Asheville, NC

Home from NC... What a week! I hooked up with some of the guys from Hearn's Bike Shop in down town Asheville. They were "kind" enough to set me up with a couple of great rides to do during the week. I was also convinced that I should take part in their Wednesday night points race. This race was on an old car track that is affectionately known but the locals as the "mellowdrome." It is a 1/3 of a mile track with a slight bank that has been converted for bikes only... It is the centerpiece of a park that is about five miles out of town. 60 laps with points up for grabs every fifth lap. I raced the "A" race which was FAST. I tried out my legs on a few of the sprint laps but decided to hold back a bit for the finish. Took second in the sprint to the finish and won myself a set of masterlock street cuffs. Those things are like $70 and the winner got 50 in cash. Seeing as how I needed a bike lock anyway I think it worked out for the best. The rest of the week was spent riding in the hills. I did a day out on the Blue Ridge with nice steady climbs and 50-60MPH descents. One of the loops that I was given by the guys at Hearn's was described as some good steady climbs with a few "little kickers." Apparently, climbing at 6% for five miles with the sixth mile kicking up to 18-20% constitutes a "little kicker" in North Carolina. I thought that my legs were going to explode after that one!!! I could almost hear the boys at Hearn's laughing to themselves, " I bet that damn Yank is hurtin' right bout now, HA HA HA..." Anyway, it was great to see my sister and spend some QT. The riding was hard but fun. I have to say it was a pretty good vacation!!!

Vacation!!!

What a day to head out on a road trip. The car is packed and I am headed south. I am driving down to Asheville, NC to visit my little sister and get in some killer climbing on the roads of the Blue Ridge Mountains. See you all in a week...

Fall River Finish Photo...

On a roll...

Well, I am definately on a roll now. I was able to take the fastest time at the CBTT last night with a 21:15. It was not a PR but there was a strong head wind and everyone's times were a little off. Hopefully, I will be able to get that sub 21 minute time before the end of the year.

So here it is...

Ok, so I suck at keeping up with this thing but here are the last few weeks in a nutshell...

I took some rest during the Fitchburg Longsjo. I couldn't get the time off work so I had to settle for working in the feed zone and helping out where I could. Back to racing at Attleboro and New Britain.

Attleboro: I made a pact with myself not to just go flying off the front for no good reason. Besides one little counter attack I kept that bargain. I was able to sit in and avoid the two or three crashes that took place on the second corner. I was feeling pretty good so I thought that I would give it a go with five laps left in the race. I moved up on the finishing straight and C Todd and Josef cleared a hole just before the climb. I nailed it up the climb and got a good gap right away. Maybe I jumped just a little too hard cause I got caught in the last lap. I could feel the pack coming up behind me and instead of just pushing harder, I kept looking over my shoulder. I really beat myself on this one but it was the right idea and Josef ended up with second in the sprint!!

New Britain: I was determined to put in a better effort on this race. The race started out fairly fast and I let the group just pull me along. There was some real sketchy riding going on and with about 10 laps to go there was an terrible crash right in the middle of the field. A lap later and there were still riders laying in the road. The race however, was now up the road with a strong solo attack from the rider who took the win at Attleboro. I saw him go and no one was reeling him in so I made my move. I bridged up in a little more than 3/4 of a lap and we worked together for the last 6 laps. With two laps to go we were joined by two more and the gap was dropping a bit. We were able to hold it to the finish and it was a four up sprint. I started in last position and made my move to the inside but the rider in front of my jumped right into my line. I had to hesitate for a moment and then re-accelerate. I threw my bike at the line and took second by less than 1/2 a wheel.

ECV TTT: THIS WAS THE LEAST FUN I HAVE EVER HAD ON MY BIKE!!! Those of you who know me know that I LOVE the TT but this was just crazy. I had ridden with these guys once and didn't know the course very well. To add to my discomfort a light rain at the start turned into an honest ot goodness monsoon by about 1/3 into the race. You could not ride on the wheel in front of you with out the possibility of drowning, or seeing, for that matter. I heard a few of the riders calling it an epic day but I thought terrifying was a little more accurate. The end result was a 2nd place about 30 seconds or so behind the winning team. As a side note three different riders destroyed disc wheels on this course. I think that qualifies that race as the most expensive TT of the season.

Fall River: Can you say HOT?!!! I don't think that there was a single rider that didn't think, "What the hell am I doing here? Am I nuts? It has to be 95 degrees with 200% humidity." Then reality sets in and you realize that you just drove an hour to race your bike so you should just shut up and get out there. The heat was the major factor in this race. NO ONE wanted to work except for and NEBC rider and an unattached rider who were off the front for more than 1/2 the race. Josef was my only teammate in this race and we had talked tactics on the ride down. "OK, so if you feel good I will launch you at the end of the race," says Josef. And launch he did. Six to go we went for it. Josef sent me up the climb and I was off. There was a chase group up the road and I passed them like they were going backwards. On to the two leaders. Before the end of the lap I made the catch. They did not look too good. I went right to the front and pulled them for a lap. I let them pull through on the down hill and then said that I would do the work up the hill. I went to the front and just kept it steady and the two former leaders couldn't hold my wheel. Flyin' solo for the last 3 laps. Josef had gone to the front of the field and said that I was out of sight for the last several laps. I came across the line with about one minute and twenty seconds on the field. MY FIRST WIN!!!
I guess I have finally figured it out...
Special thanks to Josef and all of the NEBC'ers who were cheering me on throughout the race!!!

Riiigghht...

So... I have been really bad about posting this past month. Since there are only two or three people that actually read this thing I didn't think it was that big of a deal... Anyway, for those of you who actually do read this, I am sorry about my deliquency. So, racing hase been going well. Sort of... I am feeling very strong but I have not really been finishing as well as I would like. The high spot was a PR at the CBTT of 21:11 (average speed of about 28MPH) Everyone at the races are so good to me. They all tell me that I look good out there and that I am super strong. If I were only as smart as I seem to be strong. I have such a hard time just sitting in during a crit and doing nothing. It just doesn't feel like racing to me. So what do I do? I attack the field in every crit that I have been in.

Auburn Road Race: Missed my start by about 1 minute... Dohh!!! Folks at the line said they were just rolling out so I might be able to catch them. Well, I would have if they had someone marshaling the first turn. I flew past it in full TT mode. Kept going until I passed some riders going in the other direction, who said in unison, "You are going the wrong way!!!" That seemed to be the theme of the day because the 4 field that I was chasing ended up doing the same thing. One rider was off the front and the lead car went with him. They took a right and the field went straight... For fifteen minutes!!! Talk about a lucky break!!!

Auburn Crit: Greg goes out on the attack for several laps, takes two premes, gets caught and then attacks again in the last lap only to drop my chain on the hill... Finished with the pack...

Nutmeg Criterium: This time I attacked the field with 12 to go and was away for 4 or5 laps. Attacked again a few laps later and then tried to get away with 2 to go but got caught again. Finished in the back of the pack but it was fun ;-)...

Keith Berger Memorial Criterium: This is the race that I should have attacked!!! I went for the preme with 8 to go. I attacked so hard that I put 20 - 30 seconds on the field by the time I came across the line. I got to the first corner and looked over my shoulder and the group still had not made it onto the finishing straight. There was one rider who was dangling in between. Instead of putting the hammer down I sat up and waited cause I thought that the group had too much horse power. After the race was over everyone in the group said that they all sat up after they caught the guy in the middle. Aaaarrrggg!!! The one that would have stuck and I sat up. Oh well... Also did the 30+ race and that was a lot of fun!! These guys are FAST and they don't do supid stuff in the corners (for the most part). A break went up the road, four strong, and I figured that it was the winning move. I attacked and tried to bridge. I was close enough to taste it but just needed a little more gas. Chased for five laps and then started loosing ground. Finished with the pack again.

Stafford Springs Criterium: 3 races today (4, 3/4, and 30+). Once again Greg gets an A+ for attacking the field but a F for results. Best I could muster on the day was 17th in the 4's. Well, at least I made 'em hurt... Most proud of my effort in the 30+. I saw the seven man break go up the road and they were working well together. This was my third race of the day so I figured that my only chance was to get across to that break. I gave it a go... I heard the announcer say that I was with in 6 seconds of catching. Two more laps and I wasn't making up any more ground and then, 6 laps into the chase, I popped. Oh so close!!! All in all, a good day on the bike. I gotta believe that one of these days something will stick!!! Lets hope so...

Sturbridge/Palmer Weekend

Sturbridge: Sat in for a bit... Attacked hard and stayed away for about 1/2 lap... Got caught... Then got passed like I was going backwards. Oh well, I gave it a shot...

Palmer: My first cat 3-4 race. Legs felt amazing. Covered an attack. Sat in to rest for no more than five minutes and... Whammo!!! Hit the deck at 30 MPH. No significant road rash but I hit really hard. Then got run over by a few people. See if you can pick out the skewer, derailer bolt and pulley that were imprinted in my hip/butt from the fall...

Chased for about 15-20 miles before I gave up and called it a day. Steve Weller made up for my lack of road rash. He got into a crash shortly after mine and he ended up with enough road rash for three people... Today is Friday and marks the first day back to my bike after the crash. I couldn't even turn my head from Monday through Wednesday. Starting to feel better today. Days like these it is good that I am a PT and have 12 other PT's that put down whatever they are doing to work on me for a bit. Thanks guys!!! I will try to stay upright this weekend... ;-)