Monday, July 28, 2008

PLT TT

Prior to the race I checked the confirmed rider list on Bike Reg. I had seen that there were only three riders signed up for the Master's 30+. I was going to medal unless of course I crashed or flatted. So I decided to really take this race seriously. I did not want to walk away from this race with a medal and not post a personal best.

So the night before I went out and bought myself a tent. This course gets hot while warming up and I wanted to ride my trainer in the shade. I would say that the warm up is my weakest part of racing and I have tried to correct that this year. I seem to cut the warm ups short and then spend the race trying to get warm. So this race was going to be different. I bought the tent. I even brought my road bike with me to set up on the trainer. That way my TT bike would be ready to go and I could leave the road bike on the trainer for a good cool down.

When I got to the race I got the tent out of the car and took it out of its box. It was less put together then I had thought, but it didn't take too long. I got is set up and the shade was nice. Got my number pinned on my skin suit. Took my TT bike down and put the race wheels on, the HR monitor on, pumped up the tires and made sure it was ready to race. Then I got my road bike down, wheels on and tires pumped. I was ready.



Only one problem. I forgot my legs to my trainer at home. It won't work without them.



Did not get much of a warm up. Did get a personal best though (53:43) and the silver medal.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

The Summit

The Summit of 757.CX was held last Friday. There we discussed the upcoming cross season and how the crew from the 757 would represent the area. There was a lot of discussion, mainly because the beer started to flow before the details were worked out. It was fun. I am very glad I got into cross racing last year. The cx community is close and the friendships that are made are tight. Plus I look hot in a long sleeve skinsuit.

The Summit was held at the hose of Crack Head (pictured here):



I don't know if it was his beard, his sexy button up shirt, or the fact that she knew he had on a black tank top underneath, but I think my wife was a little turned on by the Crack Head.



Is she copping a feel?

Cross Season here we come. Hope your ready.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Beware of the Ninja Baby



Ninja Baby

Racing in Richmond

I don't have much to say about the races except they were a blast. I liked the TT course, I just wish I was more familiar with it. I went out real fast and caught my 30 second man 2 minutes into my race. Of course he had just finished the 40+ race and only had about 8 minutes to change numbers and start again. He was better at pacing himself for sure since he caught me right at the finish.

The Bryan Park race was awesome. I am starting to gain confidence in my riding and starting to feel like I have the ability to win a race. I am feeling comfortable at the front of the pack and am holding the front positions during the final lap as well. That was always my down fall. I could practice sprints all I want but if I am at the back the sprint doesn't work.

Well I thought the win at Bryan Park would come from a last minute "flier" and the counter attack would be successful. Well I thought that attack was coming on the final climb and I went for the counter. Unfortunately for me the attack lasted less then 20 meters and I found myself in front on the front and hanging out way too early. Near the top of the decent everyone came by me fast, that was the counter attack. I pushed hard and got in near the top ten position in the final turn but I was spent at this point. So I just sat up. No idea what my placing was. So now that I have confidence, now I just need to work on the whole ability thing.

Great races. Thanks to the promoters.


Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Heat of the Summer Road Rash Edition



Except for the crash at tonight's Heat of the Summer Crit, it was a great race. Pictures here are of James Goyet, my brother and teammate. He went down when someone decided not to turn in the corner and fell on his back wheel. He has some pretty nasty road rash and destroyed a pair of shorts, but other then that I think he's okay. He got up and got back in the race, which says a lot during a training race.

I think the team had another great showing. Again I know it is just a training race and that's exactly what we used it as. We practiced team tactics and are working to get Kyle the Kid ready for Nationals next month. That kid rode an impressive race tonight. For the first time the race ended in as a group and Kyle the Kid got 2nd place.

The team worked well tonight. The only member we were missing was John Gray, but that was because of work. Me, Kyle, James, Tim and Jon Nisbet were all there. It was a faster race this week, I think, and it was longer. I felt very good. I rode near the front the whole race, chased and covered breaks as needed. Great training.

It was a good showing there tonight. A lot of peeps I haven't seen in a while. K-dawg was there looking strong. Tyler Karnes was riding impressive too. He took a pull/attack in which I just sat on his wheel (Kyle was in the break he was chasing) and he pulled those guys back quickly. I was pretty impressed that he kept the tempo even after he realized he wasn't getting any help. Good riding. Also the guys from All About Bikes Racing did a good ride. Fishsticks was riding very aggressively and seemed to be in every move.

Here are the results:

40 Riders - 28 miles

1. Marc Greco Tripower
2. Kyle O'Brien Va Beach Wheelmen
3. Bill Collins Virginia Beach Velo
4. Tyler Karnes Hincappie Developmental
5. Mike Hosang Tripower
6. Jim Rogers ` East Coast Bicycles
7. Jeff Parker Virginia Beach Velo
8. Dan Gibson Le Blue
9. Josh Goyet Virginia Beach Wheelmen
10. Tim Shockley Virginia Beach Wheelmen
11. Art Marks Tripower
12. Michael Rozelle All About Bikes
13. Zach Kyler Tripower
14. Sally Tempest Tripower
15. Fred Havens East Coast Bicycles

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Toot my own horn.

The results for the Captain's promotional process were mailed out and showed up yesterday. I was ranked #1. I'm pretty happy about that. It says a lot because of the caliber of firefighters I was competing against.


Thursday, July 10, 2008

Heat of the Summer

Sportsplex training races called Heat of the Summer started up again last night. True training races. $5 entry fee, no pay outs, no primes, just good fast racing. The Virginia Beach Wheelmen finally had a good showing out there and everyone worked hard. Myself, John Gray, Kyle the Kid, Jon Nisbet and Tim Shockley. A lot of work was done and we were all pretty aggressive but a break still got a way and won. I am feeling a lot better about myself and my abilities to ride near the front and react. That was my goal yesterday and that's what I did.

Here are the results that were published:


Start time 7:15 / 30 Riders / 20 miles

1. Marc Greco Tripower
2. Rob Dinterman LeBlue
3. Bob Collins Virgina Beach Velo
4. Steve Simet JRVS
5. Bill Collins Virginia Beach Velo
6. Mike Hosang Tripower
7. Keith Johnson NC Masters
8. Jeff Parker Virginia Beach Velo
9. Fred Havens East Coast Bikes / VBV
10. Kyle O'Brien Virginia Beach Wheelmen
11. Art Marks Tripower
12. Andy Winch Virginia Beach Velo
13. Dan Netzer East Coast Bikes / VBV
14. Albe Rodenas All About Bikes
15. Josh Goyet Virginia Beach Wheelmen

See you out there next week.

Leah, if you have any good pictures (which I know you do) can you send them to me?

Monday, July 7, 2008

ID3 Roanoke Weekend

I thought about making this post three separate post at first. But I think the continuation of the story and the overall fun of the weekend will be more apparent in this one post. Please stick with it. I'll let pictures tell the majority of the story.

My wife and I left early Friday morning for Roanoke. The kids were split between two aunts (one in Maryland and the other in North Carolina). I was really looking forward to this weekend. I love going out of town for bike racing (expensive, so I have to pick and choose).

John Gray was the only other teammate to make the trip. With family in Roanoke the choice was easy for him. He has been racing very strong and this Downtown style race was going to be a test for him.



He did very well in a fast race. The back completely disintegrated behind him and he ended up only having to race against 11 others for a top ten spot. And tenth it was. That's another step toward his upgrade. Great race.

Now I was nervous about my Cat 3 race. It was pretty much the same way as the 4 race. Fast and broken up. I rode the front for the first few laps and then moved to the back (which only was 13 people off the front by this time). I finished 11th in my race. I loved that course. It was very tough but a lot of fun.



That night Jenni and I hung out with John and Allison at her sister's house in Salem. We drank beers and played horseshoes (mainly in the dark). Lots of fun, great company.

Saturday...no hill climb for me. It was off to the Wine Down the Music Trail wine festival (or something like that). We put the address in the old VZ Navigator on our kick ass new phones and off we went. I was starting to get nervous when the road turned to this:



My gas tank was getting low and I was pretty sure no one would here the screams if we run into this:



Luckily for us he was at the wine festival. It was a great time there. A little rain. A lot of wine. Oh yeah...your team:



Sunday. Another great course. Although I am not a fan of hills. Once again John did an exceptional job. He was in third position on the final lap of a very fast 4s race when his wheel folded and tire blew. He managed to stay upright even though he was going 30 mph when it happened.

I did not have a good race. The hill hurt me for sure. The part that hurt the most was the S-turn. I don't know what was wrong but I ended up getting shredded off the back. Oh well. It was a good course and an excellent job of promoting it. Plan on attending next your for those that missed it this year. It is some serious good racing with a lot of potential.



Stay tuned for more pictures. Allison (John's wife) took a lot of pictures as well. When I get them I'll post more of the actual racing.


Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy Independence Day. Do you love your country?

I like it when people show their love for their country. There is no better way than showing the stars and strips.




Also this is a good way to show you love your country also:




Rodney Carrington- Show them to me Live


Thursday, July 3, 2008

I'm off to Roanoke

I am really looking forward to this weekend. I had a blast 2 years ago when the Hill Climb, Road Race and Crit were all held together. This weekend is going to have some very good racing. Also my wife is coming with me and the kids are not. Its always nice to get away for a little while. Hope to see everyone out there.

Also thanks to everyone who replied to my email. We have found a lot of good stuff to do while down there. I'll bring the camera and post pictures on Monday.