Race Report: State Championship Criterium

Boom goes the dynamite! It was a blast surging up that final hill, braking into the final corner, jumping out of the final corner, kicking one more time, then sitting up to exclaim my excitement for winning the race I've been trying to win for two years. Winning State Crit was one of my goals from 2012. Unfortunately, I was hit by a car in June of 2012 and had to watch the State Crit in Cookeville from the sidelines as I stood in a knee immobilizer and on crutches. That day I watched Will Montgomery win the Cat 4 State Crit and Alan Rothrock win the Cat 3 State Crit. This past Sunday in Murfreesboro, I beat both of them to win my first State Crit Championship in the Cat 3's: my first Cat 3 race.

This is how it went down:

The latest forecast was calling for isolated thunderstorms late in the afternoon around Murfreesboro, like after 3pm. My race was at 12:40. However, about 20 miles from the exit, I ran into a hard downpour of rain. Once I showed up to the race, the course was drenched. I was told stories of the master's riders that started crashing hard as soon as the rain began in their race. Not what I was looking forward to. Knowing my braking is less than optimal with my carbon wheels and that I appreciate them too much to crash them and break them in this race, I made the hard decision to pull the Zipp 404's off my bike, change out the brake pads, and put back on my clunky, aluminum training wheels with a balding and cracking rear tire. I warmed up on the trainer, did a short effort on the back road, one quick lap to see the course and the wet spots, and we were lined up ready to start racing.

Off the Start Line

Like most races go, before I knew it we were starting. And off went the first attack. A VW rider went off the front for about the first 3-4 laps. I stayed calm and just moved my way up the pack, knowing who I needed to watch for. More attacks came and usually hard surges up the back side hill. Feeling like I had been working a bit, I looked down to see how much time we had run off. We were only 10 minutes into the 50 minute race, crap.

Another lap around and another attack went up the hill. We were heading into the last corner, a 90 degree left turn to the finish 100 meters down the road. Well, Will shot up the inside to cut the corner, the line I was set up for. His rear wheel hit mine. I ripped my left foot out of the pedal ready to catch myself, my bike wobbled. I couldn't move out because another rider's rear wheel was also there. Our wheels ground together for several revolutions. Somehow I stayed up and safe. It wasn't intentional to me and he checked back to make sure I was okay after we were through the corner. It was still scary though.

More attacks went off the front, usually attacking from the back side hill leading to the finish line. I watched some go, but made sure I followed and chased all of them down that had the important people in it. I knew who had been winning this year in the cat 3's. I knew who was at the top of the leader board for the Best Area Rider (BAR) classification; the guys that needed to score points. When those guys went, I went. And I was right on every one of the attacks. It pushed me, but I was able to continually respond. I caught some flak later on for not pulling as much, but I feel I did a fair share. Plus, I wasn't racing for anyone else. I had no teammates. I was racing for me. If they wanted the field strung out, if they wanted to set something up, if they wanted to breakaway, then they were welcome to go ahead and do it. I would be right there on their wheel.

See, I did more than one lap on the front.

Matching Attacks

Things had been drying out since I got there and by the time my race started the course was essentially dry. By the halfway mark, I was telling myself, "Man, I really wish I would have put my Zipp's back on. I could be rolling so much faster." And right on cue, it started raining again. It rained hard for maybe 15 minutes. Sitting on wheels became irritating as the water was flung into your face from the rear wheel in front of you, hot from the pavement. The race slowed down, and I took things extra cautious through the corners letting gaps open around most of them. I made sure I stayed up front during all of this. I was determined to not go down. I was scared to go down. Thankfully, not as many attacks were going off the front, discouraged I guess from the rain and the imminent final sprint.

One rider attacked with 2 laps to go. Coming into the first corner of the course, I could hear riders hitting the deck as carbon bounced off the pavement behind me. I was extremely thankful for my top 5 positioning as the crashes were behind me and only bettered my chances at this point, not the first time this has happened this year.

Playing Games

Closing in on 1 lap to go, I could see the breakaway rider was slowing and shouldn't be a threat. Then somehow I got caught on the front of whatever remained of the field. I would be left to lead the field around the last lap of the race and make the final push to bring this breakaway rider in. I still took everything cautiously knowing the real "storm" was about to explode as we approached the backside hill for the last time. I came around the big sweeping 120' turn. I picked up some speed and began watching over my right shoulder as I was close to the left gutter. I heard something back to my left and looked around to see Will attacking up the left side. As he passed by me on the left, a big attack came from the right. It was time to go. I began accelerating knowing we were a long way from the line. For a few seconds both riders stayed in front of me. I worried...for a second. Then my pedals really began to turn. I was off. They dropped out of my periphery as I approached the final turn. I stopped pedaling well before the turn and braked through the first part of the corner, feeling no one close to me through the corner. Once I felt safe from the slick asphalt, I stood up to finish my sprint for the line. In that burst my rear wheel hopped over some pavement. I pushed on and laid down some power. I looked over my shoulder and was finally certain I had just won the race. I gave a Hulk salute to the crowd and screamed with excitement, hands up across the line.

Finishing Straight

"Roaring" Finish

With that win, I finalized the triple crown of cycling winning all three disciplines of cycling on the road: the State Championship time trial, road race, and criterium for 2013. Throw in the State Championship Cross Country race and the BAR Championship I have locked up in the Cat 4's and it's been a very good year for me knocking down several goals. I'm thrilled to be doing so well this year after such a big injury last year. Maybe that's what it took for me to focus down on one sport and get really determined to push myself and make something happen. I thank HUB Endurance and BRL Sports for keeping me equipped and fueled with all the top end products and services. You guys have been great.

Cat 3 State Crit Podium

Race Reports: Rockabilly Gran Prix Omnium

Road Race:

Starting the race under omnious skies. 

The course was mostly flat, so I was feeling good about my chances and was looking to put on a show for my parents that got to come to this race. My Dad has never seen me do a bike race in person before and my Mom hasn't seen one since my crit win at River Gorge in 2011. We hit some patches of rain on the drive to the race that morning, so I was expecting some showers during the race. I wasn't expecting for it to get as bad as it did though. The rain really started during lap 2 of the 4 lap race. At the beginning of lap 2 I had made my way to the front so I could ride around all the pot holes and rough spots in the first half mile of the course; maybe the best decision of the weekend. Maybe a minute into lap two, I heard lots of loud clanging and crashing, carbon smacking the ground. I looked over one shoulder and saw some guys were/had gone down. I looked again over the other shoulder and realized it was a huge portion of the field that was crashing or behind the crash. I turned back around and punched it. I was moving away and only one guy was reacting and trying to come after me. I let him catch on and he immediately sat up and did no work once he pulled around me. We made the first corner and I slowly made my way up the first hill as I waited for the other 8-10 people that made it safely through the crash. We formed a decent paceline and started working to pull away. One "difficult to race with rider" jumped out of the saddle for an attack once it came around to his turn to pull in the paceline. That screwed things up for a while as no one wanted to pull hard after that. We eventually got back going, only for that same rider to attack again in the same fashion before dropping out of the back of the paceline to rest for a bit before trying the same attack as it came his turn to pull. This type of racing will make you a bunch of enemies pretty quick in the group.

We all stayed together though and came through to start lap 3 with more and more rain coming down. I actually slid my rear tire out about 6 inches in a hard right turn during lap two. I saved it but my bike felt weird for a little bit after that. It felt like I had flatted. I got a very sick feeling and worried there for bit thinking I had just blown this opportunity; it all worked out though. As our breakaway group moved through lap 3, the storm really started pouring down on us. It got hard to see due to such heavy rain and every turn had to be taken with extreme caution. About 6 miles from the finish, the race lead car pulled alongside us. They told us this would be our last lap. We would finish on 3 instead of 4. Once they pulled away, the attacks started and they didn't stop until we went under the 1K to go mark. Racing got very hard in those last 6 miles, chasing attacks, making breaks, all to get pulled back together. I had no perception of where we were on the course. I wouldn't have been worried or responded as quickly as I did to some of the attacks if I had.

As we closed in on the 1K to go mark, I was sitting second wheel feeling really good about my position and the run in to the finish. Around 500 meters to go, the race lead car had pulled alongside us again. All I could make out from him was that we were not supposed to sprint. I figured it was a safety thing and they didn't want our group standing up and throwing our bikes in a sprint that would likely cause a mass crash like before. What the lead car didn't see was the approaching truck in the same lane as the lead car. Our lead car sped up and quickly pulled back in front of our group, but not in time. The cars clipped each other as I heard clanging metal and plastic for the second time in that race. Adrenaline surged as I could imagine the cars hitting and coming to halt with me plowing into the back of the race car. A very frightening moment.

After that, I surged in the saddle as we came up to the start finish because I wasn't sure if we were still finishing or not. I came across first, but knew we were done at that point. There were no officials anywhere in sight at the line. The road race would not be scored and ended up just getting cancelled altogether. Apparently, there were tornado warnings in the area and the sheriff made the race director pull all riders off the course. Why did they let us race the last 6 miles and then cancel our race 500 meters from the line? I'm not sure, but it sure was a lot of work and effort to race for no outcome.


Time Trial:
The weather started behaving shortly after the road race course was evacuated and all riders departed the area. The time trial was set to go off as planned. Due to some unforeseen complications, I didn't make it back to the race area in time for a warm-up. I started out setting up my bike as if I would, but had to bail as I knew it was getting too close to time and it was more important to show up on time to my start than to ensure a thorough warm-up. I got in just over 3 minutes of warm-up for the 5 mile TT.

I was the last Cat 4 to go so I should have had lots of guys out in front of me to try chasing down; however, a lot of the guys were missing due to the storms and a few were even in the hospital from that morning's crash in the road race.

I started out of the gate hard, standing and putting full force into the pedals to get moving. I was going to pay for that effort about 3 minutes down the road when I was fighting with myself to back off the pace. I tried to keep pushing on, staying as aero as possible. I periodically took peeks at my computer to see where my watts were. I was putting out a stellar average so far and not sure if I would really be able to keep it up. Ideally, I thought I could average 400w if I were feeling good. Well I dug in and pushed hard through the line once I could see the finish. I clocked 11 minutes at 411 average watts on my computer: a great showing, better than I could have anticipated. I cooled down on the ride back to the start/registration area to later find out I won the TT with an official time of 10:55 with second place coming in at 11:02. I would have placed 4th in the Cat 3's. Happy to get this win as now the omnium would be decided by only the TT and Crit placing with the money from the RR being split between the TT and Crit payouts already scheduled.


Crit:
Then came the crit. We drove back to Jackson for the second day of racing with both my parents and my grandmother so all could enjoy the race. My grandmother has never seen a bike race before. Now I needed to impress with my family at the race for the first time in 2 years.

The crit started with an attack from one rider. I didn't want to jump that hard early on, but I was the one to bring him back after a few corners. We stayed together for a lap or two and then another big attack came with an unsuspecting rider taking a little gap on the field for a bit. He got brought back in shortly there after. There were a few more attacks, but nothing big until the rider that attacked off the start line threw another big attack and created a decent gap on the field that took over 2 laps to bring back in. This would have been the time to attack now, but I wasn't feeling that fresh and not sure if I could hold it. We stayed together and a prime was announced for the next lap. The field stretched out a bit, but as we approached the line I found myself sitting 3 abreast and only two wheels back from the lead. Being this close, I just couldn't let the prime go. So, I pulled off to the right and laid down some watts to surge past the leaders and take the prime. Like I said, I wasn't committed to attacking at first and still unsure of myself. I looked at my computer before I moved though and we were about 20 minutes into the 40 minute race which was exactly my plan pre-race. I kept my head down and continued to push over the flat and through corner one. Out of corner one, I was able to look back at the field and realized I had already created a sizable gap. It was now or never. Time to go! I tucked and buried it trying to get away from the field. It hurt. I was suffering out there for the next 4-5 laps second guessing myself and backing off now and then to make sure that if they caught me, I wouldn't fall off the back of the group. I tried getting a time split from the finish line officials, but instead got the 5 laps to go sign. It was the encouragement I needed. I was able to start counting down and out of corner 5 and corner 1 I could still glance back and see no one coming for me. The breakaway win was becoming more and more real with each passing lap. If I was caught now, it was over. I had to give it all I had. I pushed more. I made it to two laps to go and finally felt comfortable, but still never let up.

Crit Finish

Before the race even started, we had heard about how difficult the last corner could be with many of the earlier races having crashes there on the last lap, usually taking out the leaders. So I knew this would be a tricky point in the race every time we came through, especially as we closed in on those finals laps. How do you avoid the possibility of a crash and eliminate the need to chase down attacks throughout the race? You attack solo off the front and only have to worry about yourself. It was definitely a much harder way to win a race though. Waiting, covering, and out-sprinting everyone else at the end is much easier, but more stressful.

Crit Podium

So my family didn't get to see an exciting sprint finish all weekend, but I think they got some solid viewing time of me on and off the front. With the crit and time trial win, I secured the overall omnium and collected my biggest payout to date and earned a new champions jersey. Great rewards for solid, tough racing. 

Overall Podium

Race Report: Athens Twilight

After almost 4 hours in the car Friday evening, I finally made it to Athens. I was welcomed by some really cool fraternity guys yelling at me and chasing my car for turning around in their driveway. Thanks to Paul M. I had a nice place to stay that was close to downtown and both races. Not long after arriving I was settling into the couch for some sleep before the early race the next morning.

I had my breakfast, loaded up the car, and headed out to find the parking area for the first race of the day. Pulling in I saw my teammate Ben which was going to be nice to get ready alongside a familiar face. Since it was wet and still drizzling a bit, I decided to scrap the carbon wheels and just put them back in the trunk. Best decision of the weekend. I changed out my brake pads and put my aluminum wheels on in the parking lot before heading out to registration to pick up my number. This is when I realized I left my wallet in my clothes bag which was back at the house. After the trip to fetch my wallet, I made my way to pick up my number and finally had it pinned on my skinsuit with about 20 minutes to race start. I dressed in a hurry, not evening changing socks due to lack of time leaving me racing in the rain with cotton socks. With 13 minutes til race time, Ben and I departed the cars and headed for the start/finish area. So much for a warm-up before a crit. About this time I was realizing my breakfast was not substantial enough and I was already getting hungry. I also didn't have my coffee or bring an energy gel for the race. Everything was just looking up for me at this point.

We waited on the sidelines as the race before us finished. The official said we had time for one practice lap before the start if we wanted. Not having warmed up or seen the course, I decided to go and ride a lap. I was the only one. Bad decision. When I came back around, I was at the very back of the pack of 50+ racers. Walking my bike, I started to move up close to Ben for a better position when all of a sudden the race had started. I couldn't hear the official up front and had no idea we were about to start. I hopped over my saddle and onto the bike. The rider to my right leaned over into me causing me to rub wheels with the guy in front of me. I saved the fall, but was unclipped and on my feet again. I hopped on my bike again and was off for the race. I looked back and there was only one racer behind me and the motor bike with a lot of ground between me and the peloton. There was going to be a lot of chasing.

I think after two laps, I was finally up into the field. Around this time, there was at least a two man crash in corner 4 as I saw two bikes fly into the air on the inside line of the corner. I was behind the crash and had to come to a standstill before we could navigate around it. I was then chasing the peloton again, this time up the hill to the finish line. Another lap down and I moved all the way up to the front for a one lap pull and to see the best route around the course. I was swarmed and started dropping back again after this, this was the very common in this race. There were definitely some sketchy racing going on and several times I got pinched in corners by some juniors who verbally responded to me announcing my presence with sheer class and safety in mind.

I had noticed one rider earlier in the race who's carbon brakes sounded like a kid's animated machine gun fire. Going into corner two, I watched as this racer would brake, front wheel would skid out an inch or two, brake, skid out again. I watched this happen 3 or 4 times in corner two before the apex when my attention was switched to the rider behind him who was now on my inside hip and going down. I could see his front wheel launching into the air and "pedal faster, pedal faster" screamed in my brain because I knew he was sliding out and would soon hit me if I didn't get out of the way quick. I made it out safely, but like any smart peloton, the front group was attacking again with a crash occurring behind them. Time to chase again.

I think with 2 laps to go I had made my way to the front again trying to make sure I was ready for the sprint. However, it didn't last long. More bunching and swarming and I was down the line again. I was really starting to count myself out of this race. I was never able to hold position up front and always got strung out in the corners. I had been having a mental fight with myself all race. On the back straight of the last lap, I told myself, "Well, this is where you find out how good you really are at finishing a race." The group was starting to spread across the entire road and I was surrounded by racers. Coming into corner 3 on the last lap, I was sitting outside top 10 but under top 15. I figured that was it for me. Every time we had come through corner 4, the race got strung out. I would have been 20 meters back from the lead rider this time with where I was sitting. That's a lot of ground to overcome, especially on the uphill finish. But, as they had done almost every time coming out of corner 4, the group went to the right side of the road. The road had a slight left curve to it 10 meters out of the corner. The left line was the shorter and better line. The line I had taken in my warm-up lap and when I led the field earlier. So, coming out of corner 4 sitting 8-10 wheels back, out of desperation I pulled off the group and darted to the left line and started spinning with all I could. Being so far back, going from the corner, at least 200 meters out, was my only option. At this point, I still wasn't thinking this was a winning move, but a move that would place me close to the leaders to make a last ditch effort as we neared the line if I still had anything left. For a minute there in the race, I was questioning whether I would make top 10 and advance to amateur finals or not. But as I launched up the left side of the road, I had at least an 8' side-to-side separation between me and field which limited their vision and their ability to grab my wheel as I came by. And I came by with force. I tried to watch out of my periphery if anyone responded and jumped out of the line as I came by. I didn't see anything. As we came up to the last rise in the road, I passed the lead guy still 75 meters or so to the finish. I started fading once the road flattened out 20 meters from the line. I was praying I was going to hang on, but still expected to see flashes of color out of my right eye. Had the finish been much longer, I would have been toast. But it wasn't. I beat all the odds that day and came away with a win. It was one crazy race.

On to the big show: Twilight Amateur Finals

This is the race I've been looking forward to all year and been afraid of for the past week and a half. When you combine the predicted rain, field of 100+, $2,000 payout, elite talent, and screaming speeds in front of 20,000 spectators, things are bound to get very intense and risky.

I lined up super early since all the advice I had been given was get there early: start position won't win you the race, but it will definitely end it in a hurry. After sitting at the line for almost 40 minutes, I found out they were going to be doing call-ups and I could have been hanging out wherever I wanted for the last hour as I was going to be recognized as a morning race winner and be given a spot on the front line (See picture above and below).

The race started and it was a sprint for corner 1. So fast. I did a pretty good job of holding my line and keeping up with the pace the first 3 laps sitting in top 6-7 wheels. At 9 minutes in, I was starting to fall down through the pack and it always seemed to be on the back side hill. I was trying to stay in the saddle, but that was the wrong move. You had to get out of the saddle and sprint up that hill if you wanted to stay with everyone. I found that out too late and was only able to implement that on my last lap with the group. I actually advanced a position on the hill when I got out of the saddle. I remember one time heading into corner 2 I flinched and was immediately scolded and made a new enemy.

Tons of screaming, fast paced racing came to an abrupt halt when around 16 minutes in a huge crash occurred in the field. It was on the front straight mid way between the Sram neutral support and corner 1. Being in the back half of the group at this time, I saw something happening in the field and soon realized it was people going over other people. I grabbed my brakes for all they were worth and still came screaming into the pile. For one quick second, the crazy thought of "Can I jump this or ride over the top of this," entered my head. Then I was flying over the handlebars crashing into half the field laying on the ground. I rolled out the far side of the pile of people and frantically started looking for my bike. In the mix of bodies and bikes it took me probably 10 seconds to find my bike. Think about that for a minute. I hopped back over the pile and pulled my bike out from under someone. I checked the rear brake and put the chain back on making sure it would spin. I hopped on the saddle and took a few pedal strokes when I saw that everyone else was running back to the pit and neutral service. So I pedaled back that way and soon found out my saddle was crooked. I got a mechanic to mostly straighten it out and I was lined back up on the edge waiting for the field to come around so I could re-enter the race. It took me a second to get going since I was behind other racers. The field was already around corner one by the time my bike was moving and I was out on course. I tried chasing back on and encouraged some other riders falling off the back to get on my wheel so we could work together, but after 2-3 more laps I was pulled. I just couldn't ever make it back on the group. That race really puts some perspective on what crit racing is like at the next level. I now have something to work for.


On another note, I was asked why I wasn't using my carbon wheels for amateur finals. My response was I like them and wanted to keep them working. I expected it to be a sketchy race. I didn't realize it at the time, but when I was going over my bike Monday, I found out my front wheel had gotten eaten by a chainring. The rim had gouges in it along the brake track. I had to file it down with a drimmel and then smooth it out with some sandpaper. Another reason putting the carbon wheels back in the car was the best decision of the weekend. The second best was not racing Roswell the next day. I was in no shape to race and it was pouring rain.

Race Report: Sunny King

Every race this year so far has brought on nervous anxiety in the days leading up to it. Sunny King was no different. At first I tried to downplay it in my mind. I told myself there are no BAR points on the line and I don't need any upgrade points, so just go have fun, try to make something happen, and don't worry about winning. But the night before and day of the race, pressures started swarming in my mind. People commented about this being a huge race and to win would be a big deal; it's still only Cat 4 though. Anyway, I said my prayer on the start line, knew my rough plan of attack, and we were off.

Like most Cat 4 crits, the first few laps were really fast and definitely got the heart pumping. I was happy to be near the front so I didn't have to do quite so much checking up and braking into every corner. The group was staying together nicely as the first prime was called out about 9 minutes into the race. It was too early so I just let it go. Around 16 minutes in, the next prime lap was announced and just as we had planned two other guys and myself were sitting on the front of the group coming out of corner two. The plan was to attack and not sit up after the line in order to form a break with these other two guys. Well, as the line neared, I decided I really wanted the prime and accelerated hard in the saddle. I took the prime and keep on going screaming into corner one. I was sure I was going down, sliding across the pavement, and slamming into the barriers. I hit the corner so fast with my bike leaned over so far. My rear wheel skidded, jumped, and skidded again I think. I don't know exactly what all happened, but I thank God I was able to keep my bike up and not lose any skin. I'm still amazed at how that worked out. Somewhere during that my chain fell off the outside. Soft pedaling along the barriers, I got it back on the big ring and was making forward progress. The field had still not caught me. Where were my guys that were supposed to break with me? I didn't realize how hard and deep I had gone in that section until later. Looking back, I hit the same max HR in that effort as I did in the sprint finish and almost just as many watts. I kept pedaling around corner two and down the back straight sitting up looking for what happened to the field. I now question whether I should have kept going and tried to solo break or not. I think I made the right decision being solo and the huge effort I had just made. Anyway, the field caught back up with me after corner 4 and we were back into the start/finish straight. It was now time for me to do some recovering if I wanted to be able to go again at the finish.

I drifted back in the back trying to stay out of the wind as much as possible. Things are a lot scarier the further you are back in the pack. You have to do a lot more braking going into the corners, a lot more out of the saddle hammering coming out of the corners, and there are a lot more people surrounding you with questionable bike handling and decision making. Somewhere around 30 minutes in, I heard the announcer call out a 3rd prime lap. There were only supposed to be two primes in the race according to our pre-race start line instructions. The timing of this one could have made it very interesting if I had waited to go for it. But I knew I couldn't. I was still sitting back in the pack trying to make sure I was going to be ready to go hard at the end.

At 6 laps to go I started making my way back up to the front. Four laps to go and I was where I wanted to be, but I could see someone up the road. I wasn't sure who he was or whether he was off the front or off the back. The motorcycle was in between him and the field which only added more confusion as some of the guys in the peloton were saying OTF and others OTB. At 3 laps to go I moved up to the front of the pack and got confirmation that the rider was indeed off the front. We were going to have to do some chasing and in a hurry. My buddy Michaelee was driving the group with about 3 laps to go and me sitting second wheel. With 2 to go, Michaelee pulled off and I took over to bring this guy back. Coming out of corner 2 I pulled off and waited for the next guy to pull through. As I turn to look and yell some harsh words at the field for their lack of help, Michaelee pulls on through again off my wheel and creates a little separation from me, again driving the field. We go through the one to go with the lead guy still off the front. In between corner 1 and 2 of the last lap, we finally brought the lead guy back in. Awesome job by Michaelee by the way.

Coming out of corner two for the back straight, I was leading the field with Michaelee maybe a bike length in front of me. I scanned my periphery and realized that still no one was willing to come up and pull, take over, or even throw an attack. At that point, I knew this was my run for the finish. I was all in at this point. If anyone had come around leading a train, I don't think I would have been able to pass them back. I dug in and drove it home, trying to keep the pace up to prevent anyone from coming around. Coming out of corner 3, I was back on Michaellee's wheel with a little speed, but I decided to check up and sit on his wheel through corner 4. Coming out of corner 4, I pulled off Michaellee's wheel and tucked my head. I gave another surge once the road started going up. Halfway to the finish line, I was certain I was going to see trains of people that had been sitting on my wheel the last 3 laps coming up on the side of me, but no. No one was there. I lowered my chest to the bar trying to stay as aero as possible, never got out of the saddle, and just kept mashing the pedals. I brought it home. Excited and thrilled to pull off my biggest win to date.

Dan Henry got some awesome shots of the race and the finish that can be viewed here. 

A sample is seen below

The Sunny King website has also posted a replay of the event here that can be viewed by clicking on the "Watch a replay of the Races" tab. The cat 4 race starts at the 2 hour mark if you wanted to skip forward.

Race Report: Cedar Hill Crit

I have to start this report by thanking the Amos family for letting me come stay with them Saturday night and feeding me on Sunday. Without them, I would have been getting up at 6 am Sunday morning to make the drive and hoping I didn't run into any traffic to make the race on time. Many thanks for their continued hospitality.

The first race of the day was the cat 4/5 crit. Crit is loosely used for this race course since it was just over 1.5 miles with only two turns and 4 little inclines, two of which had the potential to really hurt. Not the standard, technical downtown crit course (from my limited experience). The finish was just over a slight right hand riser after a fast, slightly downhill straight.

I am going to try to keep this shorter for time sake and my quickly fading memory. So the first race was supposed to be 40 minutes with one prime lap. I barely heard the announcement and didn't know what it was for. By the second corner, one rider was a considerable distance off the front and easily took the prime and then reabsorbed into the field after. Not much else happened until the finish. So closing in on the finishing lap, I knew of about 4 or 5 riders I was looking after. A friend had informed me of a new threat before the race and the internet told me praises of another sprinter. It was this latter sprinter's wheel I was looking for on the run into the finish and I had it. Coming up the 3rd incline and the last significant one, I was sitting 4th wheel on the rider I wanted. He faltered over the apex of the climb and a gap opened between him and the 2nd rider. I quickly pulled out and moved up into 3rd wheel. As we started racing down the hill for the last straight before the finish rise and right turn, I think I was hollering "GO, GO GO!" to the two riders in front. I didn't want a train coming up either side of me (like I said, sketchy memory). At this point I guess my memory really goes because I don't remember whatever happened to those two riders in front of  me. The next thing I remember was an attack coming from the left, and then this rider was immediately in front of me by about 3 bike lengths. And when I say in front of me, that's really how I remember it. I only remember seeing him and no clue where those other two riders went. So seeing this guy open a gap on me, a sudden feeling of "Oh crap, I have to go close this down." came over me. I'm not sure why I felt briefly intimidated by it, maybe from the struggles back at Hell of the South. Anyway, I knew I had to go. I did a quick check of my gears to make sure I wasn't going to immediately spin out, then I was up out of the saddle, pulling off to the left/outside, and sprinting up the slight right hand rise. I passed the leader on the slope of the rise and continued to gap. A little ways down the back side, I was spinning really high and had to sit down. At that point I took a glance over my left shoulder and saw the significant gap I had created. I sat up, arms in the air, and cruised to the finish. A beautifully executed sprint finish. It felt amazing! (Video below thanks to Will Montgomery)

With only about 45 minutes between races, I did a quick spin around the lower lots and then headed back to my car to mix another drink of EnduraFuel, grab a bite of banana, a muffin, and change numbers on my jersey. The second race was the 3/4 crit. It went similar to the first race with a few noticeable differences. Overall it was faster, the corners were huge bottlenecks with tremendous slowing sometimes down to even standstill and walking paces. There were several attacks off the front and a lot of sitting in for me. Being the only rider from HUB Endurance in the race, I felt content to sit in the pack and let all the other teams chase down all the attacks and pull the group around the race. As we started counting down laps, I moved up to the front; a little too far up to the front since I led about 3/4 of the 2 to go lap. I wanted to see how they would react to me on the front though. Would they let me go? Let me get a gap? They didn't.

So, coming off that last significant hill on the course for the run into the finish, I still wasn't far enough up in the group for my liking. I charged on the inside passing several people. I was moving up nicely until 3 or 4 guys in the line crashed down on me. At this point I had no where to go, so I hopped over in the grass. I rode in the grass, dirt, rocks, and bumps up and over the last riser for about 30 meters before I passed those guys and was able to safely get back on the pavement (I think my Zipps need some truing now). By this time the lead group of about 10 guys were already at the finish line practically so I knew my race was over. I gave another few firm pedal strokes passing 2 or 3 more guys and crossed the finish line in 11th place overall and the best placed cat 4 rider.

Great experiences for the weekend. I loved being able to get a great sprint finish in. I've proved to myself I can hang in with a cat 3 crit field. I saw the dynamics and benefits of having a team to race with in a crit.

Race Report: Johnson City Omnium

Well, I had high hopes for Roan Groan, but I think in the back of my mind I was skeptical all along. And when we hit the climb, it became clear to me that I am still weak. And very slow going up.

The peloton approached the climb together with no breaks. As we started ascending, I was sitting 3^rd wheel behind Hicks pulling and Nathaniel 2^nd wheel. Couldn’t have asked for it any better position wise. I shifted down to keep a high cadence, but never really fell into a rhythm. My heart rate shot up to over 180 and stayed there. About 2 or so miles into the climb it became clear I was not going to be able to hang when Hicks accelerated again and a huge group came around me to stay on his wheel as I went back through the field. It was a huge group and very demoralizing. I was spinning a high cadence, but I just couldn’t go any faster. My heart was pounding and it was all I could do to keep on pushing the same pace I’d been going. The climb was relentless too. Around every turn was just another long rise. There were some great views though. I yo-yoed with some other riders for a while as we pressed on. I wish we had finished at Carver’s gap because that’s about where my body started to really hurt and wanted to quit. But no, we took a right hand turn and continued on for another 1.75 miles. At this point we were climbing into the clouds that covered the road limiting sight of the ever-rising road. The temperature was dropping and the wind was strong. This section of the climb really seemed to go on and on and I never knew where the finish was supposed to come. My computer already read over the stated mileage of the race. Then all of a sudden out of the clouds there were some volunteers telling us to stay to the left as we made a right turn. Weird to be on the left. Then there was the finish. The monstrous climb was finally concurred. The wind and 40 degree temperature on top of the mountain made it very chilly up top while we were standing around. Thankfully, I got a ride from a teammate so I didn’t have to bike the course backwards to get back to my car.

After a short rest and some lunch, I was back at it warming up for the TT. It was supposed to be a 3.2 mile straight course with a one mile climb and a 6.7% descent on the backside. At the start line, I got some advice from last year’s RR champion which I think really helped: attack the hill hard and do what you can for the rest of the race. Well, I hit it hard and caught my 30 second guy at the top of the hill which was definitely less than a mile. The descent was definitely not 6.7% so I didn’t get to recover much from redlining it on the climb. I pushed on, but began to run out of gas and struggle as the finish line was nowhere in sight. On the flat straight I continued to give it as much as I could until I saw some cars including a cop car up a slight rise blocking the road off. I figured this was the finish so I backed off a bit in preparation for the rise. About this time, I saw the true finish where the officials were. So I ran out of gas, but I think attacking the hill was still the better thing to do. Finished in 8:26 good enough for 3^rd, 7 seconds behind 1^st and 5 behind 2^nd.

Sunday’s crit started out very fast. I think we probably dropped half our field in the first 5 to 7 laps. It got the HR up and going and made me shift up to the big ring; something I don’t usually do until late into the race. At some point, a small kid went off the front at which I told myself not to worry about him because I didn’t think he was strong enough to stay off for the next 10 or so laps. I don’t know when or how it actually happened (wish I had seen it and gone with him), but a BPC rider bridged the gap up to the solo leader. No one in the peloton wanted to work with Will and me so our efforts to pull the two leaders back were futile. The group was going to be sprinting for 3^rd place. I knew where I wanted to jump and then launch my sprint since I had scouted the course earlier in the day between some other races. What I hadn’t planned on was leading the entire last lap. However, it was working out just fine. I had a strong pull and accelerated on the rise preventing anyone from attacking me. I came through the last corner in first and shifted into the appropriate gear. I gave another acceleration and still no one was beside me. It was beginning to look like I was going to take the sprint without ever actually sprinting. Then about 25 meters from the finish line, the announcer said one lap to go. I was confused. I was pretty sure that they rang the bell last time around, but the laps-to-go had seemed to be jumping around and we had only been riding 35 minutes in a 40 minute race. I sat up at which point two racers passed me before the line. Ended up that was actually the last lap and I took 5^th.  I was pissed. I tried to talk to the announcer after I finished my cool down lap, but it was obvious he was an idiot and didn’t know what he was doing. It was too difficult and frustrating trying to talk to him so I just left and did another lap.

Good things about the race were that it was a really fun course with two sections of narrow alley way and tight corners combined with wide sweeping ones right after. I also took the first prime of the race away from Will as we were coming through the last corner. Then for the second prime, I passed Will in the corner and then beat another rider about 10 meters from the line. It felt good to snatch those away. I also have to consider it a positive that my legs were feeling good, I timed and planned the move right, and I was outriding my competitors. Really wish I had gotten those 7 more BAR points and 20 more dollars though.

I managed to hang onto the BAR leader spot but just barely. Things have been shaken and I need some good performances at the next few races if I want to pull it out. Time to get back to training. 

Some photos I took of the Cat 3 race. 

Race Report: State Time Trial and MOAB Crit

I just got flat out beat in the time trial. Hicks is a strong rider and a very fast time-trialist. However, given better conditions, I think I would have put up a much better fight to make the race closer. I never got into a comfortable position on the bike. Early on my head and shoulders felt very heavy and were a strain on my arms just to hold my body upright. I should have spent more time on the TT bike to make sure I had my position dialed in. I hadn’t been on it for over 20 minutes since preparing for a road tri last April. I also forgot to grease up and the new skinsuit and I did not mesh very well at the saddle interface. Let’s just say I’m a little scabbed over currently. That aside, I’m still disappointed in my legs. I’m not sure if I never recovered from ITU or I was just really having a bad day, but my legs felt like junk for most of the ride. I assessed my form a few times on the course and I couldn’t pin down what my limiting factor was. My legs weren’t burning and screaming at me to stop, but I also wasn’t panting for air. They just didn’t show up ready to go when I hit it at the start line. I finally got into some rhythm over the last 10K. All the hills were gone and I was motoring. I would estimate I averaged 28 mph over those last 6 miles. I’m glad I pushed hard and thought I still had some chance of winning because if not, I would have been way down in the standings incurring no points.

Sunday I’d be given another chance for success. The Cat 4 start time was 12:35. It was going to be a hot day with a course completely in the sun. I did a little warm up on some back roads while the 3’s were still racing and only got one lap in before we were lining up for our start. The field was looking big. A lot bigger than the online registration was showing. I was starting towards the back of the pack and had no buddies in the race with me. I remained calm and new I would be able to make my way up. That ended up being the motto for the whole race: remain calm and wait. I gradually moved forward and was quickly sitting in the top 10 wheels and stayed there for most of the race with a good time spent as 4^th wheel. Harpeth cycling put in a good amount of work and did a good job protecting their rider Will Montgomery. I never could figure out what BPC was trying to do. They would send one guy off the front but never more than 100 meters. And every time we came to the 120° turn before the slight uphill, one of their guys would charge to the front which would lead to us bringing the front guy back on the incline every time. I guess the charging guy might have been trying to get to the front and slow the peloton down, but that sure wasn’t working. We immediately engulfed him and pulled everything back together. Going into 2 laps to go, I decided it was time to shift up to the big ring and get ready to do some work. I edged forward still trying to save as much as I could but by this time we were booking it around the course. 

(So to explain the course, the 120° turn led to 150 meters of flat road before a slight rise in the road 100 meters long, then a 90° left hand turn that bottle necked the riders before the open 100 meter flat straight to the finish.)

Approaching the rise, I was sitting 4^th wheel with two Harpeth guys in front of me. As we reached the top and started through the curve, Will jumped off the front and several others went to the right of me and one guy to my left. I waited until I was completely through the corner before I really started mashing on the pedals. Will’s early jump gave him a big lead once we were in the finish line straight and it didn't seem like I would be able to catch him. I still saw two maybe three guys to my right that were in front of me. I continued my sprint but couldn't really tell where the finish line was with the white lines from the intersection on the ground. I was gaining on the Nashville Cyclist guy and began overtaking him in the last 20 meters. Ten meters out we made contact. I pulled off, gave my last kick, and lunged for the line. Steven, the Nashville Cyclist guy, lost control and crossed the finish line in 3^rd in midair before he slammed into the ground and slid for several meters. As the rest of the group came flying in, Marco didn’t manage to change course and t-boned Steven in the back and flipped over his bike landing on his head. Crazy crashes and finish in Murfreesboro.  

At the line, I think I had pulled Will back to only a bike length from me. I know I am faster than him and I hate that I lost to him again. This is the second time it’s happened because he made the same early move at Aaron Shafer Road Race for the win leaving me with second. I have to trust my legs more, go early, and go hard. I’ll be doing some practice work before the crit state championships. That race is mine. 

Now it's time to rest. Legs need to recover and this upcoming weekend is the only race with an HC (hors categorie, beyond categorization) climb finish on the east coast. The Roan Groan finishes with a 9.5 mile climb at an average 6.4% gradient with 4639 feet of climbing in the race. 

Race Report: Xterra Ft. Yargo and SERC #4 MTB Race

Three weeks out from ITU Worlds, I decided to test myself and see what condition I was in at the Ft. Yargo race in Winder, GA. I’d never done this race before, so on Friday after I finished my last final exam for the spring term I headed down for a pre-ride. Atlanta traffic delayed me a bit so I missed packet pick-up, but I still got my pre-ride in before dark. The course was fun and fast. It included a lot of diving in and out of trees, semi-banked corners you could thrash, and some gnarly, deep double jumps. It was going to be a fun day. I packed back up to head to Athens where I was going to stay with some UGA friends for the night.

I didn’t make it to the race site as early as I wanted, but I also didn’t plan on standing in the packet pick-up line for 15 minutes. The longest I’ve ever had to wait outside of the Ironman venue. By the time I finally made it down to transition, I was scrambling to find any spot left in the cramped 175 racer field. I then scrambled to get my wetsuit on which I’m not sure if it occurred in my haste or because the suit was stuck together with residual water, but two spots on the right leg tore. Getting into the water, I saw Craig Evans and said hey to him. It was good to see a familiar face, but now I knew I didn’t have a chance at winning. My goal now was to take the 2 or 3 spot and make it on the overall podium with him.

No warm-up included, the race was underway. I felt tight and like all my mechanics went out the window as we dashed for the first buoy. I just kept pushing forward and finally felt decently good and like I was in some rhythm with about 300 meters left. Perfect timing, right? Maybe it will work out in my favor at ITU, or if I were to warm-up first. Going into T-1 I lost it. I was fidgety and panicked. I put on my bike shoe before taking off my wetsuit. Fail. I then had trouble getting the suit off making it just an overall crappy transition. But it was time for the bike; time for me to shine. Trying to find my groove, some old guy passed me. WTF? I don’t get passed on the bike! At least not at a non-championship race. Who did this guy think he was? About a mile later, I passed him back and left everybody else behind; I wasn’t going to depend on my run game for the win. Closing in on the finish I was still in 5^th place. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Was my swim really that bad, and who were these guys that were leading the race? I knew Craig would be sitting 1^st, but I wasn’t sure who was sitting 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th. I caught 3^rd and 4^th right before entering T-2. The three of us started the run together until I got left about .75 miles into the 5 mile run. I wasn’t feeling good on the run, but I wasn’t feeling like total crap either, which was an improvement over all except one of last year’s runs. About 3 miles in, another set of two runners passed me after a little hill. I was hurting. Heading back towards the finish, I got passed again with one mile left. I was stuck with 8^th place overall, 3^rd fastest bike split with less than a minute behind Craig’s, and a sub 37 minute 5 mile trail run. (Results here) Not terrible, but not exactly what I was expecting or where I was hoping I’d be by this point. I got my age group points and for the prize I got a Maxxis Ignitor tire and a Cannondale jersey. Pretty sweet swag for a race. Too bad I forgot to pick up my biking gloves from where I threw them off on the run course. I looked for them the next day, but no luck. However, someone did turn one in. Who the heck turns in one lost glove and keeps the other?

Somehow I got convinced to do the MTB race the next morning instead of going to the Braves game that night. So the plan was to rest a bit, hit up the Athens Twilight Pro Crit that night, and then race again in the morning. The crit was amazing. I’ve never seen a race like that with such a huge strung out peloton and amazing speeds. Past and present Olympians were in attendance as well as the reigning USA National champion, stood by his mom for most of the race. With over 30,000 other spectators, it was definitely an event not worth missing. Although, I might have spent a little too much time up on my feet and not hydrating enough. The situation was made worse once I got back to the place I was staying to find out they were having a party; I mean it is college. I was trying to sleep in the back room on the floor on top of my sleeping bag and in my tights. It wasn’t a great night’s rest and I sweated my butt off leaving me pretty dehydrated in the morning. The race was fun though: fun in the sense of hurting a lot, pushing myself, and of course the super fun thrill riding of catching air, diving around trees, and railing sharp corners. I hung with the front group for the first few miles of lap one then faded back as they attacked on a hill. I was sitting 5^th and there was one position change where I passed 4^th and then 6^th passed me so still sitting 5^th. Towards the end of the lap, I went down in a corner I took too aggressively and then had to wait for the riders coming in hot to pass by before I could remount my bike and carry on. For lap two, I latched onto on the guys in the 39 year old age group and rode with him for a long time. Shortly into lap 3, I had to leave him though. I was feeling better and really wanted to pull that 4^th place guy back in. It didn’t take long and he was back in my site, as well as many others that had passed previously. Lap 3 was going great for me. I got a second boost of energy and was back to railing the course and having a blast making up tons of ground. I finished 4^th and closed the gap to 3^rd down to just 24 seconds. I’ll take it I guess (My results on page 10). I didn’t make my money back for the race, but it was a good experience. One thing I would like explained is how the Cat 2 riders get better prizes and awards for their entire podium than I did for getting 4^th in Cat 1? I’d much rather take a free Maxxis tire and some HEED over $20. Cool Racing Photo

My original plan had been to do the racing there in Georgia and then head over to Pelham for some more training on the ITU Worlds course, but after those two days, I didn’t think my body could handle it or that it would be worth it with the state I was in. My gooch was pissed at me for forgetting to grease up two days in a row, my lower back was killing me from the 32 mile mtb race, my shoe was soaked in blood again from a nagging heel abrasion, and I had developed a few more blisters on my feet during the tri. I wouldn’t have made it to Pelham until almost 7 o’clock too, so I just decided to bail on the whole plan and just head back to Chattanooga. Once home and unpacked, I tried to go for a run. My body quickly told me no in the .5 mile that I made it. I’m glad I didn’t waste my time in Pelham. Monday I went out for intervals and bonked before the end of the ride. Tuesday morning I went for a run and bonked before the end. I ended up drinking from a house’s water hose and sitting in someone’s yard just chilling for a while before I made it back home. Tuesday night however, my legs decided to show back up and I had a killer mountain climb on the road with the Tuesday night Red Bank group ride. I peaked second over the mountain and felt really good about my performance on a blind course and without my computer to tell me any data. Seventeen days and counting. Let’s hope everything works.

Race Report and whatnot: Dalton State Collegiate Cycling

This will be slightly abbreviated because a week has already passed and I don’t really care that much about it. (Okay, after I finished writing I realized it wasn’t too abbreviated. I guess I got caught up in the excitement again.)

My first impression of the weekend was crap. I went in expecting to sweep the omnium and that’s what I told myself the whole time. I didn’t win a single race. I took “2^nd,” 4^th, and 3^rd. Race morning Saturday was wet and still raining a little bit. The registration table seemed chaotic and attendance looked small for a race. The time trials were supposed to start at 8:30 and my start time was 8:42:30. As time progressed, it didn’t seem like there was any chance that they were going to start on time which is about when they announced that the TT would be moved back to 8:45. Okay, sweet. That means the start times are moved back 15 minutes so I should start around 8:57. Wrong. While I was waiting in line for the porta-potty and frantically trying to pin my number to my jersey, my start time came and went. I made it to the start line over five minutes late. My new start time was moved to 8:46; however, I was never informed of this. I knew I was starting behind so I thought I could just make up some time. That led to me hitting it hard out of the gate. Not the best idea either. Since I was rushed, I never warmed up. My legs have never felt so heavy in my life. The whole thing was painful and I never got into a groove. I pulled off a 27:09 for an average of 22.5mph over the 10 mile out and back course. If that was the time that actually had been recorded for me, then I would have finished 2^nd. (Not only in C’s, but overall since turnout was low that morning for the ITT.)

Later that afternoon was the crit where I thought I stood the best chance for a win. However, stupid us waiting for another teammate to get ready, we missed the start of this race too. We saw the peloton coming over the hill while we were riding to the start line. The race official confirmed it was the Men’s C group and let us pull a quick 180 to jump in. That is of course after we chased them down over the first mile. Just another huge effort on cold legs to start the race. No big deal. Since the course was a 3.5 mile loop, we were only set to do five laps for the 40 minute race. For some reason my stupid self thought it would be a good idea to pull the entire second lap. This ended with me going straight through the back of the field as we hit the climb to the finish to start lap 3. I never recovered from this like I thought I could on the descents. I put in some good efforts and almost bridged the gap with another rider on my wheel early in lap four. When we got close to the break, there was some miscommunication and he jumped on an attack to bridge and left me behind. More work for me. I kept at it although I never really expected to catch the front break. I guess I pulled back enough riders as they fell off because I finished fourth. Oh, and I overtook and outsprinted the guy that I had drug back to the group in lap four.

So going into Sunday’s road race, I wasn’t feeling too excited or expecting too much from my performance. The course was supposed to be hilly and would probably have some breaks. I was fine with just getting out there and riding the two lap 37 mile course. On a positive note, I did make the start line for this race. About 3 miles into the race, one rider went off the front, how stupid. We let him bleed. Then about 9 miles into lap one, a break started to go. Sitting middle of the pack, I was not with the break, but I was able to see it go. I was determined to make it. A shallow decent allowed me to launch a huge effort and fly pass the other riders strung along the course. I made the break consisting of 6 riders represented by 6 different teams. It felt good. As we rolled through the pace line, I guess I took too big of a pull in my excitement because as we rolled through the next hill, I fell off the back. Damn it, Matt, you did it again. I was stuck in no man’s land for a few miles with the group in my sight but still out of reach. I was suffering, but knew that I had to bridge the gap again; otherwise, the race was over. I hammered and eventually made it back on. Now I’m two big efforts in on the race and still 20 miles to go. The group stuck together from this point on and kept rolling through the pace line. Race official told us we had 4 minutes on the peloton with about 9 miles to go in the race, so the winner would be in this group. I was starting to like my chances. Over the last 5 to 6 miles, we started picking up the pace. Riders started making attacks in the last two miles. Each blip in the road was a new launching point. It was starting to hurt. I wasn’t positioned very well heading into the 90 degree right hand turn 150 meters out from the finish, but I thought if I took the outside line and launched my sprint appropriately things could work out. I got bumped way to the outside in the corner and came out of it in 5^th place or so. The rider leading into the corner had a great line and came out over 20 feet in front of me. I still gave it a shot, but the legs didn’t feel too great. I came up beside the guy that took second, but couldn’t overtake him. I finished with 3^rd.  (race results) 

Overall spring break was really good to me. More sleep, no stress from school, and more time to ride left me with a four pound weight loss for the week. On top of that and the races, I got to go camping in Alabama and get some training done on the ITU Worlds course.

The dichotomic following weekend:

Saturday I had probably my best training day of the year. I had a really hard bike and pretty impressive run following it. Everything here has hills so I have to take that into consideration when I compare times and splits to previous years that I trained solely on the flatlands of Memphis. So when I pulled a 20.4 mph average 55.5 miles on the road with 5 intervals of 4 minutes into the pain and lactate threshold with my heart rate above 170 with 3 minutes recovery each set and followed it with a four mile run averaging 7:42 with four decent hills and the last mile being the fastest even with my VMO’s cramping, I was pretty satisfied. After when I was relaxing I could feel the work and damage my legs had undergone. It was a very rewarding and satisfying exhaustion.

The rest of the weekend didn’t go quite so well. I got stood up Saturday night which was so much fun and then my Sunday workout turned to crap. I was determined to make it a great one on Raccoon Mountain with an off-road brick, but God had other plans. My first lap was going fine until I passed my first guy at about 9 miles into the ride. I immediately burped my front tire on a rocky section which made me feel really cool. The Stan’s sealed up nicely, but I still stopped and put some air back into it. I continued on. I came out to a really rocky section next to the dam. Not being familiar with the trail and just blazing through, I decided to just hit it hard right in the middle. Why not, right? It was a three step rock drop-off of considerable size. It was the only line I saw as I approached it. As I dropped off the first rock, things went straight downhill: my front wheel turned and got stuck on some rocks, I endo’ed, I banged my left elbow and knee, I could now hear air screaming out of my front tire, and as I looked up from the ground, I caught my bike as it came the rest of the way down the rock. I had a little gash on my elbow, my pre-patella bursa was swelling quickly, and I had ripped a hole in the sidewall of the tire. I had had such good luck with all my equipment and now that I am away from my shop all hell is breaking loose. It really makes me miss Outdoors Inc. I flipped the bike upside down and started to put my spare tube in. The tube has a hole of course. So I begin to walk it out. I don’t know how many miles back it was, at least two. I figured someone would pass me once I made it back to the road and give me a ride back to my car; I wasn’t so lucky. Halfway along the road, I was tired of walking in my carbon fiber shoes and messing them up so I decided to take them off. While that might have spared them some damage, it left me with a nice blister on my right heel which would keep me from doing any running once I made it back to my car. I don’t remember the last time I flatted and had to walk out of a trail, but I know the last time I had to walk my bike because of a mechanical issue was on this exact same road. After the time trial at the River Gorge Omnium, my crank arm fell off and I had to walk halfway back to my car before someone picked me up on this same road around the reservoir on top of Raccoon Mountain. The only other time I’ve tried to ride this trail was on my birthday last year. Only a few miles in and I took a descending corner too fast and tweaked my right knee (which has undergone three previous surgeries). We didn’t finish the ride that day either. You can say I am not a fan of this trail. But then again why shouldn’t this have happened? I would be greedy to expect two good workouts in back to back days.  

Troubles

While some things have been going great, I am still me and I will always get hurt. I'm already dealing with quite a few injuries and setbacks this year. So in no particular order:

I am trying to get back into running shape, which is hard having taken off for such a long time after the end of last season. To make matters worse, I have developed a big lump of scar tissue in my left heal from when I landed on a piece of steel last August. I was trying to mount bike hangers in the walls of my new apartment. The mount was sitting in the floor and I was up on the dresser drilling into the wall. I was done and jumped back off the dresser and my left heel hit first, right on the 2mm wide piece of backing steel for the hanger. The steel bent, the drill bit snapped off in the carpet, and my heel wrenched in pain. I had to walk on the ball of my foot for the next few days but eventually the pain subsided and the radiographs showed no fracture. Now, the knot of scar tissue is making it very difficult to stretch my plantar aponeurosis and heel striking is just about completely out of the picture. I'm slowly working it out with some painful massage though.

A week and a half ago, a few friends and I went snowboarding with the UTC Outdoors program. It was a great trip, but I didn't realize until the next day that in one of my high velocity falls I injured my left shoulder. I was scared it was a rotator cuff issue. I couldn't swim at all last week, but my stroke is coming back this week. I haven't been able to do my power cleans in the gym either. It is still painful, but the progression and the presentation of the pain leads my professor and me to believe it is more of a deltoid or impingement issue that I hope will work itself out soon.

Since I've been back at school, I have not had a pain free bike ride. My lower back has been giving me problems with most of the pain coming from the right side around L4/L5. I usually get about 30 minutes into the ride before I start noticing the pain. I can make it to about 40 mins before it peaks and I usually give in and dismount the bike to stretch and give it a little break. It subsides rather quickly and I'm back on my way. It usually comes back around 1:45. Sometimes I make it back, sometimes I have to get off and stretch again. I adjusted my fit some after I videoed myself and saw some issues. I was hoping this would take care of my issue and that the pain was just from over reaching by rocking my hips to reach the bottom of the pedal stroke. This past Sunday was the best ride I've had all year. I started out a little faster than usual so the pain started coming on at about the same distance but a little earlier, around 28 minutes. I wiggled around a bit and somehow overcame it. The ride was going great. My legs were flying around the pedals and the pace was not dropping. I was making my way the furthest east I have gone since I've been riding in Chatt. (My goal is to find a reasonable route to North Carolina. I think I can make a 7 hour trip there and back. Spring Break training camp?) I was at 19.7mph at my turn around point of just over an hour and a half. I wanted to keep going, but I really wanted to get back in time to watch Brandon wrestle App State, the last regular season home match. So, I made the U-turn and started heading back. The legs began to fade a bit and a third of the way back I had dropped to 19.5mph. I tried to keep pushing on as I grabbed a bite of Clif Bar. Carefully retracing my path to make sure I didn't get lost on the new roads, I came soaring back to my normal routes when the back pain started to hit again. I was too close and too pressed for time to get off and stretch. So, I just tucked and pushed through. I suffered through the big climb near the end and kept pushing the pace to try to maintain my average speed. I had made it back up to 19.7. With a screaming back and legs, I pulled into my apartment, stripped the chamois off and headed to the arena to catch the match. I kept the 19.7mph, but the change in bike fit and stretching had failed to alleviate my back pain.

So, I set up a time to meet with one of my professors and go through an examination. We found that my right multifidus was grossly atrophied. It was mush and weak compared to my left side. We're not sure why, maybe a strain from last November when I missed the hook for the barbell at the end of squat session, but some type of inhibition is going on and I need to wake it up. I hope it is not from anything more serious such as joint or bone trauma. I'm working on strengthening it and firing my transverse abdominis to see if that might bring it back.

In order to win the Xterra Region, I have to race four races including one championship distance race. I've done the southeast championship twice and planned on doing it again this year to help me clinch the jersey for the third time, this was one of my goals for this year. However, I got an email today saying the championship race has been cancelled in order for Xterra to host the ITU Cross Triathlon World Championship. This is awesome, but it also means I have to find another race to do. I can either travel to Richmond in June or Louisiana in May. I haven't heard too many good things about the Richmond race. They have even had issues of vandalism and competitors getting lost on course because of it. I've experienced this at the Colorado State MTB race in '07 and don't really want to do that again. Louisiana is a great course, but that would be a far drive and it's not technically a championship race. It might have to do though. This is in fact if I don't make the Team USA which will be racing in the world championship. I applied earlier this week. Fingers crossed, sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for that email.

Alberto Contador also ran into some trouble this week. His positive test for clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France finally caught up to him. He has been stripped of his 2010 Tour victory, his 2011 Giro victory and is banned from racing in either this year and from competing in the London Olympics this summer. Harsh stuff especially when you factor in the fine he will receive. The board is pushing for $3 million. Most have been saying this is bad for cycling, but I don't understand. The positive test was already exposed. Everyone knew about it. They only change is the punishment. This affects Contador and not necessarily the sport as a whole. Maybe I'd be more upset if I liked him, but I personally think he's an ass. I'm glad Andy gets the win now for the 2010 Tour. Sort of like retribution for Contador attacking on the slopes when Andy dropped his chain. Karma's a bitch isn't it, Contador? It's also pretty lame that Contador said he thought he was supposed to be protected and untouchable "like Lance" since he had spent so much money on lawyers. What a load of crap. Lance never tested positive during Tour.

Since this week is the Combined Sectionals Meeting for the American Physical Therapy Association, our classes are canceled for the rest of the week. Hello four day weekend. So tomorrow I'll be back on the bike and see how the back is feeling. I'm also going on another snowboard trip this Saturday with the UTC Outdoors program. Wish me luck.

I'm saying those are the mountains of North Carolina in the very far distance.