De Stad Cup - it was muddy.

Epic? or just lots of rain and mud? I have to admit I'm a bit of a fair weather cyclist. I'll ride when it's cold, or ride in the rain, but you have to be really motivated to race in the worst of conditions.

Last race of the DeStad series and all the good weather we've had for every cross race previous caught up to us. Rained all day, temps hovering around 40, course was apparently decent for first couple of races but by the end of the day for the 3 race it was destroyed. In conditions like that you're either liking it and doing well or not having it. It was fun the first lap but the novelty quickly wore off. Once you get mud in your eyes and beat up by your bike from sliding around on course you're not racing and just going through the motions......at least this is what happened to me. I'd like to say I put forth a decent effort but it wasn't until last lap that I attempted to not let anyone else pass me. For the work that is required after in cleaning up (bike, clothes, yourself) it could possibly not have been worth it. Finished 16th out of 23.


Teammate Dan O. had a completely different frame of mind. After winning the KS Cat 4 cross champs last year, he killed it yesterday and won the KS Cat 3 cross title (finished 2nd behind a MO racer). Following in Dan's footsteps was Colavita/Parisi racer Andy Wiens winning the Cat 4 cross title! Two Colavita racers winning KS cross titles. Add to that our team's MO cat 4 road race title, KS cat 3 road race 2nd place, and multiple other road race and crit victories and podiums.

Thanks to all those that help put on the series. It has to be a thankless job sometimes but everything was amazing and you really can't ask for more regarding cross racing in KC.

HPT and Veterans Cross

After a good 4 days of rest after Platte City, I went out Thursday night for some quick interval work. Wasn't looking to kill myself but get a quick tune up prior to this weekend's races. Soft pedaled Friday and took a nice long warm up prior to Saturday night's race....

The race was at Heartland Park in Topeka. Course was centered around a dirt oval race track. Part dirt straightaway, grassy infield, usual off camber hills and turn and a couple sets of stairs. Pretty good course. Had a blast racing and it was a course that suited me relatively well. Oh yeah, it was also at night under the lights - pretty cool. Our cat 3 race was the last to go off at 7:45. Group of at least 20, not really sure how many total yet. Took off and settled into my usual 5th-6th place. Still in the first lap on the back half of the course and my chain hops off my chainring. I dismount, make the fix and am back at it. Got passed by almost 10 people and am sitting in 14th after the first lap. Didn't get too bothered and just started to ride with the people in front of me.
As opposed to the past 2 weeks where I was sucking big time, I was feeling good. The only direction I was going was up. Made a few passes early on and got into 11th. Stayed there until the last lap. Had a racer from Manhattan, KS in front of me that I was following much of the time. Together him and I passed his teammate to fall into 9th and 10th place. Climbed the first set of stairs and on the backside of the course he fumbled a bit and I made the pass and didn't look back. Crossed the line in 9th. I was as happy as I could have been for that race. Felt good to race in a groove again and not go into blow up mode after lap 1. Finished in sight of 7th and 8th place. Definitely felt that had I not had a chain issue could have maintained a top 7 or 8 finish.
Jane wasn't mentally or physically in it for her race and finished in 7th place.
Today was vet cross in Leavenworth, KS on the campus of St. mary's university. Good course, a bit bumpy on the backside with a couple tough climbs. Legs a bit tired from the day before but still got a decent warm-up in and was feeling good. Underestimated my condition for the race because it was one of those days where I was on. Had a poor start and spent the first lap finding a good wheel to get on. Lot of racers today- probably 35 or so. Was in a good rhythm, sticking the climbs and recovering where I needed to. Worked all the way up 6th place by the 4th lap. Joel Terry from SKC started to pull away and I was quick on his wheel with teammate David N. right behind me. David and I were trading positions for the first part of the race. Got to the second set of barriers and heard the sound of my chain dragging behind my bike. Looked down and it was hanging off my cassette with either a broken quick link or a quick link that somehow came undone on the rough course. That was the end of my race right there. I looked back and teammate David was pulled over pulling course tape out of his cassette. I ran back to give him a hand and got him on his way.
It sucks to have a mechanical when you're racing so good. Joel T. ended up coming in 3rd place. Who knows what would have happened but I would have had my best finish in the 3's. David managed to work his way back to about 6th place. Great job there. Good news is I'm on track to have to have good legs and fitness for next Sunday - back at St. Mary's U (although the weather is saying possible rain).

New teammate Andy Wiens locked up the win in the Cat 4's with a few other top 10's by Colavita/Parisi riders. Not sure of the full results. Erik Elving took 2nd in the master's 55+. Wiens also doubled up and raced in the 3 race with a solid result. Dan O. had a bum ankle or something like that and put a temporary end to his cross domination. Jane opted out for a temporary leave of absence.

Boss Cross #3

Went out to Platte City for Boss Cross #3. Course was so-so. Step incline that I rode up the first several laps and had to run up after my legs started to fade. Was a fast race. finished 13/16. Not so good of a result. Seems like I'm getting slower or my competition is getting faster. maybe a bit of both. I guess I am still in my first year of racing and first cross season. Still enjoying it - although not until 30 minutes after the race ends. It's funny how during the race when you're suffering you think to yourself "This sucks, why am I doing this, I need to cat down, I'm not having fun, etc...." But then shortly after the race you're just like, yeah, that wasn't so bad, had a good time, can't wait til next race! Actually most cyclists and endurance athletes probably suffer from some sort of dementia. they're hypnotized into thinking their sports is awesome and they love it eventhough the act of competing or racing is really painful and completely miserable. Right now for example- I want to go out tomorrow and get in some good training and threshold work. But just this past weekend I was thinking of taking 4 days off.

anyway, David raced great in the 3/4 race. 6th place in a super fast race. Jane got out of her 4th place slump and secured a 2nd place and $30 gift certificate to cycle city! We also had all 4 cat 4's place in the top 11 with Steve V. leading the way with his best finish to date. nice.

Sunday I didn't race although the course would have suited me well, fairly flat, moderately technical. Jane did race and rode to 3rd place.

Doubling up this next weekend in Topeka and then Leavenworth.

Rest ?

raced today with miserable results. taking next week off.

Shit Sandwich

The title sums up my race at smithville. Course was pretty good. Minus the beach. For me that beach sucked. Mentally I wasn't in it and my legs weren't much in it either. I was front row call up due to my early pre-registration but lately I haven't much deserved it in the cat 3 races. Decent start, a bit congested but it sorted out and I settled in maybe 5th or 6th. Went backwards from there. I actually wanted to try and pace myself a bit better this race and not chase people who were faster than me and blow up. I think that caused me to just go slower than what I'm capable of. Slid back to about 15th place (38 racers total). I was getting passed by people I know on a good day I can beat. Finally with 2 to go I got some motivation and wanted to start chasing. Came down from the pavilion to make a right hander on the paved trail and slid out. Went down hard on my right hip. I was fine but put my derailler hanger in the shape of an "L". Called it right there. DNF. I'll be a bit sore for a couple days.
Actually my legs felt better on friday than they did today. I'm going to hit this week hard and try to set up to get some redemption. I feel a top 10 in the 3's should be my goal. Maybe top 9 if Mark Cole would race open - he's pretty fast.

We'll see. I'm in Rolla working the Smile Mobile for the week and need to get good training in. Weather looks crappy though.

Hopefully no more Shit Sandwiches.

Capital Cup and Boulevard Cup

Big cross weekend. 2 races both in the series 60. Saturday's race was in Topeka. Good course, pretty much flat, not too technical but 1 good climb and 2 tough run ups on the "mound of mercy." Didn't quite have the numbers racing that day. The drive and the fact that there was a Sunday race probably deterred a few. Lined up in the 4's for my final weekend of 4 racing. I've done two 4 races previously - with one good result and one not so good. - So I was curious to see how things would go after I've gotten some experience racing cross. Lined up 2nd row and after the long pavement straightaway was in 3rd place when we got on course. Pretty much sat in for the opening 1/2 lap, then someone ran into my rear wheel and went down behind me. I think that caused a bit of a slow down and the 3 of us were away. Eventually moved into 2nd position. A few people would bridge up and a few fell off. Halfway through it was myself and new Colavita racer and teammate Andy Wiens. He's a strong racer and kept the pace up and I was content to let him do the pacemaking. I felt I could have gone around him to attack but didn't want myself to blow up. The steep run ups were the hardest part of the course. They really drained your energy - but there were enough places to recover elsewhere on course.

I dropped my chain middle of the race when I was in the lead. Had to stop to get it back on and Wiens passed me and I chassed back for 1/3 of a lap. Came down to last lap and there were 3 of us together. Towards the later part of the course Andy went wide on a turn and I figured that was a good time to take over with climb just ahead. Previously the plan was to attack on the climb and get to the run up first. Whoever gets to the runup first pretty much wins it with the finish not too far later. On the second run up I had a bit of a gap and that was all she wrote...came across 1st by about 5 seconds.
Jane finished 4th again in her cat 4 race. Good job to her. She'll podium yet this season. She just needs to get consistent with her training.


Boulevard Cup was Sunday. What a great event. So many racers, so much food, and of course Boulevard beer on tap. Probably won't see a better set up than the Boulevard people put on today. Absolutely great - thanks to all the people who put that on. They also waited to to do awards until all races were over so the crowds stayed big until the end.

Lots of 4's lining up for this one. Definitely a faster crowd today than yesterday. I was curious to see how things would sort out for this one. Course was pretty good. A few technical sections, but nothing too bad. They made the most of what they had available.
They enforced call ups and I was at the rear. They actually didn't even call me up. I did however line up on the outside so I could pass the first two rows in the grass and get on pavement near the front. Had a good start and killed it in the grass for about 20 feet until I was clear and settled in 3rd wheel. Hit the grass and came upon an ethos racer, travis. He was killing it and the pace was pretty quick. Doing fine sitting 2nd wheel again, travis wiped out and I was in front. Had another come around me a bit later and let him do the pacemaking. I was suffering and just needed a target to keep my pace up. I find that when I'm by myself I always slow down and think I'm working my hardest. But if I have a wheel to focus on I always work harder and somehow mangage to survive.
anyway, Travis eventually caught back up and I got on his wheel. He was pretty much riding me into the ground. The guy is just plain fast. Maybe if I hadn't raced the day before it would have been different. Regardless he started riding away. Right after that I somehow dropped my chain. Got off to fix it and got passed by 2 racers. Got going quick again and was sitting 4th place with 1 to go. I felt that I could pass this guy but just wanted to save it to the end. Well, he crashed with a 1/3 to go and I just rode away. 2nd place finished in sight but I felt that hadn't my chain fallen off I maybe could have finished 2nd. Tough to say. Good schwag payout for 3rd and I'm not complaining.
Jane took 4th again. Her trademark position.

I'm officially putting in my request this week to move up. Even though I race a more consistent race in the 4's and I feel more in control, not riding out of my ability etc, I don't want to be a sandbagger. To the 3's I go. Hopefully the likes of Travis Donn, Tom Bondurant, and other top finishers in the 4's will join me. It will make the 3's more fun to not get blown out of water too bad.

Nowhere to go but down. - Chris cross

Pretty pumped to race this weekend. A bit cold but was manageable. In retrospect I wish I wouldn't have worn my leg warmers during the race. Probably could have been warm enough without them and they felt a bit distracting later in the race.
Took off nice at the start and settled in about 3rd position of about 30 racers. Was a bit surprised to find myself on the front like that. Just thought I'd try and stick with that group - see what happened. The new tires were pretty awesome. The course was great and perfect for flying through all the corners with no brakes. Just not sure if my fitness deserved them. On the 2nd lap I was sitting in 5th place with Dan O. in front of me. We were all together with the leaders. Came around the first corner and my front slid out. Not sure if I hit one of those large nuts in the grass but it was nuts nonetheless. Hoped back up and lost a few spots. It was there where I began to fade. I was just blowin' up. Over the next 2 laps I was fading back. On the last lap I slid out again in the exact same spot. This time it was a bit less graceful. Dropped my chain there and lost a bit more. Finished 16 out of 32. Damn shame. Was a great course - wish I could race it again. I think there is 1 more race at that venue but not sure of the course layout.
Dan O. killed this weekend again. Took 3rd place. Solid. David was somewhere behind me. Not sure where the other guys who raced ended up. Just wait till results are posted. Lots of support today. Thanks to everyone.
And in her 3rd cross race Jane took 4th place. She said she had 3rd but a couple crashes allowed someone to pass.
Next weekend is 2 more races. Because I'm not a cat 3 I'll be racing the 4's only - there is no 3/4 race for series 60 cx. Need to get some confidence and try to take it to some people.


Finally got a picture of the race rig. Thanks to Britton at Volker for putting it together. Weighs in at just over 18 lbs. Jamis Supernova, ultregra rear shifter, single chainring, white industries hubs, kinlin rims, challenge grifo tubs, trp brakes.

Boss Cross 1 & 2

Had the first 2 races of the boss cross series this weekend. Race was in parkville, mo - great town and pretty nice course. Course was mostly flat and not too technical which made it very fast. Course included 2 sand pits, one of which could be ridden.
First race went off without too much problem. Only had about 17 line up - fairly small field. Settled in about mid pack and didn't do too much from there. I felt like I rode a fairly consistent race - although I could have maybe pushed myself a bit faster. The leaders of the race were out of sight and it's hard to gauge your pace when your riding by yourself or with only 2 or 3 guys. Finished 8th.

Lined up again sunday in race 2. Course was mostly the same except backwards. A slightly larger field - teammate Dan O. lined it up also. Don't quite feel comfortable pushing the pace at the front of the group with riders who are for the most part faster than me. Settled in about mid pack again - was sitting around 7th place. On the 2nd lap I went down in the sand pit and smashed the inside of my knee on the bike. For those of you who have had this experience you know you can't put any pressure on the pedals for a bit. Got back on bike and soft pedaled for maybe a minute trying to see if I would go on or pull out. Finally the pain let up and I was off again - but I had about 6 people pass me. Spent the remaining 4 laps chasing but never caught anyone. Ended up 14th out of 17 finishers (2 DNF's).

Teammate Dan O. killed in the the 3/4 race and took 2nd place. That guy is fast on a cross bike.
Although not nearly as fast as some of the open riders - specifically Joseph Schmalz - that kid is fast and smooth.

Hopefully Challenge Grifos beginning next race - Courtesy of Britton at Volker Bikes.

Pictures of Britton from the weekend (the only race I could take photos for was men's open)

Diamond Blackfan Cross

Well, got me a cross learnin'. Race both Cat 4 and 3/4. Cat 4 was first, got the whole shot and rode comfortably at the front for most of first lap. Let a SKC rider come around me and was doing fine sitting on his wheel. He was braking a bit too much for me in some of the corners so I tried to move past him on one of the corners. He came back across and hit my front wheel. Wasn't intentional or anything like that, but it happened. I went down, lost maybe 2 spots and got back on. About 30 feet later my front wheel slid out in a corner and I was down again! That one really screwed with my momentum and I lost some more spots. Had a hard time getting back in rhythem after that and knew I wouldn't be placing. Couple tough sections on the course, but it was pretty good overall. Was getting fairly winded and when last lap came up decided to just try and maintain due to the fact I had a harder race later that day. Ended up coming in 10th place out of a lot......apparently almost 60 racers in Cat 4! Can't complain too much there - only 2nd cross race ever.

Jane raced the cat 4 women and did fairly well also. Out of 20 she managed another 5th place and got a small schwag payout. Congrats to Joe Anderson who took 3rd in the men's 35+ cat 4. Pretty much a solid race overall. He was looking really fast and smooth early in that race. Didn't get to see the last few laps of his race.

Britton went to the firing range in men's open - racing with a whole mess of fast riders - including multiple world champion and overall bike racing bad ass Steve Tilford.

Dan Oldehoeft, myself, steve v. and joe a. lined up in the 3/4. Another healthy showing of almost 40. This race shot off fast. It was immediately apparent this was going to be painful. It was pretty hot too. 85 degrees. Dan got settled in near 6th place and I was maybe 11-12. Pretty much it only went backwards from there. I passed a few but mostly got passed. The course at this time was nice and packed down, faster through most sections. Ended limping home in 18th place. Still not bad. Dan however, managed to pull out 3rd place. Great cyclocrosser and last years KS cat 4 champ.

Thanks to everyone who helped put on this event! Cyclocross is amazing in KC and not many cities in the Midwest can do it as well as KC almost every weekend.

KC Cup Cross

For my first cross race ever, I'm pretty happy. Took 3rd in the Cat 4 race of 30 something. Race started and I settled in about 8th place initially. Basically if you're in top 3 once you get onto the course, your chances of staying there are pretty good. Worked my way up and after about 2 laps I was sitting in 2nd-3rd. Tried to catch up to the leader and started getting tired, slipped back to 3rd and watched him ride away. Spent the last 1.5 laps making sure I didn't get passed. Tons of fun.



Jane in her first cross race took 5th place. Pretty good. Looking to improve next weekend.

Tour of Missouri

By far the best tour so far. Hopefully it sticks around for awhile. Ran into Lt. Gov Peter Kinder and I thanked him for his work in supporting this race. He asked me where I live and when I told him KCMO he told me to email the Gov. and show my support and ask to bring it back. When I asked him about maybe a title sponsor in the future he started talking about how KC has almost zero sponsor representation. Almost all the major sponsors are St.L based - KC has been getting a free ride for the last 3 years. (cerner and on goal are silver level sponsors)

Race was great. Made it to St. Joe and of course KC circuit. Was watching from several vantage points during the race - the best was on the climb up summit. Lots of people and fun environment. Although had to go back to the start finish/pershing/broadway due to being able to watch the video and listen.

Zabriskie winning was a no brainer - the most shocking was how Tom Zirbel lost his podium spot. He had one job...stick the wheel of Pinotti. First lap on the sprint line he got blasted, Pinotti stole his podium. Nice way to welcome to Zirbel to international cycling as he's moving to Garmin.

In non tour events, Matt P. layed down 1380 watts on the cycle ops spin bike in the power competition. He won the overall and will be bringing home 10 steaks and a t-shirt.

Cyclocross starts saturday.


AYHSMB

Cat 3

After Sedalia, I knew I wouldn't be racing road anymore this season. So, in keeping with what I've been saying for awhile - I upgraded to the 3's.
Considering that this was my first season racing and I moved from 5-3, I'm pretty happy. Although I did race a lot of races, I easily got enough upgrade points in a span of 4 months. It was nice winning money in the 4's. For the most part I felt I could show up to most crits and RR's and make bank. - that's usually a sign an upgrade is in order.
Although I will say that I was dissappointed I couldn't race Tour of KC part 2. I felt I was in prime shape for that one. - what really sucked about that was I pre-registered the day I got appendicitis.
Another quick thought is that my last 2 races as a 4 were spent racing in 3/4 fields. The first race in Springfield my teammate crashed directly in front of me and I went down. The second race in Sedalia went down. Not a good way to enter the 3 field.

Still looking forward to a good cross season. Wrist is still sore (although much better) from a week ago and can't quite ride rough conditions. Hopefully all will be in order for Swope Cross.

Dirty Dalia

Damnit.

Speed all the way down to Sedalia so we don't miss registration. Have pretty much zero warm-up. Line up without pre riding the course. Five laps in my back tire slides out in one of the many shitty corners. Not exactly sure what happened, heard a crash to my left on one of the left hand turns and all of a sudden I was on the ground sliding. My left side has some good road rash and sprained my wrist pretty good. Tore up my left shoe also.

Britton also wrecked on the last lap. got destroyed with road rash. Also broke a carbon set of bars.

I went to school and played soccer for SFCC in sedalia for a year before transferring and I never really liked that place. Pretty sure I will never return again. I'm also investing in some gloves that have wrist guards built in. Not a way to go out on the road season. Screw that course.

Stuff

Enjoyed a nice vacation last week. Went up to my homestate Wisconsin and saw some relatives, camped up north for awhile, hung out in Madison - awesome city. Got some riding in too. Nothing too tough.

Did the tuesday night crit last night. Felt like crap. haven't worked that hard in awhile. All that traveling and eating like crap from the days previous showed itself that night.

Getting fairly burnt out on road anyway. Looking at doing the Sedalia Crit this saturday as my last road race for the season. Probably skip sunday's road race and not go to gateway cup the following weekend.

On the other hand, just got my cross bike from Britton at Volker Bikes. That thing is so fun to ride - it almost feels illegal it's so fun. I will post pictures soon. Took it out on it's maiden voyage tonight with Jane, Joe and Britton at Gilham park right by my house. Spent about an hour just tearing around and doing mini races. pretty good time. Racing cross will be a blast and very painful at the same time.

Appendix

Put in some good workouts the past week in prep for Tour of KC. Was planning on riding Wednesday night hill ride but mid-day wednesday had a bit of upset stomach feeling - combined with other malaise symptoms I opted out of the ride. I didn't think too much of it - I often have a sensitive GI system and just considered this something I may have ate or gas pain...something like that. Went to bed with a bit of discomfort and awoke at about 1 am with increased pain. Being in dental school I've got a decent medical background and noted some tenderness in my lower right abdomen. This discomfort and tenderness continued throughout the night - couldn't fall back asleep until 6 am. The majority of symptoms I was experiencing was classic appendicitis - I just didn't want to believe it. Woke up at about 7 am, tenderness still existed but much of the discomfort had gone. I made the decision not to go to school and see what develops. Well in the next 20 minutes the discomfort returned on an increased level - as well as more pain in the lower right. Made the decision to get to the ER. At that moment had a 90% belief I would be getting surgery that day. There were a few other differential diagnosis, but I was hoping it was just appendicitis - more definitive treatment and it's done.

Long story short they did an abdominal CT, noted a "stone/fecalith/crap" blocking the entrance to my appendix and subsequent inflammation. Went under at 2pm. Spent the night at KU Med, home today at about noon. Pretty sore, obviously not racing tour of kc which I registered for wednesday afternoon- $60 out the window with no chance of refund. Doctors suggestion is no serious workout for 4 weeks. I'll probably be back on the bike in a week soft pedaling and see where I go with that. But this might mark the end of my road season - I don't want to waste money on Gateway Cup in a month and get my ass kicked if I don't retain some good fitness and can't go 100%.

Atleast there is still cross. As we speak Britton at Volker Bicycles is working like a mad man crafting another cyclocross creation. Should be good.

Got a nice vacation planned though - leaving next weekend to see family in Wisconsin for a couple days and then Jane and I are heading up to Door County, Wisconsin to camp for a week. We're bringing the bikes.

Good read

thought this was funny. I suppose you could substitute any name in there.

Waldo can’t be found because Jens dropped him on a hill training ride… on K2.

Jens doesn’t spin or mash the pedals… he kicks them into submission.

Jens Voigt climbs so well for a big guy because he doesn’t actually climb hills; the hills slink into the earth in fear as they see him approach.

If you are a UCI ProTour rider and you Google “Jens Voigt,” the only result you get is “it’s not to late to take up Football, Fred.”

Jens was a math prodigy in elementary school, putting “Attack!” in every blank space on all his tests. It would be the wrong answer for everybody else, but Jens is able to solve any problem by attacking.

Eddy Merckx was actually a neo-pro at the same time as Jens, but Jens dropped him so hard that he shot backwards in time to the 1960’s, where he became a great champion.

Jens once had a heart attack on the Tourmalet. Jens counterattacked repeatedly until he kicked its ass.

If Jens Voigt was a country, his principle exports would be Pain, Suffering, and Agony.

If Jens Voigt was a planet, he’d be the World of Hurt.

Jens Voigt doesn’t have a shadow because he dropped it repeatedly until it retired, climbing into the team car and claiming a stomach ailment.

Jens Voigt once challenged Lance Armstrong to a “who has more testicles” contest. Jens won… by five.You are what you eat. Jens Voigt eats spring steel for breakfast, fire for lunch, and a mixture of titanium and carbon fiber for dinner. For between-meal snacks he eats men’s souls, and downs it with a tall cool glass of The Milk of Human Suffering.

The first time man split the atom was when the atom tried to hold Jens Voigt’s wheel, but cracked.

Jens Voigt doesn’t complain about what suffering does to him… but suffering constantly complains about getting picked on by Jens Voigt.

Jens Voigt can start a fire by rubbing two mud puddles together.

Guns kill a couple dozen people every day. Jens Voigt kills 150.

Jens Voigt rides so fast during attacks, that he could circle the globe, hold his own wheel, and ride in his own draft. At least as long as he didn’t try to drop himself.

Jens Voigt nullified the periodic table because he doesn’t believe in any element, other than the element of surprise.

The grass is always greener on the other side. Unless Jens Voigt has been riding on the other side in which case it’s white with the salty, dried tears of all the riders whose souls he has crushed.

Jane Adams - killing it.

In her triathlon debut, Jane pretty much did as well as she could have. Putting on a clinic, she finished 5th overall out of a field of 534. She placed 2nd in her age group of 25-29 years. She has a decent swim background from junior high and a bit in high school. At the peak of my swimming fitness, she was still faster than me in the water (not by much-ha ha). Her swim went well, passed a few, got passed by a few, got out of the water pretty much where she started - about 15 deep. The event was using timing chips and sending swimmers off in 3 second intervals instead of a mass start. So eventhough she was the 14th starter of 500+, she could still get beat by people who never pass her.
Got on the bike and headed out, 10 miles. not really far at all. The way she was accelerating out of the gate I knew she could chase down the people in front of her and be back first for the run. The only rider to pass her was on a TT bike with what looked like a 404 on the front and full carbon disc on the rear. Considering jane was riding without aero bars on a standard road frame she did well. Passed everyone and only got passed by that one lady. Apparently she said she blew her doors off, going about 3 mph faster when she passed. Got back second from the bike, had a fast transition and was off in less than a minute for the finishing 5k. The rider with the full carbon disc had 2 minute gap.
The run is her weakest leg and she ended getting passed by one other racer. She crossed the line 3rd overall, but after they factored start times, she lost 2 more places. Still very impressive and I'm so proud of her. she might have a future in triathlons now.






On a side note, I finally got back to riding my bike. I had to take the majority of this past week off. turns out in my crash last sunday I got a bit of a bone bruise on the side of my knee. It was swollen after the crash but didn't really give me trouble until I tried to ride on tuesday. A few days off with some ibuprofen and ice has gotten me to a point where I can put in bigger efforts without pain. I'll try to salvage this last week of training before tour of KC next weekend.

Took my oldtime loop down south this afternoon and for the first time in awhile was catching a lot of crap from drivers. Had one driver near paseo cuss me out for not riding on the sidewalk. I told him to F off and when he stopped at the next red light I took the opportunity to tell him to check the laws and remind him of what a piece of shit he was. Later in the ride I was asked by a drunk homeless guy "what the f are you looking at," he seemed like he was provoking me into a fight. Still fired up from my last encounter I gave serious thought to throwing down. But then the light turned green and I rolled on. Just one of those days.

I will finish off the season as a cat 4 and upgrade after Gateway Cup in St. Louis. There will be some fast 4's at that race and I'll attempt to podium.

Queen City Crits and coming attractions

With a weekend of racing only 2.5 hours away and free place to stay at my sister's house, my teammate Matt P. and I rolled into Springfield, MO. With several other teammates racing KS grass track, we were the only Colavita/Parisi riders. The categories were split up into cat 4/5 and 3/4 so I had the opportunity to race 4x over the weekend.
Started with the 4/5 race saturday eve, felt like I had a great opportunity to win but it wasn't to be. Spent the majority of the race on or near the front. I was covering attacks left and right and bridging gaps which took it out of me. The race had no real flow to it and I couldn't get into any sort of groove. On top of that my legs were a bit groggy. I'm coming to find that I need to keep the efforts up the day before a race to keep my legs in check. - A rider went off the front solo and no one followed so he got away for good. I had a weak last lap and could only pull out a 5th place finish. $45 in the bank but I felt like crap and didn't pony up for the 3/4 race. Also I wanted to save it to redeem myself for Sunday's 4/5.

Matt did well in the 3/4 race. Broke away for one prime and sprinted for a second. That's 2 $50 dollar primes and an 11th place finish for $35 - not bad.

Crashed at my sister Kim's place (thanks again) and awoke ready to roll. Historically the second day of racing my legs are more responsive, they were a bit fatigued but still feeling better than saturday.
Lined up for the 4/5 and was off. Pace was kept in check for beginning until they called for the first prime. I launched at the line and was trying to solo the whole way around. Got a good gap formed and held on to the final stretch where I ran out of gas and got passed by 2 in a sprint...damnit. Settled in again and as we neared the end found myself more on the front. As attacks started coming I found myself having to cover and make some bridges. I wan't looking to break away though and the guy from team sound pony who made the solo break yesterday and who kept attacking the group today began to get agitated that I wouldn't work with him. At one time he looked back at me, made some smart comment and began to sprint away in an attack like he was about to drop me. Not sure what that was all about but I stuck his wheel and let him whine a bit more. Later in the race he bitched more but I ended up finishing ahead of him.....whatever. Basically last two laps were hot and and about 5 of us got away enough that guaranteed me a top five. Jumped a wheel on the last two corners and sprinted it out, got hit at the line for 2nd so I finished 3rd. Decent race

Felt good and jumped in the 3/4 race - first taste of the 3's and it was nice. Smooth, fast, consistent. Felt amazingly comfortable eventhough we had a good pace going. About halfway through was trailing teammate Matt P. into a corner when he went down right in front of me and I crashed into him. Got a bit banged up but we'll both heal. Front wheel got a beatin' but Britton at Volker Bicycles got me true as soon as I rolled back to KC. ----
I can't say enough about the support we get from our team and Volker bicycles. It is definitely unmatched for an amateur cycling team. They've helped me get: my Jamis Xenith, Pearl Izumi shoes, lazer helmet, SRAM components, everything. Definitely couldn't have afforded half that stuff at any other store - They hook it up. A special mention to my new Vittoria Open Corsa Evo tires - so smooth, great feel. Had to switch it up after both of my Schwalbe Ultremo's split.

So with the road season winding down I'm looking forward to toning it down a bit. But I will embark on first cyclocross season. Once again Volker has the hookup with a cross bike. Scooped up a used Jamis Supernova frame. In exchange though, the cross bike has to become my new commuter bike as well and I will sell my current commuter bike and part out my MTB for good. When it's all said and done though I'll likely have a little money left over after selling everything.

Cross

I've been bitten by the cross bug and I haven't even raced a single cross race. Parting out the MTB, selling my SS commuter, in with a steel cross bike/new commuter/winter and crappy weather trainer.

Watching youtube videos of cyclocross is dangerous.

Omaha Race Weekend

Just a short 3 hour drive from KC, it was hard to pass up the Omaha cycling weekend. Matt P. and I left Saturday morning and picked up fellow teammate David N. in St. Joe on the way up. I spent much of the previous week not riding as I attempted a bit of recovery from Lawrence. I did however, join up for a lovely 50 mile scorcher wednesday night in lawrence known as the wescoe ride. I was interested to see how I'd rebound after blowing up after the KU circuit race the previous Sunday.

Made it to Omaha with plenty of time to warm up for saturday's Papillion Twilight Criterium. There was a time trial that morning but we opted out and slept in instead. The course was alright...lots of turns, with a few slight uphills, small downhill, back up a steep but short section, into a long fast descent, sweeping turn and 90 degree into the finish. Thought maybe beforehand I had a good chance on this course with the climbing.
Lined up near the back with teammate David and we were off. Pace got hot fairly quick and struggled through traffic. The turns combined with quick accelerations ate me up. I was suffering and being stuck midpack couldn't recover. David meanwhile was able to move through the garbage and settle near the front. Racers were all over the place and although I fell from the front group and got passed by more in the last 7 laps they still scored me as 16th out of 40 something. Not sure that was entirely correct....maybe 20th - who knows. Either way I felt like crap and I was trying to comprehend why I couldn't stick it. Fatigued?...race just too fast?..do I need more rest? During those last few laps I rode solo every thought went through my mind and I was settling on the idea that I shouldn't race the road race on sunday. However, after talking with David and Matt after the race I snapped out of it and got my shit together. David ended up taking 4th in the crit. there were lots of strong riders and it was a great result.

Sunday we had the Babcook Road Race. 52 miles, 7 laps, one moderate climb per lap. Was just lining up and going to see what I could do to not get shelled off the back like yesterday. Had a nice 3 mile neutral rollout came upon the first climb. first time up was tough, seemed like some were attacking but it does take me awhile to get the legs proper. I was struggling to recover and doing everything to maintain a top ten spot out of the wind...(I'm great at not riding in the wind). Got in the groove and the rest of the climbs came and went fairly easy. People attacked but nothing ever stuck, bridged a few small gaps that formed, riding well....started to get really windy, and the rain began to move in. On the second to last lap David and another rider who ended up winning shot off the front. I thought david was attacking so I didn't follow. As a train of riders blew by me to catch I couldn't jump on the back. Luckily got back on a few minutes later with a group of 4 - that was almost the end of my day though. Turned out the one rider thought it was last lap so he was attacking hard for the win.
Last lap was slow up the climb and as we got in the final 3 miles speeds slowly ramped up. there were about 15 of us riding into the finish looking for the win. A rider launched off the front on a downhill with 700 to go, I jumped david's wheel in 4th position. The 4 of us on the front cranked it the following hill up and crested with 500 to go. All 4 of us were sprinting in a single file line. 50 meters to go I looked back and saw a mass of riders getting ready to pass us. Stood on the pedals one last time and one person jumped me for 4th. Actually got passed for 6th place but threw my bike ahead to take back 5th. David wound up 3rd. Good day overall. Money in the bank.

Tour of Lawrence

Was looking forward to this race weekend for a long time. I had it in the books as an "A" priority race so much of my last month was spent towards this race series. Saturday had the downtown crit. My parents came up to visit and got their first dose of bike racing watching this race. Was feeling good prior to the race - until I realized I forgot my road shoes at home in KC. Drove back to get them and made it in time to see part of Jane's race in the 3/4 women.
Jane did well. Hung with the group and finished 5th of all the cat 4 women. Her first payout ever! $25.

Got a decent warm up in, and made sure I had good position on the line for the start. Big field, over 50 riders with a lot of teammates. My plan was to keep it near front and watch for certain riders attempting breaks - something I was prepared to do if the right people went. The team did a great job putting in a bunch of attacks - Thomas got in on some after recently finding some long lost fitness. David grabbed a prime and Dan hammered on the front for awhile. I stayed out of trouble and was waiting for the laps to wind down - felt good for the majority of the race. With about 3 laps to go, people started getting jumpy and attempted to move up. Saw some strong riders make their way to the front, I followed and settled in at about 4th-5th wheel. Last lap and some young looking guy jumped. I hadn't seen him the whole race and didn't follow. Finally a SKC rider launched on the downhill and I worked my way to his wheel, took the last 2 turns with some good speed and it was a sprint for 2nd place. That kid who attacked early had the juice and was far enough away for 1st. I was closing on the SKC guy but came up short and took 3rd. I'm not sure but I think there was some space before the 4th place rider.

My first podium in the 4's and in a good race too. Was really happy with the result and felt that I raced a smart race and for the most part did everything I could do (except jump the wheel of the 1st place finisher) - the $130 wasn't too bad either.


Sunday was a different story. The KU campus circuit race was a really hilly 4.5 mile loop. 5 laps and nearly 2500 feet of climbing. Prior to the race I was alright. Legs were definetly stiff - a few hours on my feet after the race on saturday didn't help either. Rolled out and settled in near the front. First lap was tough, took a few hills before I really found my legs. On the second lap near the last climb, the road narrows to a driveway entry and some boulevard racer a few bikes in front of me rode straight into a haybale and held up the rest of the field. After a brief pause, we made our way through, riding between the gates, his bike, and him. This caused a bit of a gap to form. I began to bridge and made it about halfway before my teammate David N. picked me up and dragged me and a few other riders back up. So on this 3rd lap we started hitting the hills again and I just couldn't recover. Didn't have power I had on the first two laps and was breathing hard. right there I knew I was done. Mentally I was fading too.
So with some tired legs, a bridge attempt that I couldn't recover from and just a tough course I was OTB. Crap. Just blew up right there. Took me nearly the whole next lap to recover fully and got passed by about 7-8 riders including all my teammates except david N. who was still hanging in on the front (he took 4th in the race). Each time a teammate rode by they offered a wheel and I couldn't hang it. Last 2 laps or so and began to collect myself and rode the rest of the race by myself. For the majority of that time Eric Schaumberg and Steve V. were 100 meters in front of me. Eric Schaumberg, Steve V, and I took 22, 23, 24.

Overall the weekend was great. Amazing courses with good money and good turnout. This was a first year event and hope it sticks around.

So coming up it's back to some hard workouts. I've gotten away from riding bigger miles. The last several weeks have been short workouts but high intensity. Not sure if that's put me in some hole or not. But I'm planning on a 55 mile group ride on Wednesday in Lawrence with some teammates. Hopefully heading to Omaha next weekend to race. Car pool up and split the hotel with 3-4 guys. Racing on a budget.


Photos are from the Tour of KC weekend, and courtesy of Kim Morris.

Tour of KC - Power and Light Crit

Sunday 6/28/09:
Power and light crit. short, rectangle, half uphill, half down.
This course suited me well. The climbs broke up the field quick, if you don't climb you'll likely get pulled on such a short course - easy as that. I had great position from the start which allowed me to get in the groove before I put in any big efforts. Turned out I really didn't need to put in any effort until they called last lap. Heading up the first hill I saw a bike shack racer who i know is strong begin to move up to the lead position, I matched his move on the opposite side of the group and wound up right on his wheel. Sat in 2nd position down the backside of the course. One rider snuck in on the inside at turn 3 to take the lead and as we hit turn 4 someone came on my outside. All we had left was an uphill sprint to the finish and I was currently sitting 4th. None of those positions changed in the sprint and I wound up taking 4th. Fairly happy with that result but you can't help but think if I was the first to jump would I have kept hold of 1st? - Maybe I'll start taking more risk and jumping first instead of waiting for others to go.

Still for the weekend brought home $80 with some road rash and deep gash on my hip. - it's all good.

Hydrogen Peroxide, Butterfly bandage, new skin, superglue (in that order)

Downtown Lee's Summit Criterium, Rain. Nuf said.
It was probably 4th or 5th lap, came through the final turn going into the start/finish and hit the ground like a ton of bricks. Wasn't sure if it was my front or rear wheel that slid out but I was on the ground sliding towards the curb. Layed on the grass for a minute to collect myself and asses the damage. Small bit of road rash on my right hip, right knee scuffed up, but my right hip split on the pavement from the contact. there was some fat tissue sticking out from gash. Pretty interesting because the skin broke on contact between my hip and left my bib shorts intact. Was contemplating getting stitches which I probably need but my handy skills have it under control.

We'll see how it feels tomorrow. hopefully I'll be back racing after i fix my der hanger.

Tour of KC - Longview Criterium

This race was hot. Disgusting hot. Started at the back of the group thinking I'd be able to work my way up with no problem. This was a huge mistake. There were too many riders who couldn't take corners with speed and brake checked every turn causing huge slow downs and resulted in the whole field being stretched out. The people who could ride and were near the front had an open line through the corners and began to open up a gap.
I started picking my way through the field, passing riders who were blowing up 2-3 laps into the race (why do you show up to the race if you have zero fitness?) Started getting frustrated and began to fly through the corners, cutting in on people, squeezing inside, taking flyers on the outside - probably pissed some people off and made it a bit dangerous but I didn't want to chase the whole race either. Finally got connected with the front group of about 15. I was suffering - had to bridge a decent gap near the end of my chase and I was cooked right there. Way too hot outside to be putting in tough efforts. As soon as I was connected with the group they called a prime lap. This is where a few bike shack racers took a small gap. The people I was with didn't feel the urgency to close this small gap after the prime and I didn't have the lungs or legs at that moment. this stayed as a 10 sec gap for about 2 laps, eventually they just slowly pulled away. Should have never happened - of course this will be the last time I ever line up near the back if I can help it.
So 3 Bike Shack off the front, I was riding with a group of maybe 8 riders chasing. David N. was with me after bridging up and Dan O. caught on too. Dan took off on a prime, stayed away and won the prime - although subsequently fell off after that, but who wouldn't in that weather. I was just trying to stay upright and not die in our group. Was considering pulling out until we rolled through and they announced 6 laps to go. Figured I could hang on.
Came in on the last lap nearly dead but put in a sprint that landed me in 6th place overall....and killed me. I needed to cool down fast, I was disoriented, dizzy, got to my car after riding the wrong way on the course for a brief moment, grabbed some water and stumbled to some shade under a tree. Took me nearly 25 minutes to feeling normal again.
Saturday's race is at 7:30, the sun will be lower, hopefully gone, and temps cooler. But I will not put myself through that again. Luckily sunday is only calling for a high in the mid 80's.

The summer heat is what I hate most about Missouri. If the summer's were cooler I would consider staying in this state after I graduate, but this shit is rediculous.

MO State RR Champs

David Neidinger - Team Colavita/Parisi : MO Cat 4 RR champion - props.

Made the decision friday to race on sunday. Left saturday eve for Sainte Genevieve, crashed in the hotel, registered and rolled out at about 9:15 on Sunday. It was myself and fellow teammate David N in the 4's, britton and matt in the 3's, and lone 5 rider phillip w. 2 laps of a 33.5 mile course. 67 miles total.
Pace was fairly calm for the majority of the race, no one really tried to hammer it in the flats. The large number of hills though served to break up the field quite nicely. Going into this race I was thinking "sweet, hilly course, I should do well." Was managing the course just fine, sticking it on the climbs, and hanging on downhill and in the flats. David and I spent the majority of the race near the front. We came up to this long climb where they had the KOM set up and it was a long, sustained climb, quick descent with another climb right away. this part ate me up. I was off the back of our elite group of 10-15 riders. Caught a nice wheel though and got back on quickly. It was frustrating falling off like that though. It's been awhile since something like that has happened and I knew next time around I probably wouldn't have the legs to hang on again. All the hills inbetween there were short enough that I could manage. Entered the second lap and I was stuffing gu and water, trying to keep my energy up. Rolled up to that hill again and got shelled off again, though not as bad as the first time. there were maybe 2-3 miles until the finish and I could not bridge that gap. The lead group stayed off by maybe 100-200 meters the whole time. I just didn't have any power left.
Rolled into the finishing road which had some rollers and a small climb and I was toast. Sat up for the most part and limped the last 1k to the line. I could see the lead group finishing in the distance and David N. sprinted to a 2nd place overall, 1st missouri finisher: MO state champ.

I finished 14th out of just under 50 starters. 2 guys passed me in the last 300 as I was soft pedaling.
Good race, tough competition, nice course.

I'll take this next week hard and get a week of rest before Tour of KC and then Tour of Lawrence July 4th weekend. I can already feel that after this week of training a week off is in order.

Matt P. took 2nd place in the 3's race. Britton placed somewhere near the top 15. Phillip was in the top 20 in the 5's.

5 Colavita racers, 1 MO Champ, 2 podiums, all top 20 finisher - not bad.

Kansas State Championship

Jane and I rolled down to pittsburg, KS friday evening for the Kansas state road race and crit championship. got lucky because Jane's sister lives in Pitt so we had a place to stay for free...very nice - thank you Matt and Sheryl. Woke up early for Jane's 8 am rollout of her 42 mile road race. 3 laps of fairly flat terrain, high winds, and a moderate climb 1k from the finish. After a few mishaps on the course she took 3rd place....out of 3 riders. Whatever, she still got to collect $25 on a $15 entry fee.
I rolled out with a plethera of teammates at about 10:30. Steve V, Joe Anderson, David N., and Brad Williams. Not bad company. We did 4 laps of the course for about 55 miles total. first lap around was spent making my way to the front and getting settled in. Wasn't really sure if it was the first or second time through the start finish line, but some people up front decided to hammer it. Got caught on a slow wheel and had to bridge a small gap in a mean headwind, recovered alright and ended up in a nice 12 man breakaway with 2 other teammates, David and Brad.
Things were looking good. Started to feel pretty nice and was contemplating on how use the hill near the finish - Brad, David and I are all pretty decent climbers. Approached the final hill and under my normal output found myself on the front with a solo breakaway rider 50 meters in front. I wasn't going to chase him down, that would have killed me for the final and only would have dragged 10 more riders with me. A bike shack racer rolled around me and I just sat on his wheel. 400m to go and people started jumping. Caught a wheel and sprinted around a few riders into 4 th place, started to fade and David, who had my wheel jumped around me and got past one more for second place. I ended up in 5th. Pretty happy with that race, you get tired towards the end and are ready for it to be over, but I was still feeling strong.
this was also my first payout. Oh yeah......$35 in the bank (minus my $25 entry).
There was a crash at the end also, brad got mixed up in that and rode out into a ditch. He was alright but nothing to claim for the race.

Was feeling decent for Sunday's crit on Pitt State's campus. conditions were windy and hot, with a crazy 100 degree corner near the end. This one got going fast and we had a another 10-12 man break from the start. Put in some hard laps from the beginning before we settled in. they had 4 cash primes which I was a bit disappointed I didn't get in on. Although on the $2o prime I was ready to break for, my teammate David jumped before me and got away so I sat in and gave a bit a block but no one was in the mood to chase. Laps were winding down and I was out of water, and in a perfect position to sprint. One guy jumped, I covered him, another jumped and passed us both. I tried to get off the wheel I was on but he was slowing down and had a good wheel rub before I was able to overtake him. By that time there were 2 in front followed by David and then myself. I tried to get to David's wheel but was cooked. The rest of the group was pretty split up and took 4th uncontested. David managed 3rd.
Got another payout. Racing is pretty fun when you can win money. A couple weeks from now is Tour of KC part 1 and then the Tour of Lawrence. These two races are going to be the real test for me. So many people are gearing up for Lawrence. The fields are going to be huge, the payouts are big and it's going to be fast. Should be an awesome weekend for racing.

must be the shoes

It's coming together. Good week of training followed by some good eating and I'm feeling the best I have all season. This combined with getting rid of my flip-flop like road shoes for some carbon shoes (Pearl Izumi Elite Road) and some position changes on the bike and I feel faster than ever.

I have to say that going from road shoes with a sole that can be bent in both directions by hand to carbon is as big of an upgrade as moving to a carbon frame with carbon cranks for the first time.

Iowa Racing

Rolled out of KC at 6:30 am saturday to meet up with the rest of the team in burlington, IA. Saturday was the Snake Alley Criterium. A race in downtown Burlington with the highlight being a steep climb up a cobble stone, switch-backing, narrow road. the rest of the course was high speed descent on open city streets before you went back up snake alley again. this race has the reputation of being one of the most physically demanding courses there is...bastards were right. I was at the back of a 60 man field because I was one of the last to register for the race. No problem i thought, I can climb decently, I'll just start passing people on the way up and slowly make my way to the front. The only thing wrong with that is that unless you're one of the first 15 people to hit the alley, you're screwed. The whole thing is just a big bottle neck and you waste exponentially more energy trying to navigate the climb with people slowing down in front of you than if you could just climb it by yourself. basically the first three laps I got caught in traffic, was forced to a snail's pace and stuck trying to turn the pedals in too tall of a gear with no momentum. that and I just went out too fast and hard. From Britton yelling at me I was sitting somewhere around 20th position in those first few laps. I was at the redline the entire time, and was fading fast. Teammate Dan O. passed me about lap 3 or 4, I tried to recover a bit on the downhills but it was a lost battle already. Everytime I went up it just got worse. I was operating beyond my capacity and was done. The leaders lapped me around lap 6 or 7 of the 12 lap race. Dan lapped me not long after the leaders. I knew I was done for and surprised the officials hadn't pulled me yet. Made one more climb up the alley for good time's sake and rode down straight to my car. that was the absolute worst I've ever felt on a bike. I couldn't walk straight or think straight for that matter. I just dunked a towel in my cooler water and put it over my head. It took a good 5 minutes of sitting there before I was coherent. At the time you are thinking "this sucks so much, I will never do this race again!" but I wouldn't mind another shot at Snake Alley in the future.
Dan O. on the other hand was loving it. I think he finished 11th?? Regardless he did well and finished in the money. Steve and Joe had similar experiences to mine.
The night earlier was the 33 mile road race in burlington that I had to miss. It was a cat 3/4 combined race, and in his first cat 3 appearance, Matt P. pulled out the win.
Read newspaper article here (photo is in upper right)

Sunday we had the Melon City crit in Muscatine, IA. about 45 miles north of burlington. Previewed the course and was pretty pumped at the layout. Flat rollout with one turn prior to a long sweeping descent, speedbump that lauches you into the air before you have an equally long fast uphill climb. A few tight corners and level ground to the finish. This race was going to be FAST.
Warming up I knew I could have a good day. The legs felt the best they've felt in a long time. A tad bit fatigued from the day before, but good nonetheless. Rolled out and quickly reached about 45mph on the descent. Hit the climb and began to feel the course out. The first couple laps we were averaging just under 30 mph as we came through the start finish line. Did well to keep good position and maintain in the upper part of the group. I was doing alright, but it was just a fast tough race. Definetly operating at my aeorbic threshold the entire time. Over-reved the engine during one lap when I found myself on the front in the wind. Quickly tucked back in and it took another lap to recover.
The race was only paying out 10 deep and that was my goal, get paid. My only shot (often my only shot in most my races) was to keep it together for the final hill and attack over the top of the climb and sprint out to the finish. Last lap and speeds were picking up. I was working beyond my capacity and at the top of the climb was failing. Stuck it out to the end and finished 14th overall. I was pretty happy with that race. I did everything I could have done and just didn't have any matches left at the end of the last climb. Considering the speeds and the competition it was a great experience. I'm still going to keep working and I know I've got fitness to be gained yet. I will podium in the 4's this season.

Auburn RR

Damn, that was rough.
67 mile road race in a town just south of topeka. Not sure how many started with the 4's, but from team Colavita/Parisi we had a nice group. Joe, Steve, Dan and Matt. I was pumped to finally get the chance to ride with a big group of teammates.
Our happy group of five went down to 3 about 8-10 miles in. One rider in one direction and another the opposite. Joe got mixed up in a crash and that pretty much ended his day and Matt P. put in a superhero effort off the front with 2 Specs riders who I know were equally strong.
As matt was breaking away I found myself on the back of the pack that was chasing furiously. The pace was really fast and I was suffering. I had visions going through my oxygen deprived brain that I would get dropped. Managed to hang on and ride out the storm that was a hopeless chase attempt. Once I collected myself I liked my situation. Riding in the pack with a teammate off the front. Any work that was being done I wasn't part of it. Doesn't make other riders too happy, but thats racing. Tough day for bike shack and SKC though. First lap down and one more to go, was feeling pretty good and liked my chances for 4th place. We lost Steve V. due to a flat with about 10 miles to go. Too bad because he was doing well and was sitting in on the back keeping pace. Not sure how many riders got dropped during the race....had to be some. I was so focused on the front I never got much of a chance to look around. We did loose some to the crash that took joe out and there were a few that flatted. With about 8 miles to go we climbed a big hill and every pedal stroke caused my quads to cramp.
Well, aproaching the final stretch and was sitting pretty 2nd or 3rd from the front. Had Dan O. hovering right in front of me. One rider sprinted off the front to a huge white flag that he thought was the finish line. I assumed he knew what he was doing and jumped to his wheel. Overtook him with a couple riders around me only to find out that was the 200m line. Crap. I sat up thinking I was spent. Glanced back and saw that I was still in decent position and emptied the tank on a weak 2nd sprint. Crossed the line 3rd in our group, 6th overall. Dan was right next to me in 7th. Was dissappointed in the mix up. I wish I had that opportunity again. Was glad to be finished though. I've never hurt worse on a ride as I did after that. My legs were in agony.
Matt P. displayed some power in his breakaway. In a 2 against 1 situation he pulled out the win. Awesome. He said this is last week as a 4, he'll be riding with the 3's next time. Probably a good move. You can only bully the 4's for so long- just kidding. the guy just has raw power.

By the way, thanks to Britton over at Volker Bicycles, my race rig performed flawlessly. there is no comparison between aluminum and carbon.

Last years model xenith with SRAM Rival. Love the SRAM by the way. Glad to be working with something besides shimano for a change - My old seat: Specialized Toupe Carbon and Titatium Rails. My old wheels and tires-Schwalbe Ultremo R's have been great so far, they're a bit knicked up but no flats and no complaints. The FSA carbon cranks rock. So happy with everything. I thought I'd be contempt to ride my 2002 Aluminum Allez for the next year and a half but as soon I test rode the Jamis, I knew I had to make the move. Plus with the team discount there is no reason to wait.
The only way I could afford it was to sell my old bike and upgraded parts, I'm probably looking at selling my mtb also. Once it's all sold it's an even trade. Worth it when you've got a summer of road racing to do.
Thanks to teammate Phillip Wilkerson for the race photo - good stuff.

Turn the page

finished my last final today. Good semester in the clinic, got a lot done, in a good position to knock out most of my requirements this summer. That would leave me with fall and spring semester next year to work on patient cases that I choose....the fun stuff.
Bad semester in the classroom. I mostly blame cycling. with racing and my obsessive nature over my hobbies/sports I found it pretty hard to stay motivated and study for exams. Also because I'm just really burnt out after the last 3 years of D. school and I've finally found an outlet for my competitive nature since I stopped playing soccer. It's really consumed my life, but I love it. I wish I got more involved in cycling earlier.

So now that I am officially a 4th year (where the hell did the time go) my sole priority is clinic; although there are a few classes in the fall semester, there is very little in the spring and NO CLASSES this summer - just seeing patients. So this summer I will attempt to take things to the next level in regards to racing and training. Hopefully after a full summer of racing and a smooth transition into the fall semester I will be ready to tone things down and prepare for part II of my National Board Exam which I take in december. The first portion of this exam ruined my last summer and I am maxing out my opportunity this summer.

Down Time

As I write this, my team is on a group ride...and I'm sitting on the couch drinking coffee in my robe. Velotek GP took it out of me. Sunday eve and monday I was just drained. Looking back, I probably didn't do enough to refuel after the road race on Sunday. I still ate about 3 times that afternoon/eve but it wasn't soon enough or frequent enough. Monday it was pretty rainy and I threw my bike on the trainer to do a bit of a recovery spin. After about 30 minutes I bonked. Literally. My glycogen stores must still have been super low. This is actually the first time I can say I bonked on "the bonk memoirs" and it happened on a trainer - nice.
Tuesday I talked myself into the practice crit. I could definetly feel the effects from the past weekend. I just didn't have energy that I'm used to. So what better time than to attack off the front - launched huge and got a big gap. It only lasted 1 lap though and I struggled to stay on the back of the pack afterwards. I actually thought about sitting out a lap because it took a lot out of me. Spent the remaining time sitting in and setting up for the final. with about 1.5 laps to go some guy went off the front and tried to solo it for the win. No one else was really chasing (or looked like they were chasing) so I lead a train to his wheel and caught him 100m before the line. Sat there and waited for someone to make a move, and Marcus blew by me on the left, another rider on my right. I jumped and came across in third. Marcus S. took the win.
As we drove home I was just feeling mentally and physically empty. As I have finals next week an no races for 2 weeks I decided in the car that I'm going to take it easy for a bit. Get some down time before my summer starts and the real training begins.

Right after finals I will be traveling to Wisconsin to visit some relatives for the week. I was actually born and raised Milwaukee, so most of my family still lives there. I'll be in Trempealeau, WI which is located on the Mississippi River. Apparently the roads around there have been labeled as the best place for road biking in the upper midwest. Super hilly, scenic, good pavement, and almost zero traffic. I'd say it's comparable to Hermann, MO or St. Genevive, MO. I'll get there just in time for the annual "hip breaker tour." 42 miles with apparently a bastard of a climb - I'll be representing in the Team Colavita/Parisi Coffe in full kit. The rest of the week will give great opportunities to get in great miles. The area sports 382 miles of interconnecting routes with an average of 3 cars per hour! the website needs an update but check it out clicky clicky

Velotek Grand Prix Weekend

This was my first big race series and also my first race as a cat 4. Another first was the 1.5 mile time trial. Too long to sprint the whole thing and short enough where you really cant settle in. I knew it was going to hurt and it did not dissappoint. I sprinted off the line into the first 200 meters or so and looking back probably went too hard there - because the next 90 seconds was spent trying to recover from my blow up. Got a bit more comfortable heading into the home stretch and tried to kill it to the line. Out of 58 cat 4's I was sitting in 33rd after the time trial. the leaders were about 30 seconds in front of me - a huge gap when you only ride 1.5 miles.

The crit was something I was really looking forward to. I've come to really like crits and I think I have the potential to do well in them in the future - I feel the more technical the course the better I can do, I love taking high speed turns and cranking on the pedals out of the corners. Anyway, huge field for the crit, it provided plenty of space to sit in out of the wind. I don't think I worked half as hard in the 4 race than I did in the previous 5 race. The course was just so congested I always had a wheel. Sat in for the sprint lap and thought I'd try my luck to move up for the final - although this was a timed series so there wasn't much to be gained from finishing 10th or 30th - maybe 5 seconds at the most. 2 laps to go and speed started to pick up, racers trying to get in position, used the corners to carry speed and pass riders when it opens up. Last lap and I passed about 5 in the chicanes and sprinted to pass a couple more before the line. Finished 11th. Hard to judge how hard the other racers were trying though - I'm sure a lot of them were contents to keep it safe and sit in.

58 mile road race was sunday. This was something I was wanting to really test myself in. the course was fairly hilly which suits me just fine. I've come down to a nice racing weight and my climbing abilities are only getting stronger. The only concern was the distance - this was literally the longest I've ever ridden at once without stopping. We rolled out and headed into some nice twisty hilly roads - pavement was smooth - legs were a bit tired from the day before, not so much from the crit but the time trial just took it out of me. Had a flask full of gel and two bottles on the bike. I almost consumed everything by the time the race was over- gel and water. After about 15 miles I was feeling good, legs were warmed up and was having no problem climbing or keeping pace. We descended a steep hill into a flat about 30 -35mph, heard a crash behind me and caught a glimpse of fellow teammate Steve V. hitting the ground hard. I looked around and didn't see my other teammate Brad and I assumed he went down too. Steve ended up being ok, just a lot of road rash and minor break on the bike, but he was done. Brad wasn't involved and continued on. As we were riding i started having mechanical issues. I thought it was a derailleur pulley gone bad - I was putting huge efforts in to pedal and when i tried to pedal backwards my chain would slack up - crap....I then became really pissed and was thinking maybe I should drop out when we finish the first lap - after about 5 minutes I decided that i'll just ride it out, if i get dropped then i'm dropped, it will be a good workout atleast. Couple more miles and all the vibration must of put whatever was screwed up back in place, I could feel myself pedaling easier and could actually back pedal now -hell yes. this was right before we headed up the big hill to the start finish line. I cranked up it passing about 20 riders on the way up and was feeling great. I started thinking about next time around and maybe I could contend for a podium finish. So the second lap I made sure I kept contact and tried to stay a bit closer to the front - speeds were up and down and approaching the final hill people started getting pretty twitchy - racers were elbowing eachother and shoving around for position. I had to wait about 10 seconds before I could launch and then just hammered it. Passed maybe 5-10 riders and my quads were dead, every pedal stroke felt like they were going to cramp up. With about 40 meters to go I blew up, and sat down and spun across the line. Probably 5 people passed me before I crossed. ended up finishing 14th - not too bad. I was really proud of that race - the distance and the effort. this was probably the first time I felt like a real racer - out of the 5's and racing good mileage with decent results.

Looking forward to future races - we had some teammates who weren't there - Matt P. and Dan O., when we're all together we'll be able to do some damage. Stay tuned.

Colavita/Parisi Photo Of The Year!!!

Velotek Grand Prix - Womens Crit
(she was ok)

Movin' Up

Made my official request to cat up to the 4's and end my 5 career on a win. I know the 4's will be much faster and more tactical and it will take me a couple months of good training before I could have the chance of being competetive but this is where I need to be to improve. Maybe a brand new bike could help that fight? Anyone feel like donating a few g's to help that cause? My goal before this season started was to be a competitve 4 racer by the end of the season and have a great showing at tour of KC in august.

On the other hand I am officially addicted to racing. In the past months I've found myself day dreaming about racing and it litearlly makes my heart speed up significantly and causes me to be short of breath like I should be breathing through my eyeballs on a last lap sprint of some crit. Sort of like I have a huge sympathetic reflex with a mass rush of adrenaline. My adrenal glands will be shot by the time i'm 35.

Girl's Crit (Jane)

Went up to leavenworth on sunday for the ladies crit. she raced first with the 3/4's and then immediately raced the women's 4 race after that. 3/4 field was looking fast before the start. Course wasn't the greatest as it was laid out through a middle school parking lot...narrow, technical, not a lot of room to get going. the 25 mph winds didn't help either. After the first couple laps she was sitting at the back end of the pack. speed started to get faster and the group began to break up. Jane was not in a good position and had a hard time getting up to the main group and eventually settled in with 2 other riders off the back. There were already 2 ladies off the front (they ended up lapping the field twice) and jane chasing the big group of about 10. This went on for the majority of the race and jane eventually broke away from the 2 she was riding with. Long story short she got into a bad spot from the beginning and could have easily ridden the the main group. In the last 10 minutes when she finally broke away her speeds were faster than the majority of the riders and almost closed a 3/4 lap defecit from the other riders (minus the 2 leaders).

4 race was next and she was plenty warmed up and comfortable with the course. Spent about five minutes pulling the group around and when no one else wanted to pull she just broke off in a solo and lapped half the field (including some who beat her in the 3/4) for the win. Damn right.

She still needs a ton more saddle time and slowly gaining race experience. She has excellent base fitness and will do some damage against other 4's in the future.

Bazaar RR

Rolled down to bazaar, ks, just past emporia for a 50 mile road race. Raced in the cat 4/5 group with 5 other colavita racers. Our plan beforehand was to secure the win for Brad....keep him protected while trying to burn out the rest of the field. First 15 miles was quite pleasant, tailwind, smooth pavement, wasn't breathing at all. Approaching the halfway point the attacks started coming, put in some good efforts to stick with the group...still hanging in there. For awhile Eric Schaumberg, steve and I put on a few attacks ourselves. We had to have hurt some of those riders as we attacked in rotations. Steve would go off the front, get caught, eric would launch, get caught, the I would sprint off, settle in etc... Meanwhile brad was hanging at the back. somewhere after the halfway we lost fellow riders phillip and joe. climbed a big hill with about 4 miles to go and found myself and brad sitting on the front, both of us were feeling good. I jumped in front of brad to give him a wheel and was feeling like I had the legs to give him a good leadout for the finish. There was no doubt in my mind he was the fastest racer there and in a sprint could have torn some legs off. Got down to about a half mile to go, and was boxed in a bit, had to squeeze by a rider on the outside, almost going onto the gravel shoulder. Somewhere in the next 5 seconds someone bumped into brad and pushed him into the ditch off the road. He was able to ride it out and was okay, but out of the race. When he didn't come around me I figured something must have happened, I heard a lot of bumping around in back of me.....jumped from one wheel to another and crossed the line 4th overall, finishing 1st in the cat 5's. the picture is of the actual medal they gave me...pretty funny. During the awards ceremony they mistakenly handed me the 4th place check, which if I was a cat 4 would have gotten to keep, but when they figured out I was a 5 took it away and handed me a crappy medal. Maybe it's time to cat up??

side note: Great job to steve v. and Eric Schaumberg who put in a bunch of work on the front. They pushed the group at a good clip for awhile....tough luck for brad, at the end he said he felt like he didn't even get in a workout with the missed sprint opportunity. There will be good finishes for all in the future.

Velotek grand prix next weekend. Probably my final cat 5 appearance.....or cat up beforehand and help out for the team first place in cat 4's. I've said it before.....our 4 group is very strong.