Sequim #2

I feel this race report is pretty lazy. Racing your bicycle 60 miles I guess isn't lazy but when you sit at the back the whole race chit chatting with your friends it feels a bit lazy. My duty for this race was to be the "sprinter". Our goal again was to be aggressive but not so much in the beginning but on lap 1 our diesel Francis went off the front with 1 other guy. That’s us not being aggressive! They had over 1 minute on us at one point but at the start of lap 4, Jeff decided it was time to go. It took him about 3 minutes to make it to them but he did. Francis finally cracked and came back to us. Jeff stayed away for the rest of the race to take 2nd place. Watching him bridge made my legs hurt. I envy the guys on our team that can stay in a break like that. I won't go into details about the finish on a blog over... the intra-net... but lets just say the sprint wasn't supposed to be contested since Jeff pulled the other guy around the last lap in a half. I am sure you can find the facts on Strava! Lesson learned for us though.

Once we came around the corner to get on Woodcock Rd I started following Chris and Vern towards the front of the pack. My time at the back was over and now it was time to do some work. Once again SCCA/Starbucks Cycling Team moved to the front of the race to take control. Jesse, who missed Sequim #1 was on the front with Peter and both maintained a good speed which kept the other teams behind us. I found Tony a few miles before the last corner and got on his wheel. He is also an excellent sprinter so it was great to have him as my dedicated lead out man. We went by Jesse as his shift work was done and at the 1k to go sign Peter took off. The peloton this weekend was a lot more attentive and covered Pete's kamikaze attack but it was enough to string things out. This allowed Tony to move up closer to the front with me on his wheel. There was a lot of bumping going on as there always is in a pack sprint so Tony and I didn't have much room for maneuvering since we were on the yellow line. He squeezed by a few guys just as we hit the 200 meter sign (the promoter pushed out to an actual 400 meters for saftey). Boom, Tony was done and I moved over to get behind somebody in a black kit (HSP) and as soon as I felt his speed start to drop I jumped. I raced on my new Cannondale CAAD 10 and had it fitted by Todd Herriot and David Richter at Herriott Sports Performance. Both are accomplished ex-pros and David dominates sprint finishes (won both Sequim Races in the Cat 1-2 field). With my new fit I was ready to throw it down. My mom and dad were there to catch it on camera. Thanks Dad.

3rd Place and a great team effort for us to go 2nd and 3rd.

Mason Lake #2 & Tour de Dung (Sequim) #1

2013 Race Season

Mason Lake #2


Crash Fest was generally used when describing the Mason Lake road race series but the last couple of years I have attended it has been great. I missed Mason Lake #1 with the chest cold that has haunted me since coming back from our team camp in Feb. My teammate Peter took 3rd in the sprint and SCCA/Starbucks Cycling was well represented for Mason #1. The following week we had 7 of us racing. This is a series with points so we had to make sure we got Peter in any break away or have him ready for the sprint. He managed to get in a one at the end of the first lap thanks in part to our turbo diesel Francis. They were gone for the rest of the race and had a 7 minute gap at the end. Francis helped create the break and stayed in it. Peter took the sprint for victory after Francis crushed the other 5 guys leading up to the 1k. I sat in the pack and patrolled the front on lap 4 with the boys to make sure things were in order. I reminded myself after the race that if I don't make goals I finish in the pack. You always have to re-adjust your goal once the race plays out but I didn't. I was at the back for the pack finish and should have been up front throwing down a sprint. I made sure I changed that for Sequim.

Tour de Dung (Sequim) #1

This place is always the nice quite little town where it is always sunny. It can rain all the way up to Chicken Dick road (if you don't know about the street names then that alone should be a reason to go visit) and then the closer you get to Dungeness the sun comes out. It really is crazy. I went to the SCCA/Starbucks Cycling team camp that was based in Sequim in Feb for 3 days and although chilly the weather was decent. I mentioned above about Mason Lake having a bad name but really it should be Sequim with the bad name. It seems Mason got such a bad name over the years. The last 3 years I have raced at Sequim there has always been crashes not slow going crashes either. I mean massive pile ups at the finishing line, where speeds average around 30 mph. It’s weird the roads are better and wider than they are at Mason Lake but first race of the year for most so maybe its nerves.

We arrived right on time, 8:45 for our 9:45am race time, but we didn’t plan for the 15 min wait to check in and the 15 min line for the port-o-potty. So that left us with about 20 min to get ready and warmed up. The weather was not sunny, with clouds and a slight breeze. We all shrugged it off as Sequim is always sunny and nice. Once the race started we made our mark. Jeff went on a flyer by himself and was away for an entire lap (11.5 miles) before Tony bridged up to him for a few more miles before the pack brought them back. Our team continued to push the pace and attacked multiple times throughout each lap but we could never get a good strong breakaway to stick. I began to move up towards the front on lap 4 as the rain began to really come down and the wind started pushing us around. This was ruining my nice quite little town where it is always sunny feeling. Then the sounds of thunder, oh wait, that wasn’t thunder that was carbon fiber breaking. I swerved over to the shoulder and made it around those couple of guys that were on their way to meet Sequim pavement. After a few pedal strokes I could still hear the sounds of carbon fiber snapping and air being pushed out of lungs. I turned around to see a mass pile of guys and bikes. Several of our guys were still at the front so I was hopeful we all missed it but after a few more miles I began to take notice of who we had and didn’t have. Our big engine man Francis was not in the group and neither was our Captain, Richie Strong. Both of them would be greatly missed on the last lap and I hoped they were ok. My plan/goal was to be there at the end for the finish, whether that was leading one of our guys out or if I was to take up the sprint. We couldn’t get any break away to stick so I was a part of plan b. Wait, I can still use that right? or is it reserved for the other thing? Oh well, you know what I mean. With about a half a lap left we were all at the front setting pace. I hovered around 10th wheel or so and tried to be as small as I could to avoid the head wind. A couple teams tried to muster up a pace line stronger than ours on the right side leading into the final turn but nobody could hold it long enough to take over from us. I took the outside line going into the last right hand turn before the finish and moved up a few spots, quite easily. My plan then was to get on the opposite side of the road to avoid the cross wind that was coming from the left. This was made pretty easy due to our guys at the front putting down the hurt. I could just make out Jeff standing up and sprinting with 1k to go. I moved around a couple guys from other teams to come up on Jeff as he punched his ticket and drifted back. Job well done my friend, he had created a gap and when Aaron G took over at the front he made it even larger. I was closing in on the guys with about 300 meters to go when I finally latched on. Aaron peeled off to the left and I took a look behind me to see how Peter and I looked. We had a good size gap to the field and I started yelling at Peter, GO, GO. Not that he wasn't going but maybe it was more my brain telling me to go. My turn now, I got out of the saddle and started my sprint on the right side of Peter, but man was I having difficulty. Oh how I hate the wind. We hit the line side by side but were shocked when PJ from Hagen’s Berman flew up on my right side at the finish. Wow, none of us knew who won. We waited around to find out that Peter took 1st; I took 2nd, PJ from Hagen’s took 3rd and Tony B took 4th with Chris taking 8th. That is 4 SCCA/Starbucks Cycling in the top 10.

That is a sprint lead out, not only a sprint lead out but we (I didn’t do much but follow my guys) controlled the race the last 6 miles. The team kept the pace so high it disrupted others from coming around us. Then the last 1k was amazing. I literally was dodging people getting to the front. We were the most aggressive team throughout the entire race and were the most determined at the end. We later found out winds of 31 mph recorded at Dungeness.

Sequim #2 this Saturday and it will be real interesting to see how the other teams react.

New Team & New Addition

Our New Addition:

No not the old R&B group. His name is Ridlee Kellen Haley. My lucky number 7. He arrived 10/7/12 at 1:38 am. Lindsay's scheduled date for him to arrive was on 10/5-10/6. No signs of him being ready, so I was geared up for a bike ride around the neighborhood Saturday morning. Came back into the bedroom to give Lindsay a kiss and she was in the bathroom. "I think my water broke". Oh shit. Ok I will call the hospital and let them know we are coming. She calmly said "no its ok why don't you go on your ride and we can take our time". I was like, "uhh, no I am not going on a bike ride. Your water just broke". Pretty funny now thinking about it. I was so excited there was no way I could go anywhere. We got our "go" bag and loaded up the car and drove to the hospital. Lindsay was in serious pain come 3pm that afternoon and was in so much pain she threw up. Thats a tough lady. The rest of the day was a blur from that point on. 19 hours of labor with a few scares but little man came out ok. Although with forceps and the Dr pulling so hard I thought for sure Ridlee was never coming out but he did and as soon as I heard him yell I could breathe. Holding your breath for 19 hours isn't advised. Lindsay was so strong and did so well. So 5 months into it and he is a great little boy and more fun than I could have imagined.

New Team:

So last year was my last with Cycle University and they ended up folding their specific team and joining forces with Apex Cycling.
Gabe, Travis, and I joined up with SCCA/Starbucks Cycling Team. My first race in the Black and Green will be this weekend. As with most people, I have been sick for what seems like 3 weeks. Cold beware, I have put you on notice. You will be evicted!

Our new bike shop www.bikesportnw.com has been fantastic. I took my rain bike in to get a tune up and mentioned I needed my bottle cage bolt fixed. 3 weeks or so later I have a brand new frame! WHAT! As little jon would say. Yes sir. I downgraded from my comfortable Synapse carbon frame to a CAAD10 aluminum frame.

 

2012 Portland Twilight Crit and end of Season

Portland Twilight Criterium July 2012


Wow. That really is all that needs to be said. I was amazed by how large the crowds were. The course was 10+ corners and a bit bumpy in spots. It was narrow and fast. All things I enjoy, maybe not the narrow part, but all the other parts. Ed, Joel, and I drove down on Friday as the race was that night. We had 70+ in the Cat 3 field and I was concerned about my starting position which was middle of the pack. Once the gun went off and we started to get clipped in to the pedals there was almost a crash. At first I didn't think much of it as sometimes with 70 guys & gals all tightly packed into a narrow two lane road you tend to have some issues. Then as we come around the last turn to get back on the start/finish straight several bikes and bodies went flying straight into the curbing and park bench that had people sitting at it. Oh that didn't look good. I wondered how they missed the turn and why they would ride straight into a curb and body slam bystanders. What can you do? I got out of the saddle and sprinted to close the small gap that had opened up only to see another crash in turn 4. This time it was a girl that was upside down with her bike in the fencing and a dude tangled up with her. The crowds again were awesome and were the largest I have seen at any criterium that I have raced in. Having a beer garden in the middle of the criterium is the way to go for any future crit promoter. Every single lap there was crashes. I ain't kidding either, every single lap. My problem was getting to the front and staying there. It seemed I would get close then some yahoo would do something crazy and I would find myself closing down gaps or narrowly missing a crash. I was finding that most of the field did not know how to ride a bike, especially in corners. It was scary to say the least. My golden ticket was moving up on the outside of the right hand turn 1 as all the noobs (yes, these are Cat 3 racers but it was hard to tell at times) would slow down and dive to the inside of the corner. I barely touched the brakes and rolled around the outside and gained multiple positions and this set me up brilliantly for the quick right hand corner that followed. Lap after lap I used that line and was able to get in the top 20 positions and maintain that.

With 70% of the field crashed out or pulled it was down to about 30 racers with 10 laps to go. At one point I was patting myself on the back for making it to the final 10 laps but you know it was bound to happen. My luck ran out on lap 8 and someone punched my golden ticket. It went down pretty fast which is unusual as most crashes people talk about how everything slows down. As I came around turn 1 there were two guys MMA wresting over the curb onto the sidewalk. At that point I knew I was screwed, I was on the outside already up against the curb and had no place to go. I locked up the brakes and smashed one of the guys that were still on the ground. This launched me over the bars, over the sidewalk onto the grassy area. I sat there for a second and realized I was ok minus my face when I took a bike part off the sunglasses. I turned around and gathered up my bike which had a destroyed front wheel. This is the reason I won't race the good carbon wheels in a crit. I ran back to the pits which were through the beer garden to get a wheel change. I did think of throwing the towel in and just getting a beer and call it a night but I wanted to finish. Ok here comes the pack. I got going again and caught back on for the last 6 laps but with 2 laps to go another crash happened in front of me and I said enough is enough. I sat at the back of the group and finished. I proceeded after the race to drink to many micro brews with Ed and Joel watching the Pro 1/2 field. After we got back to the hotel and went to bed I found myself outside our hotel room in my underwear wondering where the bathroom was. Ed was puzzled when he answered the door. Dude what are doing? A night to remember!

A few weeks later I wrapped up the Pacific Raceways or Tuesday night World Championships:


Myself and Gabe locked up the Cat 4/5 category this year going 1, 2. It was a fun battle and we could not have done it without the help of the team. Travis, Greg, Craig, Ken and everyone else who came out to race, thank you. Gabe was a little bit unlucky as we did most of the hill racing, March thru June as it always rained on Tuesday nights. He was able to build up a good lead as I suffered a bit to hang on to 2nd place. From June onward it was flats and sprinting, which is my specialty. Gabe was able to maintain 2nd place and we, for the most part dominated. It is a great feeling working together with Gabe and the rest of the team putting together our nightly tactics. I feel this really assisted me this year in getting my upgrade to3’s. Having a dismal year last year with illness and crashes, it really beats down your confidence. For me PR was a great place to increase my confidence and try new things. I got in my first break away at PR this year, which involves a lot of pain. I prefer sprinting but this was a great place to try it. I also learned having a game plan prior to a race helped hold myself accountable. I led out Brian Lockhart for a sprint win to welcome him back to racing. Funny we are now teammates!