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.