Late Alterra Recap

Now that it's been well over a week since the race I'm going to attempt an update before it gets too late.

WORS #6 Franklin has always been a hard race for myself. To me it seems like there is a little too much single track in any one sitting that twists and turns so hard and fast you never really know where you are or what's coming next much less any passing lanes. If I rode the course more than once or twice a year I'm sure I would have a different perspective on the course but that hasn't been the case until now.

The start is always super crucial for positioning into the single track and can make or break your race in the first 4 minutes. Having this knowledge and some pretty awesome start legs I was able to power my way past my slow 2nd row start position into 4th wheel over the top of the start climb and kept the gas on down the double track along the road. 2 minutes later the 4 of us have a pretty big gap for the start of race and keep the pace high leading into the single track to distance ourselves further. The first two riders gaped us right away and it was too late for me to catch them once I finally got around the dude and into 3rd place. Riding alone for almost an entire lap is a little weird, more mentally than anything else knowing that there are 100 guys behind you somewhere.

At the end of the 1st lap of 3 I was joined by Ryan K. who rides in the same age group and definitely knows how to kill it in a race. I knew he was able to ride the single a little smoother and faster than me so I was leading as long as possible to prolong the inevitable. Ryan went around me somewhere in the middle of the 2nd lap and that was the last time I saw him too. This is the point in the race that I knew I had to start using my skills and put down the power by myself to keep the rest of the field off my back. Knowing exactly where I was in the field my goal of a top 10 overall was mine to lose. I've been gunning for this goal since the first race of the season and have know I'm more than capable of the result and just need to put it all together and ride within myself. Having come so close on a number of occasions I reminded myself that today was the day and I was not going to let it slip now no matter how hard it hurt.

A couple guys were crossing the gap that I had built up with the lap traffic and with a half lap to go I knew it was going to be a battle royal in the last couple miles. Pulls were exchanged once they made contact and I knew I had to lead into the 2nd to last climb all the way up the ski hill before a technical decent, some single and the final monster climb to the finish. I dug pretty deep to get over the top of the climb ahead of the Polska rider with my heart still inside of my chest but beating so hard it was trying to get out! Skills were put to work and gave me a little gap on the decent and through the little bit of single before the last wall of a climb. A quick look over my shoulder at the bottom showed my gap was still there but not a whole lot. Spinning was all the legs could do at this point unless I wanted a complete locking cramp in both legs. With a little over 100 feet to go Polska made contact and gave just enough of an attack that I couldn't cover it. The battle was over and I was rolling in for 8th overall on the day and my first top 10 of the season! Mission (goal) accomplished and just in time for a rest week. A big thanks to Renee Elizabeth for the picture tags from the race.

The rest week is now over and the training has been ramped back up into full swing. The last little push in training is in effect right now before Ore to Shore and the first A race of the season. Before O2S though there is one more WORS race. I'm looking forward to it and hoping to improve on my placing from the last race after some rest. Next stop Camrock, WI.... I hope to see you all there.

Super (with lots of randoms) Post

Since my last update I have partially started at least 4 posts and managed to not upload a single one. So now that I have a few minutes tonight I decided to post them all. It may be a little random at points but you'll get the idea.

Iola:

Yea i'm "The Other Guy" which isn't so bad. Not the worst company to roll to a race with or get training advice from.

Managed a solid early season result and haven't been looking back ever since. This is probably my best start to a season in a few years which is a good sign of things to come.

I remember it was not all that long ago that I was super pumped to be graduating college and starting my first real job. School was beginning to drag on feeling tiresome and I was ready to move on and join the "Real World". Well my initial thoughts on how great the real world would be were a little skewed and at times I really miss the good ole days of school. Honestly I am very thankful for my job and am not trying to complain but merely explain my current thoughts. The mandatory minimum of 50 hours a week at work is the new tiresome act I find myself completing for the last couple months.

Time is more precious then ever before and must be managed carefully. Cycling is one of the few things that truly keeps me motivated and going day in and day out. I never realized the abundance of time I had in college until now when I could go for a training ride pretty much whenever I wanted. It's probably safe to say those days are going to be few and far between from here on out. Long story short I have to try to be smart about my time spent training given it's limited nature. Consistency is the key to success this season and I feel I'm off to a decent start even when it feels like my world is spinning at 100 mph to try to get all the things I want to do done.

One the 1st of June I pulled the trigger and signed up for professional coaching. Over the last couple years I have been getting help and advice here and there from my good friend and who I often call "Coach" Brian Matter. Since he has now made it official and joined forces with the all wise and talented T.J. Woodruff as a coach I have also taken the next step in my endeavors and decided to step it up to the next level with "Official" coaching. It's been less than 2 months and I can tell the difference in my overall preparedness and fitness improvements. I am very happy with my results so far and am on track to meet and hopefully exceed my goals for the season. If you are interested in being coach by one of the most knowledgeable people I know don't hesitate to email him (bmatter@momentumendurance.com) and see what it's all about.

As for the last couple weeks and races they have all gone pretty well. WORS #3 was Wausau and I proved to myself more than anyone else that I was in fact in half decent shape and my result at Iola wasn't a fluke. WORS #4 was the Subaru Cup and proved to be a tough weekend of racing in the CAT 1 field but still solid. Which brings us to last weekends races. Miners Revenge was a VERY last minute decision to race on Saturday. I was beyond impressed with the course and how technical it was. I can compare it to Mount Snow, Vermont and chalk it up as one of the most technical trails and races I have ever done. Did I mention we got to ride through an abandoned mine.... yea it was sweet.

I did my best to take it easy knowing I had another race the next day which proved easier said than done. The steep climbs and drops were just to fun to not rip them in a few sections and left me a little tired.

Matter and myself spent more than a few hours driving over the weekend, som

ewhere just over 20 hours by the time we went to the UP, back home and then to Eau Claire and back. Some how I managed to recover quite well and after a nice warmup I was ready to crush another days worth of racing. After about 60 seconds of racing I knew the legs were feeling GOOD. I managed to move from my 3rd row start position to 3rd place in the leadout and stayed there for the next 2 laps. I knew I was feeling good and also knew it wouldn't last forever with the previous days efforts. At the start of the 3rd lap the sweltering heat was really starting to take its toll and I had to go into survival mode and salvage my good start and placing as best possible. I was fading pretty good but managed to finish reasonably strong and put the icing on the cake from a great weekend of racing.

The coach really dialed up the training this last week with the most L.T. work I can ever remember doing. I'm still alive and can't wait to see what kind of new fitness I am going to get out of this last training block.

Next up WORS#6

New Season, New Team

With the start of the mtb season all but 2 weeks away it has been long enough and I should probably make it known that I have found a new team to ride for in 2011.

KUHL is the name of the new team and if the last couple weeks of interacting with the new team are anything like the how this season will be.... well then I'm stoked!!!! From what I can tell everyone is super chill yet an adrenaline junkie in some way or another. The team is more than just riding mountain bikes but wide variety of sports including rock climbing and bouldering, literally climbing mountains, road, triathlon and mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding and the list goes on and on. A little pun is necessary at this point.... How cool is that! I feel very fortunate to not only have found a new team but a team that is so very diverse. The team is based out of Utah but has now looked to expand into the Midwest to further promote and expand their awesome products. Thanks to Tom Bender (former WORS elite racer) for orchestrating the new

Midwest Team!

I will be riding with a few local faces you may know this season which include Sarah and Scott Kylander Johnson, Dallas, Brad from CarboRocket, and a few others.

The last couple weeks have been super busy trying to finalize a last minute bike deal and hopefully get the new rig and new kits just in time for the season opener. I'm crossing my fingers but it looks like we will make it. Thanks to Trek Bikes for continuing to support our top athletes on one of the best bikes made on the planet; and it doesn't hurt that they are hand made right here in Wisco.

Here is a pic of my new ride for 2011 minus a few sweet upgrades.

I can't wait to get the new bike and FINALLY ride some dirt this year. It's been way to long and a little too close to the first mtb race of the season for my liking. The first race might be a little rough but the skills should come back quickly.

Pictures of the new ride and kits will be posted as soon as they show up. Till then keep the rubber side down and the training miles rolling.

Barry Roubaix recap

I just want to start by saying this race was HARDER than I expected and its name lived up to it's title. Being the first race of the year you have to see where your fitness is at and what better way then by going way too hard in the early goings of the race and having the suffer for the next 45 miles of racing. All in all it was a sweet race and worth coming back to.

Watch more video of Barry-Roubaix: The Killer Gravel Road Race on cyclingdirt.org

By the end of the race my legs started to come around again to tough out the last couple climbs and catch a few people in front of me. The last lap was spent riding pretty much alone so racing wasn't really happening anymore and it turned into a decent training ride. I did manage to use the powertap and get some sweet data. For a months worth of riding again I'm happy. The normalized power was 263 for 4 hours which surprised even me. The steady wind and what seemed like never ending climbs at times played a small part into that number lol. There is a long way to go in terms of fitness but this last weekend wasn't a bad start. The next post should bring the last couple months up to speed as a lot as changed in my life on so many different fronts. Till then keep the rubber side down and your spirits up for warmer weather.

Trying something new

There is a lot that has changed for me since my last post and I promise to elaborate more about it soon. For now I'm back in the swing of training and looking forward to the first "race" of the year which is just around the corner.

Barry Roubaix looks pretty sweet to me and I've decided to try a few new races-events this year to keep things interested. I figure I can't go wrong with a slogan that has has Killer, Roubaix, and Gravel all in the race title.

Did I mention it's 65 miles of a killer gravel road race? Even better! I hope I get enough miles logged between now and then to survive this bad boy. Expect MORE soon and a race report for this one for sure! Till then..... Peace Out

Street Player

Chuck Norris has nothing on Jens Voigt

http://www.jensvoigtfacts.com/

Iceman 2010

Another Iceman is in the books! Overall a great weekend with plenty of fun both on and off the bike. The drive is about 8 hours from Sheboygan to Traverse City so the plan was to leave Friday morning at 7am. Normally I'm the one heckled about being a little behind schedule when we wanna leave....NOT this year, not even close! Wally Kunstman decided to be 45 minutes behind schedule because his little girl didn't want him to go. It's not like we were in a super hurry to get there but the daylight was going to be lacking when we got there.

Finally at Timber Ridge with daylight falling fast we suited up for a ride of the last 8-9 miles of the course. 33 degrees and a inch of snow on most of the course made for an interesting warmup. I didn't have a problem and surprisingly felt great but the rest of the crew was slipping, sliding and shivering their way around the course. With the legs feeling better than I anticipated and ready to kill it we took care of the last couple items of the day.... eating, registration and a good nights sleep. A last minute ice-cream snack before bed completed the pre-race rituals :)

Saturday morning came early and everything was going smoothly. A short but solid warmup came and went being in the 3rd wave of the day. With the countdown lacking a little enthusiasm compared to the all famous GOOOOOOOOOOOOO from Don Edburg the race was off and I knew instantly it was going to be a great day! Up the right side straight into the front 3 riders in less than 10 seconds. Years of cross racing balls to the wall left me wondering why the pace wasn't at least 5 mph faster and I had all I could do to contain myself from drilling it by myself like the year before. I played my cards perfect and just sat in the top 5 guys through the entire lead out and into the woods. There were a few surges in speed as fresh legs tried to make their way to the front but soon found they couldn't handle their own pace and fell back just as quick as they came. I stayed calm and focused on the 2-3 guys in front of me just following wheels and closing the small gaps that opened when they attacked. The miles ticked by pretty fast.... the first mile marker I saw was 27 to go and the next couple were 22, 18 and 16. The pace was perfect and I only really felt red lined once as I had to close a decent gap around the 17 to go marker. That effort left me a little queasy but a couple deep breaths got the heart rate back down and settled in.

Somewhere around 15 or 14 miles to go I was at the front setting the pace and bobbled over a little icy log pile that forced me off the bike. I quickly ran the hill after the log and did a smooth cross mount to catch back on to the back of the group I was riding with. This effort and the attack that followed put me on the edge again as I yo-yo'd my way to the group. It seemed like the group was just in front of me but the gap never really got smaller or bigger for the next couple miles. By Williamsburg Road I could still see the main group in the not to far distance as I desperately tried to get into a rhythm and close the gap. I looked down at the Garmin and saw I was more than half way there in 51 minutes! This put me on track to finish around 1:45 and crush my best time. By this point my back was starting to get pretty tight and uncomfortable for some reason unknown to me and making it more and more difficult to pedal hard like I had been for the last hour. I was trying not to panic but knew the pain was getting pretty bad fast and crippling my ability to pedal hard or fast. I knew I hadn't gone out to hard and had plenty left in the tank to keep the pace at that level. It was becoming a helpless feeling as I watched what I'm quite confident was my best Iceman and season result taken away from me with nothing I could do about it! I tried to reassure myself the pain wasn't that bad and I should quit being a sally and crush it for the less than 10 miles of racing ahead of me. This thinking only worked for so long and the only relief in pain came when I was out of the saddle. Again this lasted for only so long and soon I was unable to ride up the steep climbs. My pace and heart rate were falling fast and soon I wasn't able to stay with the big groups that were passing me. The damage was done and I was going backwards fast!

The last 5 miles were the worst and found myself diminished to walking almost every hill in a feeling of helplessness. The root of the problem is still unknown but I'm guessing a pinched nerve that I've been battling with this entire season from time to time. I managed to limp my way to the finish and complete the race in a disappointing 2:06. Some how I finished 8th in my age group out of 83 to give myself a little reassurance it was not as bad of a race as it felt. Congrats to Brian Matter for his 3rd Iceman victory in 6 years! His success never ceases to amaze me and helped me to forget about my sub-par race.

No Iceman is complete without an appearance at the Bells MTB Team end of the season party! As usual it was a great time with plenty of stories from the season. Next up is late season training block to keep the fitness up for the last couple cross races. 4-5 weekends left with a couple local races, state championships, Jingle Cross and last but least Cross Nationals in Bend, OR.