5 yrs old, blue bicycle, crack on the sidewalk....

Making up for it

2011-10-31T20:31:00.000-04:00

I raced in 0 road races this season due to lack of interest since I wasn't able to race my key races. Now I have done 9 CX races and looking forward to another 2 months of CX! Hope to make a long trip out to Indiana for a December cross and possibly over to PA as well.

For anyone that likes to ride but has never tried a Cyclocross race, try it! I don't think it is possible to like to ride a bike and not like to race cyclocross. Maybe next year the season will move back into August, why not?

Halloween CX
Day 1 involved me having a horrible first half of the race, I couldn't seem to stay on the bike. I was not pedaling smartly and instead was spinning out in corners, wasting energy, and my rear brake was hanging up. That resulted in me slipping backwards throughout the race but not completely separated. I went from irritated to laughing:

The last 2 laps I settled down and starting thinking while I was pedaling instead of just grinding away. That resulted in me pulling past a few riders, staying upright, and ended with a 4th place finish in a small B2 field.

My plan for Sunday was to not make the same mistakes as yesterday and instead pedal efficiently and push hard on the small bumps but get quick recoveries in the other sections. I was feeling good and only made a few small mistakes until I crossed the bridge leading up to road and was able to pass a rider who fell in the water. I then made the turn up by the road and felt my rear tire go flat. With no spares in the tire pit (stupid) I rode half the field thinking about options to realize I had none so DNF for me on day 2. When can the mental part align with good luck and the physical part to produce a good finish?

Climbs with Character

2011-07-25T21:59:00.001-04:00

On a group ride this Sunday around Thompson I was reminded of how much I like to climb roads with some character. Some climbs are fun while others are just work. To me the fun climbs are those that actually offer something besides just an road with a positive grade. Some climbs I find not fun include Fairmount east of river road, Mentor rd, basically any climb with many cars that is out in the open and is straight. Some of the climbs that I have been on locally on the east side that have character to them include:

Berkshire Rd. - Gates Mills: A 1 3/4 mi climb with great character. It has a few curves, great houses lining the road, low traffic, tree cover throughout much of the climb, and changing grades throughout. This is probably my favorite climb although it could be made better if there were a few steeper sections.

Sperry Rd - North of Arboretum: about 1/2 mile climb but has everything including steep sections (12%+), rarely any cars, narrow somewhat beat up road, full tree cover, incline hits you then lets up and then hits again, and a valley beside it that gives you an idea of how much you have climbed on the short 1/2 mile section of road.

Durkee Rd - turn east off of 608 in Burton: short .4 mile climb but hits 10-12% briefly and climbs 200ft on dirt and gravel. Even though it is straight and doesn't have much cool scenery it doesn't need them because it is dirt and gravel. One of my favorites to do in the spring.

Climbs with character in PA:

Ligonier Pike then 271 - off of 985 just south of Johnstown PA: 5 mi climb with 1/2 of it in the shade, great views for most of the ride, rarely see a car until you get to 271, average grade of 4-5% but finishes with 8-9% sections. This is by far my favorite climb but its a 3 hour drive from Chardon.

Linn Run Rd - Linn Run State Park, PA: another 5 mile climb with average around 4-5% but not the steep sections of Ligonier Pike. Road starts with good pavement but then alternates from broken pavement to a silt surface depending on what time of year. Follows a river throughout the duration of the hill with incredible views. Very light traffic, narrow road, and one section around mile 4 that pitches up to 8-9% for a few hundred feet. Not a real difficult climb but definitely a memorable one with plenty of character.

Please share any others I have missed that are around Cleveland (especially if they are riding distance from Chardon).

Lack of fitness

2011-05-22T21:15:00.000-04:00

Its nearing the end of May and my fitness is not where it was last year and just my overall bike confidence is low. Since it was raining this morning I decided to use the time to compare 2010 to 2011 YTD. By this time in 2010 I had 44 rides in, 1,000 miles, and 45,000ft of climbing; 18 more rides, 400 more miles, and 20,000ft more of climbing than this year. Time for a long weekend of riding in the Laurel Highlands. Hopefully I will find some useful purpose this year for the future fitness since I am not able to ride any of the TOTV races this year *sucks*.

Roubaix 2011

2011-04-11T12:59:00.001-04:00

This was my 2nd year participating in the Behren's Roubaix ride. Completely new course departing from Orwell and double the riders from last year. We started off pretty casual as the route led us south. Then the first section of dirt/gravel hit and the pace increased. There were quite a few strong and already in decent shape riders in the field. I tested my fitness by staying with the lead group on every push early on. I started checking my HR and noticed 180-186 being displayed for sustained periods. Amazing how riding fast on crappy roads takes your attention away from your legs screaming and your HR approaching max. The groups would split up but then come back together throughout the ride.

The roads were a mix of pavement with lightly graveled roads thrown in throughout. There was no thick gravel except in a few small patches and not much mud either. Made for fast riding and constant attention being required to miss the nasty stuff scattered throughout. There was also a hill on Warner Hollow Rd just off of 534 that was interesting. Road was rough and narrow, hill was curvy, and the look of the area reminded me of area of the house from Psycho.

I was able to ignore the pain throughout most of the ride until around mile 25. My legs started cramping and I decided enough with riding with the lead group.

Ended up with 35.8 miles (which includes us going the wrong direction to only have riders behind us laughing as they made the right turn) no flats, no wrecks for me, only minor falls for other riders, and drawing giveaways along with beverages and fruit at the end. What a deal for $0 to ride! I am left with same feeling from last year, can't wait for the next Roubaix ride.

Dang it

2010-11-21T21:14:00.002-05:00

Words that seem to flow easily off my tongue today.

Perfect day for cyclocross with temp in the high 50s, sun out, and a large participation. I arrived at the Kirtland Park before 11 for my 12:45 race to ride the course and figure out any challenging sections. The course was quite a bit different than last year, all for the better in my opinion. I slapped the ground on the amphitheater on the pre-ride of the course and that seemed to set the tone for the day. I was hoping for a decent result as I have been actually riding my bike besides races (well 1 day a week) so part of my fitness has came back over the last few weeks.

Lap 1 began and I was caught up in traffic with about 30 riders in front. Safely down the hill, around the high speed corner, and then the slight uphill around the tree. To the right was a concrete barrier on the side that caught my attention. That 1 sec of fear coupled with the group bunched up caused me to oversteer and come down hard on my shoulder. That was definitely my nastiest CX crash and one that is still causing pain.

I get back on and start working my way past riders when crash #2 happens on the amphitheater by the tree. That combines with a chain drop and riders passing me by. Back up and pulling pack a few positions. I then start hearing my rear wheel bouncing around in the frame. On the run up the steps I look to see my rear skewer bouncing around and only my brakes grasping my tire and keeping the wheel from falling out. I stop and adjust the skewer, few more positions pass.

Then on the 2nd to last lap I nearly fall down the steps while trying to ride up the dirt on the side. Another dropped chain and few positions.

Dang it to wrecking all over the place at a great course, on the last race of the series, with perfect weather, some fitness back, and the family there.

After 2 great courses back to back, I still have the CX itch. Will look to scratch it in PA at the 2 races in Raccoon Township coming up.

Start at the back?

2010-10-25T19:23:00.000-04:00

My little cyclocross experience has taught me quickly that you need to start near the front to have a good chance of finishing near the front. Going into the race in Elyria on Sunday I planned for this. Instead of just moderately clipping in and get going, I instead focused on a quick clip in and sprint to the hill. I managed to round the 180 on the hill around 7th. This all seemed good until my body told my mind that my fitness is 100% gone. I couldn't make power on the road, I was slow in the soft stuff, and then I gave up climbing the hill. I got passed, and passed, and passed by what seemed like hundreds of riders. I continued drifting backwards and telling myself how bad I suck in the fall and am horrible at cyclocross. I ended up not having much fun at this race.

Now looking back, my biggest mistake was learning from experience. I instead should have started at the back and worked my way forward. I wouldn't of had a chance to compete with the top 10 but I probably would have finished higher than 40th or whatever and would have had more fun. So for all those that suck like me, take my advice and start at the back and then work forward. Much better winning small battles then losing everything.

The incline

2010-08-22T09:14:00.000-04:00

I spent the last week in Colorado staying with a friends family that live on the base area of Pikes Peak at 8,500 ft. It took a full day to get used to the elevation, including going to the top of Pikes Peak on the first day (14,110 ft).
As we were driving in to the house we were told about 'the incline' . It is a former route that use to take people part way up a mountain from Manitou Springs and now all that is left is the clearing with the old wood that supported the incline. It starts at 6,250ft and climbs up to 8,250ft. The guy we were staying with climbs it on a regular basis and basically said we weren't allowed to come home until we attempted it. After doing the tackle the tower climb twice, I knew I didn't really want to attempt this. For comparison:

Tackle the tower: 640 steps, 500 ft elevation increase, starts at 550ft above sea level
The incline: 2700 steps, 2000 ft elevation increase, starts at 6250ft above sea level (avg grade 40%, steepest grade 68%)

Here is a picture from the town below of the entire incline path:

The property is actually private and every person going up is trespassing but it isn't strictly enforced so you see quite a few people attempting it including Olympians such as Apolo Ohno. It is definitely a humbling workout as there is no way to run or even jog up the incline. If you attempt to the hill will quickly shut that down. The worst things about this grueling workout are:

The railroad ties that make up the steps are not evenly spaced, so very hard to get a rhythm
There is metal stakes that stick up about the ties that could rip open your chins if not careful
About 2/3 the way up sits a complete false summit. You can't see the rest of the trail until you reach this false summit so you can imagine how bad of a feeling it is to realize how much longer you have
No water at the top and didn't attempt to try and carry water with us. 4 miles jog down a side trail to get back to the car.

Hopefully this workout will make up for the lack of bike training I have been doing in the last 2 weeks.

Here is a pic of us taking a breather after cresting a steep section:

Almost mainstream

2010-06-15T12:43:00.004-04:00

Last week I was talking with some casual friends and the one was inquiring how much I ride, what type of bikes, and how many bike races I do a year. He rides on a hybrid bike and likes to use bike paths and the towpath. We talk about climbing hills and how difficult that can be. He inquires into how many miles do I ride a year. He then asks 'So what do you do for a cardio workout, run?' I look at him for a second, baffled, and realize he means what he is asking. 'Nope, just ride my bike' and I leave it at that.

Just as that experience further reinforced that our bicycle racing sport is a niche sport, I came across an article in a old ESPN the Magazine at my barber shop. The article was about one of the ESPN authors hearing about the 'The World Sauna Competition' in Finland and deciding to give it a try. The competition is made up of several heats with each starting at 230 degrees F and going up from there! There is a champion that wins it almost every year, t.v. coverage, and sponsors involved with the competition. Winners and losers leave the competition with skin boils and torched lungs. It is unreal what people will compete it. Cycling seems mainstream compares to these 'sports'.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46235000/jpg/_46235826_sauna_afp766.jpg

Diggin the Dirt

2010-04-25T15:35:00.004-04:00

I went out for a solo ride on Saturday to explore some new roads that I have never rode on. I decided the area I would explore is the east side of East Branch Reservoir in Burton. I turned onto Durkee off of 608 and the road quickly goes from pavement to mainly dirt with a little gravel. There weren't any big hills on the dirt roads but enough rollers to get the pace above 25mph. I then turned left on Townline road, used 322 to jump down to Hunt Rd, then took Huntley road which was probably my favorite dirt section.

Intersection of Hunt and Huntley

Huntley heading west climbs 200ft on dirt then descends slowly back down after crossing Clay. Ended up with 12-15 miles of dirt/gravel riding. I didn't flat until coming back into Chardon on paved roads.

Behrens' crappy road ride

2010-04-12T21:53:00.003-04:00

30 miles (of which only 15 were paved), 11 flats, many dogs, lots of gravel, roads that didn't require speed limits, a cow spooked and running from 11 cyclists riding through their fields, rear wheel needs trued again, and a town limit sign sprint to finish it off = A summary of the Rock Creek/Roubaix ride that Jim Behrens coordinated this year. Crappy describes the roads, the ride was not crappy.

This was my first year attending and I luckily slept in too long to still make the 1 hr drive and 9am start for the Covered Bridge race so instead made the 30 min drive to Rock Creek. I am glad I did, not only was the ride a classic but the 10 others that showed made the time even better and having a support vehicle made it almost seem pro. What a perfect lead-in to the racing season: a no stress, unique ride along new roads that kept everyone thinking. Can't wait for the 2011 ?/Roubaix ride. Now looking forward to next weekend with RATL on Saturday and Covered Bridge on Sunday, lets hope for dry weather.

A bike ride in Vegas

2010-04-07T23:13:00.002-04:00

In case anyone is planning a trip to Vegas, I wanted to post my experience in renting a bike and doing a ride there.

I spent a long easter weekend in Vegas this year and researched a bike shop prior to arriving to rent a bike from and routes to ride. I ended up picking McGhie's based on online reviews and their website information. A few items I needed to work out:

1. What did I need to bring to rent a bike there: Just need your cycling clothes and shoes. But I would recommend bringing your pedals as I did because it is easy and they don't guarantee they will have pedals available to match your shoes.
2. How to get to the bike shop: I didn't rent a car and the shop is about 8 miles off the vegas strip. I was going to get a taxi but instead realized the metro buses have a stop right by the shop. I ended up using google maps on my iphone and its public transit maps and schedule. It directed me to get on a bus right by the vegas strip, pay $2 each way or $5 for a day pass, and ride the bus for 30 minutes to the shop. If you have never used google maps public transit option, i recommend you trying it next time you are in a big city. It provides to the minute bus arrival and departure times, based off their schedule, and made finding a bus and knowing when to get off a snap. If you don't have a internet capable phone you can plan it online but doesn't give you the flexibility to pick different times if you find yourself getting to the stop at different time than you predicted.

I arrived at the shop on Saturday at noon without making reservations online and had no problem getting a bike my size to rent. Their standard bike is a Cannondale Synapse 5 and costs $40 per day. Included in the rental is a tool bag with pump, spare tubes, and multi tool kit. You also get a helmet.

I found on mapmyride.com a route from the an area near the bike shop through the Red Rock Canyon road area:

http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/nevada/red-rock-canyon

The bike shop had printed maps that take you right to this area so that made it even easier. The route is very safe except for a moderately busy road right by the bike shop. You ride out to the area on a slight uphill the entire way but nothing significant. The loop in red rock canyon park is 13 miles with many twisty curvers. Its a 2 lane, one-way road with good pavement and very safe conditions. It is a popular cyclist area and due to how scenic the area is cars are traveling at a pace barely faster than a cyclist. It cost cars $5 to enter this park area but free for cyclists. The first 4 miles is almost continuous climbing, but nothing too steep. Then the loop becomes a little rolling for a few miles, and then is mainly downhill. You then arrive back at the main road back into town which includes a wide shoulder for cycling traffic and it is mainly downhill.

Overall the route was 35 miles. The scenery is incredible as you are riding at the base of the mountains on the west side of Vegas and the red rock canyon area includes many deep canyons off to the side of the road which make the area so popular. You don't actually climb into the mountains but definitely get a work-out.

I would recommend at least renting a bike on your next Vegas vacation or business trip. It was well worth the small hassle of catching a bus to the shop and back and loosing 4 hours or so of Vegas Strip time.

From healthy to ill in 00:04:42

2010-02-08T12:50:00.003-05:00

I arrived at Tackle the Tower in Cleveland on Saturday completely healthy (physically at least). I lined up 2nd person to go and got to the finish on the 37th floor in 4 minutes and 42 seconds then promptly sat down to catch my breath. I tried getting up but could only walk 10 or so steps before having to sit down because of feeling sick. That cool down took 45 minutes before I felt ok again. I finally made it back down to the lobby of the Galleria to gather my belongings and then headed home. By this point I was feeling ok but not 100%.

Around 2pm I started feeling sick again and my stomach cramped up, I started a fever along with a severe headache, and my lower back was aching. I went from warm bath to bed for a few hours with getting close to having my wife take me to the E.R.

On Sunday the pain went away but now I am left with cold like symptons. I think this was all due to:
1. No warm up then a 100% effort for almost 5 minutes
2. No real cool down, just stopping
3. That event is hard!

I have had a some bike races and Time Trials that stick out in my memory as painful and hard, but there is nothing that tops this under 5 minute effort. If I do it again next year, I will have a plan to get at least a 20 minute warm up in and force myself to somehow do a proper cooldown.

On the good side, I did increase my power output by 11% over last year, using Kevin's power analysis formula, and beat my most optimistic goal by 3 seconds.

Girdled Road Reservation

2010-01-24T20:45:00.000-05:00

Went to Girdled this morning before the rain to ride the cross bike. Didn't get to ride much due to how hard packed the snow/ice was from the grooming, wasn't expecting that. Rode a bit, ran with the bike a bit, put a few small ruts in the XC ski trails (sorry skiers!), and couldn't pass up this photo op.

09 Review

2010-01-03T12:05:00.002-05:00

2009 cycling started off bad for me with many wrecks in training and races in the spring along with little cycling specific off season work. I didn't really get my cycling legs until June but that might have set me up well for the peak I had planned for July. Looking forward to another year of riding, racing, and continuing to build upon the previous years fitness.

3,100 miles on the bike (no miles Jan-Feb 09)
- 130 different days on the bike
- 120,000 calories burned (35 lbs of calories)
- May through August represented most of the miles (avg 470 miles/month or 25 hrs/month)
- 65% of the miles were solo rides
- 0 hrs spent on a trainer
- Favorite indulgence food: Nutella with plain animal crackers

Races
- 1st place Tour of the Valley Prologue CAT 4
- 1st place AG, Willoughby Biathlon (5k run, 13 mile bike)
- 16 total cycling races competed in
- 7 Leroy/Behrens TT training events
- Worst result - last place in Raccoon Cyclocross
- Most memorable - Tour of the Valley stage races
- Most painful - Tour of the Valley Cat 4 Road Race (contemplated giving up bike racing after it)

Dashing through the snow

2009-12-30T06:49:00.002-05:00

Kevin and I met up for some snow riding at Best Nature park. The park's terrain is flat but it includes a paved loop to ride along with some ditches to frolic through snow drifts. There will be probably be a 'No dirtbikes allowed' sign posted within a week after people see the tracks. Going to try out Penitentiary Glen Reservation today as there is quite a bit of elevation change and some slippery rocks to knock me off the bike.

Ice Cycling

2009-12-26T17:29:00.003-05:00

I went out early this morning for a ride with a route planned to include taking the Maple Highlands bike path into Burton on the CX bike. I got to the bike path and found it with quite a bit of patchy ice.

Instead of doing the smart thing and turning around to ride relatively dry roads, I continue to slip and slide down the bike path. I somehow managed to stay on 2 wheels for the 8 mile trip down to Burton. Another picture from the bike path:

I then took 608 down to Burton Windsor where I found myself behind this:

A Amish man with horses hauling a load of scrap to the scrapyard. You know the economy is bad when it is even hitting the Amish.

Pretty cool being able to ride areas like this though only 10 miles away from home. We take things like this for granted but this time of year is the time to think about all the things you take for granted and appreciate them. I will be doing that all week during my holiday at home vacation! Hopefully I can ride every single day and give my wife time to think about how much she appreciates me (or maybe its that I like to ride my bike = getting me out of the house).

Day 1 of Winter Strength Training

2009-12-07T22:30:00.005-05:00

I picked today as the kickoff to my strength training for the off season, what a day to start on. Todays workout, and most that I am planning for the Winter, includes hills repeats up Old Mill after work. Old Mill is a good hill for me because of the profile and time it takes to complete. I think this type of workout is perfect training for Tackle the Tower in February as they both take close between 4-5 minutes and work the same type of muscles. But today was probably not the best day to start this program.

I arrived in Gates Mills at 5:45 with temps around 29 and a dusting of snow with 8-10mph wind. I was second guessing how smart it is to be out in the dark, in the cold, with a light snow. I decided to at least get a workout in and be safe as possible.

I got warmer as I rode and my legs felt better with each pass up Old Mill. I used Berkshire for the descend as I was a bit hesitant to plunge down Old Mill with the wet/snow roads and more traffic. It ended up being a fun 50 minutes or so. This was the first time I was in Gates Mills area riding and didn't see one other cyclist, where was everyone?

Only 2 months before tackle the tower and little over 4 months before road racing begins again! Not much time at all really. Thanks to cross racing for extending the season this year.

Kirtland cross

2009-11-22T20:14:00.000-05:00

I showed up early and actually got to do a few laps on the course. Lake Effect is doing a great job putting together the courses. I practiced the amphitheater hill a few times and the hill with steps. The course was setup more for my style: hills, fast flats instead of slow/soft fields, and no barriers. I knew this was my last BACX series race due to work schedule so I wanted to make sure it was fun.

I did a 90 minute moderate/hard road ride on Saturday and realized how much fitness I have lost. I really have only been doing one other ride a week in addition to the CX races, not enough. I do think that ride helped today as I was able to sustain the effort for the first time instead of losing power half way through the race.

The first lap started and I was in about 20th place when the group hit the first hill. I stayed to the right on the hill which worked out well with a group bunching up the left so I was able to make up a spot or 2 and get a little gap. I then passed a few on the steps hill. I was able to pass a few people going up the amphitheater hill and in the field. I had a few pass me before the baseball field and got caught behind some lapped riders that resulted in others passing me. I then lost the wheel in front of me and used a rider about 100ft behind to keep pushing me for the last 2-3 laps. Overall I think I finished 14-18th place, results weren't available. Had some treats and chocolate milk post-race, what could be better.

Thanks to Lake Effect/Bike Authority for putting on the series and the great courses. Looking forward to Winter CX in Akron to extend the season a bit and then back to the road!

Tour of the Valley announced this week, I will be setting up my rough training plan again around this race. Already looking forward to it! Hope they leave the TT prologue in for this year.

Who didn't ride today?

2009-11-08T19:36:00.003-05:00

If you didn't ride your bike today something must be wrong with you. Not sure if it was a record temp for today but I can't remember the day before my bday that it was this warm. A group of 8 of us went out from Chagrin Falls for a 'easy' ride. I miss getting out on the road, hopefully I can take a half day vaca tomorrow and enjoy the last bit of decent weather.

Chagrin River CX recap

2009-11-02T18:53:00.004-05:00

I practiced on this course on one of Bret's open ride Wednesdays prior to the race weekend. I found some techniques in the woods that I felt would give me a advantage over some others, specifically attacking going through the whoop section on the clockwise rotation (Saturday) all through exiting the woods. It brought back the motion reflexes of my days spending 6-7 days a week riding ATVs and Dirtbikes in the woods. Well my speed areas and plan all went south once arriving and doing a practice lap on Saturday. The area was slippery from the rain. My plan was about 7 hard kicks and then maintaining momentum through the first woods section, instead it was going to be a moderate power pace to keep the rear wheel from spinning. I then made the horrible decision that my Small-Block 8 35cm tires might work well on this course instead of the Mud Shark 2 30cm. Dumb.

Kevin and I line up in the B field and I am pretty excited due to the atmosphere and the course. I have a poor start and end up somewhere in the last 1/2 of the field at the beginning. I ride the race fairly well through the technical areas but feel like I am getting slower and slower. With about 3 laps to go I realize it isn't just my leg's lack of stamina, but the area between my bottom bracket and wheel is becoming a large block of compressed mud. I get to a point where I have to stand just to move the bike on flat surfaces. I end having to jog with the bike while lifting the rear wheel to change the wheel and knock out all of the mud preventing the wheel from turning. Another newbie mistake on tire selection.

I join back the race at the tail-end and decide to continue riding just for the fun of it even though I got lapped by a blazing Robert and others chasing him so I finish a lap down.

On Sunday I didn't even bring the Small block tires and ran the Mud Shark 2s. The combination of those tires and a drier course resulted in a faster event for me. The first lap quickly involved a standstill waiting to climb by the telephone pole in which somehow I tangled my shoe on Kevin's brake lever. Luckily I didn't go down but on the first ditch crossing I fell while trying to avoid someone else who had fallen. I then get back up and I am following Samantha and then run into the back of her at the next ditch crossing. By this point I start laughing as this is just a comedy of errors. Throughout the race I picked up some places but didn't feel real strong. My lower back really started hurting about half way through, much like it did at Wendy Park for some reason. I finish with my sights on one more rider but he senses me behind me and holds me off with a strong last lap.

Not sure what my result was on Sunday but I would guess there was 10 people behind me in the B race. I had a blast this weekend and wish we had a few more consecutive Saturday/Sunday CX weekends around. Looking forward to Kent State race in 2 weeks. Maybe I will actually do some decent training before then...but doubt it as I am not too motivated to ride in the dark.

30 miles = 3 hours

2009-10-12T21:07:00.005-04:00

I spent another weekend in Ligonier PA and decided to take the Cross bike and explore some offroad trails in the Laurel Highlands. I plotted a 30 mile route that included 10 miles of pavement, 10 miles of fine gravel/silt road, and then 10 miles of off road terrain including climb up to 2800 ft. I figured it would take at most 2 hours for the complete loop on the cyclocross bike. I had no idea how long it takes to ride on off road trails through the hills of PA. I completed the 30 miles in 3 hours, about 1 hours longer than I expected. Here are some pics from the ride.

I am glad I took the Cyclocross bike and picked this route. I got a little bit of everything:

- 5 miles of continuous climbing up a soft silty road (hard 30 minute effort)

- A view from 1000 ft above of a turnpike that was cut through a mountain

- Almost 2 hours in the woods without seeing 1 person

- Some good technical practice on the CX bike

- A substantial amount of climbing on mixed terrain

I will be at the ND - USC game this Saturday and miss the Willoughby CX race but will be going to the Beaver Valley CX race on the 25th and hopefully both of the Chagrin River Cyclocross races around Halloween. I am feeling much better on this bike and think a top 10 CX B race finish might be a possibility soon.

CX

2009-09-27T06:13:00.004-04:00

2 races under my bibs so far on CX and about 10 hours total on my CX bike. I'll list what I have learned below but first review yesterday's race at KSU - Stark.

I pulled up the Wunderground radar before leaving the house and it didn't show rain hitting Canton or the area until late in the day. So I didn't pack any race specific gear, or even an umbrella for my wife who was coming to watch. We get no further than gates mills and the road was only passable in the passing lane coming up the hill after the construction due to the amount of water coming down the drain/right lane. Why even look at weather radars?

Arrive at the race and I can tell right away this course is going to be a classic:

1. You can see the race happening with the barriers right from 77 S

2. Decent uphill stretch that follows University St leading to the entrance

3. The technical use of the grass bowl by the entrace

Pre-ride most of the course to see what to look out for and how fast it is possible to take some of the technical stuff. Line up about mid-pack in what appeared to be another 55+ group of B racers. The 'gun goes off' and can't clip in. I immediately fall to last place, but since its CX I just laugh. First lap goes well with no crashes for me but many for others. Nice change to see crashes and not think 'wow that road rash is going to suck!!!'. By the end of lap 1 I was able to probably pass 10-15 riders.

On lap 2 I am feeling good and move up a few more spots and then hit a wall. I was able to pass a few riders, but my slow dismount, run, clip back in skills would enable them to pass me again. This forward/backward movement continued for the next lap or 2 until I got word after hearing the thunder that we were on our last lap. I had 1 guy about 75 Meters in front of me as we came around the corner near the start line. Since we were ending the race 15 min early, I decided to use him as motivation to force a max level effort. I did not sprint but just kept ramping up to win at the line by half bike to take home probably 645th spot!

Overall - I didn't think a course around here could be better than Wendy park but this one might have taken that, or at least matched it. Thanks to Stark Velo and all volunteers for putting it on. Hopefully KSU doesn't mind the marks in the field and allows this to be an annual race.

Learned so far:

- CX is a blast. If you are not doing it, get a bike immediately and start. Thanks Kevin for getting me into this!

- No crashes = good, but probably also means I could be taking more chances

- Need to figure out my clipping in problem. I think it is mostly mental but I can solve that with practice

- Takes a much different effort than road or TT races, probably closer match to Crits which I was not great at

- Momentum appears to be key. In watching the A race, I see quite a bit of kicks out of the seat. I will keep that in the mind for the next race as I feel I spent 99.9% of the time on the seat.

- I don't care about my results but do want to get better the more I race which = fun not stress

Hopefully we have a turnout like Wendy and Stark for Leroy next weekend.

Not possible

2009-09-07T21:54:00.004-04:00

I have now tried 3 times and don't believe it is possible - ride the hill on the Buckeye Connection in Girdled Reservation on a cyclocross bike with standard CX tires (35cm max). I imagine the hill is possible on a Mountain bike with the right tires and gearing, but not sure a CX bike can make it.

I will keep trying, but curious if anyone has attempted this and if they were successful. The combination of grade, lack of traction, and length makes it difficult and maybe impossible but worth trying.

Getting ready for 'cross

2009-08-18T20:05:00.002-04:00

Picked up my '10 TCX from Mountain Road on Sunday. After helping with the Leroy cyclocross race last year I knew this is something I wanted to get into this year. I decided against building a bike up, so instead did a bit of research and talking with Jacob at MRC. Kevin and I plan to get some cross riding in this weekend at Wendy Park in anticipation of the 1st Bike Athority race. No goals for cross season this year except to have fun, get some new bike skills practiced, and help with off season work in preparation for next year's road race season.

Is a TT bike worth it?

2009-08-14T12:42:00.002-04:00

This week my TT bike is in the shop so I decided to take the road bike to the Leroy TT. I have been curious as to the time difference between the 2 bikes but could never make the sacrifice to take the road bike until I was forced to yesterday.

The results: road bike was about 1 minute slower across the 7.67 miles for what resulted in -1.3mph average compared to my Felt B2 TT bike.

Is is worth it: Well...not really. I didn't make any more money on the Leroy course when I rode my TT bike but I did return a faster time (which only Jim and I know along with my popsicle stick). So unless your getting paid for results, its not technically worth it. But there are a few advantages to having a TT bike:

1. You can better gauge your strength and fitness relative to the strong riders since they are probably on a TT specific bike in these events.
2. Faster times, quicker MPH average, and just different equipment provide more excitement and motivation to do these painful workouts. If I didn't have the TT bike I am almost certain I would not be at Leroy as much as i have been (8 times YTD).
3. You have a better chance of passing people!

The Leroy course definitely was not the same last night on the road bike. I still had a great time but it is not as fun going slower.

No Milk race for me

2009-08-10T19:49:00.003-04:00

On Saturday night I decided not to do the Milk race even though I intended on doing it all year. Reasons were the forecasted high temps/humidity, a stressful week at work that I feel I didn't need to add a race onto, and missing that early morning weekend ride that is a mix of endurance/tempo work lately.

After reading the Milk races posts from a few local bloggers today, I am glad I didn't go. The Cat 4 race seemed sun roaching hot, miserable muggy, and some crashes thrown in to make it interesting. Yes, my decision to do 200 minutes on a ride around Geaugu County was much better: still roaching hot, miserable muggy, just no crashes.

In 200 minutes I lost over 5lbs while drinking 32 oz of Gatorade (didn't bring enough with me). The last 30 minutes were miserable. My HR was consistently 15+ bpm more than where it should have been.

Laurel Hill

2009-08-02T22:13:00.009-04:00

On Saturday I headed out at 8am for a 40 mile route up and over Laurel Hill twice on different routes. I was a bit worried about how bad these climbs would be but was surprised on how easy they are (compared to what I thought it would be like) and how much fun they are. The picture above was the first summit (2684 ft). This was reached on Rt 30 heading east with dense fog going up the climb starting around 2000 ft. The decent went down to a town called Jennerstown and then along the ridge for about 15 miles north until I took Ligonier Pike up the east side of the ridge. This climb was 6 miles instead of 4.5 and the road was very rural but well paved. It was a completely different climb since the first 4.5 miles are between 4-5% and heavily shaded. The last 1.5 miles goes up to 6-7%, in the sun, on a main road but it had light traffic. That summit was 2743 and the view was incredible (hard to capture on camera though):

The descent was 4-5 miles, 6-7%, on excellent pavement with no tight corners. I was holding between 47-49 mph for miles! This is now my new favorite route. My #2 and #3 favorite routes are both around Ligonier PA also. Now back to riding the roads in boring Geagua County (at least compared to this). I can't imagine riding down in the higher Alleghenies or Rockies or Alps.

The Big Lig

2009-07-31T23:04:00.005-04:00

I have arrived in Ligonier, PA to visit the in-laws and do some cycling out here. I changed my plans for the route tomorrow and now plan to tackle Laurel Mountain. I have climbed this mountain before but never on this route. The route I typically do is up Linn run and it stretches the elevation increase of 1600' over 6.5 miles. This route will go up 1350' in 4 miles. It is not the most intimidating climb on the east coast but it makes Old Mill in Gates Mills look like a short step.

I will climb it from the east going up route 30 and then climb it again from the west going up back roads. The profile of the climbs are above, as you can see the East side of the climb is a beast with many sections at 6+ percent over the duration of 4 miles. Why does this sound like fun? Hopefully I have enough left in my legs to ride again on Sunday. Going to Steelers training camp tomorrow afternoon and then the best sports bar in the world, Dino's (well actually top 10 by USAToday) after. Good times.

TOTV Stage 4

2009-07-13T21:40:00.004-04:00

Stage 4 was a crit around downtown Youngstown on a relatively easy course that was completely flat. The corners were all quick and safe and roads were wide. I was feeling good about the course and my legs felt fresh even after the sufferfest in the road race yesterday. The race maintained a managable pace for most of the laps with just a few attacks or hard pulls. Kevin did a hard pull with 2 laps to go that strung out that field at 28mph and then pulled off after the start/finish. At this point I was sitting about 8th and decided to move up a few a spots on the end of the long straightaway on the backside of the course. As I started moving up I saw a bump, correction, bump, then hard fall by a rider in front of me. My eyes were focused on both his body and bike sliding across the pavement around 28 mph and how I could avoid both. I was able to brake hard and slip between him and his bike but then go off course at the right hand corner. About 3 other riders were affected, including the Cat IV yellow jersey, and we just soft pedaled to the finish with no hopes of catching the field with .2 miles to go at 30mph. The rider that crashed was checked out and treated by the ambulance, hopefully he is doing ok.

I finished that race in 25th position with no points. I was in position to be at least in the top 7 if it wasn't for the crash. Overall I finished 10th on the GC for my first real Cat IV races and my first stage races. Hopefully Carbon Racing, specifically Dan, Erin, Samantha, and volunteers; thought the hard work was worth it and are up for the challenge again next year! Great times.

TOTV Stage 3 - Why?

2009-07-11T21:28:00.005-04:00

Why is what I was thinking pretty much from arrival (raining, windy, thunder, lighting but race on/delay), from mile 6 on (ridiculous hills & pace started), and after the race.

Why am I doing this.

This 33 mile course/race was definately the hardest I have ever done for a variety of reasons:

1. Rider went down before RR tracks in the neutral zone and I flipped over him. Rear wheel was completely out of true but ridable so I continued.

2. The hills started (3,000ft of climbing I am told for the 33 miles) and the pace went full out. This was a struggle to hold on to and as expected it splintered the field of 25 or so riders.

3. The clouds parted and the humidity hit, wow. Nothing like climbing at 12 mph up a chip and seal road, at your limit, with the humidity that comes after a heavy sustained thunderstorm then sunshine with 80 degree temps.

4. I probably asked myself 10x during the race 'why do this?'. The pain, the heat, the pain. It was nice to hear a rider after the race saying the same thing and contemplating not racing anymore, as I was thinking the same thing. But then the pain goes away, the good memories stay, and for some reason we go out and do it again, like......tomorrow.

Race Summary:

First 6 miles were pretty easy. Pace was easy and it was mostly downhill. We then hit a moderate chip and seal hill at mile 6 and the pace jumped. People started popping off here. Then somewhere around mile 10-12 we started the KOM hill. This thing was a monster, especially with the pace being pushed. I was in the top 5 but then lost contact with a small group as they fought for KOM points. Their gap increased and I found myself in a group of 5 that started to organize a chase. We had 2 others bridge up to us and everyone was willing to work. So we kept the pace high but were not able to catch the lead group, except pickup and drop off some riders that lost the lead group. The wind at times was incredible, so short pulls were in order.

Coming into town I heard the lead group had 5 so we were fighting for 6 through 12 place. Although I was close to dropping off this pack many times during the race, I was feeling good coming back into town. There was a slight incline with about 500 meters to go and I started my push on that. Then with about 150 meters there was a wide right turn and I pegged it right before this turn with about 5 of the 7 riders in front of me. I came around the turn and sprinted all out for a 2nd in our group and 7th overall for the race. I believe our average speed was a little over 21mph which sounds slow but not when you factor in the course, wind, and humidity. As someone said recently on another blog: 'bike racing is hard'.

I am now sitting 6th overall for the CAT IV. 1 more race, the 30 minute crit tomorrow. That will be (physically/mentally) cake compared to this sufferfest today.

TOTV Stage 1 & 2

2009-07-11T09:36:00.004-04:00

Stage 1 - 5.5 mile time trial. Course was flat with rollers but a quick course. Legs felt fresh and my new position was feeling good. I expected to do well in this event but was surprised to learn I won the Cat 4 TT, and beat 2nd place by 28 seconds.

Stage 2 - 30 minute crit in downtown Canfield. Course was fast, high speed corners and one fast sweeper, weather was 85 and sunny, and field was around 27 riders. I was near the back of the pack for half the race and then started moving up to get ready for the finish. I was sitting about 10th and following the wheel of a strong rider up to the front with 2 laps to go when someone went off the road and the group swerved, pushing me into someone else at 25mph on a corner. I lost the wheel I was on (who went on to win the race) and dropped back 4-5 places. I maintained position (another mistake) on the last lap to try and save for a the final push at the end of the last lap. There was very little room to gain any places in the final 1/3 of the course so I basically just maintained position and finished with the lead pack. My position was probably 12-14th overall in the crit.

Today is the road race with a decent climb. I know this is a strong point for me and I can do well. Just need that extra 1% mental/physical edge to make the difference from being in 1st place instead of 10th at the finish. A good placing should put me in good GC position within the CAT 4 group.

Tour of the Valley

2009-07-06T21:51:00.003-04:00

3 more days until Tour of the Valley prologue. When I heard ramblings about this race early this season I thought it was too good to be true and continued to not believe it would happen. Then one day I received a brochure in the mail that looked professional enough to announce the Tour de France (well close). I have rode almost 2k miles so far this year, including many Leroy TTs, hammer fests with the Kevin and others in the club, my personal TTs I do, hill climbing until my back is screaming and feet no longer move in circles, and 2 a days that some resulted in almost not being able to pedal home. I feel I am ready to be competitive now and my mind is set on a top 3 overall in CAT 4 at TOV. I think I am decent at the TT, ok/not so great at the crits, and good at the road race. I think the crits will hurt me quite a bit if they are overly technical but hopefully I can get some tips from my crit expert teammate.

If I don't get Top 3, hopefully it is a fun and safe weekend. I try not to be hard on myself or even think too much about not placing well in bike races. Too many variables, who knows what the competition is, and a bit of luck is involved in winning. But a top 3 overall would definitely be the highlight so far of my cycling 'career'.

Thanks to Carbon Racing for organizing such a great opportunity for local racers.

2 a days

2009-06-28T20:59:00.003-04:00

In the last 8 days I have done 3 '2 a day' rides. They have not totaled major time or mileage, all days < 60 miles total.
* Presque Isle TT followed by 35 mile 20.5 mph AVG ride down to Southington
* 40 mile hill climbing ride this morning followed by 15 mile TT work in Gates Mills

These type of efforts are planned to help elevate the fitness for the Tour of the Valley. I will do another hard week this week and probably plan for 10 hours total and then start the taper on Monday of next week. I'll then do some short efforts, some hard, the week prior and then do the 4 races in 3 days from July 10 through July 12th. Hopefully my fitness will be good and legs will be fresh for a decent performance. I expect it to be extremely fast with a large field in the CAT 4 races.

Watching DVR footage of 4 1/2 hours of Tour highlights on VS, good times.

When an easy ride gets even easier

2009-06-23T21:52:00.003-04:00

I didn't plan on riding today due to events happening today and my legs being tired from multiple rides each day for the past 2 days but... I couldn't resist the urge to get on the TT bike for a quick spin. I just got my TT bike professionally fitted but haven't had it on the road yet. So I decided to take a 75% type effort on it for 10 miles or so to see how it felt. Less than 1/2 mile into the ride I realize the steering tube cap bolt is loose and turn around for home. I am a bit frustrated that this wasn't caught during the fit session but not a huge deal. After tightening that, and neglecting to check over anything else, I head back out for this somewhat easy spin.

I start down Bass Lake road heading south out of Chardon and LOVE the new position. It feels slippery quick and some tips I got on pedaling stroke I am trying to utilize. I am forcing myself to hold back since my mind is telling me to rev it up and see what it can do but my body is saying 'this is a recovery type ride'. After a few miles I notice something wrong with the bars and then notice they slipped again and my TT aero bars are about 20 degrees out of whack with my front wheel, YIKES.

I pull over and with little effort, scary, straighten the bars back up. At this point I decide to just head for home at a easy pace as I didn't bring a cellphone and don't love the idea of hammering on a TT bike with loose bars when I am leaning over my bars in a aero position. I limped home (at times much faster than I should have though) and rolled into the garage to realize that a few more bolts were loose but in general the stem is not fitting the steering tube correctly. The stem was swapped during the fit session and now must be in need of shims or something. So off tomorrow to the bike shop to get this corrected, not a situation you want on a TT bike. Hopefully this doesn't now introduce a new source of anxiety/fear on future TT bike rides. Kinda like driving down the road at 55 in your car and realizing your steering wheel is loose.

Another Presque Isle / 2 ride day

2009-06-21T22:16:00.004-04:00

Another Presque Isle, another slight disappointment, another 'punishment' ride after.

I got up at 5am today to drive up to Presque Isle for the fathers day TT. I have a goal this year of finishing this course at 26mph or better. I started out of the gate and by about 1 minute into it, I looked down and was registering 28.5mph. While that is exciting, it is all adrenaline so I promptly slowed down to 26mph and attempted to set the cruise control on 26-26.5mph. That worked out well until about mile 5 where there is some slight up and downs. By mile 6 I was really starting to hurt and getting agitated because I wasn't able to keep pushing the pedals in the gear I needed to maintain 26. I was pedaling at 24.5mph for quite a while and would try to drop a gear or speed up my cadence but just couldn't hold it. At mile marker 10 I was hoping the time would fly by because I was ready to be done. There was some openings in the trees that enabled a decent cross/head wind to further aggravate me. I then emptied the tank with about 3/4 of a mile left and felt sick for 10 seconds after finishing. My finishing time was somewhere around 29:50 for the 12.5 miles, with a Avg speed of 25.2mph. This is quite short of my goal.

I noticed that I am not able to sustain power on my TT bike like I think I should so I called Bike Authority today to visit Mike Vanucci for a Slow Twitch TT bike fitting. I am hoping we are able to figure out my position to allow me to better put power down to the pedals. I will then adapt to the new position prior to Tour of the Valley and continue doing Leroy to see how I improve there.

After the TT, I rode from Chardon down to Southington (through Burton, Jug St, Grove Rd, into Nelson past the ledges, around the race course, and then 305 to my parents house). I met/rode in Burton for a few miles with a Ben from Chesterland who is a quite strong "recreational" rider, until I found out he just completed a SOLO 6 day, 650 mile ride from Chesterland Ohio to Tennessee to meet his friends for a concert, insane.

Free way to ride the Tour de France

2009-06-13T20:10:00.003-04:00

See story here.

In America, we give prisoners a basketball court surrounded by barb-wire fences. In France, prisoners get to go on a 2 week, 1,400 mile ride across France. Why am I working my butt off in the states to support this hobby when I should just move to France and steal coffee, baguettes, and red wine until I get caught?

TT work

2009-06-11T21:54:00.003-04:00

One of my major goals this year is to go > 26mph at Presque Isle TT. I finished in April with a AVG under 24 mph, horrible. But I was still in my base building period and in no shape to perform well at a TT. I have been focusing on my TT work quite a bit lately. Today I went to the Leroy training TT and found it to be only myself and Jim there. He was nice enough to not only stay to hold my bike for the launch but also wait for me to finish for the official time on the stick. I finished with the best time of the season so far for me and only 1 second off my PR, which I obtained last August when I was in my top shape for the season. I was pretty happy with the result and glad I didn't let the wet roads deter me. Thanks to Jim for hanging around also!

Some observations during my TT work:

1. My HR is lower than I expect for this type of workout. I realized I was pushing a gear bigger than usual. I think this has been hurting me a bit and will focus on keeping my cadence up.

2. I took the course in small sections, even though it is only 7.6 miles, to break the efforts into things like reaching the 1 mile marker, reaching the corner, climbing the first incline, reaching the turn around, etc. This seemed to help push away thoughts of letting up for a few seconds due to pain in the legs.

3. I adjusted my position slightly on the bike, lower seat and more forward, and seemed to feel better. I think I have my back pretty flat and will leave this position through Presque Isle TT in less than 10 days.

Not sure if I will have the fitness yet to reach my goal, but will hope to be close on June 21st and have 1 more shot during the fall Presque Isle TT. It is only pain that I have to ignore and only for less than 30 minutes, whats the big deal?

Competition

2009-05-28T19:32:00.005-04:00

I guess I am a fairly competitive person but not one that has to win 100% of the time or the win at all costs type. I like to help others 'win', thus enjoy my job as a manager. But I need doses of competition in my life to keep me energetic and motivated.

I find at this point in the cycling season that I am missing the cycling competition. In April and half of May we had 3 Covered Bridge races, 4 weeks of RATL, and a Presque Isle TT that was all of interest to me and allowed the juices to get flowing. Now I am in withdrawl. I haven't truly raced since the last RATL. What I have done is went out with CTC on the Wednesday ride to informally compete up BerkShire and sprint on Gates Mills, done some CRC group rides, along with the informal Leroy TT but I am definitely missing the racing.

Today I was informed of a Biathlon on June 14th in Willoughby (http://www.ncnracing.com/registration/raceLDB/raceLDB.shtml)

Since I don't have any race plans until the next Presque Isle TT on June 21th, this made my eyes light up. I have never done a Duathlon or Biathlon but wanted to try one for years. So instead of the Burton Sunday in June ride, I am opting to try my best in Willoughby. I will plan for 5 or so runs before then to find my pace for the 5K and do a bit of transition zone research and trials for the run to bike transition. At this point, my goal for the run would be 7:30/miles and then a 25mph average on the bike. The bike distance is 13.3 miles, so training for this will also match the training I should be doing for the Presque Isle TT.

So now it looks like June will be more eventful than just a TT. July has hope with the Tour of the Valley stage race, http://carbonracing.org, and August has something local every weekend!

One key thing about competition is not to let it consume you. Overly ambitious goals can quickly burn someone out or just continually disappoint a person until the 'failures' completely discourage the person from the activities. The key is to not try to win all the time, set realistic but stretch goals, and adjust plans or goals based on actual events.

Speaking of goals, I set 5 cycling goals for this year and the results YTD are:

1. Continue help growing Chargrin River Cycling - I have recruited 1 potential member but need to do better at including him on group information.

2. > 26mph Presque Isle time trial - I failed miserably at this in April but didn't expect great results that early in the year. I hope to acheive this or be close on June 21st and then have another try at it for the fall TT.

3. Stay injury free - HA! I think I have wrecked 4 times since setting the goal but nothing that has kept me off the bike for longer than a day.

4. Assist a team member with getting a win - Was hoping for this to happen in the Spring but no such luck. Its looking less and less likely as most of the remaining races are split between Cat 4 and 5 and most of our members are Cat 5.

5. Win a Cat 4 race myself - I am confident this can and will still happen. Zoar and Shreve are 2 courses that suit me well and with luck I could pull out a win.

So far my achievement for these goals isn't great but I progress is happening and I am happy with the results overall. The TT goal is probably the most within my control goal, that will be a great feeling.

1 of the most valuable bicycles?

2009-05-06T20:44:00.006-04:00

While in DC this spring I toured the Smithsonian Air and Space muesum and learned that the Wright brothers started in the bicycle business. They had multiple Bike shops and rental locations in Dayton and then decided to use their engineering skills to build the Wright flyer. This is 1 of 5 known remaining Wright Brothers built bicycles left in the world. If it were for sale, I imagine the selling price would more in line with a new Ferrari rather than a new Pinarello. New it was $42.50 in 1898.

It's here

2009-05-04T21:04:00.004-04:00

After dozens of hours on the trainer this spring, 700+ miles on the road, and a weekend with 2 hard races; it has arrived. I went out on a 24 mile 'easy' ride after 2 consecutive days of racing and realized that I felt as strong or stronger than this weekend and feel like I have made a quantum leap in my fitness. I have been somewhat second guessing myself prior to this weekend:

- Why has been my TT times been signicantly slower this year than last year (both at Leroy test runs and the Presque Isle TT).

- Is my position different?

- Should I have done more cycling specific off-season work?

- Am I not as mentally strong as last year?

- My lactate threshold feels like that of a 5 yr old

Although I have roughly set up my training to not do much more than base building until end of April, I was still second guessing my current fitness. It is said that building fitness is a gradual process but the results come in big chunks and you realize it when it happens. What an awesome feeling it is to realize it.

I haven't jumped to this conclusion because of better than expected results in the races, high power #s (no power meter), or a top TT result. I have realized it by knowing that my legs didn't hold me back on Sunday at the Covered Bridge race that averaged 24mph on rolling terrain. I realize it because today I intended on doing a recovery ride expecting my legs to hold me back but found it hard to keep my speed down as my lactate threshold capability has went up significantly. So now the excitement will be justified by my test at the Leroy TT 8 mile course this week. So far this year I have been 1 minute slower than last year. I have a strong suspicion that I will be close to or better than my best time from last year, and its only the beginning of May. Can't wait for a rematch at Presque Isle in June, should be a significant improvement. Now it is time to make sure proper recovery happens and I continue to build on what I have started so far this year.

Presque Isle TT 4/26

2009-04-29T21:25:00.003-04:00

I packed up everything (at least I thought) for the TT on friday night so nothing would delay from an early departure up to Presque Isle on Saturday morning. I wake up ontime but realized as I was getting ready to walk out the door my TT bike computer is not on the bike, not in my bag, and nowhere to be found. I spend 20 minutes searching the house for it knowing that I just had it yesterday to enter my ride data from a previous ride. I end up giving up the search and reassure myself that it will be better to ride the TT just on HR anyway. Ha.

Due to the delay because of the search I arrive at Presque Isle around 7:40am for a 8:15 starting time. By the time I register, get my equipment ready, bolt the bike into the trainer and get ready to warm up I realize it is 8:04 and I have 6 minutes until I need to be at the start area! Yep, I am not feeling really good about a strong TT with everything going so well this morning. I unattach the bike from the trainer and do a quick 2 minute ride up the warm up road and then ride to the starting area. I am at no point warmed up, in a good mood, or focusing on the TT.

I decide to keep the pace moderate until my HR monitor catches up and then keep my heart between 180-183 for the entire TT. This works out well for me but one thing I realize is I have no idea what gear I should be in because I don't have a cadence readout, no speed indication, and not enough TT bike training this year to automatically know these things yet. So I error to the side of turning a smaller gear instead of risking a lactate blowup.

Since I have no computer, I have no clue my average speed or time, I really didn't have a clue as to how I was doing. I pass quite a few people, 10+, but get passed by 2. I cross the finish line not expecting great results but hoping for a time around 29:30-30 minutes. I finished with a 31:33 for the 12.5 miles or a 23.76 mph avg. I was pretty disappointed but not surprised. In 2007 I did the course in June at 24.24 mph on a road bike. I will be back in June and likely in the fall for the goal of 26mph avg this year. Its also early in my training, I have less than 650 road miles on the legs and much of those were base miles. By June I expect to be in much better shape, will arrive earlier, and better prepared.

The cyclists' curse

2009-04-21T20:32:00.002-04:00

I have came across a curse lately that I hope will leave me soon, crashing. So far this year I have had the following happen while riding:

- Steering tube snap off while standing on the pedals and slowly climbing a hill resulting in my falling to the ground like a bag of bricks.

- Had my front wheel crossed while on a group ride, put me to the pavement at 23-24mph. Its been 2 weeks and I am still taping a bandage on my hip daily that is still causing minor pain.

- Had a rider go down right in front of me at Covered Bridge race that resulted in me jumping/running over the rider and then falling down to the road.

In summary YTD: injured ribs, road rash, pulled muscle, broken steering tube, damaged headset, broken taillight, broken seat, scratched up the bike in many areas, bent front wheel, ripped CRC shorts, ripped UnderArmor base layer, and cycling shoes scratched up.

Cycling, specifically racing bicycles, is dangerous but this has been ridiculous for me lately. Here is a good article by former racer Bobby Julich about the curse and how it has affected him: Crashing is the cyclist curse.

This coming weekend is the Presque Isle Time Trial and I have never went down on the TT bike. Hopefully the curse is over as I really don't want another crash anytime soon.

PA ride

2009-04-13T20:30:00.003-04:00

Got in 37 miles in PA today, included 3000ft of climbing with 1 climb going up consistently for 1600 ft. Excellent threshold workout, thinking about the TT coming up at Presque Isle.

I forgot how much strength I lose after doing this climb. I started the climb at mile 7, came off of it at mile 21. That left me with 16 miles left to do of rolling to hilly terrain, really struggled. I have never creeped and labored up climbs like that before. I would guess my power output after the long climb was reduced by at least 25%, need a power meter!

Less than a week before local races begin, good times.

DC/Ligonier,PA trip

2009-04-12T22:59:00.006-04:00

Made it back to the in-laws today from the Weekend trip to DC. They live in Ligonier, PA. I have rode quite a bit around here in the last few years, but usually on 3 different main routes. With the trip to DC, we drove up Laurel Mountain to elevation of 2,900 ft (bald knob summit). Realized the base of this climb is only 5 miles from their house! The climb from the west is 4 miles long and a average 8%! Problem is the shoulder is all salt still this early so not a route I am going to try yet because cars can be a bit crazy, later in the year though. Few pictures from the drive below.

I am doing the following ride tomorrow:http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/ligonier/431123959017279243. The elevation profile does not do it justice. There are some sections over 18% (Ross road). Linn Run might be my favorite section of road to ride:

6+ miles of continous climbing
Holds about 3-4% until around mile 4.5, where it spikes to 10 or so % for few hundred meters
Few cars
Follows a amazing stream the entire length
Shaded

The Laurel Highland straight ahead

Climb up Laurel Mountain from East (no camera tricks, its that steep + some)

The summit

On the way down to Ligonier

4/8 CTC ride

2009-04-12T22:54:00.003-04:00

Met up with Max and Bill to ride with the CTC crew for their Wed night ride. Ride started out with 14 riders. Went into Gates Mills and up Berkshire. Slingshot Max with Bill to an easy sprint win at the sign on Gates. Came back down to River blazing with the group. While on River road, grouped slowed, guy in front of me slowed quickly and swerved = disaster for me. Front wheel got pushed out and bike slid sideways, down I went. 3rd wreck on my same side:

'07 - fractured right hip

'08 - front wheel wash out at 25mph+, scars from the road rash on right side

now '09 - same right hip, more road rash still healing

Glad chicks dig scars

This week

2009-04-01T21:32:00.004-04:00

36 miles yesterday with Kevin that somehow managed > 19.5 mph with nasty winds and long slow up hills. Good times though and have realized this year the benefit of riding with others. Can't wait to get the road bike back from the shop, TT bike is fun but I am ready to hit some hills and TT bike just isn't the same.

Tomorrow - put in 1 hard ride at the Leroy TT course and then add some seat time around the area before and after that.

Saturday - ride from Whispering Woods down to Chargin with the club.
Sunday - Chippewa Creek to covered bridge race ride with the club.

Should be a good week and weekend to continue building the fitness up in preparation for some hard efforts coming soon.

09 Goals

2009-03-28T11:02:00.002-04:00

1. Continue help growing Chargrin River Cycling

We have a great core group of members with a wide array of strengths.

2. > 26mph Presque Isle time trial

I last did this course in 2007 and it was on a std road bike at 24.24mph. Not certain what to expect as I havn't focused on sustained, flat TT work but will be setting up some training towards this in the next month.

3. Stay injury free

Last year I got a new job, bought a new house, got married, went on a honeymoon. It was quite a busy year to try and also race competitively and build my fitness. In 2007 I fractured my femur while cycling. So this year needs to be injury free and hopefully less hectic than last year.

4. Assist a team member with getting a win

Now that we have a built up our core group, hope to put it to use a leadout or execute a race strategy to get a team member a win.

5. Win a Cat 4 race myself

I upgraded to 4 over the offseason and would like a win. No target race yet but not expecting any great results until at least July.

Training so far this year

2009-03-28T10:49:00.000-04:00

Started the season with my typical running that starts in November and lasts through beginning of February. I then go to spinning on the trainer 4 to 5 days a week for 30-40 mins a day. I didn't get out on the road on the bike until March.

So far YTD on the bike:

10-20 hours on the trainer (don't count or log trainer time)

249 miles on the road - This started with all level 2-3 time for the first 150 miles and in the last 100 miles I have started to let myself do some hard efforts including sprints and pushing myself on a few climbs.

I need to get in a few more 3 day/100 miles long weekends to prepare myself for the hard efforts coming up quickly in the spring races starting in a few weeks and throw in some 25 mile seat time 2 days during the week. My training plan doesn't have me being in great fitness until mid May. So I don't expect great results in the first few weeks of the spring races or at the first Presque Isle in April.

Why a blog?

2009-03-28T10:27:00.000-04:00

Blog about cycling?

To provide a diary of my cycling for not only myself but others like me that browse other local cyclist's blogs for 'fun'.

Title of the blog?

Moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life even though it is about nothing special (or is it?)