Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Das Tour de Frankenmuth
So I went up on Friday night to Birch Run and shared a room at the Holiday Inn with Doug, Derek, Colin and Elisa. We had dinner at Applebees, checked in to our room, unloaded the bags and bikes then sat in the hottub for about a half hour.
6am the alarms (3 of them) went off and it was up and time to race. We loaded up the room and the bikes then made our way to the lobby for breakfast. I brought Nutella from home to put on our bread....delicious.
Once we got to Zehnders for race prep, we realized that there was no wheel support. The Cat 1/2s had a wheel car, and there was one other wheel car that serviced the other 200 riders. Great idea.
It started raining before the start and Joe and I just chilled out in my car away from the water. Luckily it let up and the temperature picked up before the start. Our race started prety slow. I was expecting some attacks from the gun, but our MCG guys and the Priority guys went to the front and set tempo for the first few miles. The corners were still wet, so we were being carfull not to crash.
Despite our best efforts there was a crash. But it was not because of a wet road. At like mile 2 someone overlapped wheels with me then ran into my wheel and went down. I thought I had caused it, but I talked to a few guys and they all said I had held my line and it was not my fault. However, I was sitting in the top 10 of the peloton at the time, so the crash took down 60% of the feild. We all sat up and waited for the group to get back together and the team capitans to take the toll on their teams. We lost Adam York and Colin Snyder to the crash. So we were down to 7 guys. About a mile later, Joe Lekovish flatted and because there was no wheel support, he was out so we were down to 6.
The rest of the frist lap was really easy and pretty laxed. A few guys tried to get away, but we all said no to most of them and pulled them back. Around mile 8 or 9 a break of two riders including Priority's Mac Brennan got away. We let it go because we had plenty of time to pull it back with 51 miles left in the race.
When we came around to the feed zone the first time, I thought I hit a stick, I heard and felt something in my rear wheel. But it stopped and looked fine, so I stayed with the peloton. As we came through the start area, we were strung out in one big line and upon the first corner of the course, I discovered that it was not a stuck. I had broken a spoke. Around the corner, It came loose and got caught in my cassette, so I could't pedal. And with no wheel support, I was out of the race and my team was down to 5 riders after starting with 9 after just one lap.
I went and hung out in the Feed Zone to help my team. Lucky I was there, because on the Cat 4s last lap, a guy in all black dove left in the middle of the peloton causing a HUGE crash. Bike in the air, people down left and right, riders in the ditch...it was bad. Darrell and I went running across the street ro help. Almost everyone was fine. There were 2 riders that were hurt bad, one guy with a broken collarbone. I called 911 to get the ambulance, then stood in the road directing traffic and racers around the rider and the ambulance once it showed up.
After the rider was taken car of, I went to the start line to watch the end of my race. Brennan and his breakaway companion never got pulled in and made it to the line with Mac taking the big W. As the peloton came through, Scott got 9th in the feild sprint and ended in 11th, Mark Bush in 14th.
From talking with other riders, it appeared that just finishing this race was an accomplishment. It is flat, there was no wind. Finishing this course should not have been a feat. But it was. There were also a LOT of mechanicals at the race, and some odd ones at that. I saw a bike missing a saddle, but the rails were still there, just missing the saddle. Alan Antonuk said his cassette fell off when riding. How does that happen? Another rider got out of the saddle while riding and his rear wheel fell out. Odd day.
After all was said and done, I went and had a word with the race organizer. Having no wheel support is not a very wise idea. He said it was becuase they had a lack of personell. Well here are my arguments:
-every feild had a lead vehicle, we dont need lead vehicles. We have course marshalls that can direct us...just like every other race in the state. Take those lead vehicles and put them BEHIND the race, you had enough drivers.
-Every feild should have a car behind the race for safety reasons. Say there is a crach in.....lets say the Cat 4 feild. Say some rider goes off into the ditch and breaks their collarbone. How is a LEAD car going to see that? A FOLLOW car would and moreso, they would have a cell phone to call 911. The rider Darrell and I helped out was lucky that he crashed in the feed zone where there were actually people around. What if he had been knocked unconcious and fell into a ditch in the middle of the course? Who would have seen him?
-"we didnt have enough volunteers" is complete BS. Tri-City cyclists were out racing yesterday. They are instant volunteers. Clubs do not put on races for themselves, they put them on for the STATE. Riders have to make sacrafices, if you are putting on a race, get your friends to volunteer or you should untill every corner is covered and every feild has a follow car.
-I think it should be a rule that every road race requires a follow vehicle for every feild. It annoys me that I paid $35 for registration, $25 for a room, gas money, work off, months of training to get a broken spoke 1 lap into a race, and the organizers are too lazy to have wheel support, so I have to drop out of the race an dont even get a chance to get back in the race.
I know I am being mean to the organizers, I know they did what they could. And I am thankful. I love this race, it is a great course. I will be back next year. But only if they have neutral support for every feild (like last year). It is not a convienience issue I am complaining about, it is a safety issue.
6am the alarms (3 of them) went off and it was up and time to race. We loaded up the room and the bikes then made our way to the lobby for breakfast. I brought Nutella from home to put on our bread....delicious.
Once we got to Zehnders for race prep, we realized that there was no wheel support. The Cat 1/2s had a wheel car, and there was one other wheel car that serviced the other 200 riders. Great idea.
It started raining before the start and Joe and I just chilled out in my car away from the water. Luckily it let up and the temperature picked up before the start. Our race started prety slow. I was expecting some attacks from the gun, but our MCG guys and the Priority guys went to the front and set tempo for the first few miles. The corners were still wet, so we were being carfull not to crash.
Despite our best efforts there was a crash. But it was not because of a wet road. At like mile 2 someone overlapped wheels with me then ran into my wheel and went down. I thought I had caused it, but I talked to a few guys and they all said I had held my line and it was not my fault. However, I was sitting in the top 10 of the peloton at the time, so the crash took down 60% of the feild. We all sat up and waited for the group to get back together and the team capitans to take the toll on their teams. We lost Adam York and Colin Snyder to the crash. So we were down to 7 guys. About a mile later, Joe Lekovish flatted and because there was no wheel support, he was out so we were down to 6.
The rest of the frist lap was really easy and pretty laxed. A few guys tried to get away, but we all said no to most of them and pulled them back. Around mile 8 or 9 a break of two riders including Priority's Mac Brennan got away. We let it go because we had plenty of time to pull it back with 51 miles left in the race.
When we came around to the feed zone the first time, I thought I hit a stick, I heard and felt something in my rear wheel. But it stopped and looked fine, so I stayed with the peloton. As we came through the start area, we were strung out in one big line and upon the first corner of the course, I discovered that it was not a stuck. I had broken a spoke. Around the corner, It came loose and got caught in my cassette, so I could't pedal. And with no wheel support, I was out of the race and my team was down to 5 riders after starting with 9 after just one lap.
I went and hung out in the Feed Zone to help my team. Lucky I was there, because on the Cat 4s last lap, a guy in all black dove left in the middle of the peloton causing a HUGE crash. Bike in the air, people down left and right, riders in the ditch...it was bad. Darrell and I went running across the street ro help. Almost everyone was fine. There were 2 riders that were hurt bad, one guy with a broken collarbone. I called 911 to get the ambulance, then stood in the road directing traffic and racers around the rider and the ambulance once it showed up.
After the rider was taken car of, I went to the start line to watch the end of my race. Brennan and his breakaway companion never got pulled in and made it to the line with Mac taking the big W. As the peloton came through, Scott got 9th in the feild sprint and ended in 11th, Mark Bush in 14th.
From talking with other riders, it appeared that just finishing this race was an accomplishment. It is flat, there was no wind. Finishing this course should not have been a feat. But it was. There were also a LOT of mechanicals at the race, and some odd ones at that. I saw a bike missing a saddle, but the rails were still there, just missing the saddle. Alan Antonuk said his cassette fell off when riding. How does that happen? Another rider got out of the saddle while riding and his rear wheel fell out. Odd day.
After all was said and done, I went and had a word with the race organizer. Having no wheel support is not a very wise idea. He said it was becuase they had a lack of personell. Well here are my arguments:
-every feild had a lead vehicle, we dont need lead vehicles. We have course marshalls that can direct us...just like every other race in the state. Take those lead vehicles and put them BEHIND the race, you had enough drivers.
-Every feild should have a car behind the race for safety reasons. Say there is a crach in.....lets say the Cat 4 feild. Say some rider goes off into the ditch and breaks their collarbone. How is a LEAD car going to see that? A FOLLOW car would and moreso, they would have a cell phone to call 911. The rider Darrell and I helped out was lucky that he crashed in the feed zone where there were actually people around. What if he had been knocked unconcious and fell into a ditch in the middle of the course? Who would have seen him?
-"we didnt have enough volunteers" is complete BS. Tri-City cyclists were out racing yesterday. They are instant volunteers. Clubs do not put on races for themselves, they put them on for the STATE. Riders have to make sacrafices, if you are putting on a race, get your friends to volunteer or you should untill every corner is covered and every feild has a follow car.
-I think it should be a rule that every road race requires a follow vehicle for every feild. It annoys me that I paid $35 for registration, $25 for a room, gas money, work off, months of training to get a broken spoke 1 lap into a race, and the organizers are too lazy to have wheel support, so I have to drop out of the race an dont even get a chance to get back in the race.
I know I am being mean to the organizers, I know they did what they could. And I am thankful. I love this race, it is a great course. I will be back next year. But only if they have neutral support for every feild (like last year). It is not a convienience issue I am complaining about, it is a safety issue.
Monday, May 18, 2009
It's never too late to post...
Sorry all. I have been quite busy lately and as you can see I have neglected my blog.
Anyways, I finished my Sophmore year in college. All As and Bs this semester, just like the last one. I have moved out of the dorm and off campus. I now live in Ann Arbor near the Geddes Cemetary. It is a decent apartment, not amazing, but for $300/month with everything included what do you expect? This fall I will be moving back to Ypsi, but no longer on campus. I will be living in an apartment with a few guys I know from school.
Work has been SLOW lately. All the students went home. Everyone's hours got cut. I went from 40 to 27 and next week I only have 18. The biggest problem is that I have asked for Tuesday and Thursday evening's off for Crit Practice (starting this week) and Waterford Thursday Night Worlds, and they keep scheduling me for Tuesdays. So I am missing the first crit practice, maybe the second, but I'll work it out so I am there for the rest of the season.
Ok, the race reports you guys all care about:
Willow TT - Bike broke the night before, had to use a different one, bad wind, horrible time. Lets not talk about it. One of my worse days on a bike.
STS #4 - Tons of fun. Sunny skies made for great racing in the A feild. I was doing fine and holding my own in the group until my spoke broke, still no one knows how, then I had to get back into the race, which used a lot of energy. Dropped out with 10 minutes left.
Cone - Flatted 15 minutes into the race on the second gravel section. However, our support car had stopped to fix someone elses wheel and was passed by the Masters feild. So when I flatted the car was behind the Masters feild about a mile behind. So I rode a flat tire for about miles until I got it changed and chased hard to try and catch the group, but they were like 2 miles down the road and it wasnt happening. I dropped out and jumped in my car to help pick up riders on the course.
Kensington - Scott put on a great race. Our race was 64 miles long and we were riding or Mark. To make our job easier, York attacked in the opening MILE of the race. A Leadout rider went with him. His Leadout teamates did a great job blocking on the front, and the Priority riders didnt seem eager to chase. Well that breakaway got 3.5 minutes on the feild and York won the race! As I was helping Mark, I used a lot of my energy to keep him out of the wind. He then flatted and refused to take my wheel (he thought there was another teamate behind us, ended up that there wasnt). So I had to chase hard to get back on the peloton, and a lap ana half later, a serious acceleration was put down on the climb and I couldnt maintain contact. So I dropped out.
So I have done 8 races this year including the STS races and Waterford Worlds, and I have 8 DNFs. I really hope I can change that around. Frankenmuth is coming up this weekend. Lets see if we can repeat the victory.
Anyways, I finished my Sophmore year in college. All As and Bs this semester, just like the last one. I have moved out of the dorm and off campus. I now live in Ann Arbor near the Geddes Cemetary. It is a decent apartment, not amazing, but for $300/month with everything included what do you expect? This fall I will be moving back to Ypsi, but no longer on campus. I will be living in an apartment with a few guys I know from school.
Work has been SLOW lately. All the students went home. Everyone's hours got cut. I went from 40 to 27 and next week I only have 18. The biggest problem is that I have asked for Tuesday and Thursday evening's off for Crit Practice (starting this week) and Waterford Thursday Night Worlds, and they keep scheduling me for Tuesdays. So I am missing the first crit practice, maybe the second, but I'll work it out so I am there for the rest of the season.
Ok, the race reports you guys all care about:
Willow TT - Bike broke the night before, had to use a different one, bad wind, horrible time. Lets not talk about it. One of my worse days on a bike.
STS #4 - Tons of fun. Sunny skies made for great racing in the A feild. I was doing fine and holding my own in the group until my spoke broke, still no one knows how, then I had to get back into the race, which used a lot of energy. Dropped out with 10 minutes left.
Cone - Flatted 15 minutes into the race on the second gravel section. However, our support car had stopped to fix someone elses wheel and was passed by the Masters feild. So when I flatted the car was behind the Masters feild about a mile behind. So I rode a flat tire for about miles until I got it changed and chased hard to try and catch the group, but they were like 2 miles down the road and it wasnt happening. I dropped out and jumped in my car to help pick up riders on the course.
Kensington - Scott put on a great race. Our race was 64 miles long and we were riding or Mark. To make our job easier, York attacked in the opening MILE of the race. A Leadout rider went with him. His Leadout teamates did a great job blocking on the front, and the Priority riders didnt seem eager to chase. Well that breakaway got 3.5 minutes on the feild and York won the race! As I was helping Mark, I used a lot of my energy to keep him out of the wind. He then flatted and refused to take my wheel (he thought there was another teamate behind us, ended up that there wasnt). So I had to chase hard to get back on the peloton, and a lap ana half later, a serious acceleration was put down on the climb and I couldnt maintain contact. So I dropped out.
So I have done 8 races this year including the STS races and Waterford Worlds, and I have 8 DNFs. I really hope I can change that around. Frankenmuth is coming up this weekend. Lets see if we can repeat the victory.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Its never too early to start training for Cone...
So yesterday before I went to work, I jumped on the bike and get some dirt riding in. I didn't have a ton of time (just over an hour) so I went out and averaged 3 W/kg in preperation for Cone.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Mathemagic
So the Undergraduate Symposium went well this morning. During the luncheon after the presentations, we had a guest speaker. This is Arthur Benjamin, a math teacher from some college I dont remember and is freaky fast at calculations. This guy is amazing. If you have 15 minutes to spare, watch this whole video. If you only have 5 minutes, fast forward to 10:30 and just watch the end. And if you can believe it, he was faster today than he is on this video.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Cycling Gods Hate Me
Well I finally got to 2 days where I actually have the time to ride...and now I'm sick and can't. Been working all week at my new job at Panera on N. University in Ann Arbor and it has been eating up all my free time. (33.5 hours this week) Outside of work, on the weekdays I literally have no free time, evident by my lack of posting, because I am in class or in the lab with Dr. McGregor getting ready for Friday's Undergraduate Symposium. This afternoon and tomorrow morning were the only times I had to get some riding time in, but alas I have a pretty bad cold. Hard coughing every minute or two combined with mucus and a headache, feeling really drained and wouldn't be able to do anything on the bike.
So yeah, the cycling gods hate me. I will eventually be back in form, but it might not be untill June, which means the May and STS races are going to hurt.
So whats been up? Alot. When I last left you, I was making a trip to Houghton, Michigan with my parents and Julie. It was a lot of fun. Julie and I spent all Saturday walking around Houghton looking at the ice sculptures and going in stores. Then we crossed the bridge to Hancock and did the same thing. That night we went down to the river and watched the fireworks for winter carnival, it was scarry at one point when a firework tipped over and ignited in the launch area, but everyone was ok. Sunday morning I woke up to my brother tossing me some clothes. He said we were going XC skiing, well thats a first for me. It was a lot of fun, it took me a minute to get going, but I eventually got the hang out of it and now I want my own set.
The final week of February was my spring break. The Friday I got out of class, my dad flew to California. He met up with my brothers Eric and John to watch the Solvang TT for the ToC....I was on spring break...So instead of going to watch my favorite riders race in the USA, I was doing morning rides around Jackson. One morning I had an encounter with black ice and banged up my knee pretty good, but its all better now. I did go to the DIA with Nick Michelle and Julie that Friday. It was interesting to see what was on display. Lots of random chess sets, some very...different and others very awesome.
It was then back to school and once we hit the weekend, I went up north with Liz, Kim, Coling and Liz's family to ski for two days. On the first run on the first day, Liz's brother's friend fell and broke her wrist. It was her first time breaking somehting, but once she got pass the initial shock, she was fine. The skiing wasn't too bad for being March. I spent Saturday in a sweatshirt. Sunday was cooler so the snow was harder which meant better skiing. Liz and I raced each other a few times, and I won each time.
As some of you know, the new team kits are in. I picked mine up from Scott last Sunday, then rode with the EMU gang for a few miles before meeting back up with Scott and rising to Northville to get the LS jerseys. On our way back, from Northville to Saltz Rd. in Canton, I don't think our speed dropped below 25mph. We were each doing pulls (obviously I got the better draft) and my pulls were in the 400-450W range. It was a good ride.
I have also located an apartment I believe I am going to lease. I would be leasing with two freinds from school. It is a spacious 3 bedroom/2 bathroom condo on Washtenaw and Oakwood. It is literally on the corner of campus. With utilities and rent between the 3 of us, we would be paying roughly $350/month/person.
I am no longer coached anymore. I talked to Darrell and we ended out athlete/coach relationship. Partially because I don't have much money right now and partially because I enjoy having a coach who can watch me race and be at my races. That would be kind of difficult for D to do while in AZ.
So yeah. That's what I got going on. Hope that was worth the wait. (I know it wasn't)
So yeah, the cycling gods hate me. I will eventually be back in form, but it might not be untill June, which means the May and STS races are going to hurt.
So whats been up? Alot. When I last left you, I was making a trip to Houghton, Michigan with my parents and Julie. It was a lot of fun. Julie and I spent all Saturday walking around Houghton looking at the ice sculptures and going in stores. Then we crossed the bridge to Hancock and did the same thing. That night we went down to the river and watched the fireworks for winter carnival, it was scarry at one point when a firework tipped over and ignited in the launch area, but everyone was ok. Sunday morning I woke up to my brother tossing me some clothes. He said we were going XC skiing, well thats a first for me. It was a lot of fun, it took me a minute to get going, but I eventually got the hang out of it and now I want my own set.
The final week of February was my spring break. The Friday I got out of class, my dad flew to California. He met up with my brothers Eric and John to watch the Solvang TT for the ToC....I was on spring break...So instead of going to watch my favorite riders race in the USA, I was doing morning rides around Jackson. One morning I had an encounter with black ice and banged up my knee pretty good, but its all better now. I did go to the DIA with Nick Michelle and Julie that Friday. It was interesting to see what was on display. Lots of random chess sets, some very...different and others very awesome.
It was then back to school and once we hit the weekend, I went up north with Liz, Kim, Coling and Liz's family to ski for two days. On the first run on the first day, Liz's brother's friend fell and broke her wrist. It was her first time breaking somehting, but once she got pass the initial shock, she was fine. The skiing wasn't too bad for being March. I spent Saturday in a sweatshirt. Sunday was cooler so the snow was harder which meant better skiing. Liz and I raced each other a few times, and I won each time.
As some of you know, the new team kits are in. I picked mine up from Scott last Sunday, then rode with the EMU gang for a few miles before meeting back up with Scott and rising to Northville to get the LS jerseys. On our way back, from Northville to Saltz Rd. in Canton, I don't think our speed dropped below 25mph. We were each doing pulls (obviously I got the better draft) and my pulls were in the 400-450W range. It was a good ride.
I have also located an apartment I believe I am going to lease. I would be leasing with two freinds from school. It is a spacious 3 bedroom/2 bathroom condo on Washtenaw and Oakwood. It is literally on the corner of campus. With utilities and rent between the 3 of us, we would be paying roughly $350/month/person.
I am no longer coached anymore. I talked to Darrell and we ended out athlete/coach relationship. Partially because I don't have much money right now and partially because I enjoy having a coach who can watch me race and be at my races. That would be kind of difficult for D to do while in AZ.
So yeah. That's what I got going on. Hope that was worth the wait. (I know it wasn't)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Coming Soon
I swear! I will update soon. There has been a lot going on and I have no free time right now. I have class untill noon, in the lab and analyzing data for my undergrad research untill 3 and work from 4-12. Then I wake up and repeat it all. Tomorrow I have a free 3-4 hour block that I will try to get a post and some pictures up, if it doesnt happen, my excuse is because i was out riding (which I havent done since....Sunday, and the last time before then was....Monday) Yeah I am WAY out of form and the spring campain is not going to favor me.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
"Lance is an amature athlete"
I hate people who dont appreciate how hard our sport is. I came across this and it made me mad. So I felt like I should share it.
Here it is
Here it is
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