Saturday, May 31, 2008

Hocking Hills Road Race

Andy Will, Josh Morrow and I represented teamroll: today at the Tour of Hocking Hills. We were able to race together since the 1-2, 3-4 and Masters rolled out together. It was great for me to race with my teammates.

Hocking Hills is always a tough race since it includes the Jack Run and Cantwell Cliffs climbs. Jack Run is the shorter of the two climbs but it is also steeper and many of us racing felt it is the tougher of the 2 climbs. This was also the first race of the season that had hot temperatures and I was definitely feeling the heat by the time we were finished.

Before we were one mile into the race Devin Hurst, a young rider from Savage Hill, made a strong attack off the front. After several miles we reeled him back in and most of us probably thought that was the end of that. After the climb up Jack Run he made another attack that stayed clear for a few miles. We eventually reeled him back in and after a few miles he took off again. Devin ended up making 4 attacks and a few riders jumped on his last one and they were gone. Devin ended up winning today's 3-4 race and I was very impressed with his aggressive riding. I'm sure we will be seeing more from Devin in the future.

Josh climbed really well and rode a great race today. He jumped onto a break with 3 riders during the last lap and they stayed away until the end. Josh finished up strong in 6th place.

Andy Will also rode strong today and finished 2nd in the 1-2 race. I believe he also secured 2nd place overall in the Spring series.

In the Masters race I stayed close to the Mighty Scott Young. Scott is a strong climber so I knew I would have my work cut out for me. We stayed with the main group until reaching the top of Jack Run on the final lap. At that point 4 of us drifted off the pace and rode together to the finish. Scott, Mike Carroll and I pulled clear on the finial climb to the finish and I was able to sneak across at the end for 1st in Masters.

Today's race completed the Team Columbus Spring Series so my lucky number 708 can be retired. Overall the series was safe and well run. Everyone I talked to really enjoyed the racing. As mentioned in past posts, larger fields would be the icing on the cake and hopefully we will see the number of participants increase. With so many races so close to home at a time when gas prices are pushing $4.00 a gallon, it really makes sense to support local racing in Central Ohio. Team Columbus is offering several more races this season and they can be seen on the Team Columbus schedule.

Friday, May 30, 2008

I'm not a pro cyclist but I did stay at a Days Inn last night.

This was another travel week for work and last night I stayed overnight just off the Pennsylvania turnpike near Murraysville since I had an early meeting in East Pittsburgh this morning. My first choices in lodging (Hampton Inn & Holiday Inn) were booked up for the night so perhaps I was lucky to find a room at the nearby Days Inn. The room was only $61.00 and the girl at the front desk asked if I was paying "cash or charge?". Having never heard that question before at a hotel and, since they didn't ask to see an I.D., it made me wonder how many fugitives and people on the lamb pay cash at hotels?

Once in the room I realized why they only charged $61.00. Nothing too terrible other than water dripping from the ceiling onto the vanity (and onto the floor) all night and a toilet that constantly made strange gurgling noises. Looking out from my window I could see a dumpster with 3 mattresses leaning up against it - one can only imagine...

I was up early this morning and on the road shortly before 7:00. Walking to my car I was surprised to see what appeared to be the entire Rock Racing caravan parked in the lot including 3 Cadillac SUV's (2 with trailers) and a large truck with trailer. Looking at Rock's website they are scheduled to race the CSC invitational in Arlington, VA on June 1st so that is probably where they are headed.

I would have loved to meet some of the guys on the team but there is no doubt they were still sound asleep as I was hitting the road. I hope their rooms were a little nicer than mine.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Memorial Day

My father with a member of Lima Company at the Worthington Memorial Day Parade in 2006:

Memorial day is always a special holiday for my family. In addition to its most important purpose of remembering the men and women who have given their lives for our country, Memorial Day is a time for family, cookouts and parades.

During the last few years Memorial Day has taken the added importance for me of spending time with my father who is a World War Two veteran. My father enlisted in the US Army in 1942 just a few months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After completing basic training he was assigned to the 2nd Armored Division in Europe. During the war he served under General George Patton in 4 different theatres including the Normandy Landing, the Battle of the Bulge, Bastogne and North Africa. After receiving the Distinguished Service Medal he was discharged from the Army in 1946. He continued to serve our country in the Army Reserves until the early 1960's.

Six years ago my father suffered a stroke which seriously impacted his ability to get around and to do many of the day to day activities most of us take for granted. However, some things the stroke did not take away are my father's patriotism and his encyclopedic memory of World War Two history.

This morning when it was time to roll down the street to watch Worthington's annual Memorial Day Parade dad said he would like to wear his military dress jacket. Mom wondered if it would fit but I was sure it would since dad has lost quite a bit of weight since his stroke. Sure enough it fit like it did the day he first reported for duty. I pinned a few of his medals on the jacket (Dad has more medals than we had time to pin on him) and we rolled down the street to the parade.

I was so proud of my father as one person after another came up to him at the parade to ask him where he served and to thank him for his service to our country. He is my hero for so many reasons in addition to the fact that he served our nation in its time of need. I hope everyone takes advantage of this special day to remember those individuals who are special to them. Happy Memorial Day!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Hocking Hillapalooza

I met the Mighty Scott Young in Logan this morning to hit the hills and ride next week's Hocking Hills race course. The weather was great and traffic surprisingly light despite the holiday weekend. I'm glad we covered next week's race course as I had forgotten how long and tough both Jack Run and the Cantwell Cliff climbs are. We'll need to ride smart and conserve energy on race day! Scott was climbing like a monster and we ended up with 4 hours and 60+ miles - I'll sleep like a baby tonight.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Mid Ohio Grand Prix

Team roll: was well represented today at Mid Ohio including Mark Matrka & Dan Tinderholt in the 5 Open, Jaybone Allred in the 4-5, the talented young Andy Will in the 1-3, and Marco Corroto, Chairman Fred Parks, Cadillac George Conti and yours truly in the Masters. Brother Butch and Mel Corroto were among the many roll: fans who came out to cheer us on!

When we arrived at Mid Ohio we were not able to ride on the racetrack because the BMW club was still finishing up their testing in preparation for tomorrow's road race. As I said to a few folks at today's race, if you have any second thoughts about the cost of bike racing then come out and see the goings on at one of these car races. There were street Porsche's, 7-series BMW's and AC Cobra's among the other high dollar cars burning up gas, brakes and tires on the track. Don't get me wrong I love auto racing and it would be really cool to take one of these awsome cars out on the track. I spoke to someone before the race who was there with their car and they travel all over the country doing these events and there are over 40 races on the calender. It makes this bike racing thing look cheap by comparison.

So back to the race. By the time the cars were finished up we were a bit behind schedule so our race was shortened from 10 to 7 laps. No big breaks developed and our group stayed together until the finish when Cadillac George launched a powerful sprint and stayed away for the win! Marco was right on his wheel and finished in 2nd place. I finished in 3rd to make a clean podium sweep for teamroll:! This is how we planned it during the race and it was nice to see things come together the way they did. Chairman Fred road a strong race and showed off his recent training with a top 5 finish. Just wait 'til crit season Fred!

I didn't get to hear the other final results but Mark, Dan and Jay all looked really strong in their races. The talented young Andy had a strong sprint at the end of his tough 1-3 race and I believe he finished in the top 5.

Speaking of Andy, he wins this week's "most resourceful" award. As gas prices inch ever closer to $4.00 per gallon, I think Andy has figured out how to make his gas go as far as possible by using his motorcycle to travel to the races. I'm not sure I would have believed this could be done but Andy figured out a pretty slick system.

Tomorrow morning I'm meeting the Mighty Scott Young for a reconnaissance ride in the Hocking Hills to check out next week's race course. Should be a nice way to enjoy the great weather that is in tomorrow's forecast.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Sugar Grove Road Race

I arrived home from North Carolina Friday evening shortly after 5:00. Andy and I burned up the road and we drove non-stop except for a quick pit stop for gas. After visiting my folks I came back home and unpacked a few things before hitting the rack fairly early. I wanted to get as good a night's sleep as possible to be ready for Sugar Grove.

Teamroll: was well represented today including Marco and me in the Masters race, Dan Tinderholt racing 5's, Pascal in the women's race and Iowa Josh Morrow in the 3-4's. As I arrived in Sugar Grove I noticed the traditional sprint finish through town was in terrible condition since they were doing quite a bit of work to the street. I was glad to hear that Tym decided to put the finish at the top of the climb to insure a safer race. Although it is tough, I love the hilltop finish and will always remember the talented young Mark Ames winning there in '03 when we were racing for Breakaway.

The Masters and the 3-4's raced together which was great because it was fun to race in a larger field. The weather was cloudy and the winds were strong and several times during the race it looked like we would see rain. But except for a few drops we were dry the whole race.

Several teams were present in our race including Stark Velo, Echelon, Inferno and Savage Hill - yes Savage Hill! It was great to see Savage Hill back in the peloton (on their home turf) and they rode strong today. We raced 5 laps (6 times up the climb) and for the most part the field was together except for 2 riders who got off the front and stayed clear. One of the riders was a Master (the same rider who dropped us in Yellow Springs) so I was racing for 2nd place in my group.

Gearing today was an 11-23 with a compact crankset - a combination that worked really well. My standard 23 cassette has a 12 tooth small cog but I swapped it out for an 11 and this really helped me keep up on the descents. The 23 gave me plenty of spin on the climbs.

In the past I have struggled to stay with the group through the fast descents on the other side of the climb but, as mentioned above, I was able to stay attached nicely today. Coming up the final climb to the finish I was maybe 20-30 feet off the small lead group and finished 2nd in Masters and Top 5 overall. A big "shout out" goes to Josh who rode a really strong race and was at the front of the field all day. I believe he finished 4th in the 3-4 race which is a great result on this tough course. It was great racing with him and I hope to do more of that as the season progresses.

Prior to the race both Tym and Don made a point to remind the field to obey the center line rule and stay on the right side of the road. Fortunately everyone heeded their request and we had a safe race. On one of the fast descents there was a truck in the oncoming lane coming through a blind curve and this could have been a dangerous situation if everyone wasn't riding smart.

New Zealand pro Hayden Godfrey was in the house today and he raced the pro 1-2 race. He is attached to the Inferno team for the remainder of this season so perhaps we will have an opportunity to see him again this season. I had the opportunity to meet Hayden a few years ago at Sugar Grove when he was racing with Health Net and he is a really nice guy. I'm sure he will be a huge addition to an already strong Inferno squad.

The Team Columbus Spring Series is winding down and we have 2 more races left: Mid Ohio and The Tour of Hocking Hills. These are both great courses and I hope there is a nice sized turnout for both of these events.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Some riding, some raining and some sightseeing

Yesterday it was more climbing on the parkway. Marco, Mel and Andy climbed up to the top of Mt. Pisgah and I cut my ride a bit short to go back and fetch the car and meet those guys at the top of the climb. We went through about 5 tunnels and a few of them were long enough to kinda freak me out. Anyone who has ridden the Parkway probably knows the feeling - you ride into long tunnels that become darker and darker until they are virtually pitch black before seeing a small light at the other end. If you are in a long tunnel like this that curves it can be extra freaky.

After descending back to our start point and fetching the car, I drove to the top where Mel joined me for the drive down. We then followed Andy and Marco down so the car lights could illuminate the tunnels. Surprisingly the tunnels were not nearly as difficult on the descent even without lights, due to the speed moving through and the shorter time inside of the tunnels.

Cyclists are pretty resourceful when its time to change out of the kit after a long day on the saddle

After finishing our ride we changed and loaded up the car. Next stop was coffee at Biltmore Village. That night we dined on more Mellow Mushroom pie and it was then early to bed.

Light rain greeted us this morning.

This morning we awoke to light rain and decided to be tourists. This break was well earned after 4 consecutive days of climbing the Parkway. We visited The Grove Park Inn which I feel is a "must see" if you are in Asheville. We visited some stores in downtown Asheville and then had a late lunch before returning to the house.

The Grove Park Inn - these pictures don't come close to doing it justice.

Our hope was to try and get out for a little shakedown ride this afternoon but the rain started falling again after 4:00 and it looks like it may continue for awhile. This might be a good evening to lay low and chill out.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Pisgah National Forest

As expected, Tuesday was the beautiful day we hoped for to take our long ride in the mountains. After a leisurely breakfast we loaded up the cars and headed to the Pisgah ranger station to begin our ride. Andy found this route during a previous trip and it worked out well for our group. We climbed approximately 13 miles up to where our road met the Blue Ridge parkway. I don't know the grade of this climb but using a compact crank I was in the 23 - 25 most of the time and maintained a steady spin while seated. A standard crank set would definitely require a 25 - 27.

The scenery was great and the traffic was pretty light. The lower portion of the road had some debris on it from from all the high winds that came through during the last few days.

After reaching the parkway we decided to take a 4-5 mile fast descent into Caruso where we filled up water bottles at the volunteer fire station. When we arrived at the fire station a TV news crew was interviewing someone about a fatal plane crash the took place the day before. After leaving Caruso we climbed back up to the parkway and then enjoyed the long, fast descent back to the ranger station.

Marco looking for our next big climb.

Driving along the parkway back to Asheville we stopped at the Pisgah Inn. There was a black bear on the side of the road less than 20 feet from the car (too bad my camera was in the trunk). That was the first time I ever saw a wild bear!

DISCLAIMER: while similar in appearance to the bear we saw at Pisgah - the photo below in not of that same animal.

After getting back to the house to shower and change we went to Carrier Park to watch some local track racing at the Mellow Drome, an old car racing track now used for cycling. There were 2 different classes and they ran several points matches. At the end of the evening there were 4 teams racing a Madison.

After watching the races we went to dinner at Barley's and then back to the house where I quickly crashed for the night

Monday, May 12, 2008

Blue Ridge Parkway - Day 1

One of the first scenic overlooks I came to on the parkway. Not much elevation yet, but we'll be much higher by the end of the week

After last night's noodles and a few adult beverages I slept like a baby. When I got up this morning the winds were strong and the temps were chilly (50's). After breakfast we headed into town to check out some local sights and wait for the weather to warm up a bit before getting on our bikes. We went to Bio Wheels and Hearn's Cyclery - 2 very nice bike stores here in Asheville. Both shops had nice rides for sale. Hearn's also had some classic road bikes on display.

After checking out a few other stores we headed to the Mellow Mushroom for lunch. If you are ever in Asheville and want some good pizza pie, this is the place to go.

Andy and I got out on the bikes in the afternoon and hit the Parkway. We stayed together for about 30 minutes and then Andy was off on his own - a bit to quick for this old man to hang with. The higher I rode the windier it became. Fortunately the sun was out so my ride was pretty pleasant.

If you ever ride hills with Andy be prepared to have this view of his back wheel (until he completely vanishes down the road)

It is hard to see the wild turkey in this picture, but it was on the side of the road along the parkway and it let me walk up within 15-20 feet before it headed into the bushes

Tomorrow still looks like the day to plan our long ride. Temps should reach to low 70's. Should be a perfect day.

Drivin' down to Asheville

Heavy rain in Kentucky

We hit the road yesterday morning around 7:30. The rain began just as we were loading up the cars and continued almost until we hit North Carolina. The picture above was taken somewhere in Kentucky and the rain was coming down hard and visibility was limited to a few hundred feet. We drove Rt. 23 all the way to our destination which allowed us to pass through Chillicothe to see some of the early, soggy TORSV riders slogging back home to Columbus. We saw dozens of cars loaded up with bikes driving back home that morning - I'll bet more riders would have bailed if they had the option. This was the first TOSRV I have missed in several years and it was probably a good one to skip.

Louie ready to take his turn at the wheel

We arrived at our house in the afternoon. Located high in the hills overlooking Asheville, the views of the city are pretty spectacular. We chilled out for a bit and after watching the Giro on Versus Mark, Mel, Andy and I took a short spin along the road leading from our house to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The awesome views and beautiful scenery were just as I remembered. After returning to the house we got cleaned up and headed out to dinner at a noodle house that has become our traditional first night meal.

Watching the Giro after arriving at the house

I called Mom last night to wish her a happy Mother's Day and she told me there were tornado warnings in Columbus. Andy spoke with his mom last night and it sounds like a tornado may have been sighted near his family's home. I also checked e-mail to learn that Tym cancelled/postponed yesterday's Granville race. When I think of how nasty the weather was when we raced this course in '06 (cold temps & heavy rain complete with cow dung elixir spraying up off the roads) it makes me wonder how much more lousy yesterday's weather had to be? Just a few more reasons to love Ohio weather in the Spring.

An awesome view of Asheville from my room

Today's weather in Asheville is cool and windy with a chance of showers. After Louie the Wonder Lab gets his morning constitution, we are going to head out to visit a few bike shops and then go for a ride this afternoon. Tuesday's weather looks to be the best of the week so we are going to plan on this being our long day on the saddle.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Road Trip!

No racing for me this weekend. Early tomorrow morning I'm heading off to North Carolina with M & M, the Talented Young Andy and Louie the wonder lab. The 5 of us will be spending the week in Asheville riding the Blue Ridge Parkway by day and sampling Asheville's micro breweries by night (actually Louie will probably not be riding or visiting the brew pubs). Later in the week Marco and I will be heading over to Boone to spend a few days riding with some of our teammates who are headed down separately for a long weekend.

Right now the weather forecast for the area looks a bit spotty with a chance of rain several days. I'm hopeful that the wet stuff will blow through and we will have plenty of time to ride.

I'll try to check in to this blog with updates on our riding as the week progresses.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Wilkesville Road Race

This was my second time racing at Wilkesville. The first time was in 2003 during my first year riding with Team Breakaway. I'll always remember this first race for 2 reasons: 1) our teammate Paul Aisel (shown here in Tri-Tech attire) dominated the Pro-2-3 race and won with a very strong performance and 2) Brother Jeff Jackson (aka "Jax" & "Mr. Chips") and I rode down to the race together in his old black Civic hatchback. Jeff and I go way back to our KA cycling days and it was fun road tripping with him to a race. I seem to remember the drive home from Wilkesville taking 4 hours because Jeff and I were both so toasted after the race. In reality I'm sure it only took the normal 2 hours.

Today I was flying solo without my Masters wing men since they decided to head south and dish out some pain in the OVR race. Tym combined the Ladies and the Masters fields. I can't remember the names of all the riders in our group but it included the Mighty Scott Young (just back from Georgia and riding strong!), David Berman from Team Louisville and Marjorie Parr (strong, smooth climber!) from Stark Velo. Our group raced really well together and everyone did their share of work at the front. There were a few jumps on the climbs that eventually thinned our group down to 4 riders and our group stayed together until the end. About 3 miles or so from the finish Scott accelerated off the front and the rest of us had to dig deep to get back on his wheel. Coming into town Scott launched a sprint off the front and I was able to come around him at the finish.

After our race the town of Wilkesville put on a pasta dinner which was free for all the racers. Dinner included pasta, sauce, breadsticks, salad, drinks and homemade desserts. The support Wilkesville provides for this race is outstanding and Tym did an awsome job with the course and the support. Each field of racers had a motorcycle to lead them through the race and every major corner was marshalled. Not only is Wilkesville an epic course with tons of challenging climbs, it is also one of the best supported races I have ever been in. Riders came from Kentucky and West Virginia to race at Wilkesville today. In the past the fields have been larger and I really hope more Ohio riders return next year to this classic Ohio road race.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Southern Hospitality

Had a road trip to the Carolina's for work this week. When I left home Tuesday morning it was 38 degrees and raining. I arrived in Spartanburg, SC around 3:30 and it was sunny with temps in the low 60's. After checking in at my hotel I drove the Bikeways SC shop in Boiling Springs for a group ride I found on the Spartanburg Freewheeler's website. There were about 9 guys there and we had a really nice ride. The terrain was fairly flat. The pace wasn't as intense as our Tuesday night roll: rides, but we rode at a nice clip and we averaged around 20 mph for the 2 hour ride. Everyone went out of their way to make me feel welcome and I really had a nice time. You could tell these guys ride together frequently - we were in a revolving pace line the entire night and it was pretty smooth.

Last night I was in Goldsboro, NC and did not have an opportunity to ride.

Tonight I rolled into Durham, NC and was not able to hook up on any group rides. However, I checked out ncbikeclub.org and found Blue Jay Park outside of Raleigh which, based on all the multi-colored Dan Henry arrows at all the intersections, seems to be a very popular cycling area. I was able to get on the bike around 5:30 for about 1.5 hours and rode at a pretty easy pace. The roads were smooth and the traffic was light. The terrain was hillier than Tuesday and it felt good to do a bit of easy climbing. The weather was great with temps around 80 degrees.

Tomorrow I have an early morning meeting and then it is back on the road for Ohio.