The beast is back.

A couple weeks ago, I ordered a Neuvation wheel to replace the one I trashed. Well the wheel came in a couple days ago, and today, I got it mounted up. The wheel looks great and I'm definitely going to buy the matching front when I get the money.



Sorry for the poor lighting.

First time on the bike in 4 weeks!

The title says it all. My road bike is still trashed, but that doesn't stop me from going on grouprides. Every year, the club meets at Wes's house for night mountain bike rides. My mountain bike is a total piece of garbage and needs to be thrown in a ditch, but hey, it's all I have right now. I spent a little over an hour fixing it up, tuning the derailers, putting my road pedals on it and all that stuff.

Despite being crippled for a few weeks, I didn't do half bad tonight. The group did a usual 26 mile route, and I remembered most of it. There were a couple climbs but they weren't too bad compared to last year. I was riding at a CAT 4 level before my wreck, and now I'm lacking a bit. I'm pretty sore from the ride, mostly because the seat post on my mountain bike is an inch short, and I'm already half an inch over the max on the post.

Chad Payne, a rider in the group has set his mountain bike up so the bike's dimensions are almost identical to his road bike. I'd really like to do that too, but honestly I feel that it would be a waste of money on the bike I have now. I'm sure the parts going into the bike would cost more than what the rest of the bike is worth. Speaking if which, I was planning on buying a new mountain bike before I wrecked. Sure would have been nice /sigh :(

Oh yeah, if anyone reads this and feels nice enough to give me a 700c shimano 10speed compatible wheel it would really help me out a lot. It's basically all I need to resurrect the beast :P

So much for the training going well...

I haven't felt like posting about it, but two days after my last post on September 23rd, I had a really bad wreck and broke my collar bone. I was scraped all over and I'm pretty sure I bruised a few ribs because it still hurts taking deep breaths. The figure-eight brace came off last Tuesday after wearing it for two weeks. The bone has fused back and I've got 80% of my movement back, but it's going to be a while before it stops hurting and I can really move my arm around. Also, the deep gash on my left side still isn't healed. I think it's going to take a full four weeks for that stupid thing to close up.

My bike did fairly well considering it flipped down a road at 40 Mph. The new saddle I bought is torn up, but it's still usable. The bar tape is a little messed up but overall fine. I lost my tail light somewhere...and my rear wheel is pretty warped. I'm not sure if the wheel can be straitened out or not. I'm thinking it would be possible, but on the other hand, I think the wheel is going to have to be replaced. I want to be on the trainer NOW! I've been going crazy sitting at home the last few weeks being unable to ride a bike. I pulled my mountain bike out of the garage and put it on my trainer. The tire doesn't make contact with the drum so it's just sitting there right now.

I guess it's nice to have some time off. I just wish it was an optional time off because I'm seriously ready to get back on the bike now before it gets later in the year. I'll be able to actually ride my mountain bike outside in a few days. If not, pushing it back to the full four weeks wouldn't hurt.

Wrecks are stupid.

Training training training

Quick update: the training is going well. My body shutdown mileage has been extended about 20 miles since this spring. I got a new crank for my bike. It's amazing.

Bit of a scare yesterday.

I'm not sure of the cause but yesterday while climbing Gaither at a fast pace, I suddenly got light headed, dizzy, and I was having trouble breathing. I had to get off the bike to keep myself from falling over. I also felt weak and lightheaded for the rest of the ride. I'm attributing it to riding once every two weeks and being out of shape. I think being out of shape and hitting the mountain that hard caused me to reach my max heart rate for too long of a time and nearly caused me to pass out.

My calorie intake and hydration are both fine. I just gotta hop back on the bike and put more miles in. Although the days are growing shorter and the weather is going to start cooling down, I'm going to be hitting the training hard. School will be starting up next week and I'll be using my bike as transportation everyday. I'm aiming for CAT3 next season so it's balls to walls for the next 8 months.

Queen City Twilight Criterium and Springfield Criterium (CAT 4/5)

I just got back from Springfield and boy am I tired. I performed about like I thought I was going to. The Saturday race was really fast and the temperature was right at 100F. I knew the cram sessions I put in weren't going to be enough to whip me into shape for the races, but I still held my own. Although I got lapped on the last lap, I still managed to finish in the top half somewhere. There were over 50 riders that rode in the combined CAT 4/5 Race.

The second race is a different story altogether. I hadn't realized in time that there was an actual CAT 5 race on Sunday morning. I continued to register for the combined CAT 4/5 race like I had planned, so it wasn't a problem. It would have been nice to have pulled in another win however. Sunday wasn't as hot as Saturday, but it was still blistering. Although I didn't finish the Sunday race, I did feel stable the bit I raced.

My poor cousin Britney got ran over by a few CAT 3 racers that crashed on the final turn of their race. She had been sitting in her lawn chair on the outside of the turn and she suffered some minor bumps and scrapes from the guy that tackled her, but she seemed to be in good shape despite the pain in her neck.

I didn't really perform up to standards this weekend, but it's not something that I could have really helped with how busy my life has been lately. It's not my goals to do well this season anyhow. The real racing starts next season when I get serious about what I'm doing with my life on the bike. This weekend is probably the end of my 2008 season, but I'll be hitting it hard the rest of this summer and fall, crossing it up this winter, and hitting the roads hard again in the spring in 2009.

As far as my ability right now; I know how far I have come and how far I need to go. I've got a few training ideas in mind that should ensure my graduation from CAT 5. As I stand right now, I feel that I am about 85% of my way to being a CAT 4 in a race situation. Hopefully with my training, I'll be riding on par with 3s next spring.

Fun day.

It seems odd thinking back on it now, but I just did my first solo Jasper ride. It seems odd to me that I never got around to doing it solo earlier. I mean WHAT WAS I THINKING?

At any rate, the ride was very hot but very fulfilling. I didn't push myself to race pace or anything like that; I just rode at an adventurous pace. Considering the terrain, and that I was by myself, the 18.5MPH average speed on the way to Jasper isn't bad at all. Overall, the trip was 41 miles at a 17MPH average, at a total time of 2 hours 25 minutes.

My body held up much better than I expected it to, and even with my severely limited seat time I still think that I am in better shape than I was in early March. I'm nowhere close to peak, but I feel it will come in months to come(when it doesn't matter yay). My legs started to feel iffy about the 32-33 mile mark. I'm very pleased with myself that I got out today. I had almost forgotten what a deep burn felt like.

While my overall riding level is hirer than the beginning of the season, I feel that my staying power has dipped slightly in the last month. This can definitely be improved upon by next month. I'll be riding to work tomorrow, and hitting Jasper again on Monday. I'll be sore for the group ride on Tuesday, and I'm assuming that they will push for a Jasper ride themselves. I'll pedal around on Wednesday or sit on the trainer, and then hopefully get an easy group ride in on Thursday. Of course I'll be taking Friday off completely. That is unless I spin for a few minutes on the trainer.

I'm really looking forward to my first race in four months. I know I'll be racing with CAT5 and CAT4 racers, but I still feel that my chances are good. Maybe not a victory, but possibly a placing.

Update after a long content void.

Ok, So I haven't been posting anything. I know. I've been working a lot lately and I honestly haven't had time to do ANYTHING. I've barely gotten on the bike, and I haven't gone to a single race. My dad had a heart attack a couple months ago, and I've been helping out with things. He's been doing great for about a month now and things were really starting to settle down to where I was beginning to think about racing again. However, a couple weeks ago I wrecked my truck.

The truck had to be towed off, but I heard today from my dad that it was finally getting worked on today. It's going to cost about $3,000 to fix the thing, which is more than the truck is currently worth since it was already wrecked once. Hopefully I'll get the truck back in a few days. It's just a 1996 Ford Ranger, but I really miss the truck to be honest.

Anyway, as for actual cycling news; I'm going to hit the bike hard these next few weeks as I'll be riding to and from work and trying to make the group rides. I'm a shadow of my early season self and I need to get back to my peak range if I'm going to be ready for the Queen City Criterium on July 26th and 27th in Springfield, Missouri. The race is going to be a combined CAT 4 and 5 race over 35 minutes PLUS 3 laps. Yes, this means there is a possibility of winning cash for once(Yay!). Right now I definitely have more endurance than I did at the start of the season, and my race-pace-body-shutdown-mark as increased from 25 miles in March, to about 40 miles. I'm not really sure if my peak power has increased any as I haven't laid down a true 120% effort sprint in about three months. I've noticed my vertical jump has improved considerably, so more than likely, my sprint is still just as potent.

As for my physical body, I've gained about 3 pounds due to the lack of riding. I can't tell that I've lost any muscle mass at all, but I know that I can pack on muscle increadibly fast if I put enough effort into it. I've also noticed from the excessive amount of heavy lifting and pulling I do at work, that my body's power output exceeds what my body can actually handle. It's hard to explain. I haven't pulled any muscles or caused any injuries to myself, yet it is noticeable when I move something very large and heavy--and I do it quickly and easily, It feels like my body is tearing itself up inside and I wonder if I should be able to move something so massive as easily as I do. It's like my body is revving itself over the redline to get that extra power and torque out.

I always think about what Nate told me one day: "some people have more bullets than others." Then; I think about what constitutes a bullet, and how many I have, given the varying levels of output that I can achieve versus someone else. Based solely on my body, I would guess that over a standard 20 to 25 mile CAT 5 race, I can fire 3 bullets. I also feel that my body is horribly inefficient, and that it needs to be broken down more. Maybe by the time I'm riding at a CAT 3 level, my body will be functioning more like it should be allowing me to fire four or five bullets during a single race.

I had my bike overhauled a bit about two months ago: new chain, new tubes, new tires, steering tube cut, cable adjusted, and I lowered my seat about 1mm. The bike honestly felt brand new for about week. Now the bike is stating to argue with me and I need to take it down to the local bike shop for a once over before the race later this month. The derailer is shifting well, but it slips as I begin to put power into the pedals. This is the main reason I haven't been able to get into a real sprint lately. I think that I'm torquing the bike enough to cause the rear skewer to slip on the frame. I can't really get it any tighter, so I might have to change the skewer out. I also hear a grinding noise from somewhere. My crank and/or bottom bracket has been squeaking as well. I can't get on the trainer to iron these issues out as they only arise while I'm dropping hammers!

I still need a new freaking saddle!
I'm taking donations!

Well, that's all for now.

2008 Dogwood Road Race (35th out of 45, 11th out of CAT 5: CAT 5/4)

Ok well there's not much to say about this race. This was the longest race I had ever been in, and the second longest distance I had put on a bike in a single day. With that in mind, I didn't do too bad. I would have placed much much better if my back hadn't acted up. At one point, I actually got off of my bike to stretch my back out because it was bothering me so bad. My legs felt great during and after the race, but I know that I am not strong enough yet to truly CAT up. I'll give it another month of good training and go from there.

I bought a weight vest that I am going to be training with from now on. Anytime I'm on the bike, I'll be lugging my weight vest. It's only going to come off for races.


View the full race results here:
https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2008-680

2008 Northwest Arkansas Spring Classic (5th out of 35: CAT 5)

I woke up a little after 4am this morning and heard the thunder outside. The curtains ruffled as a wet breeze gusted through the open window. Lightning lit up the sky for a split second. "Today should be fun."

I loaded everything into my truck and got to Brittney's house around 5:40 AM. Nate came a little later and we loaded the car up. The breakfast bar at Shoney's wasn't set up all the way when we got there, but we eventually got to eat that morning. We drove through heavy rain and loads of lightning almost all the way to Fayetteville, but I was happy to have it clear up before the race.

I can't really say much about this race. Every single thing went perfectly. I rode the best I have ever ridden, and I did so while ridding smart. I placed myself through the field almost perfectly, and there isn't anything major I can think of that I would have changed.

I did; however, finish 5th. When the finish line came into view, one rider jumped early for his sprint. I sped up to ride his wheel for a few seconds before pushing off to pass him. I had 1st in the palm of my hand, but I lost it at the last 30 yards due to a mechanical problem with my rear derailer. While the bike had ridden well the entire race, it had decided to release enough tension in the cable just as I went to sprint to the finish to cause chain to bounce around the cassette. I went from 1st to 5th in the four to five seconds it took me to reach the finish line.

I was really upset and threw my bike down whilst cussing at it. Then, deciding this wasn't enough, I continued to throw my helmet and glasses as well. The bike is perfectly fine minus the now slightly rusted chain from riding in the rain all day. The cheap, found-on-the-side-of-the-road-three-years-ago women's sunglasses were also fine. I did manage to crack the nice helmet my cousin gave me. I'm pretty bummed out about that, but at least I have a spare one to use until I replace the broken one.

The CAT 5 men were awarded trophies through 5th place. Here is a picture of mine:



View the full race results here:
https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2008-62

PREVIEW: Northwest Arkansas Spring Classic

Well as usual, I rode with Nate and Brittney to go preview a course before we raced on it. This week was the NWA Spring Classic in Prairie Grove. Not much to say about this course this time other than it looks like it should be fun. Hopefully I can pull out another win. We took a lot of pictures of the ride, so hopefully I can get some on here later.

The results were corrected for the Hell's Kitchen Road Race. They have me down as 8th now, and it is also corrected on my USA Cycling profile so check it out.

Also, I received the medal for my first place finish at the Salt Creek Criterium. The address isn't correct on it, but I still got it and that's all that matters.

2008 Hell's Kitchen Road Race (8th out of 51: CAT 5)

EDIT:: Results edited and corrected.

Sunday the 16th was my third race. This was the Hell's Kitchen road race in Hogeye, Arkansas. I don't really have much to say about this race, nor do I have any pictures of the race. I am almost certain that I was the strongest CAT 5 in the field, however due to lack of experience and poor positioning on my part, I did not win the race. While I am a little disappointed I didn't finish as well as I had in my previous races, I still had a blast. The race was excellent, the weather was fair, and I had a great time. I tired myself out pulling the peloton and bridging gaps, and in the end it cost me. I did ;however, manage to catch the lead group three times, losing it each time on the hills. I have two weeks before my next race so I'll have plenty of training to better prepare myself next time. Currently, I can't say what place I finished since I'm labeled as DNF. I believe to have finished 10th, but on the official results 11th place is open. Eleventh sounds like a fair number to me.

Nate finished 3rd in the CAT 3 field. I'm really glad he's starting the season off on a good note.

I'll update this info as the news breaks.

View the full race results here:
https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2008-158

I know this isn't cycling related but...

KANIN! ^_^

First group ride of the year.

We had a nice turnout today at 5:45 for our first group ride. Sixteen people showed up, and we had two new people there. Hopefully we continue to have a lot of riders show up so the club can cater to more levels of riding. I enjoyed a nice pace today with three other riders, one of which was a new guy. The four of us ended up dropping the rest of the group. Tuesdays are generally the "faster" days, so I hope that no one got upset or discouraged after being dropped only a mile into the 26 mile ride.

Either way, I had an excellent training day, and I can't wait for this weekend.

PREVIEW: Hell's Kitchen Road Race

The Hell's Kitchen race is next weekend on March 16th, and takes place in Hogeye, Arkansas. This excerpt is taken from the Dickson Street Cycling Club (Accelorade) website:

"March 16th, 2008 - One of the most difficult road racing events in a four state area. Held South of Fayetteville in Hogeye, AR this 20 miles course offers no flat roads. Large rollers lead to a to a one km climb at the seven mile mark and then it’s to the now famous Hell’s Kitchen climb. This beast attacks your legs with its 3 km distance, 15% grade and pea gravel surface. This is the end of the race for a lot of racers and saps all strength even from the most gifted climbers. Never expect a bunch sprint in this event!"

Nate, my cousin Brittney, and I carpooled over to Hogeye yesterday to ride the course once around. The "Hell's Kitchen Climb" part of the course isn't nearly as challenging as I feared it would be. In fact, aside from the steeper pitch at the top, I hadn't realized we had began climbing Hell's Kitchen until I was told we were already on it. Don't get me wrong, the hill is a killer, and taking it at race pace will really sap your energy.

Overall, I think the course is going to be blast to race on and I think I'll do very well.




This is me rounding the hairpin turn about 5 miles into the course. The truck had a stop sign.



This is me a little before the Hell's Kitchen Climb enjoying the ride.



And this is me after the ride. Nate was supposed to be taking pictures of the buffalo, but he snapped a picture of me real fast.

2008 Salt Creek Criterium (1st out of 28: Cat 5)

Today marked my second ever road cycling race. Although It was more of a last minute type thing, Nate and I drove out to Mannford, OK for the Salt Creek Criterium race. The drive up there was about as boring as any other 3 hour car trip. (Ok it wasn't that bad.) But we managed to arrive a little after 8AM, and were registered rather quickly. My race started at 10AM, so I had some time to warm up. I actually had to borrow just about anything Nate could throw at me since by the time of my race, the temperature was still below freezing.

The course was a 3.1 mile loop that resembled a barbel, with a few hills mixed in along the lake shoreline. I didn't have a chance to ride the full course before the race started, but I think that's a good thing. I was a shivering and nervous wreck sitting at the starting line. I was actually relieved when the race started. We started off terribly slow, so I decided to lead the peloton and set the pace for the first lap. I tested the water to see how much I could pull, and to see who might possibly follow or pose a threat later in the race.

After hitting the first lap with a bit of effort, I decided to sit back the second lap and take in the scenery. The third lap I kicked it up before the finish so I could see what taking the finish would be like. I was still feeling pretty good. The forth lap I was sitting towards the back of the pack, and the fifth lap I was pretty much -THE- back of the pack. I used the first half of the final lap to get back into the middle of the peleton, and I used the faster downhill sections to position myself towards the front. I believe I was in second as we rounded the bottom turn before the climb to the finish.

I got boxed in on the outside as a group of nine riders attacked the hill. At this point I was sure I wasn't going to get anything out of this race. Just as I hit the hill, the guy to my left fell back far enough for me to get around him and kick it to the inside. I sprinted up the entire the length of the hill and carried enough momentum to pass all the front riders except the guy in first. I rode first place's wheel until the small hill just before the finish, and I kicked it up once more for my final sprint to the finish.



I won my second race with another first place by about two bike lengths. I was ecstatic! My legs were like Jello and I just rolled towards the grass before laying myself over onto the grass. I didn't care; I finished. I won. I was dead tired.

The whole event was done VERY smoothly, and it was a really enjoyable experience for me. The only hitch in the evening was the absence of my medal. The Cat 5 group had medals for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd; however, the company that made the medals supplied TWO 3rd place medals. My 1st place one will be arriving in the mail. Lame.

View the full race results here:
https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2008-527


The good news is that I did finally get my medal for the CARVE Crosswind Classic. The medal arrived in the mail today.

Snow yet optimistic

The snow started yesterday about 1PM, and snowed all night and in to the next morning until around 4AM today. I think it topped out at 5 inches, but the snow was already melting, and it's about half gone already. I was supposed to get out with Nate on Thursday for some light riding and sprints, but it got cold quickly and began snowing. I NEEDED to get out today but I couldn't. Trainers are really boring and very unlike riding a bike, yet I still managed to sit on mine for about an hour today.

I've almost got my bag ready to go. I've still got to make some sandwiches, pack my waters and gels, and let my kit finish air drying. I've also got to get my bike off the trainer so I can check and tighten things, and also wipe it down. I think we're going to be leaving at 4-5AM somewhere in there. It's also supposed to be cool; around 30F at 10AM which is when my race starts. I'm still not 100% of who is going.

I think I'm going to go do that shaving thing...

Upcomming race and a little update:

The club had a meeting yesterday and talked about a few things such as the team, the Tour de Hills, a club party, and the jerseys. The jerseys that are going to be ordered look great. I can't wait for the demo kits to come in. After the meeting, I had to meet my parents at a Chinese restaurant. My dad asked about upcoming races. I told him about the Salt Creek Criterium in Oklahoma, and he insisted that I go to it. I guess he's wanting to be more involved with what I do now or something.

So anyways, this weekend I'm going to that race with Nate and possibly another rider or two from the club. More info can be found here.

Today I rode with my cousin and Nate. We did about 23 or so miles, but we met up with a couple riders from the club that were just heading out. My cousin decided to call it a day, and I rode along. Nate caught up with us later. At the end of the day, I logged about 50 miles. I really need to do more longer days like today to work on my base for when I move to Cat 4, and then later when I move up to Cat 3.

First Road Race: CARVE Crosswind Classic (1st out of 70: Cat 5)

I had my first race in Little Rock. The race was the first annual CARVE Crosswind Classic. The execution of the race was dodgy at best, but I still had a great time. I won the Cat 5 division road race of 26 miles.




The picture above is me crossing the finish line followed by John Conner of LaS'Port Racing. There were 70 Cat 5 racers signed up for the race, and they were divided into groups A (50 riders), and B (20 riders).

View the full race results here:
https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2008-342

Feb 15th 2008

I know I didn't update any of this when I should have. Sue me.

I bought my new bike at Cycles Unlimited in Springfield, Mo.

It's a 2008 Scott Speedster S20.

Speech + Trainer

I woke up hoping to not have school today, but I ended up being fooled by the weather again. We were supposed to get 1 to 2 inches of ice last night. I should know better than to trust meteorologists with predicting weather in Arkansas.

Any who, I had school today. It was boring. I had to give a speech today, and I'm thankful that it's over with. Now if I can only get the other five for this semester over with. >_>'

I (finally!) got a trainer for my bike today. The trainer is a Minoura Mag850. The resistance is adjustable via a cable switch that mounts to the handlebars. I've been on it for an hour or so today, and I'm about to give it another go because I like it. ^_^

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