pedal.write.pedal.write.pedal.
30 April 2010
29 April 2010
Tour Of The Gila Stage Two.
Windy suffer fest. Basically that's all there is to write really. Finished somewhere in the front group but was one hell of day. Wind gusts were insane and for a lighter guy like me I battled all day. Pretty smoked right now so that's all my brain can really handle in terms of a report. Enjoy the videos instead.
28 April 2010
Tour Of The Gila - Stage One.
Third times a charm right? That's what they say I suppose, and yes folks this is my third crack at the Gila and it doesn't get any easier. Big field this year at 194 riders and I don't really need to elaborate who is here do I? Lance, Levi, Zabriskie etc....the list goes on alongside every other major US domestic pro team.
Stage one is in the books and results wise I have no idea, but it was WAY better than the previous. First time I was a little too wet behind the ears and got dropped before the Mogollon and last year I was in the break and blew at the bottom of that nasty ascent to the finish. This year the pace was fairly relaxed from the gun and a break of 11 rolled away pretty quickly and quietly. Garcia followed the move so we were happy days there, and after an hour or so United got on the front (they missed the move) and rode tempo. The biggest factor become the cross winds in the rolling hills and Gray and I were one of the very last lucky few to make the major split (it was not pretty but we got there). The break just like last year was brought back on the flats before the climb and as the road went upwards for the final brutal 5kms I took a fairly relaxed approach, not wanting to throw myself in the red too early. And it worked pretty well, riding my own rhythm and passing maybe 10-15 guys before the line. As i said results wise at the moment I have no idea but not too bad for the first day I think.
This will give you an idea of the split...lucky we all made this front group as those echelons at the back don't look too fun at all really...
The biggest difference today was just how organized and dialed this team is, getting us on the road (70 mile transfer back to Silver City post stage) straight away, meaning my legs are up faster and you guys get to read this report sooner! Fort Bayard Inner Loop Stage tmw....Garcia is 2nd in the sprint comp so maybe we can come home with a jersey depending on how things pan out. Laters...cw
Food For Thought From Ed.
"It's so important - Every day we wake up, we're creating our memory. We have to create the best ones we can, even if for one day. Find your goals and take them one step at time. Your happiness and control form responsibility. It takes work and you MUST do things yourself. Don't expect anyone else to do it for you. Don't feel sorry for yourself. I've learned that about myself. I once thought I was under the lion's paw but when I decided to take on responsibility, I became much more free."
Eddie Vedder
26 April 2010
25 April 2010
La Vuelta de Bisbee.
There is a ton to write about the last few days. First time down here in Bisbee, AZ which if you get on the old Googler Maps would notice that it's super close to the Mexico border. To translate, there is a large amount of border security vehicles and patrols about to watch for any fence jumpers. Yep we are that close. Kinda a crazy concept coming from a land that doesn't border with anyone else.
So the drive down from Colorado was pretty solid to say the least. Highlights (or low lights I should say) included Holt's bike almost flying off the van roof when the rear wheel strap broke and also running out of gas 3 miles before the servo. Never a dull moment for Team Rio Grande that's for sure. So the town of Bisbee is pretty cool. Has a real Euro feel to it with really narrow steep lane ways and quaint old buildings. The race itself is pretty straight forward, 3 days, four stages with two TT's and two road stages. With the full squad here using it as a launch pad for Gila next week we were all pretty pumped to have a strong showing against Fly V and United being the two major pro teams here.
Okay so the last post outlined my prologue TT with a 14th place which I was more than happy about. 1.5miles uphill was a real lung buster but I felt I paced things well and happy to crack my first top 20 with an egg shaped helmet on.
Stage One threw us a curve ball that's for sure. Apparently most of the time it comes down to a bunch finish, so our plan was to protect Gray (9th prologue) and stick Holt in the break as a safety net. Needless to say when the break of 7 stayed away and gained 11min we were pretty shocked. I guess Fly V and United were happy to plan their cards with Lill and Killun respectively rather than keep Rory in the jersey after he smashed the prologue. So Holt took fourth on the stage outta the break and over night shot into 4th GC! Cycling is pretty crazy sometimes and all of a sudden the rest of us were defending at top 5 spot. That afternoon there was no rest for the wicked with a 7.2mile TT to suffer in. Once again I have hit a purple streak with my TT'ing taking out 19th place. Something in the water down here I think! Holt rode well and didn't lose any time overall with the final road stage on Sunday.
So enter the time frame right now. Sitting on the bed pretty tired after the 84mile slug fest this morning in the Bisbee sun. My role was to patrol the breaks with Krughoff and Bingham early on and then spend the rest of the time looking after Holt. After stage one's surprise pretty much every move was being brought back and quickly. There were a couple of moves that I was semi confident in that we were away (one in particular with two Fly V and one United) but after 1.5hrs in I took a back seat. This is where once again this sport threw a curve ball. After rolling back through the caravan from a stopped nature break (yellow jersey included in the group) almost instantly a group of 11 rolled off the front and stuck. Luckily Garcia made the move and represented the red and black. Our group fluffed along really and pretty soon the break had 3minutes and were away. I unfortunately hit a random hole and somehow knocked my front derailleur out of alignment causing some shifting havoc. Major thanks to the United Healthcare wrench for the mechanical assistance and with the pace off it was a fairly easy chase back into the bunch. The stage finished with a solid steady highway climb where guys were blowing up big time. Luckily I was able to stay with Holt and help defend his GC position (5th was only 13sec behind and in our climbing group) and roll home the stage in 15th. Garcia took 5th place and shot up the overall to 11th. In the end it was 22nd GC spot for me and 3 outta 4 stages inside the top 20. Full results here if you are interested.
So two days rest now and Gila starts next Wednesday. Motivation is high in the Rio Camp, especially taking 3rd Team GC behind Fly V and United...top amateur if you like. So rest for me now. Thanks for reading and enjoy the videos. Later, cw.
So the drive down from Colorado was pretty solid to say the least. Highlights (or low lights I should say) included Holt's bike almost flying off the van roof when the rear wheel strap broke and also running out of gas 3 miles before the servo. Never a dull moment for Team Rio Grande that's for sure. So the town of Bisbee is pretty cool. Has a real Euro feel to it with really narrow steep lane ways and quaint old buildings. The race itself is pretty straight forward, 3 days, four stages with two TT's and two road stages. With the full squad here using it as a launch pad for Gila next week we were all pretty pumped to have a strong showing against Fly V and United being the two major pro teams here.
Okay so the last post outlined my prologue TT with a 14th place which I was more than happy about. 1.5miles uphill was a real lung buster but I felt I paced things well and happy to crack my first top 20 with an egg shaped helmet on.
Stage One threw us a curve ball that's for sure. Apparently most of the time it comes down to a bunch finish, so our plan was to protect Gray (9th prologue) and stick Holt in the break as a safety net. Needless to say when the break of 7 stayed away and gained 11min we were pretty shocked. I guess Fly V and United were happy to plan their cards with Lill and Killun respectively rather than keep Rory in the jersey after he smashed the prologue. So Holt took fourth on the stage outta the break and over night shot into 4th GC! Cycling is pretty crazy sometimes and all of a sudden the rest of us were defending at top 5 spot. That afternoon there was no rest for the wicked with a 7.2mile TT to suffer in. Once again I have hit a purple streak with my TT'ing taking out 19th place. Something in the water down here I think! Holt rode well and didn't lose any time overall with the final road stage on Sunday.
So enter the time frame right now. Sitting on the bed pretty tired after the 84mile slug fest this morning in the Bisbee sun. My role was to patrol the breaks with Krughoff and Bingham early on and then spend the rest of the time looking after Holt. After stage one's surprise pretty much every move was being brought back and quickly. There were a couple of moves that I was semi confident in that we were away (one in particular with two Fly V and one United) but after 1.5hrs in I took a back seat. This is where once again this sport threw a curve ball. After rolling back through the caravan from a stopped nature break (yellow jersey included in the group) almost instantly a group of 11 rolled off the front and stuck. Luckily Garcia made the move and represented the red and black. Our group fluffed along really and pretty soon the break had 3minutes and were away. I unfortunately hit a random hole and somehow knocked my front derailleur out of alignment causing some shifting havoc. Major thanks to the United Healthcare wrench for the mechanical assistance and with the pace off it was a fairly easy chase back into the bunch. The stage finished with a solid steady highway climb where guys were blowing up big time. Luckily I was able to stay with Holt and help defend his GC position (5th was only 13sec behind and in our climbing group) and roll home the stage in 15th. Garcia took 5th place and shot up the overall to 11th. In the end it was 22nd GC spot for me and 3 outta 4 stages inside the top 20. Full results here if you are interested.
So two days rest now and Gila starts next Wednesday. Motivation is high in the Rio Camp, especially taking 3rd Team GC behind Fly V and United...top amateur if you like. So rest for me now. Thanks for reading and enjoy the videos. Later, cw.
23 April 2010
On The Right Foot.
Down here at Bisbee AZ....prologue tonight, uphill 19.mile TT.
Finally cracked a good one with 14th place and 3rd Amateur...happy days!
http://www.lvdb.info/2010/10_RESULTS/EVENT_A/PSA.pdf
Double day tmw....should be a ripper.
Finally cracked a good one with 14th place and 3rd Amateur...happy days!
http://www.lvdb.info/2010/10_RESULTS/EVENT_A/PSA.pdf
Double day tmw....should be a ripper.
19 April 2010
Fly Like An Eagle.
Ah I think these Monday morning posts are much easier to write now that the race season is happening. Or maybe it's the java that's just been downed, the Smashing Pumpkins playing and the scrambie eggs in the gut. Probably a combo of all three I would say!
Okay Haystack TT. Boulder Colorado folks is quite a competitive little place, and on a cold a drizzly Saturday afternoon every man and his disc wheel was out there on hwy 36 for a 12.mile throw-down. And when I disc I mean it, with plenty of guys out there sporting gear that came straight off a ProTour truck. Me, well I was on a data collecting mission to have a closer look at some potential pacing issues that I seem to have had trouble with over the last few TT's, so a standard Powertap wheel was my weapon of choice. Not very fast but knowledge is power I say. And looking at the post race file I was right, averaging 20W less over the last half of the race. For a 20km TT that's pretty significant and good to know. I am definitely loving the challenge of this time trialling gig. Last year it was more like just blips in the radar during stage races on borrowed gear and wacky positions but this year I am trying to crack the puzzle with a bit more time and effort into the process. So anyway results wasn't flash, but my data mission was deemed very successful.
Air Force RR. What a cracker. Held on the 86' Worlds course down at Colorado Springs, I was pretty stunned when told we were already at 7000ft off the start line. Not bad at all. Loop is cool, quite straight forward really with the first half kinda flat and the last half rollers and some significant little climbs. No doubt that's where the shit would hit the fan. Field was decent with Fly V, United/Healthcare, Jelly Belly and Mountain Khaki's riders making up the pro contingent. Fly V were the ones to watch hearing rumor that the next month of races are internal selection races for California. Plus they're just THAT strong. Was cool to catch up with Jai Crawford who is on the squad this year after racing him on the mtb back in the day. As far as the black and red burrito boys were concerned we had a full squad out there and we were eager for a good showing. Holt rolled into the early move and is fast becoming our breakaway specialist and doing a bang up job of it. Back in the bunch the first lap was very tame with the break getting 2mins super quickly. Then the second lap onwards the Fly V train casually went to the front and just turned the screws a little more and more each time up the climbs. Pretty soon the bunch had been whittled right down, and with Holt still up the road we had Bingham, Garcia, Gray and myself left in the front chase group. Up the climb for lap 4 of 5 Chris Baldwin attacked hard and caused a major ripple in the group. Gray was able to respond and make the selection that shattered the rest of us. Going into the final lap Garcia, Bingham and myself worked in a small group until the fun began about 5kms out from the line. Brad attacked hard on one of the steep pitches drawing the group to follow. Not content to give up that easily he attacked twice more, before slipping away over the crest hoping to snag the last spot in the top 10. With some tired legs at that point Groove/Subaru's super strong man Greg Krause slipped away on the downhill to try and catch him back. Sensing a sneaky move like this I glued onto his wheel ready to pounce anytime Brad (who was giving it full gas solo to the line) may have got caught. Luckily Brad held on over the uphill finish and I rolled over Greg to finish on Brad's wheel for 11th. Gray finished up around 8th after surviving some silly speed's from United and Fly V I'm sure. Overall I was so stoked on how the team rode. We gelled well and were confident on the road to hold our position when needed and when the shit went down we had the most amount of guys left compared to the other amateur teams.
Time now to rest. Leave for Bisbee on Thursday. Thanks for reading and have a great Monday wherever you are...cw
Okay Haystack TT. Boulder Colorado folks is quite a competitive little place, and on a cold a drizzly Saturday afternoon every man and his disc wheel was out there on hwy 36 for a 12.mile throw-down. And when I disc I mean it, with plenty of guys out there sporting gear that came straight off a ProTour truck. Me, well I was on a data collecting mission to have a closer look at some potential pacing issues that I seem to have had trouble with over the last few TT's, so a standard Powertap wheel was my weapon of choice. Not very fast but knowledge is power I say. And looking at the post race file I was right, averaging 20W less over the last half of the race. For a 20km TT that's pretty significant and good to know. I am definitely loving the challenge of this time trialling gig. Last year it was more like just blips in the radar during stage races on borrowed gear and wacky positions but this year I am trying to crack the puzzle with a bit more time and effort into the process. So anyway results wasn't flash, but my data mission was deemed very successful.
Air Force RR. What a cracker. Held on the 86' Worlds course down at Colorado Springs, I was pretty stunned when told we were already at 7000ft off the start line. Not bad at all. Loop is cool, quite straight forward really with the first half kinda flat and the last half rollers and some significant little climbs. No doubt that's where the shit would hit the fan. Field was decent with Fly V, United/Healthcare, Jelly Belly and Mountain Khaki's riders making up the pro contingent. Fly V were the ones to watch hearing rumor that the next month of races are internal selection races for California. Plus they're just THAT strong. Was cool to catch up with Jai Crawford who is on the squad this year after racing him on the mtb back in the day. As far as the black and red burrito boys were concerned we had a full squad out there and we were eager for a good showing. Holt rolled into the early move and is fast becoming our breakaway specialist and doing a bang up job of it. Back in the bunch the first lap was very tame with the break getting 2mins super quickly. Then the second lap onwards the Fly V train casually went to the front and just turned the screws a little more and more each time up the climbs. Pretty soon the bunch had been whittled right down, and with Holt still up the road we had Bingham, Garcia, Gray and myself left in the front chase group. Up the climb for lap 4 of 5 Chris Baldwin attacked hard and caused a major ripple in the group. Gray was able to respond and make the selection that shattered the rest of us. Going into the final lap Garcia, Bingham and myself worked in a small group until the fun began about 5kms out from the line. Brad attacked hard on one of the steep pitches drawing the group to follow. Not content to give up that easily he attacked twice more, before slipping away over the crest hoping to snag the last spot in the top 10. With some tired legs at that point Groove/Subaru's super strong man Greg Krause slipped away on the downhill to try and catch him back. Sensing a sneaky move like this I glued onto his wheel ready to pounce anytime Brad (who was giving it full gas solo to the line) may have got caught. Luckily Brad held on over the uphill finish and I rolled over Greg to finish on Brad's wheel for 11th. Gray finished up around 8th after surviving some silly speed's from United and Fly V I'm sure. Overall I was so stoked on how the team rode. We gelled well and were confident on the road to hold our position when needed and when the shit went down we had the most amount of guys left compared to the other amateur teams.
Time now to rest. Leave for Bisbee on Thursday. Thanks for reading and have a great Monday wherever you are...cw
16 April 2010
Ducks In A Row.
First off, check out this. That is some top notch behind the scene logistics going on! Super organized and prepared.....my kinda team! In fact (on a very tiny scale compared to Sky) I'm in the same boat right now, starting to get organized for the first road trip leaving town next Thursday. Fresh Vittoria tubulars are being glued, food gathered and bikes getting prepped for the Bisbee/Gila double. Wow it's come up quick but I'm pretty excited to get finally the ball rolling with the NRC stuff. With under 10 days of racing in the legs at the moment I'm still a little green that's for sure, but hopefully Bisbee will open things up a bit and with a completely different set up Gila should be unreal. Plus they reckon LA will be there again so no doubt it will be huge. Speaking of huge, I'm pretty excited to have switched my power measuring duties from a Powertap to an SRM over the last week. By chance, by fate or just the right place at the right time I was able to make a straight swap of the two and I'm pumped to still get nerdy power numbers and still have swanky carbon race wheels on. Too cool.
Norris has left town yesterday hopping a short plane ride to race Sea Donkey this weekend in CA. Weather looks good and the guy is turning the pedals well after a third place last weekend at Boulder-Roubaix so watch the results for the plucky bloke from the Maine' tearing shreds. Boulder-Roubaix was okay for me, nothing spesh really with a 21st placing and all my skin so that was a good thing. As I said the fitness isn't too bad, just need to get more race days in the legs really. This weekend it's yet another TT (I'll get one right one of these days!) and the big Air Force RR on Sunday which we'll have a full squad ready to throw down. Watch for Gray I say.....laters...cw
14 April 2010
Gray Wins In Iowa!
Ian Gray has taken our first Team Rio win last weekend in Iowa at the Climbing Hills Classic RR. The young whippet out climbed his breakaway companions on the final climb for a solo win. Great work shags....way to go!
Nature Valley Pro Ride 2010
One of the highlights of my season last year was to qualify for the NVGP Pro Ride Team. Such a cool conccept that they have put together, especially for aspiring amateurs like myself. Great race, great people out there and it looks like Team Rio Grande is attending this year so no crazy trips to Illinois again to try and qualify for a spot....sure was fun though! For those interested in further information check out the link above and get your butt to one of the qualifying races and throw down hard!
08 April 2010
Get Your TT On.
It's always great getting positive news. I mean who doesn't like positive news right? So yesterday morning Jon and I tested here at the P2P studio. Well I should re-phase that. I suffered through an LT test while Jon squeezed blood outta my ear lobe every three minutes in the name of science. We were both doing our respective jobs I suppose. But most smart bicycle riders who do the competition thing know, that regular testing is very important to track improvement. So without letting too many cats outta the bag right now I am WELL ahead of the curve compared to last year and have seen SIGNIFICANT improvements in my threshold power. Us bike racers can be canny folk, so I won't bore you with the number details and such, but I am very happy with the work I have done to prepare for this season. And who said a snowy Colorado winter would be bad for me! I guess the underlying point I am trying to get across is that everyone wants maximum returns from their investments, and for me that was training my ass off from November till now and seeing some significant improvement. Anyway....
So the fitness did get a test last night at the first Cherry Creek TT Series. After the snowy start to the day by the time 4.43pm rolled around the roads were dry and the sun was out. Thanks to George my Orbea TT rig was dialed and I even got to bust out the fancy new Giro TT lid for the first time. Yes folks no matter the result I felt fast. Did I mention how sweet our Rio long sleeve skin suits are! Legs were a little sloppy thanks to the mornings test, but I had fun and can't wait for next week where I'm sure I can but my initial time. I think a mid week TT series is perfect for me right now as we edge closer to the first big hit out for the year. Hello Bisbee/Gila in a couple of weeks time.
So the fitness did get a test last night at the first Cherry Creek TT Series. After the snowy start to the day by the time 4.43pm rolled around the roads were dry and the sun was out. Thanks to George my Orbea TT rig was dialed and I even got to bust out the fancy new Giro TT lid for the first time. Yes folks no matter the result I felt fast. Did I mention how sweet our Rio long sleeve skin suits are! Legs were a little sloppy thanks to the mornings test, but I had fun and can't wait for next week where I'm sure I can but my initial time. I think a mid week TT series is perfect for me right now as we edge closer to the first big hit out for the year. Hello Bisbee/Gila in a couple of weeks time.
04 April 2010
New Kicks!
With a huge thanks to MG and Bont Cycling I'll be rocking these bad boys this season! Verdict so far is they are far and above the most comfortable shoes I have ever used. 15min in a toaster oven and these things had molded perfectly to my hoofs. And don't get me started on just how stiff these puppies are! Super thin carbon sole translates to superb contact with the pedal which equates to instant power transfer. Best of all they are Australian made! Awesome. Check them out here.
03 April 2010
Super Saturday.
Twas a solid day today, heading out to Golden in the early morn for the Lookout Mtn Hill Climb TT. The climb is pretty local for me, and almost has the same sentimentality as the old 1:20 back home. Train on it heaps and know it well so I was kinda pumped to race up it. Plus it was the first time on the new Reynolds since having them sitting there and begging to be raced during winter. I would have to say that using the term 'windy' is a massive understatement. All day it was blowing a friggin' hurricane, and being a lighter fella it's something I don't get real excited about being tossed around like a rag doll. Still waiting on the final results - Tom Danielson said on his Twitter he punched out 400W average for the efforts so I'm pretty sure I was nowhere near that.....pretty sure!
Back up in the afternoon for the famous Koppenburg road race. Haven't done this one before but certinaly has a little local legend status too it, featuring a short 5mile loop with a 17% rutted out dirt climb. Norris and I pre rode it yesterday and I'm glad we did. Lines were limited with some nasty deep ruts and soft sandy dirt. Start line was well stacked with everyone back from Redlands with JD being out there representing in his new Bahati Foundation threads amongst a few others to watch including Brad and a gaggle of strong Garmin U23 guys. Gotta love CO racing......
First lap madness...I ended up taking the fence-line route...little tougher but avoided the cluster that was....and I got to keep my shoes clean!
Aussie power!
First couple of laps was hot....waaaay hot. I was in the hurt box big time and quickly started to question doing the mornings TT. The wind was pretty horrendous and there was more than one brown shorts moment on the gravel roads and random front wheel stealing cross winds. Suffering hard is all I remember, but choosing some good lines up the main climb meant that the feet never touched the ground which was a big advantage as things blew apart super quick. In the end I found myself in a small group with team-mate Gray, couple of VC guys and HTSJ's Sully..always great to suffer with another Aussie distracting ourselves with some 12th man quotes. Once again no idea of results in the end...JD took out the big W and first Rio'er home was Garcia in 6th place. Enjoy the videos...time for a burrito!
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