Capiol Crit
I placed a lot of emphasis on the Capitol Crit only to set myself up for disappointment. I spent the entire race in the back of the pack. Come on. That's not right. I meant to be patient but it ended up being a complete lack of involvement. It killed me to watch the rest of my team working the front against a dominating Recycled team. I was worthless, a disgrace to my team mates out on the breaks. Normalized Power of 426 and avg of 328!! Whoa. I was working much harder than i had thought. Those are crazy numbers for me. Goes to show that the back of the pack works much harder than the front. I know this. I just need to pull my head out i guess. But luckily Aaron was able to get in the winning break and clinch a 3rd place podium spot. He's come along way this season and could be our next Cat 2 candidate.
Boston Harbor
This race i went in thinking i'd just kill myself with the attacks until i either got dropped or won. I didn't care either way. I just wanted the abuse after the previous disappointment and hopefully set up another team mate for a winning break at the least. The race was very aggressive. Content attacks and chasing. The breaks just never seemed to amount to much. None lasted longer than a qtr. lap. That is until the beginning of the last lap when a group of ten riders broke off the front without an IJM jersey in it. Yikes! So Brian, Jeff, Brad and myself where on the front drilling it. Brian and Jeff pulled us close enough for me to bridge and i took it. I was able to catch on to the break fairly quickly and immediatly started to work. Brad was able to bridge at one point as well as some other riders and this break eventually turned into the main field as the rest ended up strung out all over the place. There were 15 for the final sprint. Brad and i taking 6th and 7th.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Track 061109
Best night at track all year... never mind it was only my second night. I still had a blast. I had so much fun that they upgraded me to Cat 4 so now i get to race TWO nights a week if i wish... hmmmm. Anyhoo, i had fun regardless. The night didn't start so hot. I was really excited about testing out my new 2008 Fuji Pro that i got of some chump on craigslist for $600. But as i loaded the car to leave i noticed a flat front tire. Once i got to the track i notice i had brought my MTB shoes and not my road shoes meaning i didn't have cleats to match my pedals. Brian, one of the officials, was kind enough to lend me his shoes. Which were two sizes too big, but workable nonetheless. I wouldn't have been able to enjoy myself without them. Once i was able to get a warmup lap in, i notice my rear tire now flat. Gawd. By the time i was able actually get on the track they rang the bell for everyone to get off. Being new and all i didn't fully understand this until i came around again and was reprimanded. Did i mention there are a lot of rules on the track? I only seem to learn them by breaking them. I get yelled at a lot. There are a finite amount of rules and i'm just picking them off one by one. One of these days i'll run out and by that time i'll have figured out all the little nuances and whatnot. Til that day though, watch out.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Pacific Raceways 060909
I had a good time and good workout at PR today. Although i can't shake this sneaky suspicion that the 1/2 guys are just messing with us 3's. I have a hard time believing that most 1/2 races have the same dynamics as they do at PR. No one wants to work at all. Everyone just wants to attack and then not work. It's weird really. So most of the time the 3's are up front trying to maintain top 10 placement - chasing attacks, bridging, countering, etc. But every time a solid group manages to gain a meaningful gap, these 1/2 guys carry the whole pack up to the break. Seemingly effortlessly. Then proceed to fade to the back again. These same guys are the ones usually winning the primes and the finish. Just sitting back watching us 3's kill ourselves. All the while knowing they could crush us with one revolution of the cranks. Kills my confidence. Just when i think i doing good, BAM.
But i like to think i did fairly well. I stayed with the lead group, i attacked and i made one valiant solo bridge that i am proud of. Even if it only amounted to one lap in the break before getting pulled in by some cat 1 dude. I got what i came for. Motivation to ride myself into the ground.... feels good.
But i like to think i did fairly well. I stayed with the lead group, i attacked and i made one valiant solo bridge that i am proud of. Even if it only amounted to one lap in the break before getting pulled in by some cat 1 dude. I got what i came for. Motivation to ride myself into the ground.... feels good.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Changing Trends
Tough times.
My company just went through another round of layoffs. Sucks. We've let go over 20% of our work force these last couple of months. Coming into work isn't too much fun at the moment. Each day i see a new empty desk. No 2 week notice. Nope, you are immediately stripped of your access credentials and escorted out the door. Perhaps with 2 weeks pay in you pocket, but you are no longer allowed on the premises. It's like we're storming the beaches of Normandy, no cover, bullets blazing all around us, mortars exploding, running for our lives. I manage to find some cover further up the beach with a few co-workers, "Where's Jimmy?" "He didn't make it", "Where's Johnny?" "He didn't make it". Tragic and heart breaking. And to top it off, I'd say the avg experience of those that didn't make it had somewhere between 15 -20yrs service with this company. I even had to see my mentor from when i started here 9 years ago, let go yesterday. That was tough. A fellow cyclist and one who taught me a bunch of valuable info about this industry and methods to our madness. Some of which i still use today. He had been working here for 30+ years. Nicest guy you'd ever meet. Saddens me to see him go. Of the people currently still employed, i say the average years of experience is less than 6 now. Seems weird huh? Just doesn't seem right. As if someone up the food chain has some crazed vendetta to stomp out the old and in with the new. We'll that's what non-union gets ya.
But as personally tragic as it is to see this happen to my co-workers, it came at no surprise to any of them or to anyone else for that matter.
You see, over the course of the last 6 years our company has almost tripled in size. Our abilities and strategies have changed. Our market has changed, our customer demands have changed and our company has adapted to the industry's new demands just as any successful company should. But, just as the company needs to change and adapt to it's market, so does the employees to theirs. I have a responsibility to my career to maintain my skills and capabilities that my company deems valuable so that my services continue to warrant my job and my paycheck. I should never take my job for granted. I've spent the first 24+ years of my life educating myself so i will have the skills and knowledge to get a successful job that i could enjoy. Just because i finally got hired doesn't mean i stop educating and honing my skill set. My career and livelihood depend on it. It's as if i got accepted into the job at a time when a muskets and standing in formation in an open field was successful. But now i'm fighting against machine guns, napalm, laser guided missiles, and nuclear bombs. Dude, i better plan a new strategy, get me some new hardware and figure out how to use 'em or i won't make it. Could you imagine a company today trying to stay in the forefront of their industry without using a computer at all? I sure as hell wouldn't want to go in for treatment of gonorrhea from a well experienced doc that's never cared to get educated about the benefits of penicillin.
These analogies are extreme, obviously, and perhaps a little harsh, but the premise is there. And i'm not advocating getting rid of the old has-beens either. And experience does matter but only relevant to the current market trends. There are still co-works with 30+ years of experience that flourish at our company whom i admire and i can only strive to live up to. And i'm not saying the only reason for laying people off is because they can't hack it in the new world either. If there's no work, there's no money to pay the employees and sometimes good skilled worker get let go, whole departments are canceled and a slew of good quality skilled workers are put out in the market. It happens. I fear it could happen to me. But, i only hope that my due diligence maintains my skill set at the forefront of the industry so that another company will quickly hire me on. As the old adage of ' you can't teach an old dog new tricks' may be true, that old dog perhaps should use his experience to teach himself a new trick or two.
My company just went through another round of layoffs. Sucks. We've let go over 20% of our work force these last couple of months. Coming into work isn't too much fun at the moment. Each day i see a new empty desk. No 2 week notice. Nope, you are immediately stripped of your access credentials and escorted out the door. Perhaps with 2 weeks pay in you pocket, but you are no longer allowed on the premises. It's like we're storming the beaches of Normandy, no cover, bullets blazing all around us, mortars exploding, running for our lives. I manage to find some cover further up the beach with a few co-workers, "Where's Jimmy?" "He didn't make it", "Where's Johnny?" "He didn't make it". Tragic and heart breaking. And to top it off, I'd say the avg experience of those that didn't make it had somewhere between 15 -20yrs service with this company. I even had to see my mentor from when i started here 9 years ago, let go yesterday. That was tough. A fellow cyclist and one who taught me a bunch of valuable info about this industry and methods to our madness. Some of which i still use today. He had been working here for 30+ years. Nicest guy you'd ever meet. Saddens me to see him go. Of the people currently still employed, i say the average years of experience is less than 6 now. Seems weird huh? Just doesn't seem right. As if someone up the food chain has some crazed vendetta to stomp out the old and in with the new. We'll that's what non-union gets ya.
But as personally tragic as it is to see this happen to my co-workers, it came at no surprise to any of them or to anyone else for that matter.
You see, over the course of the last 6 years our company has almost tripled in size. Our abilities and strategies have changed. Our market has changed, our customer demands have changed and our company has adapted to the industry's new demands just as any successful company should. But, just as the company needs to change and adapt to it's market, so does the employees to theirs. I have a responsibility to my career to maintain my skills and capabilities that my company deems valuable so that my services continue to warrant my job and my paycheck. I should never take my job for granted. I've spent the first 24+ years of my life educating myself so i will have the skills and knowledge to get a successful job that i could enjoy. Just because i finally got hired doesn't mean i stop educating and honing my skill set. My career and livelihood depend on it. It's as if i got accepted into the job at a time when a muskets and standing in formation in an open field was successful. But now i'm fighting against machine guns, napalm, laser guided missiles, and nuclear bombs. Dude, i better plan a new strategy, get me some new hardware and figure out how to use 'em or i won't make it. Could you imagine a company today trying to stay in the forefront of their industry without using a computer at all? I sure as hell wouldn't want to go in for treatment of gonorrhea from a well experienced doc that's never cared to get educated about the benefits of penicillin.
These analogies are extreme, obviously, and perhaps a little harsh, but the premise is there. And i'm not advocating getting rid of the old has-beens either. And experience does matter but only relevant to the current market trends. There are still co-works with 30+ years of experience that flourish at our company whom i admire and i can only strive to live up to. And i'm not saying the only reason for laying people off is because they can't hack it in the new world either. If there's no work, there's no money to pay the employees and sometimes good skilled worker get let go, whole departments are canceled and a slew of good quality skilled workers are put out in the market. It happens. I fear it could happen to me. But, i only hope that my due diligence maintains my skill set at the forefront of the industry so that another company will quickly hire me on. As the old adage of ' you can't teach an old dog new tricks' may be true, that old dog perhaps should use his experience to teach himself a new trick or two.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Enumclaw Stage Race 2009
For the most part i have to say i was disappointing in my performance this weekend. I had higher expectations in the TT and Crit and both were uneventful. In the TT, my goal was to significantly beat my time from last year. I only managed to beat it by 4 seconds. 30sec + would have been significant, but 4s was disappointing to me. A years worth of training and all i get is 4s? The crit wasn't much better. I found it hard to mentally get excited for the crit after the TT in the morning and 5 hrs of waiting around. I had high hopes for a prime or top ten finish but no such luck. I was very disappointment in my inability to match the sprint accelerations of some the other riders. Of the 2 primes i had intention of contesting, i just couldn't match the acceleration of the wheel i was on during the sprint let alone come around. It's a little demoralizing as i used to regard myself as one who can match a sprint with most of the 3s only to find that not to be the case this weekend. I left with my head down and feeling frustrated with my training efforts, questioning my year plan and it's effectiveness.
On Sunday, I almost didn't show for the road race the following day as i knew i'd get dropped in the climb, but i figured my selfish self pity is no excuse to let the rest of my team down. I'd show up and make myself useful in the flats if i could. So i did. I got dropped on the first time up the climb, but i managed to get in a group of 5 other riders and we managed to catch back on just at the base of the decent. Max speed on the decent was 56mph! Whoa! I was so fired up from working so hard to catch back on i just kept the momentum (and high heart rate) and immediately shot to front started throwing down some attacks to mix things up a bit. As i got reeled on my third attack a counter immediate ensued. Ryan G was on my wheel and i waved him by to catch on as i worked at allowing a gap to open up without giving away too much of what i was doing. A few stragglers tried to bridge around me but eventually they had a decent separation and the main pack eased off. And separated i did as wel, out the back while on the accent a few more miles up the road, never to see the main field again. It was a lonely decent and i managed to catch another fallen rider just after the end of the 2nd lap. We arranged to just finish out this lap and call it quits. But surprisingly another group of 6 more cat 3 riders came up to us and we jumped in and rode out the remaining 1.5 laps together.
Ryan G and the 3 other riders in the break managed to stay away the rest of the race with Ryan taking 3rd for the day! Nice! I like to think i played a part in the outcome along with the rest of our squad disrupting the rotation of the main field to allow him to stay away. Showing up today was all worth it. Great team effort.
On Sunday, I almost didn't show for the road race the following day as i knew i'd get dropped in the climb, but i figured my selfish self pity is no excuse to let the rest of my team down. I'd show up and make myself useful in the flats if i could. So i did. I got dropped on the first time up the climb, but i managed to get in a group of 5 other riders and we managed to catch back on just at the base of the decent. Max speed on the decent was 56mph! Whoa! I was so fired up from working so hard to catch back on i just kept the momentum (and high heart rate) and immediately shot to front started throwing down some attacks to mix things up a bit. As i got reeled on my third attack a counter immediate ensued. Ryan G was on my wheel and i waved him by to catch on as i worked at allowing a gap to open up without giving away too much of what i was doing. A few stragglers tried to bridge around me but eventually they had a decent separation and the main pack eased off. And separated i did as wel, out the back while on the accent a few more miles up the road, never to see the main field again. It was a lonely decent and i managed to catch another fallen rider just after the end of the 2nd lap. We arranged to just finish out this lap and call it quits. But surprisingly another group of 6 more cat 3 riders came up to us and we jumped in and rode out the remaining 1.5 laps together.
Ryan G and the 3 other riders in the break managed to stay away the rest of the race with Ryan taking 3rd for the day! Nice! I like to think i played a part in the outcome along with the rest of our squad disrupting the rotation of the main field to allow him to stay away. Showing up today was all worth it. Great team effort.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Fun in the SUN
This weekend was fantastic. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. I am very glad i chose not to race at Wenatchee. I have vowed to not race as much this year in efforts to maintain order and sanity in the rest of my life. This weekend was proof that i can still have a life while trying to live up to my cycling fanatic aspirations. Something that takes much more training than training itself... if that makes any sense.
Friday is date night. The wife and i headed out for a meandering stroll to the neighborhood grease pit restaurants and dive bars to spark the romance inside us. We don't live in any sort of urban environment so the closest restaurants are several miles away. But then that's all part of the date, right? Beside it justifies a few more drinks and extra toppings. I gulped a few pints while Amanda pounded several tequila shots, ouch! Test of manhood, i guess. Perhaps it's the sun and blue skis that inspires her to throw back and choke down that horrid, putrid excuse of indulgence. But whatever gets her in the mood. I'll take what i can get.
Saturday i headed out for an easy ride as i was still fatigued from grueling intervals during the week. I strolled down the east side of lake and met up with candid group heading north around the lake. The gang was headed over to Mercer but my better judgment opted for a more leisure stroll back home instead of the aggressive nature sunny Mercer Island rides tend to evoke. Chance tagged along around the lake. I did emphasis my intentions of sagging this ride in favor of a longer, more aggressive one the following day. He did't complain, but dropped me up Juanita twice. Gold star to me for not giving chase to Chance. The remainder of the day i spent investing hard labor into the yard. Lots of dirt moving and heavy lifting. Check off items on my to-do list for April. Not i need to get started on my May to-dos.
Sunday topped off the weekend with a great 3.5hr ride over Hollywood, Norway, Ames Lake, and Juanita hills. No structure, just hammer as hard as i can for the entire time with extra emphasis on any sort of incline. Garmin recorded 3500ft of climbing, but MapMyRide only had 2800. Whatever, i had probably the most fun on a solo ride all year. Just sweat, grins, and sunshine.
Friday is date night. The wife and i headed out for a meandering stroll to the neighborhood grease pit restaurants and dive bars to spark the romance inside us. We don't live in any sort of urban environment so the closest restaurants are several miles away. But then that's all part of the date, right? Beside it justifies a few more drinks and extra toppings. I gulped a few pints while Amanda pounded several tequila shots, ouch! Test of manhood, i guess. Perhaps it's the sun and blue skis that inspires her to throw back and choke down that horrid, putrid excuse of indulgence. But whatever gets her in the mood. I'll take what i can get.
Saturday i headed out for an easy ride as i was still fatigued from grueling intervals during the week. I strolled down the east side of lake and met up with candid group heading north around the lake. The gang was headed over to Mercer but my better judgment opted for a more leisure stroll back home instead of the aggressive nature sunny Mercer Island rides tend to evoke. Chance tagged along around the lake. I did emphasis my intentions of sagging this ride in favor of a longer, more aggressive one the following day. He did't complain, but dropped me up Juanita twice. Gold star to me for not giving chase to Chance. The remainder of the day i spent investing hard labor into the yard. Lots of dirt moving and heavy lifting. Check off items on my to-do list for April. Not i need to get started on my May to-dos.
Sunday topped off the weekend with a great 3.5hr ride over Hollywood, Norway, Ames Lake, and Juanita hills. No structure, just hammer as hard as i can for the entire time with extra emphasis on any sort of incline. Garmin recorded 3500ft of climbing, but MapMyRide only had 2800. Whatever, i had probably the most fun on a solo ride all year. Just sweat, grins, and sunshine.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Ravensdale RR 2009
I agreed to do this race mainly because the weather was suppose to be fantastic. However, i've been fooled before. But the sun came through and lit up the pavement with all it's slender and glory. I didn't even have knee warmers on, although i did sport arm warmer which i kept on the entire race.
IJM CAT 3 men were represented by Brian, Brad, Aaron, Darren, and myself. We all had a cavalier attitude about this race. Meaning we didn't have any aspirations of stressing ourselves out by making a big deal of who does what when and where. We just wanted to go out and kill ourselves for the sake of saying we did so.. at least that was my plan.
The race started and before the neutral roll out is complete, this Lenovo guy goes screaming off the front as if he were a 1/2 who missed his start time. The lead car seemed to know the scoop and proceeded to give him a good lead out. So good in fact, that in the first mile of the race this dude had a 1:10 on the pack! That's crazy. We never saw him again. He was eventually DQ'd for jumping the neutral roll out.
I maintained my position in the top 20 for the first lap making sure i didn't lose patience and do anything stupid. So i waited 'til the second lap to play up front chasing and attacking. More chasing than attacking. That was primarily the same for all the remaining laps. Nothing broke that could sustain more than a mile or two. I think everyone on the team was in one of these at one time or another. I took the opportunity of working on pack placement and maneuvering. Making sure i didn't fall too far back. It's hard and i always need to hone my skills.
Everything changed on the last lap. No one wanted to initiate anything so the anxiety was running high and we all were bunched up with overlapping wheels and rubbing elbows. You could sense that something was bound to happen before the finish line. Unfortunately when it did, it took out everyone on our team except Darren who managed to squeak out a top ten finish. But while he was finishing, Brad, Aaron, Brian and myself were scraping ourselves up off the asphalt about .5k back. The guy in front of me lost focus and crossed wheels. He immediatly took me out before i could react and the chain reaction reverberated through out the pack sending bikes, people and water bottles every which way. It looked like a yard sale. Oh Man, The new bike! Luckily it was spared. I was fortunate enough to used the bike i landed on as a sled to shield my bike from sure carnage as we slid along the asphalt. I lost some skin, but everything was fine with the Tarmac. Whew! Oh thank the baby Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, my pet rock and everything else holy in the world. If i busted two bikes within a week, i'd be reduced to finishing the year with fenders and disc brakes.
IJM CAT 3 men were represented by Brian, Brad, Aaron, Darren, and myself. We all had a cavalier attitude about this race. Meaning we didn't have any aspirations of stressing ourselves out by making a big deal of who does what when and where. We just wanted to go out and kill ourselves for the sake of saying we did so.. at least that was my plan.
The race started and before the neutral roll out is complete, this Lenovo guy goes screaming off the front as if he were a 1/2 who missed his start time. The lead car seemed to know the scoop and proceeded to give him a good lead out. So good in fact, that in the first mile of the race this dude had a 1:10 on the pack! That's crazy. We never saw him again. He was eventually DQ'd for jumping the neutral roll out.
I maintained my position in the top 20 for the first lap making sure i didn't lose patience and do anything stupid. So i waited 'til the second lap to play up front chasing and attacking. More chasing than attacking. That was primarily the same for all the remaining laps. Nothing broke that could sustain more than a mile or two. I think everyone on the team was in one of these at one time or another. I took the opportunity of working on pack placement and maneuvering. Making sure i didn't fall too far back. It's hard and i always need to hone my skills.
Everything changed on the last lap. No one wanted to initiate anything so the anxiety was running high and we all were bunched up with overlapping wheels and rubbing elbows. You could sense that something was bound to happen before the finish line. Unfortunately when it did, it took out everyone on our team except Darren who managed to squeak out a top ten finish. But while he was finishing, Brad, Aaron, Brian and myself were scraping ourselves up off the asphalt about .5k back. The guy in front of me lost focus and crossed wheels. He immediatly took me out before i could react and the chain reaction reverberated through out the pack sending bikes, people and water bottles every which way. It looked like a yard sale. Oh Man, The new bike! Luckily it was spared. I was fortunate enough to used the bike i landed on as a sled to shield my bike from sure carnage as we slid along the asphalt. I lost some skin, but everything was fine with the Tarmac. Whew! Oh thank the baby Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, my pet rock and everything else holy in the world. If i busted two bikes within a week, i'd be reduced to finishing the year with fenders and disc brakes.
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