Saturday, May 30, 2009

Garden Creek Gap: Missions accomplished

Mission #1: Improve last year's Garden Creek Gap results of 20th place. As I left the race I was listed in 7th. We'll see how I end up once the final results are posted.

Mission #2: Achieve a top ten position in a road race to earn a TT bike. Wooohooo!

A few notes on the race. I raced Mens 35+B which is made up of Categories 3-4-5. Why? I felt it would be useful to race with others from BCC Racing so we could stack the field and perform better than if we stayed in separate Category 4 and 5 fields.

The race was good, maybe even great. It would have been awesome had I stuck with the lead pack of 5-6 throughout whole the race. Team wise Adam was an incredible blocker in the pack during the first lap and Rogers was equally incredible pulling us back to the lead group during the second lap. I owe them a lot.

I made it through the first lap with them although lost touch on the downhill which is sad. Five of us worked well together to catch up to them on the flats to yield a pack of nine. We then pulled in a constant rotation for the majority of the flats of the second lap.

If I made a mistake it probably was to actually contribute to the rotating paceline during the second lap. Contender guy even got "free rent in my head" as he was bitching about us not contributing. So after I finish eating some shot blocks during my short break in the rotation I get back to the rotation, and get to my turn, and they stop rotating. They leave me up front to pull for 1/4 mile or so, around the last turn, and for the first climb. I start the climb trying to be intelligent about my energy but they accelerate just enough to drop me and four others. Barely drop me, but enough for me to yell SHIT!.

They smell blood and accelerate a little more to create enough of a split that I could not reel in. I get passed by two others that are going a little slower and grab on to the wheel. I suck Alan-from-Bountiful-Mazda's wheel for a bit then notice we are remaining within grasp of the lead pack so the next little hill I bridge the gap. Almost. I was actually 1/2 way across the 70-100 yard gap and one of the lead guys turns around, notices us, tells the others, and they stand on it to increase the gap. Again just enough to be out of reach.

The remainder of the climb is spent with Alan which is a super strong guy that pulled most of the flatter areas of the climb. I hang with Alan until just after the Gap then he gets a little space between us. I really tried to reel him in during the last 300-400 meters and got relatively close but to no avail. It will be interesting to see how many seconds behind I was.

Gorgeous day. Warm, no wind, rubber side stayed down. Top ten. Success.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

My baby is gone


One of the last pictures of my 2006 Madone before I sold it. As the new owner was placing it on his bike rack to take it away I felt I had made a mistake and should not let it go. How sad am I?

My lovely woman tells me I need to stop being attached to material things. Obviously she doesn't get the bond between a real bike and its owner. Those "Specialized" riders just don't get it :)

All this happened even after I ordered my new gorgeous machine, which I don't yet have in my posession but should be completed soon. One would think knowing this killer bike is on its way would help the transition yet I still felt sad...I still FEEL sad that my 2006 Madone is gone. We had many great miles together.

I hope to get acquainted to my new bike soon enough to improve on last year's result at Garden Creek Gap. A whole lot of hill climbing is in my future. With a 53/39 double. No more triple crank crutch. Ouch.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Bear Lake results


I reached one of my season goals by improving my Bear Lake Classic Road Race results. I finished 3 seconds behind the winner of the Category 4 group, which unfortunately translated to 20th place. Now the results show 21st place. I just don't understand how results change after the original results, especially after the challenge period. The difference between 20th and 21st is irrelevant anyways.

The weekend was excellent racing wise though. I performed well and I felt good during the road race. The race, the pace, the rollers, the whole thing was definitely easier than last year. I even positioned myself well for the last sprint at 0.6 mile from the finish line, but fell short by getting blocked behind racers that sprinted too early, and simply ran out of steam.

I feel I did even better on Sunday. The team time trial was a very difficult event, we raced super well as a team, and had a great time. I think the five of us were pretty well matched personality wise.

Overall BCC Racing did a fantastic job with a few top 10 and many top 20 results. We even got some newbies out there that ended up having a great time.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

The ultimate therapy


Mountain biking on single track in a forest. It doesn't get better than that.

I had been going completely nuts without some kind of stress release, and just before I killed someone I went to the doctor to be told I could ride again. So I did. And man was it a great feeling.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Arthritis?

I am told by a sports medecine doctor my knee injury is arthritis. After many "feel" tests, ultrasounds, x-rays, the verdict is arthritis. In other words: I am an old fart. I suppose the good news is I did not tear ligaments.

Solution: There is none. Take glucosamine for the rest of my life. Manage the pain. Quit being a wussy.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Not a PG-rated blog

Jokingly, someone asked me what F@#$@$ meant in a previous post. It means FUCKING. I thought I was trying to be nice to the people that have trouble with those types of words, or are told to have trouble with those words. Fuck it. Welcome to real life. Yeah I am angry.


And my knee is not any better. Fuck that too.