The Bonk Memoirs

enter the off season

2011-11-13T17:01:00.001-08:00

So, here we are again. Last year around this time I told myself that I was going to make MTB racing my main priority. This was due to a number of reasons, primarily I have more fun riding MTB than road, and it is easier to drive 2+ hours for a 1.5 to 2 hour race vs. a 45 minute crit or cross race. But the season was scrapped after the broken leg in February.
I did get into ok shape towards the beginning of fall but the left leg was still underpowered and my out of the saddle climbing was non existent. I just couldn't power over climbs and would usually have to stay seated and spin it out. I did turn in a respectable 2:36 at Chequamegon with 1 flat tire. The whole season wasn't a loss, but enough of it anyways.

So as winter rolls into Wisconsin I've got some planning to do. I'm going to try to do next summer what I wanted to do this past summer. Get really fast on the MTB. I'll still be racing as a cat 2. I definitely haven't had any results that stand out in the xc races and I'm going to change that. Ultimately I'll be racing mostly WORS races with the occasional endurance race thrown in for balance. Crits and RR mixed in the early season for fitness. The subaru cup will be the target for the summer. It got moved to mid July instead of late June so that is good for people who live up north and don't begin racing until early/mid May. In addition, going for the series in cat 2 is well within reach. If I'm going to upgrade to 1 for 2013 it will hopefully be because they forced me to due to results from 2012.

I do have a surgery date set for March 2nd for the hardware in my left knee to be removed. Luckily that is only a day surgery and limited activity for 7-10 days while the incision site heals. So I will need to get in a good block of training the month prior to that so the down time will be my rest.
I got a membership at the YMCA and have been hitting that up trying to get the rest of my strength back and working on the core. Been going to a weekly core training class. It's pretty much all females in there with a female instructor, but it kicks my ass. It's amazing how untrained the rest of your body becomes when cycling is your main gig. 10 years ago I used to do this stuff in my sleep. I'm faster on a bike now, but overall strength is in the pits. They got some good spin bikes too, complete with power meters. Instead of riding a trainer at home, the spin bike will be a lot nicer. Cross country skiing will play a big role this winter as well. It will be great cross training and great for base workouts. I am signed up for the Birkie in late February so I've got some motivation to ski quite a bit this winter.

WEMS Championships - Levis Mound

2011-10-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

The last race of the WEMS series was this past Saturday at the epic Levis Mound trails. I chose the 25 mile race, and lined up with about 10 other people. Not that many people, but considering how late in the season we are and there were cross races on both sides of the state, probably appropriate. More people lined up for the 50 mile, 100 mile and the 62 SS state championship.

Not my video but gives you a taste of the trails. All very good.
This is one of the better sections of trail. This shit is good.

A quick survey of the competition had me figuring that I wouldn't win this race, but I knew I could podium. The eventual winner was a pretty fast Cat 1 that has a long history of good results. I stuck his wheel from the go and we instantly had a gap going into the singletrack. That lasted all of 2 minutes while on the singletrack and he was just plain faster and smoother. I kept him in sight for about 15 minutes but then he was gone. There were about 3 good climbs on the course and after the first climb I passed the leader as he was on the other side of a switchback, about 1 minute ahead. When I reached that same point I saw 3rd and 4th place riding together, 1 minute back of me. I tried to keep the pressure on but was making a few mistakes here and there and generally not riding smooth. I came through after 1 lap at 1:08. The race director ended up taking some trail out because he thought the lap times would be too long but I think he made them way too short. Technically it should be a 3 hour race and not 25 miles. I can do 25 miles in a WORS XC race.
Anyway, I head out for lap 2 and have my only real crash of the day. Bumped my bars on the right side with a tree which sent me flying into a tree on the left. Plowed into that tree pretty good and I was down. Smashed some fingers which left them numb for next 10 minutes but other than that it was fine. Kept it smooth lap 2 but apparently 2 minutes slower - but I'll take it. Rolled in at 2:18 for 2nd place. I thought 3rd would be way behind me as I never saw anyone except for the lap traffic, but he finished only 2 minutes behind me. Would have liked that to been more. The winner was about 10 minutes up on me - ouch.

Have been feeling really good lately. My fitness is coming along and I've been riding my epic better than I ever have. Just switched out my S Works Renegade front tire for a bontrager 29.2 but just on the front. Thought I'd test it out. - that thing hooks up nice - way more confidence inspiring than the Renegade - the 29.2 is pretty light also. under 600 grams. I still like the renegades as they roll so fast but keep them for select races. Contemplating racing the last WORS race in Sheboygan next sunday. Earlier I would have said no way but with as good as I've been riding, I might have to.

Chequamegon 40 recap and picture dump

2011-09-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

So this race is sort of a big deal up here in the north woods. People literally spend their whole summer to "get ready" for this event. The Chequamegon is a point to point 40 mile mtb race that takes place on gravel/dirt roads, snowmobile trails, and the famous Birkebeiner ski trail. The latter is essentially a 30 foot wide grass path with a singletrack path down the middle. My GPS had about 3000 feet of climbing at the end of the race.
Earlier in the year I was moderately motivated for this race. But leading up to it and spending lots of time on some sweet singletrack, a road race on MTB didn't seem interesting. However, I was committed and going to see what the hell was going on up there.
Jane and I traveled up with another couple who was doing the race. We had a cabin rented that was 1 mile from the start line so that was nice. We hung out friday eve and settled in for our 10 am start time the next morning. This year there were about 1900 racers and probably 1000 of them had their bike saving their start position by 6am. Literally hundred of MTB upside down filling the street. I wasn't too stressed about the race and wasn't concerned about my start position. My game plan was just to ride and see how I felt.
In retrospect, if I get into the race next year, my bike will be on the start line at 5am to preserve a good spot.
We went out for our warm up and I was so-so. We rode the 3 miles to where the trail picked up and back. With 10 minutes to race I snuck in the middle of the 1900 and waited. Every other person I knew was much closer and Jack, the guy I traveled with was about 200 spots up the road. Looking around I got the sense that I needed to be futher up in the field. Hairy legs and older equipment do tell a story of the type of rider. As well as the guys who wear baggy MTB shorts. Nothing against those shorts, I own a pair and like them, just not in this type of race. They fired the canon to signal the start and we were off. I started passing people left and right. I was time trialing it and it was hard to find a consistently clear path. Several others had the same idea and I tried to recover on the wheels of people who were moving quick.

We hit rosie's field (the first trail section) and I get boxed in really quick. I soon found that riding way off the trail in the taller grass was much quicker than trying to snake through the middle of the trail with the faster surface. The first 5 miles was a real blur. I was just passing so many and trying to come over the tops of the climbs pedaling hard. The epic was allowing me to get on the far edge of the trail and just bomb the descents. I was flying by people who were on their brakes for traffic and the 29er full suspension was soaking up all the bumps due to my poor line. It was great. I was having a ton of fun in the beginning. Riding great and feeling good. I passed a La Crosse local at 12.5 miles in and at soon after I passed old man ralph heath. He's in his 60's and rides crazy strong for his age. He had great times from previous years and is always fast, so at this point I knew I was going good having just passed him 15 miles in - who knows where he started. At 20 miles I ride up on Jack. He sounded excited and surprised to see me. He is a great rider as well. We did a 50 mile gravel race together a few weekends prior and he dropped me with 10 miles to go. The two of us rode together for the next 10 miles. At times he looked stronger and at times I would ride away but he bridged up.
At 30 miles we hit the firetower climb. It's basically 4 pitches in elevation and several minutes long. It's steep, rocky and loose. Many people walk this section. I rode it good, not super fast, but good enough. I crested in front of Jack and OTF of the group we were riding with. The downhill involved high speeds and big sharp rocks. I was taking advantage of open trail and let the Epic rip that shit up. Unfortunately, my thin casing S-Works tires took a pretty good gash to my rear. I felt the familiar feel of a loose back end and quickly pulled over. Surprisingly, this is the first time I've flatted riding tubeless. I pulled out the CO2 and gave it hell. it took about 1 minute of me fussing around trying to get it sealed. It finally seemed good enough and I figured I'll just continue riding and see what happens. All told I think I was stopped for maybe 2 minutes. But realistically, it's hard to say how much time I lost. I rode up on and passed Catherine Walberg a few miles previous yet she finished about 3 minutes up on me. Who knows.
I mounted up and began picking off the people who I had passed nearly 30-45 minutes previous. I remember thinking "you again" several times. I stayed within myself with only 8 miles to go and no food. I could feel the cramps coming on and I needed to finish strong. A few miles down the road, I see the familiar jersey of Jack on the side of the trail. Flat. So I pass him back never to see him to the finish. With 2 miles to go I was bonking. I couldn't wait to reach the finish line. I always seem to run out of food or wish I had 1 more GU left in these types of races.
Down the ski hill I flew and crossed the line at 2:36:33. Based upon times from previous years my goal was to be around 2:45 so I nailed that one including a flat tire. Next year with a better start position and not coming off a broken leg 6 months previous I should break 2:30. My time this year was good for about 260th overall. 19th in the age group. I should crack top 200 if all goes well next year.

Heading out to ride IMBA epic Levis Mound trail

after the Chequamegon. Eating lots of donut holes and bananas.

Riding more Hayward singletrack the day after Chequamegon. We got rained on and had to turn around after 25 minutes or so.

I won.

2011-08-15T08:08:00.001-07:00

Me stalking in the background

Now that i have your attention, I will say that there were not that many people in the race. It was a 3 hour endurance race in the "northwoods" of wisconsin. Jane and I were at a friends cabin with several couples (which was awesome), and this race on the WEMS series was only 45 minutes from the cabin. It was the Wasburn Rock and Root, just outside of Rhinelander, WI. Myself and co-conspirator Jack Zabrowski lined up for the 3 hour tour. I hadn't really ridden since the previous race as my bruised/broken ribs have been giving me a bunch of trouble. I wasn't actually sure that I would line up for this one, but after some pre-medding with tylenol, it was doable. I told myself that if I was in pain I was going to shut it down, but at the start I knew I had a chance to win so it was on and I was ready.

My main competition was going to be Jack and some Australian named Owen. I am well aware that you can never trust an Australian as Australia is entirely peopled with criminals, so I made sure to keep a close eye on him. Add in the fact that he is a Cat 1 road racer and lived and raced in Belgium, and his legs were huge......it was going to be a good race. He was however, riding an 26" aluminum hardtail. I knew in a 3 hour race I had the mechanical advantage riding the epic 29, especially because we soon found out the trails were bumpy as shit.

It all started with a 2 mile double track leadout before we came through the start/finish and into the single track. Thank god it wasn't a LeMans start as I still can't run on my leg since I broke it last February. Owen takes off at the gun and I manage to hold his wheel the entire time. We opened up a huge gap right away and my friend Jack later told me that there was no way he was going to go that fast that quick. We empty into the singletrack which was all pretty technical. 100% singletrack the rest of the lap until you come through the double track at the end of the lap (that we started with). Right away I could tell Owen's tech skills were lacking but he had more horsepower for sure. I sat behind the first half of the lap and eventually told him I would lead. As soon as I took over I tried to gap him but it only ever got up to about 10 seconds. We came through the double track at the end of the first lap with him basically on my wheel and he put the hammer down. He immediately opened up 30 second gap. I tried to chase a bit but had to slow it down.

Second lap it started raining a bunch and the trail was getting muddy and slick very fast. I was riding very bad at this time and was suffering. I began thinking that I was just going to have to hold on to 2nd place. However, the last part of the 2nd lap I started picking my head up and looking down the trail like you're supposed to and immediately I start riding fast again. I came through for the 3rd lap and they said Owen was only 55 seconds ahead. It was great, I started riding really fast and was just so focused. I came up on the Aussie within 5 minutes and I knew I had a good chance at getting a good gap. I was getting really anxious to move around and almost crashed. He opened 10 seconds right away but I stayed calm and just rode up to him. I must have been putting on the pressure for him to ride fast because he started making a bunch of mistakes. I think I was being too polite again. How do you handle these situations? If the leader is fumbling around and I'm soft pedaling sticking his wheel, do I ask him to move over or do you just tell him you're going to pass and then try to take it from him? Eventually he bobbled enough and let me go through when he dabbed. With 1/2 to 1/3 lap to go I was out of sight. I was just worried that he would catch me on the double track, but I soon realized he was gone and I had won. I ended up finishing 3 minutes up on him and about 20 minutes over the next closest. Granted it was a smaller race, and not that many people, but I was pretty happy with how things unfolded.

That night at the cabin I ate a shit ton of tacos and it was good. My ribs are in some trouble though. During the race it felt fine, but the second I got off the bike, I could barely move. Still today it's pretty bad. I may sit out next weekends WORS race - we'll see.

WORS - Camrock

2011-08-08T11:08:00.001-07:00

Sunday was the latest installment of the WORS series. This time we rode in circles just outside of Madison, WI. It was a new venue to the WORS circuit and it was pretty good. Lots of climbing which is good for me and some technical stuff, also good for me. I traveled to the city of hippies with 2 other La Crosse jerks on Saturday eve to stay at some other jerks house - formerly of La Crosse. This jerk and his wife were gracious hosts and provided us with a pretty good pasta dinner and a homemade sauce that was amazing. We settled in and watched "get him to the greek" which was pretty mediocre. I brought a sleeping bag and a pad and tossed and turned on the living room floor. Awoke at 7am feeling very sleepy, breakfast at some diner at 9, at the race course by noon for our 1:30 start. It was supposed to cool down on Sunday, but it did not. The sun was blazing and it was hot. Not Missouri/Kansas hot mind you, but Wisconsin hot. This means temps in the upper 80's. Although I do miss living in KC, this summer looked pretty stupid weather wise - forget that.

The course started up a long steep grassy climb before you emptied into singletrack. Earlier in the week my legs felt great. However, I could tell I didn't have the pop from earlier in the week during warm up. Still no top end, but enough mid level power to get me through. I was excited though as this was the first race on the epic 29er. All my rides before had been impressive and I was hoping this would be no different.

Anyway, we go and I get a poor start. Not aggressive enough at the start and stuck behind some slower riders. 2 minutes into the race and I'm 45 seconds down on the leaders. This is no new scenario for me and MTB races though. I just have a hard time going 100% for the first part of the race. First lap was good enough though as I was keeping pace with some of the LaCrosse posse, I eventually faded a bit and had to take it down a notch. 2nd lap it started raining and turned everything very slick. There were lots of hike a bikes up the tech uphill stuff. I got caught up at one time, couldn't clip back in from running and lost a few spots. got going, not clipped in and fell again, and bobbled some more. I think I lost about 1 minute and probably 5 spots during this spell. I finally got going and settled down a bit. By then, the rain was tapering and things were drying up quick. I got behind a group of 4 who were apparently out for a Sunday freaking cruise. I stayed behind in the single track as they were holding conversations with each other. I should have been way more aggressive here and ran them off the trail and not waited until it opened up. But once it did open up I told them to move over and quickly dropped them as I put the newly recharged hammer down. A few tried to make the move with me but it was 1/2 lap to go of the 3rd and final lap and I was irritated with lost opportunity. I began ripping some trail on my way to bridging up to and passing 2 more. I got a brief glimpse of what I was capable of when I can ride unimpeded and I knew I was flying. I rolled in 10 minutes down on the overall cat 2 winner. Finished 35 out of seventy something finishers. 7 out of 10 in my age group - which isn't great.

Overall a good race though. Got a little beat up with my falls on the 2nd lap and took some knocks to both knees. The bike was flawless. There were some sections that were pretty rough and a lot of people were talking about how beat up they got. I actually felt decent at the end of my race and could have easily knocked out another lap if I had to. That bike smoothed everything out like butter.

Next weekend we're traveling to the great north woods of Wisconsin to stay at a cabin with some friends. there just so happens to be a WEMS endurance MTB race 30 minutes from where we're staying. So I'll be lining up in the 3 hour solo race on saturday. I hope my upgraded parts come in by then.

there is no going back

2011-08-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

I'm referring to the 2011 Specialized Epic 29er that I am now the owner of. There are a few things that I have acquired in my short cycling career that represent huge jumps in performance/fun/going fast. The first would be going to my first carbon road bike from an aluminum framed specialized allez elite. Britton at Volker bicycles helped make that one happen. The Jamis Xenith Race was a great bike. Another would be getting a nice pair of carbon road shoes, again courtesy of Volker bikes. When you switch from plastic road shoes that have zero stiffness - that jump is huge. The most recent jump is riding this new MTB. The combination of big wheels and full suspension is crazy good. The bike is so much more responsive on the front end than my Gary Fisher which was a bit sluggish. Part of that may be due to the larger 2.2 tires on the Fisher. But the rear of the bike just puts power to the ground and it keeps the power there. It's a bit of a lazy mans bike because you can just ride through any obstacle and it just keeps going with momentum.

I rode the cam rock trails last saturday, it was hot and it was the first official ride on the new bike. I got things dialed in pretty good. Sunday I went out to Kettle Morain state forest and rode a shit ton of single track. 25 miles to be exact. and i never rode any section of trail twice - although it would have been nice to, there was some fast stuff. I rode the john muir section then the overgrown connector trail to emma carlin. It was hot and I was low on food. I went through 3 gels and was wishing i had some solid food. Rode back towards john muir thinking I might bonk, but the return route was a lot shorter. Packed up and hit the general store in La Grange which doubles as a bike shop. Had a good lunch and drove the 2.5 hours home. Great day of riding and I was buzzing. I haven't had this much fun on a bike in a long time.

WORS Firecracker

2011-07-24T19:05:00.001-07:00

It was awhile ago, but better late than never. Went up to Eau Claire for a stop of the WORS tour. Several LaCrosse peeps made the trek as well - this is the closest wors race to La Crosse at 90 minutes. I raced here last year and did ok in the cat 2 comp category. Placed pretty much mid pack in my age group and top 1/3 overall. This year I wasn't gunning too much since this is my 2nd race since the whole knee ordeal. Still didn't have good power on my top end and lacking explosiveness.

Went off without a hitch, and found a nice place to settle into. Previously I've always sat in more or less at MTB races, only to find myself slowed down by other riders once we hit the singletrack. Not that I have mad skills or anything but I'm getting quicker. But obviously I just need to bury myself to get into singletrack first or top 5, where I know my legs can land me. Anyway, first lap had a lot of stopping and slowing down at the technical sections or any uphill. That part sucked. About 2/3 through the first lap, some dude tries to pass me on an open grass section and basically rides directly into my handlebars from the side. My bars take an immediate turn to the left and the 2 of us hit the ground going about 15 mph. I landed on my right hip really hard and I was in some pain. I got the worst of it as he just got up and rode away and said something to the effect of an apology. I laid on the ground for a minute or so doing a systems check and slowly got back to my bike. everything was in working order and after several minutes climbed back on and slow pedaled back on course. I was dead last as everyone in the wave behind me had already passed. I still had 2 more laps to do and figured if I could ride, I finish the race. After awhile, I loosened up a bit and was slowly picking off riders. My back was getting really sore and I could tell afterwards I would be in the hurt locker. I managed to gain back 30 or so spots in the last 2 laps, finishing 50th out of 90 starters, 80 finishers. 8 out of 10 in the age group. Had it not been for the wreck, it would have been top 5 for sure.

The following week was rough for sure, it's currently been 2 weeks and my back muscles are still tender - but it's pretty good.

Spent the past week in Lake Tahoe and San Francisco. Did some riding, not as much as I had hoped. I will say this, I like the road riding around La Crosse, WI better than tahoe. Didn't get to MTB as my back was still acting up.

Tomorrow marks the arrival of this recent ebay purchase and new ride:

Wheelhouse Classic and CAMBA

2011-07-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

Just over a week ago I went to Red Wing, MN for a stop on the MN MTB series. This is the first race back since I broke my leg. Last year I was racing in the Cat 2 comp category. Since the leg, I've definitely lost fitness and strength. the leg feels fine, just not that much power in it - with that in mind and taking a "just have fun" approach, I downgraded myself to the cat 2 sport category. It would be a bit slower and let me reacquaint myself to the racing - or as much racing that can happen in the sport category.

90 minute drive to the venue and I was out, registered, and warming up. the course started and finished atop a bluff in the middle of the city. There were some decent climbing sections, but not the whole 500 feet or so of the bluff. The end of the course featured a loose, rocky and very steep climb. It put you in the gutter for sure. I rode it all 3 times, and each time I passed a handful of people walking up it.

My age group was the second wave to go off. initially I was going to sit in and take it comfortably, but as we were riding the grassy lead out, instincts took over and I immediately started jumping people, especially the juniors who were in our wave. I probably settled in about 6 or 7th. We we hit the single track, a lead group of 5 had formed and were slowly riding away. During the time I was content to sit where I was, following some guy at a decent pace. After awhile, I was right on his wheel though. Had he not been there I probably would have been faster. Eventually he went down and I was alone. By this time I was coming up on riders who were in the first wave, so although I was passing people, i didn't know from where. This pretty much continued for pretty much the whole race. I would make a few passes, riders who were in front and riders that I was lapping. I think I maybe got passed by only 1 or 2 people. both of those were from the waves behind me. On the last lap, coming up the hard climb, I could see one person ahead who was walking. Because I was riding, I was gaining on him fast. I passed him at the top, completely out of breath. He was fresh from walking slow and just pedaled away from me. I finished 20 seconds behind him, he was the winner of our age group. So I came in 2nd. 2nd is good, but I only finished 16th out of 100 or so sport riders, about 5 minutes behind the overall winner. So there were some sandbaggers in there, but I'm sandbagging with a Dr.'s note.

I could probably race now and beat about half of the people who beat me as I've been getting stronger every week. I was riding the single track a little timid too and really not letting it go in the corners, too much braking. Next sunday is the firecracker in Eau Claire. I did that race last year in the comp category and did good. top 1/3 overall, middle of my age group. It was a fast race and should be fast again. Still deciding if I'll take the easy way out and race sport or get beat in the comp.

Over the 4th of July weekend, Jane and I went "up north" to camp, kayak and ride around Hayward and Cable, Wisconsin. The riding up there was amazing. It's known for some great single track and over 300 miles of trails. Albeit a lot of those are the Birkie trail, double track, dirt and gravel road, some paved road. But a lot of singletrack regardless. I was only able to do 2 days of riding, but I was pretty amped those 2 days. The first day I rode over 20 miles of the good stuff on a trail called Makwa. It was not difficult by any means, but instead an amazingly fast, roller coaster. Imagine a pump track with banked turns, gradual climbs that you can power over, uninterupted descents, an it's 12.5 miles long. Yes, 12 miles one way single track that you barely have to use your brakes on. There were so many sections that you just got "in the zone" where you're riding in a trance and your bike will literally do whatever you want it to do. You can feel your tires sliding in corners, but you're completely in control, launching off small rollers, landing exactly where you need to for the next turn. There are few trails, or even sections of trail that have these characteristics. This one was 12 miles. It was great near the end - I'm ripping the singletrack, probably better than I've ever ridden a MTB before, blowing by Fred's on the trail left and right. I'd come up behind someone and be out of sight in a matter of 10 seconds.

The next day I rode the rock lake trail. it was posted as an IMBA epic trail. it did not disappoint. I was ready for some technical stuff as the day before was easy rollin. The trail is listed as being difficult but it really wasn't too bad. It had a perfect balance of rocks that you could hop and floss your way through and not loose momentum. Like the day before I was cleaning everything and really getting lost in the trail. One steep technical descent, but nothing you couldn't do on a first pass. Unfortunately time was against me as we had to pack up and head home. So after 1 12 mile lap I had to shut her down. I was buzzing the whole way home from riding that stuff. Haven't had that happen in a long time - MTB is slowing taking over.

long ride

2011-06-20T14:41:00.000-07:00

longest of the year for me. We were taking it pretty slow. left my garmin running at a couple of the stops so it picked up some non moving time and power. It was a good day. Jane felt great at the end of the ride. She was riding really strong in the flats. Probably the strongest she's ever been.

Sunday went MTB for a bit with a friend. Trails were pretty damp with the 2 inches of rain we received the night before. Still very ridable though. Couldn't really do that in Missouri.

Minds in Motion bike tour by stully05 at Garmin Connect - Details

Still working.

2011-06-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

4 months since surgery. Been weight bearing for almost 2 months. Have been hitting the weights more regularly, although that leaves me unable to ride for a couple days after that - my legs are just too tired to do anything but soft pedal. Made an appearance at the slower Wednesday night ride last week. I wasn't the slowest, but i wasn't fast. Last weekend Jane's sister was in town so I didn't get much riding in. I tried to ride a bit on Sunday after Jane's triathlon that she did very well in, but my legs were crap.
Monday I rode up the bluff on the MTB and hit up some trails for a short ride. It was the second time I've been on the trails since I've been riding. This attempt went much better than the first. The first time I could barely stay on the trail. Tuesday I did the "fast ride." I've said it before and I'll say it again, there are crazy fast people here. Even-though I'm still rehabbing, the hammer was dropped and I was off the back on the climb, and then the rollers after that. The pace was being pushed by a group of guys who are all cat 3's but could really be 1's with the power they put out. One guy was the runner up in the Wisconsin RR state champs to Nathan Guerra. Nathan is a pro rider on the WORS circuit who typically finishes top 3 between Brian Matter and Tristan Schouten. So basically by 30 miles I had to bail out with another guy and soft pedal home.

This saturday I'm doing a bike tour. I've only done 1 before and I'm looking forward to this one. Primarily because I still need to get base miles in and this one has cookies and snacks along the way. 62 miles with 2 climbs - I'll be riding with Jane and a couple other friends who will ride it at a pace that will be good for base miles. and it's for charity. Probably end up with 70 miles by the end of the day saturday.

The strength is coming along and I'll be racing soon enough. If not this sunday, next sunday will be my first race back. A MTB race in Red Wing, MN.

Riding and stuff

2011-06-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

Been walking for about 4 weeks now. the PT says I still walk with a limp although I no longer have pain. My muscles have been trained to limp now which I need to break. It's weird because I don't notice I have a limp and feel I'm walking normal. Have been doing some rides trying to build a base and build my left leg at the same time. I'll have a decent ride by myself and then ride with Jane and she'll pretty much put the hurt on me in the straights. I just don't have any power, or atleast can't hold it. I need to be more consistent with PT as I've been slacking. And the fact that Jane and I were in the Virgin Islands for the last 9 days.

I need to stay motivated to workout my leg 5 times a week. 3 weight training days and 2 balance, core, small muscle stuff.

Monday, after hardly eating anything good or in good quantity over the weekend, and traveling 18 hours home on Sunday, not getting to bed until 3am Monday, and again not eating much and mowing the lawn before we rode, we set out to ride and easy 25 miles. Our plan was to ride to minnesota, do 1 climb and soft pedal home. Well the loop that we took was longer than we thought and we made a wrong turn. Ended up riding 40 miles with 1500 feet of climbing and 20mph headwinds the 2nd half. Normally that would be nothing, but considering all the above, I was completely wasted. Barely made it home after 3 hours. Tuesday and wednesday my left hip is pretty sore - Need to work on pedaling smooth and actually using my quad and stop when it's tired. I must have been compensating somehow and trashed my hip.

Wednesday went on the "slow group" ride and had to peel off at 7 miles because I couldn't hold the pace. PT tests show my left leg is 35% deficient in strength. Next test is 2 weeks away. We'll see how much I can gain.

I'm back!

2011-04-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

10 weeks ago I broke my leg pretty good. 1 week after I broke it I had surgery. Just had my follow up and I have the green light to start walking and more importantly getting my leg back in shape and riding the bike again. With no restrictions expect "take it easy the first few months" I plan to be racing by August. Hopefully I can hit up a MTB race in late July that is around here. I've already been checking out the race schedule and I can get a decent amount of races in before the fat tire 40.

I start PT next week and am going to hit it hard. Try to build as much muscle as I can and hopefully in 3 months be in a position to have my strength be 110% of what it was when I broke it. So essentially I've got 13 weeks to get back to race shape. Game on.

Making progress

2011-04-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

I'm now 5 weeks post op. Got the go ahead to start bending to get to full ROM. I rode the trainer once last week and could barely get my knee around the pedal. Today it was pretty much normal on the trainer. Except I can't put too much pressure on the pedals. In addition, I got entry into the Chequamegon 40 MTB race in september. So I'm going to rehab like a madman once I can bear weight and try to get to racing shape by august and try to get a top 100 finish at the 40. Hopefully the knee responds well and the huge metal plate doesn't give me trouble.

gettin' there

2011-03-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

One month post op. Doing fine. Rode the trainer with no resistance last night. Was a struggle to get my knee to bend that far. Going to the pool tonight to do some light kicking and laps with a float. Dr. says I can be partial weight bearing in 4 more weeks. Not as bad as 10-12. I'll be walking by the time Jane and I go sailing in the BVI.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) LIVE from Robert Berge on Vimeo.

There goes my comeback season.

2011-03-06T09:17:00.001-08:00

Son of a bitch. Went on a ski trip to Colorado with my wife Jane. Arrived late Wednesday night. Thursday morning, woke up and went to the mountain. Second run and I break my left leg. I've snowboarded for a long time and never ventured into skiing due to the risk of knee injuries. my right knee has been through some surgeries already and I didn't want a repeat. but last season I started skiing and really enjoyed it.
I skied a bunch locally this year at Mt. Lacrosse, - got maybe 10 days in, and I was skiing very well and having a great time. In the accident, I had an awkward slow motion fall. I lost my balance and my right ski was off the ground and I was rotating to my right around my left leg which was still on the snow. I fractured my tibial plateau on the lateral aspect of my left leg. The worse part was is that there was a bunch of depressed bone on the plateau and my lateral meniscus was torn in half.

About a week after the accident I had surgery back in La Crosse. The had to elevate the depressed fragments and sort of piece things back together. In addition, they had to graft underneath the depressed bone fragments so they could be supported by bone. I received a titanium plate and a bunch of screws to hold things together. The photo isn't of my leg but it basically is the same thing.

So now I'm just 1 week post op and doing pretty good. I won't be able to bend the knee for another 3 weeks to allow the torn cartilage to try and heal. I really have no pain at this time. It just sucks being on crutches. Maybe as soon as 10 weeks I'll be able to put partial weight on the leg. That is a long time though. I believe though I'll start PT and working out the leg as soon as I'm allowed to bend it. Also, according to the Dr. as soon as I can make a pedal stroke, I'm free to ride the trainer. Going back to work tomorrow. Luckily my job is mostly sitting down and I can prop my leg up while I work. I already tried it out with Jane - I think it will be ok.

So this means my season is pretty much shot. I'll be riding by summer, but won't have any fitness. We'll see how that goes, but likely won't be doing much racing this year. I was more focused and pumped about having an awesome season on the bike than any time before. Looks like that will get pushed back another year.

The down side to this type of injury is developing arthritis afterwards is almost 100%. Another Dr. made the comment that I will definitely need a knee replacement sometime. Hopefully long time from now. I'm advised to never run or do high impact stuff. I'll do cross again but not this fall, the jumping off the bike might be too much too soon. I can't afford any more injury. At least cycling is the best exercise for bad knees.

Winter

2010-12-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

This spring this blog will begin to become a little more consistent. After a pretty lax late summer and fall I've got the itch to race again. I wanted to race cross more than I did this fall but the travel got to me. If I was in KC, cross would probably be my primary season, but here it's going to have to take a back seat. Now, due to logistics, I'm going to focus on MTB racing and throw in some road where it fits. There are more MTB races in the area than road or cross and the longer length of a MTB race makes traveling 2+ hours more justified. In addition, I think road and crits aren't as much fun as MTB or Cross racing.

The snow has been falling here in Wisconsin, and the cross country skiing is good. It's also more muscularly and aerobically demanding than riding. By far. We skied the Birkie Tour on the famous Birkie Trail in northern Wisconsin. Very pretty, but very tough. Lots of hills and rollers - which in skiing is a lot tougher than climbing hills on a bike. The skiing really keeps my legs strong. While it's not the exact same muscles, it's close enough. I am looking forward to riding weather again - Although I have some snow and cold weather to come before it gets decent outside.

Doing my first gravel race this coming May. The Almanzo 100. 100 miles of gravel, free to race. That should be interesting. I need to get tons of miles in before that one so I don't blow up in the middle of Southeastern Minnesota. Hopefully doing that race will set me up aerobically and with my legs for the rest of the season. I want to get really fast again - kind of like I did 2 summers ago. Since that summer of racing, I really haven't been close in fitness to what I could do. All I did that summer was race myself into shape. This year I hope to race into shape with experience and come out really fast. We'll see.

Hudson cyclocross

2010-10-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

Went up to Hudson, WI for one of the Minnesota cyclocross series races. Saw Nathan Cuka, old teammate from KC who was doing a rotation at the Mayo clinic. Course was fairly crappy. Too many 180's and a mowed path out in some overgrown field. The field section was by far the most uneven terrain I've ever seen on a cross course. It eventually became my demise.

Started second row and had a great start. Settled in about 5th place and was feeling good. By the second lap I had passed a few and gotten passed by some. Was probably about 7th or 8th and the guy in front of me bit it hard on the bumpy field section and I plowed into him going full bore. I went over the bars and laid on the ground for about 15 seconds while I gathered my thoughts and did a system check. Got up and my rear wheel had completely came free from the bike, and it wasn't like I didn't tighten my skewer either. It blew through the brakes as well. The derailleur hanger was bent way out. I started to run back to the pits and as was well in last place. I eventually just stopped and bent it back by hand and was able to get going again. I was far enough back that everytime I came through start/finish that they had to add a lap because they thought the leader was going to lap me - but my victory was that the leader never got me and maybe only put 5-10 seconds into me over 3 laps. I was gaining on Nathan Cuka but never caught him.

So I finished dead last but I finished. TCPC did not represent well. Last place and second to last. My fitness is coming along. There are still some races I'm going to hit up and get some revenge.

On a sadder note, we had to put one of our cats down. Mittens was almost 17 years old and she developed cancer in her throat. She had been losing a bunch of weight and hasn't had much energy of late. It was pretty tough. she was a great pet and a great friend. Easily one of the friendliest cats who loved being next to us. Putting her to sleep was the right thing to do and it would have only gotten worse. She will be missed and the house won't be the same without her.

carson park cross

2010-10-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

decided to skip saturday's cross race and do the sunday race which wasn't as far to drive. this was a first year race and a non sanctioned one at that. no course tape anywhere. just little flags stuck in the ground. this wouldn't have been that bad if it was only in the straightaways or where it was obvious you had to turn. but when you're going fast early in the race it was easy to get off course.

lined up in the "b" race with 20 others. course was a bit weird, some parts were good but some not so good. Defintely too many barriers - one set of 3 barriers and then 4 other individual barriers. That wouldn't have flown in a usac event. The huge amount of barriers really took away from the flow of riding. But what do you expect from a non sanctioned fred cx race. It was still fun in the end and a great workout too.

took off and settled 2nd wheel. I made the pass for first as I wanted to get to the run up which I was riding. rode the run up and put some good time into the chasers. Was joined by one other halfway into the course and we stuck together for the next lap. We had about a 10 second gap until I crashed in the single-track descent. I lost contact from there and he was pretty much gone. I tried to chase back on but was soon caught and had a pretty bad lap where I was suffering and slipped back a few spots. Chased back to a group of two and by the last lap passed one of them. Pretty sure I finished 4th but they have me listed as 5th. Regardless it was good get out and get the legs moving.

Next weekend is the wirth park cross race in minneapolis. there is something like a 80 stair run up. should be interesting. I'm going to run the bluff trails this evening to prepare for that one. should be a good race with big numbers. Fitness is coming along. every race I feel stronger and stronger after a relatively inactive summer of racing. Still looking for that cat 3 podium.

it's been awhile - USGP - planet bike cup

2010-09-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

so...been some time since last post. need to get more consistent, although I'm not sure anyone in WI actually knows I have this blog, probably still just KC folk.
Fall is in full swing here and its been nice. cross has started and it's been rough. Last year I had crazy good fitness from all the racing I did all summer. This summer was so busy with stuff that riding/racing really took a back seat. and when i did ride/race it was generally of poor quality. The roads are great here though for riding. So now cross season has started and although I've got an acceptable amount of fitness, I've got no anaerobic power, which is a problem. Last saturday I did the first race of the WI cyclocross series "No good double cross." The course was ok in design, but it rained a bunch the day before and poured right before the first race went off. So it was pretty muddy. Some people love the mud and say that is what cross is all about, and while i don't mind it that much, i just suck in it. So, out of 37 cat 3 racers who actually finished, I came in 36. Lined up last row and didn't do much from there.

Tried to get motivated for the usgp race in madison the next weekend. did some good rides early and then my right knee went through a bit of a swelling that didn't allow me to really ride thursday, friday, and eventually i decided not to race on saturday and save it for sunday. probably a smart decision. I did however, still make the trip to watch the pro races on saturday. Pretty awesome seeing all the big names in cross tear it up in front of you. walk through the parking lot and see trebon here, molly there, stood right next to katie compton. barry wicks and trebon's bikes are very big by the way. john page is a jackass. saw all the cannondale guys, who are all much smaller in person.

sunday I lined up 5th row of about 9 rows of racers. just under 100 cat 2/3's apparently made the start. the course was pretty awesome, fast, mostly flat, some technical sections and a steep ride up followed by the same hill that you had to run up. took off and made a few passes. probably settled in somewhere 40-50th. so many racers it was tough to find open space at first. rode the first two laps fast, then I just began to fade. got a bit clumsy and had a few crashes, usually involving other people who would slow down or bobble in front of you. At the end of it I was about 7 minutes behind the leader (Andrew Coe from KC). He just about lapped me but I made it out on the final lap. Although I didn't race great, it was still fun and I wish I could ride a course like that again - really nice. I finished 67th out of 85 or something like that. eventually i'll bring it together this season. I just need more races in my legs.

Catching Up

2010-07-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since last post, almost a month ago. Namely moving from kansas city to La Crosse, WI. We've been in the house for about 3 weeks now and are finally getting settled in. A trip to IKEA to buy some much needed furniture helped with the organization. Yesterday Jane and I put in an 8 hour day of yard work which completely drained me. Then I raced at MTB race in the WORS series today. I was still feeling the effects from yesterday. This is a shot of our house, corner lot on a semi busy street but we love it.

Racing wise, I did the tour de grove weekend in st. louis just before we moved to WI. It was really hot. Saturday I apparently finished pretty much mid pack in the cat 2/3 race. Sunday it was hotter and a bit faster. I wasn't feeling good at all and pulled the plug. It's weather like that, that makes me glad we are in WI. the hottest it's been here has been upper 80's. Usually it hovers in the low 80's. Pretty nice. Road riding has been good too. Tons of country roads with crazy tough climbs all over the place. Low traffic and pretty amazing scenery. I'll have to take some pics from a ride and post. Every tuesday night there is a fairly fast group ride that goes out and hammers it. Lots of fast people around here too, not as fast as KC but enough to put you in your place.

The big thing here is MTB racing. The WORS series is the largest MTB series in the nation. 12 races all over the state. There are huge turnouts. The first weekend I was in town I raced the Subaru Cup which was also a stop on the pro circuit. Easily over 500 racers, which is apparently pretty typical of the series. The races are crazy fast too. I've done 2 races now, the subaru cup and then some race today, both in the cat 2 group. Both races I've only managed to finish mid pack of my age group. To race any road or eventually cyclocross I'll have to travel a bit. Still flying the Colavita/Parisi flag though.

Down and Dirty - Warsaw, MO

2010-06-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

Sort of wished I had gone to Tulsa to race, but it would have been a disaster. Didn't ride much the week before and didn't quite have the legs for anything. We did have the plans on meeting my parents in Arkansas for a quick vacation before we move so instead of hitting up Tulsa then AR, I raced some MTB race in warsaw that was pretty much on the way. Rolled in with 1 hour to start and got registered and began to warm up. Never ridden the trails there before so wasn't quite sure what to expect. Lined up with the rest of the cat 2 folks and took off. Settled in 3rd wheel into the singletrack. Early on I felt pretty good and was anxious to get around the 2 in front. Went through a creek crossing and my foot came unclipped and in that mix up got passed by a few riders. Got going pretty quick and made a few passes and tried to pass again only to body check a tree on my right. The tree threw me to the ground and again I lost a few more. Left knee took a bit of a beating on that wreck.

Eventually got around most of the riders and by then there were 2 off the front. Stayed like that for the whole first lap when another rider came up from behind to me. We started the second lap together but my legs were fading fast. He eventually rode away from me and I finished 4th overall in the sport, and 1st in the age group of not many riders. It will be a different game once I get the stock wheels on the MTB switched out. Those things weigh a ton. Volker got me a set of Stans crest 29ers which i'll run tubeless. Should be a lot faster.

Good video

2010-05-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

saw this video and had to share it. Makes you want to go out and ride.

2009 CONTINENTAL IN RETROSPECT from RAPHA on Vimeo.

Moving to Wisconsin

2010-05-12T15:35:00.001-07:00

So I graduated this past weekend and Jane and I will be headed to La Crosse, WI. Nice city on the Mississippi r. The metro area population is probably close to 100k. Decent bike community from what I've seen/heard/researched. Definitely doesn't have a race scene like KC - that for me is the biggest drawback but a fair compromise when it comes time to get a job and pay some bills down. We're about 2.5 hours from Minneapolis (excellent race and cross scene) and 2.5 from Madison, WI - equally good racing and cyclocross. That just leaves a bit of driving if we plan on racing any - which we will. At least for this season I'll try to salvage some fitness for the summer and concentrate on cyclocross.
Legs are finally coming around a bit. Did tuesday night crit this week and although i didn't do too much, felt comfortable. We'll see what races I do in the next month. Unfortunately I have to be in Rolla this weekend and miss the auburn RR. Although there is racing in nearby Ft. Wood and Newburg there is a conveniently scheduled brunch for Jane and I during the time of the RR. There is a crit on saturday but it is way overpriced at $45 and only paying out 3 spots for cat 3. If you pre-reg it was $35. But $45? Damn ridiculous.

thinking about iowa races memorial day weekend. Tulsa tough, we'll see. The upside to moving to La Crosse is that I can cross country ski in the winter. Also the terrain around the area is pretty good for riding. Lots of bluffs to climb up. One block from where we'll be living is a 2 mile climb that goes up almost 700 feet. The riding seems to be either completely flat or going up or down a coulee, no rollers to speak of. In a 30 mile ride you can climb 2000 feet though.

It will be good to move on and get started working but it definitely sucks to leave all the friends Jane and I have made. Who knows what will happen long term. We could maybe come back one day, and I'll tear up some spring flings and perry dam races.

Bonebender MTB

2010-04-18T18:09:00.000-07:00

With the only road racing being in Hermann, MO a 3 hour MTB race in Smithville sounded pretty fun. Options for racing were a 3 hour or 6 hour race. Do as many laps as you can in the time frame. Since Joe A. is mending a bum knee I took the opportunity to steal his MTB from him since I don't have a MTB of my own. If you have to borrow a bike from someone, this is the kind of bike you want. Spooky frame, 1x9 gears with grip shift, nice set of tubeless wheels and tires, SID team fork. The whole package had to weigh around 22 lbs. Thanks Joe. I went into the race thinking I was just going to ride a good pace, stay within myself and have fun. I figured top half would be a good result considering I haven't ridden a MTB in almost 2 years.
LeMans start, got out really slow, near the back. Was pretty much riding single file behind someone the whole first lap it was so congested. Didn't really work too hard the first lap, when I came through the pit I stopped and added some air to a soft rear tire, got a drink and was off. 1 hour 6 minutes. Got out on the second lap with some room to ride and just started hammering it. Caught right back up to the group I was with but eventually made the pass. Was riding really well, went down once and dropped the chain another time. Came through at 2:08. Had lots of room to ride once again and was going good. Legs started to feel a bit heavy. Some cramping came on and dropped the chain again. Came upon a group of guys that included teammate Brad W. who was racing the 6 hour solo race. I had seen him after the first lap when he was about 5 minutes ahead so I knew I was doing good. Rode with them for a bit and by the finish line passed them all. Ended up finishing 4th overall in the 3 hour under 35 category at 3 hours 10 minutes. Was really happy and surprised. Britton was the next fastest a couple minutes ahead of me. First place was really fast and second was only a minute ahead of Britton. Britton did have a bunch of mechanical though. The way I see it, Britton should have had second and I should have had 3rd. Next year.

Overall good day. Legs were in agony after race. 35 miles of singletrack is about the equivalent of 70 on the road, maybe more. Will sleep good tonight.

Humble pie tastes like crap

2010-04-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Bazaar RR. Did this race last year, only in the 4/5 category. Did well. This year in the Cat 3 field. Not so well. The only disclaimers I will make are that it was a combined 1/2/3 field and I just clinical boards the day before. Other than that I'm just not in good racing form yet. I knew that going in and my goal was to not get dropped.
The race is an out and back one way and then out and back the other direction. only 48 miles total. At about mile 14-15 I was blowing up. We started getting into some of the rolling hills and the pace was too quick for me. Off the back I went. I ended up calling it at the end of the first out and back which was mile 32.

Will get some more riding in before auburn RR in 2 weeks.

Riding and stuff

2010-04-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

Finally able to get a few good days of riding in. Weather has been good lately, although it has been very windy. Just now putting in some bigger efforts on rides. Did my first spring fling on saturday. It was a good day to ride, that's about all i can say about that day. My goal going into it was to just get a good workout. Wasn't too interested in killing myself or anything like that. Not much pop in the legs at this time, so when riders started launching to bridge a small gap I stayed. Thinking it would come back together I looked around me and realized that wasn't going to happen. Eventually 2 bike shack racers who were off the front, Kent Woerman included, lapped us and they dragged us back to the group.

Winter riding

2010-03-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

Been busy with job searching, traveling for job interviews, getting stuff in order to graduate, and the biggest - getting ready to take clinical boards. Oh yeah, I'm also getting married in less than 2 weeks. So it's been a busy winter, which has made riding pretty tough. Still building some base fitness and am realistically a month away from being close to fast. Just got done riding the GOTHR ride. 45 miles and I was struggling to keep up. not sure when my first race will be. This time last year I had been pretty busy with spring flings and perry dam race but I've been opting out of those. It'll come around soon enough. After I graduate, I'll have about a 6 weeks before I can actually begin working due to licensing etc. Plan on doing a lot of riding and racing during that time.

music

2010-01-14T15:55:00.001-08:00

First time I've posted anything music related on here. Probably the best version of this song I've heard live. Nothing really comes close to SRV on guitar.

The off-season - plus bonus video

2010-01-09T20:46:00.000-08:00

After the cross race on Dec. 5th I've slid into a non bike mode. I've occasionally spun around but not much else. Got back in the pool and weight room. Pretty depressing how much upper body strength I've lost in the almost 2 years of not lifting seriously. I've shed what amounts to about 20 lbs. of muscle mass to my current hovering weight of 160. Went on a few runs but it's been pretty cold lately.

I also had a 3 week cram session for the second half of my national board exam which I took in mid December. I'm about 99.9% I passed, I just have to receive my scores to confirm. I've only got one more semester left and it will consist of preparing for my clinical board exam and job searching. Jane and I could really end up anywhere - Wisconsin, Colorado, Oregon, or stay put for a couple years. We'll see what happens.

We just got back from a week in Colorado. It was pretty nice and got to enjoy a few days on the slopes. I mostly snowboard but did get on the skis for a day. The video is of a cruiser run on peak 7 at Breck. Jane was following on skis. It was one of only a few runs that would allow for decent filming while holding a camera in hand. Had great snow that day but it was frigid cold. I don't think it got above 0 degrees above the tree line all day. Had an interesting time going up the T-bar when it stopped mid-way. The wind was blowing pretty stiff and by the time I made the peak I had to run into the ski patrol shack to warm up. Once inside a ski patroler kindly let me know that some frost had formed on the tip of my nose and advised me to let that warm up. The snow was worth it though. 8 inches provides enough powder to do about anything you want. Bombing the steeps with fresh snow is about as good as it gets. The one thing about breck is it's pretty crowded - but probably deservedly so. It does get tracked out relatively quick. On good snow days it's a race to find the good snow before it's gone. We spent some time at keystone as well but in my opinion there isn't enough variation in terrain there. They do have some long and consistently steep groomers though.
Jane and I also ice skated on the largest outdoor ice rink - I think it was 5 acres.

So beginning tomorrow I'll drag myself to the trainer to begin what is my second season of bike racing. Cat 3 road should be interesting - I'll try to prepare as best I can but it will be a busy spring and summer for me. On the list is getting married, graduating from D. school, finding a job/beginning practicing. My goal is to just keep improving. I'm am really looking forward to next cross season as well. Should be good.

De Stad Cup - it was muddy.

2009-11-16T19:40:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-08T14:36:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-02T17:31:00.000-08:00

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 ?

2009-10-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

raced today with miserable results. taking next week off.

Shit Sandwich

2009-10-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-19T16:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-13T17:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-07T14:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-08-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-28T18:52:00.001-07:00

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)

2009-06-27T20:55:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-27T08:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-15T07:39:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-31T15:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-17T19:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2009-04-29T15:42:00.001-07:00

Velotek Grand Prix - Womens Crit
(she was ok)

Movin' Up

2009-04-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

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)

2009-04-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

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.

Spring Fling

2009-04-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

Last spring fling of the series......too bad I just now am coming into form. Race started out nice, keeping good position behind the mass of bike shack racers. Sprint lap came up, lost touch of the leading group of 3, but finished took 4th in no mans land with the rest of the field trailing. Was able to recover over the next 2 laps, and save up for the final sprint. Got to the last part of the course before the finish and tried squeeze by a rider on the inside so i could launch my sprint but I was blocked out and had to relaunch a late sprint on the outside, came around the majority of the riders in front of me but then got blown by some guy from the back, and had a photo finish for second place........judges went to the video and I got beat by a fraction-3rd place.

We got the tuesday night crit practice started now, racing in the B group. Jane and all the ladies are also racing during the same time, although it's all broken up with riders all over the place. Although it's fairly informal finished first with a huge sprint off the front.

Talked jane into racing the final sprint fling with me. She raced first with the womens 4's, and then again with the 3/4 group. In the first race two ladies went off the front and she settled in with a group of 3 that were trailing. was just out of contention on the sprint lap, and broke away from the 3 on the final lap. she almost caught the leading 2 who were slowing down before their sprint, but finished 3rd. Ended up taking 4th b/c of the no points on the sprint. In her 3/4 race she was just there for the fitness. Race was over twice as long as the 4 race and she ended up in 5th or 6th. Good day for her.

Next week is the bazaar road race and on sunday jane is running a 10k in the morning and racing an all womens crit at noon, we'll see how that goes.

A Tale of Two Races

2009-04-05T11:24:00.001-07:00

Saturday had the spring fling crit. Didn't get much time to ride the previous week and a half because i was tied down with school, so i was unsure if i lost any fitness or whatever. The course was expanded this week to include a few more turns which made it much more fun. The corners were really fast and it helped spread out the group. If you can be near the front going into those chicanes you could hit the finish line well ahead of the group.
So we rolled out, motored around for a couple laps and it was time for the sprint lap. I was sitting 4th or 5th when we entered the chicanes, no one was attacking and the pace was slow, waiting for someone to go....so I went. Jumped off the front, hamered through the final 3 or 4 corners, I guess someone was on my wheel because they passed me with about 25 meters to the line, and almost got passed again (I thought the guy beat me for second but the judges gave me 2nd for the sprint), So that was a nice little victory, first time I have scored points in this series. I spent the next 2 laps trying to recover. final laps and i was getting stuck out in the wind, still feeling a bit tired, finished at the back of our front group, but had enough points overall to place me 4th for the race. Fellow colavita/parisi rider steve v. was right behind in 5th place.

So today (sunday) was the joe sheehan road race in leavenworth, ks. 50 miles, out on the road. Was hoping the weather would hold out for low 40's and windy with clouds. About 30 minutes before the start it began to rain. This pretty much was worst case scenario, you're all layered up and if you get wet you're carrying an extra 10 pounds of wet clothes. It was only sprinkling so i stayed with what i was wearing hoping it would pass through. So we rolled out, and as soon as the speeds started picking up, water on the roads was getting sprayed everywhere, my shoes were soaked, leg warmers were soaked, jersey, gloves everything. I continued for maybe 5 miles like that before i decided to pull out. Definetly my lowest point in my short career thus far. Mentally I just wasn't in it, and when you're not motivated like that it's hard to ride 45 more miles at race pace. My body never got a chance to warm up....it sucked. So i turned around and rode back with a 20-25mph tailwind which was nice. Talked to fellow teammate Brad, he pulled out as well and i guess it stared sleeting at one point. It was tough man conditions and I wasn't up for it.

Jane's new wheels

2009-03-29T18:01:00.000-07:00

Since Jane's entrance into the bike racing world two weeks ago, we identified several items on her road bike that were due for an upgrade to make her more competitive. We were looking at putting a few hundred dollars here and there with the help of britton over at volker bike shop

However, take the amount we were going to put in for upgrades, plus the money from selling her old bike, we could get a new bike with our team discount for only a couple hundred more...an easy decision.
This will give her a nice platform to grow on. Get a lighter wheelset down the line and you have a decent race bike for pretty cheap.

2009 ventura race femme

last weekends races

2009-03-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

A little late on the update from last weekend. this weekends races got snowed out so i've got some time to catch up.

Spring fling last saturday was good. Had a big field starting, about 35 riders. The prime lap got moved back to lap 6 so there was some time to settle in before the speed picked up. Was feeling good, managing to stay with pack. Was out of contention on the prime lap. was maybe just a few spots out of scoring points. But this time I didn't make the mistake of sitting in and letting a gap form between me and the lead group. with about 3 laps to go the wheel i was riding on started struggling, i sat there for a second thinking he could close the gap that had just formed but he never did. Went around for about 1/2 lap waiting for one of the 3-4 guys I was with to attempt to bridge. that never came so i decided i had to go. Definetly burned a match on that effort which left me trying to recover for the last lap. There were riders all over the place at that point, with myself hanging on the back of the front 10. Final lap came in and tried to put in an effort but still couldn't make up any positions. Finished at the back of the front group. Good learning experience and still gaining fitness.
The highlight of saturday was watching Joe in the older cat 5 group take 3rd place. He came around the last corner in the lead of a 2 man breakaway. He later said he knew he couldn't sprint with those guys so that was his only chance. The guy who was sucking his wheel got first and another rider just nicked him for second. Still very exciting though!

Sunday was the final of the perry dam series. Team Colavita/Parisi definetly did some damage! Dan Oldehoeft won the cat 5 open series, Britton K. won the cat 3 series, Brad Williams won the cat 4 series (eventhough they didn't recognize it). In the first race of the series, brad won the overall but somehow got scored in the back of the cat 3's, not winning the cat 4's which is what he did. Long story short, they tried to correct the situation but some other riders threw fits so they decided to leave it alone. Brad, only scoring points for 2 of the 3 races was able to take 3rd place for the series eventhough he deserved 1st.
Jane racing in her second race in the beginner cat 4, took first and managed to take the 1st place overall series having only raced in 2 of the 3 races. So now she's hooked and we've got her officially registerd with usa cycling as a team rider, got her a kit, and managed to sell her road bike on friday with a new race bike coming in this week. Watch for good things to come from her! She could be a very competitive cat3/4 racer.
so in my race we had myself with Steve, Joe, and the new rider Phil for team Colavita. I was feeling really good about this race. I knew starting that my biggest competition would be this guy I knew from dental school. He graduated last year and is apparently a rediculous athlete. First lap around was tame, came to the hill for the mountain goat points and we all stayed together until the last moment. The guy I knew from school sprinted it out and he took first and I grabbed second. The next 2 laps were fairly relaxed, take it easy, try to stay out of the wind and conserve energy for the final hill. I still had Joe and Steve with me who were offering themselves to help me win. Problem was that there really wasn't much they could do. No matter what happened it would come down to the final hill between me and the other guy. In retrospect steve or joe could have launched an attack by themselves and made the other guy chase him down to try to burn up his energy. Well, final hill and the other guy takes off. I'm right on his wheel, seeing if he's going to tire out. We get to the final 50 meters and I'm cooked. I look back and don't see anyone so I sit down and spin it out for second. Racing only 2 races I took 3rd for the series. It was however, the beginner cat 5's. Should have raced open 5's but saving $50 by racing in the beginners was something I had to do.

long day on bike

2009-03-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

legs feel tired. just got done with 3.5 hours in the saddle. ended up somewhere near 45 miles. Stopped at about 35 miles and met up with brad, matt and steve for the hill drill workout. Grabbed a quick snickers and protein bar at the hen house while waiting for them to get suited up. Was only able to complete 3 laps of the hill circuit, legs were fading fast, plus the rain started to fall and I wanted to get home. The ride back was cold and wet.
Have to present at the midwest dental conference tomorrow which translates to 4 straight hours of standing up. I needed to get a good ride in before the weekend. Friday will be cold and saturday colder with rain, maybe snow. Probably not going to race spring fling on saturday, but we have the bazaar road race in kansas on sunday. Sunny with high of 55, and 50 miles of pain. should be good though. Not sure how my body will handle the long distance. I'm going to skip the regular cat 5 race (30 miles) and race the 4/5's with the rest of my team. If i'm going to drive that far i might as well ride the longer race. I'll let you know how things go.

Spring fling / Perry Dam

2009-03-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

Was looking to improve on my performance in the spring fling crit from last weekend. The pace seemed up a bit from last week...must have been Matt and John cranking it out up front. Matt by the way has won every cat 5 race he's entered this season. I think he's making the jump to cat 4 for next weekends races. Anyway, during prime lap halfway through, i didn't chase with the front of the group and pretty much fell back thinking I could get back on. Well that never happened and spent the remaining laps with a group of 4 or so. Sooner or later I end up in contention at the finish line. Still improving fitness and learning at the same time.

Decided to go out to the perry dam race on sunday, talked Jane into coming out there as well to race in her first race. Rolled out and the group pretty much stayed together until we came around to the hill. People started dropping off pretty quick. Came across the line in third and picked up the last of the points. Tried to sit in for the rest of the race until the final hill at the end. Was able to finish the race in 3rd passing another rider with about 30 feet to go.

Jane mangaged to take all the points in her catergory and come out with the win. We may have to get her official with the team now!

Dan Oldehoeft took the mountain points and the win in the Cat 5 race. Got to watch a bit of the Cat 3's and 4's before we had to take off. Brad Williams totally dropped the field on the prime lap of the 4's. That guy can climb like goat. I think he's leading the points for the perry dam series. Britton is holding strong in cat 3. He's somewhere in the top in overall points (maybe 3rd). Glad to see everyone with Team Colavita/Parisi Coffee doing so well. We've got a strong group of riders and for a first year team we will do some damage this year. Watch out for our cat 4 group, with Dan Oldehoeft and Matt upgrading, we'll have a bunch of great riders to get some wins.

First race in the books!

2009-03-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

Had my first race of the spring fling crit series in Lawrence, KS. Overall I'd say the day went fairly well. I didn't crash and I didn't go off the back in the first couple laps which was my goal. Had a little bit of pre race jitters.....still trying to find a good warm up routine, figure out when and what I need to eat and drink pre race so I can just go when the race starts. Started the race with my teammate Steve V. We were the only 2 Colavita racers in our Cat 5 group. First couple laps were fairly fast and chaotic. A couple riders attacked right from the gun which had everyone strung out all over the place. Finally bridged up with the leaders and tried to settle in. A few riders were already falling off, although I don't feel like the pace was that high. Spent the good portion of the short race moving up and down through the main group, trying to stay near the front. Felt really comforatble through all the corners, I guess my crazy motorcycle background prepared me for tight corners in a pack. On the last 2 laps the pace started to slow up, and I found myself in the front with a couple guys fighting for my wheel. This went on for about a lap and a half and I was never able to get out of the wind as everyone was content to stay back. 1/2 lap to go and people started breaking and I just didn't have the legs to stay up. Took the last corner trailing the leading group of 5 or so and was laboring pretty good. Got passed by a few more in the final stretch and pretty much coasted through the finish line. Ended up not scoring any points for the race. Still have a lot to learn and need to work on sprinting. Looking forward to next week though.

The Bonk Memoirs

enter the off season

WEMS Championships - Levis Mound

Chequamegon 40 recap and picture dump

I won.

WORS - Camrock

there is no going back

WORS Firecracker

Wheelhouse Classic and CAMBA

long ride

Still working.

Riding and stuff

I'm back!

Making progress

gettin' there

There goes my comeback season.

Winter

Hudson cyclocross

carson park cross

it's been awhile - USGP - planet bike cup

Catching Up

Down and Dirty - Warsaw, MO

Good video

Moving to Wisconsin

Bonebender MTB

Humble pie tastes like crap

Riding and stuff

Winter riding

music

The off-season - *plus bonus video*

De Stad Cup - it was muddy.

HPT and Veterans Cross

Boss Cross #3

Rest ?

Shit Sandwich

Capital Cup and Boulevard Cup

Nowhere to go but down. - Chris cross

Boss Cross 1 & 2

Diamond Blackfan Cross

KC Cup Cross

Tour of Missouri

Cat 3

Dirty Dalia

Stuff

Appendix

Good read

Jane Adams - killing it.

Queen City Crits and coming attractions

Cross

Omaha Race Weekend

Tour of Lawrence

Tour of KC - Power and Light Crit

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

Tour of KC - Longview Criterium

MO State RR Champs

Kansas State Championship

must be the shoes

Iowa Racing

Auburn RR

Turn the page

Down Time

Velotek Grand Prix Weekend

Colavita/Parisi Photo Of The Year!!!

Movin' Up

Girl's Crit (Jane)

Bazaar RR

Spring Fling

A Tale of Two Races

Jane's new wheels

last weekends races

long day on bike

Spring fling / Perry Dam

First race in the books!

The off-season - plus bonus video