I just was informed yesterday that we have only like 20 days or so of class left this semester. factor in that i'll miss at least another week for racing and all those test and deadlines get quite intimidating. would you all keep telling me that i'm almost done so i just don't pack up and quit?
So i'm back to good ole Banner Elk after a fun and mostly successful racing trip to Cali. The team is awesome, the equipment is tops and even the people from priority health who came out to interview and take pics of us were great! I definitley got some hard racing in, and the legs seem to be turning over nicely after just a few weekends of racing. I gotta give a big THANK YOU to all my teamates for their help, and support that past couple weeks. i can't say i expected to be in a sort of "protected" role but it was an amazing feeling to have them behind me. Bonus thank yous to Tommy and Tom who rescued me just 5 miles into the Circuit race at redlands when i flatted. speaking of Redlands, that circuit race was pretty rad. we need more races like that. hard, exciting and very spectator freindly.
Its been good to get back to the Elk and get up to speed on everyone's spring break happenings. miserable to be back to schoolwork though. i missed a lot, to say the least. we did some TTT practice yesterday. I've also done like 4 loads of laundry since i've been back.
no rad picks today but soon. collegiate racing at UGA this weekend. the team has been riding fantastic so hopefully i don't botch things up. i left my race bike with the team in cali. i hope they ship it to me soon, my training bike doesn't have my name on it.
ciao for now
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Friday, March 24, 2006
We Look Good
I finally managed to get some eye candy for all you eager onlookers. some new kits and a bit of a photo shoot today. not ideal prep for tomorrows TT but fun to mix it up. start time tomorrow is 12:06. send me a tailwind!
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Cali
as you can probably tell, i've been going through slight amounts of internet withdrawl and consequently haven't been able to update this puppy very often, but voila! here I am again.
The past days and weeks have been pretty action packed. the fresno and san dimas race weekends are in the bag. our team is looking solid and improving with every race we've done with eachother. I gotta give a big thank you and congrats to the team for this past weekend as they allowed and helped me to win the White Jersey as "best young rider" in the san dimas stage race. We also managed two 2nd place stage finishes for the weekend which is pretty exciting and a good indication for things to come. if you haven't scoped it already, check out our teams results and some pics of the hottest team in the peleton.
The crit was a big day for me. the rain was coming down as we started and this helped me to escaape into a break on the first lap with Gord Fraser and my former teamate Karl Menzies. We stayed away for almost the entire 90 min. race, getting caught with less than a lap to go. sorta dissapointing to work so hard and come so close to staying away but it was some awesome race effort for the legs and not bad to have our team represented out there as well.
for some reason i can't post pics on this computer but check me out and here again
host housing this week before redlands. we're staying with a realy nice family in a beuatiful place. hopefully i acn figure out how to get some pics up soon.
ciao for now
The past days and weeks have been pretty action packed. the fresno and san dimas race weekends are in the bag. our team is looking solid and improving with every race we've done with eachother. I gotta give a big thank you and congrats to the team for this past weekend as they allowed and helped me to win the White Jersey as "best young rider" in the san dimas stage race. We also managed two 2nd place stage finishes for the weekend which is pretty exciting and a good indication for things to come. if you haven't scoped it already, check out our teams results and some pics of the hottest team in the peleton.
The crit was a big day for me. the rain was coming down as we started and this helped me to escaape into a break on the first lap with Gord Fraser and my former teamate Karl Menzies. We stayed away for almost the entire 90 min. race, getting caught with less than a lap to go. sorta dissapointing to work so hard and come so close to staying away but it was some awesome race effort for the legs and not bad to have our team represented out there as well.
for some reason i can't post pics on this computer but check me out and here again
host housing this week before redlands. we're staying with a realy nice family in a beuatiful place. hopefully i acn figure out how to get some pics up soon.
ciao for now
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
SPRING BREAK!!!
WHOO HOOO! yesterday was the first day of my spring break and wow has it been crazy! 10 or so hours of sleep a night and a nap thrown in for good measure was wild way to start it. when you add a couple hours of riding and a crazy salad for dinner i begin to think i maybe have to control myself for the next few days.
another spring break made up of bike racing, but thats fine by me when its with a great team at some hard races. i could go for a bit of better weather. today was dreadful. we had planned to hit the mountains for a good group session but instead opted for the nearby flatlands since it was windy and rainy. i gotta say it was maybe the lamest ride i've done in a while. straight roads, lots of wind. yuck! the only thing that made it bearable was some solid guys to ride with and Frank driving the van behind us to give us bottles and a fresh set of gloves for the way back. thanks Frank!
still no pictures. i know i'm slacking. i'm begginning to aquire a couple good ones but can't seem to remember my camera when i finally find a place where my computer will pick up a wireless signal. keep checking back and a promise some solid ones sometime before eternity.
tomorrow we're leaving merced, CA which is fine by me. this place is kinda lame. down to san dimas we go. i can't say i'm psyched about the drive but at least i won't be the one behind the wheel getting lost per usual.
i hear our new team site should be at least partially up soon, so keep looking for that. i better start practicing how i will style my hair for some team pictures!
ta ta
another spring break made up of bike racing, but thats fine by me when its with a great team at some hard races. i could go for a bit of better weather. today was dreadful. we had planned to hit the mountains for a good group session but instead opted for the nearby flatlands since it was windy and rainy. i gotta say it was maybe the lamest ride i've done in a while. straight roads, lots of wind. yuck! the only thing that made it bearable was some solid guys to ride with and Frank driving the van behind us to give us bottles and a fresh set of gloves for the way back. thanks Frank!
still no pictures. i know i'm slacking. i'm begginning to aquire a couple good ones but can't seem to remember my camera when i finally find a place where my computer will pick up a wireless signal. keep checking back and a promise some solid ones sometime before eternity.
tomorrow we're leaving merced, CA which is fine by me. this place is kinda lame. down to san dimas we go. i can't say i'm psyched about the drive but at least i won't be the one behind the wheel getting lost per usual.
i hear our new team site should be at least partially up soon, so keep looking for that. i better start practicing how i will style my hair for some team pictures!
ta ta
Saturday, March 11, 2006
a quickie
all the latest and brief info from cali...
racing again. at some NRC races. team is awesome. a few of the same great notables from last season and a nice few additions that are all tops! new bikes, rad. no new kits yet but hopefully soon.
yesterday was supposed to be a rockin mtn tt, like 2500 ft. elevation gain in 10km. turns out it snowed up there and apparantly in california, snow makes you melt or mutate or somthing because they won't ride in it. so instead we did a bland 35 km flat and windy tt. our team didn't have tt bikes since we planned on using our climbing legs so it was a bit of a rough experience. definitley not one to include on the resume. road race today. dead flat but some good km's and and a bit nice to get the legs tickin over outa the corners a a bit. haven't done that in a while. bloody cold. maybe 40 and rain towards the end. i thought we were in the sunshine state. so our mr. sprinter flatted on the last lap which thwarted our plans a bit, but we still gave it a good go and from what i saw today, we should be lookin in fine shape with a few more rides together.
minimal internet contact so my daily schedule has been modified a bit. hopefully this will change int he next week or so. crit tomorrow, wish me luck!
oh, a big congrats to the collegiate crew. i heard through the grapevine that mr. winger snagged a BIG W!!! way to go boys!
also congrats to a MI native who just won the tour of Tawain. mr kirk obee. since i don't have any new pics to show you. here's a dandy of me getting ready to pounce on mr. obee last year.
over and out.
racing again. at some NRC races. team is awesome. a few of the same great notables from last season and a nice few additions that are all tops! new bikes, rad. no new kits yet but hopefully soon.
yesterday was supposed to be a rockin mtn tt, like 2500 ft. elevation gain in 10km. turns out it snowed up there and apparantly in california, snow makes you melt or mutate or somthing because they won't ride in it. so instead we did a bland 35 km flat and windy tt. our team didn't have tt bikes since we planned on using our climbing legs so it was a bit of a rough experience. definitley not one to include on the resume. road race today. dead flat but some good km's and and a bit nice to get the legs tickin over outa the corners a a bit. haven't done that in a while. bloody cold. maybe 40 and rain towards the end. i thought we were in the sunshine state. so our mr. sprinter flatted on the last lap which thwarted our plans a bit, but we still gave it a good go and from what i saw today, we should be lookin in fine shape with a few more rides together.
minimal internet contact so my daily schedule has been modified a bit. hopefully this will change int he next week or so. crit tomorrow, wish me luck!
oh, a big congrats to the collegiate crew. i heard through the grapevine that mr. winger snagged a BIG W!!! way to go boys!
also congrats to a MI native who just won the tour of Tawain. mr kirk obee. since i don't have any new pics to show you. here's a dandy of me getting ready to pounce on mr. obee last year.
over and out.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
the start
Today marked the official beginning of significant travel for the '06 racing season. back to "out of bag living" and those lovely trailmix dinners. quite the day today. my mind was in the meat grinder from the start with chem lecture this morning. who knew there was so much to learn about little invisible particles with a negative charge. from there it was out on the bike for a quick 90 min sanity spin, then back to class for zoology lecture and lab. we got to disect crayfish and had to rip off all of their appendages. did you know crayfish have like 30 different appendages? i'm glad i dont' have that many, i have trouble keeping track of my arms and legs. 
now i sit in the Las Vegas aiport. my flight from charlotte to vegas was kinda bumpy and took bloody forever! now i get to sit around here for a couple hours and finish the trip into fresno at about 4 am eastern time. i can now say i've been to Vegas and i'm not sure i'll come back. these slot machines are everywhere and the "DING DING DING!" is killin me. maybe i'll have to try it another time when i'm not overtired and going to race my bike.
Central Valley Classic in Fresno, CA this weekend. the first stage of the omnium is supposed to be a sick uphill TT, but apparantly the road is still pretty snow filled and they may change it. not much sense in thinking about it i guess, i'll find out soon enough. new bike tomorrow too! should be about the same as my training machine, but nonetheless, thats always exciting. not sure what kinda internet life force i'll have for this next block but you can be sure if there is one nearby, I will find it!
ciao for now
now i sit in the Las Vegas aiport. my flight from charlotte to vegas was kinda bumpy and took bloody forever! now i get to sit around here for a couple hours and finish the trip into fresno at about 4 am eastern time. i can now say i've been to Vegas and i'm not sure i'll come back. these slot machines are everywhere and the "DING DING DING!" is killin me. maybe i'll have to try it another time when i'm not overtired and going to race my bike.
Central Valley Classic in Fresno, CA this weekend. the first stage of the omnium is supposed to be a sick uphill TT, but apparantly the road is still pretty snow filled and they may change it. not much sense in thinking about it i guess, i'll find out soon enough. new bike tomorrow too! should be about the same as my training machine, but nonetheless, thats always exciting. not sure what kinda internet life force i'll have for this next block but you can be sure if there is one nearby, I will find it!
ciao for now
Monday, March 06, 2006
more red
i know the main feature of my last post was "burn lines" but i got a couple more dandys this past weekend and wanted to share them with all those important people who read this. i've been hearing that the tan, golden bronze stuff is the look of the past and this summer, red skin is in!!!! i hope i can balancec cycling with all that skin modeling i'll be doing.
where did i aquire these beautys? Greenville, SC. i ventured down there with the collegiate team for my 2nd weekend of racing this season. no earth shattering results on the weekend. Sat. i raced with my sole southeast priority health teamate, Eddy Hilger. Eddy rode like an animal. just a lap into the racei helped launch him into a break that stuck almost all day. Eddy ended up holding the field off solo until 1 lap to go. I countered hard upon his catch and got away with a nice but scared group who wouldn't work it with me. it came back just before the finishing climb. Eddy gave me a solid leadout, but i jumped into the headwind rise too quick and ran out just short of the line, slipping back to 5th. one of my collegiate bros Ed Burress came in just behind in 6th. I need some work on that sprint, but all is well. that was about my 4th day of the season with that lactic acid stuff in my legs, it should only get better from here. here's a action pic of mr. hilger in the break.
Sunday I raced a crit on the BMW test track in Greenville. rode with the other cat 1/2 riders on my collegiate team. they are looking good and it was nice to be back flyin the green and gold LMC colors with them. a flat and fast course alomst 4 lanes wide proved anything but ideal for break aways, but i was persistant in trying to shake it up and get some intensity in my legs that will hopefully help for the next couple weekends. Finally with about 15 min. to go, i escaped with one other rider. For the next couple laps i dropped the hammer to establish a bit of a gap. my companion was giving me what he had but i definitley coulda used a bit more as i charged like a bull through the headwind everylap, only to have him come through and decrees speed in the tailwind while i quickly caught my breath before taking another charge. back in the pack, team Nerac/outdoor lights (the only full pro team there) had their full team of 12 or so riders on the front aiming to pull us back. my time trial effort came to a dissapointing end with one lap to go as the pack swooped in on us preparing for the sprint. a bit of a bummer to get caught but also refreshing to have put in a good effort and also see that almost the entire nerac team had been blown to bits in pulling us back. with only 1 lap to go, i did my best to retain position. i found one of the newest and strongest additions to our collegiate team, scott Jackson, and did my best to bring him into the first few wheels of the race as we entered the final corners. scott had a nice finishing kick and ended up 6th. kudos to the rest of my collegiate team as well for a solid weekend of USCF racing. this spring should be a good one.
back to school today. ugh. only 2 more days and i'll be headin out to Cali to finally assemble with the full Priority Health team. from the sounds of it they are all rippin out there already so it will be great to join them. I'll be sure to check in from the west coast.
addio for now.
where did i aquire these beautys? Greenville, SC. i ventured down there with the collegiate team for my 2nd weekend of racing this season. no earth shattering results on the weekend. Sat. i raced with my sole southeast priority health teamate, Eddy Hilger. Eddy rode like an animal. just a lap into the racei helped launch him into a break that stuck almost all day. Eddy ended up holding the field off solo until 1 lap to go. I countered hard upon his catch and got away with a nice but scared group who wouldn't work it with me. it came back just before the finishing climb. Eddy gave me a solid leadout, but i jumped into the headwind rise too quick and ran out just short of the line, slipping back to 5th. one of my collegiate bros Ed Burress came in just behind in 6th. I need some work on that sprint, but all is well. that was about my 4th day of the season with that lactic acid stuff in my legs, it should only get better from here. here's a action pic of mr. hilger in the break.
Sunday I raced a crit on the BMW test track in Greenville. rode with the other cat 1/2 riders on my collegiate team. they are looking good and it was nice to be back flyin the green and gold LMC colors with them. a flat and fast course alomst 4 lanes wide proved anything but ideal for break aways, but i was persistant in trying to shake it up and get some intensity in my legs that will hopefully help for the next couple weekends. Finally with about 15 min. to go, i escaped with one other rider. For the next couple laps i dropped the hammer to establish a bit of a gap. my companion was giving me what he had but i definitley coulda used a bit more as i charged like a bull through the headwind everylap, only to have him come through and decrees speed in the tailwind while i quickly caught my breath before taking another charge. back in the pack, team Nerac/outdoor lights (the only full pro team there) had their full team of 12 or so riders on the front aiming to pull us back. my time trial effort came to a dissapointing end with one lap to go as the pack swooped in on us preparing for the sprint. a bit of a bummer to get caught but also refreshing to have put in a good effort and also see that almost the entire nerac team had been blown to bits in pulling us back. with only 1 lap to go, i did my best to retain position. i found one of the newest and strongest additions to our collegiate team, scott Jackson, and did my best to bring him into the first few wheels of the race as we entered the final corners. scott had a nice finishing kick and ended up 6th. kudos to the rest of my collegiate team as well for a solid weekend of USCF racing. this spring should be a good one.
back to school today. ugh. only 2 more days and i'll be headin out to Cali to finally assemble with the full Priority Health team. from the sounds of it they are all rippin out there already so it will be great to join them. I'll be sure to check in from the west coast.
addio for now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
