Crit Practice Father Son Crash

Just today, I was telling James that both he and I were going to crash someday. It was said in the context of a discussion regarding other folks crashing. I wanted him to know that our moment on the pavement was coming. Little did I know that both of us would hit the deck tonight!

James was doing really well sitting in with the adults. He is really getting faster. We hit the turn on top of the hill and James just lost it. We don't know why. It could have been a tire problem or he could have just lost it. We don't really know. I was a couple of riders back and I watched him just destabilize and fishtail then he endo'ed. I swerved left but the rider in front of me hit the brakes. I hit mine, locked up my rear wheel and I could see that I was going into the curb. When I hit it, it launched me and my bike into the air and I went over the handlebars and onto some softgrass. If my landing was soft James' was anything but. He cracked his helmet and got road rash all over his legs and back. I got up and rode back to my truck for the first aid kit while the other riders kept an eye on him.

In the end, he was okay. My bike is fine and James' is mostly fine. This will be James' third helmet lost to crashes since he got into this. He is in the shower cleaning up as I write. In some strange way, he is getting off on the whole thing. Like a badge of honor or a rite of passage. Crazy. My ribs hurt a little. Not bad. I managed to get back into the racing after I patched Jim up.

Crazy Multi-group Ride

Strange ride yesterday but fun. Check it out.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=104136291589579978832.00000112d86966d965a9c&z=10&om=1

Tour of Fr-ahnk-en-muth Recap

We saddled up the Expedition and rode north to the beautiful little hamlet of Frankenmuth on Friday night. Carbo-loading was accomplished at Noodles and Company in AA. This place is just awesome!! Great pasta and I'm out the door with a family of five for under $30. Can't beat that with a stick.

We lodged at Zehnder's Splash Village which is a newer hotel just outside of town. They have built a hotel around an indoor water park that is actually pretty cool. After getting settled into our room I got to work on figuring out b'fast and caffeination. Sadly, all I could find for breakfast at the hour we would need it was the 7-11 in town. I need to caffeinate and hydrate early so as to offload excess well in advance of my race time, if you know what I mean. My race was scheduled to start at 0730 so I need to have all that excess dealt with by 0715 at the latest. It's rough getting old.

After I got back to the room, I noticed we were short one pillow. "No problem", I said. "I'll just call down to the front desk and we will have a pillow in a few minutes." Apparently, no one answers the phone at Zehnder's Splash Village after 1030 pm. I slept on a folded up towel. Bottom line for me...sleep was almost non-existent.

James and I stumbled out of bed at 0530 and tried, (at least I tried), to not wake the entire family. We didn't really succeed at all. We left the bikes to pick up later and went out to the 7-11. We did have some cliff bars and bananas in the car which made James pretty happy. There really wasn't anything for us there except for the coffee.

Back to the hotel to wake the family up again and retrieve the bikes.

We rode the short distance to the start line which was right in front of Zehnders and Bavarian Village. What a great place for a start. Whatever you think of this little town you have to admit it is very quaint. Tourist trap?? Maybe but definitely quaint. We warmed up riding around the parking lot. Our 1-2 team was thee all decked out with radios. How cool is that. Wouldn't have done us much good because of the size of our field. I think it was in the 12-15 range. Because of that the purse was reduced from $500 to $250.

Our team consisted of Rune "Ruin" Duke, Joey Schaard and myself. We would be the largest team in the field with the strongest rider in Joey. I don't think there was any question that this was the case. Joey is a legitimate cat 1-2 racer and we are blessed to have him with us. I am sure we are down to our last couple of races together so I wanted to savor every minute of it. When you have someone this strong on your team it really presents problems for others. Everyone was going to try and chase Joey down. He was a marked man but that gave us other options. The race was scheduled for 4 lap/62 miles. I liked that distance. I knew it favored us given the kind of hours Rune and I have put in this season.

The fun got under way a little late as we had to wait for our motorcycle escort to get on scene. I'm so thankful that he volunteered to serve us in this way but this guy needed a little more briefing to be an effective escort.

We rode out of town, made the first right hand-er came to a stop sign and we went straight behind our escort. The problem was, we were supposed to turn right!! Great. We are less then a mile into the race and the group is split in two as half made the correct turn and the rest of us didn't. I made a hard right, rode down a little grassy hill and back up the other side to re-join the group. We were slightly rattled but no harm done.

I don't think we got very far into that first lap before the rains started. Once it did, it never stopped. It was just a matter of how hard it was coming down.

As we moved towards the last third of the first lap, we were overtaken by a small group of riders with the same 100 series bibs as ours and printed in the same color! I honestly thought they were from our field. Some later told me it was some masters on a break. They came flying up behind us dropping F-bombs shouting people off their wheels. The whole thing was confusing to me. I started to elevate the pace to reel these guys back in but I couldn't get any help. Our escort was confused to and he left us to support them. (Note to self: Drop a line to the race organizers suggesting distinct bib numbers and colors for each field. )

From here the race settled down some. I took it upon myself to lift the pace every chance I could. I wanted this field to feel this race at the 50 mile point. We got some help from a TCC rider and an Spout rider. If we Joey, Rune, myself or these other guys weren't driving the pace we just slowed right down. I'm sure they are looking at Joey and thinking if they were going to have any chance they needed to save their legs for the last lap. I can't really blame them, I guess. So we continued in this rhythm. Through the first lap.

The second lap saw some minor skirmishes but nothing stuck. The Spout rider commented that we weren't going to get anything off the front that included the three of us SLC riders. Of course, he was right but I think it was more a matter of folks going wherever Joey went. I tried to block for Rune and Joey on a few occasions and the field just panicked and rode around me. A nice little gap had opened but they were determined to close it.

There is so much to tell and I can't keep going, I'll be up all night. Let me condense.

The rains fell and we were all begininning to suffer from the cold. At times the rain was at least moderate and maybe even heavy for a moment or two. By the last lap, I think, this field was ripe for the picking. I managed to get away with Rune and Chris Brinkman but it was unintentional on my part. It's funny. All those times I jump and try to get away and it doesn't succeed. Here I was just doin' my thing driving up the pace and I see Rune ride by and jump in front of me. "Way cool" I think to myself. Rune is going to take another turn. Then there's Chris Brinkman who had been pretty quiet up until now. When I was on the back I looked back and we had a decent gap. Not huge, but a gap nonetheless. So, I moved back to the front with a little something extra...something akin to TT pace. Rune and Chris did the same. The gap started to really open up.

Here's what I think happened. The field was just freezing cold, tired and ready to be done. Joey wasn't in the break. In that split second you have to decide if you should chase or not, they chose to "not". This is why a rider like Joey makes everyone around him a more dangerous racer. Joey saw us away and blocked very effectively. (This according to a Priority rider I talked to afterwards). He refused to do any work in that group. Maybe they figured we would tire and the field would get a chase going. But no one was willing to offer chase. The Spout rider who was working so well with us earlier, crashed on the previous lap riding into town. I was told he got back up and rejoined the group but he couldn't have been 100%. I saw the crash and went down pretty heavily. The TCC rider was the only rider left who might have gotten it going but no one else wanted to work.

Our lead just kept growing and growing. I kept encouraging Rune and Chris to just keep it smooth and to not blow themselves up. We were riding in awful conditions at this point. The rain was coming down and the winds had kicked up. We were riding echelons to maximize our speed. With every turn we had to change our formation. The break must have been out for 10 miles or so. These were glorious painful miles. I could see we had a great chance to stay away. Eventually, we couldn't even see the field.

Thoughts started creeping into my mind..."What should we do about Brinkman?" Hindsight is 20/20. If I knew then what I know now, we would have tried to get rid of him a few miles from the finish but I just didn't know if Rune and I would stay away by oursleves. What if the our efforts to shake off Chris did nothing but allow he group to catch us? There were other moments when I felt as if I might be able to ride off the front. I thought Chris might be close to his limit after his pulls. With Runes help, maybe I could just put my head down and step up the pace a little more and break him. You just get those thoughts sometimes...a hunch really. I was cold but feeling pretty good. I knew I had more speed if I needed it. My pulls seemed a little longer than the others also. Maybe Chris was working me over, I dunno. One has to be careful when one is 44 and he is racing a 16 or 17 year old kid. Whatever I had left he probably had more. The more I mulled the finish over in my mind the more I became convinced that I should set up Rune for the sprint. I would step up the tempo just as high as I could and turn him loose. I figured my strength was this endurance stuff but Rune has an incredible jump and if we could tame Chris with a super hi tempo, perhaps Rune could get off first.

We rode up the last hill into town with Rune in the lead. When we got to the top I ordered Rune onto my wheel. I started spooling up the pace before the last turn into town. Had to be careful on those wet cobbles in the turn. Out of the turn and I dialed it up has high as I could. it wasn't good enought to stop Chris from jumping. I shouted for Rune to go and he jumped but it was over. Chris had enough left to open up a decent gap to take the win. Rune got a much deserved second and I a third.

This was easily the most exhilarating race I have every taken part in. Riding away in that break was just awesome. I know it will probably never happen that way again but I'll take it this time!

I rode over to Jean, the kids and our smallish SLC fan club. That's when the shaking kicked in. Rune rode up to me and complained of numbness. We were there talking for some time before the rest of the field came in. In the last ten miles we had opened up a 3-5 minute lead in horrible, Belgian-like conditions. Man, this is what bike racing is all about.

Back to the shaking. This is a similar deal to what I had last year at BTR when it took me an hour to stop shaking. Jean noticed a priority rider shaking outside Zehnder's. Jean offered to gaurd his bike so he could go inside to warm up. He took her up on it. He was from our field and brought me up to speed on what happened when we left.

After a lot of hot coffee and a warm shower, I was back to normal. Man did that warm shower feel good.

Well a good day of racing should be followed by 4 hours at a waterpark climbing stairs and screaming down waterslides right? Well that's what we did! My kids combined with the V-kids, (Alexey, Rem and Moss), and I rocked that house! It was only later that I recalled that after an effort like that race you are immuno-suppressed for six hours! And here I was swimming in warm water with maybe 400 small childeren. Uh-oh!

Who are you guys?

I probably shouldn't do this but I am eatin' up with curiosity. I have numerous readers in Syracuse, NY, Olathe, KS, Atlanta and other places outside of Michigan. There have been some one time hits from Saudi Arabia, India and Australia which is interesting but those folks dropped in once and never came back. I am interested in the readers who are coming back often. If you are one of these good folk, would you mind just dropping a comment or email me at: dander10@yahoo.com and tell me who you are? I am certainly glad you're out there and watching.

Tour of Frankenmuth...Thats Pronounced Fr-ahnk-en-muth

What a week I'm having! The waters of home ownership are rising to chin level as I rush to seal/stain decks and patios and mow lawns before the rains fall and the ToF kicks off tomorrow. I am pretty jazzed about the race because Jeanne and the kids will all be there. I invested, (a little DNC lingo there), in a Yakima roof mounted car rack so we can load everybody in one car and go racing!! Last year, we had to take two cars on the one west coast trip we all did together. Not so this year.

This race begins and ends in the little bavarian hamlet of Frankenmuth. (For all you Young Frankenstein fans, let's get the pronunciation right, okay? It's not pronounced "Frank" like my uncle. It is pronounced Frahnk, alright? And BTW, let's stop calling Milan "Mile-an" okay? :-)) Famous for it's chicken and christmas decor, this little town can charm your socks off with the leiderhosen, glockenspiel and bread stuffing. We will lodge at Zehnder's with four, count 'em four passes to their water park! I hope it is indoors because we are looking at 70 for a high with rain! Great bike racing weather but lousy for surfing the wave pool.

They say it is a 62 mile cat 3 race which should make for some interesting racing. I like my chances to be a part of the race with those kinds of distances. Attacks just might stick after 50 or so miles in the rain and chip-n-seal pavement. Don't know what "chip-n-seal" is? Not from the midwest, 'eh? This stuff is what they pave the streets of Hell with, (and I don't mean Hell, MI). I did an MS ride in Ohio a few years back on this stuff and rocks were being shot out from those 120 psi tires left and right. Not to mention the vibration from this stuff could dislodge a filling or two.

It will all be over with by 1030 or so which will give us lots of time in the water park or eating chicken. Then, it will be a two hour drive home to prepare for James and Maria's baptism reception on Sunday.

Druber and the Pope of Michigan

From True Sport writer and master 45+ ToK yellow jersey winner Mark Swartzendruber. This is funny, funny stuff. Enjoy!!

In the (Feed)Zonew/Mark Swartzendruber
HOLY TOLEDO!DRUBER MEETS THE POPE AND IS CALLED A BUTT-HOLE

As noted in my previous report on the Chrono Synclastic Infundibula that formed over the Monsters of The Midway criterium on Mothers Day, I was scheduled to participate in a stage race in Michigan this weekend past. The Tour of Kensington Valley, held in the far West Suburban area of Detroit was my first foray into Michigan racing since 2001 where I participated in the inaugural Cone-Azalia Classic and an end of the season event just after 9/11 on a race track in Waterford Hills.

The Lovely Kathy and I spend a couple of weekends in the summer or fall in Lake County, sipping Michigan wine and enjoying the Lake Michigan shoreline, but those trips are for fun only, which is to say - no bike racing allowed. So, it long has been a desire of mine to return to Michigan to race and enjoy the rolling terrain and natural beauty of the state on a bike. When I saw the TRUESPORT link to The Tour of Kensington Valley ( a timed stage race) on a weekend that I had no particular plans, I signed up. After my previous stage race experience of having my ass handed to me at the Conquer the Canyons SR in Thousand Oaks, I decided quickly against racing in the Pro 1,2 race because 'didjaseeemeee' hasn't been doing my ego any good as of late.

Thus, I chose to race against men my own age. Plus, I wanted to see some new faces. I was sure that the sMACKs would be in flying in full electric blue glory up in Madison, WI the same weekend and as much fun as they are, I need a break from them. I'm looking for new material. I found the Tour of Kensington Valley to be a well organized race, put on by Joe Lekovish of Midwest Cyclinig Group. Every rider was given a timing chip to mount on the fork of their bike and the stage winners were given yellow jerseys to wear. The organization was so good that the TT times were posted by the time I returned to the parking area after completing the first stage. The venue and courses were excellent and it was well worth the 6 hour drive from Champaign.

This is what happened.

The first stage was a time trial in the Kensington Metro Park, a scenic forest preserve and recreation area in Milford, MI. The TT was 1.4 miles down hill, around a cone and back up the 1.4 mile 6% grade to the finish. I won. My time was 5:32. This time was 5 seconds better than 2nd place finisher Mark (don't call me Lance) Armstrong of the Holy Toledo Saturn team. 5:32 was slower than the winning time in all categories other than women and Cat 5 and would have been smack in the center of the Pro 1,2 race, which was dominated by the Priority Health continental team. So I won, but I didn't feel very good about it.

Double chins and bowling pinsUnholy PresbyteriansLand is full of medicineI find it when I'm slipping in....into Michigan
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Especially in Michigan

I was wearing a yellow jersey and I had no team mates. I fully expected to be the object of countless attacks in the afternoon criterium stage. However, my first real taste of Michigan/Ohio master's racing was quite the opposite of what I was familiar with or expecting. The racing up there is quite friendly, genteel, polite and creepy in a Stepford Wives sort of way.
There is a man in Michigan by the name of Mike Krywanski. He's an accomplished racer. He was the bronze medalist in both the road race and time trial at last year's master's national 55-59 age group in the PA mountains.

The masters in Michigan/Ohio are afraid of him. They won't attack him, they won't ride in front of him, and they won't ride beside him. They prefer to simply ride on his wheel. He was in third place after the time trial by tenths of seconds behind the afore mentioned Armstrong.
I had a difficult time understanding the fear the masters of Michigan/Ohio have for Mr. Krywanski. He had introduced himself to me while we were waiting in the start line for the TT earlier in the day. He was a pleasant guy, affable and certainly did not engender fear when I met him. However, during the criterium stage I learned that Mr Krywanski has been beating up the Michigan/Ohio masters for years and years and they have simply become resigned to the fact that to challenge him is futile. Oh to be sure, from time to time the Holy Toledo guys or the Flailing Rhino guys would send one of their role players go up the road with an attack that sputtered after about 300 meters. Mr. Krywanski then rides tempo until the aggressor is put back into his place at the back of the pack behind Mr. Krywanski's wheel. Mr. Krywanski is the Pope of Michigan Masters racing; stately, mysterious and kind, but if he is challenged, he has the power to banish you to hell.

So, the criterium stage was without attack until one of Mr. Krywanski's team mates decided to launch one of his own. This can be done, since as a team mate, he need not fear reprisal from The Pope of Michigan Masters Racing. Ed. For the sake of the article, Toledo, OH is included in the Michigan masters racing scene, as it is a border town and the bike racers participate in the MI racing series.

After the attack, the Holy Toledo Saturn guys decided it was time for Armstrong to spring into action. He went up the road to join The Pope's team mate. When I saw the race number 316 flash by, I was forced to protect my 5 second lead. After I caught the two attackers, I expected what I've become used to from the sMACKs, a flurry of counter attacks. But, as I said, the masters racing in Michigan is much more polite than that. Upon the catch, the field simply cuddled back into the cozy blanket of its comfort zone on the Pope's wheel.
"These guys like your wheel don't they"
The Pope nodded his head and smiled. "Yeah, it's the dangest thing isn't it?"
"So, do they ever attack you?"
"Well they used to but for about the last 14 years or so, this is pretty much how the races go. Every now and then, a new guy moves up to masters age and tries to attack me, but after I reel him in about 3 times, he plays by the rules."
"Wow. I wish I had that kind of power. You'd think that a team with the numbers of the Holy Toledo's would be launching right and left until you were broken. That's what happens to me at home."
"It's what you'd think isn't it? Check this out" A grin stretched across the tanned face of The Pope revealing brilliant white teeth under a striking silver mustache. He feathered his brakes and came to a complete halt. He unclipped his shoes from the pedals and dismounted his bike. Much to my amazement, the entire field stopped and waited patiently in hushed awe until The Pope remounted his carbon Giant and started riding again some 4 minutes later.
"My goodness, that was the most powerful thing I've ever seen."
"You know once back in 2005 I was testing the limits of my authority and I was able to keep a 45 minute crit down to one lap? I had a hard time keeping the bike moving at 2 mph average. Guys were falling off their bikes the entire time. You'd be surprised how many masters racers can't do track stands. I'll tell you something else…You've got that same power, and you just don't know it. After you pulled my team mate and Armstrong back a few laps ago, the rest of these guys don't know what to think now. They're killing themselves with fear. They don't know who to follow. They know they need to follow your wheel but they're afraid to get off of mine. Just for shits and giggles, ride beside me and watch what happens."
This I did and for fun, The Pope and I began zigzagging across the course, riding into the parking lots of the business in the light industrial office complex, across their lawns and back onto the course. The Holy Toledos, the Flailing Rhinos and the mix of other independents and small teams all followed in dutiful procession behind. At one point he suggested that we should reverse course and do the second half of the race in the opposite direction but I was afraid of the scientific implications of such an experiment. You see, we all had timing chips mounted on our bikes. I feared we might rip the fabric of the space/time continuum and we'd all disappear into the past. I nixed the proposal, with all due respect of course. After all, he is The Pope of Michigan Masters Racing and he pretty much does what he wants. After a second thought The Pope concurred and invited me to make an attack.
"Launch an attack and watch what happens."
I did, and one of the 10 Holy Toledo Saturn guys got onto my wheel. We had a gap of about 5 seconds. I gave him a flick of my elbow and he just sat there.
"The Pope will send me to hell if I pull." He cried. "I'm sorry I just can't"
"But The Pope said it was okay for me to attack." I countered
"Sure, for you, you don't live and race here every weekend. You'll be gone next weekend. You don't have to deal with him every week!" He warbled.
Realizing I wasn't going to convince the guy otherwise, I sat up and The Pope rolled back up to us with the field in tow.
"Jeez, Mike, you really do own these guys don't you?"
"Yeah, the only time they feel like they can actually race their bikes is in the last 200 meters of a race, so that's what they do."
"And you let them do that?"
"Well, it is bike racing. I honestly have enough respect for the sport that I'd actually enjoy it if these guys would race the entire time, but they're just too afraid. You have to keep in mind; I don't literally prevent them from doing any thing they want to in races. It's their fear that keeps them locked down."
"MMMM. I see. Cripes, you'd think they'd just quit bike racing and take up bowling or fishing or something, eh?"
"It's been my thought as well. Here we go!" With that, The Pope launched an attack up the slight rise into the finish line with 6 laps of the race remaining. He was followed by one of the sans team riders and me. I countered the attack and got clear. I spent the next 3 laps solo but was able to gain only a 5-7 second advantage so I gave it up with 2 laps to go.
Now, you'd expect a team that is trying to win a stage race with a rider sitting in second place, 5 seconds back would find this the perfect opportunity to grasp the golden ring. The Yellow Jersey was on the attack, he spend 3 laps solo and was unable to get a clear gap. He's tired. He has no team. He's just been reeled in. He's vulnerable. ATTACK! I can hear HeadsMACK barking the words in my mind as I write this. I was waiting for an attack. I was concerned. Yet, the new fear that I had created in the hearts of the Michigan and Ohio Masters was too strong. Upon the catch, they simply slowed down, dutifully falling into line behind Mike and me, waiting for the final 200 meters. I was astonished.

The race ended with the Holy Toledos attempting to build a leadout for Armstrong, but not really ever getting it done as we came through the next to last turn as a boiling mess, going slow and 5 abreast. Having an aversion to sloppy field sprints I jumped with about a kilo to go. Despite the fact that I am the slowest sprinter I know, I was around the last corner and about 100 meters from the line before one of the Flailing Rhinos - previously invisible - jumped from the pack and took the V by a bike length. Armstrong and I finished side by side for 2nd and 3rd. He gained two bonus seconds on me and the GC was as follows going into the road race on Sunday.

1. Druber2. Armstrong - :02.53. Krywanski - :10

Cry me a futureWhere the revelations run amokLadies and gentlemenLions and tigers come runningJust to steal your luck
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Especially in Michigan

The final stage was back at the Kensington Metro Park for a road race on rolling terrain with 3 good climbs per each 8.5 mile lap. I was adjusting myself to the mind set of the Yellow Jersey wearer. Sit back. Don't be the aggressor. No time bonuses were offered on the stage, all that need be done is finish alongside #316, Armstrong. I was crawling out of my skin and hoping that we'd be racing bikes today. I'd asked for a special dispensation from The Pope. His response was to remind me that he doesn't control the Michigan and Ohio masters, their own fears control them.

We rolled out with The Pope sitting on the front while I maintained 2nd or third wheel. One of the Flailing Rhinos made several attempts at softening the field, attacking up hills and on flats and then curiously letting up while he checked stats on his power tap screen. I'm not making this part up. I was flabbergasted and not sure I had actually seen what I thought I saw. So, I sat on his wheel and waited. As soon as he recovered from the previous attack he sped up, slowed down and began pushing the button on his computer. He did this 4 more times on the first lap. I found this remarkable. I supposed he has a coach he has to relay the info to, but I've never seen a rider actually checking his stats like that mid race.
I made tempo up the final hill of the first lap and turned around to see the state of the field. The guys were single file with a few gaps, but essentially in tact. One rider to me it was a "nice effort". I told you, these guys are polite. If he was a sMACK or Labor, the reaction would have been "Is that all you got?"

The Holy Toledo's were keeping their 2nd place rider in contention. They were banking on Armstrong beating me by two seconds in a bunch sprint up a hill. At one point I was at the front of the race going down hill at about 17 per with the field bunched up behind. One of The Popes team mates attacked and I saw #316 flash by again. It was a repeat of his only attack the previous day in the criterium. Once again, I rode tempo to protect my lead and caught the duo about 15 seconds later. No further attempts were made. I had succeeded in building a fear. Though not to the proportion of the fear The Pope had built over the years, it was a fear none the less. The race was without attack from that point on. I could have simply rolled in next to Armstrong after waiting for the end of the race but I had to get home for a college graduation party for two of my kids. I was pressed for time; I needed the race to get over with sooner rather than later.

On the next lap I began to get restless. I desperately wanted the Holy Toledo Saturn guys to animate the race. They were all bunched up behind me. When asked why they weren't trying to win the race, one of them told me I was "blocking" their efforts to animate the race. I never realized I took up that much space in the road. He then got cheeky with me for not pulling the field around. I tugged at the chest of my yellow jersey and said "Do you see this jersey? This means that I don't have to sit on the front of this race. You guys have a man 2.5 second behind me, why in heaven's name aren't you attacking me?" He had no real response other than to say "That's the way it is and if you don't like it, well that's the way it is."
On the penultimate lap, The Pope and I had agreed to attack jointly over the top of the long climb about halfway through the lap. As we crested the climb, we had created a separation that included a West Coast Michigan rider, a Flailing Rhino or two and Armstrong. The Pope pulled through strongly after the downhill and a Flailing Rhino was on his wheel…not pulling through, not trying to help build our gap. I yelled at him. I cursed and demanded that he pull through. I called him the slang term for a birth canal. I had blown my top, I was a seething madman. He did not pull though. The forming break came to a screeching halt.
The Flailing Rhino rolled back my way and said "Gee, take it easy. Settle down." Then -again I am not making this part up - when he thought I was out of ear shot he said almost under his breath "You Butt-Hole."
Butt-Hole. It's a derogatory name I thought I'd never hear come out of a 45+ masters bike racer's mouth for as long as I'm fortunate to live.
Butt-Hole. I used the word in a derogatory way for the last time perhaps when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. I didn't say "Ass" because my second grade teacher used to grab offending students around their jaws, pinching just behind the cheeks with her thumb on one side and her index and middle finger on the other. It hurt like hell and I knew that "Butt-Hole" was not likely to result in her particular form of corporal punishment if she overheard the verbal jousting on the playground. That was perhaps 36 years ago.
Instantly I realized that not only had I built fear, but I was also starting to build hatred. I saw an opportunity. I learned long ago that one of the key tools in the Labor Power tool kit was to make other teams fear you, and then to hate you before you pound them because it makes it hurt all that much more.
Generally I'm reticent to resort to such tactics, being a pacifist and all, but in this instance it made perfect sense. These guys didn't know me to be the easy going laissez faire guy that I am. To them, I was a big, tan ogre. I had just blown my top. I had a temper. They didn't know me and they hated me. I thought "These guys think I'm a Butt-Hole? I won't see them next weekend or the weekend after that. I'm free". So, when I saw that my closest competitor in GC was on the front of the race at the base of the next 10% grade, lifting the pace, I asked myself WWLD? (What Would Labor Do?)
I recalled how Hover told me he won the Conquer the Canyons stage race in dramatic fashion by attacking the last climb and burying himself in TT mode for 5 miles to secure the V. He had no team support; he was backed into a corner and yet he pounded those guys out in CA. I was stirred. I dropped a big ring bomb going up the hill and got clear. I put my head down and made myself hurt, just like Hover told me he did it. It was working. I had a gap and it was growing. For the next 12 miles I made myself ride like I was doing a 20k TT. It worked. I ended up winning with a margin of one minute. I won my second stage and the overall in the process and I got to keep the yellow jersey.
After the race, I was talking with The Pope of Michigan Masters Racing and he told me that the Holy Toledos were still banking on a bunch finish despite the fact that I was disappearing into the distance. He told me they were expecting him and his team to mount a chase. He said he told them that as the team with a rider in second place, the onus was on them to chase. He told me the Holy Toledo said "We'll leave him out there to cook for a while." The Pope's response was "I don't think he's cooking, it looks more like he's riding away."
After the race I saw my former team mate Derek Witte who is now riding as an Elite rider on the Priority Health continental team. His team had won the Pro 1,2 race. He asked me if I'd won, I said that yes I had. He congratulated me and in typical fashion, I down played the effort. "It was just an old guys race, not 1,2 so it doesn't count." Derek said "Hey…A win is a win. Good job." That's all he said. A light bulb went off for me. He's right. I realized that I was wrong to believe it's more admirable to be pack fill or to get popped from a Pro 1,2 race than it is to win a Masters race. My ego actually feels BETTER after winning a race with guys my own age than it does when I get beat up in Pro 1,2 races. So, to anyone whom I've offended by downplaying wins that come against guys their own age - I don't think it's cheating any more. If you're challenging yourself to win, you're doing well. That said I still believe it's weak to stack fields at small races and bully your way to wins by sheer numbers rather than talent.
Next weekend - Edgar Soto Memorial Stage Race.

First Crit Practice

First Tuesday after the ToK which means it is once again time to hammer away at Runway Plaza. This is the AAVC criterium practice which, I believe, is the very best workiout in my training year. It really has it all. Muscular endurance, anaerobic capacity, sprints and racing tactics.

I forgot my jersey at home so I sat out the first couple races. They were of the shorter variety. I love to watch bike racing. That incredible hum that twenty or more bikes make as they fly by. My job is to get liabilty releases signed and filed so I did that and counted laps for the racers.

The first race I jumped into was a seven lapper. I won the field sprint on this one but it really wasn't fair since the other racers already had two field sprints under their belts.

In subsequent races, I spent a lot of time out front getting in some muscular endurance intervals. I tried a long escape with Peter. We eventually got caught but it was a great training interval.

This is the way it goes. You chase down riders and go anaerobic then go back to the group and recover or you jump off the front and settle into a TT pace and just hope it is good enough to stay away. Golden opportunities to experiment to see what works.

It is always great fun just to hang out with the other riders and catch up on their lives. Some started families over the winter which has changed their lives.

Tour of Kensington Re-Cap

Wow! What a weekend of racing here in SE MI. This was the first ever Tour of Kensington Valley stage race. It started with a short time trial called a "prologue" on Saturday morning. This was a very short, very intense time trial down a long hill, turn around and right back up that same hill. I knew this would be a very focused volume of riding but the ones who could endure the pain would do well. Check out the awesome start ramp for the TT on in the pic on the left! That's Alexey Vermulian one of our junior riders and the eventual winner in junior men 10-14 category.

James rolls down the ramp

My tactic was to really get cookin' down that big hill, build up momentum and try to carry that all the way through. Because of the length of the course the time differences would be small but very consequential in the overall standings called the "GC" or "General Classification." (That is kind of a euro-cycling phrase I think.) Actually, I can tell you after it is all over, that prologue set the winners in place for the entire race. I finished the prologue in sixth place and at the end on Sunday I was still in sixth place. Well, as I was saying, my thinking was to really fly down that first hill and that is what I did. I don't have a computer on my bike but my eyes were watering from the wind so, from experience, I was somewhere over 40 mph. I backed off the pace a little after feeling a little gassed at the bottom of the hill but just kept tapping out a steady rythmic pace. Going into the turn around the 180 degree turn around I had a lot of speed but I was warned that folks were overcooking that turn and not selecting the proper gear for after the turn so I made sure I carried a lot of speed but slammed on the brakes in a small gear then sprinted away. Now it was all uphill. A slight grade at first then it began to build and build. The finish line seemed to come into view very quickly and I was flat out huffing and puffing with every once of energy I had left. This is where seconds are saved on your ability to suffer. I rode through the line and back down the hill on the other side grateful to be done with stage 1.

Our team leader, Joey Schaard, won the stage and the yellow jersey! That meant we had to defend it in the criterium and hopefully the road race. He set a blistering pace that would have landed him an envious position in the cat 1-2 field.

Something I haven't mentioned was my back problem the day before. I am getting old. I was sitting in a chair changing a tire on my bike. I stand up and pain like a mighty river flows through my lower back. Geez it hurt. I could stand up straight and I couldn't carry any weight. I thought it was over for me. There seemed to be no way I could compete. I am fortunate in that my sister is a physical therapist and I was going to be seeing her that night. She quickly gave me her best guess as to what was causing the pain and told me to bend my back as far backwards as I could essentially arching my back to an extreme position. It was like magic. My back just felt better instantly. I reported that to my sister and she said the pain would be back but keep on doing that exercise. By the end of the evening I felt confident I could ride the event. It did hurt climbing out of bed the next day but I figured I would know the story as soon as I got on the bike. I was pleased to find that instead of making the pain worse riding the bike improved the situation. This was also something my sister predicted. She said there is a ligament that runs down along your spinal column on the outside and it would help push my bulging disc back into its correct position.

Stage 2 was a criterium at an office park nearby. We had to arrive by 1200pm or so to get James ready for a 1230pm start. Since this was the first year, there was bound to be glitches and here was one of them. All the stuff that needed to be in place at the office park had to be set up after stage 1. So, the racing was about 40 minutes late getting going and it just kept getting worse as the day went on. By the time my scheduled race time of 530pm came around, we were not even into the cat 4's. BTW, they were the preceding race to ours. Anyway, there was an incredible confluence of events that further prolonged the start. First, there was a crash in the cat 4 field while, simultaneously, someone was having chest pains and another an asthma attack. When 911 was called, the dispatcher thought there was a bike car accident along with everything else. So, the Green Oak TWP folks rolled what must have been every vehicle in their emergency and law enforcement fleet. We had at least three EMS type vehicles with crash rescue and the police. The course was alight with rollers. Apparently, when they show up, everyone who wants treatment gets treatment so while the asthma and chest pain folk were getting attention, the bike crash folk were getting patched up. By the time we got back to racing we all just wanted to go home. it was now 730 or 8pm, (I don't know for sure), and we agreed to do 11 one mile laps and that would be it. About a half hour. The racing was fast and furious being so short. We battled to the time bonus prime where we blundered and allowed a break that ended up costing us the yellow jersey by .1 seconds. I let my team down on the last lap. Dominick Z. was putting the hammer down on the front and I joined him. As he slowed I moved by him and continued to roll up the pace. I looked back and it wasn't Joey on my wheel but someone I didn't want to help. At that moment, I thought the smart thing would be to not work for someone else so I let up on the gas but that was just what I shouldn't have done. Joey was back there in a good position and my slowing allowed the winner to jump before Joey did and it cost us the stage by a hair. That is bike racing I guess and it is also how you learn. Dominick told me before the race that we would have to keep the tempo high on the last lap to prevent this. I am a sloooowww learner. That's the eventual yellow jersey winner Matt Prygoski barely edging Joey out in the sprint in pic on the left.

Stage 3 was the usual Kensington road race course. The cat 3's were slated for 39 miles. Not a very long distance for a road race but after the long day we just put behind us, that distance sounded okay. Longer distances are generally in my favor given the hours I have had available to train.

Our field was painfully slow at times with riders conversing like it was a group ride then someone would try and make a break and all heck would break loose as the field hosed them down. Dominick stirred the pot early while Rune and I kept our powder dry. It wasn't until the midpoint that we started our own attacks. All were brought back. My best opportunity came when a friendly rider jumped and I went with him. It was just the two of us and we did get some separation. We immediately started smooth rotations trying to build our lead but the group just stepped on the gas and caught us. They were not going to let anyone get away. Rune tried to get away with another rider at a different point and we had Joey and myself at the front blocking. They gapped the field nicely and it looked promising as Joey and I faked like we were working hard. Riders rode around us and hosed them down too.

It all came down to that last hill by the farm. I felt that this was where it would happen. Either we would be positioned well at the top of that hill feeling strong or it was over. I tried to stay in top five at the top and did manage that but I was real tired. My hope was that everyone else was too. I made the last turn to the finish in the top five but man I was blown. I gave it everything I had but riders were going by me. I managed a 12th place finish. Joey and Rune were in 6 th and 7th which wasn't good enough to get the jersey back. Because Joey and I had good prologues, we were able to manage 2nd and 6th respectively.

James and I came home, watched the hockey game and slept. At least I did.

Here are some random pics from the race:

More Bike People

Riding out of Barton the other day I met a young woman heading out on a training ride. I ask, "Where you riding?" She told me and we began a discussion in which she told me she is in training to ride across the country for the American Lung Association!!! This is my dream ride! At heart, I am a bike tourist. To just ride for hours a day and watch the country roll by and all for such a worthy cause. Want more info? Check out her blog:

Exploring Corners

Another great blog to check out is my son's new blog!! Don't worry, mom and dad are always looking over his shoulder and he doesn't get email. He loves to write so I felt this would be a good thing for him. He is a very creative writer and big bike enthusiast.

Bike Boy

One last thing. I have finally committed myself to ride the MS 150 again this year. If you want to help my wife and I in our fundraising efforts, please go to:

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=1885220&pg=personal&fr_id=5571

Another Day In Louisville

Duty calls. Two straight days on the road flying for the "the Man." He calls and I jump!! So, I find myself in Louisville for the second day in a row. Not too bad really. Yesterday, my bud Josh and I hung out at coffee and bike shops all day oogling at bikes and surfing the net. I am a little tired but hanging in there. I am back at the coffee shop right now chillin' over a cold cup of coffee. I had it poured a while back. Time for a warm up I guess.

My job is strange in that it allows for a massive amount of training but completely blocks it at times. Wake up time yesterday and today is around 4am and I will walk back in the door of my home in Saline around 7pm tonight totally gassed. It is pretty pointless to train that tired. Bottom line is that I didn't train yesterday and I won't train today. I try and plan around this type of thing but yesterday's trip popped up just the day before so there it is. So I try to smile, take a long draw on this excellent Sunergos coffee and plan for the weekend.

Still no great revelations regarding the race this weekend. I figure I'll set up my bike with aerobars and 175mm cranks for the prologue. There is a big hill right after the start so I will try and build as much speed as I can using around 300 watts. Stay low on the bike and just fly down that hill. I seem to go pretty fast downhill so maybe I can snag a few seconds there. Low, low, low...stay out of the wind. Then do the 6 minute power thing which should be around 300-330 watts. In my testing I have done 6 minute tests and they are just super painful. I would much prefer to go longer at a slightly lower power and lay down the ride over a longer length. Make the turn around and head back to that hill to climb back to the finish. This is where sheer courage and mental toughness will take over. It is going to hurt climbing that hill but if I can just go into pain mode and gut it out I think I could do well. The time differences will be close given the length.

The crit and road race will be tough but I think I will be involved at the finish. I hope to get Joey to the line in first. It may mean I have to blow myself up before the sprint but that is my job. Wouldn't it be great if it didn't come down to a sprint? Wouldn't it be great if we could get Joey and maybe Rune into a break? The rest of us would mass at the front and just smother the other teams with efficient blocking.

I will rest tomorrow and carbo-load. After a good sleep tomorrow night, I hope to feel like I did the day of the Willow TT. Like a coiled spring. After all the time off the bike the last two days it is looking a lot like that week did.

What's with all the bugs this spring?

Is it just me or are there a lot of bug collisions this year? I keep taking hits in my helmet vents and even caught some kind of stinging insect inside my sunglasses today! Traveling down Waterloo-Munith Rd with a strong tailwind doing 25 or 30 and a buzz then a crawling insect on the inside of my left lense. Off come the glasses but by then he had gone on the offensive and stung me on my left upper cheek. Ouch. It didn't hurt for long. I took one a couple years ago just inches away from that certain spot where no one wants to get stung. I still have a scar. Must have been one big wasp.

I took off early today to beat the storms and I am glad I did. Great warm spring weather. I rode against a strong headwind all the way to Munith then got blown back to Ann Arbor. I was pretty gassed today but still managed to enjoy some rather speedy moments in the 53x12 combo. It didn't take long to get from Chelsea to Dexter. I wouldn't know because I still don't have a bike computer and James borrowed my new watch. BTY, I got one of those LA4 Nike watches. Pretty cool.

Work calls the next two days. Josh and I are flying together tomorrow which will be fun. I am sure we will hit Cycler'sCafe in Louisville and Sunergos.

Peaking

Last week and this week are peaking weeks for me. Theoretically, I should be at my best this weekend. No excuses are available for a subpar performance. So, I have been doing some fine-tuning and resting. Every 72-96 hours I try to get a race specific training session in. I would love to do this on a group ride but it has been rough putting it together due to schedule conflicts. So, it has been up to me to rough myself up on training rides. It has actually been quite a challenge to train as hard on my own as I would in a group.

I don't know what to expect this at the Tour of Kensington Valley this weekend. The short uphill prologue is going to hurt big-time and I have no feel for how I will do on that distance. I think Rune could do a lot of damage. In testing, this has been his strongest area. 2.5 miles should take something less than 5-10 minutes somewhere which is not where my strengths lie. I like my chances better on the crit and the road race if I plan recovery well. Nutrition and recovery is going to be key.

A pleasant surprise

Driving my daughter to school yesterday, I received a call from the police officer that I had the talk with earlier in the week. He wanted to call to let me know that I was right about riding two abreast. What a humble guy.

When I last posted I was in a funk. Many thanks to all who commented. It helped a lot. We live and we learn. I am back on the bike and still searching for balance. Speaking of balance, I am going to grab a bottle of wine and watch some TV with my wife ahora mismo!!! Adios!

Balance

Balance is something I need to do better at establishing. Yesterday I didn't balance well. Yeah, I want to put in the hours to be a great bike rider but at what cost? I went out for 3.5 hours yesterday and after a series of setbacks, I was back in my car at 2pm to drive to South Lyon to pick up a new frame for my son James. I got home with just enough time to shower and drive my daughter and some of her friends to a soccer game. I was doing the bike thing from 8am to 3:30 pm and in the process let my wife down. At the moment, I am tired sitting in a hotel business center and contemplating selling all my bike stuff and giving it up. Tony's crash on Hines yesterday isn't helping either. He went down with several other riders at 28 mph and had 9 stitches and will be several days healing up. It just seems like this whole thing takes over sometimes and robs me of all common sense. Anyway, you can comment and tell me to toughen up and quit thinking so much about things but this is just the plain raw emotion that I am feeling right now.

I could tell you what an awesome ride I had yesterday and how snappy my legs felt but it seems out of place somehow.

I did have an interesting conversation with a Washtenaw County Sheriff deputy. Josh and I were riding two abreast on HRD and he pulled up behind us and told us to ride single file. I questioned him on it and we ended up talking it over. I told him I thought he might not have a correct understanding of the law regarding riding single file in Michigan. He told me that a rider cannot "impede" traffic and riding two abreast is "impeding". This was one of those golden moments when I was able to pull out my copy of the motor vehicle code and show it to the officer:

257.660(1) A person operating a bicycle or moped upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practical exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction.

(2) A person riding a bicycle, motorcycle or moped upon a roadway shall not ride more than 2 abreast except on a path or part of a roadway set aside for the exclusive use of those vehicles.

The code allows for us to ride 2 abreast. We cannot ride more than two abreast unless we are on a special bike path or roadway set aside for us to ride on. Nothing in the code says we must ride single file to avoid impeding traffic. The officer was really cool and wrote down the section of the code and said he would research it further. His concern is for our safety. He says he sees cyclists doing some pretty nutty stuff out on HRD. We need to do our part and observe the motor vehicle code ourselves and not ride more than two abreast. When we do ride two abreast we need to squeeze ourselves together as far to the right as possible and when we are causing a multi-car backup by riding two abreast we need to be good ambassadors and move out of the way. Not because we have to but because it is the kind thing to do.

Cone Reports

Scott posted this regarding Cone:

Scott said...

Just brutal...I was not prepared for how tough the first dirt section would be with the cross wind. I was trying to stay out of the wind on the right and got pushed off into the grass (by a big gust of wind) and gapped shortly after hitting the dirt. Spent the rest of the race trying to close the gap to the leaders(never happened), but did work well with some of the WSC and TCC guys to stay competitive and pick off guys that bonked. As I told my fellow chasers...it is a race of attrition as much as anything else; be patient. Sure enough, we moved up about 4 positions on the next lap. I did 3/4 of the last lap alone, and managed to pick off 2 riders and finish a respectable 7th. Not bad considering the guys in front were 10-20yrs my junior. Note to self...different water bottle cages next time. Lost a bottle on first lap and really suffered on the last lap.

Cone Azalia??

Anybody want to comment on this year's Cone Azalia celebration of rolling pain?

Saturday Report

I dragged myself out of bed after 3 hours of sleep to take the kids up to Kensington to train with the juniors. It was a beautiful day to ride. I could only say this after caffeination at Starbucks on the way.

James, Alexey and Rem are primed for the Kensington race. We hit the first hill and they broke loose charging up the hill. I yelled at them to "chill" but they were going! After a calm-down coaching session we got them more into a work groove surveying the course and thinking about tactics. James and Alexey are pretty closely matched. I think they will have some tactical options this season so we spent some considerable time working on that. I foresee them being out on their own a lot so I want them to work smoothly together so their breaks will sustain. Also, there will be those times when they get popped off the back of a mixed group and they need to not panic and work together smoothly in those moments. There will also be those times when it is them and an unwanted third wheel so they need to think about how you dispense with such a one as this.

We stopped by the new bike shop in Brighton on Main St.. If you haven't been there check it out! It is very cool with an emphasis on high end road and tri gear.

No Cone for me today. This will be a family day with church, a little honey-do, then a 2 hour ride. Balance, balance, balance.

Light Show

Flying home late night from the west coast Friday, we flew by that viscious line of storms that tore up Kansas so bad. We stayed about 100 nautical miles away from the storms at 41,000 feet but still encountered pretty rough air. These were some of the nastiest storms I have witnessed in my flying career. Along with our passengers, we marveled at the incredible light show and stunning chains of lightning flying from cloud to cloud. In the big storms I have watched in the past, you see the cloud light up as lightning goes off inside the could but this was the first time I saw the chains flying outside the cloud at very high altitudes. At one point I remarked that we were going to read about these storms in the papers tomorrow. Here's one headline:

Huge twister kills at least 9 in Kansas

The power that was being unleashed just had to bring devastation.

Work v. Training

Thankfully this is a recovery week. I keep telling myself that it is okay that I am not riding as much but it is hard. I really need a coach who can stand apart from this internal drive and tell me, "It's okay to rest Darrell...really."

Anyway, due to family life issues and work I didn't train yesterday and today looks to be a hotel bike workout today if I can get that done. Tomorrow may be a Kensington day with the juniors if I can get the kids to pack the car on their own. I think they will. They are getting better at this all the time.

Sadly, another one of my co-workers was just diagnosed with cancer. Pancreatic this time. Our work group really rallied around him. We invited anyone who wanted to pray for John to meet us in the boss's office and a good 10-12 people showed up. All this as we plan to attend the viewing of our friend Lissa who died on Wednesday.

A Great Loss...

When you get to the mid-point, things like cancer happen. Yesterday, my dear friend Lissa Chase lost her battle with breast cancer. Lissa was one of our flight attendants and we worked together for 17 years. We traveled the world together, shared countless meals, sang John Denver and Jimmy Buffet songs together and now she is gone. She was as honest and transparent a friend as I have ever known and the loss will be felt for a long time to come.

An Early Morning, Coffee, Bikes and Scones

Man, you gotta love recovery weeks. Even though it was an early morning and it was a touch on the cold side, we had an awesome ride yesterday morning. Starting out from Barton at 7am we fought the rush hour traffic through HRD and Dexter and caffeinated at Zou Zou's in Chelsea. The traffic at HRD and Mast was so bad we could not make the left hander to go into Dexter. Instead, we went right then left onto HRD turned around and got into a long line of cars waiting to turn right onto Mast. Funny thing was almost all of these cars made a quick left back onto HRD after the right on Mast. HRD was more like I94 then a quiet, curvy scenic byway.

More often than not we see Paul Almand on these early rides through Chelsea. He stopped by for his morning brew and we talked bikes and racing for a moment or two before he retreated to his office.

Josh was not on a recovery week so I had him do some cruise intervals on the Waterloo loop. Once he got warmed up, he seemed to enjoy the efforts. This made the loop go by pretty quickly and before we knew it we were back at Zou's meeting one of our fellow pilots for more coffee then back to Barton.

Later that day, I asked James if he wanted to do the Barton ride with the junior team and he was game so we loaded up and headed back to Barton for a 6p ride out. We met the team and Coach Lovejoy. He took James and Jacob and I took Caleb along with Dan, one of our club members looking for some riding partners. At the entrance to the park I noticed a rider who looked like he was looking for someone and we struck up a conversation. I asked if he wanted to join us and he took me up on it so the four of us worked together for a bit before Dan rode off to Whitmore Lake and the rest of us worked on hill repeats, speed drills and cornering at The Preserve.

The rider we met, Luke, is a grad student in engineering at the "U". He made the ride across America last year from Astoria, Oregon to Virginia Beach. How many people do we ride by out there who have stories to tell like this guy and we never make a connection? I also met one of our new club members who greeted us while we were riding back to Barton. Carl is an orthopedic surgery resident at the U. Again, when you talk to people, you are amazed at the diversity in this town. So many overachievers, eh? And then there's me...a General Studies major from Western Michigan University operating a glorified limosuine!! It just makes me chuckle! Over and over again you meet people like this in this town. MIT, Harvard, Princton, Yale, etc, etc. Professors, MD's, PHd candidates and world class musicians and on and on, but on the bike, we are, somehow, all the same! What a crazy town this is.

More Training, More Reflecting

I've been thinking a lot about the end of the season lately. The season has started out strong with a good result at Willow and confidence building races at Runway but it is a looonnngggg season, eh? Many, many folk, (including some of my athletes), had great Willow TT times last year and ended up disappointed at Hines in August. I don't want that to happen this year.

Taking recovery weeks seriously has never been my strong suit. The thinking goes, "ride harder all the time and you will get better." This is where we get into trouble. This year I am going to take recovery seriously and this week I find myself right in the middle of a rest/recovery week after completing two build phases. I took two days off last week due to work and life but, reflecting, I needed that. I was dangerously close to being over trained. My legs were sore all the time. I didn't want to ride my bike, etc.. By Friday, I was locked and loaded again. People were asking me how I felt Saturday before the TT and all I could say was that I felt like a "coiled spring". I am learning that this is what proper rest and recovery can do for you after training hard. So this week is going to be fun. In 20 minutes I am heading out for an early morning coffee shop ride. The kind of ride that, on other weeks, would ring up magnificent guilt vibes. None of that today. I want to kill in August, (for my church friends this is bike lingo for ride fast!!). Regression in August would be so very disappointing so rest and recovery is going to be taken as seriously as any intense anaerobic capacity workout.

Further Reflections On STS 4

As I said in a previous post, the Lathrup team put on a clinic last Sunday. That is how I want to race this year. That was how it should be done. Yeah I know they are strong but we can rival their brute strength to a certain degree in the cat 3 field. We can potentially match their race savvy. In the cat 3 field, our team will be amongst the strongest this year. Joey will be able to do what Josh did in that A-field and we have the strength to support him. I hope we can get our guys out to Runway for the AAVC crit practices so we can hone these skills in practice races. Escapes, blocking, lead-outs, etc..

Time to head on out . TTFN

STS # 4 Recap

This day, the Lathrup team put on a criterium clinic. They absolutely "schooled" the rest of the field. There is no question they have the strongest rider in Michigan racing right now in Josh Tarrant who took the win. Not that but they managed to put two riders into the winning break and had two or three others blocking magnificently at the front of the peloton. It was amazing to watch as they held a death-grip on the competition. If anyone shot off the front, one of them would go and break it up. Then, they would go back to setting tempo at the front blocking any further attempts at a chase. I was very impressed and learned a lot about bike racing today.

The race was 60 1K laps. After last week, I was very leery of going too hard too early. When the break got away no one person or team would be the one to lead the chase. Everyone was looking to someone else to burn matches to chase them down. By the last five laps we were really getting close. I could see them just a couple hundred meters up the road but what I didn't see was Josh Tarrant's solo break that beat them by 20 seconds!

Josh Tarrant crosses the line 20 seconds in front of the break

Overall, the tempo wasn't as hard as the previous week. I felt very good going into the last five laps. I was employing my "Blair Dudley" tactic which simply means I kept Blair in view and did what he did. Nobody knows this course like him...nobody. He will always be in a position to win the field sprint at this course. Follow his wheel and you will be in good shape. Going into the last lap I was a couple of riders back from Blair. I didn't see any of my teammates and didn't know for sure where they were so I decided to just stick with Blair until I saw someone else.

That's me on the last lap inthe orange and black kit three riders back from Blair in the black kit

I held my position as we entered the sprint and as I kicked I rubbed wheels with the rider in front of me and nearly went down. I kept the bike upright but that was just enough to blow any chance to have a good finish in the sprint. Riders blew by me left and right. Oh well...that's bike racing.

Willow Time Trial 2007

The Willow TT officially marks the beginning of my race season. Everything before is prep.

The preceeding week was a hectic one. I flew all day on Thursday which negated any training. I had every intention of getting on the trainer when I got home but I was absolutely gassed. I had been feeling the accumulation of training stress in the form of leg soreness and fatigue. It seemed wise to just stay off the bike. The next day, Friday, I had to run around town doing errands and working on some home improvement assignments. When I hadn't gotten on the bike by dinner I decided it would be in my interest to not deplete glycogen the evening before a big race so I bagged the whole thing. The funny thing was, my legs started to really feel good by the time I went to bed. I carbo-loaded all day which, combined with rest, made my legs feel like coiled springs. It began to feel as though I may have a good day on Saturday.

Last year I would get so excited prior to a race that I had difficulty sleeping. I did Rochester last year on an hour or so of sleep. This year I feel more relaxed. Maybe it can be attibuted to knowing what to expect. Last year every race was a big unknown.

James, Maria and I made the stop at Starbucks for caffeination on the way to Willow Metro Park. Maria has been playing soccer and holding off on her season until that is all behind her. She wanted to enjoy the race atmosphere with us and help us our by acting as our sounivier. I don't think I spelled that right but you know what I mean. She helped us get bikes set up bibs pinned, etc.. She was absolutely fantastic at this job, dare I say, worldclass!!

James was scheduled to go off first at 830am and I at 1030am so I was able to work with James and the rest of our junior team. As a father and a coach I couldn't be any prouder of our guys! For kids to go out and suffer for 35-50 minutes riding as hard as they can is just amazing! I don't think I had the discipline at that age to do what they do and, in addition to that, they seem to love it! Yikes!!!

We love the pre/post race atmosphere. When James is done racing he will usually spin his bike around alternately watching the race an socializing. We have made so many friends in this community from all over the area. Every race is a like a little reunion! He will ride back to me make a report on results and head back out again for more recon.

Anyway, back to the race. James won his category, (Jr. men 13-14) and improved his time over last year by 7 minutes!!!! He had a smile on his face as he went by us at the half-way point. You just know when you are having a good day and he was. He was kitted out in his AAVC uniform and aero helmet. Check out the pic at the left. Doesn't he look like a bike racer?

He won but not by a huge margin. His teammate Alexey was right behind his time but that was all good! He is thrilled to have a racing buddy on his team after all the lonely races he has done when he starts with the older boys and cat 5's, gets dropped early and guts it out on his own. He is getting closer and closer to being a player in these races.

I don't want to forget my athletes who all had great performances. My teammate Rune "Ruin" Duke improved his time over last year by 44 seconds to take twelth in the cat 3 field. John Burrows knocked off 1:11 from last year to take 12th in a very competitive Masters 45-54 field. Mike Sackett managed to 32:33 for his very first time trial to take 7th in the cat 5 field. This is always a very competitive group because many strong triathletes show up and post very good times. Not bad posting the 82nd out of 230 riders on your first time out! Josh Freeling also did his first TT and he did it without aerobars managing a 38:08! Zach Maino knocked off 2:17 seconds and took 11th in the cat 4's! As a coach I was very pleased with all of their performances. After a good start, my goal is to keep the steady improvement going all the way through the year. We don't want to end up going in reverse like we have seen in the past.

As for me, I managed to clock a 30:09 to take 2nd in the cat 3's right behind my fellow SLC mate Joey Schaard. Remember that name...Schaard. He posted a 28:55!!! That is 12th overall! And this without a disc wheel or aero helmet which easily would have bagged him 30-40 more seconds which would have nudged him very close to a top 5 finish overall. Wow! That's Joey in the pic on the left.

I was very pleased with my time. My target was to get something around 31:00 which would have been a 3 minute improvement over last year. As it turned out, I cut 4 minutes off of last year. What difference one full year of racing can make.

After the racing we gathered for sorting/protesting phase of the day. As always, some folk miscounted their laps and turned impressive 5 lap times! James earned $15 for his efforts and a blue ribbon.