Tour of Perry County

Rolling into Somerset around noon there were strong winds and light rain falling. Temps were in the mid to upper 60's and I had a few painful flashbacks to last Saturday's painfest in Zanesfield. Teamroll: was well represented again this week with Marco, the talented young Andy (aka "kiltman"), Dan Tinderholt, Luca Braci (Dave C.), Josh Morrow, Mike Matrka,Farmer John and Cadillac George Conti. Andy also had a friend with him from Weslyan. Almost everyone from our team was sporting their new teamroll: kits and we received lots of compliments - Yes, they look that good!!!

After signing up and then sitting in the car waiting for the rain to die down, I mustered the stones to get out in the rain and get dressed. A group of us rolled out and hit the hills for a warm up ride and you could tell from the terrain that we were in for a tough, hilly day on the saddle.

Marco was sporting his sweeeet new shiny Kuota today and Cadillac George crossed over to the dark side with Marco, Andy and me and was riding his new compact crankset. There were probably around 30 or so riders overall so Tym started all the groups together. Fortunately as the race began the rain stopped and the sun came out. A few folks probably thought I was nuts putting on sunblock in the rain before the race began, but it was nice to have the protection after the sun came out. This was an epic course with lots of climbing. We had constant rollers and approximately 3-4 (maybe 5?) significant climbs per lap. The group stayed together until the climbing got tough and then everything broke up by category: the 2-3's were first off the front followed by the 3-4/masters and then the 4-5's. About halfway through the race I found myself in a group with Mitch Tallan from Torelli and the two leading 4-5 riders who were teammates from from West Virginia. Since we were from different categories and didn't threaten each other's positions, the 4 of us worked well together for the remainder of the race. There was a fairly tough climb up to the finish and I was able to cross the finish in 1st spot for the Masters.

Great weather, a beautiful course and a nice sized group to race with all contributed to a pretty nice day. Tym put together an awesome race today with plenty of police support at all the major intersections. Anyone who didn't come out to race Perry County today missed one of the nicest, most challenging courses on this season's race calender.

This should be a nice tuneup for next week's race in Wilkesville which is arguably the grandaddy of the season!

Planes, Bikes and Automobiles

What a week!

On Tuesday night I rode in our club’s weekly pain fest. This week I tried to ride a bit more conservatively and limit my time at the front of the group. As a result I was able to hang with the leaders until the finish in Delaware (sans the talented young Andy and Farmer John who dropped the hammer a few miles from home and finished about 30 seconds ahead of us). Our ride finished up sometime around 8:30 and I quickly changed clothes at Marco’s pad and then drove home. After getting home that night around 9:30 I quickly threw some things in my travel bag to be ready for my trip the Dallas the following day. Then it was off to bed.

The next morning I was up at 4:30 to get ready for my 7:00 flight to Dallas. Flying Delta, I had a connecting flight in Cincinnati and arrived in Dallas around 11:00. I picked up my rental car and headed for San Antonio to visit a potential new customer. My Dallas flight was already confirmed though Travelocity when my manager asked me if I would have time to visit a potential new customer in San Antonio. “Sure” I replied – anything for you boss! The only way to make this meeting would be to drive from Dallas to San Antonio. My Google directions listed the drive time at 4 hours 50 minutes and the company I was to visit locked their doors at 4:30. Everything would need to go like clockwork to make my meeting on time.

I hopped on the highway and headed south for sunny San Antonio – passing through Waco, Temple, Austin (no, I didn’t see Lance) and other towns along the way. The only thing to listen to on the radio was country & western (yes – they have “both kinds” of music in Texas), Latino & evangelical. There was also quite a bit of news about that Texas polygamist church – boy did I miss my XM! There were lots of billboards for BBQ, snake farms and something called the “Inner Space” park which showed pictures of dinosaurs and wooly mammoths. If only I had more time for sightseeing. I won’t say how fast I drove but I knocked over 30 minutes off the estimated travel time and arrived at my destination around 3:30. We had a good meeting and I was back on the road shortly after 5:00.

Feeling good about my successful meeting I hopped back on the highway and headed north toward Dallas. About 30 miles north of Waco the clouds rolled in and lightning began to brighten the sky – I’m talking about those bright, thick lightning bolts that cause the hair on your arms to stand up. As darkness fell the winds kicked up and hail began to come down. When I saw the hail I was a bit worried and increased my speed to try and beat the storm. About 30 minutes south of Dallas I lost my race against Mother Nature and the skies opened up. The rain fell so hard that flash flooding occurred on the highway and visibility was probably less than 50 feet. After a few minutes of blindly hydroplaning along the road I pulled off and waited for the rain to die down. Listening to the radio I learned there were tornado sightings in parts of Dallas and a few parts of the city were without electricity. After about 15 minutes the rain was still coming down pretty hard but I got back on the road and was anxious to reach my hotel.

Driving around Dallas at night in a heavy rainstorm it took longer than expected to find my hotel. I finally was in my room a little after 11:00 pm Dallas time. To say I was exhausted would be an understatement. My bike ride from the night before, the plane flight and the last 9 hours of driving through Texas had all caught up with me and I was asleep in no time.

I awoke Thursday morning at 6:00 and still felt pretty tired. I showered, got dressed and grabbed a quick bite for breakfast. There were 2 customers to visit this day and both meetings went well. I finished up around 4:00 and once back in my room I fell asleep watching TV. I awoke around 6:00 and called home to check in. By 9:00 I was asleep for the night.

Friday morning I was up around 6:30 and felt pretty well rested. I got ready and headed to the airport and hoped to book an earlier flight home. No earlier flights were available so here I am in the airport writing this blog as I wait for my 11:30 flight. It is non-stop and should get me home around 2:30.

Checking the Saturday weather for Columbus it looks like rain and temperatures in the mid 60’s. After getting limited sleep and very little time on the bike this week I would expect my race performance on Saturday to be average at best if the weather is nice. But if it rains tomorrow I fear a repeat of last week’s death march in Zanesfield.

A week like this past one causes me to question my decision to try and fit a season of racing into my hectic schedule. Right now the carrot being dangled in front of me is to fit in 2 more races before my upcoming cycling vacation to North Carolina in a few weeks. This annual trip is always lots of fun and I’m hopeful that I’ll return refreshed and ready to finish up my season.

Zanesfield Road Race

Today's race was one of the toughest days I've had on the saddle in a long, long time. I arrived at the park in Zanesfield under sunny skies and figured that maybe the 70% forecast for rain might end up being wrong. I signed in, coated my exposed flesh with SPF 30, got dressed and started off on a 30 minute warm up ride. After finishing my warm up there were only about 10 minutes left until the start of the race.

Today's route was originally laid out to include Corkscrew Hill which is near the Mad River Mountain ski area. I was looking forward to this part of the course since I haven't been climbing too bad this season. As it turned out, the course was changed and this climb wasn't part of the course. We ended up racing 4 laps on a fairly flat course and the Masters were combined with the 2/3/4's.

My Masters compatriots, Cadillac George, Marco and Luca Brasi (Dave Chambers) did not attend today. I think they demonstrated superior intelligence and chose a good race to skip.

So, promptly at 1:30 the referee called the 2/3/4/masters to the line. With timing that could not have been better orchestrated by a Hollywood director, the sky darkened and thunder rattled in the sky. Sure glad I was wearing that sunblock. A few miles into the race the rain started to fall and it ended up coming down hard the entire race. There was a fairly steep, fast decent coming into Zanesfield and by the time we hit it my visibility was limited, I was soaked to the bone and chilled to the point my whole body was shaking. I hung with the group two times down the descent but lost contact the third time down. Once the course leveled out I buried myself to bridge up but burned lots of matches getting back on. When the inevitable attack took place I was off the back and time trialed my way home on the final lap. I was pretty cold and all I could think about was getting to the end of the race. I crossed the line in 4th place for the Masters.

Fortunately everyone stayed upright today - but this is pretty close to how hard it rained on us. Maybe if I had an umbrella with me...

Fortunately the rain was reduced to a light drizzle as I limped back to the car to change out of my kit (my calves were so cramped that walking was a major effort). With limited use of my fingers I used my teeth to pull off my gloves and then managed to shed the rest of my wet gear. I got into dry clothes, started the car (I had to use 2 hands to turn the key and start the car), turned the heat on high and rolled home.

Tym raced with us today and after we finished he told me he had speed wobbles on the descent and kept control of his bike by squeezing his legs against the top tube. I'll have to remember that the next time I find myself racing in these rainy conditions.

Deciding how I raced today depends on whether you look at the glass as half full or half empty. Each time around the course there were a few (smart) riders who called it a day and dropped out as we passed the start/finish line. So I guess I should be happy I finished and that my result was where it was. I probably would have dropped out myself but I needed the series points.

Joining me today were teammates Josh Morrow, Farmer John Price and Dan Tinderholt. Congratulations to John who has found his form on the bike and had a much better day than me by winning the 3/4 race - way to go John!!! Josh and Dan were winners as well for racing and battling today's elements.

Next week's race is in Somerset and all points are doubled since the course is so difficult - I can't wait.

Paris Roubaix

Wow, did you see Paris Roubaix last night on Versus? Well, neither did I. Some Versus exec in their infinite wisdon decided tennis was more important than the greatest spring classic of them all.

Regardless, Tom Boonen proved the odds makers correct and won in a convincing manner - shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. I'm sure it will still be exciting to watch the replay on Versus when they find room in their schedule between bull riding and cage fighting.

Deer Creek Road Race

For reasons I won't elaborate on in this post, it was a frustrating race for me at Deer Creek today. There were gusting winds and lots of cat and mouse throughout the Masters race. In the end it came down to a 2-man sprint in which I finished 2nd by about a bike length. Good news is my sprint is improving each week. Bad news is it needs to improve some more.

Marco and Cadillac George worked hard for our team keeping things together and close until the end. Sorry I let you guys down today. Tactics continue to play and interesting part in this series and I'm sure we will have things dialed in within the next few weeks.

Yellow Springs Road Race

Today Marco, Luca Brasi (Dave Chambers) and I lined up for the Masters race in Yellow Springs. Conspicuously absent today was Cadillac George who was in Michigan living La Vida Loco at a wedding (George, is champagne part of your training plan?). We had a great day for racing with sunny skies and temps in the low 50's. It was nice to only need knee and arm warmers today.

First time up the "Devil's backbone" climb I found myself unexpectedly in an early break with another rider and we rode together for about 5-6 miles. This guy was F-A-S-T and I wasn't able to stay with him. He rode away and was never seen again. After spending a few miles in no man's land I was able to join up with Marco, Dave, Scott Young and Rick Toler who had gotten away from the rest of the field. The 5 of us worked together and stayed away the rest of the race.

After 4 times up the climb we rolled into the finish at Yellow Springs and I knew Rick was going to be the guy to watch after seeing his sprint earlier this year at the Arnold Classic race. I tried to pay attention and mark Rick as we rolled into town but he was faster than me I ended up finishing 2nd in the sprint and 3rd in the race.

All in all it was a good day. I hated falling off the initial break but I felt I was riding as well as could be expected. As long as I learn something from each race I hope to be OK as the season progresses.

After the race I rolled back to the car and was pleasantly surprised to see former teammate and all around good guy Dan Rhule with a pan of his famous "Rhule Bars". Awesome!!! Hey Dan - when are you going to start marketing those bars? By the way, Dan was sporting his new super sweet sub-16 pound Bianchi today - very nice!!!

Kudos to our teammate Pascale who won her race today!

Next week - Deer Creek.

Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Gallery

My friend Amy forwarded this cycling comic strip to me. Check it out - Pretty cool stuff! The strip is free, but the author accepts donations from frequent viewers looking to enhance their good karma.

(weblink:)Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Gallery