Mountain biking, kids. It's magical.

So far, I've managed to bunny hop a foot-high curb without touching either wheel. Went straight up a 6 stair staircase. Crashed going up a slimy wooden ramp. Waded through a waist-deep flood surge with bike on shoulder. Plowed through a foot deep, 100yd long flooded section of the Prairie Path. Railed some singletrack in the rain, only to fall over when my old Speedplays wouldn't disengage.

Le Sigh...

This is the time of year when rumors fly about where everyone, from ProTour guys to the local Cat4/5 scene, is going to end up next year.

There was some speculation about what would happen with some local mid-level amateurs after a mass fallout with a person in a leadership position.

Carlos Sastre threw away his career by leaving CSC/Saxo Bank or whatever they are right now for presumably more money with the new Cervelo TestTeam.

A bunch of hot shot 3s (a very select few, like Tom Boba, deserve the attention) made a big ruckus about moving up to the 2s.

Two of the biggest and best domestic Pro teams, HealthNet and Toyota United, are disbanding after this season due to their sponsors pulling out.

A smaller pro team, paying a pair of super nice guys like Jonny Cantwell and Chad Hartley, is going back to elite amateur status, at least for next season.

So, after reading this, some people might begin wondering what has prompted this on my part. Am I moving to Oregon? Taking up mountain biking full time (T-6 days ETA for the new Paragon, ladies) and becoming an unkempt, dreadlocked hippy? Switching teams to exact some retribution for an unknown offense? Switching to duathlons?

The answer to all of these questions is no. ABD/GG is one of the best, if not THE best team in the Midwest. While I don't love the fact that the longest race I did this year was a pan flat, ~110km criterium, I readily acknowledge that this is just the sort of race that I need to be doing. Despite the fact that I envision myself as a "climber" (recent power tests aren't shabby after a two week easy period...wow) the crit-heavy schedule the team focuses on is exactly what I need in order to make myself a better bike racer. It forces me to improve my bike handling and on the fly analysis of what's going on in a bike race. The guys who race for ABD are also great; always helpful both on and off the bike. Always learning from them, which I think is essential for a developing racer.

In, let's say, the Tour de 'Toona Cat2 points race, the wheat separates from the chaff going up a 12 mile climb. At X.X w/kg, I simply float on by most people going uphill. That's not bragging; that's the truth. I'm not exactly putting up huge numbers here. While not the best thing to do, you can start at the tail end of the field on a climb like that and be at the front relatively quickly, simply by being faster than other people and picking your way through the soon-to-be corpses scattered across the road.

So, if Mr. Ebert will have me, I'm racing for ABD/GG again next year. The racing schedule probably won't be full of mountainous road races, but I'm fine with that. That's what vacations are for, kids.

Life Updates

So, just a real quick life update or two.

1) I'm super burned out on the road riding/racing scene. At least around here, that is. Riding in DuPage County, particularly in my neck of the woods, limits me to a VERY small selection of routes that are safe. All of them involve me heading out towards the Fox River, in one way or another. I'm determined to get out to California/Arizona/Some Place Warm this winter to ride up mountains and relieve some of the depression caused by sunlight deficiency.

2) I have a new (my first real one) mountain bike on order. No more just talking about it; it's still probably just a collection of aluminum tubes up in Wisconsin, but it's on the way. Gary Fisher Paragon. 29" of fast rolling awesomeness. And, due to the 29" wheel size, I can strap on my PT harness, throw my PT wheel on, and take it out on the Prairie Path in the dead of winter to get some data (For those that don't know, I'm particularly susceptible to overheating, even in a 40 degree garage with a fan on) and to keep myself sane.

3) I've seen a lot of people from my HS graduating class recently. And oddly, I didn't feel repulsed by the situation. Kind of cool to see people I haven't seen in 5 years. It was nice to talk to people and just shoot the breeze and catch up. Had some laughs, drank some beers, and had a genuinely good time for the first time in a while. Talked to girls, even. Crazy, I know. And, I'd also like to take a moment and congratulate Ryan and Amy Patton on their marriage Friday night; great to see two wonderful people tying the knot and starting a new life together. All the best.

Small Races: Gripes and Observations

Today was the Grayslake Crit. It's a pretty cool, 8-corner, U-shaped course. 

Now, I like doing local races where I know everyone and vice versa, don't get me wrong. However, I don't like predictability in my local races. And, as it turns out, today's race was very much that sort of race.

Attacks from the gun, literally, as they rang the prime bell shortly after the whistle. I made my way to the front, meaning I pedaled twice or thrice, and there I was. I traded pulls with some other dude and chased down the world's Fastest 19 Year Old over the course of a lap and a half, and the race was back together. I lobbed one up the road, got brought back. Various flurries of attacks, Herr Spencer got about 50m up the road.

What follows is probably the saddest thing I've ever witnessed in a bike race. Over the course of the next lap, I dragged the field around while the break dangled, and I do mean it dangled, not 10 seconds up the road. And when I say dragged the field around, I don't mean the Stuart O'Grady/Fabian Cancellara type of dragging the field around; we were going 24mph around the course (guesstimate) and no one came around.

Eventually, some people attacked and I played defense. Just like every race it seems, the group that I really needed to be in, the chase, went right after I put in a pretty serious dig to bring an attack back into the fold. Chad Hartley went up the road, and someone went after him. I latched onto him, but dragged the field up in the process. And then, when I came around and was looking for someone to take my place, i.e. hurting pretty badly, Scott Pearson came around, and I couldn't get back on terms.

So, there were now 5 guys up the road, and I wasn't one of them. Lame. 

We then went on a 45min group ride, in which I was forced to chase everything that breathed. And, the pace dropped, a LOT. Apparently people couldn't figure out that I wasn't obligated to do any work. 

A certain, high successful 3 and recently upgraded 2 couldn't seem to wrap his head around that fact. He'd attack, I'd bridge up or drag the field up, and he'd give me a look that was a combination of anger and confusion. This isn't really directed at him, but at the guys who had their way with the 3s and now find things a bit, oh, different. Welcome to the Pro/1/2's, dude. You aren't going to roll off the front unless you're a level above most of the field, and that's certainly not the case anymore. Everyone is as strong as you, and damn near everyone is smarter at this point. Time to go back to the ol' drawing board. 

I'm Super Weak; An Update

It seems that legs alone are not enough to get you through a SuperWeek race. I'm stronger than I've ever been, but I'm not even shooting .500 in terms of finishing.

To keep this short, here's a synopsis of what I need to do in order to improve. Quite simply, I need to learn how to move up through the field, and maintain my position. I'

m not a Cat3 anymore, nor are SuperWeek races the normal Cat1/2 races with 60 guys. I can't just muscle my way up along the sides simply by being faster than other people. I can only make so many of the efforts necessary to do that sort of thing at SuperWeek pace.

There is one good thing about being a bottom feeder in SuperWeek races: if you survive, you get one hell of a workout. I'm sure tomorrow will be another example of this, and I'll have my PT wheel on board to get some data. I wouldn't be surprised if my best 2hr average power was 300w or more (I do believe that is the only power figure I've ever thrown out on this blog). Having started or re-started at the front a couple of times, I know that it's discernibly easier up there. So, while I'm not exactly happy about being a non-factor in just about every race, it's not all bad.

Anyways, here's a sweet picture of me being packfodder at Evanston: