Hey everybody,
Hope the holidays are treating you well. I don't get much of a holiday as we are at Luther until the 23rd for our winter training. No trip to a warm place this year, but its still fun. Nothing to worry about but sleep and swimming! Swimming fairly fast and continuing to feel better in the water. Should be a good last half of the year. Hard to believe that I only have less than 2 months of swimming left in my scholastic career. I have swam since the 7th grade, and don't know what I will do without it...... I guess I'll take up cycling all year around, would really enjoy picking up cyclocross!!!
Speaking of cycling, I mentioned that I will be racing for Mercy-Specialized Elite Team next year, and I am stoked. A great bunch of guys, and I know I can continue to learn a lot.
I officially received my Cat 2 upgrade yesterday thanks to Rick Paulos!
I will be starting my 2010 season on Jan 3rd. A month earlier than normal, but I believe it is warranted with some much longer races early on in the year. I will still have swimming 3 + hours a day, but with no class, I hope to get in at least 1 hour if not 2 during the day in between, just some good base mileage!
Check back for updates. Looking forward to seeing everyone again!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Finally..
Hey everyone,
Finally a post. I don't even know if anyone reads this anymore or cares about it, ha. First semester is half over, and so I am a day closer every day to be done with Luther College. Swim season has kicked off great. I have turned pretty much into a backstroker/IM'er for the season and have had some great swims so far. lsdnorse.blogspot.com is our teams blog, run by the managers and head coach. Have some videos of some of the things we do...a great time.
We will be competeing in the Ted Mullins Hour of Power Relay on Wed. Ted Mullins was a swimmer for CarletonCollege who died of Sarcomma cancer a few years ago. The University of Chicago and Carelton co-run this "Hour of Power". What we do is do a non-stop relay style practice for an hour, where the point is to keep every lane on the same lap and do as many laps as possible. We all are given "Cancer Sucks" tshirts and fundraise. Anyone who gives a dollar gets to sign the shirt. The sweet thing about the money, is for every dollar donated, The University of Chicago will multiply by 10! A great time for team bonding and for a great cause. 119 schools last year did it at the same time...... and 112,000 has been raised in 3 years.
Check out the website for more info.
Other than swimming, there hasn't been much biking. It's hard to do when I'm swimming 5 hours a day. But I don't have a class in January and my second semester is looking good, being done in the morning every day.
On the topic of cycling, I will announce my team for next year.
I will be racing for Mercy Specialized. Rick and the guys at ICCC have been extremely generous to give me a spot on the elite team and I hope to help out and make an impact. Sounds like it will be a great team and a great season! I am looking foward to Feb 21st, when I can officially start!
I have been with Hawkeye Bike since the beginning, and I owe them so much. Eastburn, Reed, Vern, Larry and everyone un-named have all been great leaders for me. I hope to work with them on numerous occassions!
Finally a post. I don't even know if anyone reads this anymore or cares about it, ha. First semester is half over, and so I am a day closer every day to be done with Luther College. Swim season has kicked off great. I have turned pretty much into a backstroker/IM'er for the season and have had some great swims so far. lsdnorse.blogspot.com is our teams blog, run by the managers and head coach. Have some videos of some of the things we do...a great time.
We will be competeing in the Ted Mullins Hour of Power Relay on Wed. Ted Mullins was a swimmer for CarletonCollege who died of Sarcomma cancer a few years ago. The University of Chicago and Carelton co-run this "Hour of Power". What we do is do a non-stop relay style practice for an hour, where the point is to keep every lane on the same lap and do as many laps as possible. We all are given "Cancer Sucks" tshirts and fundraise. Anyone who gives a dollar gets to sign the shirt. The sweet thing about the money, is for every dollar donated, The University of Chicago will multiply by 10! A great time for team bonding and for a great cause. 119 schools last year did it at the same time...... and 112,000 has been raised in 3 years.
Check out the website for more info.
Other than swimming, there hasn't been much biking. It's hard to do when I'm swimming 5 hours a day. But I don't have a class in January and my second semester is looking good, being done in the morning every day.
On the topic of cycling, I will announce my team for next year.
I will be racing for Mercy Specialized. Rick and the guys at ICCC have been extremely generous to give me a spot on the elite team and I hope to help out and make an impact. Sounds like it will be a great team and a great season! I am looking foward to Feb 21st, when I can officially start!
I have been with Hawkeye Bike since the beginning, and I owe them so much. Eastburn, Reed, Vern, Larry and everyone un-named have all been great leaders for me. I hope to work with them on numerous occassions!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Quick Update
Took two weeks completely off the bike and started doing some swimming and lifting weights, trying to now transition from legs to upper body. Been working a lot trying to get some mula for the school year.
Got all moved into my apartment with Tpow for the year. It is gonna be epic!!! Then after work Monday I drove to Cedar Rapids. Gonna hang out here for a few days before going back to school next Wednesday. Went out for the first ride in 2 weeks today and lasted about 2 hours. Didn't take any food with me and I could tell towards the end. Ended up with a good tempo session instead of just cruising haha. I felt pretty good!!!
I am going to try and ride through the winter as much as time and light will allow.
My 21st birthday is coming up next Friday, Sept. 4th. Finally I will join the rest of my class.
Got all moved into my apartment with Tpow for the year. It is gonna be epic!!! Then after work Monday I drove to Cedar Rapids. Gonna hang out here for a few days before going back to school next Wednesday. Went out for the first ride in 2 weeks today and lasted about 2 hours. Didn't take any food with me and I could tell towards the end. Ended up with a good tempo session instead of just cruising haha. I felt pretty good!!!
I am going to try and ride through the winter as much as time and light will allow.
My 21st birthday is coming up next Friday, Sept. 4th. Finally I will join the rest of my class.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Tour of Kansas City
Bethany and I drove down to KC on Thursday for a 4 day weekend. We got down in the evening, dropped off our stuff at her Brother Phils' apartment and headed to dinner. We ate at a "Carlos O'Kelly's" style restaurant called Jose Peppers. Very good, we both had Chimichangas and all the chips and salsa you could want. I was stuffed. Then we just went back, waited for Phil and then went to bed.
Friday we got up and had breakfast and headed to the pool that Phil's apartment complex has for residents. A nice pool, no one around and was able to soak up some sun. Then Bethany and I went to a huge mall complex where all the stores have outside access, kind of like a downtown but all mall stores. Walked around for a couple hours and got Starbucks at Barnes and Nobel. We then went back to the hotel and made BBQ Chicken pizza! Watched movies and went to bed.
Saturday we got up and Phil drove us downtown KC to see where he works at the Mercy Childrens Hospital. We also saw much of the downtown. Very confusing streets and many different interstate interchanges made this a town I don't think I would wanna live in. We headed out east of town and saw the two stadiums where the Royals and Chiefs play. Got stuff together back at the apartment and headed to the race in Kansas City, KS. A two hill criterium that was fast and very windy. All9 Yards had 4 guys, only 4 I recognized and knew. Fast race, single file for much of the race. Felt ok, legs didn't open up like I thought but I ended up top 20 out of 60 or so. After the race, we went to Dave and Busters for dinner. This place is like a Chuckie Cheese for adults, it was a lot of fun.
Sunday, we got up, had breakfast and headed to the race in Overland Park. A flat course with a couple false flats. Very fast race and despite many many crashes, a fun time. I was gapped on the last lap after a crash but still managed 11th. I know I could have gotten higher but because I was gapped, no dice. Got my money back plus some from that race. Phil, Bethany and I then went to "The Other Place", a restaurant started in Cedar Falls, but have two locations down in KC. Very good pizza!! Beth and I then headed home and had some fun times. We hit bad storms while in Des Moines on I35 and I80, going 30mph on the interstate with blinding rain. Made it home around 10PM last night.
Overall a great weekend!! My first time driving in MO and KS, and down there except for St. Louis airport. The racing is pretty good down there, but many sketchy riders. I was so surprised at the number of crashes and wobbliness of the peloton. Also, many teams were represented but no team would keep the pace high. Seems like there are many "single" riders on teams out there.
Don't know if I will be racing the rest of the season, have to work quite a bit.
Friday we got up and had breakfast and headed to the pool that Phil's apartment complex has for residents. A nice pool, no one around and was able to soak up some sun. Then Bethany and I went to a huge mall complex where all the stores have outside access, kind of like a downtown but all mall stores. Walked around for a couple hours and got Starbucks at Barnes and Nobel. We then went back to the hotel and made BBQ Chicken pizza! Watched movies and went to bed.
Saturday we got up and Phil drove us downtown KC to see where he works at the Mercy Childrens Hospital. We also saw much of the downtown. Very confusing streets and many different interstate interchanges made this a town I don't think I would wanna live in. We headed out east of town and saw the two stadiums where the Royals and Chiefs play. Got stuff together back at the apartment and headed to the race in Kansas City, KS. A two hill criterium that was fast and very windy. All9 Yards had 4 guys, only 4 I recognized and knew. Fast race, single file for much of the race. Felt ok, legs didn't open up like I thought but I ended up top 20 out of 60 or so. After the race, we went to Dave and Busters for dinner. This place is like a Chuckie Cheese for adults, it was a lot of fun.
Sunday, we got up, had breakfast and headed to the race in Overland Park. A flat course with a couple false flats. Very fast race and despite many many crashes, a fun time. I was gapped on the last lap after a crash but still managed 11th. I know I could have gotten higher but because I was gapped, no dice. Got my money back plus some from that race. Phil, Bethany and I then went to "The Other Place", a restaurant started in Cedar Falls, but have two locations down in KC. Very good pizza!! Beth and I then headed home and had some fun times. We hit bad storms while in Des Moines on I35 and I80, going 30mph on the interstate with blinding rain. Made it home around 10PM last night.
Overall a great weekend!! My first time driving in MO and KS, and down there except for St. Louis airport. The racing is pretty good down there, but many sketchy riders. I was so surprised at the number of crashes and wobbliness of the peloton. Also, many teams were represented but no team would keep the pace high. Seems like there are many "single" riders on teams out there.
Don't know if I will be racing the rest of the season, have to work quite a bit.
Monday, August 3, 2009
State Road Race
Saturday was the Iowa State Road Race Championships in West Branch. Bethany and I got up, had a good breakfast at my parents house and drove down. Got my number pinned up and bottles sorted out with the team. 4 Laps around a 27 mile loop made for 108 miles and a long day in the saddle. The weather turned out to be awesome, a little chilly at the start, and a bit warm at the end. Wind also played a decent sized role in the race with wind speeds around 10-15mph.
45 riders, 25 Cat 3's lined up for the Cat 1,2,3 race. Cat 3's ended up being separate in both placing and prize money, which helps the mentality, knowing that there is a better chance to get some mula. We were off and for the first lap, it was pretty chill as no one really wanted to be in a break for 85+miles.
At the start of the 2nd lap, a group of about 6 guys got off the front, and a chase group of 3 after them, all containing the major teams and 1 Cat 3 was among them with Ryan French(All9Yards). The pace slowed down and two guys from Colorado started setting tempo. After a while, the chase group came back which included Bryan Moritz (Bikes2You). They now had no one in the break and had to set tempo for the next 2 laps. At the start of the last lap, the break seemed to be gone and we went through the feed zone, I saw Duey Dickey and Jeff Barnes (ICCC) as well as Paul Deninger (Zoom) go to the front before we turned north. I knew they were gonna put the hammer down and so I got into about 6th wheel.
I was right, once we were going north, they pushed the pace and when I looked back, a split had occured in the peloton, only about 10 of us made the junction. I was hoping not many 3's would have made it, but I was wrong. Shreck(All9), Kris Kunze(Rassy), Sarge(Wheaton), Brendan Keely (ICCC) had all made the split. We were crusing a long and we ended up catching Clark Preibe and Ryan French. That means us 5 were going to battle it out for the top 3 in the state.
We got through the feed zone in Cedar Bluff and Duey made an acceleration that took Jeff Barnes and Jerod Osterloh(All9) with him. These 3 were gone, and the group was down to about 8. With no one coming back from behind, we just set a nice tempo and rode to the finish. I was chatting with Sarge, who lives in Decorah and we have trained together all year. Both of us were cramping.
Turning west, there were some accelerations and we ended up also catching Lou Waugaman(Rassy). Shrek put in a large attack with about 1.5 miles to go and Sarge and I chased it down the best we could. Lou then put in an attack to get rid of Paul and Joe Hetrick. This is when Kris and Brendan chased a while and we stablized Shreks gap. Coming up the finishing hill, I had no snap in my legs but Sarge was able to shoot out and pass Shrek for the win!! I ended up in 3rd place in the 3's and 12th overall in the Cat 1'2'3.
Much better than last year, where I punctured at the start of the 3rd lap and DNF. This was also my FIRST ride ever over 100 miles. I didn't know what what happened, but my training helped out a lot and I had a lot of fun. With my 3rd place, I am pretty sure I have enough points to upgrade to a Cat 2. I am going to wait til the end of the year to try and get my upgrade, just to get a bit more experience.
I am going to Kansas City with Bethany this weekend for the Tour of KC crits on Saturday and Sunday. I always remember some good results for Iowa boys.
A bit thanks to Vern and Larry for their help in the feed zone, wouldn't have finished without you! Also, ICCC and Mark Guthart for all their work to make this a great event.
45 riders, 25 Cat 3's lined up for the Cat 1,2,3 race. Cat 3's ended up being separate in both placing and prize money, which helps the mentality, knowing that there is a better chance to get some mula. We were off and for the first lap, it was pretty chill as no one really wanted to be in a break for 85+miles.
At the start of the 2nd lap, a group of about 6 guys got off the front, and a chase group of 3 after them, all containing the major teams and 1 Cat 3 was among them with Ryan French(All9Yards). The pace slowed down and two guys from Colorado started setting tempo. After a while, the chase group came back which included Bryan Moritz (Bikes2You). They now had no one in the break and had to set tempo for the next 2 laps. At the start of the last lap, the break seemed to be gone and we went through the feed zone, I saw Duey Dickey and Jeff Barnes (ICCC) as well as Paul Deninger (Zoom) go to the front before we turned north. I knew they were gonna put the hammer down and so I got into about 6th wheel.
I was right, once we were going north, they pushed the pace and when I looked back, a split had occured in the peloton, only about 10 of us made the junction. I was hoping not many 3's would have made it, but I was wrong. Shreck(All9), Kris Kunze(Rassy), Sarge(Wheaton), Brendan Keely (ICCC) had all made the split. We were crusing a long and we ended up catching Clark Preibe and Ryan French. That means us 5 were going to battle it out for the top 3 in the state.
We got through the feed zone in Cedar Bluff and Duey made an acceleration that took Jeff Barnes and Jerod Osterloh(All9) with him. These 3 were gone, and the group was down to about 8. With no one coming back from behind, we just set a nice tempo and rode to the finish. I was chatting with Sarge, who lives in Decorah and we have trained together all year. Both of us were cramping.
Turning west, there were some accelerations and we ended up also catching Lou Waugaman(Rassy). Shrek put in a large attack with about 1.5 miles to go and Sarge and I chased it down the best we could. Lou then put in an attack to get rid of Paul and Joe Hetrick. This is when Kris and Brendan chased a while and we stablized Shreks gap. Coming up the finishing hill, I had no snap in my legs but Sarge was able to shoot out and pass Shrek for the win!! I ended up in 3rd place in the 3's and 12th overall in the Cat 1'2'3.
Much better than last year, where I punctured at the start of the 3rd lap and DNF. This was also my FIRST ride ever over 100 miles. I didn't know what what happened, but my training helped out a lot and I had a lot of fun. With my 3rd place, I am pretty sure I have enough points to upgrade to a Cat 2. I am going to wait til the end of the year to try and get my upgrade, just to get a bit more experience.
I am going to Kansas City with Bethany this weekend for the Tour of KC crits on Saturday and Sunday. I always remember some good results for Iowa boys.
A bit thanks to Vern and Larry for their help in the feed zone, wouldn't have finished without you! Also, ICCC and Mark Guthart for all their work to make this a great event.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Blog??
Haven't touched this thing since after Clear Lake, well...because there hasn't been much to say! This upcoming weekend is the Iowa State Road Race. Will be my 2nd try at this race of 108 miles. Last year, I flatted at the beginning of the 3rd lap and had to DNF. This year, with a separate Cat 3's payout, I am even more hungry for the "V". I have trained much harder/longer this year, and hope it will pay off.
Will be a great race, hopefully a field around 50! That would be sweet. Clear Lake was a great race, and should be similar conditions. Sarge/GMac will be coming from Decorah area and Sarge will be the man to watch. He recently won the Cat 3 Overall at America's Tour of the Dairyland. Another good thing is Bethany will be coming with me. I will have to give her a comfy seat, and she can read a book and get tan while I ride my bike for 4 hours. Anyone up to it, invite her to chat and entertain her :)
I have been almost hit training almost 3 times here in the last 3 weeks. 2 of the times have been by people who I am sure have to Class C licenses, or able to drive commuter vans/dumptrucks. They have tried to cut in between myself and another car on the road. I believe State Law gives me 3 feet off the shoulder? And these people would have to know this in order to pass their tests. I just don't get it. Sorry you have to wait an extra 10 sec. to get past me.
After State RR, it is down to Kansas City with Bethany for the T of KC. It will be fun, we are going to make a weekend of it and stay at her brothers!
More after the race!
Will be a great race, hopefully a field around 50! That would be sweet. Clear Lake was a great race, and should be similar conditions. Sarge/GMac will be coming from Decorah area and Sarge will be the man to watch. He recently won the Cat 3 Overall at America's Tour of the Dairyland. Another good thing is Bethany will be coming with me. I will have to give her a comfy seat, and she can read a book and get tan while I ride my bike for 4 hours. Anyone up to it, invite her to chat and entertain her :)
I have been almost hit training almost 3 times here in the last 3 weeks. 2 of the times have been by people who I am sure have to Class C licenses, or able to drive commuter vans/dumptrucks. They have tried to cut in between myself and another car on the road. I believe State Law gives me 3 feet off the shoulder? And these people would have to know this in order to pass their tests. I just don't get it. Sorry you have to wait an extra 10 sec. to get past me.
After State RR, it is down to Kansas City with Bethany for the T of KC. It will be fun, we are going to make a weekend of it and stay at her brothers!
More after the race!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Clear Lake BBQ Weekend Races
So I was able to get my bike fixed last week by the guys at Halls. Thanks so much to Karl/Steve and the gang for all they do! Raced at the Oval on Tuesday and had some good results, opening up the legs for the weekend.
Drove over to Clear Lake on Saturday morning and met my dad at the AmericInn. He had gone over on Friday to see some of the Blues music going on downtown. We went to the "Other Place" for lunch. Had a good spaghetti dinner and then we drove out to the Buddy Holly memorial site. Then we went and relaxed for the afternoon and then headed down to Clear Lake city park for the crit. Saw some of the other fast guys in the Iowa and Wisconsin scene. Lined up for the 50 minute race. Right from the guy the pace was very fast and it never really slowed down from there. Derrek Cassady and Jerome through down some attacks. I followed and had a couple of my own. We shed most of the Cat 4's but most of Cat 3's weren't dropped. I was surprised at the speed of our race. I didn't see my heart rate under 185 for most of the race, most of the time being 190 or so. Didn't get where I needed to be for the finish and only managed 6th.
After this I lined up Cat 1,2,3 race. Again started out just as fast with B2U sending off numerous attacks and Paul having his own and chasing others. Pretty uneventful, I was behind Tim Campell when he flatted going into a corner, and got gapped. I fell off the pace and couldn;t get back on. Ended with a DNF. After the races, wen to Cancun mexican restaurant with Paul.
Sunday, got up and had a great breakfast at the hotel. 2 years ago at this race, I didn't eat much for a 40miler and bonked, so I knew 82 miles would require big intake of food. Got to the Surf Ballroom and got all ready to go for the 10AM start. We started out North of the "Lake" and the finish was on the Southern end after 3h45min of racing. A couple hard crosswind sections, headwinds and a lot of tailwind on the road home. 2 B2U, 1 All9 and 1 Rassy's got into the break, so Paul, Jeff Barnes and Adam Price set tempo for the first half of the race. They let the gap go to 2 minutes and then let off through the feed zone. This is where All9 picked up the pace as their member in the break was only a Cat 3 (Steve Robinson). We caught the break after a hard chase after about 60-65 miles. They road awesome!
Guys started to fall off the pace in the cross-tail wind and tail wind sections. Tim Campbell put in a great attack with 15 miles to go or so and looked to be staying away. We turned onto the finishing 3 mile stretch of road and the games started. Tim came back at about 500m to go. I tried to follow Lou Waugaman and the Rassy guys. Ended up coming in 5th overall and 2nd in Cat 3's. Rich Winse(Rassy), a Cat 3, actually won the race.
I loved the distance and know the long/hard weeks riding with Novian, Garrett, Sarge, Justin really helped my results here!!!
Next up I think is State Road Race and then Tour of Kansas City with Bethany!!!
Drove over to Clear Lake on Saturday morning and met my dad at the AmericInn. He had gone over on Friday to see some of the Blues music going on downtown. We went to the "Other Place" for lunch. Had a good spaghetti dinner and then we drove out to the Buddy Holly memorial site. Then we went and relaxed for the afternoon and then headed down to Clear Lake city park for the crit. Saw some of the other fast guys in the Iowa and Wisconsin scene. Lined up for the 50 minute race. Right from the guy the pace was very fast and it never really slowed down from there. Derrek Cassady and Jerome through down some attacks. I followed and had a couple of my own. We shed most of the Cat 4's but most of Cat 3's weren't dropped. I was surprised at the speed of our race. I didn't see my heart rate under 185 for most of the race, most of the time being 190 or so. Didn't get where I needed to be for the finish and only managed 6th.
After this I lined up Cat 1,2,3 race. Again started out just as fast with B2U sending off numerous attacks and Paul having his own and chasing others. Pretty uneventful, I was behind Tim Campell when he flatted going into a corner, and got gapped. I fell off the pace and couldn;t get back on. Ended with a DNF. After the races, wen to Cancun mexican restaurant with Paul.
Sunday, got up and had a great breakfast at the hotel. 2 years ago at this race, I didn't eat much for a 40miler and bonked, so I knew 82 miles would require big intake of food. Got to the Surf Ballroom and got all ready to go for the 10AM start. We started out North of the "Lake" and the finish was on the Southern end after 3h45min of racing. A couple hard crosswind sections, headwinds and a lot of tailwind on the road home. 2 B2U, 1 All9 and 1 Rassy's got into the break, so Paul, Jeff Barnes and Adam Price set tempo for the first half of the race. They let the gap go to 2 minutes and then let off through the feed zone. This is where All9 picked up the pace as their member in the break was only a Cat 3 (Steve Robinson). We caught the break after a hard chase after about 60-65 miles. They road awesome!
Guys started to fall off the pace in the cross-tail wind and tail wind sections. Tim Campbell put in a great attack with 15 miles to go or so and looked to be staying away. We turned onto the finishing 3 mile stretch of road and the games started. Tim came back at about 500m to go. I tried to follow Lou Waugaman and the Rassy guys. Ended up coming in 5th overall and 2nd in Cat 3's. Rich Winse(Rassy), a Cat 3, actually won the race.
I loved the distance and know the long/hard weeks riding with Novian, Garrett, Sarge, Justin really helped my results here!!!
Next up I think is State Road Race and then Tour of Kansas City with Bethany!!!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Season Over?
So yesterday, Bethany and I went up to the Twin Cities for our friend Kat's 21st b-day. Kat, TPow, Doug, Beth and I were there. It was fun, we went to Sayja, a Japanese restaurant where they cook right in front of you. It was really sweet, the cook was very funny and made great food. From there, we just hung out at Kat's house and watched a couple movies. This morning( Sat) we went out onto Lake Minnetonka in Kat's boat and did some water skiiing and tubing. I left at around 11:30 for Northfield, for my first race in 30 days.
Got to Northfield, got everything going and legs felt pretty good. Took a little bit to get back into the groove of things, but it was fun. All9 guys had a few racers. So towards the end of the race, I moved up and got ready for a field sprint. Nothing was going to get away in this race. Sprinted to about 12th or so? Not to bad, but didn't get as far up in the pack as I needed.
Anyway, right after the race, I was climbing the short hill on course and all ofa sudden my pedals stop and it sounds as though my chain fell off. I got off and notice my derailleur had snapped in half. It got caught in my wheel afterwards and bent my derailleur hanger. On my bike, the hanger is an integrated aluminum forge, and thus can't be fixed.
My frame is toast, and so I don't have a bike to race. I am going to talk to Hall's and here in Decorah to see if Trek has anything I can do. If not, I don't know what to do, I don't have the money being a college student to just get another frame.
I feel as though part of my life was just ripped away from me. I don't know what to do with myself now. This was my best season so far and I was getting ready for State Road Race and Tour of Kansas City. I am just at a loss for words as I drove home. I guess I can just get started with swim season and just swim the rest of the summer.
Have to miss my team's first race in CR tomorrow.
Got to Northfield, got everything going and legs felt pretty good. Took a little bit to get back into the groove of things, but it was fun. All9 guys had a few racers. So towards the end of the race, I moved up and got ready for a field sprint. Nothing was going to get away in this race. Sprinted to about 12th or so? Not to bad, but didn't get as far up in the pack as I needed.
Anyway, right after the race, I was climbing the short hill on course and all ofa sudden my pedals stop and it sounds as though my chain fell off. I got off and notice my derailleur had snapped in half. It got caught in my wheel afterwards and bent my derailleur hanger. On my bike, the hanger is an integrated aluminum forge, and thus can't be fixed.
My frame is toast, and so I don't have a bike to race. I am going to talk to Hall's and here in Decorah to see if Trek has anything I can do. If not, I don't know what to do, I don't have the money being a college student to just get another frame.
I feel as though part of my life was just ripped away from me. I don't know what to do with myself now. This was my best season so far and I was getting ready for State Road Race and Tour of Kansas City. I am just at a loss for words as I drove home. I guess I can just get started with swim season and just swim the rest of the summer.
Have to miss my team's first race in CR tomorrow.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Decorah (Luther) knows how to grow them!
My body/mind has sort of hit a road block on the bike. I have put in so much training in the last few weeks that I have never done before, that I am stating to see signs of fatigue both physically and mentally on the bike. Did some VO2 intervals tonight and couldn't get my HR to go about LT threshold numbers. I am gonna chill for a couple days with some spinning and see how the numbers come out, hopefully they will raise again. Only 1 more week of hard stuff then a rest week to taper for my races (FINALLY)!!!!
Tomorrow, Bethany and I are leaving for the Twin Cities to attend the Rascal Flatts concert at the Somerset Country Music Fest. These tickets were my gift to Bethany for our wonderful first year together back in May :) . It will be a good change of pace and allow the body to recover!!!
So back to the title of the post. Decorah cyclists have been doing a great job so far this season!!!
I have had some good results and won Snake Alley.
Sarge (Luther Grad and Decorah resident) WON the first day of the Cat 3 Tour of America's Dairyland and will have a great shot at winning the whole thing. Garrett is also coming into some great form and finished 11th!!!! Also a great finish by Chad Bishop!
Matt Busche went to Luther and WON the first day of Pro Tour of America's Dairyland.
We have much credit to the terrain and amazing roads around Decorah. So many roads that connect to other roads that make a 4 hour ride easy without seeing the same roads!!!! Climbing is also the key as you have to really climb at least 1 mile in any direction to get out of town and then rollers/long climbs dominate N. E Iowa. It also helps to have Novian Whitset as a riding partner, I have talked about him before, so no need to keep going.
Looking forward to Northfield Crit and Cedar Rapids Gold Fitness State Crit!!
Tomorrow, Bethany and I are leaving for the Twin Cities to attend the Rascal Flatts concert at the Somerset Country Music Fest. These tickets were my gift to Bethany for our wonderful first year together back in May :) . It will be a good change of pace and allow the body to recover!!!
So back to the title of the post. Decorah cyclists have been doing a great job so far this season!!!
I have had some good results and won Snake Alley.
Sarge (Luther Grad and Decorah resident) WON the first day of the Cat 3 Tour of America's Dairyland and will have a great shot at winning the whole thing. Garrett is also coming into some great form and finished 11th!!!! Also a great finish by Chad Bishop!
Matt Busche went to Luther and WON the first day of Pro Tour of America's Dairyland.
We have much credit to the terrain and amazing roads around Decorah. So many roads that connect to other roads that make a 4 hour ride easy without seeing the same roads!!!! Climbing is also the key as you have to really climb at least 1 mile in any direction to get out of town and then rollers/long climbs dominate N. E Iowa. It also helps to have Novian Whitset as a riding partner, I have talked about him before, so no need to keep going.
Looking forward to Northfield Crit and Cedar Rapids Gold Fitness State Crit!!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Update!
Not to much to update about, but doing it anyway.
Been working quite a bit and also had some good weeks on the bike. Getting ready for the month of July where it looks like I will actually be able to race my bike. Kind of wanted to go up and do the two NVGP Cat 2,3 races this weekend, but I had a wedding to work last night and didn't get done until about 2AM. Money is good and it can work better than wasting my money. Also missed the chance to go back to Ohio with Mercy for the Tour of Ohio this next week.
Gearing up for the Iowa State Crit Championships and then Clear Lake Race Weekend. Both will be a good way to test my form from a month of hard training. Will be epic with 80 mile RR and a crit the day before. Usually very windy over in Clear Lake.
Will keep posted on news/results and life.
Congrats to Amanda Miller and Nick Frey, both road very well at NVGP and also Amanda winning the Best Young Rider jersey. Not to long before she will be winning like Kristin Armstrong.
Been working quite a bit and also had some good weeks on the bike. Getting ready for the month of July where it looks like I will actually be able to race my bike. Kind of wanted to go up and do the two NVGP Cat 2,3 races this weekend, but I had a wedding to work last night and didn't get done until about 2AM. Money is good and it can work better than wasting my money. Also missed the chance to go back to Ohio with Mercy for the Tour of Ohio this next week.
Gearing up for the Iowa State Crit Championships and then Clear Lake Race Weekend. Both will be a good way to test my form from a month of hard training. Will be epic with 80 mile RR and a crit the day before. Usually very windy over in Clear Lake.
Will keep posted on news/results and life.
Congrats to Amanda Miller and Nick Frey, both road very well at NVGP and also Amanda winning the Best Young Rider jersey. Not to long before she will be winning like Kristin Armstrong.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
New Roads!
Went out for 3 hours this morning on a great tempo ride. Took some new county roads I had never taken before and ended up being a great loop. A stretch of about 5-8 miles of gravel had to be taken to connect roads I found, but the gravel was pretty much non existent and yielded instead pavement. The scenery around the area was awesome, could look forever in any direction and then when I descended into the Upper Iowa river valley, great winding roads. Ended up coming out on Iowa Highway 76 and encountered a long/steady 2.5mile climb or so, not the steepest until the end but enough to put some pressure on the lungs/heart.
Overall it was a great ride, made up for not having any of the guys to ride with.
July 5th is the Iowa State Criterium Championships. This is in downtown Cedar Rapids, a .7mile course, very flat and fast. It goes over the 2nd and 3rd ave. bridges, two of the very bridges you saw underneath the wrath of the Cedar River, just 1 year ago. Check out the website for details on a big weekend. Enter more than 1 race and take home some good cash with a 7,500 dollar cash payout for the day. One of the bigger races in Cedar Rapids, and help to celebrate the downtowns rebuild from the floods!! Could even come a day earlier and experience the July 4th Taste of Iowa celebrations!
It is also the Iowa State SINGLE SPEED Championships, so bring your fixie/single speed!
Thats the area of the race course, while under water last summer!
Overall it was a great ride, made up for not having any of the guys to ride with.
July 5th is the Iowa State Criterium Championships. This is in downtown Cedar Rapids, a .7mile course, very flat and fast. It goes over the 2nd and 3rd ave. bridges, two of the very bridges you saw underneath the wrath of the Cedar River, just 1 year ago. Check out the website for details on a big weekend. Enter more than 1 race and take home some good cash with a 7,500 dollar cash payout for the day. One of the bigger races in Cedar Rapids, and help to celebrate the downtowns rebuild from the floods!! Could even come a day earlier and experience the July 4th Taste of Iowa celebrations!
It is also the Iowa State SINGLE SPEED Championships, so bring your fixie/single speed!
Thats the area of the race course, while under water last summer!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Long Miles #2!!!
Today was another long day, but awesome day in the saddle.
Novian, GMac, Justin and I headed out from Decorah Bicycles at 8am for a long day. Justin had to turn back after an hour, but the rest of us continued on. We traveled from Decorah-Castallia-Postville-Clermont-Elgin-Gunder(famous for the 1lb Gunderburger)-Postville-Yellow River-Waukon and back to Decorah. Ended the day with 82 miles, 4.25 hours in the saddle, averaged 19.5 mph and had a few good climbs out of some river valleys down south.
Overall for the weekend, it was 8.5 hours in the saddle, 165 miles.
Weekly totals were 277.85 miles with 14.5 hours in the saddle. AWESOME to get that endurance back up. Now the first week of summer officially starts here in Decorah, with a few days of work, but plenty of time on the bike. This is gonna be a great summer for riding, lets just hope I can get away some weekends to race!
Congrats to Taylor Phinney, first American and only 19 years old to win Paris Roubaix!
Novian, GMac, Justin and I headed out from Decorah Bicycles at 8am for a long day. Justin had to turn back after an hour, but the rest of us continued on. We traveled from Decorah-Castallia-Postville-Clermont-Elgin-Gunder(famous for the 1lb Gunderburger)-Postville-Yellow River-Waukon and back to Decorah. Ended the day with 82 miles, 4.25 hours in the saddle, averaged 19.5 mph and had a few good climbs out of some river valleys down south.
Overall for the weekend, it was 8.5 hours in the saddle, 165 miles.
Weekly totals were 277.85 miles with 14.5 hours in the saddle. AWESOME to get that endurance back up. Now the first week of summer officially starts here in Decorah, with a few days of work, but plenty of time on the bike. This is gonna be a great summer for riding, lets just hope I can get away some weekends to race!
Congrats to Taylor Phinney, first American and only 19 years old to win Paris Roubaix!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Weekend Slug Fests!
Been a pretty uneventful week after Memorial Day weekend. Took a day off and then a couple just nice slow recovery/endurance rides. Those all ended with today and tomorrows slug fests. Today, the group include GMac, Lee Ventiecher, Sarge, Novian and Justin. We headed out pretty chill for an hour or so to warm up the engines, then hit it hard. We finished the ride with 75 miles and quite a bit of climbing.
We went north of Decorah into Minnesota for most of the day. Very nice countryside with windy roads and punchy climbs. Tommorrow will be similar to today but maybe not as intense, just another day of long riding.
Would have been nice to get down to Tulsa to race, but thats a long way to go without partners and with the gas prices going high. More updates from tomorrows ride later.
We went north of Decorah into Minnesota for most of the day. Very nice countryside with windy roads and punchy climbs. Tommorrow will be similar to today but maybe not as intense, just another day of long riding.
Would have been nice to get down to Tulsa to race, but thats a long way to go without partners and with the gas prices going high. More updates from tomorrows ride later.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Melon City and Rock Island Crits
Sunday-
Muscatine, Iowa and the Melon City Crit in Weed Park. A park over looking the Mississippi River. A 1 mile course with a fast descent and a speed bump to maneuver over before a long grinding uphill, a tricky S-curve. The course was 1 minute from Chad Bishop's house, which was sweeeeeet! Got everything ready to go and lined up for the race at 3pm. Over 70 riders started the Cat 3's 28 mile race and it was fast from the start. Many looking for a breakway chance for victory. The way the course is set up and with the wind yesterday, no break was going to make it. I sat in the pack and tried to conserve energy. I did win a prime, bringing home a new floor pump! So fast forward to the last lap, I was sitting about 15th-20th going down the hill in the group and moved to the outside, knowing this is where to be. Punched it with a couple guys in front of me and made it to the top of the hill before the S-Curve in 6th. Finished the race in 6th....not to bad. Two crashes, one at the top of the hill and other in the S-curve took a few guys out of the road, including GMac who hit pretty hard. Glad to see he was ok. So a 1st and 6th places in 2 days, I was pretty happy. Celebrated with some chinease food !!!
Monday-
Rock Island Crit in downtown Rock Island. Fast 8 corner figure eight loop with 24 laps. It started raining right before the start, which looked as though it was going to be just like Snake Alley. Started in a good spot and started to move up to the front when a break of 4 went off the front. The pack sat up and went curb to curb for some reason.....? There were about 4 crashes in one corner today....and I didn't think it was that slick. This disrupted our chase a couple of times. So we then started to chase after a couple laps, with 6 guys trying. The break kept getting farther and farther up the road and I quickly knew it wasn't coming back. With the pace high however, we did catch Derek Cassidy who fell off the back. With a couple laps to go, the field began to fight for position and on the last lap, I came around the last corner not where I needed to be and came in for 16th. I did end up in the money, but the race didn't end up like I wanted it to. The 2 men in the break fought it out for the victory. I wanted to get into a break today, but it didn't happen.
Will have some pictures of the weekend up soon, hopefully.
Next, I will be relaxing for a week or so and then start up again trying to build up for Northfield Crit/State Crit and Clear Lake Weekend. May do the Tour of the Dairyland at the end of June.
Good job to all this weekend, it was a lot of fun!
A large THANK YOU! to Chad Bishop for this weekend. Chad, you were a great host and thanks for sharing your home for me!
A few more pics from Snake Alley thanks to the Snoops.
Final Attack.
Win #2
Muscatine, Iowa and the Melon City Crit in Weed Park. A park over looking the Mississippi River. A 1 mile course with a fast descent and a speed bump to maneuver over before a long grinding uphill, a tricky S-curve. The course was 1 minute from Chad Bishop's house, which was sweeeeeet! Got everything ready to go and lined up for the race at 3pm. Over 70 riders started the Cat 3's 28 mile race and it was fast from the start. Many looking for a breakway chance for victory. The way the course is set up and with the wind yesterday, no break was going to make it. I sat in the pack and tried to conserve energy. I did win a prime, bringing home a new floor pump! So fast forward to the last lap, I was sitting about 15th-20th going down the hill in the group and moved to the outside, knowing this is where to be. Punched it with a couple guys in front of me and made it to the top of the hill before the S-Curve in 6th. Finished the race in 6th....not to bad. Two crashes, one at the top of the hill and other in the S-curve took a few guys out of the road, including GMac who hit pretty hard. Glad to see he was ok. So a 1st and 6th places in 2 days, I was pretty happy. Celebrated with some chinease food !!!
Monday-
Rock Island Crit in downtown Rock Island. Fast 8 corner figure eight loop with 24 laps. It started raining right before the start, which looked as though it was going to be just like Snake Alley. Started in a good spot and started to move up to the front when a break of 4 went off the front. The pack sat up and went curb to curb for some reason.....? There were about 4 crashes in one corner today....and I didn't think it was that slick. This disrupted our chase a couple of times. So we then started to chase after a couple laps, with 6 guys trying. The break kept getting farther and farther up the road and I quickly knew it wasn't coming back. With the pace high however, we did catch Derek Cassidy who fell off the back. With a couple laps to go, the field began to fight for position and on the last lap, I came around the last corner not where I needed to be and came in for 16th. I did end up in the money, but the race didn't end up like I wanted it to. The 2 men in the break fought it out for the victory. I wanted to get into a break today, but it didn't happen.
Will have some pictures of the weekend up soon, hopefully.
Next, I will be relaxing for a week or so and then start up again trying to build up for Northfield Crit/State Crit and Clear Lake Weekend. May do the Tour of the Dairyland at the end of June.
Good job to all this weekend, it was a lot of fun!
A large THANK YOU! to Chad Bishop for this weekend. Chad, you were a great host and thanks for sharing your home for me!
A few more pics from Snake Alley thanks to the Snoops.
Final Attack.
Win #2
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Victory!
Friday-
Went down to Burlington yesterday for the road race. 33 miles, dead flat, no wind. It's a total crap shoot. Not going to say much, we averaged 27mph. The race was won by a Cat 4. The finish wide open and anyone who doesn't do much work during the race..wins. Oh well, I knew this was to be expected, and I wasn't involved in any of the sketchy crashes that occurred. Snake Alley is the real race.
Saturday-
Snake Alley, one of the hardest races in the midwest, and on the most crooked street in the world according to Ripley's. Got up this morning at Chad Bishop's house and had some breakfast, watched the Giro d'Italia and got the bikes ready to go. Left for Snake Alley and got there in time for the Cobble Climb. THen just kind of hung out, got sprinkled on a bit. Watched as Dewey road away from the Masters field, Amanda Miller won the Womens race, and is riding so well this year!! Then it was time for our race. 75 riders lined up and I was able to get in the front row. A couple strong teams here with Wheaton having GMac, Sarge, Nick, Addi. Whistle went off and the gauntlet was thrown down, I was able to get 3rd wheel going up Snake as to avoid any carnage. It started to rain during our race and so I was glad I put the 27 on the rear, so I could spin better. After a couple laps we had a group of about 8 riders off the front. Brian West was the only Iowa rider in here with me. Sam Stone (Baraboo Sharks) through off a big attack and went solo for 9 laps. We chased but didn't make up much ground. The course started to dry up and I knew I could use my power to get up the climb. By this time, Shrek had made it back into our group as well. With 2 laps to go, we were catching Sam and so I punched it up the Snake and caught him by the top. When I looked back, it was just Brian, Sam and I so we kept the speed high. Last time up Snake I punched it again and when I was at the top, was alone! I soloed down the decent and won by about 5 seconds over Brian West and Sam.
Setting pace up the Snake!
Setting pace again.
Final Podium. Brian West, Myself, and Sam Stone.
Iowa boys went 1,2!!! It was my second win in as many years at Snake Alley, first in Cat 4's and then Cat 3's this year. Shrek, Jimmy Carrico and Chad Bishop all ended up in the money and it was a good day for Iowa racers!
Another thing that made the day so awesome was Bethany and her parent's came down for the race. We then went out to Applebees after the race!
Tomorrow is Melon City and then Rock Island on Monday. Will have pictures and those posts after the races!
Went down to Burlington yesterday for the road race. 33 miles, dead flat, no wind. It's a total crap shoot. Not going to say much, we averaged 27mph. The race was won by a Cat 4. The finish wide open and anyone who doesn't do much work during the race..wins. Oh well, I knew this was to be expected, and I wasn't involved in any of the sketchy crashes that occurred. Snake Alley is the real race.
Saturday-
Snake Alley, one of the hardest races in the midwest, and on the most crooked street in the world according to Ripley's. Got up this morning at Chad Bishop's house and had some breakfast, watched the Giro d'Italia and got the bikes ready to go. Left for Snake Alley and got there in time for the Cobble Climb. THen just kind of hung out, got sprinkled on a bit. Watched as Dewey road away from the Masters field, Amanda Miller won the Womens race, and is riding so well this year!! Then it was time for our race. 75 riders lined up and I was able to get in the front row. A couple strong teams here with Wheaton having GMac, Sarge, Nick, Addi. Whistle went off and the gauntlet was thrown down, I was able to get 3rd wheel going up Snake as to avoid any carnage. It started to rain during our race and so I was glad I put the 27 on the rear, so I could spin better. After a couple laps we had a group of about 8 riders off the front. Brian West was the only Iowa rider in here with me. Sam Stone (Baraboo Sharks) through off a big attack and went solo for 9 laps. We chased but didn't make up much ground. The course started to dry up and I knew I could use my power to get up the climb. By this time, Shrek had made it back into our group as well. With 2 laps to go, we were catching Sam and so I punched it up the Snake and caught him by the top. When I looked back, it was just Brian, Sam and I so we kept the speed high. Last time up Snake I punched it again and when I was at the top, was alone! I soloed down the decent and won by about 5 seconds over Brian West and Sam.
Setting pace up the Snake!
Setting pace again.
Final Podium. Brian West, Myself, and Sam Stone.
Iowa boys went 1,2!!! It was my second win in as many years at Snake Alley, first in Cat 4's and then Cat 3's this year. Shrek, Jimmy Carrico and Chad Bishop all ended up in the money and it was a good day for Iowa racers!
Another thing that made the day so awesome was Bethany and her parent's came down for the race. We then went out to Applebees after the race!
Tomorrow is Melon City and then Rock Island on Monday. Will have pictures and those posts after the races!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Memorial Day Weekend
So tomorrow starts the best weekend of racing in the midwest.
Burlington Road Race, Snake Alley Criterium, Melon City Criterium and Rock Island Criterium.
A race for everyone this weekend with 2 "sprinters races, a climbers race and a puncheurs race.
The Burlington road race is always a crap shoot, with no one wanting to waste to much energy, even though it is only 33miles. DICE always has all the racers do this one race and usually do very well, looks like 8 have signed up again. The sprint is very hectic and the best racer in the race could end up last because of loss of position. Don't know what to expect here, just open the legs up for Saturday.
Snake Alley Crit, I was lucky enough to win the race last year in the Cat 4's. This year will be totally different as there are some large teams represented, it is a longer race and just will be faster. I think I have a good chance with this race, it is more of a power climb rather then a small guy climb. One of the best venues to watch a race in the midwest, with a Cat 1,2 Pro race that keeps you on your toes!
Melon City was another success last year, resulting in a 2nd place. The only real test on the course is the long power drag up a slight incline, that can hurt your legs after a while. Always look forward to ramping off of speed bumps in this one, but with the very hairy corners, many riders bring their sketchy sides out. Should be a great race!
Rock Island Crit. Pan flat with long straights, it is hard for a break to succed here, and has come down to a sprint finish almost every year. Another course where you have to be careful not to move up to quick or risk getting swarmed. I should be able to do well in this race, being a larger guy with some decent power.
Overall, I am pumped for the weekend. I look forward to seeing how everyone is doing with their preparations, but locally and regionally. This tells each rider where they stack up against everyone else. See you at the races!
Chad Bishop is hosting me this weekend, thanks man!!!
Burlington Road Race, Snake Alley Criterium, Melon City Criterium and Rock Island Criterium.
A race for everyone this weekend with 2 "sprinters races, a climbers race and a puncheurs race.
The Burlington road race is always a crap shoot, with no one wanting to waste to much energy, even though it is only 33miles. DICE always has all the racers do this one race and usually do very well, looks like 8 have signed up again. The sprint is very hectic and the best racer in the race could end up last because of loss of position. Don't know what to expect here, just open the legs up for Saturday.
Snake Alley Crit, I was lucky enough to win the race last year in the Cat 4's. This year will be totally different as there are some large teams represented, it is a longer race and just will be faster. I think I have a good chance with this race, it is more of a power climb rather then a small guy climb. One of the best venues to watch a race in the midwest, with a Cat 1,2 Pro race that keeps you on your toes!
Melon City was another success last year, resulting in a 2nd place. The only real test on the course is the long power drag up a slight incline, that can hurt your legs after a while. Always look forward to ramping off of speed bumps in this one, but with the very hairy corners, many riders bring their sketchy sides out. Should be a great race!
Rock Island Crit. Pan flat with long straights, it is hard for a break to succed here, and has come down to a sprint finish almost every year. Another course where you have to be careful not to move up to quick or risk getting swarmed. I should be able to do well in this race, being a larger guy with some decent power.
Overall, I am pumped for the weekend. I look forward to seeing how everyone is doing with their preparations, but locally and regionally. This tells each rider where they stack up against everyone else. See you at the races!
Chad Bishop is hosting me this weekend, thanks man!!!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
AHHH TAPER!
After today, it is time to taper for Memorial Day Weekend.
Put in just shy of 15 hours this week on the bike with two VO2 days, 3 Tempo and a couple recovery. Almost 300 miles.
Next week will be awesome, done with school Wed. and some short work intervals for prepping the legs. Went out today with Novian and Justin for 3 hours of tempo. It was a great day, and besides Novian ripping legs off on the climbs, lets are feeling light/fast and ready to go!
Leave for Cedar Rapids on Thursday, then driving down to Muscatine on Friday. Chad Bishop was nice enough to open his house to me for the weekend, since I am a poor college student. Thanks much to you man!
Speaking of poor college student, I am going to be working every weekend in June on Saturdays. Don't think I'll race much if at all. Maybe the two races at Nature Valley but I don't know yet.
Have a great week and see you Friday night or Saturday!
Put in just shy of 15 hours this week on the bike with two VO2 days, 3 Tempo and a couple recovery. Almost 300 miles.
Next week will be awesome, done with school Wed. and some short work intervals for prepping the legs. Went out today with Novian and Justin for 3 hours of tempo. It was a great day, and besides Novian ripping legs off on the climbs, lets are feeling light/fast and ready to go!
Leave for Cedar Rapids on Thursday, then driving down to Muscatine on Friday. Chad Bishop was nice enough to open his house to me for the weekend, since I am a poor college student. Thanks much to you man!
Speaking of poor college student, I am going to be working every weekend in June on Saturdays. Don't think I'll race much if at all. Maybe the two races at Nature Valley but I don't know yet.
Have a great week and see you Friday night or Saturday!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Finchford Roubaix 2009
Went to Cedar Falls with Bethany on Friday night for the race on Saturday. Just hung out and made some homemade Peanut Butter Cups!!!
Got up on Saturday and had pancakes, eggs, fruit :) MMMMMMM. Thank you Paula :)
Went out to the course a couple hours before and got registered. The winds were strong and only getting stronger as the race got closer. Chris Reed managed to make it up, good to have a team mate. Another team mate, Rob McKillup won the 5's after soloing the last lap in that wind, sweet!!!
50 miles, 10 laps and 20mph winds to contend with as we started with the Masters 1,2,3 at 1PM. First lap, I see Chris Reed and Brendan Keeley go into the ditch after cooking the turn. DOH!!! I lost my valuable team mate. The next lap we lost Chad Bishop due to same problem, read his blog and he will tell you everything about what went wrong. It was a shame, he is a beast!
Derek Cassidy (DICE) is the man to watch this year, well what is left of his Cat 3 experience. He is an absolute motor and pushed the pace all the time. At one point, Derek, a guy from LaCrosse, Brian West, Shrek got off the front, and I had to peg it for a good 2 miles to bring them back as I lost all help in the "pack". Luckily I was able to reel them in and make a group of 7 guys. This was on lap 5, and so for the next 25 miles it was just us. We rotated well and everyone tried to conserve energy when they could. It came down to a field sprint in the end with Derek pulling away after leading out?? Yea, strong especially into a head wind of 25mph. Rich Wince (DS 5000) got 2nd and Shrek 3rd, I came across in 4th and Brian in 5th.
Overall my legs felt pretty strong, even when I had to open them up 2 times to reel in breaks. The cat 3 field in Iowa this year is very strong and is a great group of guys to ride with. Lots of competition. I am pumped for memorial day, we have to show those Illinois, Wisconsin boys whats up!
Here is a video of the finish thanks to Pig.
Went to Old Chicago in Cedar Falls after the race and headed back to Decorah with Beth.
So anyway, made some money, had some great food. Next up is a crit in Madison this weekend(maybe) and then Memorial Day!
Last week of this block of training and a taper. Did 50 miles EN pace today and legs felt great! Tomorrow are hill intervals!
Got up on Saturday and had pancakes, eggs, fruit :) MMMMMMM. Thank you Paula :)
Went out to the course a couple hours before and got registered. The winds were strong and only getting stronger as the race got closer. Chris Reed managed to make it up, good to have a team mate. Another team mate, Rob McKillup won the 5's after soloing the last lap in that wind, sweet!!!
50 miles, 10 laps and 20mph winds to contend with as we started with the Masters 1,2,3 at 1PM. First lap, I see Chris Reed and Brendan Keeley go into the ditch after cooking the turn. DOH!!! I lost my valuable team mate. The next lap we lost Chad Bishop due to same problem, read his blog and he will tell you everything about what went wrong. It was a shame, he is a beast!
Derek Cassidy (DICE) is the man to watch this year, well what is left of his Cat 3 experience. He is an absolute motor and pushed the pace all the time. At one point, Derek, a guy from LaCrosse, Brian West, Shrek got off the front, and I had to peg it for a good 2 miles to bring them back as I lost all help in the "pack". Luckily I was able to reel them in and make a group of 7 guys. This was on lap 5, and so for the next 25 miles it was just us. We rotated well and everyone tried to conserve energy when they could. It came down to a field sprint in the end with Derek pulling away after leading out?? Yea, strong especially into a head wind of 25mph. Rich Wince (DS 5000) got 2nd and Shrek 3rd, I came across in 4th and Brian in 5th.
Overall my legs felt pretty strong, even when I had to open them up 2 times to reel in breaks. The cat 3 field in Iowa this year is very strong and is a great group of guys to ride with. Lots of competition. I am pumped for memorial day, we have to show those Illinois, Wisconsin boys whats up!
Here is a video of the finish thanks to Pig.
Went to Old Chicago in Cedar Falls after the race and headed back to Decorah with Beth.
So anyway, made some money, had some great food. Next up is a crit in Madison this weekend(maybe) and then Memorial Day!
Last week of this block of training and a taper. Did 50 miles EN pace today and legs felt great! Tomorrow are hill intervals!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tempo Day
Tried something new. Pulling out the Kerkove with some pictures on the ride.
Good tempo ride for a few hours. Getting geared up for finals, but not before Finchford this weekend!!
Did an anaerobic test (Windgate Test) in exercise physiology. Had a max "seated" power output of 990 watts peak over 5 sec. Over 30 sec, my average power was still 777watts. This put me in above 95th percentile and also beat the 2 other football players who did the test.
Doing some LT work tomorrow.
Monday, May 4, 2009
LaCrosse Criterium
Sunday morning, we left Baraboo at 8 in order to get to LaCrosse for Sarge's Cat 4 race. When we got there, it was surely to be a great day, nice weather, right on the Mississippi River. Sarge got ready and lined up, and finished 2nd in his race, getting him the points he needs for the upgrade. He is very strong and will make an impact right away in 3's.
Our race wasn't until 3:30, so we hung out, watched some races and walked around downtown LaCrosse for the afternoon, stopping in a CoOp, an outdoor store. When it was time to get ready, I could see that GMac's team Wheaton Fransiscain had shown up in force with 6 guys, and a couple other teams were rolling around. We pulled up to the start line and saw there were probably 40 guys or so. Going to be fun!
Right away, into the 45 min race, the pace was really fast and found it hard to move up quickly. A break of 4 got up the road with 3 major teams in it, CRAP! They quickly built a lead and their respective teams did a great job of blocking. I tried in vain a couple times to either get across or to help bring it back, but was shut down by the teams. Settled in after a while accepting that I missed the win. The All9 Boys of Doug Klahson, Robo Brothers and Gumm also tried hard to bring the group back. Only Iowa riders seemed to wanna work yesterday, even though other teams didn't have riders up the road....
Well anyway, a prime lap came up and I decided what the heck, why not. So came out of the final turn and opened up, a little early I thought but I held on and won a multi-tool! SWEET......
Eventually got caught by the pack and the pace really picked up for the leadout for these 4. Got in the front, not where I wanted and sprinted to probably 8th in field sprint, but maybe top 10 overall. I ended up with 8th place.
After this race, the Cat 1,2,3 started and I decided to start it quick. So with a 1/4 bottle of water and a GU, I started the 60min race. It started off really fast with men like Matt Brandt(racing for Italian team), ISCorp, Bianchi and Grandstay all wanting men off the front. I hung on and was able to move up throughout the race. Sean Walker, Will G, Bryan M and Lee V all made it up from Iowa to race for B2U. Anyway, I was able to make it the whole race and I think the only 3 to finish that started from the previous 3's race. Finished mid pack. I ended up in 25th spot, ahead of a majority of the riders! It was a great time.
Total about 1.45 hours of crit racing, 2.5 total riding and 55miles of speed work in the legs!!
Our race wasn't until 3:30, so we hung out, watched some races and walked around downtown LaCrosse for the afternoon, stopping in a CoOp, an outdoor store. When it was time to get ready, I could see that GMac's team Wheaton Fransiscain had shown up in force with 6 guys, and a couple other teams were rolling around. We pulled up to the start line and saw there were probably 40 guys or so. Going to be fun!
Right away, into the 45 min race, the pace was really fast and found it hard to move up quickly. A break of 4 got up the road with 3 major teams in it, CRAP! They quickly built a lead and their respective teams did a great job of blocking. I tried in vain a couple times to either get across or to help bring it back, but was shut down by the teams. Settled in after a while accepting that I missed the win. The All9 Boys of Doug Klahson, Robo Brothers and Gumm also tried hard to bring the group back. Only Iowa riders seemed to wanna work yesterday, even though other teams didn't have riders up the road....
Well anyway, a prime lap came up and I decided what the heck, why not. So came out of the final turn and opened up, a little early I thought but I held on and won a multi-tool! SWEET......
Eventually got caught by the pack and the pace really picked up for the leadout for these 4. Got in the front, not where I wanted and sprinted to probably 8th in field sprint, but maybe top 10 overall. I ended up with 8th place.
After this race, the Cat 1,2,3 started and I decided to start it quick. So with a 1/4 bottle of water and a GU, I started the 60min race. It started off really fast with men like Matt Brandt(racing for Italian team), ISCorp, Bianchi and Grandstay all wanting men off the front. I hung on and was able to move up throughout the race. Sean Walker, Will G, Bryan M and Lee V all made it up from Iowa to race for B2U. Anyway, I was able to make it the whole race and I think the only 3 to finish that started from the previous 3's race. Finished mid pack. I ended up in 25th spot, ahead of a majority of the riders! It was a great time.
Total about 1.45 hours of crit racing, 2.5 total riding and 55miles of speed work in the legs!!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Baraboo Road Race
Got up early this morning and went to the road race course. Sarge had to race at 9. We drove the course, two steep climbs of about .75-1mile in length and 8+%. The rest of the course was rolling and a lot of false flats. The winds were also very much a factor today, 15+mph.
Sarge did a great job in his race and brought out 2 guys with him, only to win in the final! SICK!
Next was Garrett and I's race. 45 Miles, 3 laps which meant 3 times up the big hills. Started out almost like a crit, pegged the first 3 miles until the first climb and then directly up the climb. Guys were falling off already and the pace was kept very high the first lap. Never thought a road race would start this fast. After the 2nd "two-step" climb, a group of 12 got off the front, myself included. This was the winning "break". We ended up losing 3 riders, and ended up being just 9 for the last 1.5laps.
I was surprised to be here, and just sat on. My legs didn't feel great today, don't have much racing in my legs. Hung on, but found myself cramping at the start of the last lap. Tried to drink and eat, but I think I waited a bit long. We slowed the pace down as I think everyone was watching everyone else and just waited for the sprint. Cross-wind sprint from the left, I was in great position, but just don't have the anaerobic effort yet. Came across 9th out of 9. Oh well, I was happy to be climbing with the best in the race, and hanging in there in the cross-winds. Haven't raced with that much climbing since Tour of Ohio last year in June.
Got some great training in today, with some anaerobic work tomorrow in the La Crosse criterium. I'll post some pictures from the race, don't have many.
Post from Crit either tomorrow night or Monday! See you at Finchford!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Race Weekend
First of all. Happy Anniversary to Bethany. 1 Year and it has been the best of my life :)
It's Friday! Just two classes today and then I am done for the weekend....kind. I have a very big Neuroscience test on Tuesday that is haunting my brain. Luckily I am getting away and racing twice, so hopefully I won't forget to study!
Last day of swimming lessons and then I am out of here with Sarge and Garrett, both of Team Wheaton Fransiscian and graduates of Luther College. All packed up and ready! Legs are feeling pretty good from the first week of training block after rest week. Did some LT and high intensity stuff. Gonna open the legs this weekend and test myself as I haven't raced very much!
First race is in Baraboo, Wisconsin and held by the Baraboo Sharks Junior Team. It looks as though it is pretty hilly which isn't all that bad, I have to climb a lot just in and around Decorah everyday. Will be a good race to test my legs after Eagle Point and before the upcoming month of Memorial Day races.
Second day is a fast/flat criterium in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Both of these races are less than 3 hours from my home at Luther, which is nice as a lot of Iowa races would be the same or farther right now at this point of the year. Never have raced in Wisconsin, so it will be cool to see new faces, test my mentality.
Hope to see some Iowa faces maybe. Sounds like Moritz and some of the B2U guys will be heading up!
It's Friday! Just two classes today and then I am done for the weekend....kind. I have a very big Neuroscience test on Tuesday that is haunting my brain. Luckily I am getting away and racing twice, so hopefully I won't forget to study!
Last day of swimming lessons and then I am out of here with Sarge and Garrett, both of Team Wheaton Fransiscian and graduates of Luther College. All packed up and ready! Legs are feeling pretty good from the first week of training block after rest week. Did some LT and high intensity stuff. Gonna open the legs this weekend and test myself as I haven't raced very much!
First race is in Baraboo, Wisconsin and held by the Baraboo Sharks Junior Team. It looks as though it is pretty hilly which isn't all that bad, I have to climb a lot just in and around Decorah everyday. Will be a good race to test my legs after Eagle Point and before the upcoming month of Memorial Day races.
Second day is a fast/flat criterium in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Both of these races are less than 3 hours from my home at Luther, which is nice as a lot of Iowa races would be the same or farther right now at this point of the year. Never have raced in Wisconsin, so it will be cool to see new faces, test my mentality.
Hope to see some Iowa faces maybe. Sounds like Moritz and some of the B2U guys will be heading up!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Dopers Suck
Schumacher again.... get him outta here. I think he should be banned from all athletic events period for the rest of his life.
Rebellin as well.....wonder if a sample will come back from Fleche Wallone saying he is doped?
Anywho, rode some tempo today, felt good, climbing good! I am ready for this weekend.
Rebellin as well.....wonder if a sample will come back from Fleche Wallone saying he is doped?
Anywho, rode some tempo today, felt good, climbing good! I am ready for this weekend.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
LT Tuesdays
Did 2x20 Intervals today. Kind of the standard Tuesday workout for me. Felt awesome, I can tell the rest week last week really helped! Getting some good base form. Now 5 week training block before Memorial Day Weekend!!
This weekend is shaping up nicely with a road race in Baraboo, Wisconsin on Saturday and then a crit in La Crosse Wisconsin on Sunday. First time I have ever raced in Wisconsin, so it should be a great time. Will have to be very attentive as I know no-one!
Looks like Iowa City was a lot of fun!!!
This weekend is shaping up nicely with a road race in Baraboo, Wisconsin on Saturday and then a crit in La Crosse Wisconsin on Sunday. First time I have ever raced in Wisconsin, so it should be a great time. Will have to be very attentive as I know no-one!
Looks like Iowa City was a lot of fun!!!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Epic Ride Day
Got out of class early today and had nothing for 6 hours.
Called up Novian Whitsitt for a ride. He is an African Studies professor at Luther and one of the strongest riders I have ever seen. Lee Venticher could tell you more.
Anyway, we headed about about 11:30 for the day, going south into a 20+ mph constant headwind. Just a nice tempo pace. Got out of the headwind after about 2.5 hours of riding. About 50 miles into the ride, we came up on a bridge that was knocked out by the floods last summer. Nothing had been done on the road, by way of rebuilding. Of course we were talking about this, and as soon as we turned a corner....the crews were out rebuilding the bridge. We were stuck and had to make an 8 mile detour on Highway 151 to get back to a road home. So we are riding single file on a State Highway, and were pleased to see how courteous the truck drivers were, slowing down and even giving a couple honks after they passed.
Anyway, made it home after 4.5 hours, 80 miles covered, 4000kcals expended.
Then had my protein shake, animal crackers and headed to 1.5 hours of swim lessons. Got to the caf and stuffed my face.
Been doing homework non-stop since 7:30. Going out to eat with Bethany tomorrow night at La Rana Bistro, an Italian restaurant in Decorah for her bday/1 year anniversary. Then back to school for my buddies 21st bday. Saturday will be busy with Beth's 21st bday. I got her something awesome for a present. Hope she likes it!!!
Have a great weekend at Iowa City, hopefully won't rain to hard on y'all.
3 more weeks of school and I am done!
See you at Finchford. PEACE!
Called up Novian Whitsitt for a ride. He is an African Studies professor at Luther and one of the strongest riders I have ever seen. Lee Venticher could tell you more.
Anyway, we headed about about 11:30 for the day, going south into a 20+ mph constant headwind. Just a nice tempo pace. Got out of the headwind after about 2.5 hours of riding. About 50 miles into the ride, we came up on a bridge that was knocked out by the floods last summer. Nothing had been done on the road, by way of rebuilding. Of course we were talking about this, and as soon as we turned a corner....the crews were out rebuilding the bridge. We were stuck and had to make an 8 mile detour on Highway 151 to get back to a road home. So we are riding single file on a State Highway, and were pleased to see how courteous the truck drivers were, slowing down and even giving a couple honks after they passed.
Anyway, made it home after 4.5 hours, 80 miles covered, 4000kcals expended.
Then had my protein shake, animal crackers and headed to 1.5 hours of swim lessons. Got to the caf and stuffed my face.
Been doing homework non-stop since 7:30. Going out to eat with Bethany tomorrow night at La Rana Bistro, an Italian restaurant in Decorah for her bday/1 year anniversary. Then back to school for my buddies 21st bday. Saturday will be busy with Beth's 21st bday. I got her something awesome for a present. Hope she likes it!!!
Have a great weekend at Iowa City, hopefully won't rain to hard on y'all.
3 more weeks of school and I am done!
See you at Finchford. PEACE!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Eagle Point
Race Report #1!
Drove down to Dubuque on Sunday for the Eagle Point Criterium. Threatening weather looked as though it was going to rain the whole day off and on, making for a fun race. Made it to Eagle Point Park overlooking the Mississipi at about 12. Walked down and got registered, talked to some folks about the morning races and saw Chris Reed. We were the only from the team to race in the Cat 3's Sunday. A good showing by the HBA team with John Peters, Tom T, Chris and Geoff Eastburn.
Chris and I got our numbers on and gear ready and spun around the neighborhoods for a bit. Non other than Jimmy Carrico stroles up next to us in his ICCC kit and spanking new Specialized bike with HED Wheels. Balllin.... After rolling around and watching a great finish in the Cat 4's, we got on course and did some warm up laps. Race Time!!! Finally!
Rick P goes over instructions and sends us off. Right away Jimmy throws down a flyer. Caught and we settle in a bit for the first lap. 2nd lap, Chad Bishop puts in an attack, and I decide to follow, knowing that he has been riding amazing this winter/spring. We soon have about a 150m gap on the field and keep pushing. After a lap and a half, we are joined by Brendan Keely and Dom Moreinic. After we keep pushing the pace, our gap went right out. Jimmy, Ryan Jacboson and Chris must have done some good blocking in the field. My legs were feeling pretty bad at this point as this was my first real anaerobic workout of the year. We rotated through nicely and the gap continued to grow. I knew that Dom and Chad were really strong, and haven't ridden enough with Brendan to really know, but he was very vocal in keeping us together.
After a few laps, we saw the field about a half a lap behind and we just set it in fast cruise control. Nothing happened for the next few laps, I did see Ryan Jacobson go on a flyer off the front so we had to monitor that. Fast forward to 2 laps to go, we lap the pack with 1 to go and this is when the fun/chaos starts.
Chad goes right through the field and hits a fast pace that us 3 missed. Luckily Chris Reed was trying to get away for the field sprint and latched on. Dom went and tried to bring back Chad, and I sat on his wheel, knowing he was the best sprinter. We get to the last uphill and still haven't brought Chad back who had 20m or so. I go around Dom and latch on.....DOH! I get caught behind Chad when Brendan makes his move on the outside and starts sprinting. We never get back to him, but Dom passes me and I am able to just get past Chad for 3rd.
3rd place for my first race was sweet, I am very happy and feeling confident in my training. It was great to ride with Dom, Chad and Brendan (Congrats man!). I won't be doing IC weekend, because of work and Beth's 21st B-Day.
I will see you all at Finchford!!!
Drove down to Dubuque on Sunday for the Eagle Point Criterium. Threatening weather looked as though it was going to rain the whole day off and on, making for a fun race. Made it to Eagle Point Park overlooking the Mississipi at about 12. Walked down and got registered, talked to some folks about the morning races and saw Chris Reed. We were the only from the team to race in the Cat 3's Sunday. A good showing by the HBA team with John Peters, Tom T, Chris and Geoff Eastburn.
Chris and I got our numbers on and gear ready and spun around the neighborhoods for a bit. Non other than Jimmy Carrico stroles up next to us in his ICCC kit and spanking new Specialized bike with HED Wheels. Balllin.... After rolling around and watching a great finish in the Cat 4's, we got on course and did some warm up laps. Race Time!!! Finally!
Rick P goes over instructions and sends us off. Right away Jimmy throws down a flyer. Caught and we settle in a bit for the first lap. 2nd lap, Chad Bishop puts in an attack, and I decide to follow, knowing that he has been riding amazing this winter/spring. We soon have about a 150m gap on the field and keep pushing. After a lap and a half, we are joined by Brendan Keely and Dom Moreinic. After we keep pushing the pace, our gap went right out. Jimmy, Ryan Jacboson and Chris must have done some good blocking in the field. My legs were feeling pretty bad at this point as this was my first real anaerobic workout of the year. We rotated through nicely and the gap continued to grow. I knew that Dom and Chad were really strong, and haven't ridden enough with Brendan to really know, but he was very vocal in keeping us together.
After a few laps, we saw the field about a half a lap behind and we just set it in fast cruise control. Nothing happened for the next few laps, I did see Ryan Jacobson go on a flyer off the front so we had to monitor that. Fast forward to 2 laps to go, we lap the pack with 1 to go and this is when the fun/chaos starts.
Chad goes right through the field and hits a fast pace that us 3 missed. Luckily Chris Reed was trying to get away for the field sprint and latched on. Dom went and tried to bring back Chad, and I sat on his wheel, knowing he was the best sprinter. We get to the last uphill and still haven't brought Chad back who had 20m or so. I go around Dom and latch on.....DOH! I get caught behind Chad when Brendan makes his move on the outside and starts sprinting. We never get back to him, but Dom passes me and I am able to just get past Chad for 3rd.
3rd place for my first race was sweet, I am very happy and feeling confident in my training. It was great to ride with Dom, Chad and Brendan (Congrats man!). I won't be doing IC weekend, because of work and Beth's 21st B-Day.
I will see you all at Finchford!!!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Getting some form...
Lack of updates for lack of racing. Have been getting some great training in without races to schedule around. Over half way through my 2nd semester of junior year. I am down in Cedar Falls for Easter Break with my girlfriend Bethany.
Have gone out for 6 hours the last two days and today rode with Bike Tech racers. Thanks to John, Kat, Mike and the others for their help. Looking forward to having some great food tonight and tomorrow. Going to Peppers Sports Bar for dinner, best chicken strips!
Go back to school on Tuesday, and have a good week of training before Eagle Point. My first race is in the middle-later part of April.....that is horrible. After that I have a week break, I don't believe I will make it to Iowa City as it is Beth's 21st birthday on the 26th. Going to do two races in Wisconsin on May 2nd and 3rd. After that..... Finchford and then Memorial Day.
I guess that is about it. have a great Easter, and hopefully I'll be updating this more often.
God Bless
Have gone out for 6 hours the last two days and today rode with Bike Tech racers. Thanks to John, Kat, Mike and the others for their help. Looking forward to having some great food tonight and tomorrow. Going to Peppers Sports Bar for dinner, best chicken strips!
Go back to school on Tuesday, and have a good week of training before Eagle Point. My first race is in the middle-later part of April.....that is horrible. After that I have a week break, I don't believe I will make it to Iowa City as it is Beth's 21st birthday on the 26th. Going to do two races in Wisconsin on May 2nd and 3rd. After that..... Finchford and then Memorial Day.
I guess that is about it. have a great Easter, and hopefully I'll be updating this more often.
God Bless
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Snow
So I don't believe there will be any road racing this spring in Iowa. Snow will be here til May, and then the ground will be so saturated that flooding will happen again. Anyone agree?
Unbelievable weather, I went out for my ride today and by the time I got back....in 1 hour, I was covered in about an inch of snow.
Maybe see you all around.
Unbelievable weather, I went out for my ride today and by the time I got back....in 1 hour, I was covered in about an inch of snow.
Maybe see you all around.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Spring...I don't think so
So its 29 degree's right now, nearing the end of March.
Sunday, it's only supposed to be about 27 at race time for Kent Park, that is f-ing cold!!!!!!! I don't even know if it will be fun racing in that weather.
This week has not been a fun spring break....rain and cold temperatures. Oh well, had some good rides this week regardless, have seen friends, gotten some things done, and overall just relaxed from the pressures of double major at Luther.
See you Sunday for the freeze fest.
Sunday, it's only supposed to be about 27 at race time for Kent Park, that is f-ing cold!!!!!!! I don't even know if it will be fun racing in that weather.
This week has not been a fun spring break....rain and cold temperatures. Oh well, had some good rides this week regardless, have seen friends, gotten some things done, and overall just relaxed from the pressures of double major at Luther.
See you Sunday for the freeze fest.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Spring Break...
In CR for the week. What a great week, I am sitting on the couch right now watching tennis and looking out the window. Rain, Mist, and 20+ mph winds. I feel as though I should go join Amanda and crew up in Belgium/France for the spring. May be a bit better, or at least warmer. Oh well, might as well get used to riding in it.
Training has been going great, getting in some nice long miles in hilly Decorah area. I was going to peak for Altoona, but now I don't know what to peak for. I have signed up to work a couple weekends around that date now, and so may keep rolling the training program hard and peak for some WI races or Finchford.
Getting excited for Kent Park, shouldn't be to bad...upper 40's and cloudy, a lot like last year. Should be very interesting, the Dirty RR put on by All 9 are showing who to mark. Hands down, Jerome "Shrek" will be one to watch. Chad Bishop and Jimmy Carrico also putting in some good rides. All 9 has a big team signed up and will have to watch them over the spring here.
Training has been going great, getting in some nice long miles in hilly Decorah area. I was going to peak for Altoona, but now I don't know what to peak for. I have signed up to work a couple weekends around that date now, and so may keep rolling the training program hard and peak for some WI races or Finchford.
Getting excited for Kent Park, shouldn't be to bad...upper 40's and cloudy, a lot like last year. Should be very interesting, the Dirty RR put on by All 9 are showing who to mark. Hands down, Jerome "Shrek" will be one to watch. Chad Bishop and Jimmy Carrico also putting in some good rides. All 9 has a big team signed up and will have to watch them over the spring here.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Spring Break
One more test to go in Exercise Physiology. Then I have to work Saturday night at Hotel Winn, then I am home to CR for the week.
Plan for a hard week of training with nothing to do but some reading and research for a presentation after break. Kent Park is next weekend, and I think I am ready to throw down. I don't know what to do this spring though, not a lot of races around WI, IA or MN. I hope the economy hasn't hurt a lot of the races for the rest of the year.
Oh well, I guess that means I will have more time to work and make money.
Any body ever wanna carpool to some races around the midwest, so I can race?
Plan for a hard week of training with nothing to do but some reading and research for a presentation after break. Kent Park is next weekend, and I think I am ready to throw down. I don't know what to do this spring though, not a lot of races around WI, IA or MN. I hope the economy hasn't hurt a lot of the races for the rest of the year.
Oh well, I guess that means I will have more time to work and make money.
Any body ever wanna carpool to some races around the midwest, so I can race?
Monday, March 16, 2009
Wind and Sun
Today's ride was so nice, first day without long sleeves or legs on. The weather was absolutely perfect except for the 20+mph winds. It said gusts up to 20, but I am sure sustained was almost 20 or above for the whole time. There were times going south where I was in the 39x18-20 and going maybe 15mph. Yikes!
But as everyone knows, once you turn back for home, it is smooth sailing...and that is exactly what it was.
Legs felt good after yesterdays 75miles of hurt, so I am hopefully picking up my legs!! and also got a tan!
Carson
But as everyone knows, once you turn back for home, it is smooth sailing...and that is exactly what it was.
Legs felt good after yesterdays 75miles of hurt, so I am hopefully picking up my legs!! and also got a tan!
Carson
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Base Miles in Northeast Iowa!
Almost to Spring Break! Just one more week and I am out of here and able to train for a week with no other activities to worry about. A Global Politics quiz on Wed. and an Exercise Physiology test on Friday is it.
Worked my first shift at Hotel Winn on Saturday night. It was a lot of fun, going to be a lot of standing and working on my feet, but oh well, will be different after many years at the bike shop. Work Sat. March 21st again. Also have a job at the Country Club here in Decorah, will do some groundskeeping stuff, bartender, server, driving range dude.
Back to riding though, had a long week planned and even went over after today's ride. Ended up going out with Novian Whitsitt, Lee Venticher, Sarge, Ben Shockey and Stig. It was a great day to ride, left at 11AM with some southern winds blowing at us. Hit up a 75 mile loop, did it in 4 hours. Great roads and a good base building day!
Sorry to see Altoona and Big Creek gone, these were great races, but I am sure it is extremely hard to put on a race and keep it going. Might have to find another race to do now in WI or MN.
Worked my first shift at Hotel Winn on Saturday night. It was a lot of fun, going to be a lot of standing and working on my feet, but oh well, will be different after many years at the bike shop. Work Sat. March 21st again. Also have a job at the Country Club here in Decorah, will do some groundskeeping stuff, bartender, server, driving range dude.
Back to riding though, had a long week planned and even went over after today's ride. Ended up going out with Novian Whitsitt, Lee Venticher, Sarge, Ben Shockey and Stig. It was a great day to ride, left at 11AM with some southern winds blowing at us. Hit up a 75 mile loop, did it in 4 hours. Great roads and a good base building day!
Sorry to see Altoona and Big Creek gone, these were great races, but I am sure it is extremely hard to put on a race and keep it going. Might have to find another race to do now in WI or MN.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Iowa Weather.
So 4 days ago, I was riding in shorts and a long sleeve jersey, and still sweating. Yesterday, I was bundled up in 3 layers trying not to freeze with the rain/wind/snow and wet roads. I wish I could go to AZ or down south like a lot of people and train.
School has been starting to interfere with my cycling time, but since I have to be a good student, because I am paying 38,000 a year to go to college, I know its best I study. Still getting some good training in, and I am just waiting for Kent Park.
Alberto Contador absolutely set the tone in the prologue today in Paris-Nice. Wow, he is amazing. I look forward to Astana, racing all the big races this year. Looked like the riders were having fun in the rain.
Also looks like the Dirty RR #1 had a lot of slush to deal with. Looks like it was some good racing. Just makes me wanna race.
Hopefully the weather holds out this week, for some good training.
School has been starting to interfere with my cycling time, but since I have to be a good student, because I am paying 38,000 a year to go to college, I know its best I study. Still getting some good training in, and I am just waiting for Kent Park.
Alberto Contador absolutely set the tone in the prologue today in Paris-Nice. Wow, he is amazing. I look forward to Astana, racing all the big races this year. Looked like the riders were having fun in the rain.
Also looks like the Dirty RR #1 had a lot of slush to deal with. Looks like it was some good racing. Just makes me wanna race.
Hopefully the weather holds out this week, for some good training.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
A little update.....
Been real busy last week with some tests and training. Riding is coming along good, legs feel they are coming on strong!!! I'm sure not ready to deal with Cat 3 Roller Dude....... absolutely sick time man! Will be good racing with you this spring. I know All 9 Yards will have a strong Cat 3 team this year with Shrek, Robinson Bros, Doug K and I know some others un-named. Jimmy will be good from ICCC. Without the Bikes 2 You guys dominating our races, I am eager to see how the races play out!
What great weather today here in the hilly portion of Iowa. And hills are what I had plenty to deal with today. I love doing mile long climbs into 15mph headwinds!!!! I have 2 weeks to go until Spring Break!!!! Get a good solid week of training in leading up to Kent Park and then Altoona the weekend after!!
What great weather today here in the hilly portion of Iowa. And hills are what I had plenty to deal with today. I love doing mile long climbs into 15mph headwinds!!!! I have 2 weeks to go until Spring Break!!!! Get a good solid week of training in leading up to Kent Park and then Altoona the weekend after!!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Max Effort
Did my VO2 Max Test in Exercise Physiology today. What they did was take a Ergometrical Bike and attach a tube to my mouth, and I ride. I rode at a 1watt/2sec increase. By the time it was over, I had gone over 400 watts(much harder than pushing it on land). My heart rate got up t0 191.
My VO2 max came out to be 60.2ml/kg/min. For a person under 30, 50 is considered excellent.
When you look at it, the highest was Flip with a 73. Lance Armstrong has a VO2 max of 83. That is unbelieveable.
After the workout inside, I moved outside...Smart Move? Maybe not!
I rode for a while, and by the time I was getting back....I had pretty much bonked. Didn't re-fuel with anything after the test.
It was a fun day, but I gotta go hit the books and study stuff. Ahhhhh College.
My VO2 max came out to be 60.2ml/kg/min. For a person under 30, 50 is considered excellent.
When you look at it, the highest was Flip with a 73. Lance Armstrong has a VO2 max of 83. That is unbelieveable.
After the workout inside, I moved outside...Smart Move? Maybe not!
I rode for a while, and by the time I was getting back....I had pretty much bonked. Didn't re-fuel with anything after the test.
It was a fun day, but I gotta go hit the books and study stuff. Ahhhhh College.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Change it up.
Officially done with swim season. Took 4 days off the bike to recuperate. Went out for the first time today.
Wish it was 50degrees.... nope, it was 22degrees when I hit the road. Used the mountain bike, and quickly know that I will be switching to the road bike as soon as possible. Riding on the pavement, once off of gravel is just disheartening! I wanna feel some speed!
School is pretty vicious right now. A double major is tough... Biology and Physical Education. Neuroscience and Exercise Physiology are my two hardest classes, with Growth and Motor Development and Global Politics bringing up the rear.
I do get to do a MAX VO2 test in Exercise Physiology tomorrow. That should hurt a lot and also give me a good training number. The highest at Luther College was Matthew "Flip" Busche, who if you don't remember, WON the Iowa State RR last year, even though being from Wisconsin and ISCorp. He had a value of 78??? ish.
More updates to come.
Wish it was 50degrees.... nope, it was 22degrees when I hit the road. Used the mountain bike, and quickly know that I will be switching to the road bike as soon as possible. Riding on the pavement, once off of gravel is just disheartening! I wanna feel some speed!
School is pretty vicious right now. A double major is tough... Biology and Physical Education. Neuroscience and Exercise Physiology are my two hardest classes, with Growth and Motor Development and Global Politics bringing up the rear.
I do get to do a MAX VO2 test in Exercise Physiology tomorrow. That should hurt a lot and also give me a good training number. The highest at Luther College was Matthew "Flip" Busche, who if you don't remember, WON the Iowa State RR last year, even though being from Wisconsin and ISCorp. He had a value of 78??? ish.
More updates to come.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Almost There!
Long time since I have even commented on this blog......let alone post.
Leave for Cedar Rapids tomorrow for our last meet. LAC is a 3 day meet in which we shave, taper and try and get nationals cuts. I am going to be swimming the 500, 1650 freestyles, and the 400IM. I am in the top 8 in both the 1650 and 400IM, hope to get honors for that. After that night, its gonna be time for cycling season!
I am pumped, and in some of the best shape of my life....swimming, lifting and cardio.
Usually doesn't take long to get the legs going, as I lift all winter and have the aerobic capacity.
I am really impressed by everyone's riding so far this winter, on the rollers. It just makes me more excited to race with everyone this spring.
Props to Jerome, for setting the fast time in the CAT 1,2,3 in Ames.
More to come after the meet, and into next when I am on the bike!!
Peace out.
Leave for Cedar Rapids tomorrow for our last meet. LAC is a 3 day meet in which we shave, taper and try and get nationals cuts. I am going to be swimming the 500, 1650 freestyles, and the 400IM. I am in the top 8 in both the 1650 and 400IM, hope to get honors for that. After that night, its gonna be time for cycling season!
I am pumped, and in some of the best shape of my life....swimming, lifting and cardio.
Usually doesn't take long to get the legs going, as I lift all winter and have the aerobic capacity.
I am really impressed by everyone's riding so far this winter, on the rollers. It just makes me more excited to race with everyone this spring.
Props to Jerome, for setting the fast time in the CAT 1,2,3 in Ames.
More to come after the meet, and into next when I am on the bike!!
Peace out.
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