Back In The USA!!!

At this moment I am traveling home on a Northwest Airlines jet from Seattle. I am totally gassed from the trip. Sleep has become a real chore. Some nights I get an hour or two then wake up wide awake my body not sure where it is at. Yesterday we flew ten hours and traveled nine time zones leaving at six pm from our departure point and landing at one pm at our destination which was five hours before we left! We went to the hotel in Seattle, slept for an hour then went out for dinner. Back at the hotel that evening I was hoping for a full night's sleep but it didn't happen. I ended up sleeping for a three hours then up for three then back to sleep for another hour and a half before I had to get up to go to the airport. That last little bit of sleep was seriously deep and it was like awaking from a coma. For a few moments I considered catching a later flight but fought fatigue instead and got myself to the airport.

Some of you might think my job is glamorous. I won't argue that it does have its moments but trips like this balance all that stuff. By the time you get home you are just so grateful for America! Land of the cheeseburger! When I think of Chinese food I get queasy. I want a cheeseburger so bad! Maybe tonight.

As far as cycling goes, I haven't done anything since leaving Anchorage. There were some good hotel workout rooms but I was always so tired it didn't make sense to deepen the fatigue any further.

This week I hope to finish up my office project and get busy with annual training plans for next season. It is exciting to think about next year and begin the process of preparing myself and my athletes.

The Latest Is Not Much...

Alright, it's the off season and blogging is just not what it was a week or two ago. That's a given, but here's the best of the rest.

Last Saturday I rode my bike. I rode my bike to Ann Arbor and hooked up with the AAVC group ride. It was a small group but a fun one. We rode out to Dexter, Chelsea then off the grid. Rich Stark led us on some roads that were completely foreign to me but it was crazy fun. DMO was kickin' it pretty good so I got some LT work in and we took in some beautiful scenery on a crisp fall day. I think we made it to Grass Lake and Norvell, (wherever that is), then back to Saline via Pleasant Lake Rd. I left the group there and rode back to my house. It was super, super fun.

Sunday, I didn't ride. Monday I noodled around for an hour or so.

Today, I am working. I rode on NWA to Anchorage to pick up a trip later in the week. At a stop over in Minneapolis, I picked up David Walsh's book "From Lance To Landis: Inside the American Doping Controversy At The Tour De France".
I read a couple of chapters and am totally hooked. David Walsh has been painted as a Lance hater but that is not how he comes off in this book. He is taking a sober look at a cycling culture that has, over the last thirty years, given itself over to doping as an accepted standard. If you want to be competitive you have to dope. An early story tells the tail of junior racers being injected with unknown substances while racing in Europe! It sent a chill down my spine. These were kids and folks with zero medical cred are sticking needles into them, putting pills in their energy bars and so on. According to Walsh even Chris Carmichael was in on it. Before you write him off as a hater read the book. If we don't take a sober look at the situation we can't begin to do something about it. If we don't take a sober look at the situation we may end up putting our juniors in harm's way.

I worked on my website today on the airplane and it is almost ready for viewing. Oh what the heck...check it out:

http://www.velospeedtraining.com

The office is on hold while I'm on this trip. I almost pulled the trigger on an LCD screen yesterday but opted to hold off until I get back.

First week of the off season

I am so sorry for not posting all week. It just hit me on Monday that I don't have another road race until next April and therefore it was time to move other things to the top of my list. I set up my computrainer and I began the long process of trying to figure out how to use the software. I ordered business cards, T-shirts for my coaching business. I set up a new website that is not going to be worth looking at for a few weeks so I won't pass the url along just yet.

Wednesday I got the word that Rob Pulcipher suffered a heart attack on the dirt-hammer ride Tuesday night. The news came as a total shock. I visited Rob and Connie yesterday while Rob was in the midst of being discharged. He was in great spirits and looked great. The doctors have pronounced him "fixed" and he can plan on racing next year. Check out the AAVC forum for the details.

Also this week I began renovating what will be my office. Everything had to go and then prep and paint. I thought I had picked out a neutral color with a hint of orange but when it looks more like a bold suggestion of orange. I may end up re-painting the whole thing if it doesn't cure properly.

Okay, Which Ones Are Sprinters??

I lifted this pic off the Health Net teams website. Check out Menzies legs!

Priority Health Cycling Classic Recap

This was, bar none, the very best bike racing event James and I have raced this season. This was a first class event through the streets of downtown Grand Rapids on old and new brick streets.

The start was on Ionia between Fulton and Oakkes. The setting was beautiful with tall buildings loaded with bars and cafes and lots of brick roads. The course was flat but challenging because of the older brick roads. Turn 2 was by far the worst as the road was wavy. To say it was off camber would be kind. I don't think there was a single crash there all day and I think that says a lot about how careful everyone was. With the uneven bricks, a crash here would have been very painful. The rest of the corners were good with the possible exception of a few ill-placed manhole covers. Thankfully, the course was dry and they didn't cause a problem.

James rode the 4-5 race and did a fantastic job. He hung in there the entire race when fully developed, older riders got shucked off the back. He was the smallest rider in the field and always easy to find with his AAVC kit and white-ish helmet. There were moments where I thought he was going off the back but then he cranked it back up, grabbed a wheel and he was cruising again.

Giff, Zach and the rest of the AAVC boys animated the race and took most of the primes. They lost out to some stud sprinter in the end but it was a great show. It was a very exciting race to watch.

Next up came the 3's. I planned on racing the master 40+ today but I may have had better luck in the 3's due to Bart's upgrade. Zach McBride from Priority Health was all over that and absolutely hammered the field with a dominating performance. He was off the front taking primes, then chilled out just long enough in the pack to take the win. He has blossomed into a very special young rider. I doubt we will see him much longer in the 3's.

My race was next and I was excited to see Schwartzendrubber was racing. It is just easier to call him "Drubber". Jim Bruce from Lathrup lined up also. It was clear to me who needed to be watched closely. James kept an eye on the happenings at Seven Springs this summer and Drubber killed there. I knew he was the class of the field with Jim right there. From the gun, Jim was nabbing primes. BTW, the primes in this race were very rich indeed. $50 & $100 and maybe ever more.

I didn't feel all that great for the first half of the race. The pace was high and I felt like I needed it to slow some before I could become more of a factor. I don't know if it is where I am at in the season but I just felt tired in the first half. The second half was different. The field slowed and I began to feel energized. So, I moved to the front and started to mix it up a little. I made a move with Drubber and was really hoping he would go with me. I pulled through and said, "Let's go Drubber", thinking this may be my chance to get away. I looked back after a few seconds and I was by myself. He apparently wasn't ready to go. When he came by he told me I pulled too hard. I thought it was sort of a mild rebuke for not working smoothly in the break. He sensed I wasn't worthy of the risk and let me go. Later, he told Joe Lekovish that he just didn't have enough at that moment to go that hard.

I took an opportunistic prime for $50 in the last 15 minutes of the race. I found myself near the front with Krywanski leading. I went around him and spun it up. Someone challenged me on the right but I took the sprint fairly easily without going deep. At least I had something to show for the day.

I didn't have good position on that last lap. I should have fought more to get into the top five before the last turn. A group made their move and I was blocked. Coming through the last turn I tried to move up the left guttter, (an admittedly dangerous move), and nearly paid for it because the rider I was overtaking overcooked the turn and nearly pushed me into the curb. From there I floored it. I had good legs left this week so nobody passed me in the sprint and I picked off a few others. Good position on that second to last turn was the key. As I was working in the last lap I felt as though I had sprinting legs and I did. Just bad head-work getting into position. I took 9th place which was good for $45. Add that to my $50 prime and our entry fees and most of our gas was paid for. Not bad for a day like this.

The pro/1/2 race was the most exciting bike race I have ever watched. Health Net/Maxxis, Jittery Joes, Priority Health, Rite Aide and Marco Polo/Discovery Channel were represented. Kirk O'Bee, Cody Stevenson, Karl Menzies were some of the names in the field. Our MI field would have their hands full but they made us all proud with our own Vince Roberge finishing in the top 10!!

Mark White and Frank Pipp were off the front together about 20 seconds. We were hoping they would stay away and the crowds, (3 deep in places), were screaming like I have never heard at a bike race. It was just awesome! With the race coming down to the last few laps, Frank Pipp fell off and left Mark White on his own. We thought he was doomed but he continued to race his heart out trying to stay away. In the end, the charging field caught him and Menzies won the field sprint with Cody Stevenson of Jittery Joe's taking second. Richard England of Priority took third.

After the race, the Cody and the other Jittery Joe's riders came over to our tent and signed autographs for a half hour or so. Very nice folk indeed.

Can't say enough about this race everyone! We need more of this and according to Jamie Smith, we are going to get it. The promoters have promised us even more at this event next year! So put it on your calendar.

Debaets - Devos Pics