Jamestown Classic, October 12, 2009

Well, if any of you have followed any of my blogs, we did have a happy ending with some recent struggles so it's all good. Following up my final day success at Green Mountain and a hard fought 2nd place at Bear Mountain, I decided to keep my fitness the last month and have one more go at it in Jamestown, RI for their annual race. I won here in 2006 so that helps. The loop is 19.6 miles and we were slated for 2 laps in the 35+ race. Very picturesque is this island, rolling hills, long straightaways and a ton of wind always make it interesting. We had a good size group to start and Carlos and Abdul were also in the field from TT. I was nursing a cold so tucked in the field for the first 6-7 miles so I could find a rhythm. About at the 7mi mark the pace was put down hard by Mark Giles of Exodus and I figured I better move up. 7 of us separated from the field and the game was on. I felt amazingly strong and we all started just hammering...before we knew it, we had 45sec to a minute on the field. Carlos and Abdul were safely tucked away in the field keeping an eye on any moves so that was re-assuring. Arc-Enciel Team had 10 guys in the field so since we had one of them in our group, I was confident they would not be chasing hard. We shed two of the riders before we came around for the bell lap but we were working well together, even pulls and tight spacing. On the back side of the loop, I sensed we were losing some momentum and implored the others to keep up the pace as the chase was coming. We rounded the lighthouse which is wide open into the wind and now we had about 6 miles to go with a hard side to head wind. I kept driving hard to keep the gap and knew the others were tiring. 2K to go there is the only "real" hill (500, about 5-6%) and dead into the wind. This is were I went in "06 to win so I said what the hell. Put the hammer down and shot out like a bullet. Fortunately, no one could cover and the others were mentally beaten by the time I got to the top. My legs were ready to explode but I held steady the next 1K, navigated the last left hand turn and coasted the last 500m to the finish for the win. Abdul came in 8th and Carlos 22nd to bring in the field. After what was overall a very good season but with a lot of near misses and a couple of mis-haps, it really felt good to end the season on a high note. I couldn't believe how nice everyone was to me after the race and even got to meet a fellow TT family member in Ken Kronberg who did a real nice job placing 2nd in the Cat 5 race...well done!! See you guys next year.

Reflections on my first year in Cat 5

Today brought my first year as a competitive cyclist to a close. Unfortunately it was an inglorious end as I was caught in a crash with 4 miles left to go. Over the next few paragraphs you’ll come to see a pattern of that (hopefully not a permanent one). I thought I would post a note and share a few memories and some of the key lessons I learned over the past season. (Sorry for kind of a long post.)

1. “I guess you need to keep your eyes on the road” – This pearl of wisdom came from my wife. I had returned home from my first Bethel Cat 5 crit in March with grass stains on my kit. Having made the most rookie of mistakes – losing the wheel of the guy in front of me - I fell off the pack, unable to make up the gap. Late in the race, tired, depressed and defeated, I lost focus, and allowed my front wheel to touch a curb, spilling onto the grass. When I arrived home and described my humiliation to my wife, she offered this penetrating analysis on becoming a better cyclist.
2. “Downtown crits can be nasty” – Matt Baldwin shared this with me the day before the downtown Hartford crit. It had been some months since my initial foray in Bethel, but I was convinced I was a stronger rider by now. Surely all those early morning workouts should be having some benefit on my strength. At about the half way mark of 15 laps, I was feeling good. The pace was fast but I was hanging in the top third. Just then light rain started fall turning the downtown loop around Bushnell Park into a mine field – grease marks, sewer grates and manhole covers suddenly meant danger lurked everywhere. Riders began going down all over the place, one right in front of me that pushed me off the course. When I made it back on I was off the pace and so decided to just finish it with some safe solid laps and….next I know I am being pulled off the road by two marshalls. I had slipped at a corner with cross walk paint! I now knew what Yoda Baldwin had been trying to tell me. Man vs. pavement is always a bad contest and the result was two hair line fractured ribs and weeks’ worth of trying not to laugh or sneeze.
3. “Ok, we’ve dropped the field so let’s just stay together” – This came from rider 142 in the Tour of Greenwich. I had gotten assigned to the slow heat when I indicated on my registration form that the course would take me more than an hour to ride. I didn’t mind so much since this was my first road race and any experience was valuable in my painful struggle to become a bike racer. After about 8 miles Rider 142 rolled up alongside and shared the happy news. Yes! The highlight of my season so far. For the next 12 glorious miles he and I rode together, sharing pulling duties, working as a team and never being caught by the field. I was elated. For a short time that Sunday I was like one of those lesser known professional bike racers in a grand tour that makes an early break and miraculously finds a way to stay away. I thought I could even hear Phil Ligget commentating as the miles clicked down.
4. “Drive, Drive, Drive” – Anyone who has taken a group cycling class knows where this one comes from. Eneas drives us hard and at insanely early times each morning. I mean, its 6:15 and your heart rate is 170! That’s insane. As he walks around the room I know he’s sneaking in behind me, looking at my power output. Doh! I respond by going just a bit harder, so as not to let him think I’m dogging it and that maybe I’m not just wasting my time here each morning. But in the end its exactly this kind of quiet pushing that keeps me honest.
5. Despite all of the ups and downs, I think that I will also remember 2009 for all of the support that I have gotten from the TT staff. Rick, Eneas, Max, Carlos, Dom, Matt, Brett, Suzie and everyone at Target has at time one or another provided a few tips, hints and lots of encouragement to keep me going. Its one of the things that has keeps me coming back.

But the thing I will remember the most about this season is how much inspiration I have gotten from my fellow TT clients. Its hard not to feel challenged by the work ethic of Bob LaBanca, the dedication of Megan Kelly, the cycling power of Rob Weiss, Tom Stevenson and Bill Schwartz or Andy Kaplan’s ability to leave nothing in the tank when he really needs to lay it all out. So many of the TT clients surrounding me everyday are people that are so easy to admire. This more than anything is what gives me the motivation to hang in there and make a go of it next year in season two.

Special Columbus Day indoor cycling class

Join us at 7:15AM on Monday morning for a special Columbus Day cycling session.

TARGETRAINING Indoor Stage Race

TARGETRAINING Indoor Stage Race
“Tour of the Mediterranean”

Stay motivated through the off season with our TARGETRAINING indoor “Tour of the Mediterranean” Stage Race.

Sign a friend up for the stage race and take advantage of our new TT Client Rewards Program.

Rules of the road:

- Athletes have until Thanksgiving weekend to complete the stage race.
- Stages can be completed in multiple attempts except the final time trial which needs to be completed in 1 attempt.
- You are encouraged to ride stage race during classes, except on Saturday’s.
- Partaking in stage race can only occur under the observation of a TT staff member.
- 15min warm up then calibration and entry of personal profile is needed before every stage.
- Results will be kept at TT.

4 stages 230kms

Stage 1 80.2km: “Milan San Remo” This stage hugs the Italian Riviera and offers up long flat roads with several shorter climbs in the last half of the stage to keep things interesting.

Stage 2 49.1km: “San Sebastian Classic” Take a tour of the Spanish Basque country with this rigorous stage which begins and ends with two challenging medium length climbs with rolling terrain in the middle.

Stage 3 86km: “Alpine Classic” The Queen stage of the Tour, this monster stage includes the three monster climbs of the Col du Telegraph, Col du Galibier, Col du Lautaret, and finishes on the famed Alp d’Huez.

Stage 4 14.6km: “Tourmalet Time Trial” Finish your tour with an uphill time trial on the lower slopes of the famed Tourmalet.

2009 Interbike Highlights

Interbike is the annual event the bicycle industry holds to debut its upcoming product range. This year didn't disappoint as Matt and myself navigated the 90,000 sq feet of the Sands convention center in Vegas. In the nutshell, we weren't disappointed in what we saw. Innovative products by Saris and Garmin led the way with new interfaces for power meters, while BMC debuted a new ride dubbed the SLR01...(mine!).

The show is also a stage for the celebs of the bike world. George Hincapie signed posters at the SCOTT booth while Ernesto Colnago took time to snap a pic with us.

Aside from the gear at the show we were invited to be part of a focus group with Cervelo. There goal is to address the needs of female riders through proper fit and component choices. All in all a very productive trip.

Mavic refined their wheel range by improving bearings and utilizing lighter and stronger materials.

Reynolds announced new wheels including the RZR which weighs 900 grams...per pair!