Tour of Marin

All of us who went to the Tour of Marin on Sunday had a great time. Davis Phinny and Levi were there. The group of riders was enormous. Here are some pictures from the ride.

Welcome to Katoomba!!

Nice place they've got here! Down in Australia for Masters Track Worlds, I'm staying in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney doing my race prep, which involves riding, sleeping, riding again, eating, and sleeping. Not a quarter kilometer of flat roads here for easy rides. Met some local guys yesterday for the most extensive sprint session I've ever done, probably 10 hard hill sprints in an hour. Don't tell Harvey.

Elite Track Nationals, Day 2

or, "How Not to Ride Pursuit, Lesson 14"

1. Get really amped up during the interminable wait for your start.
--Also, be cranky and obnoxious, if at all possible. Coffee helps.
2. While amped up, ride the first kilo 2.5 seconds faster than last time.
3. Scream "I am superman", thinking you are on a winning pace.
4. Realize that bar of kryptonite is hiding in your skinsuit.
5. Drool on aero bars.
6. Ride your noodle-legs the last 3 kilos at a painfully slow pace.
7. Blame your coach and mechanic for your own error in judgment.

Try it. It worked for me! 13th place out of 41.

Elite Track Nationals, Day 1

Team Pursuit for Mick, with Tom Fahey, Brian Peterson & Roger Rilling. We have spent months practicing for this, including a weekend with Roger Young at the LA Velodrome. Today was the real thing, and we exceeded our own expectations, with a 5th place finish in 4:37 (which would have gotten us 3rd place last year, by the way). Our technique was pretty outstanding, until we made a final kilometer bobble. Brian pulled off a heroic effort to pull us back together, and Roger drilled it for the last 1 1/2 laps to bring it home. Fortunately the podium went five deep!

Individual pursuit tomorrow.