First race and Sunday long ride

Well now that I have done my first race and gained valuable experience, I am looking forward to the rest of the season. The first half of the race went well as I was fighting in the pack for position and sprinting out of the turns with the best of them. As the race went on and the lack of oxygen in my muscles began to affect my stellar first half performance, I fell back on the long start finigh straight. Once I had lost the pack, the head wind, and of course the debilitating lactate acid in my quads, allowed the pack to pull away bit by bit over the last few laps. I magaged to keep pushing as hard as I could and managed to pass two riders who fell off the main pack later in the race. I am looking forward to improving my performances as the season continues.

Now on to today's ride. A nice three hour ride where it snowed and sleeted for at least half of the ride, and I returned home looking like I had just finished mountain biking. Half of the salt and cinders used to defrost the PA roads for the last month were sprayed all over my bike and body. On a cool note I managed to ride for an hour with a group of Cat 2 riders I saw on the ride and asked if I could ride with them for awhile.

Upgraded from D to A tonight

I finally applied for my A upgrade tonight and got it within five min. of submitting it, pleasent. I'm a little nervous but excited to see if my winter training has paid off at NAVY this weekend. Should be fun...

Great Saturday Ride / Random Snow Pictures

Goals:::Fun Event

Yes, I'm lame... I'm the last to post my goals for this year.
Yes, they're lame goals, but they are realistic goals as well.

I'm not going to sugar coat it. I havn't been riding... at all. A deadly mix of procrastination, heavy course load coupled with fact I need strait A's to maintain graduating with Magna (maybe even Summa) Cum Laude honors, and foul weather. No excuses.. I know...

Anyways, I think I've missed my training deadlines to compete in the opening ECCC races. I'm not going to go, waste my money, and embarass myself. I am going to start today and set a goal to be physically ready for the Philly Phlyer.

So here it goes:

1. Ass(ets) in the saddle: I have plenty of movies to get in at least a 45minute spin in the basement nearly every day for a month.

2. Run: Best way to build up the cardio and lose weight. And to train for the Tough Mudder Run...

3. Lift: I will be applying to multiple police agencies in the upcoming months... I need to pass their physical fitness standards.

4. Complete a full ECCC Crit race (Cat D) without getting pulled! (Set your goals low, then you won't be as dissappointed)

5. Make it to the Philly Phlyer, Princeton/Stevens Races, Bucknell, Army, and possibly Dartmouth.

6. Be in shape to compete in the Tough Mudder Race May 2nd.

This brings me to my "Fun Event" Would anyone like to go to do this Tough Mudder Race with me. It looks insanely fun. Tough, but fun. And it would be a break from cycling before Nationals.

7 mile run through trees, water, obstacles, fire, and mud. AND>>>Live Music, Free t-shirt, and (root)Beer afterwards!

I guess I'm making it my ultimate goal. I know I won't do well, but for me, the challenge of getting in enough shape to run a 7 mile race will be a victory all in itself.

Ok. Run outside today and TNR tomorrow (weather pending). LET'S GO!!!

Tour of Qatar

I've had way to much fun following the Tour of Qatar over the last week. I've streamed some of the races live or watched parts on youtube. Check out this amazaing sprint by the Liquigas rider Francesco Chicchi on the final stage of the event.

Just advance it to 8:25 into the clip to see the final sprint, crazy stuff!

the tree and farm race is ON!

Yes, indeed. Saturday, tomorrow, February 13, 2010, marks the inaugural tree and farm race.

For an interactive, more detailed map, click here.

But, of course, the route had to be modified somewhat to accommodate the snow...which means the non-road sections have been eliminated. :-(

Hincapie disapproves...


...but what are you gonna do.

START TIME: 9:30 am, Saturday, February 13, 2010.

START PLACE: Southhampton Township Park. (See map for details. Start location indicated by green dot. Easy access from the freeway--take the Walnut Bottom Road exit. For those interested, I'll probably be rolling from my house around 9:00 am. If you'd rather meet here that's fine.)

For those not interested in the full 54.5 miles, several bailout points back to Shippensburg are available (consult the map for your favorite).

Saturday's gonna be a cold one. Wear your warm gloves!

...

TURN-BY-TURN CUE SHEET

(I suggest copying, pasting, and formatting to your liking...then zip-tying to your top tube or retaining in your back pocket for easy on-the-bike reference. I'll have a few extra day-of, but it'd be better if you printed your own. And please stare at the map a while so as to get a sense of where this thing is going down.)

START at the park.
South on Neil (1.1)
L on Cleversburg (0.2)
L on White House (0.2)
R on Walnut Dale (2.3)
R on Mountain Estates/Strohm (0.4)
R on Chestnut Grove (0.8)
R on Gutshall (1.3)
turns into Furnace Hollow (1.4)
R on Mountain View (1.9)
R on Pine (0.7)
L on Quarry Hill (1.2)
R (still Quarry Hill; 0.4)
L (still Quarry Hill; 0.9)
turns into Springfield (1.0)
R on Big Spring (3.0)
L on Fairfield/533 (2.3)
R on Bulls Head (2.7)
L on Steelstown (0.2)
R on Whiskey Run (3.6)
R on Mountain (0.2)
L on Pine Knob (0.5)
L on Woods (1.0)
R on Mountain (1.1)
L on Oak Bend (1.0)
turns into Gobbler Knob (0.8)
L on Bridgewater (1.7)
R on Gameland (0.7)
R on Mountain (1.1)
L on Zion (1.6)
L on Peebles (1.7)
L on 641 (0.1)
R on Covered Bridge (0.9)
R on E Creek (1.8)
R on 696 (0.2)
L on W Creek (1.6)
L on Burnt Mill (2.1)
L on Maclay's Mill (1.1)
L on Middle Spring (0.5)
cross 696...
turns into Gephart (1.4)
L on Mud Level (1.5)
R on Duncan (1.4)
L on Newville/533 (0.1)
R on Foltz (1.0)
turns into Kline (1.5)
R on Walnut Bottom/174 (1.0)
L on Goodhart (0.9)
L on High (0.6)
FINISH AT MPH SIGN!

It's Official

Well, I got my racing license in the mail so now I am officially psyched to race. I am sure I am not the only one who is ready to get their competition on. Only two and a half weeks until Navy which I am down for participating in. Now if only I could get some training rides in outside instead of on the trainer. On the plus side I am getting in some good upper body workouts shoveling the driveway repeatedly. Even Lance does some upper body conditioning in the off season so I think it will only benefit my cycling performance.

Superb Snow Ride

I did a solid 1hr 45min ride today. I didn't get out the last two days due to the snow and I was in no mood to ride the trainer today. I felt really really good on the second part of the ride putting in some nice efforts. Like normal, I have some cool cell pictures of the roads and my ice covered bike. I'll put those up later today or tomorrow.

I've enjoyed reading everyone's goals and I think some people still need to share---- maybe? Mike, Cody, Kevin?

Go SAINTS!!!

Only 3 Riders Brave the Snow...

Well, it was a good TNR today. Brad, Chop, and I were the only ones to show up for a snowy ride. Due to time constraints we decided to have a short and pretty hard workout... The goal was the negative split 3 laps, which we did, and was quite fun. Too bad we didn't have a photographer (Jon) to take some snow pics.

february

If anyone is feeling down, depressed, disinterested, or discontent about the weather (and riding in this weather) I'd like to remind you of this:


Get excited. Spring is coming. And the more you ride now the more you'll enjoy your riding when it's warm.

And you've all got those awesome new jackets to wear. Which is awesome.

Yup. Awesome.

(For those that haven't picked up their jackets yet--Jimmy, Chris T. (who else?)--I've got them in my basement and they're not doing any good there. Come get yours and put it to use!)

2010 Goals

1. Earn my new bike on the road

2. Not be last place in my races

3. Have fun!!! :D

2010 Goals

Ok, here are some goals so Jon and Chop don't feel so alone in revealing their goals to all who read the blog.
1. No DFL's unless there is some sort of mechanical failure.
2. I want to be competitive in each race finishing with the main pack and competing for the win.
3. I want to win at least one race during the season.
4. I want to improve my climbing, tactics, and bike handling skills as I gain experience racing with a group.
5. I want to develop sculpted calves.
6. I want to spot and admire at least one person (preferrably female) who makes wearing spandex an art form.
7. And of course have fun.

Chop's 2010 Goals

So far my training is getting off to a horrific start, but I hope to iron out the wrinkles soon.

- the collegiate season last year was a lot of fun and I am just glad that I have one more opportunity to participate.

- I am probably going to enter the Navy race as a D just to feel out my legs, but I would like to be a competitive C.

- I think that if I can get my shit together I could race with the B's maybe not very competitively but it would still be fun.

- Last year I put in 7,115.3 miles and I am making it a personal goal to beat that milage, but I already have a two month handicap since I have done next to no riding at all so far this year.

- With this internship that I just started and 4-400 level courses I barely have a minute to spare for riding. I work until it is dark so going outside is not even a possibility until the time changes and I have so much freaking work to do that getting on the trainer is proving very difficult. Ill be lucky if I can get 6 hours a week on my bike and that is less than half of what I was doing at this time last year.

- So basically, my current goal is to just try and squeeze as many hours out of my schedule as I can.

- #1 goal is to have a good time and enjoy the thrill of racing while hanging out with good people.

2010 Goals - Please post your own goals now

Collegiate Season-

Be competitive in the A field

Try to get one top 5 finish

Race smart and have better positioning in crits

Qualify for Nationals!


Regular season-

Try to break my fourth place curse and score a podium spot- preferably several times

Compete in at least one stage race

Try a time trial, have to get better at these eventually

Work for someone else to secure them a victory or something close

Great Saturday Ride

Just a quick picture post right now since I need to shower. I just washed my bike off and ate a 700 calorie stir fry. The ride was sweet with a lot of new guys and the biggest group I can remember for a while now. I took these pictures after we had split up a little but I think Dr. Goates got some of the entire group when we started.

the anatomy of a sprint

I can't sprint worth beans, but that's not for lack of respect for those that can. IMO, one of the coolest things about cycling is the organic snake-like flow of the pelaton as it winds up to a climatic, chaotic bunch finish.

Youtube "sprint finish tour de france" and watch a few clips. It's the areal shots that really move me. Crazy awesome stuff.

From this year's Tour Down Under (going on now). Andre Gripel, putting on a clinic:



For you newbies that haven't yet discovered the addictive joy of following professional bicycle racing, let me introduce you to cyclingnews.com and velonews.com.

You're welcome.

tour of south mountain

the map

la course de l'arbre et cultive

the map

MLK day riding

Wow. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures.

Yesterday we had a great club ride in couldn't-ask-for-better weather. Eight of us. Six of whom will be racing in Ship colors this spring.

I'm excited. Are you excited?

...

On the tail end of the loop, along Mud Level Road, Kelley and I were privy to some wonderfully picturesque landscapes. With six riders up ahead, every time you'd crest a hill or a little rise we'd see y'all--not in color, just a kind of shadow relief--against the deep blue of the southern January sky.

It was stuff worthy of Graham Watson.

I was moved.

...

Later, before heading home, I spun up the mountain towards Big Flat. It was a treat to see Cody flying down, deep in a tuck. Way to get in the tough bonus miles.

H(ing)TFU.

...

See y'all tonight.

caps!

So I've been super naughty in not getting these hats ordered. A combination of forgetting and not-quite-really-wanting-to-do-it. I'm sure you know the feeling.

Anyway, I'm finally doing it. Woo-hoo.

So, I remember that most of y'all, when asked, choose the traditional "euro-style"cap over the "tech" cap. But unable to commit, I asked for samples. Champion was kind enough to oblige. I'm glad I asked, because now that I've tried both on, the tech cap is clearly superior.

I took some pictures, but I'm not sure how much (about the caps) you'll be able to glean from them. But here goes...

Tech cap:


Perhaps you'll notice the major flaw--and this was true with both caps--is that when you flip up the brim it brings some of the headband with it. You see that white strip... That's pretty lame. But with the traditional cap it was actually painful to do the flipping--just a weird, tight headband design--but with the tech cap it felt fine, it just looks funny.

Euro-style:


I don't know if you can see, but the euro-style cap puffs up all funny...it's one of the most poorly designed cycling caps I've tried on (and I have a lot of these).

But the tech cap is super sweet. The fabric is great (stretchy and breathable--like a jersey). It's more form-fitting over your head. All around better. The only drawback is that it seemed a touch shallower...meaning that the euro-cap came way down atop my ears, whereas the tech cap came almost there. So those of you with deeper heads (lower ears) may prefer the euro-style.

...

So this is the deal. Based on my experience with the two, I'm ordering the tech cap. Unless I hear a strong and sustained desire for the other. You've got like two days to voice your opinion.

I'm ordering about 40 (the minimum is 25). They'll be available to you all at cost and to anyone else at a modest markup. But no one need feel obligated to buy one. What's left over I'll put in In-Gear to sell and will use for giveaways at sponsored races and such.

...

I'm also ordering socks.


I'll order fifty (because that's the minimum). Four inch cuffs (because higher is better). Black w/ red (because euro-white is retarded...though the green sample sock they sent is pretty cool).

Something like this:


(The white checkered part will be black. The white dot thing on the back is the Champion Systems logo, which has to be on there. And now that I'm looking at the picture...probably the toe and heal should be black too. The boat logo--angle corrected, of course--on just one or both sides?)

They'll also be available to club members for cost, everyone else for a modest markup. And I also plan to use these for giveaways. (Getting a $14 check for winning a race would be kind of lame, but a Ship Cycling cap and socks...awesome.)