I did the night before the race... yep, you got it, I shaved my legs. Then, after my nap I showered to give my body a little wake up jolt. So I did two things that you are never supposed to do before a race and guess what, my race went awesome. I got to the course nice and early, found a shady spot on a tiny wooden bridge to warm up, and then proceeded to put out a pretty rockin' TT effort. Now I'm not saying that it was my best ever or even that I couldn't have gone faster but I will say that I was satisfied. The course was rolling and lots of fun. Plenty of false flats and power climbs. The last 2k of the TT were pretty much downhill. So I took off hard and got to the turn around with a solid time and then proceeded to blow up for the next 2k. I decided to back off and then power through the last part of the course and it payed off. I was able to rock the downhill and I finished up in 13th place with a 15:15. To put this in persepctive, Trent Wilson turned in a 14:19 to win.

Stage 2 66 mile circuit race: I figured today would just be a "stay with the leaders" kind of deal but Healthnet had other plans. Jittery Joes had the yellow Jersey with Trent Wilson so I figured that as long as I stayed near him I would end up alright however, I didn't count on a solid move by John Murphy that ended up gaining about 4 minutes by the end of the day. So the pace was set pretty high up the rollers by Jittery Joes and I just hung tough for the first half of the race, sitting in and making sure to pick up my bottles as we rolled through the feedzone. Finally, mid way through the race, Wilson launched an attack that practically no one chased so after a few quick discussions with the riders around me, I convinced one of them it was crucial to attack and I then proceeded to follow his wheel. Then I gave it a go and found myself chasing Trent and a priority health guy. There was one guy with me but I dind't know who he was and he ended up popping after a short bit of chaisng. I managed to bridge up to Trent and I was hoping that my arrival would motivate him to get us to the next group but apparently he had been solo for quite a while and had no matches left to burn. I tried to bridge solo, but a 30 second gap doesn't come down to quickly with just one guy chasing... so back to the pack for me. Lost time, not to bad though, got off the bike and started recovering for the next day.

Stage 3 Downtown Nashville Crit 75 minutes: After packing up the car that morning (we were going to be staying at a hotel closer to the road race that night) my mom and I headed towards Nashville which was only about 20 minutes away. The race had a nice little set aside parking area for the Pro 1,2 racers which was actually super nice because we didn't have to spend any time searching for a good space. So fater a quick bathroom/starting line recon mission I headed back to the car to get kitted up and ready to roll. The course looked pretty cool: lots of spectators, wide open turns, however some one turn did look a little bit sketchy due to the fact that there was construction debris all over it. Durin the race, a bunch of people flatted on this turn although everyone managed to keep the bikes upright. Overall I think there were only two crashed during the entire race. Compare that to Florida where it seems that some people make crashing their hobby and you'll know that I had a good crit. As I was saying, I kitted up, hopped on the trainer and jammed with the iPod till it was time to roll. I headed towards the start line with about 15 minutes to go and I figured that would give me plenty of time to sign in and get a nice start position on the front line. Boy was I wrong... I didn't have time to sign in and when I got there I was greeted by the sight of three rows of people lined up at the line already. I guess crits are just all around different when you're not in Florida. All was ok though becasue Todd Henrikson from AEG-Toshiba had lined up next to me and I knew that he would be moving up to the front once the race started. So off we went for 75 minutes of pain led by none other than Healthnet and Jittery Joes. In the first two laps a move with Karl Menzies and Caesar Grajales took off and never looked back. On the other hand, I didn't even know who was off the front (lesson learned: get better starting position or at least be able to see the front). So after about 15 minutes they lapped the field and things settled down. I spent the entire race just keeping myself safe, constantly moving up and using a few good Florida style crit moves to get better position. In the end, the pace ratcheted up again and apparently this popped a lot of people who were already hurting. In the last two laps, I was up near the front and then suddenly, with about half a k to go, I was on the back of the Jittery Joes lead out train. How that happened I do not know but needless to say, I was very happy with this. I kept my positiona and rolled across the line for 10th place, safe and in the front group with only Menzies and Grajales gaining any time. After the race, I felt really good and was very happy with my performance. For me it was almost like a rest day because I got to sit in and spin for most of the time. Then it was off to The Way Inn about 100 miles from Nashville in Spencer, TN. I must include a typical travel story at this time. We made good time but when it came time to find the actual road that the hotel was on our mapquest directions were slightly off the mark. The directions we had printed out from the hotel website weren't that much better so we spent about one hour driving up and down the same stretch of road only to finally realize that we had passed the road several times. Oh well... that's driving for you.

Stage 4 109 mile road race: I knew this was the day. Today there was no holding back, no thinking about the next stage, nothing to do but go for it. I wasn't sure what the finishing climb was like but I was confident that I could climb with the top guys there so I tried not to think about it too much. After downing a nice brekky consisting of cereal and several sandwiches with filled with peanut butter (organic of course) and nutella (not organic) it was off to the races. The weather in TN was cool in the morning and nights and aboslutely blazing during the afternoon so it was nice to step out of our hotel room into the crisp morning air. I only get to do this about 2 days per year in Florida. At the race, I went up and payed my $20 fine for not signing in at the crit and I made sure to sign in right then and there for the road race. Then it was time to get kitted up, hit the porta potties and roll to the line. The day started off easily enough with a neutral roll out and then was lit up for a few miles with a couple attacks by teams trying to get in the break for the day. Juris, the host team, was anxious to send people up the road and I think in the end they ahd 2 or 3 guy off the front for most of the day. A break got established pretty quickly which made a great deal of people very happy since it meant the racing would settle down and everyone could ride comfortably behind the protective wheels of Healthnet and Jittery Joes. Of course once the break went up the road a few teams realized they had missed it and sent riders off in pursuit... definitely not a fun thing to have to do. The first adventure of the day came about 10 miles into the race when we were lead down the wrong road and had to pull a quick u turn to get headed the right way. I was actually pretty happy about this becasue it allowed for a quick nature break which most of the peloton took advantage of. Interestingly enough, the break had been led the wrong was as well and instead of just saying touch luck, the officials actually let the break start out before the pack. It was pretty funny to see one team that had missed the move put a guy in there without the race officials really noticing. So back on the road again, things settled down and it was pretty much "find a friend" time. So I found a few and had a couple good conversations. I was speaking with Scott Stewart from VMG until he had a mechanical that put him on a SRAM bike for the remainder of the race. It seemed that lots of people were having bike problems including John Murphy, the yellow jersey. He too ended up on a neutral bike at the end of the day. The race was pretty relaxed, everyone took it easy through the feedzones making sure to get food and water. I actually never got to take a feed from my mom the entire day but it was alright as I managed to get water from the volunteers in the feed zones. I could have done with a little more food than what I had but I managed alright with a few donations from other riders. Towards the end of the race, it was funny to see everyone despearate for more water while Karl Menzies had somehow managed to fill his entire jersey and bike with bottles and was constantly chugging them down. Towards the end of the race, Trent Wilson and Menzies went to the front and rode tempo to bring the remainder of the break back. They were successful and it was altogether for the final time up the climb. The finisihgin climb wasn't really ideally suited to me because it had quite a few false flat sections which you could stay in the big ring for. I would have liked a bit more steepness if I had a choice. Anyways, it was qiuckly down to myself, Neil Shirley (19 seconds off of yellow/ Jittery Joes), John Murhy and Frank Pipp (Healthnet) and Todd Henrikson (AEG-Toshiba) along with Scott Stewart (VMG). Grajales was dangling off the front not really putting any serious time into our group. Shirley was setting tempo trying to drop Murphy but halfway up the climb, he had not been successful. Then, with about 3k to go, I attacked. It might not have been the brightest thing to do in hindsight, but I felt like going so I went. Shirley clawed his way up to me bringing Henrikson and Pipp with him and sat on the front for about 1k until moving over. I was thinking of getting time on the people who had been dropped which clouded me thinking about the fact that I may have had a chance for a stage win if I had played my cards right. Then Shirley drilled it since he knew he could get the time on Murphy to move into yellow and I was too blown to get back on. So away rode the top three and I did what I could to keep a solid pace to the finish. With about half a k to go it was pretty cool to hear all the people cheering and screaming towards the finish. It's always a bit of extra motivation to hear people cheering for you, especially when you're hurting. I rolled through the finish and grabbed onto a nearby truck for support. I finished the day completely spent and pretty satisfied with my effort. I had crossed the line in 5th place, 20 seconds off of the front trio and 13 back from Grajales who they had caught and passed. My effort was enough to move me up to 11th overall (up from 17th) and I ended up as 1st place cat. 2 overall which suprisingly enough earned me a few extra dollars. THis was pretty cool seeing as how I didn't even know this category was paid during the race.

So I had a good experience, completed a solid stage race, and began to find some form in my race deprived body. I spent a nice week on the road with my mom along with me providing wonderful support each and every day. I met some cool people and gained experience that I'm sure will aid me in the future. Now it's back to reality in Florida... I'll be racing in a dump (literally a trash dump) this weekend for the local Rosewood criterium series. The funny part is I'm excited about it becasue this trash dump contains a hill.... I believe some serious attacking may be in order. Till next time.

Ouch... rehabilitation hurts

2007-04-28T14:25:00.000-04:00

My cast is off, and my thumb is painful and swollen. I managed to remove the cast at home after getting the pins out on thursday. The bone is healed so I didn't see the purpose in spending another ten days in the cast. Despite my hopes that I would be back outside riding within a few days, this is just not going to happen. Moving my thumb is pretty painful right now so I'm just doing some exercises to get strength back into the thumb without pushing it too much. I guess this is what happens when you don't move your hand for 6 weeks. Alas, I'm stuck on the trainer until I regain some of the mobility in my thumb to the point where it doesn't hurt to sit on the bike. Oh well, more TdF and Paris roubaix videos I guess.

It can be pretty frustrating at times when your mind wants to go but your body is telling you to slow down. I'm thankful that I've at least been able to ride on the trainer and maintain some semblance of cycling shape but still, at times it gets a bit rough. Just when you think you're over the hump, another obstacle pops up. In that respect, cyclin mirrors life pretty well. We fight our way through and cherish those rare moments when our body and mind are in sync with one another. So to keep myself in a semi-positive mood I made a list of all the positive aspects of having such a prolonged layoff from serious training and racing, so here they are: 1) Per the advice of my coach in addition to a few comments from training partners, I was able to focus on my diet and get back into fighting shape, dropping about 4-5 pounds so far. It makes a difference. Ivan Franco, a former ONCE pro currently riding for AEG-Toshiba once told me that the single most importnat thing a cyclist can do is make sure to be skinny and not have any excess weight lying around the midsection. 2) Some days on the trainer have been easier than others, but mentally I have gotten a lot stronger from this experiene. I have learned how to deal with a setback and take it in stride which I think will serve me as I progress in cycling. 3) I truly appreciate what it means to be able to ride and race my bike. I don't take it for granted now 4) I will be able to have a kickass summer of racing because I've missed a large portion of racing already. I won't be burnt out mentally or physically and it will be nice to race all the way through october/september when other people are starting to feel a little bit toasty.

Well there you have it... even in seemingly negative things there are positive lessons to be learned. Now I'll go back to icing my thumb.

oh boy, oh boy, oh....

2007-04-19T20:45:00.000-04:00

As you might have been able to tell from the title of this post I am rather excited at the moment. The reason for this excitement revolves around the fact that in one week I will be riding again with the use of both hands. It will be six weeks next thursday when I get the pins removed and then its go time! Well, technically according to the doctor he would like to keep my hand in a cast for a SEVENTH week but between you and me that is completely unnacceptable... I'm not sure this doctor understands one of the very basic concepts of bike racing: it is crucial to be able to steer with both hands. So, in what I'm refering to as a very sneaky solution, I will allow him to once more put my hand in a cast and then I will remove it with the use of a soaking tub of water and some scissors. By all calculations, six weeks is moree than enough time for my dislocated/ slight broke thumb to heal. Granted some individuals (namely my doctor) may not be happy with such a solution, but alas, I need to get back on the bike and back to racing. Sugarloaf is fast approaching and I really don't want to miss the only race in florida that has climbing (albeit in small amounts) in it.

So, in other news, life has been pretty good lately. School is easy, I have managed to get out of my last two periods almost every day due to random excuses which I procure daily, and I'm mentally motivated to get my hours in on the bike because the end of trainer madness is finally in sight. I've been riding outside 2-3 times per week outside with the rest indoors on the trainer the last 2 weeks and today I did a nice 3.5 hr ride (outside) and caught up with some friends I haven't seen in a while. I also got to catch up with a nice white lounge chair that landed about 20 meters ahead of me and Joe Fernandez (AEG-Toshiba) while we were riding. Sounds a little odd right? Thats because it was, let me explain: we're comfortably riding along, doding the typical debris that gets blown around when there is a two week windy streak in Miami (I personally believe that Miami is the real windy city) when a smallish pickup truck went flying by. In the same instant a white chair complete with accompanying footrest came flying off. Mind you, I felt like I was watching a movie and this all happened in seemingly slow motion. Then a car jammed on their breaks and swerved, yes you guessed it, right into the bike lane not 10 feet from where we were riding. We quickly vacated the area and as we passed the offending pickup truck who was tyring to reverse down the road with cars still coming at him, we marveled at the fact that someone would actually take the trouble to go back and pick up such a, lets just call it interesting, chair. Oh well, welcome to Miami.

This time next week I will be posting a blog with both my hands cast free after a nice, chair free ride. happy trails

Trainer Madness

2007-04-06T21:36:00.000-04:00

Okay, I do have a broken/previously dislocated thumb that is in a cast however, with all this time on my hands I got bored and figures out how to type wiht a cast on one hand. After a couple days, is suprisingly easy, a fact I will surely withold from my teachers whe I return to school in a few days (not being able to type means being able to do homework about 5 minutes before class begins in illegible handwriting).

So, on the cycling front, I'm three weeks in to my six weeks of trainer torture. I've been getting a solid 12 hours per week on the bike. Not great I know, but at least its something. I did actually try to convince the doctor on my last visit that I possessed Wolverine like healing traits but it was a no go. Despite what ended in an elaborate exlanation (read: but I really, really need to ride my bike!) as to why I should have the pins removed from my hand and the cast taken off, accoring to my doc there are too many risks involved (aka- he needs to cover his rear end) with taking the cast off early. Oh well, it was worth a shot.

With all this time spent in the waiting room of a doctor's office I have had way to much time to ponder things, mainly why the heck I was sitting in the waiting room. Well, since I never really explained what happened here goes: Night crit, tight course, I was a bit jittery after almost getting take directly into a curb on the first lap by an individual who will remain unnamed but bears a striking resemblance in size to a wooly mammoth, so I pedaled throught a turn to move up on the second lap and BOOM, game over. Welcome to amateur hour. I realized something was wrong when I touched my left hand and was able to push my bones around like silly putty. Now, I fell going into a right hand turn so I can't figure out how I hurt my left hand but thats bike racing, full of inexplicable things. Oh yes, I also hit my left elbow yet again and now when I move it when I wake up in the morning it sounds like it belongs to a 90 yearl old individual with severe arthritis. Now on to happier things...

I believe I have managed to watch the entire history of the tour de france in the last 3 weeks. I have watched some tours twice. I believe that I can recall almost every stage from every tour at this point not to mention various editions of paris roubaix, fleche wallone, and Ronde. I have also seen several "made for TV movies" and it confirmed what I had already guessed: there was a reason these movies never hit the theaters. Thats all for now, time to get some sleep and get ready for another exciting day of riding tomorrow.

Broken

2007-03-18T16:21:00.000-04:00

Just a quick update today. I broke my thumb 2 laps into the wonderful crit last weekend that consisted of an 800 meter course with six 90 degree turns. On the trainer for 4-5 weeks. Not so easy to type so no updates for a while.

Dade City Day 1

2007-02-17T18:49:00.000-05:00

Well, just got back to the hotel from the 85ish mile road race. Not really too much to say about it. Everyone from the team is pretty much still in Belize so we had me, Jody, and Lee along with David for our four man team. Out of the four people, one hand't riddent for 9 days, one had to use Junior gears, one hadn't gone hard for about 2 weeks (me) and only one of us was feeling at least half way decent. Still, I must admit, it was nice to do a race in Florida that actually required a base layer and armwarmers. It was a beautiful day, temps hovering around 60 degrees and the course was pretty nice.
However, as in most florida races, complete road closure or even a rolling enclosure complete with police escort for the race is nearly impossible to come by and today was no exception. There were so many close calls with cars speeding towards us and people being nudge out across the road that it was a serious hazard. In the future, the race directors should at least have the sense to protect the riders. Its dangerous enough racing ina large field with only one lane to move around in. Well, enough complaining for now and on to the race recap.
The RR started off easy enough, a few obligatory early breaks trying to make it up the road. One actually got about 2 minutes before the bigger teams decided that it was time to bring it back together. Aerospace was here in full force, a full 7 man squad with each and every one of them in some solid racing shape. I think that they're going to Vuelta Independencia in the Dominican so they were lookign to get some good efforts in today. And they certainly did as they blew the race apart sending attack after and covering everything else. As the race exploded so did my legs and I was relegated to the 2nd or 3rd group on the road for the second half of the race. I hung on till about 5 miles to go when my group seperated and I got caught up behind on the downhill and I just couldn't close the gap. I rolled into the line with that hollow empty feeling in my legs and a grumbling in my stomach and a smile of relief on my face. I got my first Florida race of the season out of the way and I figured that I didn't do half bad considering what the last two weeks have been like for me. Overall, it was a decent day on teh bike, Jody finished in the group that I got dropped from ( in the end I found out the group was only about 40 seconds ahead of me) and Lee and David decided to call it a day and watch the race from the sidelines after the half way point.
Tomorrow brings another day, a nice 6 turn, 1 kilometer crit course that is sure to be fast. I'm hoping to stay out of the chaos with an early break but we'll see how that goes tomorrow. I'm off to bed now, gotta catch some Zzz's after a wonderful chili's fajita dinner. Pictures to follow. Hope you had a better day on the bike than me. Chao

A trip to the Bahamas and One day in Belize

2007-02-11T22:18:00.000-05:00

Well technically I was in Belize for 3 days but two out of the three were spent traveling and only one was spent racing. A lot of the base I put in for this season was in hopes of opening up the racing with the Tour of Belize, a 9 day, 592 mile event with one TTT and one individual TT thrown in for good measure. First though I’ll give you a little recap from the Bahamas.
I went to the Bahamas last weekend and had a pretty nice race there. It would have been better if I had not run into the VMG pileup that occurred about two miles from the end of the circuit race. All was ok though and I finished the stage motorpacing behind Jim Miller, the national team director, who was conveniently leading his VMG boys to the finish on a scooter. I ended up losing just over a minute so that pretty much took away any GC hopes that I had. All was not lost though because Sunday's par de course held a 105 mile road race that was said to be tough and selective.
The race started fast but it was easy to tuck in and draft for about the first half. We were doing six 17+ mile loops that day with intermediate sprints at lap two and lap four. AEG-Toshiba (aerospace) had Frank Travieso as the leader on the road after the two sprints so their goal was to keep it all altogether for the finish. Let me clarify what “keep it all together means”: Throttle the 4-5 mile crosswind section on the 5th lap and split what remained of the group to pieces. Needless to say, mayhem ensued with Slipstream trying put the hurt on Aerospace and vice versa since both teams were battling for the stage and the overall win.
So despite originally missing the split, I got up there with about four other guys pretty quickly. Apparently once the group was clear with all the major teams represented everyone sat up and contentedly rolled along at a blistering pace of 20mph, until the crosswind that is. Luckily, I was able to hang on till the end and managed finished 14th on the stage, 22nd overall and 6th in the U23 category. Not too bad despite a few mishaps along the way.
So back to Belize. I got a bit sick on Wednesday after the Bahamas and I wasn’t sure if I was still going to go. However, the lure of foreign racing on rough roads with bad food proved very enticing so I decided I had to at least try… plus, I already had my plane ticket so I figured I might as well use it. When I woke up Friday morning I was still feeling a bit under the weather so I figured a light dosage of airports and travel would be just what I needed to fix myself up. I got to Belize without any problems although others on the team were not so lucky. The rest of them missed their flight in Miami, AJ actually showed up at the Ft. Lauderdale airport instead of Miami, but in the end, everyone made it to where they were supposed to Belize and by four in the afternoon, everyone was gathered at the Royal Princess Hotel and Casino.
We put our bikes together, made it to the team presentation about 30 seconds before they called us up to be photographed, then we headed back to the hotel for dinner, and prayed that tomorrow would bring good racing for all. Unfortunately, the day got off to a bumpy start and got rougher from there. We missed the race bus that was supposed to shuttle us to the start, had to chase it around town until we finally got it to stop for us, then when we got to the start we had about 5 minutes to get signed in and kitted up before the race went off. I could tell from the moment I started pedaling that I was still not healthy. The power just wasn’t there so I did my best to sit in and stay protected and it worked out pretty well for me until the turn around.
Before I continue, I just have to say that Cyclocross bikes may have been more appropriate for the roads. Between the tree branches everywhere, the largest speed bumps I have ever seen, the roughest roads I have ever ridden and a severe lack of food in our follow car it was sure to be a glorious 78 mile day. However, I did not get to ride the full 78 miles. After the turnaround, it seemed that there was an endless feedzone. It just went on for miles and I can tell you from my experience that trying to grab food and water from the locals was like trying to grab a pissed off tiger by the tail. This resulted in all the food and water being held just out of my reach or very angry words being directed towards me when I did make contact with it. In the end, I got nothing, so apparently the tigers came out on top this time. Then about 1 mile after I thought the feedzone was over, a C-Ray rider decided to try and grab a bottle while going around 30 mph. Now, I’ll accept the fact that professionals could pull this feat off with very little troubl, however, the rider in question was clearly not a professional. Combine that with the fact that he was trying to feed while we were about 20 deep in the field and the outcome is not good. In fact, it was terrible. He held on to the bottle a little to long, his arm swung back, he and his bike flew sideways into the air about eye level with me, and as he crashed to the ground I ran right into him. Then I proceeded to superman (with my bike hooked onto my right foot, I have no idea how this happened) through the air and slide along the rough Belizean pavement. Picture a road made of cheese graters and you’ll get a pretty good idea of what it was like. When I finally got my arm wrapped up, I realized that I was in no condition to continue (apparently my bike wasn’t either although I didn’t know that at the time) so I called it a day and hopped in the car. It was a bit sad to end what was supposed to be a 9 day race on the first day but oh well, there’s always another race to do. So now I’m in the airport, waiting for my flight to leave, wondering how they can charge a departure tax that took the last of my money and pondering my chances on getting a seat upgrade which, according to the ever so helpful ticketing agent, are slim to none. At least I’m headed for home in one piece. You’ll get another update soon now that racing has begun. Stay upright and off the Belizean road for the time being. Adios.

One Week, one epic ride, and 30 hours later

2007-01-02T14:29:00.000-05:00

I know, it’s been a while since I posted but I’ve been a bit busy with biking and school and traveling. I finished up my midterms on December 21st and then flew to San Mateo, California on the 23rd to spend Christmas with my dad. I also had a pretty solid week on the bike before I left for Cali. I did a few nice rides with Todd and another guy he’s coaching named Mikey. I packed up the 22nd, took my bike apart and was ready to go. Unfortuanetly is also seems that whenever I travel and it involves my bike, I end up getting absolutely no sleep. It might have something to do with the fact that I had to go shopping for Christmas presents, get a new bike seat, and didn’t finish my ride until 7 at night, but that’s besides the point.
So the flight was good but when I arrived in San Francisco I got a bit confused about something: the baggage claim. I just don’t understand how it works. I know that it was the holidays and everyone was traveling but I couldn’t figure out why my bike box came out in about 5 minutes and then I sat there watining for another hour and a half for my other bag. Oh well, just write it off to holiday travel. I managed to get in a nice weekend in Cali, lots of climbing, great weather. Then I was ready to embark on my biggest week of base on the bike to date, the magical 30 hour mark.

So now it’s time that I explain the reference to the "epic ride". I was about 2 hours from my dad’s house on Tuesday after finishing a hill workout. It was slightly overcast when I left but it didn’t look like much so brought a wind vest but that was it. So like I was saying, I had about 1 hour of descending and then some flat. Right as I begin to descend all hell breaks loose, literally. It started raining so hard I couldn’t see 5 feet in front of me, then the fog rolled in, throw in some 40 mph winds and Voila! You have an epic adventure, at least that’s how I saw it. Now I could have called for a ride home but no, I was just reading in procycling magazine how rides in the rain could be “character building” according to one Frank Schleck so I decided to take it head on. I flew down the descent like it was the Tour de France, almost getting blown off the road a few times, but one hour and several close calls later, I arrived to the beloved flatlands to complete my fairly calm ride back home. The picture above shows me at the end of the ride tired, thoroughly soaked, and smiling. One day I may have to race in weather like that so it was a good experience.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful although I thoroughly enjoyed my ride around Mill Valley and Mt. Tam on Saturday. It was a clear sunny day, but alas, I forgot my camera for about the fiftieth time in a week. I climbed it twice then took the crazy descent down the backside into Fairfax. The storm from earlier in the week had blown branches and other debris all over the road so some of the hairpins were a bit sketchy but still fun. Overall, it was an epic week. Oh yeah, more good news this week: I’m going to the Tour of Belize form February 10-18. I’m super psyched, there’s an U23 Jersey and lets just say I’m not going to Belize for the scenery. Until next time, keep riding.

Wind, rides, and caffeine

2006-12-10T16:52:00.000-05:00

I'm tired, my legs feel like they're full of sand, I need to replace the 3,000 calories that I burnt today, so what better way to ease my pains than a new post. I've had a solid week that as of today is officially over. School has been easy although this next week might be a bit more challenging because midterms are coming up in just over a week. I got some good news this week: I may actually have a real team to ride for this season. It's called Herbalife/Bike America and a few good guys like Grant Potter and AJ Smith are supposed to be on it. Specialized bikes, Louis Garneau clothing... sounds pretty sweet to me. Ah, but as I've learned nothing is final until the bike is in hand and you're enjoying a nice ride in your new kit, so we'll have to wait and see.

The main them of this week was wind. Miami seemed to be getting too calm so mother nature decided to throw in some thunderstorms and gale force gusts to liven things up. It was especially fun when I was about 15 minutes from home on tuesday night, going up a bridge and I get that bouncy sensation that indicates I have yet another flat. So being diligent me, I am fully prepared for the situation and I change the tire while attempting not to get blown off the bridge. Mission accomplished. Next I proceed to ride for another grand 5 minutes only to hear another hissing of air out of my now flat (again) tire. So I ride it home, in the rain and wind and proceed to go to the bike shop the following day wondering how a perfectly new tire could be so bad. I change tires, end of story. Now I can supposedly ride through broken bottles, over hill and over dale and still enjoy a nice, non punctured tire.

Saturday was the culmination of the windy days, so I figured that I would celebrate in epic fashion and do a nice 6 hour ride through wind and cold to get to my favorite Ft. Lauderdale cafe: st. barts. Now usually I just have a nice mid ride smoothie and enjoy a natural sugar boost but no, not this time. I wanted to be a real cyclist and what do real cyclists do one may ask... they drink coffee of course! So I rodered a nice steaming cappuccino, added some sweetner and chugged it down while enjoying the cool weather. Five minutes into my ride back home I start feeling jittery, then bonky, then both. So I spent the next 2 hours of the ride in a daze not really comprehending what was going on. It is important to note that I have only had coffee approximately one other time in my life where (suprsingly enough- note the sarcasm), I got very similar results. Note to self: never drink coffee again, especially during a ride, EVER! Lesson learned, won't repeat. Another very exciting part of my weekend, well it would have been exciting if I could have actually made it, was learning about the infamous (I had never heard of it) "Squigee" Sandwich. Todd told me that it is the ultimate meal for a long day on the bike but I have yet to try it out. First, you take a bowl and add peanut butter, a dab of jelly and blackstrap molasses, and bananas. You can add in a bit of protein powder, just for balance, apparently. Spread this concoction on two pieces of bread of your choice, sprinkle with granola and Voila, you have a Squigee.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go eat. Oh yeah, I really will put pictures up next time, I just keep forgetting to bring a camera on these epic rides. Until next time, keep riding

"You're an idiot weaving through cars like that..."

2006-12-03T18:33:00.000-05:00

The title of this blog is one of the many remarks I heard on my ride today, however this one stuck with me because it was pretty ironic. Now I won't lie: I run red lights if no cars are coming and always try to sprint through yellows, I fly inbetween cars in traffic and I'll flip the occasional bird to the inconsiderate driver but never before have I found such irony in someone's remarks as I'm riding. Okay, so I'm weaving throuh traffic coming up to a redlight and my and Todd go right by this guy on a motorcycle with what appears to be his "wife" on the back at the head of traffic. As we pass, the guy feels the need to comment (I'm beginning to think that it doesn't matter who you are, if you're wearing spandex tights and riding a bike you're gonna get some interesting remarks). He calls us idiots and warns us about the dangers of riding through the cars, although not in such a polite manner. At this point I turn around and look at the guy: he's sitting on the motorcycle, typical Harley davidson man, and guess what... NO HELMET. Now I couldn't help but laugh. The guy is yelling at me for going through stopped cars at 20 mph WITH a helmet while he fly's around on a deathwish sans helmet in miami of all places. I don't think that having a rather large woman on the back, once agains sans helmet, could possibly help his odds of avoiding an accident. He looked at me like I was nuts when I started laughing but hey, what are you going to do.

Otherwise, I've had a pretty good week. The training has been good and the weather has been decent, it should be getting a bit cooler this coming week. I went to Ivan Franco's suprise party on Friday night and it was pretty fun. His wife got him a belly dancer and after she performed she made him go out there and dance with her. Ivan, in typical fashion, was able to dance better than anyone at the party. He continually amazes me.

I just finished up my college application for Lees-McRae so hopefully I'll be heading to the mountains of North Carolina next year to get some training in. I have a friend who goes there and when I spoke with him he said the climbing is just amazing, plenty of nice places to ride and good people to ride with. While miami has some nice rides, there is definitely something left to be desired for a cyclist. Too much city, not enough road doesn't always make for a fun time. There is a light at the end of the tunnel though. On the 23rd after midterms I'm going to see my dad in Cali and it's gonna be amazing. I love riding around the San Mateo area and he's all settled into his house so it should be nice. I'll also have a big week on the bike when I'm there so the timing works out nicely. For the second half of my winter break I'm thinking of heading a bit south to Arizona if I can work out a place to stay. I have some relative who live there, it's just a matter of finding out what area is best to train in.

Well that's all for now, hope you all are getting in some good winter base. Until next time, keep riding.

My blogging Rebirth

2006-11-25T21:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I've been lazy, it's true. My last blog was almost 1 month ago but now I'm vowing to go back to weekly, or at least bi-weekly updates. Plus, now I have some good inspiration. I just got a new MacBook, it's all nice and shiny and black and it is definitely a must have toy for anyone who likes computers, so now I have no excust not to update even when I'm traveling.

Currently I'm in Orlando enjoying some nice cool weather and taking advantage of the hils in nearby Clermont. The local killer is called Sugarloaf and I must say, it is pretty tough. Granted when I rode it today I felt like I was about to blow off of my bike because we had some nice gale force winds but that was okay, all the better for training. I did the Turkey Ride, aka the world championships of Miami on thursday morning and it was awesome. I hadn't done a group ride for like a month so it felt nice to ride with other people. Suprisingly there was only one point where I was pushing it, the rest of the time was just spinning and sitting on wheels. It was a bit sketchy with a few crashes but luckily I was up front and out of the mayhem. I was expecting Aerospace to be super strong and just control the pack especially with Ivan riding for them now but they didn't seem to have the legs on that day. In the end, a break with random, but apparently strong people got away with one guy from Aerospace represented so then everyone slowed down until the last 5k. I made a surge at the end but I almost ran into someone who had just pulled off the front so I decided to call it a day and roll over the line safely in 2nd group on the road. After that I had to get in my car and drive up to Orlando at record speed in order to make dinner, but I did and I got here safely so it's all good. I'm planning to get a nice 5+ day tomorow with a group ride thrown in the middle so we'll see how it goes.

In other news, I'm still without a team for next year but it's ok. I rode with Todd and we decided that with or without a team it'll be a good season. We're gonna create the ATdevo plan ( in case you didn't understand it means the Andrew Talansky development program) so I'm looking forward to that. That's all for now. Happy riding and keep reading, I promise there will be more updates soon.

What a week...

2006-11-04T18:55:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I've been pretty lazy lately but now that I'm riding more I'll be sure to keep you guys updated. It's been an interesting last few weeks. I've gone from feeling pretty low to absolutely amazing (today). I guess it just took me a while to get back into the rythm of riding every day. It didn't help that the time changed and it now gets dark by like 5:30 pm so I feel like a bat riding in the dark after school.

On a more positive note I rode around 14 hours this week and had a great ride today, a nice 4.5 hour jaunt around Miami. Today was probably the windiest day in about a year. I checked the weather channel and it said that it was a constant 25 mph wind for miami (since a live right near the beach and ride 15 ft away from it add around 10 mph to that) so it was an exciting day to say the least.

In other news, I've officially decided that Miami has some of the craziest drivers in the nation. I'll prove this to you by citing three examples. First, I'm driving home in the 40 mph zone and 2 people go speeding past me doing around 80. I think ok, that's not too smart when one of you is driving and SUV, but I give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that their houses are on fire so they have a legitimate reason for speeding. About 1 minute later I round a bend to see what looks like a scene from a movie: white SUV spinning circles in the middle of the road 500 meters in front of me then plowing off road with cars swerving everywhere. I drive by slowly, thinking that I was lucky to be behind them. It turned out that the SUV escaped with only a scratch but forced another truck directly into a tree (everyone was ok though). Next example: A cycling friend of mine named Carolina gets hit by a car in almost the exact same place I saw the previous accident happen. It's raining and she's riding by herself in the bike lane and a car hits her, sending her flying through the air across two lanes of traffic towards the median. Luckily she escaped with a only a fractured arm, a few scrapes, and some bike damage. Now here's the best part, the lady who hit her lost control of her car, swung into the grass, and hit her from her inside, like where the caseette on the bike is... what are the odds of that. Another question, if you're really going 40 mph can you lose control? I would think not. Last example: Another biking friend of mine, Gunter, is riding down a small a two way street minding his own business when a lady swerves across the road and broadsides him hurting his leg and destroying his bike in the process. I think these people played too many video games when they were younger and they still think that you can run someone over and they will magically regenerate 5 seconds later.

Knock on wood, everything has been pretty smooth for me. Nice week of riding and now I'm ready for some more serious training. Until next time, happy riding.

Official start of the new season... for me at least

2006-10-14T13:46:00.000-04:00

After a nice 2 week rest in which I managed to do a great deal of nothing I'm back on the bike. First a little about my vacation. 2 weeks with no riding might sound nice to some but I've found that when I do not spend countless hours each day exerting myself in some physical activity I tend to drive people crazy. My mom for one was very encouraging last night when I told her that today would be my first ride. I would even go as far as to say that she was a bit relieved. Granted, I have been going to the beach and catching up on my reading and movie watching and of course going to school, but nothing is quite as satisfying as riding for a few hours.

I rode for about 90 minutes today and it was nice. I'm having a slight issue with one of my cleats on my shoes but then again, when isn't there an issue with something having to do with a bike. I got to catch up with some of my riding buddies today and it was nice to get out there and feel the legs turning over. Tomorrow I'm supposed to go mountainbiking with Todd(not actually on a mountain seeing how I live in Florida) and it should be interesting. The bike I will be using is too small, very old, and not really equipped for off road riding but that will just make it that much more entertaining. That's all for now. Happy riding!

Time for a well deserved rest

2006-10-03T19:45:00.000-04:00

Well, as you can tell by the title of this blog, I'm ready for a break... but first a little Venice racing action. So Venice, so much to say but I'll try to keep it brief. I get home on friday and head out for my shake out ride getting home around 6:00 figuring I've got plenty of time to get to the bike shop where we're leaving from by 7:30. Then 10 minutes later I get a call saying that everyone's there already (everyone meaning Anibal who was driving and 2 other juniors with rather anxious parents) I freaked out for about 5 minutes, then just began throwing everything that I could possibly need into a duffel bag and voila! I was ready to go.
My mom gave me a ride to the shop and we ended up getting there about 7:40, so pretty much almost on time for what I had planned. As I rolled my bike over to Anibal's car I saw a large group of people and began wondering just how many riders we were taking up with us. Upon arrival at the car I found that it was not other cyclists standing around, but what appeared to be several generations of family from each of the Juniors. There were mothers, fathers, grandma's, sisters, brothers.. and there may even have been a dog or two. The proceeded to crowd around me in a tight circle as I loaded up my stuff into the car and apparently they were questioning me in spanish wondering why I was late. I didn't understand this of course as my spanish is currently limited to the choice words I hear on the morning group rides (that is what I get for taking 4 years of spanish in high school) Finally, around 8:00 we got underway so I figured we were doing pretty good on time. The juniors race was early the next morning but i was opting to sleep in and race Cat. 3 later in the day.
Now, while I said I was going to keep this brief, I just have to include this story: Upon arrival in Venice at around 11:00 pm, the two juniors were hungry. I suggested we go to the hotel first to unload our stuff (in hopes that I could avoid the upcoming fast food fiasco) but to no avail, we stopped at Arby's before reaching the hotel. So we go to order and the guy tells us that what we want will take 5 minutes. We're kinda in a hurry to get to the hotel so we order something else and he kindly informs us that our second dish of choice will also take 5 minutes because he has to fry the chicken. So feeling a bit exasperated we kindly ask if there is anything on the menu that takes less than 5 minutes. He said yes so we said to give us 3 of those meals. 15 minutes later as we're sitting at the window waiting for our food we are all cracking up. It was just one of those things, you try to save time and end waiting longer than you would have in the first place. Moral of the story is: DON'T GO TO ARBY'S WHEN ON A BIKE TRIP. Now that that is over I can move one to more relevant subjects like racing.

So I slept in on Sat. morning and couldn't really stomach a big breakfast so I settled for a bagel and some juice. I drove to the race with Anibal which ended up just being about 1 mile from the hotel and we picked up our numbers and hung out with the team for a bit. Then we went back to the hotel, retrived our bikes and uniforms and went back to the course. Let me say one thing about the course: It was awesome. Nice and technical with a u-turn about 100 meters before the finish line, perfect to take away the top end sprint of some of my competitors. So I got a good warm up and was feeling good on the starting line. It was really hot but in Florida, that isn't really anything new so off we went. about 25 minutes in Nate Adler from village bicycles (the guy who beat me last weekend in the sprint) went away with some other guy for a prime. The pack sat up and Nate started working. When they had 20 seconds on the group I decided it was time to go and began to bridge the gap. I closed it pretty quickly within 2 laps or so and we were gone. I attacked a couple times in the last 2 laps just to test their legs and they chased me down both times but it definitely sapped them for the sprint. Coming to the last lap I got swarmed right before the U-turn and went into it in 4th place, not somewhere I wanted to be. Luckily, they took the turn to fast and I went inside of them and stood up to sprint. One guy from Gearlink racing got me but I beat Nate so I considered it a good day.

Sunday was another day with bright prospects. I had pretty much managed to shake the nagging back pain that flared up after the race on saturday so I was good to go. I'm not going to say much about the juniors race because it's a bit of a sore subject but I guess it gave me more motivation for the Pro 1,2,3 later on in the day. So somehow I managed to keep hydrated and in the shade for about 4 hours even though the team had left after the Juniors race taking the tent and every last chair with them. I was definitely excited to race with Ivan and Todd (my coach) to see what 1,2 racing is like . We had 54 miles to cover on a 3 mile circuite and luckily the decided to allow us to pick up drinks in a makeshift feed zone ( it was like 100 degrees outside). From about the 2nd lap I got into a break that had Todd and Ricky from J.C. Investors in it along with some other people I didn't know. With about 12 or 13 laps to go Joel Chavez bridged up to us and from there we kept riding some pretty solid tempo. At this point, I don't really know what I've gotten myself into. I'm thinking oh crap, is this break gonna work and then I'm thinking that it has to because if it doesn't I'm pretty much a up a creek (I think you can guess which one) without a paddle. Then after another lap I look back and see Ivan Franco coming up to us pulliing another 4 or 5 guys (they were just hanging on for dear life). At that point I knew the break would work if I could just stay with Ivan. Luckily he kept on rolling, going by right next to me and the proceeded to serve up pain like I've never felt before. He rode around 35 mph for 2 minutes and I was just praying that I wouldln't drop his wheel. Then he moves over for me to pull through and it took everything I had just to pass his front wheel at 36 mph. Some people got up to us including Ricky and both Chavez brothers and from there we were gone. With about 6 laps to go, tragedy struck: at some point, when I had pulled a bottle out of my pocket I had proceeded to drop all my gu's (the only food I had with me). The I knew the last few laps were gonna suck. But somehow I held on until 1 to go and rode that last lap by myself. At the end of the day I took 1st in the Cat. 3 race and 7th Overall so I was a happy camper (at least once I got some sugar back into my body).

Now I know what I get to look forward to next year but for now, it's time to take a rest and just enjoy the great season I had so check back in a week or so when I start training again.

Andrew

Stuart Racing Recap

2006-09-18T13:24:00.000-04:00

So this last weekend I headed up to Stuart for some racing. Even though I had been sick, I was feeling good enough to mix it up a little and try for some good results. My coach was really the one who finally convinced me to go: on friday when I talked to him he pretty much said that if I wanted to do bike racing then I better get my ass up to Stuart and throw it down. After that conversation I was pretty fired up so it was decided that I would go. Now to the good stuff

I packed up my car on friday after a nice 1.5 hour shake out ride and boy does a bike race require a lot of stuff. You have the uniforms and the rain gear and the bike pump, extra wheels, tubes, and other miscallaneous items. Then I put in my new trainer (which I was very excited to try out by the way), and threw in sleeping bag because while I knew that my team had rooms, I wasn't sure if I would have an actual bed to sleep on. On Friday I also worked out some travel plans with Gunter from J.C. Investors so that we could ride up together and it was definitely nice to have some company and someone to talk to on the way there and back. Our plan was to leave around 10:30 am on saturday so we could get to the cicuit race at about 12:30 pm by the latest. My cat. 3 was at 2:00 pm and Gunter was racing about an hour later.

By the time we got there I was hot, hungry, and dehydrated but still looking forward to the race. Then at the start line in the 100 degree weather, some random official decided to lecture us all on the virtues of tightening our helmet straps so the enitre cat. 3 field stood there for about 10 minutes, sweating and cursing under our breaths but finally, we were allowed to start. The race started off with several attacks, nothing really sticking, but then a break got away about half-way through that started to pull away. I had a "teamate" (he was wearing a Laser uniform but I'm still unsure of exactly who he is) in the break so I figured that the Potters team would chase it down because they had no one up the road. But, as it often happens with bike racing for one reason or another, they decided to sit. I couldn't really figure out what they were doing and the break kept getting time. Meanwhile, I was sitting in getting really frustrated so finally, when I heard that they had 30 seconds I took off confident that one of the Potters boys would go with me. Within 1 mile I had closed the gap to 12 seconds but when I looked back, there was no one on my wheel, no one was even chasing. So I hit the headwind section of the course and dangled inbetween the break and the main group for a while before deciding that my chase was over.I sat in for the rest of the race and tried to give it a go in the sprint but cramped with about 200 meters to go. So overall, Saturday was pretty disastrous but Sunday was just around the corner.

I started off solid winning out of a breakaway with my teamate in the Juniors race and my legs were feeling really good. Todd saw me hammering during the race and yelled for me to take it easy and conserve a bit of energy for the cat. 3 later in the day so I listened and we eased off just before lapping the pack. Then it was time to sit around at the race for abut 6 hours before it was time to go again. Now, if it was up to me, I would have been back at the hotel, enjoying a nice bed and air conditioning but someone had already checked us out of all the rooms so that was not really an option. I made the best of it, staying in the shade and keeping hydrated, just watching the racing go off. The Pro 1,2 was right before my race and it just crazy. People were getting shelled off the back and dropping off of wheels like I've never seen before. Ivan Franco from Vision Quest was the one responsible for creating this havoc and let it suffice to say that he is a monster. In the finale, I saw him outsprint Joel Chavez for the win. With that in my mind I was ready to race. On the line, I was feeling calm and confident and I was hoping to get into a winning break. Part way through I actually did get a nice gap with a B and J guy but he was fried so we sat up. coming into the last lap I was feeling good and with 500 meters to go, I took off, hoping I could get a gap to hold off some of the better sprinters. As i was coming to the line I was sure that I had it won. Then with about 15 meters to go I saw a wheel come by on my left and it was to late to react. So I took 2nd and was pretty satisfied with my effort. Sunday was definitely a better day in all respects and I left back to Miami a happy person. Now it's time to prepare for Venice next weekedna and get ready to post some good results. Check back soon for more.

I'm Back!!!

2006-09-13T18:32:00.000-04:00

Finally, after a week of feeling like a train hit me and not being able to breath, I've made a breakthrough. I took the last 2 days off and then today, I rode a little over an hour and felt normal. No fever or chills, no stomach sickness, just smooth pedal stroke after smooth pedal stroke. So it wasn't a long ride, but that's ok. My fitness is there, it's just a matter of making sure that my health keeps improving each day. This weekend is Stuart, and while it's not the end of the world if I don't go, I would really enjoy getting in a solid race weekend. I'll make the final decision on whether to go or not on Friday morning after the group ride. As long as I feel okay, then it's go time! I found out 2 days ago that my team is not getting a hotel for friday night and seeing that the first juniors race is at 8:00 am on saturday morning that gives rise to an interesting solution as proposed by my team: wake up at 3 in the morning and meet in a random parking lot, 30 minutes south of my house to drive up to Stuart together. I considered this for about 2 milliseconds before getting on the phone with Santi, the owner of my team, and expressing my not so happy thoughts about the situation. However, I now have a plan to avoid the pains a 3:00 am wake up call. Since I'm going to be racing he cat 3 and Juniors this weekend, I'm simply going to skip the Saturday Juniors race which lets me leave miami at about 10:00 am Saturday morning and arrive in plenty of time for my cat. 3 race. So while me teamates are wondering what time it is and looking around confusedly when their alarms goes off, I will be getting some precious sleep. Originally, some of the team was even thinking of driving back on saturday and then driving back up on Sunday but that idea was quickly nixed after I spoke with Santi. Thankfully, we have a hotel for saturday night with like 6 rooms which sounds like a lot, but when you factor in parents, and brothers and sisters, plus all of the team, you know that you better bring a sleeping bag. So Sunday, I'll do my best to represent for my team as Florida state champion in the juniors and then hope for the best in the cat. 3 later in the day. That's all for now but you can expect a post from the race sometime after I get back. Happy riding

Sidelined by Sickness

2006-09-09T14:14:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been sick for the past couple days. It started on wednesday probably becasue I hadn't been getting enough sleep. I woke up early on saturday and monday of last weekend and then woke up really early on wednesday to get the group ride before school. Turns out that wasn't such a great idea.
I had a pretty nice ride, just some high cadence work and it pretty much deteriorated from there. Throughout the day, I started feeling more and more like I was getting sick and wouldn't you know it, I did. So no riding for me on thursday, yesterday I did a little 1.5 hour spin feeling ok, and no riding today. I've definitely determined one thing: everyone at my school is sick. It's like, I'm perfectly healthy during the summer because I'm around other people who either run, bike or do something athletic, and then I walk into school and it's like BOOM! You walk into your classes and you've got people constantly sounding like they're gonna to hack up a lung or something and you can't forget the train-like nose blowing and sneezing. But oh well, I guess I'll adapt eventually. Either that or I'll wear a gas mask to school.
There are 4 race weekends left for me in the season, the 1st one is next weekend so I have plenty of time to get healthy. I'm excited to be racing again since I've been off pretty much since nationals in early July. I'll keep you guys updated and we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I'll be back to normal training on tuesday. For now, happy riding.

A day at the races.... well almost

2006-09-04T12:57:00.000-04:00

Well, I've had a pretty solid last week of training. I got a nice 2 days off from school in the middle of it because of the hurricane that never was, so that was pretty cool. Besides that, I've just been putting in some easy miles during the school week and I went to the Sheraton ride with Todd on Saturday. That was a fun ride. We had a tailwind for part of it and we were rolling at 33-34 mph with no effort. Towards the end, I decided I'd make a go to win the ever elusive chicken (I've gotten 2nd before but to date I still haven't won the famous chicken). With about 3k to go I got off the front with 2 other guys and then with 2k to go, I attacked, probably about 300 meters to soon, but oh well. I put in a huge effort but to no avail, the Potters boys caught me before the line. Todd told me afterwards that I made one of the potters guys puke because he had to chase so hard, so that pretty much made my day. That was the highlight of my weekend.
Today, I was going to go do the Piccolo crit, but murphy's law took action and I just decided that it wasn't a good idea to go do a crit in the rain when I wasn't really focused on it so now I'm sitting in the comfort of my home, enjoying my day off. Happy riding until next time.

Another day at Rosewood

2006-08-27T15:37:00.000-04:00

Well, it was another exciting day at rosewood, except for the fact that it really wasn't that exciting. Aerospace had a bunch of guys from their pro team in town so they all showed up in addition to all of the usual suspects. An early break got away and had a gap of about a minute halfway through so then Aerospace got on the front and brought it back. They were just rolling through setting up their man Frank Travieso, while looking like they could have been eating some ice cream and sipping margeritas. Meanwhile, I'm in the middle constantly having to check my position and there are like 50 guys who all want to be where I am. Now, usually everyone would be content to stay in their position till the break was caught since there were no attacks going away (we were crusing at around 30-32 mph). But of course, since this is miami and it was Rosewood, there was constant pushing and yelling with people trying to move up. I tested my legs with a little attack when the break was about 20 seconds away but it was a no go. I felt good, but everyone else was content to sit on Aerospace for the free ride. Finally, they brought the break back with 3 to go and my teamate pulled me up towards the front. He put in a great effort considering we were still mid-pack and the guys on the front were pulling like crazy. I launched from there with 2 to go, hoping that some other people would want to get out of the mess that inevitably develops when 60 people all think they can be in the first 5 of a group sprint. Ivan Franco came up but he was a bit tired from racing the 35+ and Aerospace reeled us back in after about 1/2 a lap. There is almost always a crash in the last lap and I wasn't to anxious to be thrown over a barrier into the lake today, so I sat up enjoyed the finish from the sidelines. And what a finish it was, the peloton came flying in with Frank Travieso just eding out one of his teamates for 1st place. Overall, it was a good day with riding to and from the race so I'm pretty happy. Like I said, just another day at Rosewood.

My First Post

2006-08-23T21:52:00.000-04:00

Well, I just created this thing and I'm not quite sure exactly how to use it but that's ok. I set up this blog so that people could check in on me and my cycling exploits and enjoy my philosophies on everything from how to change a tire to what makes the world go round. Well, at the moment I don't really have anythingn interesting to say so I'll just tell you a little about myself. I started riding in January of 2006 and I've been hooked ever since. I can't say that I actuallly enjoy every single moment that I spend on my bike (I don't know if anyone enjoys being stuck in torrential rain and wind 20 miles from home in the middle of Miami rush hour traffic on a bike in the middle of summer with a flat tire) but most of the time I love it. My racing season has about 1 1/2 months left and then I get a blessed 2 weeks off of rest and relaxation, but I'm still pumped and ready to finish the season strong and get the placings I need to upgrade to Cat. 2. There's actually some pretty decent racing pretty close to home throught September. Not having to travel much for a race is always a plus. Today, I put in a nice 70 mile ride with my Coach, Todd Hancock down to Black Point Marina in Homestead and back to the Key. I felt pretty good and we rode some nice tempo during the middle of the ride. That's about all I have to say for today so until next time, ride safely.