So im done I guess. 2200 miles, 29 days.
From Colorado it was all down hill after our 24 mile dirt climb up to 11,910 feet. There was ice and snow on top. We hung out at 10,000 feet for a few days freezing our asses off. 13 degrees one morning.
Matt got super sick one morning and puked a bunch. Then he rode 20 miles and puked a bunch more. Then we rode 4 miles and he passed out after looking like one of the zombies from the thriller movie. Oh and after he puked more. So it was 8 miles downhill to a town, and he was so out of it he couldnt even do that. He was blown. I spent 2 hours trying to hitchhike a ride into the town of Cuba New Mexico. Finally a guy pulled over and picked us up. He drove us straight to a hotel, went inside and hugged the owner and left. She said it was all taken care of and to stay as long as we wanted. Holy shit are strangers nice.
We bought our first dinner since leaving, a big pizza without cheese. Matt puked it up 4 hours later. The next day Matt felt good enough to leave around noon. We pedaled on into some looming clouds. 1 piece of hail rolls towards us.. funny, when one split matt's lip and hit my face so hard that I stopped riding it wasnt funny. That was one of the most brutal days, nowhere to sleep, crazy cold hail/rain stuff ...
Well then we rode a few days down to Pie Townnew mexico, rad town. 180 miles from there with nothing...
Matt's friends picked us up in New Mexico, 100 miles from the border. Chris and Morgan drove 12 hours there, turned around and came home right after. Crazy. LA was overwhelming. So many people, so much traffic too much food. ....
Some stats off the top of my head.
29 days/28 riding days
2200 miles
3 showers
7 dollars spent on lodging TOTAL THE WHOLE TRIP. campgrounds/hotels/hostels. bad ass
shortest a jar of peanutbutter lasted - 11 hours
most flats in 24 hours - I think 9 by Matt with 1 day to go
Most Surly's on a trail above 10,000 feet that day in CO - 3
Cheapest Pancakes - Ovando MT - 2.99 for HUGE cakes
Best Coffee - The bike hostel off of towghatee pass in WY
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Thursday, September 14, 2006
still getting rad
So I am in Breckenridge Colorado. 10,010 feet high. rad. We were riding down the bike path into town and there was a car pulled over. "hey are you doing the great divide?... yeah...you have a place to stay?.... no.. "you want one?" uhhhh yeah! totally go to a dinner party at our new friends' house, eat well, hang out and be WARM. Our new friend Nicole had ridden cross country last summer and wanted to complete the circle of niceness that comes around to you while travelling. This totally made te week.
We crossed the Divide Basin in Wyoming. 137 miles with nothing around. We got caught
in 38 degree pouring rain. We tried hiding under our tarps under rocks (there are no trees) to avoid hypothermia, wearing all of our clothing, but we were still cold. We
rode for 3 more hours in this until finally coming across a highway rest stop where we slept. Then we had the 137 miles with nothing, which lucky for us was sunny with a tailwind pushing us across.
I have given up any hope of trying to eat healthy like I usually do. Yesterday I had: ice cream, milky way, 3 musketeers, and a donut. Yeah baby. Just a few more weeks until mexico.
Oh we camped out at 8900 feet and it was freezing with like an inch of frost on our tents when we got up. There is going to be snow here this weekend, but I think we will be south enough to avoid it. Rad. Keep in touch everybody and email me if you need to get ahold of me. xsteevox at gmail
We crossed the Divide Basin in Wyoming. 137 miles with nothing around. We got caught
in 38 degree pouring rain. We tried hiding under our tarps under rocks (there are no trees) to avoid hypothermia, wearing all of our clothing, but we were still cold. We
rode for 3 more hours in this until finally coming across a highway rest stop where we slept. Then we had the 137 miles with nothing, which lucky for us was sunny with a tailwind pushing us across.
I have given up any hope of trying to eat healthy like I usually do. Yesterday I had: ice cream, milky way, 3 musketeers, and a donut. Yeah baby. Just a few more weeks until mexico.
Oh we camped out at 8900 feet and it was freezing with like an inch of frost on our tents when we got up. There is going to be snow here this weekend, but I think we will be south enough to avoid it. Rad. Keep in touch everybody and email me if you need to get ahold of me. xsteevox at gmail
Friday, September 08, 2006
vacation
Just a heads up to everybody, I left Pittsburgh a bit over 2 weeks ago to try and ride the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route with a long time friend Matt Ruscigno (justin rode across Mexico with him). So far it has been pretty brutal. We started at the canadian border and intend to go the whole 2400 miles to the Mexican border. It is 90% offroad. Montana and Idaho are out of the way. Glacier park was beautiful. We saw moose and elk and had 38 degreee water out of springs when it was 90 degrees o utside. We camped in really remote areas, away from everything, went 2 days without being inside of a building, or being able to. Went a day without seeing anybody else, other than 2 forest workers. Pretty gnarly. We rolled through the home of the unabomber and went right into the high desert of Idaho. 20 degree nights and 85 degree days. 7000 foot being the standard elevation and 9000 being the passes. brutal.
We cross over Tohgatee pass the other day and crossed into Wyomnig. It was a 9700 foot pass that was 16 miles long. That is a big uphill. The people hav been great to us, most slowing down on the dirt roads to not dust us too much. It is really dry and there are forest fires...
I am currently in pinedale wyoming, a stranger just bough Matt and I breakfast. We are headed out for the Great Divide Basin, which is a 135 mile stretch of nothingness... just desert, no water comes into or goes out of it, it is some sort of natural weirdness. There is no water for 135 miles.. we will have to filter it out of the barrels that the cows drink out of. Then we will be in Colorado. Awesome.
We are averaging somewhere in the 70's as far as miles per day. Our slowest day was 8 hours on the bike going 60 miles. brutal singletrack and quad trails slowed us to the point of walking. Our longest day so far was 90 miles, most of which was offroad on a single road. We will climb over the Continental divide 3 times today, all around 9000 feet. Crazy.
We cross over Tohgatee pass the other day and crossed into Wyomnig. It was a 9700 foot pass that was 16 miles long. That is a big uphill. The people hav been great to us, most slowing down on the dirt roads to not dust us too much. It is really dry and there are forest fires...
I am currently in pinedale wyoming, a stranger just bough Matt and I breakfast. We are headed out for the Great Divide Basin, which is a 135 mile stretch of nothingness... just desert, no water comes into or goes out of it, it is some sort of natural weirdness. There is no water for 135 miles.. we will have to filter it out of the barrels that the cows drink out of. Then we will be in Colorado. Awesome.
We are averaging somewhere in the 70's as far as miles per day. Our slowest day was 8 hours on the bike going 60 miles. brutal singletrack and quad trails slowed us to the point of walking. Our longest day so far was 90 miles, most of which was offroad on a single road. We will climb over the Continental divide 3 times today, all around 9000 feet. Crazy.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Shit Luck
Lyrics to the modest mouse song 'shit luck'
This plane is definitely crashing
This boat is obviously sinking
This building's totally burning down
And my, and my (a whole bunch)
And my heart has slowly dried
...
Decided to ride my single speed mountain bike up to Hartwood to do a few loops then head home. I was on my last stretch of singletrack when I hit a brick that was slightly off the path. I go down after hitting my knee off my stem. I get up checking myself out to see if Im ok. I am. I then realize that I have 2 flat tires. sweet. Its ok. I have a tube and a patch kit. I snapped 1 of my tire levers right off the bat. Great. So after using the skewer to take the tire off I managed to rip the valve off of the tube with my pump. Great. 1 tube and 3 patches left and I used the tube and 2 of the patches, everything stuck and got back together ok. I had a bit over an hour ride home, and I wanted nothing more than to be there right then. I managed to get home without another flat...
This plane is definitely crashing
This boat is obviously sinking
This building's totally burning down
And my, and my (a whole bunch)
And my heart has slowly dried
...
Decided to ride my single speed mountain bike up to Hartwood to do a few loops then head home. I was on my last stretch of singletrack when I hit a brick that was slightly off the path. I go down after hitting my knee off my stem. I get up checking myself out to see if Im ok. I am. I then realize that I have 2 flat tires. sweet. Its ok. I have a tube and a patch kit. I snapped 1 of my tire levers right off the bat. Great. So after using the skewer to take the tire off I managed to rip the valve off of the tube with my pump. Great. 1 tube and 3 patches left and I used the tube and 2 of the patches, everything stuck and got back together ok. I had a bit over an hour ride home, and I wanted nothing more than to be there right then. I managed to get home without another flat...
Monday, August 14, 2006
Kinzua baby.
36 hour vacation with my ladylove.
It started at 4:45 am Saturday. She slept, I drove. A hair over 3 hours to get to a 9am start time for the kinzua classic. The race is on an amazing course. 63 miles, 2 30 mile loops with a 2 mile or so finishing spur. Each lap has lots of hills, probably 6 miles worth, and the finishing spur is all uphill. The course used to host the PA state road championships and I wish it still did.
Last year some ringer from a Japanese pro team showed up and put the hurt on us. This year's field didnt have the international flavor, but still put the hurt on me.
I basically sat in the entire time. Glenn put in a huge effort to chase a break down hoping that I wouldnt screw up the finish, which I nearly did, but held on long enough to put my uphill sprint into action for the win. I really love this course and was glad to have done well. Glenn ruled the school putting his "just riding at the front" game on, where he totally puts the hurt on everybody trying to sit in for like 10 minutes at a time...
Amy and I then headed to The Kane Manor, a bed and breakfast for some quality time. We cleaned up and went to dinner, watched cable TV and just chilled out in some mansion that a civil war general had built. It was frickin huge, and reasonably cheap.
Things that I do now that I once considered being for "yuppies in their mid 20's"
- Listen to Modest Mouse
- Drink Coffee
- Go to Bed and Breakfasts
- Ride road bikes
there are only a few left for me to start including:
- drinking wine
- being a fishetarain ("vegetarian" that eats fish..)
im on my way.
We ate some french toast and eggs before a 30 mile ride to The Kinzua Viaduct. It was the tallest and longest railway bridge in the world before a tornado ripped it down 2 years ago. All the metal is still in the valley in a giant pile of rust. It was pretty sad. The Allegheny national forest is sweet and we drove on route 666 to get home.
I had an ice cream cone on the way home (2nd one of the year, first was after a 145 mile ride with dan chew [it was sugar free])
Soundtrack:
Dinosaur JR
Fugazi
Rushmore soundtrack
New order
Belle and Sebastion
It started at 4:45 am Saturday. She slept, I drove. A hair over 3 hours to get to a 9am start time for the kinzua classic. The race is on an amazing course. 63 miles, 2 30 mile loops with a 2 mile or so finishing spur. Each lap has lots of hills, probably 6 miles worth, and the finishing spur is all uphill. The course used to host the PA state road championships and I wish it still did.
Last year some ringer from a Japanese pro team showed up and put the hurt on us. This year's field didnt have the international flavor, but still put the hurt on me.
I basically sat in the entire time. Glenn put in a huge effort to chase a break down hoping that I wouldnt screw up the finish, which I nearly did, but held on long enough to put my uphill sprint into action for the win. I really love this course and was glad to have done well. Glenn ruled the school putting his "just riding at the front" game on, where he totally puts the hurt on everybody trying to sit in for like 10 minutes at a time...
Amy and I then headed to The Kane Manor, a bed and breakfast for some quality time. We cleaned up and went to dinner, watched cable TV and just chilled out in some mansion that a civil war general had built. It was frickin huge, and reasonably cheap.
Things that I do now that I once considered being for "yuppies in their mid 20's"
- Listen to Modest Mouse
- Drink Coffee
- Go to Bed and Breakfasts
- Ride road bikes
there are only a few left for me to start including:
- drinking wine
- being a fishetarain ("vegetarian" that eats fish..)
im on my way.
We ate some french toast and eggs before a 30 mile ride to The Kinzua Viaduct. It was the tallest and longest railway bridge in the world before a tornado ripped it down 2 years ago. All the metal is still in the valley in a giant pile of rust. It was pretty sad. The Allegheny national forest is sweet and we drove on route 666 to get home.
I had an ice cream cone on the way home (2nd one of the year, first was after a 145 mile ride with dan chew [it was sugar free])
Soundtrack:
Dinosaur JR
Fugazi
Rushmore soundtrack
New order
Belle and Sebastion
Sunday, August 06, 2006
toona and zoar.
toona: well I finished everyday and even made the split on blueknob, but still got essentially last place because I got no points and then tied for last with everybody else who didnt get points. Lame.
Zoar RR:
Wow what a course. Rolling hills, trees scenery picnics. Awesome. There was even a little kid on the course dressed up as the devil guy who ran along with us when we passed. 2 hills, one was kind of steep, but couldnt really separate stuff too much. It was an attacker's course, hard enough that somebody could stay away if they went.
First lap there were a few moves and I went with one and then THE move went and I bridged up with Jake . Jake dropped his chain, and left us a group of 7. It was kind of lame cause I think every team was in the break, so then the field just sits up or whatever. So we drove the break and eventually got a 2 minute gap. I did my token attacks on the big hill, but of course couldnt stick it because there was a 1/2 mile descent right after the hill.
Last lap I managed to get 20 seconds or so over the top, and only 4 others were able to come back up to me, which put me in the money. sweet. Crap part of the race was when we caught the 4 field WHILE WE WERE FINISHING and had about 2 feet to sprint, meaning the leadout order was the finish order. I got 3rd. I maybe would have done worse had the 5 of us had a field sprint, but it would have been better than sitting behind the winner across the line not being able to even be able to TRY to come around him.
Zoar RR:
Wow what a course. Rolling hills, trees scenery picnics. Awesome. There was even a little kid on the course dressed up as the devil guy who ran along with us when we passed. 2 hills, one was kind of steep, but couldnt really separate stuff too much. It was an attacker's course, hard enough that somebody could stay away if they went.
First lap there were a few moves and I went with one and then THE move went and I bridged up with Jake . Jake dropped his chain, and left us a group of 7. It was kind of lame cause I think every team was in the break, so then the field just sits up or whatever. So we drove the break and eventually got a 2 minute gap. I did my token attacks on the big hill, but of course couldnt stick it because there was a 1/2 mile descent right after the hill.
Last lap I managed to get 20 seconds or so over the top, and only 4 others were able to come back up to me, which put me in the money. sweet. Crap part of the race was when we caught the 4 field WHILE WE WERE FINISHING and had about 2 feet to sprint, meaning the leadout order was the finish order. I got 3rd. I maybe would have done worse had the 5 of us had a field sprint, but it would have been better than sitting behind the winner across the line not being able to even be able to TRY to come around him.
Monday, July 24, 2006
multiple stages of screwing up. owasco.
Friday: First massage I have ever gotten. I didnt realize how much there was to this. I mean, what do I wear? How do I get undressed. What if she goes for the release? So I get there and figure she will tell me what to do and she just says "get comfortable".. What the hell does that mean? So I just laid on the table above the sheets in my underwear. I had a clean pair that dont have giant holes (for those of you not in the know, "cheap" boxer briefs are up around 2.50-3.00 a pair).. Well it felt good regardless of me not knowing the formalities.
We packed up the car with all of our junk and set of. 5.5 hours. Mike Stubna is the first person I have ever seen haggle at a sbarro on highway and get 5 bucks off his meal. "that is too much I cant pay that much"... "ok is this better?"
Got to our host housing and hung with the dudes. Half of the team went to the "the crumbling of Mt Holly" for the weekend and half went to NY.
Sat:Pouring rain. Pancakes and an "Americano" at Wegmans grocery store.
Lets just say that I am so good at time trialing that I had to show up over a minute late to even the score some. Ok real story, im a pussy and didnt want to get wet, so I put of leaving the house as long as I could and got lost along the way. Im a douchebag. Pouring rain, couldnt see, went slow despite massive aero gear.
It cleared up for the circuit race. 21 miles. Brutal 21 miles. Sprints along the way, 1 field split. I managed to hang on for dear life pushing my 50x12. Spinning anybody? Last lap I gave a half hearted attack after the climb and got a good spot for the leadout. We rivaled the Rite Aid train some and managed to get Geronimo a good spot in the sprint, but he was blocked and got a bitter sweet 3rd. He thought he could win, but was happy with a podium spot.
Sunday: went with the percolator. Giant bowl of raw oats. Stubna bought soy milk and blueberries. sweet. Bagel and Peanutbutter too!!!
Brutal road race. Walters vs. Bell from rite aid battle for the yellow. Me sitting in 25th 5 minutes down on GC. I liked the ohio stage race better with a 4 mile TT where I only lost 40 seconds! 2nd KOM field split into 3 or 4 groups and rite aid chased down the yellow jersey. Stubna and I aided some. Geronimo said they were getting some flack for not helping chase our group but was like "these guys work their butts off for us in crits all year, we want them to have their chance." Yeah, sitting dead last holding on for dear life with my eyes crossed really helped them a bunch I bet. haha. When the got to us, they chased the 2 man group up the road really hard, hoping to bring it back.
Anyway, when Walters went, I was supposed to go with him. Easier said than done. The start of the KOM was right after a sprint and I was way far back, I tried getting up to him and another guy on the climb, but couldnt. I stayed with that group and geronimo get 5th, winning the field. We caught a group of 3's with like 500 meters to go. I could have done better in the field sprint (up a hill) but I got boxed out by a bunch of cat 3's sprinting for 43rd or whatever.
Oh this was awesome, one of the 3's that got messed up in his spring raced for "organic athlete" and it says "go vegan" across his ass and all this. He is freaking out and trying to fight some dude after the race. Burn on bro, eat some tofu or something, but come on.
The way home Denny used his UCI chauffeurs license to get the "road warrior" discount at sbarro. All "professional drivers" get a discount. haha. awesome.
Props to : Zac Bell for chasing his heart out. Denny D for driving 11 hours to watch us and give us bottles. Stubna for yelling at me and buying soy milk and blueberries. Geronimo for sprinting with the sprinters and climbing with the climbers, then doing the full toona race. the rest of the team for actually being fun guys to eat and hangout with as well as racing with.
We packed up the car with all of our junk and set of. 5.5 hours. Mike Stubna is the first person I have ever seen haggle at a sbarro on highway and get 5 bucks off his meal. "that is too much I cant pay that much"... "ok is this better?"
Got to our host housing and hung with the dudes. Half of the team went to the "the crumbling of Mt Holly" for the weekend and half went to NY.
Sat:Pouring rain. Pancakes and an "Americano" at Wegmans grocery store.
Lets just say that I am so good at time trialing that I had to show up over a minute late to even the score some. Ok real story, im a pussy and didnt want to get wet, so I put of leaving the house as long as I could and got lost along the way. Im a douchebag. Pouring rain, couldnt see, went slow despite massive aero gear.
It cleared up for the circuit race. 21 miles. Brutal 21 miles. Sprints along the way, 1 field split. I managed to hang on for dear life pushing my 50x12. Spinning anybody? Last lap I gave a half hearted attack after the climb and got a good spot for the leadout. We rivaled the Rite Aid train some and managed to get Geronimo a good spot in the sprint, but he was blocked and got a bitter sweet 3rd. He thought he could win, but was happy with a podium spot.
Sunday: went with the percolator. Giant bowl of raw oats. Stubna bought soy milk and blueberries. sweet. Bagel and Peanutbutter too!!!
Brutal road race. Walters vs. Bell from rite aid battle for the yellow. Me sitting in 25th 5 minutes down on GC. I liked the ohio stage race better with a 4 mile TT where I only lost 40 seconds! 2nd KOM field split into 3 or 4 groups and rite aid chased down the yellow jersey. Stubna and I aided some. Geronimo said they were getting some flack for not helping chase our group but was like "these guys work their butts off for us in crits all year, we want them to have their chance." Yeah, sitting dead last holding on for dear life with my eyes crossed really helped them a bunch I bet. haha. When the got to us, they chased the 2 man group up the road really hard, hoping to bring it back.
Anyway, when Walters went, I was supposed to go with him. Easier said than done. The start of the KOM was right after a sprint and I was way far back, I tried getting up to him and another guy on the climb, but couldnt. I stayed with that group and geronimo get 5th, winning the field. We caught a group of 3's with like 500 meters to go. I could have done better in the field sprint (up a hill) but I got boxed out by a bunch of cat 3's sprinting for 43rd or whatever.
Oh this was awesome, one of the 3's that got messed up in his spring raced for "organic athlete" and it says "go vegan" across his ass and all this. He is freaking out and trying to fight some dude after the race. Burn on bro, eat some tofu or something, but come on.
The way home Denny used his UCI chauffeurs license to get the "road warrior" discount at sbarro. All "professional drivers" get a discount. haha. awesome.
Props to : Zac Bell for chasing his heart out. Denny D for driving 11 hours to watch us and give us bottles. Stubna for yelling at me and buying soy milk and blueberries. Geronimo for sprinting with the sprinters and climbing with the climbers, then doing the full toona race. the rest of the team for actually being fun guys to eat and hangout with as well as racing with.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Nationals
When people ask me if I am racing Nationals this year (which are an hour away from Pittsburgh) I say "Im either too young or too slow.".. meaning not a master and not a Cat 1. Today I wished I was 3 years younger while I sat in the COM car behind the race. Sweet position.
Observations:
The Nat Comm knew way more about bike racing than me, despite having never raced. One time up the climb, she said "why are they not climbing in the shade, the whole road is open?" ... and eventually they did.
A 140 man peloton is giant vortex of piss, garbage and bottles. When the field was mostly together, they were lucky to go 200 meters without a wrapper, bottle or urine spitting out of the group. I wonder why people dont want bike races in their neighborhoods?
That course is freaking brutal. My job was to write down the numbers of the riders as they got dropped. I wrote down like 120 numbers.
Standout performances so far: Bart Torre for trying to bridge the 6 (yes six) minute gap to the 3 leaders (winning move) and sitting around 2 minutes back for like 30 miles.
alvaro arnal 4th in the TT. gnarly.
Observations:
The Nat Comm knew way more about bike racing than me, despite having never raced. One time up the climb, she said "why are they not climbing in the shade, the whole road is open?" ... and eventually they did.
A 140 man peloton is giant vortex of piss, garbage and bottles. When the field was mostly together, they were lucky to go 200 meters without a wrapper, bottle or urine spitting out of the group. I wonder why people dont want bike races in their neighborhoods?
That course is freaking brutal. My job was to write down the numbers of the riders as they got dropped. I wrote down like 120 numbers.
Standout performances so far: Bart Torre for trying to bridge the 6 (yes six) minute gap to the 3 leaders (winning move) and sitting around 2 minutes back for like 30 miles.
alvaro arnal 4th in the TT. gnarly.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Raccoon Rally RR
Well I had 3 choices.
Do the Rochester Twilight Crit and not finish.
Do the Tour of Grandview and maybe not finish, or head to the Raccoon Rally and hope to do well. I took the easy road.
25 mile laps. 2 climbs of 3 -4 miles per climb each lap. Lots of climbing at around 4% or 5%.
There were some strong guys there from Ohio, NY and Canada.
After 1 lap our group was down to 12 people. Brian Batke from Team Torelli kept attacking on the 3rd climb, so Glenn just went to the front and did a 10 minute time trial up the hill. He kept the pace really high and drafting made it easier for people to hang on. The hills lacked the steep pitches that would hurt people enough to really pop them.
At the top of the climb, chris Ciaccio attacked pretty hard and I jumped on to go with him. We got a good gap and tried holding it on the descent. I suck at going fast so I think I was just slowing him down. He is a monster time trialist and was keeping the pace really high.
We got caught at the worst spot, right at the bottom of the last climb. Not sweet, cause it left little time to recover before going up. The attacks started pretty quickly and thankfully I had Glenn to go with them while I tried to recover some.
I managed to hang onto the lead group up the hill, and there were 6 of us when Glenn got a gap on the false flat at the top. He kept the pace high, allowing me to suck wheels for the next 8 miles while he managed to fend off the 4 others chasing him.
Of course he got caught with about 100 meters to go. I really thought he would stick it, but a few attacks within the chase group closed the gap a bit too much. I managed to come around the chasers for the win, and Glenn got 6th.
It was a good race and hopefully was good training for Nationals for Glenn, he looked crazy strong.
Do the Rochester Twilight Crit and not finish.
Do the Tour of Grandview and maybe not finish, or head to the Raccoon Rally and hope to do well. I took the easy road.
25 mile laps. 2 climbs of 3 -4 miles per climb each lap. Lots of climbing at around 4% or 5%.
There were some strong guys there from Ohio, NY and Canada.
After 1 lap our group was down to 12 people. Brian Batke from Team Torelli kept attacking on the 3rd climb, so Glenn just went to the front and did a 10 minute time trial up the hill. He kept the pace really high and drafting made it easier for people to hang on. The hills lacked the steep pitches that would hurt people enough to really pop them.
At the top of the climb, chris Ciaccio attacked pretty hard and I jumped on to go with him. We got a good gap and tried holding it on the descent. I suck at going fast so I think I was just slowing him down. He is a monster time trialist and was keeping the pace really high.
We got caught at the worst spot, right at the bottom of the last climb. Not sweet, cause it left little time to recover before going up. The attacks started pretty quickly and thankfully I had Glenn to go with them while I tried to recover some.
I managed to hang onto the lead group up the hill, and there were 6 of us when Glenn got a gap on the false flat at the top. He kept the pace high, allowing me to suck wheels for the next 8 miles while he managed to fend off the 4 others chasing him.
Of course he got caught with about 100 meters to go. I really thought he would stick it, but a few attacks within the chase group closed the gap a bit too much. I managed to come around the chasers for the win, and Glenn got 6th.
It was a good race and hopefully was good training for Nationals for Glenn, he looked crazy strong.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Summer Solstice Stage Race
I guess this is a stage race report.
Dougie and Glenn Drove me and Stubna to Ohio for the summer solstice stage race.
Friday night was the Crit. 50 minutes. It started late and involved weird turns into parking lots. It was dark when we finished and there were no street lights. I was so stoked when a break got away so it slowed down enough for me to know I was going to finish. I got the same time as the field.. Sweet.
Stubna and I drove with johnturn back to his parents house, hitting up the waffle house on the way down. Double stack with 2 scrambled eggs. Sweet.
Saturday AM came really quickly. The race was a 76 mile road race, all flat. During neutral roll out I talked to some dude who has an Asian Tree Leopard as a pet. If you want one, he said the humane society had 2. He said it can jump 8 feet high, so I asked if the cage had a roof. He said it just walks around his house all day.
Oh yeah the bike race. Early break away. Texas roadhouse chased it, we got caught by the 3's, there were a million crashes all right in front of me it seemed. I pull my brake cable out of the caliper and skidded my tire bald avoiding it. I got the same time. Stubna pulled off 7th in a flat field sprint, Johnturn got 4th I think. Dougie flatted in the Cat3 race. I had just glued his tubular on for him that week, and my stomach sank when I saw him in a turn with a flat, thinking he had possibly rolled the tire. And of course he kept saying that is what happened to make me nervous.
We went back to Glenn's room and watch the world cup and played with our TT stuff getting ready for the time trial. 4.5 milesish flat with lots of wind. It was delayed without any definite start times. "6:25 ish" was my start time. I was stoked to have Stubna as my minute man. He was doing it merckx style and set a brutal pace for me, despite my TT bike and borrowed Troxel helmet. Paul Martin had some profile clip on bars and posted some insane time, but was beat by Andy Apllegate.
Super sweet Mexican food for dinner.
Stage 4 was a road race, which was shortened due to a triathalon on the same roads at the same time. It was cut to 56 miles. Big hill and brutal winds. I remember the break going and I was right there, but just couldn't do it. I didn't have enough to jump up to it. We were going like 32 on a narrow road in the gutter with cross winds. Johnturn made it. 5 guys including Paul Martin. Abercrombie chased for a whole lap and I attacked on the hill and got a good 6 man group. I think they were told on the radio to stop working with our chase group and come back to the main field and chase, so what was left of the field reintegrated. Next time up the hill I end up in a group of 7 or so again and we just kept it together for the last lap and last time up the hill. It is so cliche to sit on a breakway and win the bunch, but this guy had no problems doing it. I did as little work as a could, figuring I could win the bunch finish (cause it finished on top of the hill). The guy who sat on took me though, and I ended up 7th and 8th on GC.
The way home included:
-A car blowing a tire out right in front of us
-A jeep breaking what we believed to be the tie rod, causing his wheels to wobble like crazy and forcing him to gradually just slow down
-A desk blow out the back of a truck into the middle of the highway. Im glad we didnt stick around to see the eventual outcome of that, maybe it made the news.
-The worlds fastest busboy. Words cannot describe it and I regret not pushing mike to get his camera to video it. People would have thought footage was doctored. His hands moved so fast you could hardly see him. Glenn timed him and his fastest time clearing a table, moving all the salt and peppers and little dessert menus then wiping it down was 29 seconds.
I got home at an OK time and went to the park where they show free outdoor movies and laid in the grass watching the new Charlie and the Chocolate factory. I was less than impressed.
Dougie and Glenn Drove me and Stubna to Ohio for the summer solstice stage race.
Friday night was the Crit. 50 minutes. It started late and involved weird turns into parking lots. It was dark when we finished and there were no street lights. I was so stoked when a break got away so it slowed down enough for me to know I was going to finish. I got the same time as the field.. Sweet.
Stubna and I drove with johnturn back to his parents house, hitting up the waffle house on the way down. Double stack with 2 scrambled eggs. Sweet.
Saturday AM came really quickly. The race was a 76 mile road race, all flat. During neutral roll out I talked to some dude who has an Asian Tree Leopard as a pet. If you want one, he said the humane society had 2. He said it can jump 8 feet high, so I asked if the cage had a roof. He said it just walks around his house all day.
Oh yeah the bike race. Early break away. Texas roadhouse chased it, we got caught by the 3's, there were a million crashes all right in front of me it seemed. I pull my brake cable out of the caliper and skidded my tire bald avoiding it. I got the same time. Stubna pulled off 7th in a flat field sprint, Johnturn got 4th I think. Dougie flatted in the Cat3 race. I had just glued his tubular on for him that week, and my stomach sank when I saw him in a turn with a flat, thinking he had possibly rolled the tire. And of course he kept saying that is what happened to make me nervous.
We went back to Glenn's room and watch the world cup and played with our TT stuff getting ready for the time trial. 4.5 milesish flat with lots of wind. It was delayed without any definite start times. "6:25 ish" was my start time. I was stoked to have Stubna as my minute man. He was doing it merckx style and set a brutal pace for me, despite my TT bike and borrowed Troxel helmet. Paul Martin had some profile clip on bars and posted some insane time, but was beat by Andy Apllegate.
Super sweet Mexican food for dinner.
Stage 4 was a road race, which was shortened due to a triathalon on the same roads at the same time. It was cut to 56 miles. Big hill and brutal winds. I remember the break going and I was right there, but just couldn't do it. I didn't have enough to jump up to it. We were going like 32 on a narrow road in the gutter with cross winds. Johnturn made it. 5 guys including Paul Martin. Abercrombie chased for a whole lap and I attacked on the hill and got a good 6 man group. I think they were told on the radio to stop working with our chase group and come back to the main field and chase, so what was left of the field reintegrated. Next time up the hill I end up in a group of 7 or so again and we just kept it together for the last lap and last time up the hill. It is so cliche to sit on a breakway and win the bunch, but this guy had no problems doing it. I did as little work as a could, figuring I could win the bunch finish (cause it finished on top of the hill). The guy who sat on took me though, and I ended up 7th and 8th on GC.
The way home included:
-A car blowing a tire out right in front of us
-A jeep breaking what we believed to be the tie rod, causing his wheels to wobble like crazy and forcing him to gradually just slow down
-A desk blow out the back of a truck into the middle of the highway. Im glad we didnt stick around to see the eventual outcome of that, maybe it made the news.
-The worlds fastest busboy. Words cannot describe it and I regret not pushing mike to get his camera to video it. People would have thought footage was doctored. His hands moved so fast you could hardly see him. Glenn timed him and his fastest time clearing a table, moving all the salt and peppers and little dessert menus then wiping it down was 29 seconds.
I got home at an OK time and went to the park where they show free outdoor movies and laid in the grass watching the new Charlie and the Chocolate factory. I was less than impressed.
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