War of Change

     It's almost time to go to Utah again and I just now had time to put together a compilation video from our mountain biking there last year. It's a bit longer than my other videos and done in a completely different format. Instead of just linking together clips to the music, I took things up a notch with editing difficulty by putting the clips in order for three different trails in the Park City area. It can be hard to make the video flow with the music when the clips are in order that they come on the trails, but I think it turned out well. The three trails featured are Webster, Homeward Bound and Payroll. There are clips from other trails too, but only as transition clips between the three main trails. To me it's kind of cool to be seeing the clips in the order you ride the trail. It highlights the trail more than the rider and brings back my memories of those rides more than the normal way of editing. Again, we used the GoPro HD Hero2 for all the shots. Shannon did almost all of the non-POV shots. She gave me a good variety of moving, follow and static shots. And of course we have quite a bit of chest cam action to supplement. The soundtrack is catchy with "Jerk It Out" by Caesars and "War of Change" by Thousand Foot Krutch. I really wanted to include "War of Change" because it was stuck in my head for most of the trip. It just seemed right to have it in the video.

     You can watch the video below or check it out on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaMWekagpCg. Make sure to watch it in 1080p HD for full effect. Check out the video from our 2012 trip here.

Video: 2013 Utah Mountain Biking

     I am still working hard on my brain. I have now gotten my fourth set of certifications for this year. I started the certification process to become a USA Football Coach during Crossroads and have now finished the courses for Youth Flag, Youth Tackle and High School Coaching. I am a certified coach now. I have no intentions of actually coaching a team, but I do want to learn as much about the sport as possible to help me understand the exact demands of the players that come to me for training. I want to train them with as much specificity as possible. It's a good program. It's not challenging and is inexpensive. Any parent of a young football player should take the courses just to help their child. There's lots of good info about safety, rules, communication and equipment sizing. USA Football also offers some age-specific certifications for Youth ages that I am going to work on once the season is over. I also have my eye on another big certification through NSCA that offers more work with military, police and firemen.

     Training has been going really, really good. Crossroads seemed to take me up a notch. I have felt stronger with intervals and sprints. My recovery has been fast, allowing me to do more workouts per week. Even at the end of my hard block of training I felt good. I was almost to that invincible feeling I get when I peak, but not quite. I have even lost four pounds over the past month, dropping me to a weight I have not seen in four years. It seemed as though things were right on track for me to peak for Gateway Cup. But a rest week follows a hard block and sometimes I don't feel very good after a rest week. I tried to time the end of my rest period to be over more than a week before Gateway so that I could open the legs up.

After a morning of walking through a wet garden, the blister from the night run at Rotary Park finally decided to peel away. 

     This past Wednesday was my first opportunity to open up the legs and see what the rest week did to them. I was fired up for the 11th race of the Music City Crits Series. It would be my last race of the series since the finals take place just two days before Gateway. I was fired up to have a good performance. I had some confidence that I have not had in a long while. But the weather kept me from testing my legs. A big storm rolled in just as the races began. I was still at home and had a hard time loading the car in the storm. The local news reported 60 mph winds and I believe it. I almost fell twice just trying to load my bike. Buckets and tree limbs were flying across our yard and the lightning was hitting all around the farm.

     I was surprised to see on Facebook that the race was being held as the storm appeared to be headed straight for the race track. I was less excited to race in the rain, but I was still ready to do it. You can never get enough practice cornering in the rain, in my opinion. You just don't have the same cornering opportunities on a regular road ride in the rain that you get on a crit. course. I drove through heavy traffic and finally got to the race 40 min. before my start. I came through the tunnel into the track to find only one car in the parking lot. The officials had called the race due to lightning. They did manage to get in two races before the rain and lightning began. I am all good with not racing with active lightning, but calling the race so early seemed unnecessary. We still had 40 min. until our start. The storm was almost completely clear by then. There is a good chance than we could have safely raced by our original start time or within 10-15 min later. I shouldn't be surprised as the officials usually shorten our race so they can get home early. A little lightning was just a great opportunity to get home extra early.

     I rode the trainer that night, but never really got a chance to feel out my legs. Effectively, the missed race added two more days to my rest period. I was hoping to shake out the cobwebs on Wednesday and then be feeling good by Saturday night for the River Gorge Litespeed Criterium in Chattanooga. It was going to be a tough field to race with, but I had high expectations for myself. I didn't expect to win or be in a break, but I did expect to be active in the main group and maybe have a shot at getting in the money.

     The drive down turned out to be the most interesting part of the day. On I-24 we saw three motorcycle riders escorting a car through traffic. They were weaving through and using intimidation to get traffic to move. Intimidation through riding up next to the cars and showing the big guns they had strapped to their hips. It screamed illegal, but of course there was no cop to be found. I am guessing they were transporting drugs or guns. I wanted to go Jason Bourne on them, but considering I don't really know any Jason Bourne moves, I just kept my distance and roled on to my destination.

     The Chattanooga course was a big rectangle, just over 1 km long. The turns were tight and rough. Turn 4 had this mystery bump in it that I kept hitting during warm-up and never could find the actual thing I was hitting. I still have no idea what it was. It was a hot day, but a rain shower moved through in the early afternoon and cooled things down a bit. It was still hot riding the trainer for warm-up, but I couldn't find a long enough street to get in a good effort.

     The course was dry for the final few races. We were last to go and had a big Pro/1/2 field with 86 riders. Of those 86 riders, 55 were Pro or Cat. 1. It was going to be a fast race for sure! I took a few extra minutes to cool down before the start. I put some ice in my jersey and bibs to cool the core. I headed for the start line with 8 minutes until time for the start. I thought people would be riding the course, but they were already lined up. I was still a ways from the line when I heard them tell the pace car to start going. I was sprinting down the sidewalk weaving through people trying to get to the line before they took off. Luckily, the official did not let them start so quick. I was huffing and puffing as I got to the line. And I was at the back. It wasn't the way I wanted to start, but at least I didn't miss the start.

     We did end up starting a couple of minutes early. I never stood a chance in this race. The first lap was not as fast as I expected, but there were still gaps opening up in the line the first time through the start/finish. I think multiple riders only started this race to start it. They appeared to make no attempt to stay on. About 10 people just sat up in the middle of the group the first 2-3 laps. I was almost instantly in trouble having to close down numerous gaps. I stayed smooth and felt strong. My heart rate was getting high after just three laps. After I got through the people who were not racing, then I had to go through the numerous new upgrades that were being welcomed to the Pro/1/2 group at max speed.

Mike Olheiser pulling early in the race

     I got blocked in a couple of times as riders were sitting up two and three at a time. I never seemed to be on the back of the group. Every time I got there the rider ahead got gapped. I was off the back after four laps and chasing my heart out. I gave it all I had and almost rejoined the group at one point, then Mike Olheiser went to the front and the pace picked up. When you are chasing the worst sound you can hear is the announcer saying Olheiser is driving it on the front. It was basically me against Mike O in order for me to rejoin. And we all know who will win that battle. I kept the group in sight for a few laps. I was going so hard that I was almost cross-eyed coming off turn 2 one lap. I was still on the same straightaway as the group, but the officials pulled me anyway, after just 11 minutes of racing. That is a bit ridiculous in my opinion. I was in no danger of getting lapped. Heck, if they had slowed down I still had a shot of getting back on. It was very disappointing. I felt like I was riding strong, but never got a chance to race with the group. It was a bit of a wasted trip. Eleven minutes doesn't even get the legs opened up fully, even if you are going all-out. They credited me with 65th place.

Me leading a chase group off the back

The field is blowing up

Single-file down the backside of the course

Me and Nathan Stone coming off turn 4

photo by Newtography

photo by Newtography

photo by Newtography

     Shannon shot a little video which is posted below, followed by my entire shortened race from my GoPro handlebar cam.

Litespeed Criterium Video

Pro/1/2 Handlebar Cam Video

     The officials must have worn themselves out with all the pulling of riders because they had no idea what was going on at the end. A break of eight lapped the field coming to one lap to go. Instead of giving the field one lap to go and putting them on the same lap as the break that had caught them, the officials instead gave the break two laps to go twice. Most of the break sprinted for it as they were supposed to, with Emile Abraham being the first of the break to cross the line. The field had no idea they had been lapped so they continued on, while a few members of the break went on as well. Alder Martz thought he had won the race after going the extra lap. Abraham and teammate Olheiser were arguing that Abraham had won. It was a big mess. At first Martz was credited as the winner, but I see now that on the posted results they finally got it right and gave the win the Abraham.

     I did find a few positives out of the race. For one, I have never been able to chase by myself for so long at that speed. Usually I blow up within a lap. My power is definitely better. I was rolling 31 mph down the straights consistently. Also, my heart rate was higher than it has been in a while. That means I had the legs to actually push it to the max. I was missing some snap in the legs as far as following accelerations when riders passed me. Hopefully, that will come back by Gateway. I think that is just a product of a rest week. And the last positive is that this race will make me fight hard for a good start spot at Gateway. I will not be taking any chances up there. I am going there to get a good result. Just hanging in the group is not an option. I really need to win a race. It's been four years since I have won a road race of any kind. Last year, my only win of the whole season was at Dirt, Guts & Donuts and it was recently announced that it will not be held this year. So, I need to step it up and win something or end up with a big goose egg in the win column for a season for the first time in my racing life!

Night Stalker

     I have not run since February when I had my hamstring issue, but that did not stop me from signing up for the Run Rotary Night Trail Race in Clarksville. Trail running is always fun. Running at night is even better! Night trail running just sounds crazy. I could not pass on the opportunity to do this race.

     The race was 4.7 miles long, looping through nearly all of Rotary Park's hilly trails. A big rain shower moved through right before the race, leaving us with slick spots and a little mud. Overall, the trail drained well as it has been very, very dry here lately.

Run course map. We doubled back on ourselves a few times.

     I had ridden earlier in the day, doing a good interval workout. I knew my legs would not be 100% so I did little to warm up. When you haven't been running, doing a run warm-up is just taking the strength out of your legs that you will need to make it to the finish. I was not sure I could even make the distance, let alone race it. My friend Tavis, who happens to be my ex-boss, was also running. Of course, I wanted to beat him. It's not every day you get to beat up on your boss! I don't need to remind you of my recent work history that made me want this even more. He has been running a lot so I knew it would be a tall order to hang with him. And I still wasn't sure that my hamstring was good.

     We started completely in the dark at 9pm. The race required us to have some sort of headlight. I wanted a big light, but could not find a suitable headstrap, so, like most of the other runners, I went with a small LED headlight normally used for setting up camp or other outdoor activities. I also busted out my green flashing glasses that I have not been able to race with yet. I deemed them my "Hulk" glasses. I was going to need to run like the Hulk if I was going to keep up with the 87 runners that started.

     The start was fast and went straight up a hill on pavement before turning into some tight singletrack. I started a little slower than I normally would, hoping to ease into the effort and pace myself so I could make all 4.7 miles. My plan was to stick with Tavis early and pace off of him, then push hard as I fatigued and just simply outlast him at the end. I figured that was my only tactic. If I let him get ahead it would be hard to ever catch back up at the end when I knew I would be exhausted. He started slow as well and we entered the woods together with him in front of me.

     The initial descent was packed with people and rather slow. It was good for me to get into my rhythm while Tavis was unable to get away. He tried to pass a group of people on the first open spot and slipped on a grassy bank. He went down, but popped back up quicker than he went down, still making the pass on the group. I waited until the next climb to pass the group. There was too much traffic to worry with right now. I just kept Tavis in sight and stayed on my pace. At the top of the next climb, I looked ahead and was surprised to not see Tavis at all. He had flown the coup without me knowing! I hammered the next climb and got to the front of my group, but there was now a big gap up to the next group.

    I ran harder than I wanted to, but I was able to join the group ahead by the 1.5-mile mark. Tavis was on the back of the line, so we were back together. I settled in again behind him as we descended the power line dirt road from the very top of the park. Then fatigue began to creep in. We started another long climb at mile 2 and I was starting to hurt a little. Tavis passed the entire group we were with and all I could do was watch. I did not have the legs to go now. If I did, I would pay dearly later in the race.

     The next descent was long and rough. I was stuck in this line of runners. They were in my way now, but there was not room to pass. I tried a few times, but found that if I went to their right, then the trail curved left. If I went left, the trail curved right. You just couldn't see far enough ahead with these tiny lights to make a pass on a narrow downhill. My hamstring began to hurt before the bottom. My initial thought was that I was done. Every time it has hurt it has progressively worsened and within 0.3 miles I am reduced to a walk. I began to think about surviving and forgot about Tavis.

    Then we hit a flat area next to the creek and I was able to pass the group ahead and get back to my pace. I figured I would run hard while I still could. Getting back to my speed increased my stride length and actually helped my hamstring. The pain began to go away! It was a miracle! I ran down another guy ahead and then just tried to pace off him. I needed to get to the finish now without the pain returning. We got confused at two intersections and lost 20 seconds or so, but we stayed on course and kept moving forward.

     The flat section not only reduced my pain, but let my legs recover. Suddenly, I felt like I had a surge of energy. On the next climb, I dispatched the guy with me and set sail for the next group. There were no lights ahead of me as I climbed the ridge. It was really discouraging for a few minutes, but then I started to see lights ahead again. I was gaining time and my legs were getting better! It was so cool to look down from the top of the ridge. You could see lights snaking down the descent ahead and also lights snaking up the climb behind you. It was an awesome sight. I enjoyed it for a second, then got back into the hurt zone. It took me another half mile of hard running to catch the next group. I was flying down the hills, trying to hold my big stride to keep the hamstring happy. A few times I would call my run controlled falling. I don't know how I missed all the roots and kept my ankles safe. The roots come very fast when you are sprinting downhill and can only see a few feet in front of you. I think this is what made the race so much fun. It was exciting and got the adrenaline flowing.

     There was a brutally long, steep climb back up the power line. It came at mile 3.5. Most people were getting tired now, so it was extra brutal. The climb went straight up the hill so it was almost too steep to run. Everyone was walking. I tried to stay low and almost lunge the first half. I passed several people and then realized Tavis was the next one ahead! I couldn't believe it! I lunged my way up to him, then sprinted by. I hammered the rest of the hill and kept going hard over the top to get the gap. I picked off a few more runners, then slowed on the next descent to ensure I did not throw it away with the hamstring. Once I got to the bottom of the last climb, I sprinted the rest of the way to the finish. I clocked a 50:29, good enough for 15th overall and 4th in the 25-29 age group. Tavis got 3rd in the 30-34 age group with a 51:19, winning a sprint over another guy that went all the way to the line.

Me coming in to the finish with my green glasses glowing

Tavis wins the sprint for 17th overall

     I was overwhelmed by my performance. I felt so good! That may have been my best ever run. I was not even tired at the end. My time goal was the same as Tavis, to go under an hour. We both blew that out of the water. The Hulk glasses must have helped. I wound up wearing them on my head though. They were so bright that they messed up my vision when I put them over my eyes. There's a short video posted below of some of the runners crossing the finish line, including me and also Tavis's sprint finish. Thanks Shannon for the video. We saw lots of carnage from falls. There were plenty of skinned knees and even one wounded hand that was still dripping blood at the awards ceremony. Got to watch those slick roots!

Run Rotary Night Trail Race Video

     My feet were so sore after the run! I had a huge blister between my toes and it popped the next day while walking up some stairs. It was gross, but felt better afterwards. All my ankle stabilizers were sore from the uneven terrain. I am definitely not in good enough shape to hammer like that very often. I had to modify some of my training for the following week as the soreness just kept hanging around. I took a few extra recovery days and most of it had resolved by Wednesday night's Bell's Bend Time Trial. I was hoping to better my time from last month's race.

     I had a good run in the TT. I hammered the first hill and following descent, catching the rider ahead of me at mile 2. But just as I passed him the burn set in on my legs. The legs were tired, but still strong. I fought through the burn and gave all I had. The new Slipknot song "The Negative One" turned out to be a good song to get stuck in my head. The beat was a perfect match for my cadence. I felt like I was going slower, but reached the turnaround 31 seconds faster than last time. I had a strong rider starting 30 seconds behind me and I was holding him off as well, so I was doing much better than I initially thought. I kept my pace on the return, saving a little for the final climb. I felt like I cracked there last time and I wanted to finish strong today. The rider behind me caught and passed me as we started the climb, but I was a rocket going uphill today. I passed him back and put 10 seconds on him by the top.

     It helped to have my Dad ahead of me in the last mile. He had started 6:30 ahead of me and I knew I could catch him if I did a good time. I caught him with less than half a mile to go. Of course I didn't just pass him, I came by like a freight train in an avalanche. I gave it my all at 34 mph to the line, but still got passed by the rider behind me. He must have been flying down the last stretch.

     My return time was 28 seconds faster than last month. I clocked a 29:52 for the full race, beating my previous best by 59 seconds and breaking the 30-minute barrier. I upped my average from 23.3 mph last month to 24.0 mph this month. I am very happy with this ride. I know I am stronger because I went faster with tired legs. I think I did this simply by being aggressive. Something clicked at the crit. last week and has made me push myself much harder, both at the run and in the TT. I finished 7th out of 20 in the Open Men's class. I still need to chop off 2 minutes to be competitive with the real heavy-hitters. My Dad wasn't shown on the results, but he knocked 1:45 off his time from last month, which would have given him the Most Improved award for the week. I think they just missed him coming through because so many of us came through at once. The finish is very fast and I could see how it could be a bit confusing when four riders come through together.

       Things are looking good for the end of the season. I'm feeling strong in my workouts and have dropped another four pounds over the past month. I even outsprinted the scooter this weekend for the first time. After motopacing, Shannon and I will do 20-25 second sprints from a stop, usually on a slight incline. I have been close to beating her a few times, but never succeeded until this week. I feel like my acceleration is finally starting to show some improvement. Next on the schedule is the Music City Crits race tomorrow. It will be my last race of the series as the series finale next week is just two days before Gateway Cup and I am definitely focused on doing well at Gateway. Hopefully, the riots on the St. Louis area will stop before we go up. We don't race in the Ferguson area, but I would rather not be anywhere close to that kind of madness.

     I leave you with a little video I found on Facebook from the Tour de Grandview race back in June. It is of a crash in the Cat. 5 race, but it is not your typical crash. We did not get to the race in time to see this thanks to the Jason Bourne movies, so I'm glad I saw this video. Make sure you watch it all the way to the end.

Cat. 5 crash at Tour de Grandview

Video by Jeff Yochem

Villainy Thrives

    Last Wednesday was the 10th race of the Music City Crits Series. Summer is going by fast this year and the race season is coming to a close much faster than I would like. This race was my 7th race in nine days after doing Crossroads the week before.

      I was tired after the City Park Crit., more so from lack of sleep than the actual race effort. We got home late and I had to be at work early the next morning with an hour drive to get there. It was a rough couple of days with working so much, but I still felt good when Wednesday evening rolled around. It was a hot day at 96 degrees, with little chance of rain this week. Lucky for us, some cloud cover moved in and at least kept the sun off of us while racing.

Winning break in the Cat. 5 race

Cat. 5s in the right hairpin

     My legs were junk in warm-up. I couldn't get them to go hard enough to even get my heart rate up. Then I felt a little sick on the start line, maybe from the heat. I was dreading the race, but once it got going, I felt great. Crossroads gave me a new perspective on crits. I am getting used to hammering all-out at 34 mph. Riding 28 mph here at the Speedway seemed like a breeze. I was working hard, but nowhere near as hard as I worked at Crossroads. There were a bunch of attacks from the gun as usual, but nothing got away. I was aggressive in the group, but stayed protected to make sure I was warmed-up before I got crazy. I was very comfortable in the turns tonight, making many passes through the hairpins. I even got into the wall once and thought it was fun. That's when you know you are getting too comfortable in crits! I tried to stick my wheel up on the outside at the finish line and the group just came over on me. I had nowhere to go except into the wall. It was nobody's fault. They didn't know I was there. I was being sneaky.

Got a white scuff on the outside of my shoe from getting into the wall near the finish line

      I waited until the 15 minute mark before moving to the front and taking a dig after a break. The break I went with never really got a gap, but the counterattack split the field. At first there were three up front, then, like many other times this year, riders kept trickling across the gap one and two at a time. I was blocked in and unable to follow until there were eight riders up front, including all three of the big dogs I was watching tonight. I knew I had to go and as soon as I got an opening in the pack, I took off after them. Two riders jumped at the same moment I went, so I had wheels to follow at first. The hairpins shuffled things up a bit. I was too smooth exiting the turns and found myself gapped by three riders that were attempting to bridge to the break. I hit the gas as we rolled onto the big racetrack. The group was glued to my wheel, but I had good legs today and by the time we hit the backstretch I had ridden away from them all. I caught the three chasers, who were hesitating a bit too much for my liking, so I punched it again and went right by them, setting sail alone for the break ahead.

     The gap to the break was bigger than I can cross and I knew that. But I had to try. If I didn't go now, the break would be gone. I completely buried myself the rest of the lap, rolling 32 mph all the way to within five bike lengths of the back of the break. Then they accelerated out of the hairpins and my legs just wouldn't do the same. I started to feel sick again and all I could do was watch them ride away. I was so close! I have never felt that strong when trying to bridge or attack. It was a good feeling, but I wish I could have made it stick. I had given my all and I mean that. I was toast. I soft pedaled for two laps, getting caught, dropped and lapped by the group. I felt awful. Just as I started to feel better, I got pulled. It was weird to get pulled because it happened so early and the group right in front of me was left in the race. The official was a bit pull-happy and left just 16 riders in for the last 30 minutes of the race. There's something wrong when you get pulled at 30 minutes and get 18th place. I have a video posted below that highlights my race from my GoPro handlebar cam.

Highlights of my race at Music City Crits #10

      There was a big scene as I was pulled. First off, let me say that they have been pulling riders this year only when we get to 5 or so laps to go. So, you can understand why I asked the official what he said when he spoke at me before I got to the finish line. I wasn't close enough to him to hear what he said, so I asked him to repeat it and he went off on me. I was expecting to hear "stay out of the group's way" since it was only 30 minutes into the race. But no, he was pulling me and he thought I was giving him slack. He proceeded to yell as I went off the track, calling me a "dummy" and saying I did not deserve to be in this race. As bad as I wanted to, I did not mouth back. This is a prime example of why I cannot support my local bike racing. Officials in Tennessee are ridiculous. They seem to be on a power trip most of the time and would rather pull a rider than breathe air. I guess he was expecting me to give him slack, but I wasn't going to. I just couldn't hear! I totally deserved to be pulled, but was not expecting it since they have not been pulling this early all year. I don't understand why you would pull on this course anyway. We had 29 riders and the course never gets more narrow than three lanes. If you can't pass a slower rider in a Pro/1/2/3 race then you shouldn't be riding. As long as a rider isn't being dangerous, he should be left in the race, in my opinion.

      I've had a reputation as being whiny and a has-been for the past few years. And I've never had a good reputation with the officials. Here's some history as to why. At my first ever race, I did not know the rules. I was riding in the parking lot without a helmet on and an official asked me to go get a helmet. I said ok and he walked off. Another official, who happened to be the head official that day, heard him tell me that. She followed me to my car and proceeded to chew me out for a good 20 minutes while I was trying to put a helmet on. She said I was to get off my bike and walk to the car. The official never said do that so how I was I supposed to know? She was downright rude and nasty to a 14-year old. Sometimes I wonder why I even kept racing because that was an awful first impression. It's a good thing I really love my sport. Things have never been good since that day. Everybody saw it and those officials are still the ones out there officiating today.

     As for the rest of the haters in Nashville, they got all bent out of shape over a blog post I wrote about five years ago. I was kind of the bad boy at the time, the mountain biker that was also road racing and doing well. For some reason, roadies don't like mountain bikers, especially one that is coming over onto their turf and giving them a beating. I was fine with the bad boy image at that time. I was young and didn't care what anybody thought of me. I won a local race, making a last-turn pass on the local hero sprinter from the biggest team in town. The team was not happy about it and tried to take me out the following week. I ended up going down that night, totally of my own making. I was bridging to a break and the break crashed. I reacted by grabbing the brakes and I went down too. It was my own fault. But the rest of the night they were a bit over aggressive, doing things like getting on your inside before a turn and then not turning. I mean making no attempt to turn. It was deliberate and it pissed me off. I confronted them after the race. The bystanders took their side and labeled me as whiny. I tried to talk to the race promoter about it because it was his team that was doing the dirty racing, but all that did was cost me a friend. I lost a lot of friends over that incident. That day, I feel like the Nashville bike scene turned against me. I got so many nasty comments on my blog that I had to delete the entire blog and move over here to Blogger. I no longer promote this blog because I don't want all that attention anymore. This is for family and friends, not haters.

     I stayed out of the spotlight for a few years. This is how I got started in traveling to bigger races. I just had to get away from middle Tennessee. There were too many bad feelings among everybody in the race scene here. Heck, even the Clarksville group rides are not a welcome place for me. I started back doing these Wednesday night crits this year for training. I have tried to be as nice as I could be at the races, trying so hard to change my image. I go out of my way to talk to people that would rather not talk to me, just to show them I am not what they think. But the reaction I got this week was the same old thing. I was portrayed as whining for being pulled and giving the official slack. I heard a few more times about how I don't deserve to race the Pro/1/2/3 race. I've heard that many times this year. I don't see why people would think that. Sure, I have not won a race, but I have had some decent results. And I am competitive within the group. People are so quick to label you a failure. It's win or don't even try in the mind of most people. Even if you did think somebody was a bad bike racer, why would you go out of your way to tell them?

     So, after years of trying to shake my image with no changes seen, I have decided to embrace it. I've spent too much time worrying what people think of me. I wanted to get on a team and still nobody is interested in me. The old excuse was that I was too focused on mountain biking to be on a road team. For three years I have focused on the road and still nobody wants me. I am back to not caring what people think of me because people are just people. I am happy to be the villain once again. This blog may get everybody all tore up again, but so be it. It will just fuel my fire. The old Super D is back and he's angry for the end of the season.

Bikes, BBQ and a Full Race

     Day 4 of Crossroads brought an end to my morning spins around Salisbury as it rained pretty much all day. Much like the previous night at the Salisbury Crit. It was a slow, steady rain. The radar looked to be clearing as the afternoon approached, especially further east where the next race was to take place in Statesville. The DowntownStatesville Criterium was one I really liked last year. It kicked my butt and I got lapped five times by the group, but I really liked it. The course is a tight 1km with six turns. It keeps you on your toes with all the turns and also has two uphill sections that make you work hard.

Statesville course map

     I was sure the rain was going to miss Statesville. The radar was clear when we left the hotel. It was drizzling rain as we started our 45-minute drive east. To my surprise, the rain picked up as we neared Statesville and was back to steady rain by the time we pulled into the course. I was so hopeful for a dry race after last night’s fiasco. It kind of crushed me when I saw the rain was sticking around. I still don’t know how it rained all night with a clear radar, but it did.

     The course looked slick, but felt good in my pre-ride. I had a great warm-up and found some good legs attached to my body. I don’t think I stayed in the race long enough the first three nights to even get fatigued. I was afraid the same thing would happen tonight so I actually hit the trainer hard for my warm-up to ensure I at least got in a solid hour of hard effort tonight no matter what went down in the race.

    I followed Jon Crowson to the staging area. Lining up for the starts is always chaos and he had been negotiating it much better than me all week, getting a front row start every night. Not tonight though. We got swarmed by a group that just rode right past the official even though he was holding everyone back before the start line. I can’t believe the officials let people just run all over them. I think they should do the starts like motocross. You jump the start, or break the staging rules, you start at the back of the group facing the opposite direction. Do that to a few guys and things would straighten up really quick, especially on a night like this.

     The race exploded just like at Salisbury, right from the gun. Jon and I were on the back row. I was second from last going into turn 1. Everybody acted scared to death in the turns. The amount of corners provided little opportunity to pass without risking your life. I was patient for two laps, then began to pick off riders. I could see gaps ahead so I had to go now.

Underway in Statesville

     I got into my crazy mountain biker mode. I was not at all scared like last night in Salisbury. There was no metal in the road here and the corners were gripping so I ripped them hard. I went into Turn 5 completely thinking I was about to bite it on more than one occasion. I tried to only use my brakes in Turn 1. The rest of corners I just held on and railed them.

     By the time I got through the first group ahead of me, there was a huge gap to the main group. I never made it across the gap. I picked off a few riders, but got pulled before I ever had a chance to catch the group. There was a break of two off the front and they were already on my tail. I got pulled after just 11 minutes. It was disappointing, but expected. I just hated it because I felt great! I had good legs and barely got to use them. I was given 42nd place on the night, which seemed to be a bit too far back considering how many guys I passed. But then again I don’t know that they listed any DNFs on the results, so maybe there were more starters than I thought. You can watch my race from my GoPro below. All 11 minutes of it. Don’t get excited though. There were no crashes tonight, at least not in front of me. I did see a few that occurred in the closing laps.

Downtown Statesville Criterium Handlebar Cam

     The weekend was next and race #5 was at a new venue in Asheboro, NC. The race was part of the Pigs & Pedals Festival, which featured a BBQ competition and live music in addition to the races. Rain was again a threat all day, but held off early in the day for the first few races. It began to rain just as we arrived in Asheboro. Like the night before, I was mentally set on a dry race. I was crushed to see the rain return.

     It rained for the end of Cat. 4 race, then stopped during the Cat. 3 race. The parking lot at the bank we were parked in showed little signs of drying, but to my surprise the course was 80% dry by the time the Cat. 3s finished.

     I took a lap while the kids raced. It had looked like a simple rectangle with all right turns and a slight descent to turn 1. I had not seen the backstretch until that pre-ride lap and it was WAY different than I expected. Yes, there was a slight decline to turn 1, which was a bumpy. Between turns 1 and 2 was slightly uphill and, again, very bumpy. Turn 2 takes you onto a very fast backstretch. It goes downhill, then begins to curve back up at Turn 3. You continued to rise, almost over a slight hump as you go through the turn. It felt like a roller coaster here. The climb continues after the turn, then descends again into Turn 4, which was a wide, but tricky off-camber turn. Then it was a flat sprint to the finish. It was going to be a very fast race, wet or dry.

Asheboro Criterium course

     There was some delay in starting us, so by the time we actually hit the course it was pretty much completely dry. I was so pumped! I got a good start from the second row, but it was a fast start and I quickly drifted back. I think I was in the back by the end of lap 2. We had another decent-sized group of 55-60 riders, so I was way too far back. I stayed patient though and followed wheels. I wanted to get through the first 20 minutes before I started trying to move up. That has been the fastest part of the races all week. I also had my GoPro on the handlebar again today, sort of as a good luck charm. It seems like I don't get behind too many crashes when the camera is recording, so I was hoping it would help me out here again today like it did the past two nights.

Pro/1/2 start line

Group strung out down the backstretch in the early laps

     There were many attacks, but the field stayed together the first 20 minutes. We were flying down the backstretch and around Turn 3. I was hitting 39 mph into the turn and it made the hump and hill very fun. I was having a blast there every lap . Turn 4 was not so much fun. I kept getting gapped out of the turn. I had good legs, but was lacking the snap needed to do the accelerations out of the turns.

Me rolling into Turn 3

Peloton in Turn 3 going up the hill

     I was hurting, but overall things were ok, even with the fact that they were priming us every other lap, mostly cash primes, which we had not had all week. Then things got ugly. They primed us on multiple laps in a row. I hung on through the first cash prime and following sprint points prime, but then I dropped to the back when the third prime in a row popped out for more cash. I was dying as we crossed the line and knew that if the group did not slow out of turn 1 I was done. And then came the awful sound of the bell ringing for the fourth prime lap in a row. The group did not slow and off the back I came at 34 minutes. We had a 28.9 mph avg speed as I was ejected out the back along with several other riders. I was blown! I could do nothing but soft-pedal until I was pulled just two laps later. That put me in 51st on the results. I thought for sure I was safe after the 30 minute mark and would make it through my first ever Crossroads race with the lead group, but it was not to be today. I was a bit off my game and it got me dropped. I felt like the bad finishes the first four days were out of my control for the most part, but today was just a good old-fashioned butt kicking. I gave it all I had and it just wasn't enough.

Exit of Turn 3

Me in Maxxis orange sprinting up the hill

Peloton with a few laps to go

     There is a video posted below that Shannon filmed, followed by my handlebar cam video highlights.

Asheboro Criterium video

Asheboro Pro/1/2 handlebar cam highlights

     Of course, we hit up the BBQ Festival after the race and grabbed a few good sandwiches and even some homemade strawberry ice cream. For the first time all week, I was tired after a race and ready for bed that night. It felt good to finally be fatigued.

     Sunday was the final day of racing, taking place in Salisbury at the City Park Criterium. The course runs around City Park, which is a large park with a lake and walking trails. The road around the park is perfect for a crit. making for a 1 mile rectangle with all left turns. It may be a nice layout and distance, but it is a tough loop with a big climb of at least 1/4 mile to the finish line. The course starts at the top of the climb, descends to Turn 1 and continues slightly down to Turn 2. The backstretch is long and flat next to the lake. Turn 3 takes you onto the dam at the end of the lake and stays flat until you go through Turn 4. Then it is uphill all the way to the finish line. The climb is steeper at the bottom, then levels off some before kicking up again just before the line.

City Park Criterium course map

     I felt good again today. Overall, I really had a good week. The worst day for me had to be in Kannapolis back on Wednesday, and really I was fairly good that day. This was my last chance to take advantage of my good form and finish one of these races. I was determined that today was going to be the day. I made it 44 minutes here last year, still the closest I have been to surviving the full hour.

The initial break in the Masters 50+ race

Masters 50+ on the climb

The front break of two soon became four

Chris Black knew he had missed the break but was never able to bridge despite several attempts like this one.

The two that joined the initial two-man break were soon alone at the front and battled for the win.

Cat. 3 winner, Dimitri Lemus, did it solo.

     The race was much smoother today. We had no crashes and I saw less sketchy riding in the group. I was surprised that we had 59 riders in the group. Usually, the last day sees less turnout as people fatigue and attrition of the race builds. I stayed in the middle of the group early on, staying on the outside of the turns so I could carry more momentum on the exit. I did not want to get gapped today, especially going into the hill.

Me in the group (orange and black)

I'm in the front of this picture coming up the hill

Hiding in the pack

     I actually wound up being very strong on the climb and often moved up there. It was easier just to go on up the climb at my speed than slow down on the laps when we caught a break. The race unfolded with a break early on. It started as seven riders, but the pace quickly reduced it to five. We did not chase at first and in just a few laps the gap was 23 seconds. Then the chase began. We were flying up the hill. The backstretch was consistently 34 mph all the way down, but I was comfortable following wheels. I never really got into trouble with my heart rate or legs today.

The break of 5

Hard chase behind the break

Shannon got several pics of me today. Here I am on the climb.

Peloton on the other side of the lake

Peloton on the dam

     There were numerous attempts to bridge to the break, but nothing ever got clear for more than a lap and the gap to the front five never went under 22 seconds. We held the gap for half of the race, then it steadily began to creep out. Each lap they gained five seconds as the group decided it was too much for the final day of a six-day race. The gap was up to 48 seconds as went went to laps. The battle was now for sixth.

The pack comes off Turn 4

The break starts the hill

Me coming off Turn 4 in the line

The peloton comes up the hill toward the finish line

     I started to fatigue the final few laps. It got more aggressive at the front and I took it a bit easy a few times when it looked like there was about to be a crash. The result was that I dropped back and then couldn't move back up. I was near the back as we came to one to go, and the speed up the steep part of the climb had me just hanging on. Then the pace slowed and I had a little room to roll up the left side of the group as we passed through the finish line. That was the extent of my moving up though. We did 36 mph down the backstretch and into the climb. I picked off a few riders in the uphill sprint and managed to stay on the back of the main sprint. I was so relieved to finally make it through a race with the group. I took 37th which was not spectacular, but it gets the monkey off my back.

Me coming to the finish of the race

     Our race video is posted below, again followed by the highlights of my race from my handlebar cam. The camera did seem to help. after I put it on, I had four rather uneventful races. Maybe I'll have to start running it all the time.

Video: City Park Criterium

Handlebar cam highlights from the City Park Criterium Pro/1/2 race

     It was a fun week and I am sad that it's over. I hate getting my butt kicked at races, but it is still better than not racing at all. I came out healthy, strong and intact. On the drive home, we ran into Scott "Monster" McConnell. He and his son were driving back from a BMX race in Morristown, TN. It was good to run into a good friend at the gas station in Cookeville. I guess bike people think a lot alike, even in their gas purchases! Next up for me is more local races with the Music City Crits Series and the Bells Bend Time Trial. I am toying with the thought of going to Chattanooga for the River Gorge races this year. Whether I go or not, everything I do this next month is in preparation for Gateway Cup in St. Louis on Labor Day Weekend. There will be Cat. 2/3 races this year and I hope to have a good showing as several of the courses suit me well.

Crosswrecks Classic

     The first three days of the Crossroads Cycling Classic are in the books. They have not gone the way I had hoped, at least for me. It is a sketchy bunch, made up mostly of young riders. Many are Juniors. The others seem to be desperate to win a race or get to Cat. 1. I have just been trying to get through the races alive and have yet to make it to the finish. Here's a recap of the first three days.

     Things started on Tuesday with the Mocksville Criterium in downtown Mocksville, NC. It is a tight 0.5-mile rectangle with a hill between turns 3 and 4. Last year, I got destroyed out of turn 4 every lap, so I was very attentive there this year. We had about 50-60 riders start the Pro/1/2 race for 60 minutes of racing. The course does not suit me as the narrowness keeps things single-file and provides little opportunities to rest. I did not think I would finish this race, but I wanted to last longer than the 4 laps I made with the group last year.

Mocksville course

     It was a fast start. The first few times up the hill were all-out. My heart felt like it was going to explode and it got my chest to hurting. I felt like I did no warm-up, even though I did a really good one. My legs were great, but the chest was hurting so bad! The pace dropped after 4-5 laps, then picked up again. I was running 183 heart rate most of those laps just hanging on. Surprisingly, I was strong up the hill and out of turn 4. I was struggling more halfway down the front stretch as they seemed to accelerate their every lap.

     At 15 minutes, I heard a screeching coming from my back wheel. I thought the brake was dragging, maybe due to a wobbly wheel or maybe the wheel moved in the dropouts when I hit one of the many grates on the course. I dropped to the back to loosen the brake. I bombed the next corner just in time to see a pile-up on the outside. I had no rear brakes now that I had loosened them. I barely got stopped in time to avoid going down. I kind of slid right into the pile of riders.

     I took a free lap and took full advantage of it to check out my wheel. It was not wobbling. I tightened the brakes and they were not rubbing. I have no idea what that sound was, but now at least I knew it was ok and it gave me some peace of mind. They put me back in the race at the front. It was aggressive up there, and very fast as they were chasing a solo break. I had no legs now. The free lap killed them. I dropped through the field on the hill and found myself off the back at 20 minutes. After a lap on my own, my legs suddenly came around. The group was blowing to pieces so I caught a few people. Me and one other rider began to do a two-man TT effort to stay out there as long as possible. It was frustrating because now I felt great again, but our race was over at 26 minutes. I hated getting pulled when I felt so good, but this was just a product of a racing incident and there was little I could do about it. Sometimes free laps make you feel better, sometimes they make you feel worse. At least I lasted longer than last year! I was given 44th place on the results. The race average speed was about 29.0 mph, give or take a tenth. It was fast for such a tight course.

Cat. 3s on course in Mocksville

Onboard video with Marcel Gutierrez during the Cat. 3 race

     Day 2 was in Kannapolis, NC for the Kannapolis Criterium around the NC Research Campus. This was a new event, replacing the tiny Concord Criterium from year's past. The course in Kannapolis was D-shaped, with two tight corners and a brick roundabout halfway around the curved backside of the course. We had beautiful weather again. It was slightly overcast and not at all hot or humid. It was perfect for racing. You can't get any better than that in July! We had 60 starters tonight for another 60 minute race. I had a mid-pack start, but found myself at the very back before the end of the first lap. I was slow to clip my feet in and then got stuck behind two riders with mechanicals on the first lap.

     The two corners were very narrow and bottled the pack up significantly. We were doing 10 mph through the turns, then sprinting back up to 32-33 mph on the straights. The accelerations of a strong Pro/1/2 group kill me. That is definitely my weakest area right now and this course pointed that out twice per lap.

Kannapolis Course

Cat. 3 winner

Dan Underwood in the Masters race

Tim Hall in the Masters race

     I could see the first 15-20 riders sitting up coming off turn 1, while we sprinted at least 20 seconds after the turn in the back due to the bottleneck. So, I pushed hard to move up on lap 4 or 5. I hammered the whole backside of the course and passed half the group. I was on the outside going into turn 2. And then came another crash on the exit of the turn. One guy totally misjudged the turn and went over the curb. He hit a hay bale that was up against a light pole and was balancing on his front wheel as I contacted him. I kind of shouldered his back wheel as I came by. I had almost stopped so I don't know if I hit him hard enough to flip him the rest of the way over or not. I never looked back to see what happened.

     That sent me to the back again, just as the pace picked up and riders began to blow up. I had to close a few gaps the next lap. I was already gassed from pushing my way up in the field the lap before. I began to suffer off the turns. The accelerations were just too much. I popped off the back out of turn 1 and immediately went into TT mode. I had good legs again and was able to hold the gap at 5 seconds for a few laps. Then I started to fade. I had been running 27-28 mph on the straights, but had to eventually slow to 25 mph. I was dropped at 15 minutes and got pulled at 22 minutes. It was disappointing. Again, I felt like I should have been there, but I need a perfect race to stay on and getting behind crashes is too much for me to overcome right now. I'm just not strong enough yet. They gave me 58th place on the night. We had been averaging 29 mph while I was in. I think they slowed down a little after 30 minutes when a two-man break went away. The two made it to the end and had a good sprint for the win, taken by Alder Martz of Hincapie Devo. We have a little video posted below, followed by highlight video shot by Aaron Beaver.

Video: Kannapolis Criterium

Video: Kannapolis highlights video by Aaron Beaver

     Last night was the third race, the Salisbury Criterium, held in downtown Salisbury, NC. This was a fun race last year and I was excited to be back. It seemed like a good opportunity for me to get the monkey off my back and have a good race. It's also the most convenient race of the series, taking place not even five minutes from the group of hotels that house most of the riders.

     The forecast was for 50% chance of rain. The radar looked like the green would miss us, but it did not. The early races were dry, but then the rain came just as the Masters finished. The Cat. 3 and Pro/1/2 races were held in a steady downpour that made for a slick course. We had 51 starters tonight. I wanted to get a good start spot, but found myself 3/4 of the way back. Again, I had a poor start, this time self-inflicted as I did not get my feet clipped in right away. The first few turns were scary as hell. Some people had brakes, but most did not, myself included. I almost ran over a few people in turn 2 and almost got run over as well. There was a lot of metal here in the form of manhole covers, sewer grates and metal plates. They were beyond slick. People were crashing on them last year in the dry.

Salisbury figure-8 course

Rocking the new Swiftwicks Grant gave me at Rehab Summit last week...and a really bad sock tan line

Cat. 4/5s racing in the dry

Video: Cat. 4/5 race in Salisbury

Chris Harkey leads the Masters field

Masters just before the rain started

     Right away, I was out of contention. I was 45 sec. behind the front halfway through the first lap. There were gaps everywhere after just four turns on this eight-turn course. Then came a crash in turn 7 that further busted things up. I almost went down in turn 1 on lap 2. In the dark and wet it is very hard to pick out what's on the ground. I couldn't see the manhole covers until I hit them. It was like ice skating in turns 1, 2 and 3. You could not pass through the turns without crashing, so I had to follow the slower riders until the two long straightaways. I had good legs again and would almost sprint the entire straights. I passed a lot of riders, but there were huge gaps everywhere. The front group was less than 20 riders after just four laps.

First lap

Crash on the right

     I got with two other riders and we worked together for a few laps. There was a big crash in turn 1 one lap that I was glad happened ahead of me. It was pure chaos out there. My group got pulled at 12 minutes, even though we were just half a lap behind. They pulled us early "for safety reasons." We sprinted it out to the line. I led out the sprint, but the other two pipped me on the line in a photo finish. There's no way they looked at the camera though. I was placed in 46th. There's no way I was that far back. I never went all the way to the back and I passed a lot of people, way more than five. I think a lot of guys took free laps when there were crashes, even though they were not even remotely involved in the crash.

Just outsprinted to the line

     Honesty was not happening in this race. There was another big crash a few laps after I was pulled. The race was stopped for a few minutes while they cleaned up things. The race took forever to restart because people were trying to start in the front group. There was supposed to be 17 in the front and 30 were trying to restart in it, so they had to go number by number and pull out all the riders that were in the front group. It's sad that guys can't be honest and go with the group they belong with. In the end, two riders broke clear from the front group and won the race. There ended up being at least three small groups that finished the race. It was a messy, messy night. I ran the GoPro and you can watch the footage below.

Video: GoPro handlebar cam of my race in the rain

     Again, I feel that I never had a chance to show what I could do. With starting so far back, I was doomed from the start. The forecast is for more rain Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. I sure hope we can race in the dry. I really, really want to finish one of these and break my 0-9 Crossroads record. Right now it is raining, but we still have several hours before race time in Statesville tonight. Tomorrow we do a new crit. in Asheboro and then wrap up with a crit. around the City Park here in Salisbury. Check out the Recent Race Results column on the blog home page for the quickest updates on my races. I post the placing as soon as I get the results. Thanks again for reading and supporting!