End of a Season at the Rocky Mount Road Race and Criterium

     Well, the racing season is winding down, actually I think it's over for me. I have been racing since February and have had my best season of what has turned into a rather long racing career. It was the best season for many reasons... namely, racing with a new team with close friends, spending some awesome quality time with Evan, racing in several different states as well as in several races I have never done before, and finally, some descent results to boot! I worked really hard this year for the results I achieved. I focused on every aspect of what the sport requires, all the way from nutrition and weight training, to the long hours spent on the bike. JD McCay and I motivated one another to excel and held one another accountable on those cold, rainy winter days when we really didn't want to ride. I have found that as I have gotten older, I can still get fit... its just a hell of a lot harder to get there so having a good friend to help provide that little extra something really helps!

     I think the highlight of the whole year had to be Evan's selection to ride for the GARMIN junior development team. Christian Williams, the Team Director, had evaluated Evan at a USAC Junior Development Camp in Austin earlier this summer and he saw some potential. It will be up to Evan what he makes of this incredible opportunity, but he will have the best resources available to help him realize upon his potential. He also had some great results this year as a 15 year old racing against grown men. He won the CAT 3 race at Tour De Hills where he was able to stay with Peter Beland, arguably one of the best climbers in Arkansas. He also got third place in the Arkansas State Criterium championship in a field chalked full of some really strong guys. While I am so proud of his results, I am most proud of how he has handled his success on the bike. I really believe cycling teaches some good life lessons, and I think Evan has benefitted from his time spent involved in the sport.

     Unfortunately, Evan was sick this weekend and opted to stay home when JD and headed down to Shreveport, Louisiana for the Rocky Mount Road Race and Criterium on August 18th and 19th. I had never been there but JD had raced it last year so we decided to roll down in the RV and giv'em a run. I decided to race the Masters race as the 1,2,3 race was 81 miles which is a little long for my current fitness level. JD and I were up and adam at 6:00 A.M. for the 8:00 A.M. start. The field was comprised of around 40 riders and we started the race on time with a "KOM" prime of $50.00 only three miles into the race! While not excited about that kind of effort so early into the race, I decided to go for the prime. About half way up the hill it was down to just two of us and I thought I would be able to get the cash at the top. WRONG!!! I could not get by the guy and he beat me to the line and took my 50 bones. My excuse is that I was not warmed up... yeah, that's it... not warmed up. The truth is that the guy was 39.14 years old (he really was under 40) and he was just faster...up that particular hill. After the KOM the race settled in and a two man break finally got off the front. They probably got about two minutes on the field when Donnie Davis went to the front and started the chase. I took over after him, then JD, and then two other riders. The five of us traded pulls at 30 MPH and the break came back just like that! It's amazing what can happen when there is cooperation among just four or five guys. After that there was a flurry of attacks but nothing could get established. When we came to the KOM hill for the third and final trip up, everyone knew the attacks would come. About half way up the climb a guy swerved hard left clipping my wheel. I barely avoided crashing by swerving hard to the left also. When I did, I felt pressure on my rear wheel and then heard a big crash behind. It was JD, and then four guys piled over the top of him. The guys on the front upon hearing the carnage put the hammer down hard hoping to blow the race apart. I made it up to the wheels as four or five guys kept the pressure on and whittled the remaining guys down to only seven or eight. The finish was only about eight miles from that point and after a few attacks, the group resigned themselves to the inevitable uphill sprint to the finish. I was really worried about the guy who had beat me for the KOM prime so I was watching him closely. He finally jumped hard at 200 meters but I was able to get his wheel and jump around much easier than I had anticipated given the butt whooping he had given me earlier. JD was actually able to remount and after getting a double wheel change from the wheel truck, and man handling a bent deraileur and front brake, he rolled in not long after our group and well ahead of others.

The Finish of the Rocky Mount Road Race

     The next morning we awoke for the 8:15 start of the criterium around a really fast, wide open course at the local community college. I am much more at home crit racing where the speeds are high and the corners are tight. This crit would be somewhat uneventful as the course simply was not selective enough to allow a break to establish. As we came around the last corner with about 300 meters to go I felt good enough to lead out the sprint with the confidence that no one would be able to come around. Certainly, I don't always have that feeling and most of the time have to play the sprint a little safer by coming off a fast wheel closer to the line. I just think the course was so open that following the wheels allowed for almost total recovery prior to the sprint, thus giving me the confidence to take it from a long way out. In any event, it felt good to get the "double" for the weekend!

     Here ends my last race report for 2012! I am glad that I took the time to do these little write-ups as they are fun for me to look back on and re-live some of the great experiences of the past year. I hope at least a few of you have enjoyed my post also. Thanks for reading!
   

   

The Star Spangled Crit / Arkansas State Championship

I am really late posting this race report for several reasons. Mainly, it was just not a particularly exciting race as the July 1st heat caused significant attrition in the 1,2 race in which I was participating. That, combined with a relatively small field, created a somewhat confusing race for spectators as riders ended up spread out all over the course. Within two laps of the race, however, I had figured out the tactic I needed to employ to win the State Championship crit. Trevor Johnson had shown up with two out of state teammates, and it became apparent early on that they were going to sacrifice their chances for Trevor to get the jersey. Once that became apparent, all I had to do was to mark Trevor, not giving a hoot about what went up the road without him, knowing that his two very strong teammates would bring anything back that did not have Trevor in it. There were several hard attacks early in the race, most of which contained either JD McCay or my other teammate, Wes Wolfenburger. I was able to sit in while this flurry was taking place, unless Trevor tried to slip into the break. Both JD and Wes ended up in doomed breaks as Trevor's teammates would not work with them to stay off the front. Trevor would usually counter attack the breaks that came back and he and I eventually got off the front together.

One of Trevor's teammates was off the front in a solo move and we eventually bridged up to him. The three of us then set about opening up the gap to the dwindling field. By then, the heat had really taken a toll in spite of a group of spectators led by our own Kris French throwing cold water on us every lap. Those regular dousings, combined with JD's miniature air-conditioning system (pantie hose filled with ice stuffed down the back of our jersey) that he and I were both using, kept me out of the danger zone with regard to overheating. Once we caught Andy, Trevor's teammate, he sat on the front and just towed us around the course trying to keep Trevor fresh for the sprint. What I guess Andy did not know is that while Trevor is arguably the strongest time trialist in Arkansas, he does not posses the fastest sprint in Arkansas. In my opinion, that honor would go to Nick Rogers whom we had thankfully dropped earlier in the race. The race had set up perfectly for me and short of crashing, I had it in the bag.

With about three and a half laps to go Trevor put in one last ditch attack to try and get rid of me. I never even came more than 12 inches off his wheel so he sat up not to far past the start/finish line. When Trevor sat up I subtly moved over to the right about 6 to 8 inches rather than jam on the brakes. As I was gliding slowly up Trevor's right side, Andy countered the move from behind me and to my right, but as he came by he clipped my handle bars and put me on the ground at 30 MPH. I got lucky in that he hit my bars with such force that I went down on my right side and was able to get over on my back for the 40' slide across the 125 degree pavement. Other than a bloodied right elbow and hip, I was ok. I tried to remount but my chain was jammed between the Chainring and the frame. Amazingly, Trevor's other teammate, Russ Walker, who was solo behind us, stopped to help me! I have never in my entire racing career had a competitor stop in the middle of a race to offer me assistance. Russ is the strongest 45 + bike racer in the entire southern region and is always a threat on a National level. His demonstration of sportsmanship will not be soon forgotten. In spite of his help it took me two to three minutes to remount and get going again.

I rode to the wheel pit hoping to get a free lap but it was to late as there are no free laps after three laps to go. My race was over so I went to our shade tree where my friends and family were watching to vent a little. After Trevor won the race, he and Andy came over to express their apologies and assure me that it was purely accidental, which I already knew. They are both great guys and I could tell they were sincerely sorry that the race had ended the way it did. Funny how I had just returned from Tour of Americas Dairyland where I did five races with no less than 75 people in each race without ever crashing, then I crash in a three man pace line going straight! That's racing I guess.

The Cat 3 race started right after the 1,2 race and I was excited to watch Evan. After the Ambulance technician cleaned me up a little, I settled in under the shade tree to watch his race. Other than a brave solo move by Ben Stone the 3 race pretty much stayed together. Mike Mattox and Chuck Emmons almost bridged to Ben but they crashed each other out in the 180 degree corner and both remounted and were able to get back in with the field. As the race wound down to the finish it was all back together and with three corners to go, an old sprinter named Eugene Kirsch jumped hard. He got an immediate gap and only Evan went after him. Mike Mattox got Evan's wheel and they came out of the last corner well ahead of the field, but well behind Eugene. Mike came around Evan for 2nd Place but Evan held on for the bronze medal in the State Championship criterium race. I was super happy for him and proud of the move he made to get the result.

Evan's 3rd Place against two fast Sprinters!

It was a great event but really almost to hot for bike racing. I hope the promoters will consider moving the race up on the calendar as it is a fun venue but the July 4th date just does not cooperate weather wise. The State Championship criterium was pretty much the last "A" race on my calendar. I may hop in a race or two in August and September but my "training" is over for the year as I just have no fun training in 100+ degree temperatures. I had one of the best, if not the best, season of racing ever. I think it was such a special year not only because of some good results, but also because of the people I was able to share it with. Travelling and racing with Evan was an experience that very few fathers will ever have the pleasure of having with their son. I feel blessed and fortunate to have been able to spend that kind of quality time with my teenaged son knowing that these years are fleeting. Hopefully, he will also  treasure the memories and be able to look back some day and know these times together were unique and special. Thanks for reading.

TOAD: Tour of Americas Dairy Land

Unlike some of my recent post where I have purposely edited my comments down to just the bare facts, this particular post may bit be a bit more verbose as I want attempt to capture some of the details that might allow me to look back at a later date and remember what was the toughest week of bike racing I have ever had. The week was made difficult not only by the fact that I raced five days in a row, but also because the fields were chalked full of talent as the race attracts the best riders from all over the country. I would venture to say that not even Nationals would be quite as fast, as my category at Nationals is now 45-49, and these races were 35+. The size of the fields made for fast racing as we always had around 80-100 guys lined up at the start. So, relatively young competition, ex pros, several National Champions, and over half the guys being Cat 1 and Cat 2 riders, equals fast racing!

Well, I am already a little ahead of myself as I need to back up and explain how I even came to the decision to fly halfway across the country to Milwaukee, WI to race bikes. It all started at Tour De Grove when I met Pablo Santa Cruz, a Cat 1 out of Clearwater, Fl that I competed against in Saint Louis for three days of criteriums. I wrote about those races in a previous blog. Pablo mentioned to me there that he was taking a "composite team" to TOAD in June to compete against the incredibly strong fields there. He mentioned the names of a couple of the guys that he had spoken to already and I was familiar with their names as I knew them to be some of the strongest Masters riders in the country. At the time, I was luke warm to the whole idea but later decided to leave straight from Junior Nationals where Evan competed in all three events, and fly up to Milwaukee from Augusta on Saturday, June 23rd. Upon my arrival I was greeted by Pablo Santa Cruz, Curtis Tolsen, Tony Scott, Steve Carrel, and Andy Mapple. Pablo is 48 and is a very quick sprinter. He wins most of the Masters crits in Florida and is also ranked very high on the road as well. Curtis is also 48 and a multi time National Champion on the track and has podiumed at Nationals on the road as well. Tony, 41, has gotten a silver medal at the World Championships on the track and has won Nationals. Steve, 47, has won the World Championship on the track! Andy Mapple, 50, is a multi time World Champion Slalom Water skier and is a world class athlete at 6' 4". He just started racing bikes four years ago and is already a Cat 2 and winning local races with his incredible ability to produce huge power. This group would prove formidable over the course of the week.

The first race was a criterium in downtown Waukesha, Wisconsin. It was a typical downtown crit course and had a huge crowd there to watch the races. The 35+ Cat 1,2,3 Race would start just prior to the men's Pro race and thus the crowds were arriving en masse. Seeing these crowds was exciting and made even more so by the fact that my good friends, John and Cindy Amato, from Milwaukee, were there to watch the race. Our field would have 80+ guys on the starting line, the majority of which were Cat 1 and Cat 2 riders. The start of these races can be hectic and getting a front row start is preferable when so many are on the starting line. Once we were allowed onto the course, I took a quick warmup lap, but had to stop on the back side of the course to take a nature break. By the time I came back around to the starting line I was in the very back of the group! After instructions from the chief official we were off. Once the group started moving to the left to take the first right hand turn, I sprinted up the right side gaining about 30 spots. After the first corner there was a gradual rise up to turn two so I punched it again and gained another 30 spots! Almost up in the front now I slotted into the pack and waited until the start /finish straight before moving up into the first eight or ten riders. I felt very fortunate to have moved from the very back to the very front in just one lap.

The first 15 minutes of the 70 minute race were very hard. The strong men were in the front going full gas on the gradual rise after turn one and up the start/finish straight which was also slightly up hill. At around the 20 minute mark a group of eight had torn itself off the front of the field and I happened to be in that group. Shortly after that a chase group of six joined the break and then we began to put serious time into the field. The gap went up to 45 seconds fairly quickly and ultimately we would come close to lapping the field. Our team, "World Masters", had three in the break of 14 and were thus the best represented. Tony Scott, my teammate from Atlanta, would prove to be one of the stronger guys in the field over the week of racing. He is 41 years old and at 6' feet tall is a very powerful rider. The other teammate in the break, Greg, was only racing for us in one race as he had to go home the next day. He was a pro racer that raced for the old "Saturn" team back in the day. With ten laps to go Greg attacked our break and got a nice gap. Amazingly he began to put real time into our group and with six laps remaining it appeared he might hang on for the win. There were five or six guys working to bring Greg back and they finally succeeded in doing so with only three laps to go.

Once Greg was back in the break he went straight to the front with Tony second wheel and me third. We looked like a pro team setting up a leadout as Greg kept the pace high enough to discourage any attacks. I, unfortunately, was beginning to feel the twinges of cramping at the critical moments of the race. I rarely ever cramp in crits and was shocked to be feeling the all to familiar electrical currents start coursing through my legs. I did not feel I would have my typical explosive sprint in my legs that day and began to question whether I could win a 200 meter drag race against some of these younger sprinters. I ultimately decided I would need to try to do something a little different and after Tony took over with one lap to go I decided I would jump early. As Tony was about to go into the third to last corner I jumped as hard as I could barely squeezing between him and the curb on the inside and leaving no room for another rider behind me. Tony yelled "No G#@ D%&%*t". I hit the 2nd to last corner with a 15 meter gap on a guy from Boulder, Co. that had won the previous two races. When we hit the last corner he had closed the gap and came around me with 200 meters to go. Perfect! I jumped on his wheel for 100 meters and came around him for the win, all the while cramping in both hamstrings and quads! I was ecstatic as the win was probably my best ever given the competition and the size of the field. Tony thought I had gone way to early and that is why he had yelled at me. I think knowing he would have kicked my butt if I lost is what provided me with that extra little bit to come around Carlos Casali at the finish.

After the race the official on the motorcycle following our break found us and told us that our tactics in the race were perfect and that it was the best race he had seen the entire week. As a team, we were pleased with the effort and knew we had accomplished something special in such a large field of talented riders. John and Cindy had watched the whole race and Cindy had taken several photos. She took the photo of the podium ceremony included here. We then all loaded up and drove to John and Cindy's house on the lake and had an incredible home cooked meal of steak and Salmon in their beautiful back yard. A perfect way to cap off a perfect race!

The Podium in my Cow Jersey!

The next day was a 60 mile road race on a 10 mile circuit with two nasty five minute climbs. Attrition took its toll and by the end of the race only Curtis and I were left in the field as our teammates had all dropped out saving their legs for better days ahead. I ended up 15th which was the last paying placing. That race would be our worst team performance the whole week. The third day was the Schlitz Park crit with a very steep climb every lap followed by a screaming descent back down to the start/finish straight. I felt incredible on the climb which required a short, but explosive effort followed by a nice recovery on the descent. I was able to win two out of the three primes offered by attacking up the climb. My teammate, Tony won the only other prime. Attrition began to take its toll and soon there were only 20 guys left in the front group. I liked my chances given the ease with which I was climbing the hill relative to the others but I missed the winning move and ended up in 6th place. I was extremely disappointed with that placing as I thought I could win that particular race because of how well the course suited my strengths. It just goes to show how the strongest guy does not always win and good tactics can prevail on any given day. The next day was another 60 mile road race around yet another 10 mile circuit. It was very hot and although there were no big climbs attrition quickly whittled down the field. I ended up in a 4 man chase group trying to bridge to two leaders. We were unable to catch the leaders but I lead out out Tony for 3rd place and I was able to hang on for 4th. Another good day for the World Masters team. The last race was another crit in Sheboygan. It was a fast four corner course that would prove to be dangerous as the weaker riders were able to stay in the group causing us to go into every corner with as many as five riders wide. A break did not look likely so I just rode wheels toward the front of the field, although, staying in front proved to be much more difficult than in the other crits with more selective courses. With 5 laps to go the pace increased dramatically with riders constantly swarming the front. With 3 to go two teams were on the front keeping the pace over 30 MPH so I went forced my way into about 4th wheel and got a perfect single file leadout from another team. As we came into the 2nd to last corner some guy dove into the inside forcing everyone to the outside whereupon a guy next to me hit the curb and crashed. The chaos caused me to lose a couple of spots and I came out of the last corner in 6th place to start the sprint. I past 3 riders and ended up with 3rd place for my second podium finish.

I came away from TOAD with an appreciation for the Masters field there and just how fast the racing can be when you have that many strong guys in the group. There was a competition within a competition for the highest placed 45+ rider each day and I ended up in 1st Place after our last crit in spite of missing the first two races. I remained in 1st until the last race since we also missed the last three races. I ended up 3rd in that competition, although, I really had no aspirations. Pablo, who had organized our team and provided the jerseys etc... was very pleased with our performances overall and announced his intention to sponsor us again next year. We were also proud to have donated money for Pediatric Cancer Research for each race in which we participated. Pablo deserves special credit for having pulled our team together and organizing our contributions to charity. I had an incredible time racing at TOAD and hope to return should I ever have the form to do so again. Thanks for reading!

Tulsa Tough

Tulsa Tough was a race that our team, OKC Velo, had placed an asterisk next to on the calendar as it was a high priority race. It would take place the weekend of June 7th and 8th. The race attracts the largest Masters field each year in the Central part of the country and given that it is in our team's back yard, our presence was required.
 
Saturday's race was on a relatively flat course but the high temperatures and stiff winds would make for a difficult race. Starting the 3rd lap a solo move went up the road and very quickly began to put time into us. That move was made by a 40 year old rider from the "Elbowz" team, a semi pro team that had been winning some of the Pro 1,2 races in the area. It took about twenty minutes for the next move to get up the road with four of us. One guy, in particular, was very strong and he was intent on establishing the break. Without looking back he put his head down on some of the more difficult parts of the course and literally rode the other two guys off his wheel. It was down to just he and I and we proceeded to try and catch the Elbowz rider. While we put a dent in his lead, it became apparent we were racing for 2nd place. With one lap to go my breakaway companion began to try various things to drop me, none of which were effective. I won the sprint for a tough 2nd place.

The next day is known as the "Riverside Crit" and is a very difficult course with a steep climb every lap that takes a severe toll on the field after several laps. The climb is known as "Cry Baby Hill" and is packed with crazy spectators ringing cow bells and screaming encouragement to the riders. It has a very "Euro" feel and is a really fun place to race. Fortunately, I was able to stay in the front up the climb and just let attrition whittle down the field . Towards the end of the race there were only 5 or 6 guys together out of the 70 starters. One of the riders in the front group was Janne Hamalainen, a two time National Champion and climber extraordinaire. With one lap to go he hit Cry Baby Hill with everything he had and dropped all but two of us. On the flat section following the climb he sat up and I was able to recover for about 10 seconds before attacking with everything I had into the 2nd to last corner. I immediately had a large gap with neither of the other two guys really chasing hard. I sprinted to the last corner and hit the finish straight with a 50 meter gap for what was my best win of the year, and perhaps, the best win in many years given the competition. Tulsa Tough is appropriately named and a really fun place to race a bike. I will be back! Thanks for reading.

The Oklahoma Pro Am Classic

The morning of June 2nd saw me, Trevor Johnson, and JD McCay pile into my car for the five hour drive up to Oklahoma City. Evan was heading down to Austin, Tx. for a USAC Junior Development camp so he could not make the trip. The rest of us would be racing a crit on Saturday and another on Sunday. The race on Saturday did not start until 4:00 P.M. that afternoon allowing for our Saturday morning departure.

We arrived at the venue in downtown Oklahoma City about 1:30 hours prior to the start of the Masters 40+ race in which JD and I would be racing. Trevor would be racing in the Pro 1,2 race which would not start until 8:55 P.M. that night. I had originally planned on "doubling up" and also racing the Pro 1,2 with Trevor, but high temps and a nagging cold convinced me that descretion, in this case, was the better part of valor, so I ultimately decided to watch that race from the gallery!

OKC Velo would have eight or nine guys line up for the start of the Masters race which usually guarantees multiple attacks from anxious Pirates trying establish a breakaway. My old friend, Janne Hammilian, however, made sure nothing was going to stick in which he was not present. He either went with every break, or brought them back. He is just incredibly strong and has the rare ability to bring back even the strongest groups of riders if he misses the attack. About a quarter of the way through the race, Gil Summy, a very strong OKC Velo rider got away solo. After several accelerations by other riders attempting to bridge up, Janne launched an attack when the race had reached its zenith in terms of difficulty. I knew I had to go with him so I gut checked and rode across with him to the lone breakaway, Gil. We also had one passenger that refused to do any work, even after the four of us had been away together for three or four laps. Not long after bridging up to Gil, he began to fade and eventually came off the break. The other rider continued to sit on as Janne and I worked to open our gap to the field. No amount of prodding had an affect on our passenger so Janne told me to attack and he would bridge back up to me after dropping the free loader. I did as instructed and looked back to watch Janne sit on the guy until there was a large gap up to me, then he attacked him up the small climb on the back side of the course. The plan worked perfectly and when Janne got back up to me I put in a hard dig to ensure the demise of the dropped rider. Janne told me that he would not sprint me if I would work with him, which I had planned on doing anyway. I assured him that I would do my share unless I had teammates coming across the gap. There actually were a couple of OKC riders that attempted to bridge up and I would sit on Janne until I would see them get swallowed back up by the field. Janne never said a word, but he would notch it up any time he knew someone was attempting to bridge thus ensuring his second place.

As we came around for the last lap I told him to feel free to contest the win as he had earned the right to do so with all the work he had done in the break. As we came out of the last corner I accelerated and crossed the line for the win as Janne is not a sprinter. He is, however, one of the strongest 50 year old men in the country on a bicycle as his two National Championship jerseys prove. OKC also took 3rd, 4th, and 7th so it was a good day for the team.

Trevor started the Pro race on the back, and he stayed there for the next 90 minutes even as other guys were getting dropped. I could not believe the tenacity Trevor displayed hanging on, in spite of getting gapped a half dozen times and literally time trialing back onto the back of the field. He is one strong rider and I would hazard to guess his power file would show he averaged more watts during the race than the guys in the front since he was constantly yo-yo'ed in addition to having to come around riders that were getting gapped off. He ended up finishing the race which is an accomplishment in and of itself. More than anything, he got more comfortable toward the end with his cornering on what was a challenging crit course.

The next day I lined up in the Pro 1,2 race as I did not want to wait around for the Masters race to start at 3:45 P.M. I was very happy that I could stay in the front of the field even with several Pro riders from the "Elbowz" team launching attacks. After a break got up the road I missed the the boat when four guys launched the chase. I was angry with myself because I knew when it happened it would stick. After three laps I decided to gamble it all and attempt to bridge up to the chase. I got within ten meters before blowing up completely. The field was nowhere in site and a top ten place was guaranteed if I could just make it ten more meters to the wheel. It is so frustrating to be so close...yet oh so far away. I pulled out after missing the chase as I had no desire to drift all the way back to the field. While upset about missing the move to the chase group, I was actually pleased that my fitness level allowed me to move around in the field, as opposed to hanging on for dear life, which is what I thought might happen. Trevor had already come off the back so we got to pack up early for the trip back to Little Rock. It was a fun weekend of racing with good friends and no drama! What more can you ask for? Thanks for reading.

Racing Rapides Stage Race

Should I participate in life this weekend or just sit on the couch? I don't think I have ever even had to think about the answer to that question because I have never ask it! I have a feeling that 99% of those reading this blog are the same. So, Evan and I, along with Kris French and JD McCay loaded up the RV again with eight bikes and headed down to Rapides Parish in Alexandria, Louisiana for a three stage race. Kris, Evan, and I would be competing in the Category 1,2,3 race and JD would compete in the Masters 40+ race.

The road race was at 8:00 Saturday morning and would be a 75 mile gallop through the rolling hills of central Louisiana. I rode what turned out to be a stupid race in that I was literally in every breakaway attempt but maybe two or three. I expended way to much energy for naught and paid for it at the end of the race where the sprint was up about a 500 meter hill. I ended up 5th but at least was in a small group of only ten or so riders that had made the split when the race tore apart about ten miles from the finish up a really long grinder. The great news was that Evan had made the split and finished in the top ten of his first 1,2,3 race! Our average speed was exactly 25 MPH so the race was far from easy on such a rolling course. Whereas I rode a stupid race, Evan rode the perfect race always staying at the front but rarely sticking his nose in the wind. I was very proud of the boy and the decisions he made in the heat of battle. Kris also rode a good race and ended up 4th.

Right after our finish I heard an official say the Masters racers were only 1 K out. Evan and I and Kris went to the finish to watch as JD launched his sprint early at 600 meters. He held it all the way to the line for his first road race win of the season against some of the strongest Master's racers in the south. So far, it had been an awesome day with more to come that afternoon in the time trial.

The TT was three miles long but mostly up hill. JD would be first off and he posted a time good enough for 3rd place in the Masters race. Evan started about 30 minutes later and I started only 30 seconds after him. I told Evan right before his start to not let me catch him! He managed to hold me off and finished about 10 seconds before me for a time of 7:20 while I rode a 7:00 flat. I continue to be amazed at how much power Evan is able to generate from his relatively slight 15 year old frame. He evidently derives the majority of his power from his cardiovascular system, and as he matures and puts on additional muscle mass, his power numbers should increase dramatically. Several of the Cat 1's and 2's were complimenting Evan on his road race and I think that must have motivated him for his TT! Kris rode a storming TT with a time of 6:41 which put him in 2nd place in the overall with only the crit left to race the following day.

Sunday morning JD lined up determined to hold on to his 2nd Place in the GC, or overall. Unfortunately, the guy in third was a little faster sprinter and was able to gain time by winning a "hot spot" where time bonuses are awarded to the first three guys across the line about halfway through the race. JD lost his 2nd place but held on to the podium spot for a well earned 3rd Place against strong riders.

The 1,2,3 race started off fast and stayed that way. Herring Gas had the most riders with 7 or 8 and thus controlled the race. They were determined to unseat the guy in 1st Place GC, a very strong racer out of Texas named Russ Walker. The attacks were fast and furious with Russ having the responsibility of having to chase everything by himself. I sat on for the first 15 minutes of the race but after one particularly long chase by Russ to bring back yet another break, I attacked him with all I had. As I accelerated away I saw that there were only two other riders trying to come with me and Russ was not one of them. I felt it was the perfect scenario and would allow Kris to sit on Russ's wheel as he would be forced to chase again. After my initial attack I took two more hard pulls trying to establish the gap. After two laps, the incredibly strong Russ Walker came across the gap bringing three other riders with him. Unfortunately, Kris was not one of them. At that point I sat on the break hoping Kris would come across either solo or with one or two other riders. The riders driving the break were making that possibility more difficult with every lap as we quickly put time on the field.

About 25 minutes into the race the officials rang the bell for the "hot spot". There were 6,4,and 2 seconds on offer for the first three to cross the line and I was intent on getting some of that precious time. One of the Herring Gas riders was leading out his teammate for the sprint and we had a drag race to the line. I won the "hot spot" by a tire width. Now I knew who to watch in the sprint for the race win and hoped his teammate would lead him out again for a similar result! As the race neared the end there were a few attacks with three, then two laps to go, all of which were covered. With one lap to go one of the Herring Gas riders blasted off in a full sprint and I jumped for his wheel. Once I caught on he sat up but continued with a pace high enough to discourage further attacks, sacrificing for his teammate, which was also perfect for me. As we neared the last corner I jumped with everything I had to hit the corner with serious speed. As the finish straight was over 300 meters long into a headwind everyone else elected to try to ride wheels and have some kick left at the end. That decision allowed me to have a 30 meter gap all the way down the straightaway and to take the win with even a small time gap to 2nd place. The combination of the 6 second Hot Spot, the 10 second time bonus for the win, and whatever time gap I was given, moved me from 8th place to 3rd place in the GC. I was happy to have the win, but my elation was dampened with the knowledge that Kris had lost his second place. 3rd place on the podium is not as desirable as 2nd place on the podium, even when combined with a stage win. Tactics in any given race are always hard, sometimes impossible to dictate. The ideal scenario would have been for my attack to cause Russ Walker to have to chase so hard that Kris could sit on and jump around him to bridge to the break by himself and move to 1st Place in GC. Kris is a super strong rider and that kind of effort is well within his abilities. As it turns out, both 2nd Place GC and 3rd Place GC missed the break, so there was a significant reshuffling at the top of the overall finish order. I was disappointed with the result, but short of dropping out of the break and going back to the field there were really no good options other than to try and make the best of the situation by moving as far up in GC as possible.

After I crossed the finish I quickly came back to watch Evan and Kris finish. I saw Kris finish strong but I did not see Evan. I rode over to the medical tent and saw him sitting in a chair receiving treatment for some severe road rash. As a parent, whenever you see your child hurt it evokes an emotion that is so primal that it is really indescribable. I wanted to exchange places with him and have all the pain transfer miraculously into my body. I wanted to pick him up and hold him like a little boy a blow on his boo boo and make it all better but I was powerless. The elation I felt with the win vanished immediately and I realized more quickly than usual, how fleeting those feelings are, and how unimportant they are relative to things like the health of your children.

A little room to spare in Alexandria

We got Evan back to the RV and got him in the shower to clean out his wounds. The sounds coming from that bathroom I do not want to hear again any time soon, especially from any of my off spring. JD proceeded to expertly dress his wounds with the kit we keep on the RV for such unfortunate occasions. Once he got bandaged up he settled in for the trip home and endured his pain like a man. JD commented that Evan has now officially completed his right of passage into the sport and in a way it's true. Crashes are simply a part of our sport and a risk we all take when we roll up to the start line. Evan had not ever had a crash and while I knew it was inevitable, it was still very hard to watch him have to endure the pain. I'm glad he got his first one behind him without any serious injury, but I know in time, we will all crash again! Thanks for reading.

Just Short of the "Hat Trick" at Tour De Grove

There is something about being fit that creates an intense desire to race! After a long winter spent training, and then a Spring filled with races with varying degrees of success, I have finally reached what I feel like might be a peak level of fitness. When you happen to stumble upon your peak level, you just want to race because of all the work that was put into attaining your top physical potential. It's really not surprising to me that I am going relatively well at this point in the year. I have always raced well in May and June, and then started the inevitable decline as the weather heats up and the races are fewer and further between. So, I guess it is time to make hay while the sun is shining, so to speak. That said, I packed my bags last Friday, May 11th and headed to Saint Louis for the Tour De Grove.

I would be racing three different criteriums on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I had decided to drive up because three of my teammates would be there that would be driving from to Saint Louis from Kansas. Evan wisely decided to skip this weekend as he had been racing almost every weekend for the last two months. He needed a break and I was glad to see him exercise discretion and get some rest. JD McCay had also made other plans that involved a women and a small cabin in the woods near the Buffalo River, so he could not be persuaded to even consider changing his plans. Kris French was in a state of flux with regard to his form so I would be driving up solo. I actually welcomed the solitude of the 5 1/2 hour drive and arrived in Saint Louis at 2:00 with the race starting at 4:15.

The Friday night race would take place on a traditional four corner crit course with a long straightaway throughout the start/finish area but very rough pavement on the backside of the course. For some reason I had more butterflies than normal prior to the start of the race. I think it had to do with the fact that this was obviously a well promoted event with a large, quality field. As the race began we all started the process of figuring out the best lines through the corners and sizing up who would be a factor versus who would be "pack fill". There were several attacks that all came back very quickly. When the announcer rang the bell for a $50.00 cash prime (winner of the next lap gets the money), I maneuvered for position intent on sprinting for the cash. As we came around the last corner with 200 meters to go I accelerated and was surprised to have a large gap which allowed me to be able to sit up and cross the line first without having to expend to much energy. I was hoping that winning the prime was a harbinger of things to come and that a race win would come as easily. After the prime there was an attack from a member of the largest team, Big Shark. The guy got a nice gap quickly and then extended it over the next couple of laps until he had about 15 or 20 seconds. My teammate Bruce Tanner went to the front to bring back the escapee and began to cut into the lead. After sitting on the front for two full laps, my other teammate, Jay Hawkins took over and brought the Big Shark rider back. I never had to work and felt lucky to have teammates willing to work for a team win. With one lap to go a very strong rider from Florida went to the front to lead out his teammate. I was third wheel and liking my position. As we came out of the last corner the Florida Velo rider in front of me accelerated very hard. I really had to dig deep to hold his wheel and was only able to come around him for the win in the last 50 meters. During the warm down lap I spoke to my new friend, Pablo Santa Cruz. A very fast ex professional soccer player, and ex professional indy car driver that now feeds his competitive drive through racing bikes. Pablo is really quite the character and would be a factor in every race.

Saturday morning's race was at a new venue in an area called "The Grove". This course was non traditional in that it was about two miles long with several left and right corners. The first corner would be a factor in the race in that it was less than 90 degrees with a decreasing radius that was very difficult to take with any speed. Saturday's race was the "headliner" for the weekend and as such had the most prize money on offer. While most of us don't race for the money, it is nice to at least cover your cost for the weekend if possible! Once the race began I settled in and just rode wheels for the first several laps as half hearted attacks were all brought back. When the announcer rang the bell for another $50.00 prime, I once again maneuvered for position, which would prove difficult to maintain over the two mile long lap. As we came around the last corner I was on the wheel of a small guy with a blond surfer hair do and was ready to light him up for the money! When he jumped I tried to match his acceleration but quickly realized that I simply could not. I sat up to conserve energy and watched him easily take the prime. "Uh oh", I thought to myself, this guy is gonna smoke me today.

Shortly after the prime lap there was a flurry of attacks as the race got very hard and fast. At one point I was in a break with the small, surfer dude, Pablo's teammate, and a Big Shark rider. I thought the break had a really good chance of staying away so I did extra work to try and make it stick. All but the surfer dude were contributing but the pack was chasing hard and ultimately brought us back. With one lap to go, I had to really expend a lot of energy to move to the front. As we went into turn one a guy rolled his tire right off the rim causing a massive pile up. Pablo and his teammate were up front and upon hearing the carnage they attacked hard. I literally had to sprint to get back on terms after getting slowed by the crash that had unfortunately taken out both of my teammates, but also took out speedy surfer dude. Once I reached the front group I rode right to the front and took Pablo's wheel again. He was getting another lead out from Mark, his teammate and I liked my position. As the last corner was a very wide 180 degree turn that you could take with speed I attacked with a wide open sprint about 200 meters before the last corner taking everyone by surprise. I was able to fly through the last corner, open my sprint back up with 150 meters to go, and take the win by several bike lengths. It was a risky move, but I did not know the surfer dude had crashed and felt I needed to make the sprint long and hard knowing he had a better jump. By the way, I later found out that the little surfer dude was Jamie Carney, a World Champion on the track and multiple time National Champion, not to mention his many years spent as a professional bike racer. More about Jamie later!

After the race on Saturday while waiting on the podium ceremony, I spoke with Pablo. He had missed the podium but his teammate Mark, had gotten third. We hit it off immediately and I was reminded of some of the other reasons I love this sport, and one of those reasons are the people you meet that are involved in it. I have met some very interesting people over the years and have been amazed at how many common threads there are between those of us that race bikes at this level, and specifically, those of us over 40 that are still doing it. Pablo and I agreed to meet back at the race course to watch the pro race later that afternoon and then have dinner together with all of our respective teammates, which we did. We had a wonderful meal together and made what will probably be a lasting friendship.

On Sunday morning we arrived at yet another venue in what is known as the Dutchtown area. The course was a little longer that a normal crit but had some elevation change which would make the race a little harder and make a break away more likely. As we warmed up before the race the pre race buzz was that Jamie Carney would be racing with us. When someone pointed him out to me I realized it was the little surfer dude from Saturday and then things began to make sense in terms of why a 44 year old Master's racer was able to make me feel like a small child when we went for the $50.00 prime the day before.

 When the race started Jamie attacked into the very first corner with a one guy going after him. I instinctively jumped for the wheel of the guy trying to bridge to Jamie and just that quickly, we had a small gap on the field. As we came around to the start/finish straight which was a long uphill drag to the line that got increasingly steeper, I put in a very hard pull that was really just a sprint up the long hill. Unfortunately, the third rider came off after the pull and I asked Jamie if we should wait on him. Jamie shook his head "no" and put his head down to try and pry open the gap to the field. The field was chasing frantically as they knew who Jamie Carney was and I assume they were aware I had won the last two races. Jamie and I quickly established who would pull on the various parts of the course and we settled into time trial mode. For the first five laps I was literally sprinting the entire start/finish straight and then Jamie would let me recover for next 400 meters or so before I would take the next pull. The guy was smooth as silk and taught me a thing or two in that break that you would think I would have learned in 25 years of racing bikes. We switched leads in the corners where the guy in back would take the inside line and the front guy could just swing off then right back on the wheel for a super smooth, fast transition. We were flying! The field kept the gap at 15 to 20 seconds for the first 10 laps with Florida Velo and Big Shark doing the majority of the work chasing. Normally the field will reach the point where they will sit up once they realize a break is going to stick. These guys chased for much longer than normal but we finally managed to break the elastic and opened the gap to 45 seconds.

As we counted down from 3 laps to go I was wracking my brain on how I might be able to beat this wily veteran. With a half lap to go Jamie looked at me and smiled and said "well, the only thing left now is a sprint", to which I replied, "yeah, and I think we both know how that's gonna end"! With two corners to go, about 400 meters from the line, I was behind Jamie and jumped as hard as I could into the corner, with the goal of going into the corner with more speed, in order to gap him coming out. The idea is that if you hit the corner with more speed there is nothing the guy can do as you flow through the corner because he cannot pedal through the corner at such high speed. Well, the first part of my plan worked and I hit the next corner with about 12-15 meters on him. As we came out of the last corner with the long drag to the line, I looked through my legs to see him slowly making up ground. At that speed the draft extends back as far as 10 meters and once he got in my draft it was game over. He came around me on the steepest part of the hill and took the win. The good news is that I had not made any mistakes, I had no regrets, I had simply gotten beat by a faster guy.

As we took a warm down lap I spoke with Jamie about his accomplishments on the track and he informed me that he had recently won the World Championship in the Scratch Race (basically a crit race in a velodrome) on the track. I clarified that he did not win the Master's World Championship, but rather he had won the UCI Worlds against the fastest sprinters on the planet at age 44! He is the oldest guy to ever win a UCI World Championship in any event on the track. What an inspiration to know that old guys can still compete at the highest level! I had a new found respect for the little surfer dude. I googled him when I got home and his list of accomplishments as a cyclist was a few pages long. It was really fun to race with a guy with his experience and it certainly made it more tolerable that he had foiled my attempt at a "Hat Trick" of winning all three races that weekend. I would put the weekend up into the top three I have ever had as a cyclist, not just because of my placings, but also because of the quality of the events themselves, and certainly the quality of the riders in the field. And, I beat Jamie Carney in a crit!!!! (shhhh, don't tell anybody it's because he crashed :-) Thanks for reading.

The Junior Cycling Scene in Central Arkansas

This post would fall under "other stuff" with regard to the title of my blog. So while race reports seem to roll off my tongue with ease as I simply replay the race in my head, "other stuff" may not come so easily so bear with me. The junior cycling scene here in Central Arkansas has exploded. Whereas, ten years ago there were only two or three kids under the age of 17 racing bikes, there are now no less than twelve or thirteen juniors that are out there riding their bikes on a regular basis. Why is this exciting for an "old head", washed up bike racer like me? Well, for starters, its just awesome seeing these young guns out having fun doing something that is healthy and that generally has a positive influence on their young lives. Cycling can take up a lot of time in one's life that might otherwise be spent being idle. Idle teeneagers are prone to get bored, bored teenageers try to find something to do, and without sounding like the Comcast commercials that end with the mantra "don't end up in a roadside ditch", you get the picture. Cycling keeps these kids out of trouble and immersed in a healthy lifestyle that will serve them well their entire lives.

Another reason this phenomenon has me excited is that it will result in a sharp increase in the number and quality of bike racers coming out of our state. I saw first hand a significant decrease in the pool of talent from the mid 90's through as late as 2010. When I was racing for the Walmart elite team in 1996 we had twelve Cat 1 and 2 racers all of whom hailed from Arkansas and all but me were under 30 years old (I was 32). Beginning in the early 2000's there were very few active racers that held a Cat 2 license, and fewer still that held a Cat 1 license. That situation got progreesively worse until the only cyclist holding a Cat 1 or Cat 2 license in Arkansas were over the age of 40, with no new blood replacing the old ranks. Included in this latest crop of junior racers are several that are already Cat 3's and should easily have their Cat 2 licenses prior to turning 19 years old. I firmly believe we have a few guys that will become Cat 1's prior to reaching their 20's. This is in stark contrast to what we have seen for the last 15 years where there were no new Cat 1 licenses being issued in our state at all, and only a handful of Cat 2 licenses. These statistics speak volumes about the overall health of competitive cycling in Arkansas. I see the tide turning back to the days of having as many as twelve Cat 1 and 2 bike racers, all under the age of 30, racing here in our state. I have always believed in a "trickle down effect", whereby, up and coming cyclist are motivated by their stronger peers. When a beginning cyclist can go to a race and watch their friend, who happens to be a Cat 1 or 2 racer, competing in the Pro 1,2 category at a local race, it tends to inspire those just starting out to reach for new heights with the attitude of "if he or she can do it, I can do it"! That phenomenon is extremely healthy for the sport as it increases the quantity and quality of competive cycling in our state.

One of the reasons for this recent resurgence in the popularity of the sport for juniors has a lot to do with several High Schools in Central Arkansas that are participating in the Texas High School Cycling League. A local veteranarian, Renee Lavergne, is responsible for having recruited most of the kids involved, including his son Zack, who recently won the overall championship. He has donated both money and time to ensure that these kids could get to the races (all in Texas), and to ensure that they all had access to the equipment needed to be successful. While some of the kids would have gotten involved in the sport without this avenue, most would not have. I believe that Renee's dedication to this effort is the single biggest contributing factor to the dramatic increase in the popularity of the sport for juniors, which in turn will ultimately result in the increased popularity of the sport in general. The more cyclist out there riding and racing means more people advocating for the rights of cyclist, as well as for our safety. So, if you see Renee, please tell him thank you for doing his part! Thanks for reading.

Slobberknocker, Turkeys, and JMSR

I have done two races and been on one awesome turkey hunt since my last post so I have some ground to cover. I got a little carried away on my last post so I am going to try and condense a little with this one. The first of the two races was a really fun event right here in Central Arkansas called the Slobberknocker. It is a Mountain Bike event event but most of is on fire roads so it is perfect for a roadie. It took place this year on Saturday, April 21st,  on what was a very cool morning with not a cloud in the sky. Perfect conditions for suffering! I had to catch a flight to Kansas at 2:00 that afternoon for an annual family turkey hunt with my dad, my youngest son, John Collier, as well as my brother and his son. Given the logistics, I had to race the shorter of the two races which was 55 miles of hilly, rolling, classic Ozark Mountain terrain. Adding to the allure of the race this year was the fact that several of my childhood buddies were going to race. Dave Grundfest, David Snowden, Larry Carter, and Michael Lasiter all strapped on their helmets and let the dirt fly and the rubber roll in what turned out to be a really fun day for everyone (some might argue the definition). The longer race was 75 miles but we all started together with the short course racers making a different turn at mile 40 and heading back to the barn.

The first climb was only five miles from the start and is commonly referred to as "Thornburg". It is about two miles long and steep enough to break things up before the course turned off onto the dirt. As we hit the base of the climb I was sitting second wheel and looked behind to see over 100 riders starting to string out down the hill. My goal was simply to be with the front group at the top but I had no idea how many there might be. The guy setting the pace was going hard and I never got out of the big ring in order to keep up. At the top there were seven riders left and we began to work together to open our gap further. At mile 35 after several climbs we hit the first technical section and I was a little nervous about getting dropped by all the mountain bikers since my technical skills are a bit rusty at best. I guess it got my adrenalin going because I slowly began to ride away from the group. In all fairness, however, they were probably not worried about me as I had shared with all of them I was racing the short course and they were all racing the long one. I hit the check point at mile 40 with about a one minute advantage and soloed in to finish in 3:28. My buddies all finished shortly thereafter with very impressive times. All of them placed well in our advanced age group! David Snowden even won the 50+ category for the short course race. After I finished, I grabbed some schwag that was on offer then headed to the car for a quick change, then I was off to the airport for four days of turkey hunting!

My son, John Collier is only 10 years old but is already an avid hunter. He killed his first Gobbler on the second day of our trip on what was a memorable experience for both of us. We called the bird in ourselves, without a guide, and John Collier made a perfect shot for a clean kill. He was beside himself and could not wait to share the news with his ten year old cousin, Silas. The weekend could have ended right then and there and it would have been top five, but it got even better when I was able to take my biggest bird ever. The cream on top is that three generations of East were all together making and sharing lasting memories. We came back to Little Rock on Tuesday and I had to figure out how to lose the 5 lbs. I had gained on the hunting trip by the following Saturday which is when the Joe Martin Stage Race was to begin for all amateur racers.

Evan and Dustin after the Podium ceremony.

The JMSR, as it commonly reffered, is one of the biggest stage races in the country each year with all categories well represented. This year, I would be racing the Masters A Race in the 40+ division and Evan East would be racing the Cat 4 race. The first stage is a horrible Time Trial that ascends into hell as you climb 2.5 miles to the finish racing against the clock. I simply cannot get my body to cooperate with the effort and guys that I can ride away from in races beat me like a yard dog in the TT. Evan, however, thrives in such horrible conditions and stomped the TT with a time that was good enough to put him in 2nd place going into the next event which was a 50 mile road race for him and a 69 mile road race for my group. I, unfortunately, was starting my road race in 14th place due to my dismal performance in the TT and I was itching to take out my frustration in the road race by trying to bend the cranks on my bike! Around mile 30 I got away in a "doomed from the beginning" solo move that saw me gain about a minute on the field at one point. My whole goal was to get to the big climb first in order to be able to take it easy up the climb and hopefully hook up with a small group that made it to the top first. Unfortunately, I got caught right at the base and suffered like a madman to stay with the leaders up the climb. Cramps came soon thereafter and I began to wonder if I could even finish, much less stay with the front group. We had already shelled over half of our field and I was glad to see JD still with the front group and looking strong. I, on the other hand, was looking anything but strong and drifted to the back to try and stretch out my cramps. One of the other "crampers" offered me some Enduralytes which I gladly consumed and then prayed for relief from what has plagued me all season. I must say, however, that on this occasion, I may have earned my cramps with my little 10 mile time trial effort that saw me go nowhere fast. Fortunately, the cramps did begin to subside enough for me to hang on, and even enough to get back toward the front of the group. Three cheers for Enduralytes!!! As we neared the finish there were several of the usual attacks from the guys that can't sprint that took a toll on all of us fighting cramps, and at that time that would be most of us. All the attacks were covered and as we neared the 200 meters to go sign I accelerated hard and got a nice gap that was enough to win the road race. I wish I could say I knew I would win it but I have never been more surprised to win a race considering how I felt with 20 miles to go. The good news was that my teammate, Frank, got a pack finish and held onto his 3rd place in GC. Evan also finished with a pack time in his road race and held on to second place GC. I moved up to 7th place GC as we had dropped several guys that had beat me in the TT.

Sprinting for USED tires!

Evan's 2nd Place

The next day was the criterium and I must admit that is where I am most comfortable. I like it fast, short, and technical. Our crit was only 45 minutes long and on a fairly technical course with a short but steep climb to the finish line and a fast descent on the back side with a 90 degree corner right at the bottom of Dickson Street. It makes for a very difficult, kind of scary course. As the race got under way I was never further back than fourth or fifth wheel and felt really good for the entire race. I even sprinted for a $50.00 prime that was on offer and nobody else even contested it. I also sprinted for a "merchandise prime" that ended up being a pair of USED Vittoria Clincher tires. They were white and very dirty with most of the tread completely worn off. Really? I handed the tires back and the nice lady gave me some butt butter instead. Bruce Dunn may get an email on that one, but that's another story! :-) As we started counting down with three laps to go my teammate, Frank, went to the front to hold the pace high in order to discourage attacks. He rode the perfect lead out as there were no attacks until about 400 meters to go. I was able to easily jump to the wheel of the attacker and sit until 250 to go when I launched my sprint. Going into the last corner I already had  a winning gap with only 100 or so to go before the finish. The win felt good but it is very frustrating to win the road race and the crit and only get 6th place in GC. Such is the life of a sprinter. Frank held his 3rd place GC so the team id well.

 Evan was able to defend his 2nd place with another good finish in the crit and stood on the podium for the second year in a row at one of the biggest races in the country. Dustin and I were very proud of him and I think he was also happy, although, I know he really wanted to win it. Evan has moved up to Cat 3 after his Joe Martin performance and will now be on the receiving end of what he has been dishing out this year. One thing I have learned in life is that no matter how accomplished you are at any given talent, there is always somebody better! So enjoy the journey because you might not even like the destination! Thanks for reading.
   

The Mississippi Grand Prix Stage Race

     I have traveled to Brookhaven,  Mississippi to race the Grand Prix for at least five different versions of the event throughout the last several years. Usually Dustin and all the kids come along and Dustin visits some of her classmates from Millsaps College in Jackson, Ms. which is less than an hour from Brookhaven. This year she opted to stay at home while Evan, JD McCay, Kris French, and Wes Wolfenburger and I took what is supposed to be only a five hour easy road trip in the Rockstar bus. All the guys showed up around noon on Friday, April 13th. We were running a little behind as Kris and Wes both had to race a criterium that evening at 7:00 PM in which only the category 1and 2 racers would participate. The Masters and CAT 3, 4's,  would not do the crit that night, but would race the 55 mile road race Saturday morning, and the 3 mile time trial Saturday afternoon, and the 25 mile circuit race Sunday morning. It is a timed stage race and the person with the lowest time at the end of all the stages wins. Throw in time bonuses for stage wins and one time bonus for crossing the line first in the middle of the circuit race (called a Hot Spot) and scoring these stage races can get a little complicated. I'm getting way ahead of myself because we have not even gotten out of my driveway at this point.

     JD showed up with all our groceries and we began what has become a well rehearsed bus loading ritual. Since we had TT bikes, we had four bikes on the receiver hitch bike rack and four bikes on top of the Master Bed (with a protective old blanket on top of course). We use one of those "boards" that has four fork clamps on it to hold the bikes upright on the bed. It works great. We finally pulled out of the driveway around 12:45 P.M. We were still going to arrive one and a half hours before the crit started so we were looking good until.... Evan said "Dad, why is the bay open over here on the side of the bus?" Whoops, one of the "basement" bay doors had popped open so we pulled over close to the University mall only a couple miles from my house. The boys hopped out to shut the door and reported the bad news. Two wheel bags gone. One had Wes's two Zipp 404's in it and one had Evan's rear Fulcrum in it. So... we have deposited onto the road about $4,000 worth of rolling stock somewhere along one of the busiest thoroughfares in Little Rock. Wes and Kris grabbed a couple of bikes and started riding down the road to find the wheels. Wes made it all the way back to my house about the time I called Dustin to report or predicament. She loaded Wes up into the car to drive back down the road for another look. In the mean time Kris had come back and posted something on Facebook about the wheels. About five minutes later, before Wes and Dustin had even made it back to the bus, Kris got a ping back on Facebook. Community Cyclist Bike Shop had the wheels! They had just been dropped off by some exterminator that happened upon them in the middle of Cantrell and University! Dustin and Wes went to go get the wheels, came back, and we were off again.... it's now 1:15 P.M. We can still make the crit in time.

     As we roll down the I 540 towards Pine Bluff we were all laughing about the near disaster. About that time I wondered if our bed linens that had been washed, had made it back on the bus. Another call to my sweet wife, "Honey, did you put the sheets back on the bus?". Her answer, "Really?". She had washed all the sheets, put them in separate bags for each bed, and set them by the door. Somehow, in my rush to leave, I forgot the freakin' bed linens. Another fire drill. Dustin hopped in her car to meet us at the Dixon Road exit with our sheets that we cannot do without. She arrived in record time and we filled up our fresh water holding tank while we waited, something else we had forgotten to do. As I maneuvered the bus around the gas station to leave, I realized I could not make the turn around the back side which required me to back out of what was a tight squeeze to begin with. In what seemed like an eternity we finally got back on the road.... it's now 1:50 P.M. If we make it in the estimated five hours we will arrive with only ten minutes before the race starts. Kris even questions whether he should even go since he would not be able to start any of the other races if he does not start the crit. I did not even acknowledge his comment and just put the hammer down determined to get he and Wes to the race on time. I even called my buddy, Frank Moak, who promotes the race to request some special consideration for the boys given our mini series of disasters. He said if we get 'em there before the gun goes off they can race. 

     We arrived at 6:35 to the venue in Brookhaven and JD and I and Evan proceeded to pump up tires, pin on numbers, and do everything necessary to get Kris and Wes ready to race. When the gun went off, not only were they on the line, but they had warmed up for at least ten minutes. The crit was fun to watch but I was itching to be racing with them. While I can't hang with the young guys in the longer road races, I can still go pretty fast in the crits and for about two seconds wished I had registered for the Cat 1,2 race instead of the Masters race. After seeing a couple of crashes, I soon purged those thoughts from my head and just sat back and enjoyed watching a good race. Kris and Wes both did really well with Kris taking 4th and Wes taking 7th. After the crit we had a fine meal at Foxy's Pizzeria. It was then off to the venue where the road race would take place the next morning.

     With the races starting at 8:30 we were up around 6:30 for breakfast. It is amazing how hard it is to get a 15 year old out of bed... even when he has a race in one hour! We all finally got suited up and ready to race in what was perfect weather. The temperature was in the low 70's heading for the low 80's with not a cloud in the sky. As I rode to the starting line I looked around at the group and recognized several familiar faces. A big part of racing is knowing your competition. You have to know who to watch in the race, who to chase down, and who to let ride away, knowing they will be back in the pack soon enough. Sometimes those decisions are more difficult, especially when there are teams represented by multiple riders. A team with large numbers can have a significant impact on how the race plays out. One team had eight riders and another had five. Then there was also my old rival, Donnie Davis, a very strong Cat 2 rider out of Florida. I have raced several races against Donnie and he always has an impact in a race. Winning races is something Donnie does well so one is wise to pay heed when he is on the starting line. 

     As the race progressed, I quickly assessed who I thought might be an animator. After only 20 miles a two man break went up the road that contained one member from each of the two largest teams. I quickly accelerated across to the two escapees and looked back expecting the field to be chasing... but they were not. As soon as I saw the peloton hesitate I went to the front and started taking long 30 MPH pulls trying to establish a gap. It soon became apparent that one of the guys would simply not be able to help as he was gassed just riding wheels. We knew, however, that we could not drop him as he was a member of the largest team and they would chase us if he came back to the group. We let him sit on and got down to the business of getting out of sight. The other guy that was helping was taking shorter pulls but he was giving me enough of a break so that we started putting serious time into the field. After about 20 miles of going full gas I knew we would stay away. We could not see the pack even on the longest straights. At mile 46 I started to feel twinges of cramps. Both of the other guys were hurting also but we felt we could stay away with only 7 or 8 miles left to race. At 51 miles I attacked as hard as I could and neither guy even tried to come with me so I focused on time trailing the remaining four miles to the finish. I came in about 1:00 minute ahead of 2nd place and 1:30 ahead of third. I was a full 3:00 minutes ahead of the field, so barring total disaster I felt like a GC (overall) win was in the bag. That afternoon in the Time Trial I rode a 6:02 over the three mile course but may have paid for my long effort off the front earlier in the day. That time was good for enough for 4th place in the TT so I was still in 1st Place GC by a comfortable margin. Evan rode a 6:10, only 8 seconds slower than my time for 4th place in the Cat 3,4 race. I could not believe he rode such a fast time on a flat course. I think he will be crushing me next year! JD also rode a good time considering he was on his regular road bike and most of us were on TT bikes.

Taking the first win of the season in the Circuit Race!

     After a good ole fashion Mexican fiesta at El Sombrero's we headed to the race venue for the next mornings circuit race, which would be four times around a six mile loop through a state park with little to no traffic. The next morning the ritual started over and we all began the process of getting race ready. A very pleasant surprise was the arrival of my childhood friend, Kyle Jennings. Kyle lives in Jackson, Ms and is married to the "Sweet Potato Queen". She is the famous author, Jill Conner Brown and has written several books, many of which have been best sellers. Kyle came armed with a camera which is where the picture came from which is attached hereto. Since our race was only 24 miles I knew all I had to do was manage any breakaway and keep it within the 3:00 minutes I was ahead. I spoke to 2nd Place before the race and he agreed to have his team help JD and I keep things under control. I was pleasantly surprised that both of the larger teams sent riders to the front to keep the pace high which discouraged attacks. I guess they were happy with their 2nd and 3rd places and were going to just try to keep what they had. Donnie Davis had other ideas but every time he tried to get away he had eight guys working to bring him back. I felt a little sorry for him because I have been in similar situations before and it can be frustrating, but today everything was working out just the way I hoped it would, with the race ending in a field sprint. Before that, however, another sprint would take place at the end of the second lap where time bonuses would be awarded to 1st, 2nd, 3rd place riders across the finish line. They would receive 6, 4, and 3 second bonuses respectively which would be deducted from their overall time. As we approached the line for the Hot Spot my goal was to provide JD with a fast leadout so that he might get one the time bonuses available. He was sitting third wheel when I accelerated and he barely missed the third place time bonus. I had gotten a gap when I jumped and ended up with the 1st Place Hot Spot which I did not really need but was glad to have in case I flatted later in the race. You never know when you might need a little time! 

     After the Hot Spot JD and I and Donnie Davis ended up off the front for about 5 minutes but the pack was chasing with all regiments so we were going nowhere. JD continued to close gaps the entire race making sure I was never in the wind. As we approached the finish I slotted in about third wheel and hoped the pace would remain high so there would be no last minute attacks. The two big teams did a great job of ratcheting up the pace so it was strung out single file with 1 Kilometer to go. At that point, a guy that looked like a 6' 4" track sprinter took the pace up to about 25 MPH uphill! He blew up with about 500 meters to go and another guy went to the front as we jostled for position at the front. When we hit the 200 meters to go cone I jumped hard. I looked back with 100 to go and had a winning gap of around 15 or 20 meters. I crossed the line and was relieved to have the first win of the season under my belt! Later I found out JD had held 2nd place until the last 20 meters where he was passed by two riders right before the line. We almost had 1st and 2nd, which really would have been an accomplishment against the larger teams.

     After my race I learned that Evan had attacked his group with 3 K to go and held it until right before the finish where he was swarmed by the field sprint but still held on for 4th place. Kris and Wes both missed the winning break in their race which contained about eight riders. Kris won the field sprint for about 9th place and Wes was just behind him. In spite of some bad luck on Friday the 13th we had a pretty good weekend. I apologize for the length of the post but these stage races are long in and of themselves! Thanks for reading.

Northwest Arkansas Classic

Well, since no one wants to read about a guy getting massive cramps after only 46 miles of racing, I have been struggling trying to come up with what might be considered interesting reading for this particular post. Certainly none of the guys on our bus had what any of us would desribe as a great race, but none of us crashed so I guess there are some bright spots. Anyway, Sunday, April 1st was to be a hot one for early Spring racing. The temperature during the race peaked around 91 degrees and that combined with a 15 to 20 MPH south wind made for tough racing conditions. I decided late in the week that I would race the Cat 1,2 event in order to try and help Kris French who the week prior had finished the Vuelta De Mexico competing against the likes of Oscar Sevilla and Javier Acevedo and other Tour De France Stage winners. In addition to Kris, Wes, Paul, Brady, Frank and I would be representing OKC Velo on the starting line.

The evening before the race Evan, JD, Kris and I had a nice dinner of Bartolli's Chicken Pasta with some good ole Texas Toast cooked expertly in the RV. After dinner, we settled in for a pay-per-view movie, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Not exactly the best movie to gently lead you  into peaceful slumber, but definitely a thriller. The next morning we all had our favorite, Jimmy Deans Sausage, Egg, Cheese Biscuit and an espresso, and then began the pre-race ritual of registration, pinning on numbers, etc...

When 10:00 arrived I felt ready to race. The field size for the 1,2 race was bigger than I had ever seen it in several years of having participated. I would guess there were between 40 and 50 guys on the line. Normally, this category has the smallest field because there are simply fewer Cat 1 and 2's in every state so it was a pleasant surprise to be lining up with so many. When the field is that big you can always expect the racing to be fast. Almost immmediately after the neutral start a Dog Fish rider attacked into the crosswind....solo. No one, except for maybe his teammates, thought he would be away long in such harsh conditions. He was out of sight realtively soon but there was still no panic in the field as we still had 70 miles to race. The first of three 21 mile laps was fairly steady with the occasional attempt to bridge to the lone rider off the front. The Dog Fish team, however, did a great job of controlling all the attacks and brought everything back. Wes Wolfenburger, one of my OKC Velo teammates, sat on the front and rode tempo most of the first lap trying to keep the lone break away within grasp. He totally sacrificed his race for the team and demonstrated the kind of selfless attitude you love to see in a teammate.

The second lap began with what felt like a little more urgency on the part of the field. The pace picked up and there were a lot more attacks. OKC almost always had a man in the attacks but every single attack eventually came back to the field. The second time up the only climb on the course I was in the front and feeling strong. On the false flat after the climb everyone is scrabbling for wheels into what was a fierce headwind. It was then after only 46 miles that I got a debilitating cramp in my left hamstring muscle. I got the kind of cramp that simply won't let go. I stopped pedaling and watched as the entire field rode passed me. I knew my race was over. As we were only 5 K from the start finish area I stopped, stretched out my legs, and eventually got back on the bike to ride back to watch the finish of the Masters and Cat 4 races which were only racing two laps. 

As I sat there in the grass at the finish line I was so damn frustrated. You train your ass off and then get these strange electrical currents that pass through your body and render your muscles useless well before you're fatigued. No one really knows what causes cramps, but everybody has an opinion and there are no shortage of  "secret" formulas for preventing them. For me, so far nothing has worked. I was adequately hydrated and had plenty of electrolytes in my system. My newest theory is that someone told me that to much spinach in your diet will cause cramps. I eat quite a bit of spinach so I am going to eliminate that from my diet to see what happens. What do I have to lose?

As I pondered my plight, the Masters race finished and I was ecstatic to see my teammates roll through in 1st, 2nd, and 4th place, Les, Peter and Jay respectively! JD had missed the break but still came in about 6th or 7th. Next the Cat 4's came through with Evan leading out the sprint from way to far out. He was swarmed at the finish but still managed to place just out of the top ten. A little later the 1,2's finished and the solo breakaway Dog Fish rider won the race after an extremely impressive 72 mile effort! Our best placed rider was Brady (7th), then Frank(8th or 9th), then Paul and Kris. A tough day for OKC in the 1,2 race.

As we packed up the bus to leave, our band of brothers was more quiet than usual with no one really happy with their result. As I reflected on the race during the trip home, I tried to put things into the proper perspective. More important than results is spending time with good friends with common interest, and in my case, spending time with my oldest son. Regardless of the outcome, these times are to be treasured as they are fleeting in this short life of ours. OK....I think I made myself feel better, but I'm still pissed about cramping! I can't wait for the next race! Thanks for reading.

Hell's Kitchen and Heaven in the RV

Sunday, March 18th was a great day to be alive and an even better day to race a bike. The previous day JD McCay, Evan East, and yours truly loaded up the RV in Little Rock and headed north to the Hogeye area which is just south of Fayetteville, Ar. The area is a well known and often used venue for hosting bike races not only because of the rural roads, but also because of the incredibly hilly and challenging terrain.

Moments before entering "Hell's Kitchen"

We arrived at the small church in Hogeye that has been used for registration for at least the last ten years for the Hell's Kitchen event. This race is always well attended and is an excellent gauge of one's early season fitness. We were able to pull the 40' Tiffin Allegro Bus right up into the gravel parking lot of the church which would be the scene of organized chaos that is the two hours before all bike races. JD and I had already done our leg openers Saturday morning but Evan had not yet ridden so he took off on his bike to reconnoiter the critical parts of the course where we had told him the smack would go down. JD and I went about the process of setting up camp, if you can call it that. First the jacks go down to level the bus, then the four slides go out turning the bus into what seems like a double wide, then the awning rolls out over the "patio" where we place a 15' X 15' sheet of astro turf, then the outdoor chairs and table. This basically completes the setup which makes for a very comfortable "camp". By the time Evan returned from his ride JD and I had whipped up a batch of Ground Elk Meat spaghetti which I am convinced makes you ride faster! After an awesome meal we cleaned up and settled in for an evening of watching old bike races on some new DVD's on the Flat Screen that occupies a large portion of the front of the bus. Knowing that Fabian was going to win the 2010 version of the Tour of Flanders I decided to turn in early.

The next morning dawned cool but far from cold. The race organizers were already scurrying about placing cones and setting up registration tables etc... After an espresso and a Jimmy Deans Sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit, we began to get ready to race. Being the first one's there we registered early and got our numbers pinned on, always a critical part of preparation! A floppy, flapping number is not desired and frankly the first indication that someone is doing their first race ever. During our ritualistic race preparation the parking lot slowly began to fill up and our Teammates started arriving en masse. I think our team, OKC Velo, had twelve participants which I would speculate was more than any other single team. We decided to divide and conquer so four of the guys did the Cat 3 race and the rest of us raced the Masters 40+ and Masters 50+ race which all started together. Evan was racing in the Cat 4 race flying the CARVE colors.

The Masters race finally started and we rolled out to begin the three lap circuit which would total 52 miles and three times up the 1.3 mile long climb that gives the race its name. As the neutral start vehicle sped ahead after getting onto the race course Janne Hamillian immediately put in a hard, vicious attack literally from the gun. Janne is a well known strong man and has a National Championship jersey in his closet from winning the Masters Nationals Road Race a few years ago. He has been on the podium at Nationals multiple times so is regarded as a threat in any Masters Race in which he participates. He also still holds the 1500 meter track and field record at the University of Tulsa (distance and school name might even be correct?) where he was recruited from overseas.

 When Janne put in his attack I was at the back of the group but immediately recognized the danger. Janne took about four other guys with him but he was driving the pace. I started making my way towards the front but it took me a little time to navigate through the traffic. When I finally got to the front I saw another rider trying to bridge to the leaders about 100 meters off the front. I accelerated hard with the goal of reaching the guy stuck in the middle. When I made it up to him he was already getting close to the break and the field had still not reacted. Once we joined the break I was happy to see one of my teammates, Frank Jackovich, had made the selection and we both just rolled through trying to figure out how to play it. Janne and two others were really drilling it and we were definitely putting time into the rest of the field. Two Tyson riders had made the break but were sitting on doing no work. Not long after the break was established I heard a yell from behind and recognized it to be a fellow Pirate (our team logo). Frank and I went to the back hoping the teammate could bridge with us sitting on but he was unable to do so. Once we knew the break was established and no other teammates could bridge the gap Frank and I began helping Janne establish a winning gap to the field.

As we neared the climb we all knew this group of seven would be whittled down after the first time up. We all hoped that both of the Tyson guys would come off as they were still not contributing to the break. At the top, a $50 Schwag Bag from Cliff Bar was on offer. Frank was leading the way with Janne behind and then me. Everyone else was gone. Once we got within 50 yards from the top I put in a little more effort to take the Schwag which I would later share with my teammate for his efforts. Once we hit the flats we were rewarded with about a 20 MPH tailwind. We could see two guys behind us trying to bridge and one of them was a Tyson rider. We decided to stay away as we did not want the dead weight of the Tyson rider with us. They stayed within sight until we took a left into the crosswind section and then noticed the Tyson rider had been dropped so we decided to sit up and let the other guy on so he could help with the work in the upcoming headwind section before the climb. The guy got on and after a short recovery he began contributing to the pace.

When we hit the climb the second time we decided to ride tempo so as not to drop our fourth man. As we went over the top he got a flat so we put our heads down for what was the final lap. To Janne's credit, he never skipped a pull as most people would have when racing against two teammates. We decided to work together and the best man would win the final time up the climb. At that point I was certain that it would not be me. As a matter of fact, I felt like I would probably be 3rd out of this small group as both Frank and Janne weigh 135 lbs. each and are both regarded as excellent climbers. As we got onto the climb I was happy that Janne was going fairly easy on the lower slopes. He was riding a steady pace which was right at 350 watts according to a subsequent review of my power file. As we hit the steep sections about half way up he turned up the pressure to 500 watts. I was under some pressure but was still on his wheel and felt I could hold the pace to the top where I was confident I could come around him. Not long after the steep part began Frank came off much to my dismay. As we neared the top I was still at 500 watts but still felt I could hold the pace to 50 meters to go. Janne is not only a very strong rider but a smart one as well. He told me later he knew if he did not drop me before the 200 meter cones that I would win. At about 300 meters to go and on the steepest part of the climb he upped the ante one more time and I was having to put out 590 watts to stay on his wheel. By now I was way into the red zone and way beyond what I could hold for vey long. I popped off right at 200 to go and Janne went on to take 1st Place and I took 2nd with Frank getting 3rd. We finished almost ten minutes ahead of the next group and Frank and I were both pleased with the results considering who beat us. We also had three or four other teammates finish in the money so it was a good day for OKC Velo.

While I was recovering from my efforts at the finish line I was anxious to know how my son, Evan (15) was fairing in the Cat 4 race. I had no idea if he had been dropped on the first climb, gotten a flat or what. After the last of the Masters racers had finished we were all looking down the hill to see which Cat 4 racers would appear first from around the corner. Finally, a tall kid came churning up the hill on his way to an impressive victory. Evan had targeted this race as an "A" race and I was just praying that he would at least be in the main field to finish in the top ten. So, I was ecstatic to see him come around the corner next with his mouth open and jersey unzipped. He was way in the clear as 3rd place was nowhere in sight. He came across the line to take 2nd place and I was so proud at that moment that it was all I could do not to tackle him. He was mobbed by his teammates as they came acres the line and he received the kind of accolades you might expect a 15 year old to get that had just beaten 50 or so grown men in a damn hard race. I have long dreamed of a day like that to share with my son and it happened. I am still shaking my head.

As the winner of the 40+ race (Janne is 50!) I received an engraved devils pitch fork (from Home Depot) for my efforts. After getting my pitchfork and collecting our prize money we began the 8 mile ride back to the RV whereupon I learned from JD what had happened in the Cat 3 race in which he had participated. John Lasorsa had taken 3rd but JD had one of those days that happen to all of us at least once per season where he just felt awful. JD has a great attitude and like any strong competitor he is just that much more motivated for the next race. We got back to the RV and while packing up to leave countless people came by to offer their congratulations to Evan and me. What a race, but more importantly, what a day in our life to be treasured and remembered forever! Thanks for reading.