Perry-Roubaix

Last night Dad and I loaded up the car to head for Daufuskie, but decided to take a little detour over to Perry, Georgia to get in my first race of the year and my first ever road race. We arrived in Perry around 6am, plenty if time to check out the course and make all the needed preparations for a 10:22 start for my 50 mile cat 5 race.

When they sent us off it was all new to me and a lot different than I was accustomed to. In cyclocross and mountain bike races the hole-shot is an important part of the race, here it seemed like everybody wanted to treat the start like there warm up. That is with the exception of one guy who attacked right after the first turn and I quickly pulled him back in with the field on my wheel. The next time he went, about two miles in to the race, I decided to jump up to him withou the field and see what his strategy was. It came down to he basically didn't have one but wanted to be first in to the dirt section for fear of crashes. We quickly decided that while we had a gap we might as well just make a go of it and see if we could stay away. We really pushed ourselves on the first lap and the field was nowhere in sight by the end of it. A solo rider caught us on the second lap and the three of us then worked together. The extra man really helped in allowing one of us to take a break from pulling briefly if they needed it. I was really hurting by the time we hit the early climb on the final lap and could feel the twinges of cramps coming on but I dug through it and hung on. The guy that caught us on the second lap cramped on the final climb and dropped off the back. So the guy I started with 2 miles in and myself managed to stay away to the finish. I was sitting behind him and jumped around to sprint with just under 200 meters to go. I didn't get much response from him and rolled through with the win.

As I crossed the line every muscle in my legs was cramping but the win in my first ever road race felt great and overall I felt strong for the day. We beat the field pretty handily and averaged 23mph for the 50 mile race. The average speed of the winning rider last year on the same course was just under 19mph.

I also made some gear changes and put a new crankset on the bike, a DuraAce in a true double, 53-39. This was from my experience on the sprints in florida were I was topped out at just over 35 mph. I topped out at just over 39 in the sprint today and that made all the difference.

Now I'm just arriving on Daufuskie for a few days of training, golfing and relaxing with my Dad. We've also got some household projects that I'm sure my Mom would like us to do, but that's more just an excuse to be down here.
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Daufuskie Island & Returning To The Cold

2011 Mileage: 950About a week ago Lindsay and I made a trip down to Daufuskie Island (my Mom joined us too). It was our first trip back to the Island since we got married there last May and we had an incredible time just relaxing on the beach and riding around the Island on our beach cruiser tandem.Then it was back to the bitter cold of Michigan and yet another snow storm this weekend. I commuted last Saturday on the bike and it was 35 degrees and raining for my 20 miles in, so the heavy snow for my ride home actually seemed very enjoyable. It was alright that it took me three hours to go thirty miles, the lights were fully charged.
I've decided I've had enough of winter and I'm headed south again this weekend and I am hoping to get my first race of the season in while I'm down there. Perry, GA is only a slight detour from Daufuskie and it might not be the best thing to spend 14 hours in a car driving overnight and then get out and race but I think I'm gonna give it a try anyways. I'm sure I've made worse decisions regarding racing in the past. The Perry-Roubaix is a 4 lap, 50 mile race and a part of it is on red clay roads. Should be fun, and it will be good to get the first real test of the year out of the way.

Under The Weather

2011 Mileage: 865

Last night was the first time in the saddle in over a week. I am still congested and feel like I'm coughing up a lung every night but at least I am feeling better than I did last week. There was a lot of loose snow on the dirt roads so it was slow going for the 20 miles Ed and I put in last night but it felt good to be back out there. Just over a month until Barry-Roubaix. I'm also really hoping that this snow goes away soon so I can start some regular commuting again to bring up the weekly mileage. I've had enough winter, it's time for things to warm up.

Back to Reality

2011 Mileage: 771

Last night I rode the customary Thursday night ride out of the shop. Unfortunately I got way too accustomed to the weather in Florida and the 5 degrees it was outside made me pretty miserable. Also, I only had one companion last night since everyone from our regular crew except for Tim bailed on us. We made pretty good time but my knee got the all to familiar twinge about half way through the ride and we skipped the Markwood climb because I didn't want to push it. Now it is back to the stretches/foam rolling/exercises and a couple days off the bike to avoid any further problems with the knee. What stunned me last night was how cold I felt. It wasn't any colder and I didn't have on any less clothing than before I left for Florida, my body just acclimated to the warm temperature and I was freezing for most of the 1:42 we were riding for. Sunday should be a lot longer than 1:42 so I hope I acclimate back to the cold pretty quick here.

Florida Recap

2011 Mileage: 747

Well that trip went by way too quickly. Six days in Florida was not long enough, but we definitely made the most of our time down there. My grandparents took great care of us and made sure we were always well fed. Grandpa even got me out for 9 holes of golf and I was content with the 49 I shot. Lindsay got in a good amount of beach time and a little shopping as well. And I got in lots of time in the saddle. 350 miles to be exact. My long day was Saturday at 110 miles. Monday was a recovery day with 50 easy miles but the rest of the time was rip your legs off fast with the Naples Velo group ride. I couldn't believe how fast these group rides were. I thought Friday was fast with a pace of 24-25 mph. Saturday was Ft Myers Beach and back (about 45 miles) at 27-29mph and I followed that up with another 30 mile group ride and then another 35 on my own to put my day at 110 and still home by 1. Sunday was a similar pace for over 60 miles, with the paceline surging up to 32+ mph for the last 15 miles or so. That was brutal after my long day Saturday. Monday I took it easy and explored all the incredible homes out in the Port Royal area. Considering the economic downturn it is amazing how much new construction is going on in an area where you can spend over $10M on a lot alone. Then Tuesday was a simulated crit. Similar pace as Sunday, 27-29 with surges up in to the low 30's. What I was having the hardest time with was cornering at this pace. It forced me to put out more effort than necessary since I would get gapped off on the corners and need to fight my way back up to the wheel in front of me. Again I was topped out at over 35 on the final sprint and it wasn't enough. I also might have jumped a little too early but I still made a good go of it. All in all it was a great trip and great riding. I accomplished my mileage goal for the trip, even though I rode a lot harder/faster than I had anticipated.Now it is back to the cold weather with a group ride tonight. It is supposed to be a lovely 12 degrees outside, a little different than the 70 degree temps I've been riding in but it will have to do.

A Compact Wasn't Cutting It

2011 mileage: 490

This morning I met up with a group of about 50 people for the Naples Velo group ride. A pace of 25 mph for 25 miles sounded fast but I figured I'd give it a shot. All I can say is Florida is really flat. I had no problem with the pace and took my fair share of pulls at the front. I only encountered two issues. First, I was getting gapped on every corner and then having to put in extra effort to close the gap. Closing it wasn't too tough but it showed me I need to work on cornering at speed. Also, I realized that the compact drivetrain I am running is lacking big time on the high end. I crossed the line second in both of the group sprints I contested but I was completely topped out at about 35 mph and I still had some in the tank but not enough of a gear to push. That was a good time and helped me knock out the first 30 miles pretty quick. I then headed North along the coast to add on another 40 miles to be home by 10:30 with 70 miles on the day. Now it's time to enjoy the beach with Linz, then massages this afternoon. A pretty good day if you ask me.
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Hello Florida

2011 mileage: 420

Linz and I left behind the snow and cold this morning to spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa in Naples, FL. We landed to 80 degree weather and after a nice lunch and a glass of wine Linz laid out and got some sun while I built my road bike up that I sent down last week and headed out for a quick 23 miles. It feels strange wearing shorts and short sleeves, but I'm sure not going to complain about it. I'm hoping to get in a lot of mileage over the next five days (and a lot of good meals too I'm sure, I am at Grandma's). Barry Roubaix is 8 weeks away!
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