No Longer a Stars & Stripes Virgin!

Larry's positive thoughts flowed through the aether, and helped me overcome some wicked jet lag and race burnout to win the 45+ 3k Pursuit today at Masters Track Nationals, and to set fast time for all the 40+ 3k riders (30+ ride tomorrow). Thanks, Larry, and everyone else who was thinking positive thoughts!

Two false starts ramped the tension and anxiety before we even got underway (my opponent pulled a wheel, and I struggled with my bike holder). We finally got a clean start, and I rode my usual slow start lap, then ramped my pace up to a nice steady 23.5-23.8 seconds per lap. My recent 2nd place at Masters Worlds TT by 6 seconds was very much on my mind. By 5 laps to go I was literally cross-eyed with oxygen-debt, but held the pace to the end. Time was 3:41.1, which is not my fastest at 3k, but everyone said it was a slow day. Then I sat to wait for 9 more heats to see if I could hang on to 1st. My pulse was probably about 125 bpm just sitting on a bench watching the final heat!

So my 1st Stars & Bars!! Thanks are owed to so many, but Harvey Nitz got me started in this timed event stuff and has brought me a long way. Rob Spear has been such a reliable wrench, gluing tires at midnight, humping all the equipment into the infield at the crack of dawn. Sabrina puts up with more of this racing stuff than is reasonable, always has a kind thing to say when I don't make the podium, and cheers loudest of all when I'm on my game. And Rob Anderson, my reliable training partner, whose dedication is inspirational.

Next up: Team Pursuit on Friday in the 30+ division.

Worlds TT or The Gravel Patch, St. Johan Style

We came, we saw, we didn't win... Cutting to the chase.

45-49
Mick was 2nd in 25:14 I believe. I was 6th in 25:40. The winner rode 25:08. Mick was faster than Thurlow's winning time from last year, but unfortunately not quite fast enough. I was happy with my ride, but not quite as happy with the placing. I think I gave everything I could have and didn't make any mistakes, but just didn't have as much to give as the five guys in front of me. I knew that since I started 10th that I needed to take the lead when I finished if I was to have any chance of a medal, but was only 2nd at that time. At that point I knew I most likely would get bumped out of the medals and that's what happened. What can you do. You ride hard and either you win or you don't. It was a fabulous experience and the TT course is spectacular.

Mick was the highest placing 45 year old from last year so he started last. Mick looked good coming in and based on the clock we though he was going to win, but alas it was not to be. Still, it was a hell of a ride and from talking to him, he didn't leave anything out there on the road.

Podium shot.




50-54
Rob rode a low 26 minute time for 12th place after finishing 3rd in the World Master's MTB championships last week in France. (Despite a couple of crashes!)

Tomorrow Rob will do his road race while Mick and I will road race on Saturday.

It looks like Michael Hutchinson from Team Spine placed 3rd in the 40 plus group. They must have some really strong guys as Mike is riding really well right now.

BTW, Austria is SPECTACULAR!

Patterson Pass

Patterson Pass is one of the coolest road races I've done. The climb is really hard and very windy. It has a mix of steep pitches and flatter gradients, but it's a long enough climb to get rid of the bigger guys. The interesting thing about it is it's super windy, so it almost neutralizes the race going up it.
I raced it in the cat 3's and we crawled up that thing the first 2 laps. The finish of the climb on the steep part was fast and guys would attack, but everything came back together going down the other side. The first time up I was too far back, so on the down hill I was at the back. Super scary. I'm used to big crowds after Nats and l'Abitibi, but still, that descent is really fast. Not very technical but fast, and with 3's not very fun. So the next 2 laps I was at the front for the climb and therefore at the front for the descending.
With 2 to go I didn't grab a bottle and I think that's what cooked me for the finish. By the 3rd lap I was really thirsty with no water. I got another bottle from dad, but I think I was screwed at that point.
Going up Patterson the last time I felt really strong. It was weird cause the first part of the race I was not in good shape but as the race progressed I seemed to come alive. The last lap was pretty chill till half way up, then a guy from AC put in some fierce attacks which split things up to about 8 in the leading group. It came back cause no one pulled through and kept the pace high. There was still a good 10 minutes left till the really steep section at the top so everybody calmed out.
Same thing happened at the top. AC man went and 2 guys grabbed his wheel. I was the 4th dude and only one to stick with him. Counter attacks came after he sat down and I was with those. Only three made it over the top in the lead, but with 5 seconds, so back to square 1 all over again.
The climb up the Wente decent was the one that really hurt. No wind and only slight gradient. Right at the bottom I was second wheel when here comes Ace again with another killer move. I was there but he didn't stop the pressure. All the way to the top he drilled it and popped dudes right and left.
I actually got dropped myself right when you hit the last steep part before the top. I just couldn't climb all of a sudden. The same thing happened at Nationals RR going up the last climb to the finish. There were still at least 25 guys left and I had to ride my own pace. I ended up catching dropped riders and passing them to end up in the lead chase group at the top where you make the left hander. That's what happened all over again. I couldn't ride that fast and had to slow down. I passed 3 guys and ended up getting on the group with only one of the 3 on my wheel.
So going down to the finish with that horrible tail wind there where 10 riders in the lead group, 3 of them juniors. Spin, spin, spin your gears gently down the road! Ya, it sucked. I normally have really good recovery time on descents and am ready to rock on the next climb, but I was hurting all the way till our last uno k climb right before the finish. When we hit it an attack was in store for us from Ace. ICCCCCCC was on his wheel and everybody else except the juniors and one guy from Easton. A slow crawl over the top and down to the finish. I out sprinted the boys I was with for 7th. Not bad, but I was getting 7th at Coperopolis, and Wente back in April so I should be winning 3's races right now. I guess time will tell.
micah

Tilting at Windmills - Patterson Pass Road Race

Using the theory that what does not kill you makes you stronger, I once again stepped into the deep end of the pool and rode the pro/1/2 race at Patterson Pass. With worlds just eleven days away (who's counting...) this seemed like a sensible thing to do. Nothing like a good hard road race to finish off my overload and then taper. I came prepared, with a 36x26 low gear and a 50x11 top end. I would use both. A lot.

At the start line there were many Giant Strawberries including pro triathlete Chris Lieto. Also on the line was one of my old Sacramento team mates Mike Sayers and two of his BMC guys. And the usual crowd of mutants bent on making me suffer.

The first time of the climb was actually pretty easy due to the hefty headwind coming from Livermore. Those windmills really are there for a reason I guess... With the twists and turns in the road though there was some joking about the need to form echelons at 10mph on the climb. Down towards Livermore, up over Flynn road and then to the fun section on Altamont Pass. Top speed on Altamont this lap was 50.6, max cadence 142. Just so you know, this is not some steep descent, this is a shallow pedaling descent with a serious tail wind.

Lap two, same story. The wind was my friend as it kept the climbers from causing as much pain as they might otherwise. Still, there were some digs and going over the top kind of hurt. Over Flynn, back on Altamont and things got interesting. Lieto made the unfortunate choice of bringing a 11x23 freewheel which left him over geared on the climb. Since he knew his days were numbered he thought that he'd have a little fun over Altamont Pass. Max speed 52.9!!!, max cadence 147. That was actually worse than the climb up Patterson.

Lap three, and life in general was harder. Again, the wind was my friend on Patterson Pass. But this one wasn't too pretty. "Tourette's Kevin" was lurking just underneath the happy go lucky Kevin veneer. Not quite getting close to the edge yet, but I know it is out there lurking. And of course now things are starting to happen. Sayers was out on a grand aventure with one of the Straberries I think and the natives were restless. Flynn was also getting to be much less fun but at least Altamont Pass was a bit more civilized. Max speed 48.7, max cadence 137.

One thing I haven't mentioned is the cross and head wind section leading back to the start finish. Because Patterson Pass, Flynn Road, and Altamont Pass aren't hard enough I guess? Of course it was always just a bit of a cross wind and we were always riding in the gutter looking for protection. After one particularly ugly stretch I found myself at the back as we turned into a cross wind and somebody attacked. Bad time to lose situational awareness! I got gapped and didn't have the gas to chase back on.

Now came the dilemma. Do I really want to go another lap? Can we catch back on? Is this really helping me? I've got a TT tomorrow... What would Kent Bostick Do? (WWKD) We'll he'd probably ride at 30mph until he got back on so I guess I better think of something else. A few of us grouped up and chased through the start finish where one of my friends who had just finished the 45+ race yelled some encouragement. Tourette's Kevin had a choice reply, but luckily he wasn't in control yet.

And again, the wind was my friend as the lead group rode at a civilized pace and we caught up just after the feed zone. John Hunt saved my life by giving me a bottle when the neutral guys had run out. Thanks John! Of course my joy was short lived as things were really starting to happen on this lap. I was spending more time with my new BFF, the 36x26, but the natives were restless and the attacks started. A couple of guys got away over the top and I was in the second half of the main group. We caught back on the descent, but on Flynn Ted Huang decided he wanted to go at a speed that most of us couldn't and he rode away with another guy.

Over Altamont another rider got away on the descent which I guess makes sense as we were "only" going 49 mph, max cadence 137. Tourette's Kevin made a grand appearance. Something to do with morons and riding in the "F'ing gutter" I think. But I digress. On the head and cross wind leading to the finish Dominic from AV attacked and Chris Dilusio countered with Kevin Klein. That was the end for me and I rolled in alone, pretty much wrecked, for 14th.

88 miles
4:19:00
8600' of climbing says my Garmin
4189 Kilojoules burned. Time for a "crack bar".

Fun

Final Race in Belgium

On saturday, eight USA team riders road out to our final race. The race was a criterium in the town of Ruislede with 1.7km laps. There were seven turns on the course and one really cool funnel where the road went from being a wide two-laned road to a bike path. The field was very small (maybe 40 riders) so the funnel was never really a problem. The entire team was tired going into this race after nationals and three weeks of hard racing, so our goal was to mostly just try and have a good time. Since the race was so short (37km) I decided to try something early and maybe rack up a couple of primes. I attacked on the first back stretch into the wind and got away solo with a 30 second gap. I held it for five laps before the pack caught me so I had already won 50 euros before the real racing even started. I must admit I was a little tired after that effort so I relaxed in the pack and tried to stay towards the front. I was in high spirits until Joel came up next to me and told me that my USA teammate had been at the front reeling me in those first five laps. I was wearing different clothes (I was in AMD and he in USA), but I still thought that we would be working as one team. AJ Meyer went up the road a couple of laps later and I jumped onto the wheel of a rider trying to bridge. A.J. had really helped me in my win last week so I wanted to help him out. I went to the front and hammered to try and open up a big enough gap for him to stay away. The course was twisty enough that if a break got 45 seconds, they would be out of sight and out of mind. We worked hard for two laps or so and then I looked back to see the same teammate who chased me down on the front bringing the entire race up to AJ and I. After the race we talked about it and he said he was trying to bridge but accidentally brought the field with him too. Maybe that was the case, but it happened not once, but twice. I was fried after those two efforts in front of the pack and there were still eight or so laps left. The peloton split into two and I was in the second half so that was even more energy to get back up to the front pack. With four laps to go I could see Cody out front, but little did I know that Jacob was even farther up the road with a lock on the top step of the podium. I thought I would just try and lead out or sprinters for fourth place, but some crazy instinct in me urged me to attack so I did and built up a lead with four other riders. With two laps to go I was dying and the riders I was with wouldn't pull through and just attacked me so I went to the front and set tempo just to try and stop the attacks. I thought I was crazy for pulling for so long but going into the last corner I was found the third wheel and was in perfect position for the sprint. I was pipped at the line as one rider swerved into me with 50 meters to go and ended up 5th on the day. Jake won and Cody was 2nd so it was yet another successful day for the USA. Supposedly the Belgians were getting sick of our domination so I think we left at just the right time. It was an amazing trip and hopefully something I will be able to repeat in the future.

Riding in the Strawberry Patch (Elite district RR)

Even as we age, the dreams of glory will not fade. 20 years ago, in 1987 I won * this race and here I was again wondering if lightning could strike again after all these years. The short answer was, NO!. For the long answer read on...

Racing with the Pro/1/2 guys is much different than racing with masters. With the races being so much longer you must be VERY patient. I told myself that I would do nothing but sit in for the first half (5 laps) of the race. After that I would look for "the break away". "The break away" tends to go not much after half way at this race, so generally it's not like you and sit in until 10 miles to go. Generally... This can make the race somewhat boring, but you must be VERY careful that you don't get lulled into not paying attention. Master's racing on the other hand tends to be more ballistic early on since the races are so short. But the suffering at the end of a long pro/1/2 road race more than makes up for the early "easy" part!

Anyway, an early break went and there was a Giant Strawberry (Salvador Borrego Crum) and a BPC rider in it. The The BPC and GS riders (and there were many of them) sat up and left it to everybody else. Spine chased for a while, but mostly it was status quo. Then not much after half way Jared from Metro Mint and fellow Geezer Nathan Parks of EMC went up the road. They quickly joined the break and after a lap or so dropped the other guys. This put a wrench into the GS plans and on about the 8th lap they started a team chase. I liked that. Steady, hard is something I can do. And steady hard meant that nobody would go ballistic on the Hennekens Ranch climb. So far it hadn't been any trouble, but I was waiting for one of the GS guys (like Mattis, 3rd at elite nationals or Max Jenkins, looking cool in his U-23 national champion jersey) to cause a great deal of suffering on that climb. But instead if was "steady hard" for the last couple of laps. (Steady hard still meant 400+ Watts for 3 minutes on Hennekens though, but at least it wasn't 500 for 2:30!) Life was good.

The pressure of the GS chase sent a lot of riders out the back until at the bell there were 20 or less of us in the main pack with two guys up the road. Going through the feed zone Ted Huang of Webcor attacked. I was in okay position, but probably not as close as I should have been. But I knew that was "the move" so I went after him. Mattis and Andres Gill (Delta Velo) went also. Unfortunately my acceleration was not strong enough and they went by and linked up while I dangled oh so close. I could not close the gap. For this I have much regret... I dangled for a while in no mans land, but I wasn't closing and ended up back in the pack. Thank you, have a nice day, but the race has left the station with out you.

On the last half lap a couple of guys went off alone and stayed away. At the end Mattis and Huang caught and dropped Jared and Nathan on Hennekens Ranch with Mattis nipping Ted in the sprint. We went hard and I had to dig pretty deep on the last climb but made it over and we were sprinting for 8th I think. I had good position and when the time came, I stood up to start sprinting. At that point my legs said "What the HELL do you think you are doing?!?! SIT YOUR ASS BACK DOWN OR WE'RE GOING ON STRIKE!" So I hobbled across the line for 14th place.

Vital stats.
110 miles in 4:58:00
9,100' of climbing according to my Garmin.
4400 Kilo Joules burned so it was a festive day of eating afterwards!


* Okay, I actually got 2nd but the winner got DQ'd for an illegal feed. Oh yeah, and he was my team mate!

Putah Creek Smack Down (PCSD) #4

Smackee's: Craig Roemer and Kevin Metcalfe

Smackee in absentia: Mick Hellman who called in sick

Smacker: Dave "Peg Boy" Bailey



Last weekend in Woodfords and Minden the team came away with four district championship jersey’s. Two in the road race and two in the crit. But who really cares about that when it’s time for the Putah Creek Smack Down? Who cares if you are or aren’t district champion. How did you do at the PCSD? Now that’s an important question…

When I got there, I only saw one car. Dave’s. He was out doing a recon ride. He got back as Craig and I went out to warm up and he informed us that the wind, though light, was the opposite of the usual. The return trip would be the headwind stretch.

I started right before Craig and Dave went about 10 minutes after that. With worlds coming up I wanted to go out full gas to see what I could get away with. I hit the turn around in about 10:10 while averaging 15 watts more than my usual. Unfortunately on the return trip I would pay for it. No matter though, I learned something and my time was still pretty good at 21:21. Craig came in just after me with a 21:27 and we settled in to wait for Dave.

It is tomato season in the farm lands west of Davis. On the way back, about 1 mile from the finish both Craig and I went through a cloud of dust thrown up by a tomato truck coming onto the road. Craig actually had to slow down a bit because of a car that pulled out after. While watching for Dave we saw two tomato trucks heading out. With the riders milling around at the start/finish the trucks took the middle of the road. Dave was forced to slow down in the last 200 meters because he was catching somebody and there wasn’t room to pass with the trucks in the road. I felt kind of bad for him. Until he told me his time. 20:17!!! He took about 27 seconds out of the course record that Mick set a couple of months ago and reclaimed it for his own.

With our trip to worlds, my next shot at the Putah Creek Smack Down will be Sept. 5th. Though the PCSD seems ever elusive, perhaps I can claim a consolation prize at worlds? Hey, Dave’s not going, so at least I’ve got a chance right?