Perspective Shift at TOAD

     I don't know that I've been more excited about a race series than I was about the 2017 edition of Tour of Americas Dairy Land (TOAD). Pablo Santa Cruz and I had put together a composite team of riders from across the country that not only possess amazing pedigrees, but also are just a really fun group of great guys. While only a few of us planned to do every race, we had nine guys committed to coming for most of the races. Included on our roster were Mike Oleheiser, Emile Abraham, Pablo Santa Cruz, Chris Powers, Ernie Pena, Vance James, Wayne Simon, Curtis Tolson, and me. The series started on June 15th and there are ten criteriums every day in different venues all around the Milwaukee Wisconsin area.
     The first day was really hot and took place on a rather simple four corner course. There were several dangerous breaks but it all came back together when Mike Oleheiser went to the front with 8 laps to go and set a blistering tempo. With one lap to go Berry Rohling, a Dutch National Champion Speed Skater riding for Intelligentsia Coffee, attacked through turn one and ripped off an entire lap at 31+MPH. His teammate, Mike Heagney, one of the best 40+ sprinters in the country, then attacked into turn 3. I was able to jump to Mikes wheel and came around right after the last turn heading for the line. Unfortunately, my thumb hit my sprint shifter throwing my chain from the 11 to the 13 cog only 50 meters from the line and I was passed by another fast man named Rob White. I took 2nd and Emile took 3rd, so it was a good day for the team, but I was upset with the mechanical issue which cost me the win.
     On the second day we were in East Troy on a course with several turns and definitely more technical than the first day. From the gun the pace was very high and a break of ten rolled off the front very early. Our break lapped the field and Mike Oleheiser took me through the field quickly before another group could get off the front. My teammates kept it together for the sprint and I was able to attack into the next to last corner and hold it for the win putting me in the leaders jersey for the 40+ Omnium. Emile took 2nd so again the team had a great performance.

1st Place on Day 2 at the 2017 Tour of America's Dairy Land

     Day three was another break but with only five riders including the man in 2nd place overall, Rob White. With only one lap to go Mike Oleheiser bridged up to the break making it six. Going into the final corner we had a 500 meter sprint so I let Intelligentsia rider, Carlos Casali open it up. Rob jumped with about 225 meters to go and I quickly got his wheel. With a slight tailwind Rob quickly got the speed up to 41.5 MPH and while I started to come around I ran out of real estate and was beat to the line with a bike throw. I, unfortunately, lost the jersey but was only one point behind Rob going into the fourth race.
     The fourth race took place in Waukesha, Wi. in a downtown venue with several restaurants and bars. It's an awesome environment with several spectators lined up around the course enjoying great food and adult beverages. The race was very active with constant attacks until the very end. Mike Oleheiser finally got away mid race with a World Champion BMX rider. Together they lapped the field and made contact with only one lap to go. I was near the front sitting at about 5th or 6th wheel with only two turns to go when I was slammed from the side by a rider that had come into the turn taking an inside line, and going too fast. He plowed almost straight into me and the rider in front of me and thats when things went really bad.
     I was able to miss hitting the curb by steering into a curb cut at a driveway narrowly missing a huge oak tree. Unfortunately the rider in front had flipped over the curb and was crashing right in front of me. As I was rolling over the top of him my front wheel hung on what had to be his pedal. It was like a steel trap stopping my forward momentum. I had been going through the corner at 30 MPH but when my front wheel stopped I was catapulted over the bars and the first thing that hit the sidewalk was my head. I remember thinking that the impact was going to be huge and I actually had time in my mind to predict I would be knocked unconscious. As I slammed into the concrete my neck bent forward slamming my chin into my chest and stretching it well beyond normal range of motion. My Specialized Evade helmet split into two halves and crumpled in a similar manner to how a race car crumples around a driver in a crash. I attribute the fact that I wasn't knocked unconscious to the energy absorbed by the helmet.

Specialized Evade Helmet that Saved my Life

     Immediately after I crashed my first realization was that I was still conscious, but that my neck felt broken. The impact had given me a "stinger" similar to what football players sometimes get when they get hit hard helmet to helmet. A stinger temporarily causes one not to be able to feel their extremities adding to my anxiety that I had broken my neck. The medical personnel were there almost immediately. I think there must have been someone stationed at that particular corner. The fear I felt at that moment is almost indescribable. The relief I felt within only a minute after realizing I wasn't paralyzed is similarly indescribable!
     I was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital less than five minutes away and was getting a CT scan within ten minutes of my arrival. The CT scan was negative for fractured vertebrae which was also a huge relief. I was fitted for a neck brace, given some pain meds and released about 2 1/2 hours after I arrived. My teammates were all there and incredibly worried and supportive at the same time. I feel so fortunate to be friends with such a great group of people that put my safety and comfort so far above their own personal comfort. Similarly, the entire cycling community, including my most fierce competitors were reaching out checking on my welfare for the next several days. I am overwhelmed with how incredible the cycling community can be and how genuinely good most of the people are that are members of this relatively small family.
     It has been about five days since the crash and I am already much better. I have symptoms of a severe case of reverse whiplash but I should be fully recovered within another week or so. I would like to thank all of you that have reached out offering your heartfelt sympathy. I am very fortunate to have walked away from this one but even more fortunate to have so many friends and supporters that genuinely care for others. Thanks for reading!

Enlightened at the 2017 Cross Winds Classic

     Its been quite awhile since I've written a race report but I have been asked by a couple of people if I would write one for the 2017 edition of the Cross Winds Classic. The race, as always, was well run and well organized. The CARVE bike club puts the race on and Scott Penrod, Spencer Douglas, Dave Gill, and many others did a fantastic job. Doug Zell has also jumped right into the cycling scene in Arkansas and his "Meteor Cafe" was a major sponsor of the race this year. I think most people that raced it would consider the P 1,2,3 race to be the fastest/hardest edition since the race began years ago. I was pretty sure at the start that defending my win from the previous year would be a tall order. I am certain that the 60+ riders that started the event is a record turn out for that particular category. As we rolled out for the neutral start at 10:30 AM that chilly Sunday morning in Galloway, Arkansas, I had a feeling we were all in for what would amount to a 65 mile crit race. It was a stacked field with several teams having five, six, and as many as ten riders representing. In fact, there were so many strong riders I didn't know who to watch. That would change within only five miles of racing!
     As the flag dropped in the neutral service vehicle a tall lad with rippling quads surged off the front where he stayed for three or four miles. He got a decent gap and there were a few efforts to bridge across, none of which were successful. I decided to give it a go after one particularly hard effort and immediately got a gap so I put my head down to go across to the "I Am Cycling" rider from Nashville, Tn., Brendan Housler. As I got close to him I looked back again to see the field lined up single file, chasing with an all out effort to bring us back. By the time I reached Brendan we were already caught and I was gassed. I spent a couple miles mid pack recovering from my effort in spite of the fact that the attacks were incessant. As we turned south the wind was coming from left to right and once we reached a big farm field with no shelter from the wind someone pinned it putting everyone in the gutter on the right side of the road. All of us were trying unsuccessfully to get a draft which was unfortunately about one foot to the right, off the pavement... in the ditch! The race would continue to be super hard and fast with constant attacks until just before the second time through the start finish. So at the end of lap 2 of the 5 thirteen mile laps the elastic finally broke, and ten riders rode clear of the field. The break finally got established after riders like Janne Hamalainen, Andy Chasteen, Brendan Housler, Brandon Mellot, James Brown, and others had significantly softened up the field. The gap stayed small for about six miles but as riders in the break started to recover we ratcheted up the speed in a smooth rotating echelon and the gap went out quickly.
     As I mentioned earlier, I didn't really know who to watch when we started the race, but that changed after only five or six miles. The guy that had surged off the front at the start of the race, Brendan, was in virtually every move, and I could tell he was under very little pressure to do so. The other guy I was watching was Andy Chasteen riding for "DNA". I told Andy we needed to keep close tabs on "the tall dude in green" because he was a beast. Andy shook his head in agreement. After the break of ten was established containing all of the named protagonist other than Brandon Mellot, we all rode in the rotating echelon with no attacks until the 5th and final lap, gaining 3 minutes on the field in the process.
     Averaging right at 27 MPH for the first 60 of 65 miles had taken a toll on me and I felt the dreaded sensations of cramps pulsing through my legs. Brendan, detecting some weakness in the break, attacked into the next to last corner. I was immediately dropped as one of my hamstrings seized up in a full on cramp. Janne Hamalainen brought two other riders back up to Brendan while I was behind with the only two other riders that remained in the break. As my cramp began to ease I put in one last effort to get back to the leaders and we tacked back on after chasing for about a mile. A Tyson rider immediately counter attacked and got what I thought might be a winning gap. Brendan, however, calmly brought the Tyson rider back with only about two miles remaining in the race. The Tyson rider then inexplicably, but thankfully, rode a high tempo on the front which discouraged attacks and allowed me to get slightly recovered from my cramps. With one kilometer remaining Brendan attacked and immediately opened a gap. At first I was not to concerned because Andy Chasteen is a good sprinter and I thought he would bring Brendan back. After 500 meters of an all out sprint I had still not reached Andy, and Andy had not reached Brendan. With both of my legs cramping completely I barely managed to hold on to my 3rd place podium finish with Janne finishing 4th right behind me.

2017 Cross Winds Classic Podium

     One interesting side note is the fact that the 1st Place rider, Brendan Housler, is an openly gay man. I met him after the race and congratulated him on his solid win. He later friended me on FaceBook and his page makes no attempt at hiding his preferences, conversely, he has embraced his sexuality and doesn't attempt to hide a thing. He is a fierce competitor and a seems like a genuinely nice guy. I told him that he has shattered my previously held opinions of what traits most strong bike racers posses! There was a day not long ago when I would have never believed I would be beat in a bike race by an openly gay man, those days are over! I learned a valuable lesson and I have a feeling many others will be learning the same lessons for many bike races to come if Brendan toes the line. Like our society, the peloton has more diversity than in years past and the stereotypical bike racer of yesteryear will simply look a little different going forward. We would all be well served to take notice, and welcome the changes. Thanks for reading!