Tour de Tucson

A couple weekends ago, I went out to Arizona to participate in the Tour de Tucson. It was a 111 mile ride/race. This was the largest cycling event I have ever done, with over 8,500 people competing. It was interesting because there was such a wide variety of people there. At the front, there were professional racers finishing in about 4 and a quarter hours. Towards the back, there were newer riders who are just trying to finish before nightfall.

I started about 600 riders back. I got in a group of about 50 and we finished in 4 hours and 39 minutes. It was a great opportunity to get in some base miles in and have a good time. It seemed like a logistical nightmare to get all these people through the route safely. The city of Tucson and the race promoters pulled off a miracle in getting everyone in and out of Tucson and through the outskirts safely. We did not even have to stop at a single light for all 111 miles. It was really nice to do this event to get a change of pace from my typical Southern California training routes. I hope to get out there again next year. 

Kyle Torres 

Cyclo Cross Racing

One of my goals for the off season is to have fun. This year I decided to race cross because it is such a entertaining part of cycling. My first race was Folsom Rodeo cross where I broke away with three other riders and held off the pack to the finish. I ended up taking second in the B's, barely keeping up with the leader after I botched the barriers. After the race I practiced barriers all week...I was not going to finish second ever again.

My second race was at the Rodeo grounds in Folsom. In the B's I opened a gap with the winner of the previous cross race where I took second. In a dark section of the course I dropped my chain and it wrapped around my crank arm. By the time I was ready to go again the majority of the field had lapped me. I finished the race and just focused on having fun.

Today was supposed to be my third race of the year, but I came down with Stomach flu last night and did not race. I am happy to report that my teammates who raced did very well.

I am looking forward to my next race in early December where I hope to win my first cross race.

See you on the road,
Jonathan Christensen

The End?

    Yes, this is my last blog as a junior on Team Specialized. When I joined Team Specialized back it 2007 I never knew where it would bring for me, nor the people I would meet along the way. The first 4-5 years I was never the one to win the race. I would usually get dropped, and after the race, I would almost feel this guilt that I was never able to help the team, even for a brief moment. Until I found a fire in my gut that would get me out on rides, not just to say I rode that day, but to go hard, and make myself stronger, for the good of the team.
     These last three years have been a turning point for my cycling. I have been able to get results both for myself, and my teammates. Being able to see a teammate with a big smile on there face, because they got top 3 or even won the race, is what makes racing my bike worth it. I can't believe the amount of progress I've been able to achieve, and I can't wait to race with new teammates next year. As I am aging out of the junior category, and also Team Specialized. I am very thankful for all of the support given throughout the years, by Wyatt, Steve, Fred and everyone else that is apart of making Team Specialized a great team. I would not be who I am today without your help.

Thank you,
     Christopher LaBerge

                                                 MY DAD
   
              My Dad loves racing. In fact my Dad has been around racing all his life, He's raced motocross, go-carts(@ age 4), road race bikes. He tells me all the time of all the racing he's
done he loves watching me race the most. My Dad started me racing BMX at age 7, and
we've raced BMX all over the country. Now he drives me all around the country to road
races.
             My Dad's been saying all year long he needs to get back on his bicycle. So at the
end of this 2012 racing season I finally got my dad back to riding again. Now that most of the
racing is over my Dad and I are starting to do alot of riding together. I can tell he's starting to
have fun with it, he's telling me how he's going to beat some of the guy's we ride with all
he needs is a little more time. I'am glad he's consistently riding everyday. It's good to see him
enjoying himself.
           You know I think we forget how much our Mom's and Dad"s give up so that we can
race. Because if my Dad is not taking me to the races he's working so I can race. So I think
we all need to stop and say a big THANK YOU to all the Mom's and Dad's out there for all
they give up for us. With that I can see my Dad sitting there planning what we need to do so
I can try to win another national title. He really wants me and the Specialized Team to do
great things in 2013. Like I said my Dad really Loves racing.

                                                                  Sean
                                                            PS.      THANK YOU, all you Mom's and Dad's you're the best

6 Years Later

Larry has formed a habit over the past few weeks of finding old pictures from the junior team and posting them to Facebook. Saying that I changed would be an understatement. The first year on the team (AMD - Discovery Channel) the team website had my weight as 87 pounds and I've grown close to a foot. As my final junior season ends I wanted to reflect on the past 6 years.

First photo: Actually racing my bike. It's been why I have been on the team, but probably one of the less import impacts the team has had on me.

Second Photo: I showed up to cherry pie with Larry's bibs for some reason. Luckily another junior had a pair I could use.

I may have joined the team to race my bike, but the friendships and experiences I have had around cycling are what have been the most important. Many of my best friends are teammates would I have traveled with, lived with, and suffered with. We have had to work together under pressure. As the 18s go our separate ways in terms of teams for next year we are always having conference calls to share stories.

The first year on the team I was 13 and we were each assigned a mentor (master teammate would we could ask questions). That was a huge challenge for me. It forced me to practice communicating with adults on my own. I struggled with taking full advantage of the resources the team has to offer for a few year. It was helpful that Team Specialized has the most generous masters. Each one of them has gone out of their way to help me and teach me. They have such a wide array of knowledge both on and off the bike that any question has an answer somewhere in the master team and it's just up to me to find it. This generosity is best exhibited this Summer when Craig Roemer coached us at Nationals and then took me and a few other juniors around Europe to race for 3 weeks.

Finally I want to thank the leadership on the team. Wyatt, Larry, Steve and all the other silent heroes of the team who work endlessly to ensure that each junior teammate can grow as much as I have. They are the motivation for us to preform in races and support who we enjoy sharing our successes with.

quick shout out

Happy Birthday Wyatt!

Thank you to every teammate (junior, master, and leader) who has influenced me over the past 6 years. I may be wearing a different jersey next year, but I'm going to continue to soak up as much knowledge as I can from these teammates.

Try Something Different

Greetings,

In late August I started my sophomore year at Upland High as well as my "off-season". I immediately started playing water polo for my high school team as I did last year. I was the starting JV goalie for UHS. My plan has always been to use water polo as a my off-season / cross training sport to stay conditioned. I found that water polo has been really good training for my legs,  lung, and stamina; elements that would help me get a good start to when I get back on the bike. Water polo has also helped me build a strong core due to weight training and lots of swimming each day.



Had fun with my polo team!



During the course of polo and the busy start to school, I began missing my bike and decided to reset my focus once again to my cycling goals. I decided between me, my parents, and coaches (water polo and cycling) that I would continue pre-season water polo and stop playing before league games began. I was fortunate enough to have great support from everyone on this decision and was able to play until the end of September. The timing was good because I felt that was enough to get a solid start on road training for the 2013 season while enjoying some good polo games with the team.



Now here I am...back at it! YES!!

I guess the point I'm trying to make here is that it's OK to try something different in your off season and just have fun with it! Like me, I played polo for a couple of months and decided that it was time to start my training again. So, if you're really focused on your cycling or any other activity year round, I suggest trying something different not only to stay physically, mentally, and socially fit but also to not get so bored with the same old thing!

Thanks for reading,

Nick Castellano

2012 Season Fades, the Epic Off-Season Begins

Hey All,

I'm well into my off-season, and I am enjoying the break. This season has been a wonderful one, from winning races myself, to watching my teammates win. The highlight of my year though, would be having the opportunity to ride with the USA National Team in Europe, it was a true privilege. Although I encountered a series of unfortunate events, it did not phase me. This year I will train harder than ever before to make it back again to such a wonderful experience.

I will not be taking time off this year because it was too difficult to get back on the bike and so easy to lose focus. I have been running these last couple weeks to keep my bones strong, and to switch it up a bit. I have also been doing work in the gym trying to strengthen my muscles for more power. Core is something I have also been working on, it's hard but I enjoy it. And of course I am riding my bike, getting all that base endurance time in my legs. I will also be racing cyclocross, hopefully I see some of my fellow racing companions out on the dirt, and thank you to NCCF and Specialized for making the cyclocross possible. Hope all is well with everyone. :-)


Jack