i went to bed last night thinking about the pursuit.

i woke up this morning thinking about the pursuit.

 

the pursuit is a 4 km individual time trial on the track, and it's my primary focus.  training seems to be coming along pretty well.  it's hard for me to believe that it's only been 24 days since i've been back on the bike, but that's the truth.  today was a super tough pursuit training session at the track in the morning and then a variety of racing on the track in the evening.  super long day.  super exhausted.  now it's 2 easy days, then a little warmup/leg-opener on friday.  this weekend is the state track championships up in LA.  pursuit and points on saturday.  scratch and madison on sunday.  like i said, the pursuit is my focus, so if i can pull off a decent time there first thing saturday morning, then i'll be super stoked.  the rest will be gravy.  but if i don't spark a great time, then it's not the end of the world either.  i'll have exactly 4 weeks of training in my legs come saturday morning.

 

right now i'm thinking about the pursuit.

when i wake up tomorrow morning, i'll still be thinking about the pursuit.

on september 11, 2001

 

i was living in Philadelphia, PA.  i had been there for a little over a month and was a bike messenger for Rapid Delivery.  i remember vividly that i was dropping off a document at the commonwealth court when i was told, "get ready to go to war, son.  we've been attacked!"  that was around 9:30, after both planes had hit the world trade center, but before they had fallen down.  i was shocked, but didn't really understand until i went into a bar just down the street.  cnn was on the tv's, of course.  and then the first tower fell.

 

i seriously considered jumping into the military right then, but i didn't.  i kept on considering it - thought it was my duty - thought i should do my part.  for honor, for valor, for pride in my country - for all of that.  and because i didn't know what else to do.  nothing else really seemed to matter.  i wanted to contribute to something larger than life in the same way that previous generations had in the past 'great wars'.

 

 

on september 11, 2002

 

i was at sea onboard the USS Higgins, DDG 76.  We were off the coast of california just cruising around in circles.  i was part of a SOVT (System Operational Verification Test) team testing an EHF communication system.  there was a memorial service in the morning, but i didn't even get up for it - i just slept in my bunk.

 

i guess i ended up joining the military after all - just as a navy civilian.

 

 

 

 

on september 11, 2006

 

i got my first 2 of 7 root canals...  :-p

just had my first dentist appt.

just a look see...

 

basically, i'm getting a whole new front end.

 

root canal - post - crown

teeth 7, 8, 9, 10, 24, 25, 26

 

crown

tooth 6

 

if i were into hip-hop just a little bit more, maybe i'd just get ice.  oh, well.

when i see the dentist on wednesday, i'm going to ask him if he can make me look like this...

(props to chris reid for his mad editing skillz)

 

well, folks, it's official - i've gone wireless.

waltzed into the doc's office yesterday morning in shackles at 0830 sharp and crawled out an hour later a free man. well, maybe didn't actually crawl out, but i've gotta say, getting the wires off hurt in a bad way. it all started with trying to numb the mouth. well, the gums are super sensitive and tender right now, so the needles weren't exactly my friends. that sucked in a major way, but that was only the prelude. the doc took a short break to get out his wire clippers and just then prince came over the muzak singing "this is what it sounds like... when doves cry..." how ironic.

clipping the attachments and removing the arch bars - not too fun, but bearable. but there were still the little wires that were wedged between my teeth.

doc : ok, this part is going to kind of feel like flossing with metal wires
me : uh. heh. heh.
doc : [rips out a wire]
me : ahhhhhhh!
doc : yeah, kind of barbaric isn't it? [rips out a wire]
me : ahhhhhhh!
doc : ok, just breathe deep and try to relax. [rips out a wire]
me : ahhhhhhh!

you get the picture.

flossing with metal wire is a decent description, but an even better one is to compare it to trying to start a lawn mower that has a pull cord. Rip! from right between each tooth.

so that was all over, i rinsed with some mouthwash, spat up some blood, got an x-ray, and that was that. the jaw was healed a-ok and the teeth would need to be further diagnosed by my dentist on wednesday. just on to the next phase, i guess. but the wires are off and that's cool. my gums are pretty beat up from being mashed by the wires for 8 weeks now, but they'll heal quickly enough.

the bottom line?

wires. no wires. bleeding gums. healthy gums. it all ends in one familiar picture.


i came. i saw. i conquered.
sarf it up. 

oh, word, people.  just 2 more days and the rest of the wires come out of my mouth.  then what?  only the shadow knows.  the actual dental work will start then, i guess.  but i'm totally ready for it.  just want to keep moving it along...  but wires out will be super sweet.  hopefully the teeth will start feeling a little more minty fresh without 23 and 24 gauge wire entwined all around everything.  awesometime.

 

work has been really hectic lately.  i'm heading probably the most important comms program for the navy that has exactly zero funding.  but it's really important.  but there's no money for it til FY08.  but they want the capability now...  it's kind of stressing cause i get wrapped up in solving problems, etc, but then i'm only working half-time, so i just have to try to leave it sometimes.  i don't know - it's kind of hard to explain.  i want to do the best job possible and get this capability out to the fleet, but there's just so many stumbling blocks in the way, etc.  and i can't just keep on staying at the office, cause then that means ditching training, or starting training late, which means eating late, which means getting to bed late, which then leads to subpar work/training the next day, you get the idea.  and when does laundry ever get done?

 

but in case you're wondering, training is going just fine.  raced at the track tuesday night - it was ok - nothing special - just trying to get my form back.  today was an easy 3 hour ride - just endurance.  tomorrow is weights in the morning and pursuit efforts in the afternoon.

it's all about the baselines.

 

so back on the 18th i got my jaw unwired (mostly).  went out for pizza and beer the next day with the boys.  now, i'm a fairly slow eater, but when your jaw simply doesn't want to cooperate, it makes things even worse.  took me forever to get through those 2 pieces.  they were quite tasty, nonetheless.

 

got pizza and beer again last night.  one week later, and the chewing is a-ok.  the jaw has been beaten back into submission and he now takes commands from my stomach.

 

stomach : i'm hungry!

jaw : aw, man....

stomach : what'd you say?

jaw : uh, nothing.  can i get you some pancakes or maybe a steak or maybe both?

stomach : YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!!!

 

so before we got pizza and beer back on the 19th, i did a full day of racing at the track.  pretty ridiculous - i mean who goes from basically zero physical activity back to full-on racing?  that's like page 1 out of the how to wreck your body guidebook.  but it's also page 1 out of the kickstart your training program guidebook.  weird how those coincide.  so i did a 4 km pursuit - it was pretty slow - and a points race - it hurt real bad.  the amazing thing is that by some miracle i got 5th in the points race and went ahead and qualified for nationals.  utterly ridiculous.  sunday saw more racing, but it hurt triple hard that day.  ugh.  then came the work week, and all of a sudden i could actually talk at work for reals.  no more mumbling incoherently - at least not intentionally anymore?  raced on tuesday night at the track again and got dropped from the final race - suckage.  got some steady miles in on the rest of the week, and then went up to the adt velodrome in la on saturday.  total suckage in the form of racing.  did another fairly slow pursuit, but just wanted to set a baseline time up there for post-accident, and then got shelled in the points race.  finally got in some real pursuit training on the track here in sd on sunday, and things are looking better.  not sure if i'll be in any kind of great shape for nationals, but we'll see what happens.  5 more weeks of training, then it's nationals.  yowsa.

 

oh, and just 5 more days and the doc takes the rest of the wires out of my mouth.  hmmmmmmm.  just in time for labor day!

Jeremy Mucha - you've just got your jaw unwired. What are you going to do next - Disney Land? No - pizza and beer, please. The team took me out for a celebratory 'back in the saddle again' meal last Saturday, and it was sweet.
Word.

 

What'chu lookin' at!?!

 

oh man, i just yawned.  that was flippin sweet.

Freedom at last! Time to get some breakfast... I was so excited to dig in that I started eating before I even got the camera out...
Mission accomplished.

OK, so eating food was super cool. But do you know what was shocking? I took the first bite of pancakes and realized I could barely even open my mouth! Yeah, I could open it a little bit, but not the normal amount to simply put food in - I could only open it about the width of my thumb. That was weird, cause I had to cut things up really extra small. Next, my mouth had basically forgotten how to chew! Chewing was nearly impossible - it was more like cut things up really small, put them in the mouth, try to press them with my molars, then swallow. Yeah, weird. The teeth didn't feel right - it just felt like I was gumming my food or something. Really odd. So the pancakes and eggs were fine to not really chew too much, but the sausage was tough. But like the professional eater that I am, I managed to overcome the naysayers and clean the plate. booyah.

next up, thai. 

holy smack, people.  tomorrow's the big day.  jaw gets unwired.  there'll still be wires in the mouth - kind of like braces - but i'll be able to open up and start chowing down on solid food.

 

now, i've known this day was coming for awhile, but i've really done a good job of keeping my cool.  never got too excited.  just kept on spinning the blender.  oh, another ensure?  why, that would be simply delightful!  please, I know I ordered soup, but do you guys think you might be able to put it in a blender for me?  no?  oh, ok, i just thought i'd ask.

 

but then about 10 minutes ago, i was listening to some social distortion - i'm gonna live before i die - and man, i just got fired the hell up.  tomorrow i'm gonna eat before i die.  can you smell what the rock is cooking?  i sure can.  word.

 

now, prolly the most asked question is : what are you going to eat first?

 

for me, what i eat first is not really so important.  what's important to me is to simply eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat.  and i've got some ideas, folks, i've got some ideas.

 

 

friday

 

06:00 - wake-up

08:30 - doctor appt

09:30 - pancakes, eggs, sausage

10:00 - show up at work to display my new grill

12:00 - leave work - i mean, seriously folks, it's friday in san diego

13:00 - pad thai w/ chicken

16:00 - caribbean burrito

19:00 - fish tacos, rice & beans, chips & guac

 

 

saturday

 

06:00 - wake-up

06:30 - pancakes, eggs, saugage

08:00 - setup at the velodrome, start warming up for the track nationals qualifier match

10:20 - race a 4km pursuit

11:30 - race a 30km points race

13:00 - souvlaki platter (beef shish-kebobs) at the greek resto near the velodrome

16:00 - fettucini w/ chicken maranara + camembert/rochefort on water crackers + cabernet sauvignon

19:00 - pizza and beer

 

 

i think you get the idea...  the 3 hour food schedule is my favorite.

 

ok, so eating solid food is gonna be really nice.  i've been able to hold out for 6 weeks on liquids simply because i knew i'd be able to return to solids.  if i were never able to eat solids again?  wow, don't even want to think about that one.  so i always knew solids would come back - liquids were annoying, but i could be patient enough.

 

but what will actually be the best part of being able to open my mouth?  things you take for granted much more than solid food.

the ability to :

 

yawn

sneeze

cough

brush my teeth

 

mornings with your jaw wired shut suck.  you're trying to wake up, but you're tired.  you involuntarily yawn.  but you can't open your mouth.  more accurately, your teeth are wired together, such that the involuntary yawn simply tries to rip your teeth out of your mouth.  now, to some degree you can control yawns, but to some degree you simply can't.  sneezes are almost hopeless.  if you feel one coming on, then you better clench your teeth really tight to try to keep them still, or who knows what might happen.  no fun, that's for sure.

 

but all that will be over soon - so soon.

 

i also love the fact that our velodrome is holding qualifiers for the national track championships the very day after i get my wires clipped.  man, that's awesome.  as long as i get top 5 in the pursuit i'm good to go.  should i mention that i only got back on the bike last week, and really haven't done anything more than short easy endurance rides on the trainer?  nah...  i figure i'll go down to the track tomorrow afternoon for a little warmup and then just go for it on saturday.  i'm not so worried about setting any super times - just qualifying for nationals.  and if i don't qualify this weekend, then that's no big deal.  the other california velodromes have qualifiers coming up in the next couple of weeks.  it'll still be a good kickstart to the training...

 

 

IN SUMMARY

 

CAP'N HQ GLUTTONY OF UNIMAGINED PROPORTIONS WILL ENSUE ON 18 AUGUST 2006 AT 10:30 PDT.  KEEP SMALL CHILDREN AND ANIMALS INDOORS.  THE STREETS WILL RETURN TO CHAOS.

3 days til freedom

4 days until my tongue is released.

T-minus 5 days and counting til the grand opening of my jaw.

new lunchtime drink:

 

vodka-red bull-boost

AKA

boooooooooooooost!

 

that's:

 

1 bottle of vanilla boost

1 can of red bull

3-4 count of vodka

 

yum.

well, i finally got on the bike today for the first time since the wreck. i mean, it's been almost 5 weeks now, and my desire to get back to riding and training has ebbed and flowed and i've asked myself if i even wanted to ride anymore at all. just last week i was at work, and starting to feel like a real 'working' person and all and i just didn't know if it was worth the hassle of training training training anymore. why bother? too hard a life. do i even have that kind of talent anyway? there's so many people that are so much faster and they're so much younger. yeah, fairly negative thoughts, but just trying to take a step back and re-evaluate all of it. i didn't want for the injury to "beat" me, but if my time for cycling was through, then it was through. there are a lot more things i'd like to do in life, for goodness sake.

anyway, i hooked the bike up to the trainer and just rode for half an hour. things started a little slow, but then the legs started turning over and i realized that i just needed to keep on keepin on. it's not over yet. got to keep the big picture in mind, and in the big picture i've been progressing nicely year by year. sure, there've been bumps along the path, but could i have it any other way? simply, no. we all have our own paths and that's what makes us who we are. some are rougher than others, but that's just how it is. i'm no fan of crashing, much less breaking bones, but if that leads to even just the possibility of experiencing the opposite side of the pendulum - winning championships and such - then i'm willing to take the journey. that's my lot.

was thinking about new breakfast ideas a couple weeks ago - and then it hit me. what about coffee and donuts... in a blender, of course! could be truly sweet. went down to the local KK with my mom and was SHOCKED to find the following sign : no joke, i was in shock for days after that event. i almost had to get out of the car and ride shotgun - i couldn't even focus on driving anymore. i mean, it's clear - can't you see it?

that krispy kreme clearly shut down when they heard that i was on the disabled list. they had budgeted for the cap'n HQ donut escapades, but when they heard i had an inactive mandible, they knew they were doomed and couldn't hold out for my recovery. TRAGIC FOLKS, TRAGIC. 

ok, so there was a going away party for laurel tonight. a nice grill session including brat, salmon, tuna, ribs... wow, can you say paradise? anyway, i brought the cuisinart for some fun. bratwurst, anyone? how about some tomato/cucumber spicy type salad to go with that? and a tecate to wash it down? but of course!
but what about in a blender?
now, one would think that the beer would just go foam crazy in a blender, right? wrong! the food absorbs the shock and the tecate is then just a nice fluid to help make a smoothie! no foaming at all. and i've got to say, it tasted not too bad at all. pretty decent, really. basically tasted like a cold soup - just had a beer base, that's all... and i bet if i had heated it up in the microwave, it might have been truly appointed - only had dixie cups, though.

that's called a 'cerveza-brat surprize'
awesome.

 

Tried a little something different in the blender last night. Was helping a friend move an amoire out of their apartment - or well, maybe i was just watching as they moved and offereing murmurs of confidence. anyway, we finished and there was this 6-pack of slim jims. not the natural style jerky - just the tubes 'o beef (or assorted animal products). anyway, puled 2 from the pack and took em home. beef sticks, bbq sauce, spinach, and a bit of milk to make it a drink. hmm?
Yeah, it turned out... well, not as good. trust me, i've made worse, though. I put too much bbq sauce in there (forgot about the inate spiciness of the beef sticks) and the final product just had too much kick. Enough that it might as well have been like drinking bbq sauce straight. couldn't take more than a few sips before i had to pour it out. i think if i had just done the slim jims, the spinach and milk, then it just might have turned out a-ok. 

well, i had an appointment with the oral surgeon yesterday, and he said 2 more weeks.  and then 2 more weeks after that.  huh?  yeah, so in 2 weeks (aug 18) the doctor will cut the wires binding my top jaw to the bottom jaw, but will leave all the hardware in the mouth.  that's so just in case my bite shifts or something like that, then he can do whatever it is that he does.  if all is still good in 2 more weeks (sep 1) then all the metal wrapped around my teeth will finally come out.  awesome.  didn't expect the second 2 week period.  that really sucks.

 

so basically, 4 weeks down, 2 more to go.  weeks 7 and 8 will mostly be just like i'm wearing braces again.  joy.

so i'm in chicago for the weekend for a wedding.  flew out on southwest this morning.  checking in for the flight:

 

can i see your id?

sure [hand id over]

mucha?

yep.

wow, so you're a "whole lotta jeremy" ?

 

sweet.  wanted to reply back, "YOU  BETTER BELIEVE IT!" at full volume, but that would have really sounded like "you bebber beliebe it." in a muffled voice.  so i was just like:

 

heh-heh, yeah.

 

so lame.  it's hard to even smile with all the wires in the mouth.  oh, well.  just another 2 or 3 weeks.

A classic photo back from a racing trip in March. It was dinner time and tomorrow was a 100 mile road race. i was double hungry and needed the double calories. so what else? order double dinners. that was awesome. looking forward to the return of those days...

 

Here's what it looked like before the bench and grill moved in. Moved the plant to an empty dirt spot in a neighbor's section. Cool.

 

The Garden Project... Used to be just knee-high weeds under my front windows. Well, mom wanted to clean that up, so instead of just planting flowers, we got some pots and mulch.
But then I had the bright idea, "huh, that looks pretty cool - maybe we can put a bench out here to look at it all? and what if I get hungry? you know, i've always wanted a grill for steaks..." Yeah, had to hack down an overgrown hedge jungle for that one.
But then I had to put it all on lockdown - wouldn't want the grill to go the route of the scooter...

Caribbean Burrito - Slightly Modified...

 

well, superweek ended today - and so did my garden project.  when mom and i got back to san diego after my accident, she was kind of bored cause i was still sleeping a lot.  so, she decided to tackle the weeds outside my front windows.  as i regained my strength i helped her out.  anyway, what began as a simple "weeding and plant a couple flowers" operation evolved into a complete tearout of everything in front of my place (including some really nasty "shrubs") and replacement with big flower pots, a bench, solar lights, and a firepit/grill.  kind of silly, but what can i say - there's no way to do it, but to do it hardqore.  that's how we're livin.  i'll put some pics of it up tomorrow.  it was a nice project to take my mind off racing, for sure.  tomorrow i return to work...

well, i just dropped mom off at the airport, so that's that.  man, it sure was nice to have her around, though.  it would have been really difficult to make it out of wisconsin on my own - i certainly would have had to stay in the hospital a couple more days just to start feeling better.  i was so heavily medicated back then...  anyway, that's over and i went off the meds a couple days ago on wednesday.  so basically 1 week of heavy sedation and 1/2 a week of sedation when needed (mostly just on going to sleep and waking up).  but that's not counting the morphine that i was IV'ed to in the hospital for the first 2 days.  yikes!  but like i said - mom was there the entire time and really helped out - drove the van in WI - coordinated picking up my bike - helped me with meals until i was awake enough to make my own - etc.  anyway, that's my mom.  she's the best.

 

quick props to my buddy cap'n late AKA j. snizow AKA snowman AKA jonathan snow - he did his very first bike race today as a cat 5 racer (beginner category) and finished with the peloton.  no crashing for him and he finished his first race a-ok.  very sweet.

 

dining update!

 

i ordered my very favorite burrito in the world from ortega's - the caribbean burrito.  it's got mex rice, black beans, guac, cheese, and chicken.  it's simply delicious.  and then i put it in the blender - sans tortilla.  added 1 cup of water.

 

and it turned out perfectly!  sure, it wasn't the consistency of eating a burrito or anything, but the taste was still there with all the spices, the chicken - i could taste the guac - it was great.  small victories folks, small victories.  and then i whipped up a butterscotch surprise for desert.  totally killer.  mucha's not losing weight, folks.

fyi

 

the breakfast of champions = 1,420 calories.

 

how ya like me now?

(and that's just to keep me from *losing* weight)

 

early evening snack was tortilla soup a la blender.  nice and spicy - oh, so good.

 

that enboldened me, so i tried something special for dinner tonight.  got a lemongrass bbq chicken bowl from a street vendor - threw it in the blender.  added some milk - added some water - just trying to thin it out.  i eventually got it drinkable.  and it tasted completely rancid.  nuts.

 

take 2.  had a microwavable bowl of thai teriyaki noodles.  cooked it up real nice.  sprinkled on the sesame seeds for that chef au natural flair.  had my mom taste it - oh, that's nice!  then threw it in the blender.  added some water.  added some milk.  finally got it drinkable.  and finally made it horrible to taste as well.  had mom taste it again - oh, that's not so good anymore...  yeah, welcome to my world.

 

so that really set me back.

but like any good up pumper (or P. Diddy) - ain't nothing gonna hold me down - oh, no.

 

went back to the old standard of vanilla ice cream + vanilla boost plus + apple/mango juice.  that's a nice one.  skipped dinner and went straight to desert.

cuisinart is the bomb.

 

i had pop tarts for breakfast this morning.  straight out of the blender.  all from a suggestion by my mom.  we were shopping for groceries the other day:

 

mom:  pop tarts?

me:  uh...

mom:  why not try it in the blender...?

me:  uh...

mom:  ?

me:  ... ok!  i mean seriously, who puts pop tarts in the blender?  this guy!

 

the breakfast of champions:

 

2 chocolate chip pop tarts

2 chocolate boost plus bottles

2 cups 2% milk

2 tablespoons powdered fiber

 

cut it real smooth - blend it up nice, baby.

mmm, de-lish.

 

 

dinner?

 

i took a can of chicken noodle soup and blended it down.  yum.  tastes like chicken!  then a can of ham / roasted potatoes soup (plus a little milk to thin it out) ground round down.  dining extravagance.  bon apetit!

 

 

yes, i can hear you asking...  when will i try out a steak?  any day now...

Got a new blender last night - mom bought it for me - and it totally opened up an entirely new world of liquid dining pleasure.

well, finally safe and sound back in san diego.  got in last night, had some liquid dinner, cleaned up the garden and pretty much hit the sack.  saw an oral surgeon this morning and received the, "yep, looks like it's healing" prognosis.  that's cool, i guess.  i think i was wishing he'd take a look at the x-rays, and simply exclaim, "you must have some kind of mutant healing factor - you'll only need 1 more week of your jaw wired shut!"  yeah, no such luck.  instead, he said, "wow, you really cracked this thing good - 1, 2, 3 fractures in your chin."  what can i say - guess i had to break it pretty hardqore.  anyway, he took a couple stitches out, but that was it.  next appointment next friday morning to see how the healing process is progressing again.  ho-hum.  feels like naptime again.

well, checking out of the hotel in racine, wi today to head back down to san diego.  3 pm flight out of ord to san at 5 pm.  it'll be nice to get home and relax a bit more.  mom is coming with me to make sure all goes well - very nice - i simply wouldn't be able to handle all the bike stuff on my own.  we're hoping it won't be 'snakes on a plane'...  :-)

Complements of my buddy, Dishrag. Just call me Jawqore.

Superweek - Stage 2 - Menasha Crit

 

Well, folks, I crashed big during this crit.  Really big.  So big that I broke my jaw (took it hard on the chin).  A short ambulance ride to the Neena, WI hospital and I underwent surgery later in the evening.  The nurses were really nice and took good care of me over the next couple of days until my mom showed up to help me take care of stuff and get ready to return to San Diego to recover.  Now we're basically trying to get my bike back from the race organizers, get everything packed up, then fly out on Thursday.

 

So the crazy part about all of this - the rest of my body is basically fine - no problem.  Just the lower half of my face is messed up.  No knocked out teeth, per se, but it's gonna require a bit of oral surgery to be sure.  Need to fix all of that - no big deal - it could have been a lot worse.  At least it wasn't the upper half...  No head injury, thank goodness.

 

So my jaw is completely wired shut to help the bones heal (3 screws and a plate in my chin).  And what does that mean?  Liquid diet only.  Wow, no steaks for at least 5 weeks or so...  What a drag - but it'll taste really good when I get there.  For now it's just chocolate milk and Ensure - yum!

 

So, a special thanks to my family and my friends that called me in the hospital - even though I can't talk very well, it really did lift my spirits.  You guys are the best.

 

Cap'n Hardqore  AKA  Cap'n Jawqore

superweek - stage 1 - beverly crit

 

i crashed.  i haven't crashed during racing all season, but apparently that luck just ran out.  i race on tubular wheels - those are the kind with glue on tires.  well, i rolled my back tire off the rim on like lap 5 of the crit last night.  pretty ridiculous.  the pace was just starting to ease up and i was moving up through the field when blammo, i hit the deck in the corner at the top of the hill.  no one crashed with me - i guess that was lucky.  ripped up my shorts so that my bloody right cheek was hanging out, though.  no damage to the bike or even the back wheel - except that it needs a new tire, of course.  got up off the ground - the crowd cheered - and i ran down to the neutral pit to get a new back wheel.  got that switched out and got back into the race.  felt fine in the race, but then the wheel wasn't shifting right, so i went back to the pit where they adjusted the rear derailleur.  got back in the race again and things were fine, but then i clipped a pedal pretty hard at the turn at the bottom of the hill, and i just called it quits.  that just freaked me out, cause i was so not interested in crashing again.  i prolly could have finished just fine, but it was prolly better to just pull out and go ahead and get the wounds cleaned up.  i mean, seriously, there's 16 more days of this.  so now i've got to tend to wounds for the entire race series.  awesome.  i mean - seeriously - who crashes on day 1?  this guy.

 

the weird part about rolling that tire?  i've raced on that wheel/tire for most of the season now.  it's always been rock solid.  and *now* it decides to roll off?  whatever.

arrived in chi-town yesterday folks - the adventure has begun.  pretty uneventful - just flew in to ORD, got the rental, then put the bike together and went for a fairly easy 2-hour ride to stretch the legs out and get them ready for friday's race.  drove in to the city thursday night and stayed at a downtown hostel.  not the most convenient choice for a bike racer with a rental car, etc, but it all worked out fine and i got a decent night's sleep.  up bright and early at 8 am and went for a super easy 45-min ride around the lake michigan waterfront - that was nice.  and now it's just straight-up chill out time.  opening race at 5:45 pm in Beverly Hills/Morgan Park neighborhood of chicago.  awesome.

Tour de France starts today.  The past couple years of that really haven't been so exciting to me - mostly just watch Lance put the smack down, you know what I mean?  Anyway, with all the doping suspensions a couple days ago, I think I might actually watch more this year.  It's bound to be a tight race.  should be cool.

 

anyway, while that grand tour is going on, i'll be participating in a different kind of grand tour.  superweek - milwaukee, wi - july 7 - 23.  17 consecutive days of racing - that's 13 crits and 4 road races.  and the crits are 100 km, so even those are fairly long (about 2 hr, 20 min or so), as far as race length goes.  i'm booked for the whole event, and i'm really stoked about that.  it's gonna be one sweet trip, and i've been racing pretty well lately, so this could be a really good one...

 

that and i get to ditch work for 2 and a half weeks.  oh, word!

 

www.internationalcycling.com

Rollin' in San Diego...

okay, so tonight was the usual tuesday night track racing at san diego velodrome.  i wasn't sure if i'd be recovered enough from the cyclovets omnium yet, but whatever - we'll give it a shot.

 

motorpaced warmup race - 2nd.  now, this is really more like a really long keirin - the motor gradually picks up speed for 40 laps, though.  At lap 38, the motor pulls off, and whoever is left gets 2 to go.  i was there, but had to bridge a gap going into the bell lap and got passed on the line.  all good, though.  the legs seemed to be going just fine.  sweet.

 

miss-n-out - 5th.  i was kind of bummed about this one, as i can usually make the final 3.  the competition was hard, though, so that wasn't too bad, really.  but i started feeling tired and was wondering if i should just call it an early night.

 

15-lap tempo - nothing.  the pace was quick, and i mostly just sat in the field.  for me to collect points in this race, i need to roll off the front, but i never did, and i still felt pretty tired.  ouch.

 

60-lap points race.

 

at this point, i asked the race director if we could simply do a 60-lap madison instead (that way I'd only have to ride half the distance - remember, i'm tired, folks).  no dice - points race it was.

 

for the first half of the race, i didn't do too much.  i partipated in some early sprints when i had the position, but tried not to bury myself too much.  about halfway through, though, a small group of us rolled off the front and proceeded to lap the field.  wow.  the 2nd half of the race was my awakening, and i scored 1st or 2nd in pretty much most of those sprints.  awesome.

 

just goes to show that even though you may be tired in the shorter races, the longer ones can still work to your advantage.  and that road and track can actually complement each other very nicely, too.  word.

"Don't call it a comeback, I've been here for years..." - LL Cool J

 

Sorry for the lack of updates, folks.  Times have been hard for sure.  I've been training a lot, that's for sure too.  And work has been fairly demanding, just wanting me to work more and more hours - not quite fully understanding the beauty of the part time schedule.  But whatever.  I'm walking a fine line at work, and things are going okay, but i'm just trying to keep all parties happy, you know what i mean?  word.  especially since i'm taking just about the entire month of july off for racing - booyah!  but i'm getting ahead of myself.

 

anyway, mostly just heavy training from the end of may to the middle of june.

 

june 18 was the state road race championships - a 109 mile race with a bunch of climbing, but nothing mountainously hard.  i wasn't too excited about this race, but decided to go and help out my teammate chris dagz.  the race was actually going just fine - dagz flatted on lap 1 - we all dropped back - changed his wheel - towed him back up to the field - good work.  a bunch of climbing later and i got dropped around mile 60 or so on a pretty serious climb.  that sucked, but there were a couple other dropped guys, and we chased all the way to the feed zone climb.  we were just catching the peloton at the bottom of the climb, but then the peloton accelerated (and the climb started) and that was pretty much all she wrote.  i rolled around for the rest of the lap, but then pulled out.  i'm not so much one for quitting races, but i didn't have the food and drink necessary to do another lap, so it was better to just stop.  that was around mile 70 or so.  anyway, that kind of sucked, but frankly, i did better than i thought i was going to do going into the race.

 

you see, it was back in the fall of 2004 / winter of 2005 that a sports doctor told me, "you have the potential to be national champion in the pursuit [on the track], but you will never be a good road racer."  and i bought it.  shouldn't have, but i did.  believed it for over a year, but not any more.  why?

 

cyclovets omnium 2006 - that was just this past weekend - june 23-25.  i finshed 9th place overall - how ya like me now, doc?  (now, for what it's worth, that sports doctor might have meant i wouldn't be successful on a european road racer level, but i interpreted it as even on the local/regional level...)

 

friday - individual time trial - 10 miles.  5 miles out, turnaround, 5 miles back.  there's a minor hill (~200 feet) in the middle of the course, so you hit that twice.  I scored 5th place with a time of 22:18.  That was so chill, I can't even say.  Now, time trials are not my favorite - i prefer head-to-head racing - but to beat a lot of accomplished road racers was pretty awesome - it's a true test of fitness.

 

saturday - road race - 67 miles.  not a super long race, but the climbing was pretty ridiculous and this was out in the desert during the summer, so the environmental conditions were miserable.  i got 14th - beating lots of guys who can climb much better than me.  pretty surreal, to say the least.  I must have gotten dropped 4 or 5 times during this race, but with a lot of help from my teammates, i was able to finish well and collect omnium points for the overall result.  and really, i can't stress enough how important my team was during the RR.  From support in the feed zone to a draft on the road, it all made the result possible.

 

sunday - crit - 75 minutes - 1 km course with a bit of a hill in it - but not super hard or anything.  finished in 13th.  there was a 3 man break up the road for the finish, so the field sprint was for 4th.  i didn't have a "bad" sprint, so to speak, but it wasn't too super either.  i held my own - didn't get passed - but didn't pass anyone either.  it really boiled down to being in a slightly bad position for the finale.  i was on the outside coming into the final turn when i should have been on the inside.  oops.

 

so with all that said, i'm in complete shock that i finished in top 10 overall at this stage race.  sorry for the lack of blogging folks, but that's where all the energy went - into that top 10 result.  flippin' sweet.

Apparently Interpol found my scooter at the Giro d'Italia with the thief at the wheel. That's okay - I won't prosecute - can I just get her number?

Raced up in San Clemente today - that's about an hour north of San Diego, just north of Camp Pendleton - the marine base.  Anyway, it was a pretty challenging course - always up and down the hills.  Wasn't too sure how I'd go at this one - sometimes I can go okay in the hills and sometimes not.  This was an okay day.  So I was covering some midrace moves, etc, but missed the move that actually stayed away for the win.  7 people up the road, but the money went 20 deep, so it was still on in the field.  I've got to say I was pretty tired through the middle of the race from doing a bit of work, but when it came down to the fininsh it was on like donkey kong.  i was right up in the front - top 5, top 10 - and it was fairly gruesome - just bumping and grinding left and right.  the pace was very uneven - we'd make quick jumps, but then nobody really wanted to lead out the sprint, so things were dicey.  i was jumping just fine, but then i just missed the final jump right before the final corner of the race.  i wasn't out of gas - i just missed the anticipation, and by not "pre" jumping i got boxed and swarmed and that was it.  a disappointing finish in that i was in a really good position and i could've got in the money today, but it's all okay.  the fact that i was there ready to go in the finish is 90% of the job.  it was a good day.  turned in 311 (omaha stylee, ya'll) miles of training for the week, so i can't complain about that.

you know, i don't think i'll ever get over the feeling of riding a bike through dense city traffic - it's just too much fun.  dangerous - yes - but fun.  i mean, messengering in philly is what got me into riding road bikes in the first place, and some things you just can't change.

 

so i had to pick up the cooper from a repair shop today - there had been a parking lot hit-n-run that dented up my hood kinda bad, so that needed to be fixed.  anyway, had to ride through downtown san diego and get there before the shop closed, etc.  just fun ripping it through the city streets dodging cars, potholes, etc.

 

so that was basically my warm-up for the tuesday night track racing, as i was late to the track due to the car pickup.  still rode decently well, though, even after a week of not even touching a bike and pretty much just drinking beer and being sedentary.  6th in the 20-lap scratch (botched my position going into the final 3 laps).  4th in the Miss-n-Out (caught a really annoying hook at the final elimination).  And nothing in the 10-mile scratch race (caught some bad luck when the peloton split and i was in the wrong half...).  So not a stellar night, but nothing to boo-hoo about either.  just getting back into training.

okay, so last week i put in ZERO hours of training on the bike.  it was a planned week of idleness, so no worries.  and seriously folks, i've got to say it felt pretty nice.  although it did get a little weird halfway through.  just like - huh - shouldn't i be out *doing* something?  but instead i stayed home, and cleaned up the mess i call home.  vacuumed the astroturf in the backyard and everything.  now it all looks pristine once again.  good, cause i won't have time for that again for another 4 months!  heading into a 300-350 mile week of training starting today...

Years overdue... And yet, oh so timeless!

Slop, Slop, Sloppy DAN!

Faces of Death : The Athens Twilight Computrainer Finals

Pulled from Pez Cycling News...
L to R: ?, Brooke, Kaylen, ?, Kele

finished racing in south carolina on thursday night and packed up the bike that night.

flew out to san diego early friday morning.

state crit championships on saturday.

optional road race on sunday.

no rest for the wicked.

 

barrio logan gp - state crit championships

was feeling ok, and was looking forward to a local race after the nrc madness.  had a decent start spot, but was very lacksadasical in the beginning.  the pace was fine, and was watching a bit, but was somewhat on auto-pilot.  i even saw kyle gritters moving up through the field, but didn't follow.  biggest mistake of the day.  within the first 20 minutes of the race, he was up the road with 5 or so others and they would eventually take a lap on the field.  well, that just plain sucked.  game over.

 

san luis rey road race

this is a hilly road race and socal guys just aren't always so much road racers.  it's mostly crits around here, so that's what you get used to.  anyway, this is a tough race, but not impossible.  i managed to take 3rd here as a cat 3, but didn't have so much luck last year as a cat 2.  this year was better - got 16th among the cat 2's.  good for about 26th overall or so in the pro/1/2.  over half the field just drops out of this race, so if you just perservere you can end up with a decent result...

ok, it's time for a run down of the rest of the trip to athens, etc

 

roswell crit

lasted about 20 minutes (of about 80 minutes)

really tired from the night before, but whatever - time to race.  was going decent at the beginning, but there was one corner on the course (downhill off-camber into a slight uphill) that just destroyed me.  i was on the brakes too much and not riding efficiently.  recipe for destruction.

 

walterboro crit

lasted about 20 minutes (of about 100 minutes)

flat course, so i thought i would be able to go well.  really nervous at the start and just went no good.  a flat course and i just wasn't able to keep it rolling and i still was riding really inefficiently.  sucked.  however, after the race a little kid (like 5 years old?) asked me for my autograph.  that was the coolest and I put a smile on for him.

 

greenwood crit

lasted about 40 minutes (of about 100 minutes)

went into this race feeling like fight club.  when you hit rock bottom, there's nowhere to go but up.  after half an hour i thought i just might be able to finish this race, but then a nerac pro dude just popped right in front of me.  that made the gap that i just couldn't cover.  and of course i was last in line so had nowhere to slip.  and that sucked.  and this was even a harder course than walterboro.  oh, well.

 

i think the real lesson learned from this racing trip is that i just need to basically take the brakes off the bike.  don't use 'em.  ride smoother and go with the flow.  the races are doable as long as you don't waste energy reaccelerating out of the corners.  it's easy to be lazy in the local crits because they're simply not as fast, but you can't fool around at the nrc level.

 

but it's not like i haven't finished an nrc crit before either - manhattan beach gp is nrc out here and i go just fine at that one.  huh.

 

overall, though, the trip was a success.  for those computrainer time trials (for athens seeding) i got a $190 payout for 8th place.  that was pretty sweet.  didn't finish a single race, but had a good time and saw my friends and family.  the computrainer result shows that the general fitness is there - just need to learn to ride the bike a little better.

so it's after athens twilight, after the piss test, and now it's time to get a bite to eat with my mom and cousins.  nothing stellar - just a midnite diner.  that's all done, say goodnite, and it's off to finish up the night in athens.  call kaylen up and see what bar they're at.  roswell crit is the very next day, but athens didn't quite go as planned, so i'm just not caring so much right now.  anyway, get to the bar, stroll in, and who do i see with the girls but gord fraser and tim johnson?  2 of the top pros in the pro peloton.  gord got 3rd that night.  i almost turned around right then and walked out - it just seemed so ridiculous.  first race against them on bikes, and then in the bar?  whatever, let's just see what happens.  get a beer and start letting it fly.  tim's married, so he's gord's wingman.  they both introduce themselves, and i'm like, "yeah, i know who you are...  i was in that race."  they ask how i did, not so well, and the subject drifts away...  dude.

 

time is getting on, and it hits 2am closing time.  we're all out - where are you staying tonight?  oh, i don't have anything up here in athens - you don't have a couch i could crash on or something, do you?  oh yeah, we've got a fold-out...

another tidbit from friday night...

 

so i was having that sandwich after the time trial talking with the podium girls and what not.  and then megan says, "you know you look a lot like will ferrell?"  i just kind of groaned - i mean, this is just out of control.  i just stopped short on mentioning the whole dressing up as an elf thing, but they thought will ferrell was pretty cool so there you go.  just so random.

got back up to athens on saturday for the twilight crit.  got my race number and was informed that i'd get a special 'pro' call-up by virtue of my being the #7 qualifier in the friday time trials.  sweet!  numbers #1 - 23 got call ups to the very front - i was #22.

 

so that's nice and now i roll over to the announcing booth where the podium girls are to see if the ones i know are working.  certainly they are, and i exchange numbers with kaylen to meet up after the big race.  double sweet.

 

change up and warmup - time to get up to the race course for the big intro's.  i make it up there, but then get stricken with the mother of all nature calls.  i've still got time, so it's just a little diversion, right?  well i come out of the bar restroom and here the star spangled banner queueing up...  oh snap, i'm about to miss the race!  i rush down the 1/2 block to the super pro entry and slot in right in the front.  don't even know who i crowded, i was so frazzled.  totally missed my pro call-up.  wow, how un-pro of me, huh?  no good.  then the girls walk by and are like, "hi, jeremy!"  the whistle blows and we're off like lightning.

 

the very first lap has a $350 prime, so you know this one is going to be single file from the get go.  i'm not climbing the 6% hill on the backside so super great, but i'm somewhat surviving.  anyway, it's lap 5 and i'm just over halfway back in the field.  round turn 4 and there are like 20 guys piled up on the far side.  oh, boy.  some brakes to avoid, but then 2 more guys get tangled and crash right in front of me.  more brakes.  time to reaccelerate and we're chasing.  totally screwed, as there's no way that we're going to catch back on to the main field.  by lap 10, 1/3 of the field (of 160) has been pulled from the race - including me.  by lap 20, over half the field is gone.  by the end, only 40 or 50 guys finish.  wicked hard, folks.

 

so i'm done, and i'm wandering back toward the start/finish to find my family in the crowd and watch the rest of the race.  pretty bummed that i'm out of the race early, but oh well.  and then a guy and his girlfriend walk up and say, "could we get a picture with you?"  wow...  sure!  so they get a picture and meanwhile college kids walk by and are like, "hey, nice run out there!"  "good work in the race!"  etc.  made me feel like a real pro - it was cool.

 

anyway, the race is over, and it's time to change and then - you guessed it - get something to eat.  well, i just get back to the car to change when my cousin, missy, calls on the cell phone and tells me i need to get back up to the start area for dope testing.  yep, USADA (US Anti Doping Association) was present and testing - they test the top 3 places and then 2 randoms.  out in 10 laps - yeah, i'm a random...

 

so i get up to the testing trailer and give a urine sample.  i had to pick a jar, disrobe and fill it up - all with an old dude watching in order to make sure i didn't sneak in a fake sample.  wierdest thing ever.  then the paperwork gets filled out and they ask about any medications or vitamins i'm on.  yeah, i take a daily multi-vitamin and i use chamois cream - anything else?  well, i guess i've been eating a fairly decent amount of black-eyed peas, mashed potatoes and chicken since i've been in athens?  ha, ha - not funny.  oh, i've had a couple of smoothies - hopefully there's nothing weird in those...  "yeah, you really need to watch out for that."  oh, boy.  anyway, i'll find out in about 4 weeks whether or not i've been doping.  boy, i sure hope the answer is no - otherwise, why didn't i get better results?

ok, so much has happened - where did i leave off...

 

right, so finished the tt on friday night.  blah.  thought about straight leaving the city for my buddy sarfy mark filer's place (where i was going to stay for the night) but then i was like - hmm, i guess i better get something to eat - i mean, that what you do after a hard effort, right?  get some fuel.  yeah, as if the pre-chicken wasn't enough...

 

anyway, i change up and stroll down to broad st. in athens.  mellow mushroom has pizza and sandwiches, so i figure a sandwich to go would be just right.  walk in there and who do we have but 4 of the podium girls from the time trials.  you're here by yourself?  would you like to sit with us?  well sure...

 

so it's brooke, megan, kaylen (my #7 number girl), kele and then me.  ridiculous.  getting late and some are going out for drinks and some aren't.  what am i doing?  well, i'm kind of tired actually, and athens twilight is kind of the entire reason for the trip, so i guess i better get a good night's sleep.  hmm, so that's that.  night-night, and an hour drive back to the ATL 'burbs to ponder why i didn't just scam it and stay in athens for the night.  sarfy was most disappointed in my choice for the evening.

yesterday was ridiculous.  i mean, woah.

 

so i did my tt heat and had a decent time.  but i was in heat 6 and there were 12 total.  still potential for me to not see the grand final.  anyway, i take it easy, get a nice pasta lunch, blog a bit, get a smoothie, then check out heat 10.  heat 10 is through, and where do i stand overall?  in 8th place.  (only 8 in the grand final)  huh.  watch heat 11 and 2 guys beat my time - this puts me in to 10th place now.  oh, well, no big deal, i guess i can just go home now - i'm not advancing, right?  but what do i do?  go eat some food, of course.  i mean, what else would i do?  so i go to this place and they have a 1/2 chicken special with mashed potatoes and rice w/ black-eyed peas mixed in.  big portions - sweet.  but then i do something i haven't done in years.  i'm 2/3 of the way through, and i decide to box it up to go.  the final tt heat was going to start, and i thought it would be nice to see how it shakes out and see where my final finish spot is.  ok, so that heat goes by and no one beats my time, so i'm 10th overall.  i get up to leave, but then the promoter pulls up an excel spreadsheet with all of the results, and sorts by time.  yep, there i am in 10th.  and then he sorts by winners of heats.  oh, now i'm in 7th...  yeah, in fact it was the top 8 *winning* times that advanced.  the 2 guys that were just a tiny bit faster than me were both 2nd in their heats, so they didn't advance...  holy shaka-laka, i guess i better start warming up...

 

so i get my warmup on, and i'm feeling ok, but not so special.  yeah, this is going to hurt.  roll down to the stage, and there's a whole big production going on.  final was touted at 8:30, but no one's ready to go.  i ask the promoter, and he's like, yeah, it's going to be a little different this time.  we're going to put your bikes up on the stage in advance, and then these number girls (with 1-8 placards) are going to escort you onto the stage.  if it gets here in time, we'll have a smoke machine too!  me - oh man, that's ridiculous...  i love it!  promoter - right on!

so it's like 20 minutes later and the smoke machine never showed up, but the girls were all ready to go, wearing mini-skirts and tanktops.  the escorts go, we mount the bikes, and we get going around 9:15 or so.  so much for the warm-up.  i proceed to suck, but not too badly.  there's like 3 of us battling to not be last spot.  i take last, but that's still worth payout, so there's nothing to worry about.  my time was 8:08 with around 378 watts or so and the winning spot was like 7:30 with 461 - pretty impressive by any standards...  so i was tired and that's that.

 

part 2 to ensue later - need to get on the road here...

 

by the way, the compu-trainer measured 401 watts for the 6km tt and the power-tap measured 403 watts.  pretty sweet consistency, if i do say so myself.  and i do.  nice.

today we have the "start grid time trials" for athens twilight.  these are 8-up heats done on computrainers.  computrainers are pretty cool, and you can enter a course in the computer to simulate - well, we get a simulation of 6 laps of the twilight course.  that makes this a 6 km prologue to determine who gets "pole posiiton" etc.  starting in the front is critical at athens, as it's a really tight course with very little room to move up, especially when everyone is railed out going super hard.  add 160 racers to the mix and you better not be at the back.  as an added bonus, the top 8 times of the day get a grand final in the evening for a $2g price list.  my heat was #6 (of 12) at 1:45 edt...

 

and i totally rocked the socks off it - winning my heat (against Brice Jones of Jelly Belly and Neil Shirley of Jittery Joes, among others) with a time of 7:55 @ 403 watts power output.  3rd best time of the day at the moment.

 

but before you win something, you've almost always got to be taken down a notch, right?  word, we had to weigh in right before the tt.  me + my bike + 1 full water bottle + my ipod = ?

 

215.5 pounds.

 

oh, snap!  i just chuckled and gave a grin.  the weigh-in guy was like, "yeah, that's the highest we've had today - but that's the good kind of weight, right?"  you better believe it.

 

grand final at 9pm tonight if my time holds.

flippin' sweet - i think it's naptime now.

blogging from the plane flight out east - awesome.

 

so anyway, aside from all the road racing i've been doing, the track has started back up in san diego as well.  tuesday nights is our race night, and it began with daylight saving time.  how has it gone?  pretty well - nothing out of this world, but definitely some positive results:

 

 

4 apr

 

it actually rained in SD.  unbelievable!  actually, this was a whole rainy week - we missed our sunny 70 degrees...

 

 

11 apr

 

20-lap scratch : 3rd

15-lap tempo : nothing

40-lap points : nothing

 

opening night (2nd try).  just tried to find my track legs, or that's what i'll say.  scratch is the most basic race of all - no internediate sprints - no funny games - just the first person across the line at the finish wins.  scratch races are just like a crit (or any road race for that matter) - just on the track - so i tend to be fairly decent at these since i get so much practice...  tempo is a race where 2 points are awarded to the top lead rider each lap and 1 point to the second rider.  highest total points wins.  point race has a sprint each 5 laps with points going 5-3-2-1 down to the 4th rider.

 

 

18 apr

 

motorpace : 4th

unknown distance : nothing

miss-n-out : 3rd

10-mile scratch : 3rd

 

a pretty decent night.  motorpace is more of a warmup than a race.  all riders line up behind the moto and the moto gradually picks up speed.  after 40 laps the guys left hanging on get 2 laps off the motor and then sprint.  unknown distance is a race where - guess what - you don't know the # of laps.  it's a total gambler's race.  miss-n-out has the last person across the finish line each lap eliminated.  this goes down to 3 people, then they get 2 laps to jockey for the win.

 

 

25 apr

 

motorpace : 2nd

miss-n-out : nothing

20-lap tempo : 4th

40-lap points : 5th

 

okay night, but had some drama in the miss-n-out.  i was in the pole lane in 2nd position just behind wallace.  whitehead is hovering just off wallace and wants my spot.  i don't want to give it to him, but i'm in a fairly weak spot - he can basically come down on me at will and push me on to the apron.  well, i'm just holding my spot trying to not be intimidated - trying to ride as straight a line as possible since whitehead is coming in close.  i'm surcicing, but then he gets out of the saddle and gives some hard pedal strokes, which swings his rear wheel right and left.  left right into my front wheel ripping out 2 spokes of a low spoke count wheel.  seriously, i'm lucky the wheel didn't just crumple from underneath me.  i gracefully pull off the track and safely come to a stop.  the race goes on of course.  anyway, there's not really too much more to say about that one - whitehead always rides extra aggressive, and that's all there is to it.  i didn't want to back down.  guess i should have eased off and then come around him to push him onto the apron.  gotta choose the right position for sure.

east coast jut '006 is on!

 

Wed, 26, apr : SAN - CAE

 

Sat,  29, apr : Athens Twilight Crit (GA)

Sun, 30, apr : Roswell Crit (GA)

 

Wed, 3, may : Walterboro, SC crit

Thur, 4, may : Greenwood, SC crit

 

Fri,   5, may : CAE - SAN

 

check out USACRITS.com for the race details...

one more thing about yesterday's race.

 

towards the end of it, my fellow trickster J-FRO was hanging out in turn #6 of the course - right in front of the local starbucks.  for the first couple laps i went by he would yell out encouraging words - "Looking good!"  "You look strong!" - stuff like that.  but then we come by and Fro-boy yells out, "I think I'm gonna get some Starbucks!"  sweet.

next laps:

"Starbucks!"

"You want anything?"

at which point i responded - "yeah, venti mocha with whippy!" (mocha with whippy is the official BB/CS beverage)

Unfortunately, I  don't think he heard me...

 

but then next lap he just yelled out:

CHEESEBURGER!

 

wow, now that was just plain random.

 

at this point the race was getting toward the end and the pace started picking up *real* quick in that turn and J-FRO only stared intently at the proceedings.  or maybe he was too busy sipping on his mocha to say anything...

you know, i was totally set to write a completely negative blog, but then i talked to my good buddy the dagz-inator.  he's been racing bikes since like the '80s, so he can kick some good knowledge on the subject.  he said to just let it go.  focus on what was done right, and prepare for the next race.  the fitness is there - don't doubt it.  with this base, and with this speed, the results will come.  the difference between 1st and pack fodder can be determined by just 1 or 2 split second decisions.  over-analyzing things will get you straight to nowhere-ville.  and being the brainiac that i am, i just need to relax sometimes.  don't get downtrodden - we're on the up and up and the future is looking pretty trick.

 

so just how did the race shake out today?

 

El Cajon GP - 100 km

Flat, but very technical 8 corner course over 0.9 miles with bots-dots almost everywhere, especially the corners.

 

A breakaway went at the end of the 1st lap.  Didn't look threatening, but I wasn't in position to get into it anyway.  And then Kyle Gritters (pro for HealthNet) blazed up to it and they were never seen again - until they lapped the field, of course.  And we were chasing hard too, but not hard enough, I guess.  At this point people were getting tired, and the field was stretched pretty thin, but another breakaway managed to sneak away.  [ FYI, those were the 2 split seconds that determined the entire race.  For both I was out of position - no time to cry about that - just need to secure a better start line spot for the first - the second was a more of a conundrum. ]  With all of the money up the road (or lapped already...), we were just riding laps.  That's okay - it was still good training and we got some good mileage in.

 

On a different note, I skidded my back wheel twice on the course today - both from coming down on my pedal in a corner.  we were really railing the corners at times, and i was pedaling through - what can i say?  skidding is not as cool as it might sound, but i stayed upright so that's cool.  it's definitely a nice skill to have in the toolbox.  the first time it happened, i was afraid i might blow my back tire off the rim (it's a glue-on tubular), but nothing happened, so all was good.  second time and i totally made the guy behind me soil himself.  he was impressed with the recovery, though.  happy, happy tire glue job!

 

onward and upward.

ok, folks, i know you thought it was over.  done.  dead.

 

but it's not.

 

in fact it's alive.  it's kicking.  it's back in black.

 

easter miracles come in many forms, to be sure.

mucha's blog has been resurrected.

 

but what has been happening for the past forever and a day?

racing and training mostly - yeah, some things just don't change.  ho-hum.

 

we'll keep it brief:

 

11 march : Murrieta Crit.  Flatted going into the very last lap in sprint position.  Can you say sucks?

12 march : Murrieta Circuit Race.  Flatted while off the front of the peloton, bridging to the breakaway.  Enough with the flats.

 

As an aside, I also got a flat tire on the Cooper that weekend.  Totally a bad voodoo flat-qore weekend, to be sure.  The Cooper had run-flats, so that's not as much of a biggie, but I went back to using Tufo's on the bike - bombproof.

 

17 march : San Simas Time Trial.  uphill time trial.  not so much my thing.  i was like 80th of 90.

18 march : San Dimas Road Race.  Not as bad, but had an annoying climb every lap (12 laps).  on the bright side, i didn't get dropped too much and moved from 80th to like 40th on GC.

19 march : San Dimas Crit.  Pure torture.  Dehydrated.  I had a contact lens flip out of my eye halfway through the race, and that only happens when i'm truly out of liquid.  bad news, but i finished it to roll it in.

 

26 march : Redlands crit.  actually went pretty decently here, but just chose all the wrong spots to be in the final 5 laps.  wasn't so bad though, as i avoided a gnarly crash that took guys away on stretchers - and they were in like the 10-15 positions - usually fairly safe.

 

1 apr : ADT track race.  was gonna do a crit this day, but bailed on it and raced against the polish national team on the track.  talk about the definition of misery.  the poles were peaking for track world championships in just a few weeks, so they were really rolling.  yikes.

 

2 apr : garrett lemire crit.  "downtown" crit (in a tiny town).  not your average course - had a hill and windy roads, etc.  was going fine, but put too much faith in some big teams to shut down a breakaway at the end of the race.  i should have just played my card and been in the break.  oops.

 

8 apr : started organizing tax inforamation.  holy cruz-nuts.

9 apr : came to the realization that my bike habit is totally out of control.

 

12 apr : finally e-filed the taxes for reals.  also, got a new road bike frame built up.  (refer to 9 apr)

 

15-16 apr : no racing - just hard training.  word.

 

and that's it, folks.  merry easter.  i didn't dress up as a bunny, although can you picture a bunny driving around on a scooter?  too bad the scooter's gone.  dang vandals.