Where Does The Time Go?

It has definitely been a crazy first half of 2012.  Sitting here thinking about it I can’t believe that it is already the end of June.  Over the course of the last few months I’ve spent a week in Ireland, done well over a dozen bike races, run a marathon and celebrated two years of marriage with my incredible wife.  I guess that is where all of the time went.

Ireland was an amazing experience that I could ramble on about forever so I’ll make it easier on everyone and just post some pictures.  That is a beautiful place that lives life at a different pace than we are accustomed to here in the US.  Sometimes taking the time to appreciate the simpler things is just what we need in our lives and Ireland gave me a big dose of that.  The fact that some of the “simpler” things that the Irish truly appreciate are good Guinness and good Irish whiskey definitely helped.

Bike racing has definitely had its highs and lows so far this year, although thankfully it has been more highs than lows.  In my first couple Cat 3 road races (Cone Azalia and Bristol Mountain) I was popped from the field for the first and second time ever for me in road racing.  These were definitely the lows.  I managed to take this embarrassment and use it as motivation to get my season rolling. Since the rough start I have managed to get in to a two man break at the first week of Waterford World’s and take 2^nd place for my best ever finish there.  The success continued with my first Cat 3 podium and a win at the West Branch Crit with a solo breakaway with about 7 laps to go.  The trips to the podium didn’t stop there as I took 3^rd in the TT (my first ever TT), 2^nd in the crit and 2^nd in the road race (both in 2 man breakaways) at the Mt. Pleasant race weekend and this was all good enough for second in the Cat 3 Omnium.  Lindsay made the weekend trip to Mt. Pleasant with me and now I think she needs to come to all of my races since with those results she must be a good luck charm.  Oh yeah, and with all of these results I got my upgrade to Cat 2.  I guess it’s time to really learn how to race a bicycle.

I also decided to head back up to Lumberjack 100 and managed to fare much better than last year.  100 miles on a mountain bike is a long ways but I finished in 8 hours to take 39^th out of 261 in the men’s open category and considering my only goal was finishing this year I was just fine with that.  I also had a great weekend with dad and grandpa so it was definitely a success.

The marathon was one of the most painful things I have ever done and although I have a few less toenails than when I started I’m glad I went through it.  I’m also so incredibly proud of my wife for completing her marathon after everything she went through with her stress fracture interrupting her training.  She had almost 8 weeks of forced time off leading up to the marathon and she still finished strong and seemed to recover a lot quicker than I did.

Last, and most importantly, I have been lucky enough to celebrate two years married to an incredible woman that I am so lucky to be able to call my wife (even if she did make me run a marathon for our anniversary).  Every day I am thankful to have her in my life.

So that is the end of my rambling and hopefully I can try and stay a little more current here so I don’t need to try and fit two months in to one post again.

Spring Fling & Paris to Ancaster

This past weekend was a tough weekend in the saddle. Things started off with the final Waterford Spring Series race of the year on Saturday. The expected rain (that never came) kept the field a little smaller than usual with maybe 40 people showing up. The race was pretty tough right from the gun and I didn’t exactly race my smartest race which I’m sure didn’t help. Less than ten minutes in a pair of Lathrup riders went up the road so I bridged up along with Simonson and after a couple of laps we were back in the field, and for some reason I was already feeling that effort. The field continued to split and come back together almost the entire race and the pace was really high. I also found myself at the front of whatever group I was in more than I probably should have been, but it was a training race and I certainly got my money’s worth in that regard. I ended up coming in alone after a split in my group happened that I missed getting on the back of but my efforts to chase broke me away from the others who missed out. I finished on the lead lap, but nowhere near Simonson who took the win. I rolled in for 16th on the day.

Sunday was my second trip to Paris to Ancaster and this version proved to be just about as wet and muddy as last year. I rode up with Mike right after Waterford and the trip went pretty smoothly, up until the sky decided to open up and start pouring just as we were about to warm up. Still we got a good warm up in and despite the hard effort on Saturday the legs were feeling pretty good. Courtesy of my top 100 placing in 2011 I managed to get a spot in the front corral for the start. I still got to the line later than I would’ve liked and was lined up at the back of the first 100 but still a better position than last year. Things started off pretty quick but then as soon as we bottlenecked on to the rail trail section the pace dropped but there was no where to go to move up. I was further back than I wanted to be and as soon as we hit the first loose climb somebody in front of me couldn’t ride it and the whole group was off and running. The leaders were already gone at this point so all you could do was get with the best group you could and chase. There were two groups up the road but no more than 20 guys ahead of my group so I knew I was still in pretty good position. From there it was ride as hard as possible through the crazy terrain that makes up the P2A course, dirt roads, two track, rail trails, single-track, farmers fields and mud chutes. I was riding well and we were picking off riders here and there until after a rough single track section I drop my chain. There goes that group. Another group passes me and as soon as I get the chain back on (which took longer than I’d like due to it getting wedged between my bash guard and chainring) I chased hard to get on the back of them. I’m not happy I lost my first group but I was still in pretty good position and feeling alright. As we started going through the final mud chutes that group started to split and I was off the front of it with one other rider. Then it happened, just under 3k from the finish, my race was over. I went in to the last trail section, dumped gears and my rear wheel locked up. The rear derailleur went in to my rear wheel and I knew there was no way the bike was rideable anymore. I shouldered the bike (since the back wheel couldn’t turn) and walked/jogged the last 3k. It was rather depressing watching all those people pass me, but that’s bike racing. I still managed to cross the line in 2:16:42 good enough for 127th out of 1,275 finishers overall and 25th out of 120 in men’s 20-29. Not the result I wanted, especially based on how the legs were feeling but all things considered a good finish.

Then it was attempt to cobble the bike back together so Mike and I could ride the 20 miles back to our car that was parked at the start. This didn't really work so well and after we were about half way back and stopping every mile or less because something else wasn't working Mike took the keys and went on without me. It wouldn't be a trip to a race with Mike without something going wrong, last year Naish's wheel fell off the roof on the 403 after this very same race. It's always an adventure.

Next up I'm thinking about crossing the border to race again, this time a little closer to home with the Ciociaro crit series over in Windsor on Thursday. Then it will be a little break from the bike as I spend next week in Ireland on vacation with the family. I don't know if a week of Guinness and Irish food will be great for my cycling form but I'm sure it will be worth it.

Cat 3, Here I Come

After spending 3 days last week sick in bed I wasn't really sure if I’d be up for the local Spring Series races this past weekend but when I woke up on Saturday feeling better and without a fever I decided I might as well have a go at it.

I did the B (Cat 3/4) Race on Saturday at Waterford and it was fairly uneventful. I think it was 50 minutes plus two laps and things stayed together for almost the whole time with a few little attacks but nobody getting much of a gap at all. Just inside 15 minutes to go as we were pulling back one of those attacks I countered and managed to get a little bit of a gap. I was hoping someone would bridge so I could have someone to share the work with but when I realized nobody was coming I dug down and did what I could. I was still feeling a little weak after being sick and what I had wasn't enough. As I was crossing the start/finish inside two to go I realized the gap was down to about 5 seconds and there was no way I was holding the field off for two more laps. I sat up and joined the field to try and salvage something for the finish. As things ramped up at the end I didn't have anything left after my solo time off the front and I rolled in with the field for 19th.

Sunday I doubled up and did the C (Cat 4/5) and B (Cat 3/4) Races for the Ann Arbor Spring Training Series. The course was a short 1km football shape with a 200m rise to the finish from the last corner. The C Race was first and you can hardly call it a race it was so short at 15 minutes plus 3 laps. I spent a lot of time at the front and felt pretty within myself. I managed to win the sprint for the prime and at the end I positioned myself pretty well going in to the final corner in 5th position but I didn't seem to have enough jump to contest the finish and came across in 3rd. Next up was the B Race, again pretty short at 25 minutes plus 3 laps. Attacks were coming from the gun and I got in a couple that had small gaps in the first few laps but nothing that stuck. Then about 5 minutes in a rider for AAVC jumped and I noticed he had 3 teammates at the front of the field slowing things up so this was my chance to get in something that might have a chance at staying away. It took me almost an entire lap to bridge and once I got up to him we really went to work. We got in to a great rhythm of each pulling half a lap and we grew our gap to over 30 seconds over the field. As things wound down a couple chasers left the field and got within twenty seconds of us as the field fell back to 40 seconds down. As I heard those gaps as we came around and saw 2 laps to go I knew we had things locked up. Again I couldn't sprint (I'm sure the uphill finish didn't help since I probably had 40+ lbs on my partner in the break), which seems to be a common theme for me lately, and took last in our two man race for the line, but good enough for 2nd place. Still a result that I'm really happy with and even happier with the way it came together. I've never been able to get in a break in a crit that worked before this result which makes it that much more satisfying.

Two races in one day with a 3rd place and a 2nd place finish was my first success of the year and it felt great to finally get some results. On top of that it was also enough to get me my upgrade, so Cat 3, here I come. Next up is another running of the Waterford Spring Training Series on Saturday.

NY STS

First bicycle race of 2012 is in the books. However, unlike most Michigan racers, I wasn’t at Barry-Roubaix last weekend. I was in NYC for a bachelor party over the weekend and decided to try my hand at the NY Spring Training Series race in Central Park on Saturday morning. I’m not sure what made me think that it would be a good idea to do a bike race while on a bachelor party, but I did it anyways.

Needless to say my 5AM wake up came way too quick on Saturday (actually some of the guys weren’t even to bed yet) but I got suited up and was on my way to the park by 5:30. I was at the registration tent by 6 and after getting my number pinned on met up with Kate, Andrew & Andrew’s brother Chris. Andrew was there to race the Cat 5 race and Kate & Chris were there to cheer us on.

6:45 rolled around and things actually got going on time. The sun wasn’t even fully up yet and I was already racing. Things were pretty much business as usual in a Cat 3/4 race, except a bigger field than I’m accustomed to (107 racers lined up for my race alone). There were constant attacks and breaks but none really strong enough to get more than a 5-10 second gap and none staying away for all that long. I was part of a brief one on the start of the third lap but it was just like any of the others really. Things went by fairly quickly and uneventfully and next thing I know we are inside 2 miles from the finish and then crash number one happens. Not sure what caused it but I watched the guy go down and I’m sure he didn’t get up quick. I get by and am sitting in alright position, but I need to work my way further up if I’m going to have any chance at the sprint. As I’m working my way up another crash happens just to my left and this one ends up as a pile up. I get by but not without seriously checking my speed and losing the small group that was in front of the crash. I chase back on just in time to pass a couple guys at the line, but not in time to have any real go at a podium spot. Oh well, that’s bike racing. Results still haven’t been posted but I’m guessing I rolled in somewhere just inside the top 20. Not a bad result for the field size but a little tough to take when I crossed the line with so much left in the tank.

After the race we all enjoyed breakfast at a café a block from the park sitting at a table outside and enjoying the great weather. Then it was back to the nonsense of the bachelor party, none of which will get mentioned here at all.

First race is out of the way and now it’s time to get some wins so I can hopefully get my upgrade sometime soon. Next up is a couple more Spring Series races this weekend, Waterford Saturday and Ann Arbor Sunday.

A Different Kind of Racing

The past two weekends I’ve competed in two races, and neither of them were bike races. Anything I can do to get the motivation going I guess.

Last weekend was a stair climb race at the RenCen in Detroit. 70 stories in 6:36 and 2nd fastest time overall. The certificate I got at the race said 3rd overall but they found an error in the timing and changed the results. Not too shabby considering I didn’t climb a single stair to train for it (I didn’t specifically train for it at all, but I do train a lot for other things). I have to say that was quite possibly the toughest 7 minutes of physical activity I have ever done. If cyclocross is “an hour in hell” I’m really not sure what to classify stair climbs as.

Then Sunday we had some amazing weather here for the Corktown 5k also down in Detroit. I lined up with 7,000 other people to give my first ever competitive 5k a try, again without any specific training. I run a couple days a week but that is just to make sure I’m ready for the marathon so this speed thing was something totally different for me. I ended up finishing in 20:05, good enough for 144th overall and 18th in my age group. Again a pretty good result all things considered.

Then I got home and put in a couple hours in the saddle because Sunday was just too nice not to be outside. First ride of the year in shorts is officially in the books (and I haven't even shaved my legs yet).

First (bicycle) race of the year is now less than two weeks away. The season will be upon us before we know it, and the weather seems to be agreeing with that.

Changes

It’s been a long time since I last posted on the blog and a lot has changed in the last 5 months. The biggest change is probably my departure from the bike shop to go in a whole new career direction as a program manager at an automotive supplier. It has been a huge change but at the end of the day a very good one. I’m still having a hard time adjusting to driving to work every day and I really hate traffic, but that’s just the cyclist in me seeing time in the car as time that could be spent training.

Also, the 2011 race season came to a close with some highs (3rd in my age group at Iceman) and lows (all of CX season). 2011 was my first full season as a competitive cyclist and I have to say that it was a great year and definitely the first of many.

Now I’m looking towards improving in 2012 and hopefully working my way up another category. Training preparations have been under way since before the New Year and I’m getting a tentative race schedule for 2012 together. I’ve also decided to make a move to race with the Wolverine Sports Club this year and I’m really excited about that. The Wolverines are pretty dominant at most of the local road races and I’m looking forward to being a part of that and learning from it as much as I can. They are also a good group of guys so that is a huge plus. Things are falling in to place and with how mellow this winter has been it feels like race season is right around the corner.

I’m going to try to make a better effort to update a little more regularly and as the race season starts I’m sure I’ll have more to write about. For now, thanks for reading.