Ive been too busy with cycling and life to actually sit down and do any updates. I've been racing all season and I had my last race last weekend. I'm done! Finished! While the season is over, my cycling career is just starting. I managed enough points to apply for my CAT 3 upgrade and I received the approval two days ago. So yes, I am officially a category 3 road racer.
I updated the races totals on the right side of the blog over there -->
and here is a quick recap of my season since I'm too lazy to update my blog as the races happen:
Hell's Kitchen Road Race: 14th
North West Arkansas Spring Class: 23rd
Bob Herbert Memorial Circuit Race: 17th
Tour De Hills: 14th
Joe Martin Stage Race TT: 23rd
Joe Martin Stage Race Road Race: 14th
Joe Martin Stage Race Criterium: 19th
Arkansas State Road Race: 21st
Arkansas State Time Trial: 4th
Babler X-Treme Circuit Race: 1st
Arkansas State Crit: 3rd
Queen City Twilight Crit: DNF
Queen City Twilight Crit: DNF
Queen City Crit: 1st
Missouri State TT: 6th
Missouri State Crit: 3rd
Sedalia Historic District Criterium: 17th
Sedalia Historic District Criterium: 28th
Otterville Road Race: DNF
Har-Ber Meadows Criterium: 3rd
I'm really excited that the season is over because I was starting to burn out a little towards the end and now I get to take a little time off before hitting the training hard. I've really got to work on my base for next year. I'm going to poke around for advice and tips for weight training to strengthen my legs a little bit to improve my climbing. My sprint is still as potent as ever so I'm not too worried about working on that.
Ive bought a new mountain bike that I'm going to be using in the group rides this fall. I honestly can't wait to get out and hit the trail with the rest of the guys. It's going to be a blast for sure!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Update
The last couple weeks have been slow due to weather but things are warming up. I had a great ride with the club yesterday and I'm (supposed to be)taking the day off today since I have a race tomorrow. It's calling for thunderstorms early morning but I think it's going to clear off before the race actually starts.
The race I'm going to was supposed to be a time trial, but this year they've made it a circuit race. I was really wanted to do a time trial this early in the season to get my feet wet right off the bat. My tt bike build is actually done for right now as I bought pedals and a cassette to go on my old sub-105 Shimano wheel. Well I bought a cassette for my tt bike, but actually just finished putting the new one on my road bike because I like shiny upgrades. :)
Oh right! I applied for a category change the other day and they gave it to me. If you check the race history on the right you can see that I am now a CAT4. I'm really excited because my season has finally started! Move out of the way 4s, CAT3 here I come.
The race I'm going to was supposed to be a time trial, but this year they've made it a circuit race. I was really wanted to do a time trial this early in the season to get my feet wet right off the bat. My tt bike build is actually done for right now as I bought pedals and a cassette to go on my old sub-105 Shimano wheel. Well I bought a cassette for my tt bike, but actually just finished putting the new one on my road bike because I like shiny upgrades. :)
Oh right! I applied for a category change the other day and they gave it to me. If you check the race history on the right you can see that I am now a CAT4. I'm really excited because my season has finally started! Move out of the way 4s, CAT3 here I come.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
2009 Northwest Arkansas Spring Classic (Cat5 23rd out of a lot)
Sorry for the late race update. I've been really really busy with life lately and haven't had much time to really sit down. Um, I don't really have much to say about this race really. I woke up the day of the race and felt terrible. I was coughing really hard and felt like I had a fever. I honestly shouldn't have went at all but I said screw it because I was awake and I had already asked the day off.
A couple people from the club went over to Prairie Grove for the race too; Chad Payne and Paul were the only two that went. It was nice having team members there and it's started to feel like the season has begun.
I don't know how many people were registered to race but I had heard that there were right at 50 CAT5s but the results are all screwed up on the USA Cycling website. Before the race, I took a shot of Dayquil to keep the coughing down. It actually worked until the last three or four miles. I'm 95% sure I would have won the race if I hadn't started coughing as bad as I did towards the end so this race goes on the pile of other races I should have won.
Anyway I won't be racing sick again anytime soon.
View the full race results here:
https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2009-470
A couple people from the club went over to Prairie Grove for the race too; Chad Payne and Paul were the only two that went. It was nice having team members there and it's started to feel like the season has begun.
I don't know how many people were registered to race but I had heard that there were right at 50 CAT5s but the results are all screwed up on the USA Cycling website. Before the race, I took a shot of Dayquil to keep the coughing down. It actually worked until the last three or four miles. I'm 95% sure I would have won the race if I hadn't started coughing as bad as I did towards the end so this race goes on the pile of other races I should have won.
Anyway I won't be racing sick again anytime soon.
View the full race results here:
https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2009-470
Saturday, March 21, 2009
New bike
This is just a quick update to let people(me) know that I have updated my bike garage. I added the time trial bike I purchased last month. Click the bike garage link on the right to check it out
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2009 Hell's Kitchen Road Race (14th out of 60+: CAT 5)
Well I've been meaning to update for a while but I've been waiting for the results for Hell's Kitchen to be released. I'm bothered by what was posted as the results. You can check them at the bottom of this entry:
I'm fairly sure that I got 14th place out of over 60 CAT 5 riders. I was definitely one of the stronger riders in the race and overall I did well. I could have placed better if I had attacked harder on the Hell's Kitchen climb and stayed with the lead group. I was the first rider in after the leaders, and there weren't any other riders strong enough to help me bridge the gap. I had a couple guys on my wheel but I dropped them the last couple miles to the finish line.
The race was cooooold starting out. I think the temperature was 42 with the high being about 48 by the time I finished. I didn't really warm up much at all, but honestly I don't think it hurt me at all. The race seemed really easy and laid back, I just wasn't prepared for the hard pace we pushed going up the final climb. The sudden hard effort is the most I've put out in the last year since I haven't had a chance for hard training rides this early in the season and I was off the bike so much last fall due to my broken collar bone.
Anywho, the race was a blast and I'm really looking forward to my next race on the 29th. I'm expecting to win the race and finally CAT up, but I don't want to gloat too much in case I fail miserably. :P
Here is the church which held the registration. Where is everyone?
Oh everyone is standing in line at the porta potties.
I wore the kit I wrecked in last fall.
Here is my bike pre-race.
Some guy I pulled the last mile tried to challenge me to a sprint at the end. It was actually kind of fun :P
Chad Payne and Chris Rost were at the race too, but I didn't stick around very long after the race to see how they did. Chris got somewhere in the upper 20s in the CAT 5s, and Chad Payne got 9th in the CAT 4s. I know Chad is doing the Dogwood Road Race on the 28th instead of the North West Arkansas Spring Classic on the 29th. I'd really like someone to go with on the 29th, but as of right now it looks like I'll be going solo.
Anyway that's it for now.
View the full race results here:
http://usacycling.org/results/?permit=2009-256
I'm fairly sure that I got 14th place out of over 60 CAT 5 riders. I was definitely one of the stronger riders in the race and overall I did well. I could have placed better if I had attacked harder on the Hell's Kitchen climb and stayed with the lead group. I was the first rider in after the leaders, and there weren't any other riders strong enough to help me bridge the gap. I had a couple guys on my wheel but I dropped them the last couple miles to the finish line.
The race was cooooold starting out. I think the temperature was 42 with the high being about 48 by the time I finished. I didn't really warm up much at all, but honestly I don't think it hurt me at all. The race seemed really easy and laid back, I just wasn't prepared for the hard pace we pushed going up the final climb. The sudden hard effort is the most I've put out in the last year since I haven't had a chance for hard training rides this early in the season and I was off the bike so much last fall due to my broken collar bone.
Anywho, the race was a blast and I'm really looking forward to my next race on the 29th. I'm expecting to win the race and finally CAT up, but I don't want to gloat too much in case I fail miserably. :P
Chad Payne and Chris Rost were at the race too, but I didn't stick around very long after the race to see how they did. Chris got somewhere in the upper 20s in the CAT 5s, and Chad Payne got 9th in the CAT 4s. I know Chad is doing the Dogwood Road Race on the 28th instead of the North West Arkansas Spring Classic on the 29th. I'd really like someone to go with on the 29th, but as of right now it looks like I'll be going solo.
Anyway that's it for now.
View the full race results here:
http://usacycling.org/results/?permit=2009-256
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Big update today
The season is nearly in full swing and I've been really busy lately. I've been riding like a maniac compared to my riding level to get in shape for my first race. This season my first race is the Hell's Kitchen race in Hogeye, Arkansas. The race is TOMORROW!
The club group rides have started back up and the ride on Tuesday was a total blast. Everything started pretty tame at first, and going home we were going to have a tail wind all the way back, but the wind shifted on us suddenly. I don't remember looking down at the speed, but we must have been pacing around 30 when the "wind" felt like it stopped, and then suddenly slapped us in the face with a cold, strong headwind.
A few minutes after the wind shifted, only three of us were keeping pace when we got pelted in the face with heavy rain. I was cold when we pulled into the parking lot but I actually had a lot of fun coming back in like that. I'm not sure if we got hit by any, but driving home I drove through some pea-sized hail.
Oh yeah, I GOT A NEW BIKE! I finally bought a Time Trial bike. So far, I really like the thing, but it's going to take some training and seat time to get used to it. The seat tube angle is a different so you use a slightly different muscle group which is hard to explain. Basically, you feel the same burn in a place where you're not used to feeling it. I don't want to release any details about the bike onto my blog yet(not like anyone reads it other than me) because I don't have a wheelset for the bike yet. I don't really want to take pictures, nor create a bike profile in my bike garage for the bike until it's complete. That means getting at least a rear wheel and some pedals.
Speaking of wheels, the rear wheel on my race bike failed on me. I'm riding on a pair of Neuvation Aero4 wheels right now. I was a little bothered that the wheel failed me so close to my first race and I was worried about getting another wheel before this weekend. HOWEVER, Neuvation has amazing support and they shipped me a wheel as soon as they got my email. I've already had the wheel a couple days and it's ready to go.
I also had a problem with my left 105 brifter. I wasn't planning on upgrading the shifters on my race bike yet, but all the local shop had in stock was an Ultegra brifter. Oh and I put on a new Dura Ace chain. I just finished cleaning my bike a few minutes before I sat down type all this out and right now the bike looks really sleek. :)
I'm a little uneasy going into a race with three brand new parts on the bike, but I think everything will be fine. I'll post an update when I get back from the race tomorrow.
The club group rides have started back up and the ride on Tuesday was a total blast. Everything started pretty tame at first, and going home we were going to have a tail wind all the way back, but the wind shifted on us suddenly. I don't remember looking down at the speed, but we must have been pacing around 30 when the "wind" felt like it stopped, and then suddenly slapped us in the face with a cold, strong headwind.
A few minutes after the wind shifted, only three of us were keeping pace when we got pelted in the face with heavy rain. I was cold when we pulled into the parking lot but I actually had a lot of fun coming back in like that. I'm not sure if we got hit by any, but driving home I drove through some pea-sized hail.
Oh yeah, I GOT A NEW BIKE! I finally bought a Time Trial bike. So far, I really like the thing, but it's going to take some training and seat time to get used to it. The seat tube angle is a different so you use a slightly different muscle group which is hard to explain. Basically, you feel the same burn in a place where you're not used to feeling it. I don't want to release any details about the bike onto my blog yet(not like anyone reads it other than me) because I don't have a wheelset for the bike yet. I don't really want to take pictures, nor create a bike profile in my bike garage for the bike until it's complete. That means getting at least a rear wheel and some pedals.
Speaking of wheels, the rear wheel on my race bike failed on me. I'm riding on a pair of Neuvation Aero4 wheels right now. I was a little bothered that the wheel failed me so close to my first race and I was worried about getting another wheel before this weekend. HOWEVER, Neuvation has amazing support and they shipped me a wheel as soon as they got my email. I've already had the wheel a couple days and it's ready to go.
I also had a problem with my left 105 brifter. I wasn't planning on upgrading the shifters on my race bike yet, but all the local shop had in stock was an Ultegra brifter. Oh and I put on a new Dura Ace chain. I just finished cleaning my bike a few minutes before I sat down type all this out and right now the bike looks really sleek. :)
I'm a little uneasy going into a race with three brand new parts on the bike, but I think everything will be fine. I'll post an update when I get back from the race tomorrow.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Today's Ride
I rode the Jasper Disaster course today; nothing special aside from a creaking noise coming from my headset. I'll have to strip it down and check it out. The ride today was considerably easier than when I rode the same course last week.
Ah almost forgot. I'm still testing out Nate's saddle. The 65 miles I rode today felt pretty good. I'm pretty sure I want to get my own Arione saddle now :P
I guess that's it for today >_>
I'm hungry
Ah almost forgot. I'm still testing out Nate's saddle. The 65 miles I rode today felt pretty good. I'm pretty sure I want to get my own Arione saddle now :P
I guess that's it for today >_>
I'm hungry
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Super nice weather today!
I rode my bike to work again today. I'm wanting to ride everyday, but I've been unable to lately. Today was fairly decent this morning at 42 degrees. Coming home though, it was a nice 66 degrees with only 3mph wind! I really wish I could have stayed out longer.
The saddle I bought before my wreck has been bothering me lately. It does a good job at relieving pressure (which is what I bought it for), but I've been having problems getting a comfortable position to alleviate the pain on my right sit bone. I'm borrowing Nate's extra Fizik Arione saddle to try it out. The round trip to work and back felt really good on the saddle. There is a sweet spot the takes the pain away once I find it.
I only rode 23 miles on it, but I think I'm going to buy my own. The last 500 (926 total) miles I put into my Avenir Sprint Master have been gradually getting more painful. I think the saddle got broke in after those first 400, and the saddle just rides poorly.
I took a quick picture of my bike locked to the awning at work with my phone but it seems like the picture didn't save for some reason. Aw well, maybe next time :P
The saddle I bought before my wreck has been bothering me lately. It does a good job at relieving pressure (which is what I bought it for), but I've been having problems getting a comfortable position to alleviate the pain on my right sit bone. I'm borrowing Nate's extra Fizik Arione saddle to try it out. The round trip to work and back felt really good on the saddle. There is a sweet spot the takes the pain away once I find it.
I only rode 23 miles on it, but I think I'm going to buy my own. The last 500 (926 total) miles I put into my Avenir Sprint Master have been gradually getting more painful. I think the saddle got broke in after those first 400, and the saddle just rides poorly.
I took a quick picture of my bike locked to the awning at work with my phone but it seems like the picture didn't save for some reason. Aw well, maybe next time :P
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Commuting
I commuted to and from work today. It's about 17 miles round trip, nothing special. I wish it wasn't so darn cold because I really hate having to wear so much gear. It was about 22 this morning which meant that after about 10 minutes, I couldn't drink from my water bottle. Thanks weather.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Running
I've started running in order to get myself into a higher all-around condition. I could run a good while but I'm starting out with shorter distances for now. I have to build my joints and muscles up for running before trying to kill myself on a 10-15 mile run.
Shoes are always important for running so I bought a new pair. They're super hot Under Armour Spectres in yellow.
You can pick up a pair here if you want. I'd really recommend them.
Oh yeah, I ran a mile today and I'm going to bed early so I can ride my bike to work. Cheers :P
Shoes are always important for running so I bought a new pair. They're super hot Under Armour Spectres in yellow.
You can pick up a pair here if you want. I'd really recommend them.
Oh yeah, I ran a mile today and I'm going to bed early so I can ride my bike to work. Cheers :P
Friday, February 20, 2009
The season is almost here!
I rode 64 miles today since I had the day off and it was nice enough to be out for a while. I'm still out of shape but I'm getting back in it fairly quickly. I'm still looking at Time Trial bikes and I've been checking Ebay waiting for a sweet deal to come across.
I've started compiling a 2009 race schedule, and right now I'm sitting at 17 races this season. A lot of events aren't on the schedule yet and there's no telling what might happen, so I expect the schedule to be changed or altered. I'll post the list later when it gets closer to races.
Also I'm about to start doing regular updates, not daily ones mind you, but more frequently than I am now. I'm thinking 3-4 or so a week if I can manage it.
I've started compiling a 2009 race schedule, and right now I'm sitting at 17 races this season. A lot of events aren't on the schedule yet and there's no telling what might happen, so I expect the schedule to be changed or altered. I'll post the list later when it gets closer to races.
Also I'm about to start doing regular updates, not daily ones mind you, but more frequently than I am now. I'm thinking 3-4 or so a week if I can manage it.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Days are warming up! (and so are my legs)
I was able to get out with Brittney and Nate today and take some pictures of the Tour De Hills race our club is going to host again this year. I wasn't really on the bike that much but Nate and I hit the steeper climbs of the course and then some. I'm a little sore from doing just over 8 miles of climbing after sitting around inside the last week.
Speaking of last week, I couldn't get out at all with the temperatures in the teens, the ice and gravel on the road, and the trees and debris all over the place. I guess Northern Arkansas and a few other places in the country got hit by the same front and it put us in a national disaster area. Being out of power for a week was a real bore. Sitting on a trainer and staring at candles in the dark was a lot worse.
I've got my bike in shape with my new wheelset. I sat down yesterday and took an hour to clean the bike and lube the chain and derailleurs. It was nice having a clean bike again but it's too bad that it's already dirty. I'll probably wipe it down real fast and throw some pictures up in the Bike Garage just so I'll have some updated pictures of the bike to flaunt about.
Just a little note: I'm going to get a time trial bike in the next month or two. I really want a full schedule this year and squeezing a few time trials in there would really break up the road races. Time trials would also help me focus on breaking my mental walls and enable me to really push myself in other races. Right now I'm almost sure that I'm going to go with a Leader 735TT frame and build it up myself. It should be a fun learning experience.
That's all for now.
Speaking of last week, I couldn't get out at all with the temperatures in the teens, the ice and gravel on the road, and the trees and debris all over the place. I guess Northern Arkansas and a few other places in the country got hit by the same front and it put us in a national disaster area. Being out of power for a week was a real bore. Sitting on a trainer and staring at candles in the dark was a lot worse.
I've got my bike in shape with my new wheelset. I sat down yesterday and took an hour to clean the bike and lube the chain and derailleurs. It was nice having a clean bike again but it's too bad that it's already dirty. I'll probably wipe it down real fast and throw some pictures up in the Bike Garage just so I'll have some updated pictures of the bike to flaunt about.
Just a little note: I'm going to get a time trial bike in the next month or two. I really want a full schedule this year and squeezing a few time trials in there would really break up the road races. Time trials would also help me focus on breaking my mental walls and enable me to really push myself in other races. Right now I'm almost sure that I'm going to go with a Leader 735TT frame and build it up myself. It should be a fun learning experience.
That's all for now.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Quick update
Things have been pretty slow around here lately. I'm getting back into the grove of riding again and I'm really enjoying it. I just can't wait for it to warm up so I can be on the bike 24/7.
The rear wheel I ordered has been outstanding so far. I ordered the matching front wheel and it came in just a couple days ago. After I get paid, I'm going to run to a shop to buy some rim tape and some new tires for my bike. I plan on breaking the bike down and cleaning everything so it looks good for some pictures.
My water bottle was getting funky so I got two new ones. I also bought four pair of cycling socks. I only have a few more items on my list to buy before the season starts. I need more time on the bike, but right now I just want the season to be here as soon as possible. It just feels like I haven't been getting anywhere in life lately.
The rear wheel I ordered has been outstanding so far. I ordered the matching front wheel and it came in just a couple days ago. After I get paid, I'm going to run to a shop to buy some rim tape and some new tires for my bike. I plan on breaking the bike down and cleaning everything so it looks good for some pictures.
My water bottle was getting funky so I got two new ones. I also bought four pair of cycling socks. I only have a few more items on my list to buy before the season starts. I need more time on the bike, but right now I just want the season to be here as soon as possible. It just feels like I haven't been getting anywhere in life lately.
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