Falcon Invite and Finals

Last weekend was our mid-season taper meet at the University of Minnesota. Probably one of the fastest pools in the nation. Friday I swam the 500 Free to a season best of 5:19 and a season best in the 100 Free on a relay of 52.01. Saturday was a very tiring day as I had to swim about 2600 yards race, almost 1000 more then any other guy. I had the 400 IM (x2) and the 1650. In the IM I placed 10th with a time of 4:42 in finals. The mile was a nice 12th place finish in a time of 18:19. I am stoked for the end of the year, I am going so much faster at this time then at any other time last year. Should be a kick ass taper and final meet in CR at Liberal Arts.

Finals are coming up next week, only 2 finals and 1 of them is an online final in Stress Management. Sweet. Human Physiology is my hardest class and is the other final I have to take. Should be interesting as it covers pulmonary respiration, GI system and reproductive systems.

After that, next Friday the 19th we leave for Florida, for 9 days on the beach of long course ass kicking. Won't be as warm as Hawaii freshman year, but hey it still beats a wind chill of -10 at 5:30 in the morning.

Stranger....Who me?

Finally taking the time to write in this again.

Swim season has been kicking my butt, coach testing our really skill ability this year, and it is showing as we are dominating everyone. Have our first real test this weekend at the University of Minnesota.

I have been swimming distance stuff like usual (500,1000,1650) and IM (200 and 400). Time have been great, almost at lifetime bests this early in the year is only gonna bode well when I shave and taper.

I am getting anxious to be back on the bike again. Have mtn. biked a couple times, but I wish I could have done cross this fall. Looks like a pretty good turnout and results list from Iowa riders at Jinglecross. What a day on Rock 2, I saw some videos.
Props to anyone who did that day!

Hopefully Ill write in this thing more to update about times/season goals and such. We are going to Florida (Ft. Lauderdale) for our bi-annual training trip in 15 days. Woo HOOO! 10 Days of intense two a days.

Have a good off season!
Carson

Season Gone!

Mtn Bike Race in Boone Saturday and Sunday, then I am off to school, hopefully be able to do some mtn. biking and road riding for a month or so. But 6AM captains practices will start and lifting/pool time will be the priority.

IF you live around Cedar Rapids or want to come over. Trek will be at Beverly Park in Cedar Rapids with loads of the new 2009 Trek Mountain Bikes/Road Bikes and other stuff. The demo day starts at 2PM and goes to 7PM. Bring your shoes and stuff and ride a new Fuel9.9 or Session Downhill bike on the newest Mtn. Bike Trails in Eastern Iowa.

Roadies, the trailer will also have some of the new Trek Road Bikes, which are looking very nice!

Watch OUT!

Went out for 2 Hour Tempo Ride today, and I look down at my arm for some reason and what do I see, but a little clump of bird poo. Some bird must have thought I was threatening it, and instead of dive bombing my helmet, decided to take a poop on my arm. Hmm! New style of war-fare from them.

Here are some pictures from Mr. Moritz from yesterday at Pella. Thanks for the great pics. Others can be located at www.bryan.moritzcycling.com. 

State Criterium Championship

Drove down to Pella this morning with a total of 9 other guys from HBA for the State Crit Championships.

The course is run in a park, is .6 miles long and has a block long climb. Doug Klausen and Iowa Ortho do a great job with this venue and race. Very well organized. I am glad to get to race in Pella, a nice little town.

To the race, 40 laps which equated to 24 miles or so for the race. We completed the race in 56 minutes, so I'm figuring 25-26mph average for the race? Chris Reed, Ian Robinson, Kelly Steele, Karl Rosenburg and myself started the race. B2U had 5 guns to throw off, All9 with a contingent, Mercy with a few guys and the Deathsquad with some killers.

Right from the gun, Hansen went to the front and drove the pace. After a few laps and some small attacks the first of the breaks went. 4 guys went up the road including Karl Rosenburg. This was nice, no B2U guy was present. Moritz went to the front and drilled it for about 4 laps by himself to bring it back, while I bided my time just blocking on his wheel. I figured this was a great position, with no B2U guy in the break.  All9 had Jerome, DeathSquad with Kris K, and Brian West from Colorbiotics off the front.   But this wasn't good enough, Andrew F. put in a big acceleration which I wasn't able to get onto and he and Adam Price were able to get to the front of the break. This break soon disappeared up the road as all our teams were blocking other teams.    With about 7 laps to go, it showed that the break was going to lap us. Not wanting Andrew to have Will and Bryan to help lead him out, I punched the gas a couple times and took Pig with me, but we weren't going anywhere. The break soon caught us and the leaders went to the front. I got up there and tried to lay down a fast pace so none of them would attack, and tried to keep Karl in good position. Moritz took a leadout role with 2 to go and I wasn't thinking enough to go up beside him to take Karl with me, but Karl was heads up and was already up there.   Last lap, I was able to be Top 8 or so on the hill, and sprinted to 6th place I think in the sprint. I got 8th overall as Steve Robo sprinted in ahead of me, plus the 6 a lap up on us.   Karl ended up with 3rd place, just getting nipped by Price, while Andrew won the race.

I had a great time in this race today. Everyone did a great job to make it a good/high paced race. I believe I am done riding on the road for the year. Have to get back up to school and start swimming. Thanks to B2U, All9, Mercy, ColorBiotics, and all other teams who I was able to race with for a great season! I look forward to seeing you all in the spring. 

Next week is the 24 hours of Boone, which I am doing in a 4 man team. Should be a fun race, for my first mtb race ever! HA!

Other notable results today.    Mack Sheldrup, 2nd in Juniors

      Chris Eastburn, 2nd in 50+ and 3rd in 40+

Awesome job to all.

Downers Grove National Championship Crit

Went over to Chi Town with Chris Eastburn for the weekend.

Saturday-  Mens Cat 3/4 Elite

     45 Min + 1 lap for my first ever race at Downers Grove. It was a great course, I really enjoyed it as it flowed very well. Right at the start of the 3/4 race, 4 guys in front of me couldn't clip in so I was track standing behind them before I could get going. Mark Guthart tells me later he was laughing on the officials stand because of this, haha thanks Mark!  Now back to the race, its amazing how people fight to be first or 2nd line in the crit, even with 100+ riders, it only took me 4 laps of being at the back and not trying to hard to get to the front. Stayed near the front for the race, lost both of my contacts with 5 laps to go, so I was a little nervous about cornering and moving about the field. Last lap, I was still doing ok but wasn't as high as I should have been towards the end and came across 30th out of 100+ starters. 

Sunday- Mens Elite 3

  45 Min + 1 Lap again. Chris Reed came over and did the race, it was nice to have a team mate. Started at the back again today to avoid the pushing and shoving at the front. Again, up at the front after about 5 laps. Dom got the 1st prime of the day, good for an Iowa guy. The 2nd Prime, I found myself in good position, but jumped a little to early and came across 2nd at the line, just getting nipped by a XXX guy. Almost got some food/gas money as it was 50$. Stayed near the front again during the race, again not where I needed to be at the end. Passed some guys in the sprint to end up with a 22nd out of 100+ riders again.

It was a great weekend, I feel like I learned a lot of lessons. I need to be where I ended up in the sprint, with 2-3 laps to go instead of 1. Knowing when to jump for sprints/primes by waiting a little longer. 

Weren't as many Iowa guys as I thought would be there.  Chris and I, Chris Reed came over for Sunday. Bryan Moritz and Dom. were there. Amanda Miller had a great ride in the 2 races she competed in. 

Back from Vacaction

Got back last night from Door County. One of the best trips of my life. I had so much fun with my little "group" of 5 from school.  Kat and Tyler, Doug, Beth and I. We did so many different things. A couple homestyle bar and grills, a very nice classy restaurant, a drive in and a couple beaches. 

 

We saw The Dark Night at the drive in, first experience there, it was fun!

Ate at this restaurant, where there were goats on top of the roof!! Awesome.

Went to Washington Island, and rented bikes and rode to the beaches and had some great fun. Took some videos on the single speed cruiser bikes that Ill upload later, pretty fun.

Here is a picture of Beth and I. She is so cute :)

Now that I'm back its time to work and get ready for Downers and State Crit. 4 days off the bike I thought was going to kill me, I went out for 2 hours with teammate Chris Reed tonight and we were cruising. I think 4 days is exactly what I needed! Im pumped. 

Thanks for reading! 

Peace

A little bit of R and R

So my legs have started feeling really heavy on the bike. Think my form is going after about a month.

Did some tempo riding this week, Night at the Oval and some Mtn. Biking last night out at Beverly Park. Check these trails out at some point if your in Eastern Iowa.
www.lambaonline.com

Now I'm just getting ready to leave to Door County with Bethany.

Good luck with State Time Trial.

Nice Job Jimmy on your Time Trial at Nationals!!! Placed in top half of juniors in the nation!!!! Good luck with the Road Race and Criterium.

Peace

SUCKKKKKKKKKKKK

So today, I got up and was just ecstatic about the race. I met some of the HBA dudes downtown and we made our way to West Branch. Everything was going good, had a good breakfast, got my pre-race Mt. Dew and Pretzels in, bottles full and everything was going great!

Start the race with about 50 riders. It was fun. A 27.5 mile loop with a couple stretches for crosswind action, a couple long climbs and a 5 mile tailwind stretch to the end. Feed zone was ballistic today. We had to set up two feeds throughout the course. (Thanks Lawrence Reed, Vern, Larry, Kevin, Ken for all the help you offered today). A group would always punch it through the finishing feed zone towards the finish, so people who had to take on bottles had to work their tails off to get back on. 

Our plan today was to take 2 bottles per lap. One from one feed, and drop it off and pick up another at the other feed. We stayed hydrated, I don't think Chris, Ian or I ever felt dehydrated. Had some food with as well for some good grub. Cliff Bars are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So start of the 3rd lap, and I am still feeling awesome. We are heading north out of West Branch, and all of  a sudden I hit a huge crack in the road. This crack was not marked with paint, and someone was right in front of me, never managed to hit it. I did, and all of a sudden I felt myself riding on a rim. I put my hand up and went to the back, kept upright and ready for a wheel change. The truck came, and I was able to get my spare wheel, but by this time, I couldn't get back on to the group. Bryan Moritz had come off after getting a plastic bag caught in his rear derailleur and never got back on. We tried to get back on, but couldn't. We decided to turn around and head back to West Branch. So I ended up with only about 60 Miles out of the 108 planned. 

Sat at the feed zone and saw as Ian Robinson, placed a great 4th in the race. Chris Reed stuck it out and finished. It was a good showing, I was mad I couldn't stay in, I was feeling awesome today and know I could have stuck it out for a while.

Good day for HBA. Cat 5 and Masters 50+ Wins, a 3rd in the 4's and a 4th in 3's. 

Im now on for 4 days of training, then 4 days off so I can go to Door County with the girlfriend to hang out for the weekend! Im so pumped. 

Next up is Downers Grove, and then State Crit!!!

Good job to all who raced in the heat today, it was fun while it "I" lasted!!!

P.S - I tried Chamois Butter for the first time today, and it seemed to work pretty well. Good Investment!

2 Days and Counting!!!!

2 Days til the State Road Race. I have had 2 days off this week to think about the race and what I am going to have to do in order to prosper. The longest ride I have ever done in my life was 85 miles. So being 20 miles longer, who knows whats going to happen. 

I will have at least 2 team mates to work for/with in order to stay in the front, and a numerous amount of other teammates taking part in the other races and to help with feeding. The amount of liquids and food I will have engulf to stay above bonking line will be like a 3 course meal!!!

Im really excited though, it will be a tour de france stage length road race. So Im thinking it will be slow to start and will blaze by the end. 

Payout is 1200/10 places, overall so that is always a goal, but also Cat. 3 is separated out for State Champion Medals separately then 1/2's. I have quite a few guys to watch who will be on form and I think ready to kick some ass.

B2U

Chad Bishop

Jimmy and Adam Price

Basso and Death Squad

Norbert, Dom and Jacobsen

I know many others......

Its gonna be a great race within itself. Hopefully I don't get left behind to early on!

Two Bee "Thanks Jason RR"

Yay for Conn Day Races!! I was finally able to get to one this year, after pleading with the guys at the shop to allow me to come in a little late for work.

Chris Reed and I rode down, and saw Ian Robinson, Mack Sheldrup, Keith Snoop and Jason Amoriell all ready to race for the day. We ended up having 5 of the 15 starters or so. We were saying that if we couldn't win on this day, wow...we are horrible. 

Race started off pretty mellow, with a few attacks. After about 6 miles or so. A big attack got off with Ian, Jason, Chris, a 2 Bee guy, both Nick and Tim Campbell. I knew this was serious, but just sat back and waited to pounce on the guys who missed out. After a while, I was bored and I know Gary McNabb and I wanted to make the race a little more interesting. We punched the pace and tried to bridge up to the leaders. In this process we dropped all but one guy. 

Once we got up to the break. Jason put in an attack and was off for a while. 10 miles or so to go, we caught him and hung in the pack. With about 7 miles to do, Chris put in an attack and had a slight gap, once he got reeled in. I punched the gas and took off. I looked back once and had a small gap, I decided to try and stick it.  I kept opening up a gap as my teammates did good blocking and didn't allow one of the Campbells or Two Bee guys to jump across. 

I crossed the line about 45sec to 1 minute ahead of the field. Chris Reed and Ian Robinson took 2nd and 3rd on the day. Junior Mack Sheldrup got back into the "peloton" and ended up with the 5th spot!

This was the first race, where I have ever really done team tactics and it finally worked. We were able to work over Tim Campbell, who was probably the strongest in the race (Cat 2), and come away with some Cookies, Brownies and such.

This was a great race, it was some good low key hard racing!

Next up is a week of training for the big one! 108 Mile State Road Race.

Looks like there will be 3 of us Cat 3's and hopefully Eastburn will do it :)

Tues. Group Ride

Did the Cedar Rapids Group Ride tonight. Lots of people showed up which is always good. We went north to Alburnett, Central City, Waubeek, Springville and back in. Ended up doing 55 miles in just under 3 hours total time. 

Avg. Watts: 255

MPH: 21

A couple of the guys were on fire, and def. putting the hurt on us. *WINK* Easburn, Norbert, Chris *Wink*        

MAC Hope your doing good, I think it was my fault, that a way to take it like a champ.

How Long can it last!

My legs feel awesome right now. Went out for 55miles yesterday with Chris Reed and Chris Eastburn and felt good. Yea sweet, 53 miles still to go to finish the State Road Race ha. Oh well, Im excited for a ride that long! Im hoping to maintain this form until the end of my season. Coach Paul thinks because I am so young, I may be able to keep it for another month or so. That would be awesome. 

Will have maybe 2 weeks off of racing for training and work. Every weekend in August should bring some great hard racing.

State Road Race

Downers Grove National Crit Championships

State Crit

Gateway Cup

Aug 8-11, I am going to Door County with Bethany and a couple that we swim with at Luther for a few days at a cabin. Will be a lot of fun.

Dopers Suck!!!

Seriously....I thought maybe we had gotten a clean tour. But now the all stupid Beltran and now Riccardo Ricco!!! What a dumb ass, I hope he quits cycling. It obviously shows from Vandevelde that you can race clean and win the Tour!!!(Potentially).  I am almost ashamed to be involved with cycling now. Cyclists get so much crap, everyone is always like.....oh yea, the sport with all the dopers!!

Oh well, they get what they deserve.

Check out our new team blog...... our team is continuing to grow and gain some support around Cedar Rapids!

http://hba-racing-team.blogspot.com/

State Road Race looks tremendous for a Cat 3 race, 108 Miles!! WOW should be awesome

Day 5.....Do it or Lose It

Last day of SuperWeek for now. Had to come back so that I can work and have money for Door County and College in general. 56 Starters and 32 Finished. IT was about 95 degrees at the start of the race, I had drank 3 bottles before the race and 2 during the race. 

Same course as yesterday. Did 40 laps today instead of 35. After a couple laps, a crash happened behind me and took about 10 guys down. This make the chance of placing well go up. I put in 1 attack today and didn't drag anyone with me, of course of course. I tried to bridge to another break and didn't get to it, before it was swallowed up. Did quite a bit of work at the front, as some of the teams didn't want to chase the serious break near the end of the race. Luckily it came back 1/2 way through the last lap.

Didn't get passed by anyone in the sprint but, didn't pass anyone else. Ended up in 15th today, so I finally broke the 20 spot and got some money. I had a blast the last 5 days riding with Cat 3's from across the nation and some foreign guys as well. IT is a lot different riding with these guys then with most of the Midwest dudes. I think a lot of these guys could be Cat 2's, but want to wait and poach some money before upgrading. Whose to blame them, as who knows when they will get money again!!!! 

It was an awesome time, and I know I am getting some good form from Ohio, and hope it will last for a while longer!!!

Day 4.....

Day 4 a 35 mile Crit in Bensenville, Illinois. The course was pretty sketchy, starts in a park and leaves through a rough exit onto a neighborhood then re-enters the park on a very off camber turn back onto blacktop. It was ok though, we all took the corner fine. Alittle off camber S Curve to the finish. The races started out fast with it being strung out. A break of 4 went up the road as usual, but this time it stuck for some reason. They got a gap of up to 1:15 over the field, that means we were really slow and not chasing hard, or they were just kicking our butt. I think it was more the first, but also some of the 2nd. The laps ticked down and I stayed toward the front. Andrew F. from Bikes 2 You had a busy day, no one wanted to pull so he pulled probably a total of 10 laps or so?? Including the last 2 and still placed 6th in the sprint. He was a real motor today.

Came in 21st. Wow, I can't be so close to the money (20th) and never get there. 21st, 23rd, 21st the last 3 days!

 

1 More day to move into the money for now! Hopefully I will be able to leave it all out there and make a break or sprint for a good placing!

Day 3....SuperWeek

Day 3 was another 40 mile crit in Richton Park, a neighborhood on the southern part of Chi-Town. It was a great course, very smooth with only some rough spots in the corners. 

Bikes 2 You showed up today after dominating the Clear Lake Races. Chris, Bryan, Will and Andrew were here in force. I knew these were the guys to watch, and it turned out to be a good plan.

After the start they started launching a few attacks, with none sticking. At about 1/2 way point. Bryan and Andrew were in a break up the road. I knew it was the place to be, so I bridged across dragging another B2U dude, Chris. This was def. an Iowa break with only 2 others not from Iowa. The pack wasn't going to let this go, so we were swept up. Some untimely attacks lasted throughout the race and were reeled in. With 6-7 laps to go? Moritz went on another attack and only 1 guy went with. This was the move. Moritz was able to win the sprint! Awesome!!!

Andrew got 5th or so??? I came in 23rd and almost saw Will go down, he was in  great position for the sprint but clipped his pedal on the floor. It was a great race, I had lots of fun, and it was intense. We avg. about 27mph. 

2 more days to go! Maybe us Iowa guys can take some high spots in the races to come!

Day 2...Crash Fest?

Day 2, a 40 Mile Crit in Olympia Fields. A Very fast .5 mile crit through a new residential neighborhood. 75 riders took to the start today. Got to the front and stayed there for most of the race, put in an attack and got a small gap, but no one came with. It seems no one will come with when I go, I don't know if its cuz Im not known around here or what. I try to then go with the large teams. Did a couple times and had some small gaps but it was coming to a field sprint. 1 guy jumped with 5 laps to go and won, barely. 2 laps to go a guy crashed going across the finish line, in front of me. Another 2 went down in the first corner on the last lap, in front of me. Then coming to the line, no less then 5 riders went down in certain spots. It was intense!

Came around in 21st, 1 spot out of the money. Shucks!

I did notice on the list, I am the only other Iowa rider. Are there any others coming out at all for the racing?

Time to quit racing...

By the sound of it. Juan Valdez(local iowa racer) doesn't seem to like how I ride. I might as well quit, before I kill someone.

Yea, I made a mistake at the Big Creek Race, sorry to those involved. So Im getting called out for not riding in straight lines? And Minnesota Riders now know how I ride? The only person who yelled at me in that race was from Iowa, and when I have to sweep wide to miss another wheel sweeping wide in a sharp corner, I don't think its right to get yelled at for not being my fault. But I guess everything I do on the bike must be wrong? I don't ride in a F#@King straight line.

And all the Iowa and Minnesota riders have had enough of my shit? Well might as well quit huh. Would that all make you FUCKING HAPPY!

Edit-

Did the first SuperWeek race today. It was a lot of fun, about 70 riders or so lined up for the 40 lap, 40 mile race. Started off with a few attacks, and nothing really got going. Pretty soon I found myself with 3 other guys going up the road. After one hard pull, one guy popped off and it was just 2 of us. We were soon absorbed by the pack about 2 laps later. A counter attack went 1/2 lap later, and this was the 6 man move that won the race. Shoot, I was close to getting into the right break. Oh well, I tried! The bad thing was all the major teams were represented, DOAHH!

A few of us tried to put in a chase, but the teams showed good blocking tactics. I even tried to bridge up 1 time, but the group was up about 25 seconds and I never get within 10-15 I don't think before being caught.  

Came across the line in the pack somewhere, not the best positioning for the field sprint! It was a lot of fun though, my legs feel like they are getting recovered for tomorrow!

Thanks for all the support trying to race my bike!!

1st SuperWeek Experience

Leaving for Superweek. Will race 5 days or so. Then I have to get back and work.....Dam Work!

Should be fun, hopefully get some cash and will see some pros ride!!! Staying with my roommate and swimmer bud, Dougie. Great to not have to pay for anything but food and gas, which I guess is like paying for hotels if you think about it.

Ill keep the race reports coming!

Have fun in Clear Lake to those attending.

Northfield Crit

Went up to Northfield with my girlfriend Beth for the race Friday.  Great to see some IA guys up there!! Iowa Ortho and All 9 guys!! 

It was  fun time, I really like this course. Lined up for the 3's race with about 35 other riders. Pace started off pretty fast, with a couple attacks going off here and there. 

After a few laps having sat in the field, I started to move up in the field and patrol ready to pounce when I had the chance. With about 13 laps to go, there was a break of 2 up the road and we started to bring back the two, and when we hit the hill I took off out of the pack and passed the two breakaway guys. I looked back and hoped to have some help but I didn't. I had a decent gap and put my head down to see what I could do against a field of 3's. It was fun, never felt as though I was killing myself but after 3 laps, I was reeled back in. Got back in the pack and had a drink of Gatorade. 

As the laps clicked down, I through a few more attacks off on the hill but to no avail. It was such a great race, I had a lot of fun being active and attentive. 

Last lap, I didn't get up to where I needed to be and opened up the sprint from a ways back. I did pass a few guys in the end. Ended up in 9th. 

As I crossed the line, the guy in front of me who placed 8th sat up and took his hands off the bars right at the line. I was going around him, and he started to lose control and swerve towards me. I got passed him, but then heard a wheel touch my back wheel. I heard then a crash and spokes hitting the wheel.  When he hit my wheel, he broke 3 of my spokes. I never thought I would see this happen at the end of a Cat 3's race. Oh well, stuff happens. The official didn't relegate him, but did tell him how bad of a move it was to do. 

So awesome race!!! Im feeling really ready for Superweek, feel a good taper coming! Maybe get some Cat 3 points next week!

Spent the rest of the weekend with Beth and her roommate and boyfriend who we both swim with at Luther. Watched some fireworks, at some good food!

Cheers 

Playing with the Big Boys..

So today, I got up and felt so drowzy and droggy, but after we spun around this morning for an hour, felt awesome. I have felt better each and every day here in Ohio. Today's race was supposed to be 50 miles, most on a circuit race course outside of Granville, and 10 1-Mile loops in Granville, but it was shortened to about 35 miles due to rain/hail/lightning. 

Race started out pretty good, a big group got off the front, and soon I saw Paul and John setting tempo at the front, so I went and decided to help. Pulled for a while on the front of the pack. The next time around I attacked out of the group as the pace had really slowed down. I was caught easily, but kept the pace high trying to bring back the break. Eventually, Paul gassed it and got up the break, and I went on the defensive. John and I continuously blocked and chased other attempts from teams to bring the break back. It was fun, I was really do something in this big race. Throughout this time, rain came, hail came and strong winds started to hurt the pack a bit.

Coming back into Granville, we knew we had to get Dewey to the hard steep cobbled climb first or close if he had a chance. John and I went to the front and drilled it, but A+F was way strong and just didn't allow much to happen. I was able to get Dewey on my wheel and I tried real hard to get him to the corner, but only got him there in 15th or so. By this time, the rain was pouring down really hard, and the officials shortened the course to 4 times instead of 10.  I just road by myself and ended up pulling off after 2 laps. We "failed" at getting the Yellow, and jersey was not feeling good, so he pulled. 

Hopefully we still have top 10 and such, but who knows.

So they really messed up results on final circuit with rain and what not...I started in 74th after my bad day. Was 69th after yesterdays crit, and moved up to 66th by the end of the race. So I believe I was 50% above and below the field, so right in the middle! Im pretty happy about that!

It was such a great experience for me, I learned quite a bit from this week, and I hope to get some strong legs for Northfield and Superweek!

Crit Style Racing

Stage 4, a 40 mile Crit in Worthington, Ohio. A slightly longer then 1mile course with a long gradual climb, and fast descent. I know crits are fast, but I was totally pumped for this. I started 3/4 way back, better then in the last row like Stage 1. I was able to move my way up through the race, and was even 10th wheel or so, right on the front of the spearhead. I started to get pretty thrashed through the race, and kept moving back with about 12 laps to go, when the pace went up to about 35mph for 10 laps straight. 

With 5 laps to go, I popped off, not to mad because I stuck it for 30 laps or so. Just cruised to the finish. Tomorrow is the big day, a 50 mile Circuit Race with some brutal climbing at the end. Dewey is down 38 seconds and we can get it back tomorrow easily if we get him where he has to be. 

Check in later

A day for Redemption!

So today, I was feeling great when I woke up and all the way til race time. But I knew after yesterdays little escapade, what will happen today!

The race was supposed to be 60 miles, ended up being 70

It was not as hilly, but with many more rollers and hardly and flat. A few nice climbs, maybe over 10%??? Started out fast, 28mph avg. or so for the first half. 

I was feeling really good today for some reason, wish I wouldn't have cramped and lost the 16 minutes yesterday. I was doing good on the climbs, moving up or holding my position. Going through the feed zone, after a really steep climb out of Coshocton, I got a feed and was still in the pack, I was stoked. Worked my way up to the front for the last part of the race, even sitting about 15th wheel or so? I am amazed at the smooth running efficiency of the 1,2 peloton. Everyone is just so smooth, if you have the wheel in front and wanna move, they will let you in, and vice versa. 

Coming into the finish, I was in the front of the group, and all of a sudden a crash happened, with 1K to go or so, right before the steep climb to the finish. I was behind, but was lucky enough to slow down, but managed to ramp over an A + F wheel and heard it break (Nice Carbon). Got clipped back in without going over, and even passed some people on the climb. It was a great stage, I hope all I needed was 2 days instead of one to get my legs about me. Unfortunately yesterday cost me dearly. 

Tomorrow is a 40 Mile Crit, maybe I can stay in and some 3's ahead of me get pulled and I can make up some ground. 

I am sitting 7th for Cat 3's, Jimmy is 5th. Think there are about 20 in the race. 

Oh and Chad, I am riding "composite" not switched over haha

Whoop There I GO!

Today was Stage 2, 70 Mile Road Race with 5 significant climbs and some good size rollers. First part of the race was relatively flat, with the first KOM at 15 miles or so. All 5 of these climbs were at least .5 miles at above 10% for some of the climb. I'd fall back through the pack, and get in a chase to regain the leaders. 

At the 3rd KOM with about 25 miles or so to go, I blew off the back up the climb with many others, hell I was riding with a current World Track Champion from A & F, hehe, but yea, there went my day.  By the 4th KOM, the steepest, 1 mile or so at above 10%, with a sort of stair stepper, up and down after the crest. My legs seized up so bad on this, and again on the final KOM, another 1+ miler at +10%. 

I rolled into the finish who knows where, at least 10 min, maybe 15. But I guess there were people falling off the pace on the first KOM, that didn't finish, so they get 10min from there time, plus 3min or something for when they hit the end of the 1st circuit or I don't know something like that. So I did beat some people, and I don't think really that close to last. 

This race was def. an eye opener to the style of road racing in the pro ranks out there. 

Tomorrow is another 60mile Road Race, so Ill check in after that. 

Tour of Ohio Stage 1

Went up to Mt. Vernon for the first stage. A prologue crit of 30 miles. Got to the course, and it was different then in past years, to the surprise of many. 

It was a pretty iffy course, many guys were skeptical when warming up. A small incline from start finish line, up around a "town square" deal, down an S curve, and then a straightaway that turned into a narrow cobblestone alley. Rideable course, but for a first time 3's in a pro field. I was scared!

The rules of this race were except top 3 who recieved time bonus, everyone who started got the same time. Jimmy, John Olney and I lined up in the rear not to take any risks. Paul and Dewey up front row or so. 

Race started off fast, I guess Dewey was "scared" for the cobbles and wanted to be first and keep it strung out. This hit us at the back, us 3 stayed together well and moved up through the field. Before you know it, 8 laps were gone....and we got pulled. Our group was about 40 riders or so. The course made it so, if you started there....you weren't going anywhere. 4 Laps in and I looked to the other side of the course, and the race leaders were going through. The lap times were about 50 seconds. so .35mile laps or so? Really short, fast. Only 20 guys out of 120ish were able to finish without being pulled. 

What an experience, 5 miles into the race and get pulled :), but hey Im still tied for the Cat 3 lead, and in 4th overall GC :).

Tomorrow is the big day, 70miles with big climbs. Dewey says its his day, lets hope so!

Cheers

Cat 3 Showdown Begins!

I sit here, Sunday night anxious and scared for my first Cat 3 experience. It is also going to be a rough 5 days with Cat 1's and 2's from the Midwest and beyond, for the Tour of Ohio. A 300 mile stage race in Ohio.

The stages are a couple 40 mile crits
70 mile rr
30 mile crit
and a 50 mile CR or so I think.

I am ready to get my butt handed to me, hopefully giving me some good form for Superweek. There is a 3's payout and overall leader's jersey. Maybe Jimmy and I could sneak into it for a day, or try to fight for it. Maybe get in some breaks to help out Dewey, Paul, John, Zach. And maybe I can be a good domestique and get someone the overall!

Ill keep the posts coming after each stage to tell you how dead I am :).

Good Luck in training, maybe some good weather for a change!

1 week to go!

Did a group ride tonight with some of the guys. Chris Eastburn is really starting to come along to the Chris I know, just hammering it out and killing us all.  I must be getting into some good shape, I was able to stick with and work for most of the ride. Got done and had an avg. of 270 watts on the powertap after 46miles. Sweet! Legs felt good even after the ride which was a surprise, maybe Ill be able to stick with some of the big boys next week in Ohio.

Started swimming this week, to try and keep the shoulders in shape for next season. That is if, Luther has a campus/pool/sports complex. Check out decorahnews.com to check out some of the pics from the record flooding. I don't remember 93 that much, but I know the flooding in Decorah  was nothing like it is there now. Im glad I don't still live there, as Im sure I would be sandbagging 24hours a day.

Full Time Job Fo Sho!

So its getting pretty busy at the bike shop now days with RAGBRI coming up pretty soon. I was supposed to have the day off, but was called in for the afternoon do to illness. It has to be nice to have a full day off to relax and do whatever, but it has been fun so far working at the shop. Should have two weeks in a row with overtime pay! YEAH! Next week, I will be putting in 5o hours or so, racking in the dough. 

Anyway, so again......another day with an LT interval, another day with 20+ mph winds. I hope doing that kind of work into a headwind will pay off for as much as it hurts. 

I am going to Ohio here in 2 weeks for the Tour of Ohio. A 5 day stage race, and I will be racing composite with Mercy Specialized, with coach Paul, Jimmy C, John Olney and a couple others. First race as a Cat 3, and I will be going up against some national class Cat 1's. Yikes, I hope I don't the the "Lantan Rouge" or last place person in the race! HAHA

Moving Up!

Got my Cat 3 Upgrade today! 

Team Rides in the Heat!

Met at GSP for a 2-3 Hour team ride today. Chris Reed, Ian Robinson and Mack Sheldrup all came down to do the ride. We headed north out of town on the trail, then on to Center Point. Legs were feeling kind of sore today because of last two days in the wind/LT Intervals, but still pretty good. 

Coming into CP, did a stop sign sprint and hit a new power outage. 1550 watts. That is pretty sweet! After we got out of CP, the hills start rolling in and up towards Urbana, a couple .5 mile-.75 mile climbs. Ian seems to be climbing and gaining some good form, and Mack and Chris had turned around to go back, both not feeling well. Ian and I pushed on into Shellsburg pretty hard, andfrom there cruised into Palo. 

In Shellsburg, I did see the Peppy's Ice Cream Trucks(Ice Cream Delivery in Cedar Rapids, old school side window van style), and wanted to stop, but decided to pass! 

Ian and I split off in Palo, and I just cruised home.

Ended up with 2500kjoules, 58 miles, 3 hours in the saddle, and keep getting a good farmers tan going on!

Next up is the Oval on Tuesday night.

Wind Tunnel or Eastern Iowa!

So it seems whenever I go out for LT intervals, or other intervals. I always end up getting crushed by the wind. Today was not any different with 15-20mph winds or so. It was a good ride, Im glad my legs seem to still have some form. Too bad there isnt much racing, plus I have had to work, so I couldn't go over to Chicago today and tomorrow. 

Trying to gear up for Superweek and such next. 

I didn't know I talked so bad about other riders, so I guess I have made many other riders angry at me. I guess Im a terrible person

Memorial Day Post 2 of 2

Saturday-

  Melon City Crit in Muscatine, Iowa. Started on the front row for the 14 mile crit. The course has a swooping downhill with a speed hump and a long grinding uphill. Sat in the pack for a few laps, was feeling good and confident. After a few laps, I made an acceleration up the hill trying to break it up, didn't work. I tried once more and still nothing. The field wasn't going to get away today. A few sketchy riders, and a crash that took down a few riders. 

Coming up to the last lap, I was poised very well coming up the hill, but I didn't account for the fact of people coming around me on the outside, farther out then I was. I wasn't watching this, and a junior(15yrs) came around and made a huge push. We tried to catch him, but he was very strong. Came up to the S Curve 2nd wheel and passed the guy for 2nd.  Oh well, could have been another victory if I had been watching! OH WELL!!!  It was a fun race, but I think 4's races could stand to be a little longer!!

Sunday-

Quad City Crit

Started in the front row again, looking for another good top 5 or so. Did some work at the front on the 8 corner crit. We avg. 26mph or so for the 14 laps. I didn't like the fact that there were only 14 laps, the 3's did like 24? We should have been able to do 20 or so to help cut the field size down. We brought a lot of people to the line, and I was boxed out and settled for 7th. It was a fast race, but I had a lot in the tank to keep going! It was a very fun day however, sitting there watching some good racing.

This weekend was awesome, probably one of the best weekends I have ever had on the bike, and I hope I can say that some more throughout the year or upcoming years!!

Memorial Day Post 1 of 2

Friday Night Road Race.....

  24 Miles Warm Up road race for Saturday from Wapello to Mediapolis. I didn't really expect much in this race as it was to short to do damage. The climb wasn't as long or hard as I had heard. Just sat in the pack, once we turned to Mediapolis up the climb, I followed Garrett and we ended up getting a 10 sec. gap from a small acceleration. DICE did a good job of bringing it back  and I had to settle for the sprint.  Greg Aronson(DICE) took a flyer with a little over 1K to go, and I was forced to try and chase him down. This left me open for people to pass, and I was still able to hang on to 5th place.    It was fun/fast pace race and I got some money. 

Saturday-

    The King of racing in Iowa, Snake Alley. Started 3rd row, and was ready for a few laps of sketchiness(if thats a word). Going around the first corner, I was moving up a few spots, and a Southside Wheelmen guy was just relaxing and I skidded and almost lost it on the first corner, but I was able to clip back in easy and got to the Snake in 20th place or so. Went around a few guys, did a couple track stands to wait for slowing riders and made my way over the top. I was able to move up on the 2nd and 3rd lap to 5th wheel or so. On the 4th lap I was 2nd wheel half way up the climb, and made a slow acceleration at the end. 

I looked back and had a gap, I decided to go for it 8 laps from the end, so I didn't know really what to expect. I spent 2 laps by myself, and was then caught by Jay Gorsh(Atlas) and Aaron McComb(Peoria). I could see these two were still hurting from the bridge and so I pulled a few times. With two laps to go, I could see Jay was falling off the pace on the climb and was soon pretty much off the back. Last lap, I had a gap off the downhill of 5 sec. over McComb and went as hard as I could up Snake Alley. I hit the top with a gap and then smooth sailing to the finish line for the WIN!!!! 

I could not believe it. My fat-ass was able to get myself over the climbs faster then anyone else!! IT probably helped that I was able to descend pretty well also. Won some good money, a snake and my own "Roubaix" style Brick. 

Had some good races to watch during the day. Dewey Dickey won the Masters 30+ and Pro Race, what a day!!! Paul was able to get 3rd in the Masters race.

Hopefully with 2 races to go, and two races I like. Maybe I can have another victory or 2! And then get the upgrade!!!!

The week is here!!

First full week in CR to start this week. With 1 week of work, and then I head south-southeast for the big weekend in Quad City area. 

Week has been decent for training, today was a wind fest. Did some LT stuff, and when your going +300 watts on flat roads and only going 15-16mph, thats wierd. But then you turn around, and do the same thing, only now your at 30 haha. Fun Fun, when cars are having to accelerate past me!

I am so ready for this weekend, my fitness I think is there and my body compo is already better then last year, about to where it was at the end of summer. Hopefully this will help me on the additional laps up Snake this year!

Sophomore Year to a close...

Wow, I am already a Junior in College. That is unreal, well one cuz Im still only 19 :) But also, cuz it has gone so fast!!! Finished up school yesterday and came back today after some fun last night. Volleyball and Movies.

Now I have off till Monday then start back at the bike shop. Hopefully get some good riding in, as I haven't ridden since Friday. Excited to get back to racing, and get geared up for next weekend!!! Memorial Day is gonna be sweet, I have good start position in all the races which will help. 

Just a tid bit of info!

Lots of work to be done with finals starting Sat. and running through Wednesday, but then I am done!!!

Training has been going pretty good, I think I set a new 2 Hour Tempo High this morning on a ride which is good! Just trying to gear up for Memorial Day and have the best racing I can do to show I wanna be a Cat. 3. 

Well I said it would be short,

Peace

Carson

Old Cap. Crit

Went in today thinking there was a possibility for the double, but not totally confident. Legs felt good, lined up for the 20 lap event. Right from the bat, I  couldn't get clipped in, a guy locked his brakes up on the decent and slid out, and I had to spend 2 laps catching the leaders. Once I got through all of this, I sat on the back of the pack for a few laps. Eventually, I tried to string the race out on the top of the climb.

The laps went on and I started marking my targets for strong riders. Justin Schnee was again riding well as was Jimmy and Geoff. Last couple laps got pretty fast and rounding the last corner, I came out 4th wheel and ended up 5th. Oh well, it was a fun race. I was happy to have won on Sat. and let Geoff(ICCC) get the win. Both Jimmy and I talked to Rick, about upgrading and he said to wait until Memorial Day.

After the race, had some nice quiznoes and watched the other races with Jimmy and his girl-friend, yea...I know hard to believe!!! I think I about stole her away from him, once she saw me :)  Poor Jimmy lol. Stayed for the first parts of the Pro 1,2 Race and then headed back for the 2.5 hour drive to Decorah.

This is what FORM feels like!!!

Last weekend, I threw myself out there and nearly one on a solo break...Today was a totally different race, and had to be much different tactically if you were going to do well and win. Went down to Sharon Center for the 4's RR of 39 miles.

Started off pretty slow, a couple rollers off the front but were brought back. I saw after 1 lap that the 25mph headwinds would not allow for a break, and there was only about 1 .5 mile section on the course to do damage, this was a crosswind, climb up to the left that lead to another tail wind section. I stayed mid pack for the whole race, took a couple pulls but decided that was stupid. On that climb on the 2nd lap, Justin Schnee took a (acceleration)??? up the hill, I put a bit of hammer down and climbed the hill up to him, looked back and saw some people were starting to hurt. Nothing big happened till that same hill again on the next lap. Told Jerome, Jimmy, Steve that we needed to roll that hill hard, I took a pull to the bottom and Jerome put in a nice effort up the climb. I looked back after and noticed we had about 12 guys left. My plan had worked well!!!

I then focused on the finish, knew that the group would come to a sprint, so I sat on the rest of the lap and didn't pull. No one asked or yelled at me too, so I just bided my time in the back. Coming into the final section of race, Justin took a flyer off the front and stuck it until the final uphill, I was afraid that move was gonna stick. He did a great job, just wasn't to be. The pack was gearing up for the sprint, and it was very intense, everyone was all over the road and fighting for position, rubbing elbows and such. It wasn't a typical Cat 4 sprint with one long line of guys. I liked this finish.

Come up to the sprint, Mike Edwards(Two Bee) shot through a hole and I was right on his wheel, he towed me 1/2 way up and I took over. I won by 2 bike lengths of James Carrico and Geoff from ICCC

I owe my victory to Mike Edwards, he was a good buddy all day, and took the leadout for me!!! Much appreciated dude!! I OWE YOU!!!

Now Im just relaxing ready for tomorrow, a race I hope to win, as I like it better!!!!!

Another Race...another Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

Went down to Eagle Point for the first crit of the season, well even if there are not tight 90degree corners, it still makes for a great race in a great venue put on by the Free Flight guys. 

Only had 15 in the race or so, another poor showing more from MN, WI, Ill as guys from Des Moines it is under-stable didn't drive for the race. Started off pretty fast, like a normal Iowa Crit, and by the end of the 3rd lap or so..we were down to 7 riders. I saw some guys already trying to cut out on pulls or falling behind on some of the pulls, I put in an acceleration, looked back and I was by myself. I decided to grow some balls and go for it, so I was by myself for 7 laps. I could always see the gap at around the same time gap, but with 2 laps to go, I just messed up another race and didn't put the hammer down. I was caught at the start of the last lap, and sat in.....sprinted for 3rd. I  was so mad at myself, I had great legs and if I just wouldn't have been a pussy, probably would have won. 

Oh well, went out for 2 hours today...tempo and the legs felt good. Im confident for the weekend in Iowa City, one of my big objectives for the year. 

Roubaix here and gone!

Went to Finchford yesterday for the Finchford Roubaix race put on by Bike Tech. A great race, even got a free t-shirt!!! Race started out pitifully, 16 Cat 4 racers are all that were present at the race. By the the time the 2nd lap finished, I think we pretty much had the field down to 8 guys or so, soon it was 6, then 5 with 2 laps to go. On the last lap, I made an acceleration up the triple top hill and dropped Kevin T. 4 of us took it to the line and I messed up a great spot chance for a win. Sitting 4th wheel out of 4 going into a headwind uphill finish, I switch into my low chain ring for some stupid reason thinking of cadence and such going up the hill, but totally not thinking about sprint power and speed. So yea, I got 4th out of 4 at the end. Andrew F. won the race, Jimmy 2nd and Jerome 3rd. It was awesome to race next to these 3 yesterday, we all worked well together and had a good time despite the cold and windy conditions. I made more money then I spent going down, so it was a good day.

Props to Chad Bishop!!! First 3's race and he wins it...wow haha

Today my legs felt sluggish, but have pushed my day off to Tuesday's because of swim lessons and class schedules. Went out for 2.5 and did 50miles.

Monsoon Season!!!

So this weather is good....all the grass will get green and such. Yea if it doesn't DIE!

I can't believe this winter, seriously it needs to be done. I am sick of riding inside on the trainer and such. It is supposed to be like 65degrees now, and its 35, that sucks.

Finchford Sunday, and then next Friday I get to do a maximal test for my Principles of Fit. Assessment Class. Pretty much I ride on the Bike Ergometer for as long as I can, as hard as I can until I am going to throw up. Should be fun!!!

Altoona Weekend

Probably the best weekend of racing I have had!!! Yes, it beats last years Memorial Day.

Drove down Friday night and stayed at a Days Inn in Ankeny, much cheaper then in Des Moines itself, went to IHOP for some grub action...so good!!

Got up Saturday and drove to the race in Altoona, set up at an elementary school, very nice place. Thanks to All 9 for all they did this weekend, it was well organized and put together, huge props to all of you.
57 of us took off at the start of the 4's/5's race into what would be considered gale force winds. As we hit the first headwind/crosswind sections the pace picked up and we were strung out on the edge of the right side of the highway in single file as the field was being guttered. This was kind of the story for the entire race, we only brought like 17 guys to the line at the finish, showing that the attrition factor was big and guys dropped off. The last lap itself was very slow, at a stand still or (nearly fall over) speed. I was sitting on the front at one point, and a wind gust came up and nearly blew me over....my bike was probably at 45 degree angle. As we reached the last 2 mile tailwind to the finish, I found my wheel and stayed to weight. Loomis went early and held a big gap, I knew it was dangerous but didn't want to chase it down. Sure enough he came back to us and on the right hand side of the road Bill Ford and a Proctor guy came. I grabbed their wheel but somehow they got a gap, at the end I came across 4th after giving some guy a nice leadout. It was a fun race!!!

Sunday looked as tho it was going to be pouring during our race. Luckily it didn't, even though the winds were even stronger on the 5 mile circuit around Big Creek Park. Went off with a little smaller field today..30??
Turning into the headwind section on the 2nd lap, I made an acceleration and gapped the field, I was soon joined by 8 guys and this proved to be the winning break. We echeloned very nicely and built up a 1 min. lead. After a few laps, we were joined somehow by 4 guys, great job getting up to us. 2 Laps to go is when chaos started, guys were starting to not take their pulls.

This is where I make it official. Turning into the headwind, I had just got done pulling, and was dropping back and no one was pulling after another rider, I jumped over and pulled again, this time a rider was on my wheel. He didn't pull through. I was getting very frustrated of pulling and no one helping, so I stood up and looked back. I felt a wheel, looked back and saw a pileup of riders on the ground.
I am really sorry for this, it wasn't a smart move on my part, but I am standing by myside as well....of getting very frustrated and not wanting to pull more then I had to. I really hope that no one is going to be pissed at me for to long, I know I made a mistake, but It wasn't all my fault.

So anyway, I waited for the guys who could keep going and we rolled on. We dropped all but 6 of us on the last headwind section. 2 Peoria guys, Loomis, Andrew F, Jay G and myself. We chilled until about 2 miles to go, then one of the Peoria guys jumped, Andrew jumped on him and had a gap, I was forced to chase andrew. Loomis and the other guy from Peoria went around and caught Andrew, I was able to get their wheel, but a they started the sprint and I couldn't keep it. I started my sprint, but was out done by Jay G at the line. Another 4th, two of them in two days.
I am thinking of upgrading to the 3's, but I think I need another top 5 to get enough points. We will see how Finchford goes.

YAY FOR CYCLING~!

So I'm happy to be in college, if only the homework would go away and I could bike my life away!!!
Went out for a couple hours of slugfest with a brisk wind from the south, ohhhh probably 10-15mph. The first 45min had a lot of time spent in the 39CR but still managing some good numbers on my first day outside on the powertap. (Thanks Paul).

After 1H30Min came around, I did my interval for the day, absolutely flying, of course it was because of a tail wind of the same speed as said earlier, but hey....its fast!!! I got back from my ride and I was stunned by the numbers I had put out. It pretty much made my day, to know Im already putting out better numbers now then I did all of last year!!

I am so ready for Altoona....or as my distance buddies and I from swimteam put on our pants we got for Lane 4 distance swimmers. GGGGRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! WERE (I'M) READY!!!!

alright, time to go get some grub, teach some swim lessons and get some homework done. I hope everyone got out to enjoy the day!!

Kent Park

First real race of the season....Kent Park.

Great field...I think 15 Cat 4's? We all bridged up to the Cat 1's and 2's group after only a half mile or so thanks to Mike Edwards. Nice 30 min training plan bro!!! Because we had a group of 50 or so to start, things were a little sketchy with guys from each group level, but things got more comfortable after a while. Tried to spend as much time at the front, getting to know the tactics, and I did learn some good ones. Knowing when to be in the front, and how to move up in a field of many guys. I think I accomplished both very well as when the final sprint came around I was sitting 5th wheel or so? Came up the sprint finish, and a guy's chain exploded causing him to stop and causing mass panic behind haha, me included. According to Jimmy, I must have been a little mad as I thought he was lapped traffic ;) Sorry Jimmy! Finished in the top 15 out of 115 riders or so, Jimmy won the 4's with another finish to his liking!

Go back to school tomorrow......blaahhhhhh for a week of learning, and then leave Friday for Ankeny, for the Altoona and Big Creek RR's next weekend.

Death by Cost of Life?

I can't believe how stupid our planet is right now. My tuition at Luther next year is 36000?? WHY THE HELL IS IT THAT MUCH!!! I just can't see how they can increase tuition by 7% in one year, how do they expect kids to be able to pay for college, with parents who make to much to meet financial aid. It doesn't matter how much parents make, the schools need to help with the costs, if they want the economy to ever be prosperous. Kids paying back tuition for half of their lives will not help this feet.

Also, gas is stupid. Our economy is not the cause of the gas problem, nor are we in a shortage of gas as many people say. OPEC and Chavez and others are just money hungry punks, who are actually doing what anyone should do. We are a country who will pay anything for gas, so we can drive, me included. I have stopped driving so much as I drive a blazer, not the greatest. If only people would realize...if we stopped buying gas for a week, or the summer and rode our bikes and or used alternative means of transportation....we would see the gas prices fall dramatically. Trek, Specialized, Surly, many other names all make good commuter bikes, and I don't see why people can't get off their fat asses and use alternative means of transportation. Bikes, Buses, Subways...anything but driving cars.

If only we could go to the river and fill up with H2O.

Easter!!

Got up...went to church, but didn't have lunch???? until 3ish. So I just decided to ride on the trainer and watch Milano-San Remo on Versus. Slipstream had a pretty good showing, with Julian Dean in 25th.

I traded in the beautiful outside picturesque scenery of Cedar Rapids and Linn County to watch TV, but oh well!!!
This guy is absolutely sick!!! He is 6'1, 180 lbs......99% the same as me (Im 6'2), but can push out un-Godly amounts of wattage and is a pro cyclist :) Ahh...I can only dream. He has won a stage race and 3 other races in about a month. Now I know that a fat-ass who can use power, can win :) haha

First Race of the Season

Went down to McBride today with Mac for Conns Long and Grinding Road Race. 2 hours on a slightly hilly/downhill course. Got there, and it was bout 29 degrees, but by the time we started racing, it was fine. After a while we started popping riders, and with about 1 hour left, we had 10 riders or so.

Jimmy Carrico and Chad Bishop were on fire today, def. the guys to watch in the next few weeks - summer. For only 3 weeks of training, I was very surprised to stay in the pack, even though with about 4 laps to go, I was on the rivet. By the time the spring came, I just sat and coasted across for 8th out of 9 or something :) It was a fun race, got to race with a bunch of 1's and 2's, great for the experience.

This next week, I will be working at the bike shop for a few hours then out for some training as Kent Park is 8 days away!!!! I am so ready!

I guess I made Noonan mad by asking a question about a crit later this summer. I owe 5 extra dollars on my entry fee :) Hopefully he forgets!

Yay for Tests!!!

So I got my two tests back from late last week today. All I can say is I am gonna have a better spring break now that I saw the scores!!

Got a B on my philosophy midterm, not to bad, I was hoping for an A, but for a class that I have no idea what is going on have the time, good for me!!

In bio, at the end of lecture, the prof. comes out and says we are handing back the tests, and goes through the usual speal about the avg, mean, median stuff. The test was out of 50, and the class average was a 63% at 32. I was like OMG!!! I am gonna fail Bio, as I thought this test was pretty hard when I took it. So we found the 3 profs. after class who divide up the ABC's and I got my test.

I opened it up and saw a 42!!!!!! I got an 84% on the test, and my Standard Deviation against the class was a 1.26, which is almost an A+ with the curve. My Std. Deviation for the overall grade in the class right now is......... .354, which is a B+. I can't be mad about that at all, Bio is the toughest weed out class in the school.

Ok, so now with the cool stuff. Spring Break starts officially at 4:00 tomorrow and I will be on my way home, brining a lot of clothes back as I have to many up here at school.

"Winter Biking Gloves" aren't gloves for winter!

Went out today for 90min, wore some Nike specific Winter Gloves and I tell ya, they are not warm after about an hour!! My fingers started to sting and such, as I am sure you have all experience at some point. I didn't think it was that cold out today, but I suppose with the wind and not moving them, the fingers get cold.

I have invested this winter in a $4 pair of Fleece Hunting gloves from Wal-Mart and I put these bad boys over the Nike's and nothing will penetrate, it feels like an oven. So do yourself a favor and go to your local hardware or sporting good store and get some hunting gloves!

Legs are feeling as though they are coming along good!! YAY!

Done with school on Thursday, and its to Cedar Rapids for Spring Break, and of course....

Le premiere etage de le saison 2008, Kent Park!

Weekend of Relaxation!

Yesterday, I went to the twin cities as mentioned for the day. The play turned out to be quite a piece, it was all about our "H2O" supply and how we need to cherish it and save it. It had great refrences to the $3 bottles of water you can pay for in some places. It was really cool. The theatre that put it on was "The Heart of the Beast" check it out if you would like something to read about.

Today, got up and rode for 2+ with a couple guys on a pretty hilly route. 3 climbs or so of a mile or longer...and I was able to push and lead up 2 of them. Who knows, maybe I can start getting my fat ass up the climbs and be considered decent?? Who knows!!!

Peace

WEEKEND!

So had my two tests today, philosophy and biology. Both went ok i suppose, I am ready to hopefully see a decent curve on the bio one however. The weekend is finally here, thank goodness, that week seemed like it went by so slow!!

went out for 2 hours today in a nice but slightly windy day.

tomorrow i get to go to the twin cities with my design 1 class to see a play: Heart of the Beast

should be interesting!

I hate school!

I have no motivation right now, as the weather has gotten good and I want to be out on the road. But of course, I just have to do it! 2 tests this week....Microorganisms Unit in Bio with Protists, Bacteria/Archaea and Fungi. Also have a Philosophy Mid-term.....gosh, uggg haha.

Rode today without a wind jacket or legs on!!! It was great, think I might even have gotten a little sun on the legs!!!

Back to Norweiga

Drove back to Decorah-land today! Dropped some of my stuff off at the dorms then drove to my grandparents for a little trainer/paris-nice action. Rode on the trainer for 1H30Min while watching the Paris-Nice race......dude whose the same size as me took the prologue.

The God of Thunder Thor Hushovd. Slipstream faired very well, Danny Pate and Trent Lowe in the top 10.

This week is supposed to be nice, hopefully get some good mileage in as I continue to get ready for the racing season. Getting really pumped for the season!! AGGGHHGHSDGHKSFJALJF

Only 2 weeks!!!

The Big CR

Down in Cedar Rapids for the weekend. Its cold, and sandy, and there are more potholes and craters in the street, then on the Moon!

Didn't go riding with Jimmy, he wussed out on the temps. :) Its ok, I don't blame you, it was really cold.

Went out with Junior Mac Sheldrup instead, for a nice 20 miler, involving Spanish Road(Hill) Nice just to get out and ride with someone for the first time this year.

Back to Decorah, and reality and homework tommrrow...but hey, thats life and Im getting old!!!! IM ALMOST 20 in SEPT! HAHA

Interval 2!!!

Did interval #2 today....down in the fitness center, on the stationary, inside, for 1h5m...get the picture lol

BOORRRINNG!! I was able to watch some spring training baseball, that got me through it ok.

So, Im still going to Cedar Rapids this weekend, but of course the weather wants to not be as nice as it was supposed to be....but I still wanna get my PowerTap wheel and give it my first ride of the season!! :)

Got a long way to go!

Did my first interval of the season today haha :)

Didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, but still a long way to go before Kent Park is won. Oh well, the pain is worthit, I'm back doing one thing I love!

So Team Slipstream is doing so awesome, I don't think anyone but Jonathon Vaughters knew they were going to be this good, have some classics riders now!! It will be good to see what they do at Paris Nice, I know Millar wants to win it. OH BABY!

Rest of the week will hopefully fly by as I will be back in CR this weekend, hopefully go out for a long ride if you want...

*Wink* Jimmy, Mac, Chris Reed *Wink*

Time to Whine!

So I think its time to whine about the winter, it has been cold for too long......from 5:30 walks to swim practice, or walks across campus to class, and now the first week of biking in the cold. I suppose if you think about it, this is a normal winter for Iowa, it just doesn't feel like it as we have had like 5 winters in a row with temps this cold maybe 5 days the whole winter. But ok, I vented :)

If it was 40 degrees I would be so happy, and probably wear shorts all the time HAHA

Today, rode for 1H30min, more then half into a strong head wind, but was able to fly on the way back!

Another item on my agenda is the political situation of our country. Being a conservative, I would have to say I didn't agree on some things Bush did in office, but what is going to happen I'm afraid in the next elections scares me. I don't think Hilary has a chance, and I am happy for that, but some of Obamas areas are quite shady as well. I agree that we need to remove our troops from the middle east at some point, but some point meaning as long as it takes to get the job done. Obama has suggested a complete removal of our troops from Iraq, this would be the biggest mistake ever, allowing the country to fold in on itself and extremists to run the country again. I have a feeling this would play into the hands of terrorists who would like to see us all dead. We need to do our job that we started, and stay there to keep our country safe. That is why our brave men and women signed up for the jobs they do everyday.

Biking in Antartica?

Biking in Antarctica is right! I went outside on what has to be the coldest bike ride of my life! I went 25 miles, and thanks to do the nice gloves I bought, didn't freeze! It was 20degrees when I left, and felt like 10 I guess according to the wind chill. That is not 10Celsius mind you :)

It is so great to back on the bike, its not like I wasn't active and then got into exercising, but it has been a great feeling thus far.

Im ready for Kent Park, well not ready ;) But I will be.

So Jimmy got to meet Paolo Bettini and Dave Z-Man, what a creep! :)

IM BACK!

Hey!!!!

My name is Carson Christen, and I am back to this once heavily used blog !! :)

Swimming is completely over with now, and so now its on to Kent Park and the rest of the season!

All lifetime bests at my championship swim meet.

22. in 50 Free
50. in 100 Free
1:53 in 200 Free
5:16 in 500 Free
17:38 in 1650 Free
1:00 in 100 Back
4:35 in 400 IM

Went out today on the mtn. bike for 25 miles in a little under 2 hours, it hurt!!! I forgot what the feeling in your legs felt like when you are running out of energy. Oh well, it was such a nice day out and I was glad to be back on the bike. Hopefully Ill be ok trying to catch up to all you racers who have been training and racing hard already for 2 months.

But now I have to get back to my homework, or I won't be able to ride!

Peace