One Lap To Go

Laying Low

2006-12-08T05:10:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, I missed the last big grand finale of them all. The state champs race at Waterford. That was actually a course I was looking forward to since I managed some decent placings at the double header there last year. Unfortunately I had a lingering sinus infection that made my head feel like a pressure cooker ready to explode. So, I apologize to all my fans who spent hours waiting in line to get through the gate at Waterford Raceway, in the frigid cold, just to witness old 'one lap to go' in the last race of 06. I didn't mean to leave ya'll hanging. Congrats to all of the winners. In my mind there was no more deserving winner of the overall B's than Andy Brown. Awesome job!

I also have to extend a very heartfelt congratulations to my young teammates, Tony Wieczorek and Taylor Birman. These kids have had one hell of a season. Tony, for his first year of 'cross rode like a seasoned veteran. It seems like he was on the podium for every race. This was a great year for Tony, but I'm even more excited to see how he progresses next year and the years to follow. Taylor is another strong talent on Sunrise that has made leaps and bounds in his progress from year to year. It's guys like Tony and Taylor that will be the successors to some of the other prominent talent riders in Michigan. These guys have the youth and talent to develop into elite level athletes, and it will be exciting to see if they continue on this path to see where it takes them.

I'm off to spend some quality time with the wife and son over the holidays. I've got Aidan on the keys now and we're working on a couple of Christmas compositions that we hope to play for Mom soon. Aidan and I also put up the tree last night, much to Mom's suprise when she came home from work. I think it's going to be a challenge keeping Aidan from knocking the thing down. I can say to him 'no touch the lights, only looking!' until the I'm blue in the face, yet it seems everytime I take my eyes off him he's over there shaking the thing and the bulbs are bobbing all over the place. Ahhh...the joys of raising a 3 year old.

Merry Christmas to all of you and may peace be with you always.

Bloomer's In The Bag

2006-11-28T18:22:00.000-08:00

As much as I'm looking forward to some downtime from the bike after a looooong season of racing, I am still a little saddened that we're coming up on the last race of the year at Waterford next Sunday. I have really enjoyed this year's 'cross season. The racing has been a blast and I am going to miss it during the long winter months. But I guess some rest and recovery will do the mind and body good. Not to mention I can now focus my energy on working out some new songs in the band my son and I put together (that's him on the skins).

The Bloomer race was awesome. The weather was better than one could have asked for at the end of November. When I pulled up in the parking lot I noticed right away that the course was much different than previous years. After taking a few practice laps in between races, I knew this would be a good course that would allow for some fast speeds over long straight aways. Hills didn't seem to be a major factor, but there were some nasty tree roots and some challenging off camber turns that I was glad I had the chance to go over a few times before the race.

So with just two races to go, and I'm still hanging on to 2nd for the overall B series, my objective was to simply ride a strong race and not finish too far down from the top. I grabbed the holeshot and immediately started setting a fast pace. The adrenalin got the best of me, once again, and I took it just a little too beyond what I think I should have. It was fun, no doubt; getting off the front and hearing the cheers from the crowd was enough to keep me stomping hard on the pedals to keep the pace high. But I knew it was just a matter of time. Before I knew it I was over my limit and the guys started coming around me like I was some homely old cyclotourist out for a Sunday ride.

The big dogs came by first...the Brown's, Budacki's, Klumb's, etc. Ok, I knew they were going to catch me. But the train didn't stop there. There were more guys coming around me in one's and two's and I'm thinking, 'hey, who invited these guys up here?' I about had enough at that point, and told myself I had to settle in and start working out a plan to salvage a decent placing.
Hats off to those guys. I saw some of the faces that came by me and I could see they were hungry. They had a fire brewing in them and it showed. Believe me, I had a fire going, but I exhausted most of my fuel during the first lap and was left with but a few heaps of kindling by that time.

For the remaining laps of the race, I enjoyed a little scrum with Dean Rawson of the Tri City Cyclists. We had no one in front of us and no one behind us. Together we knew it would just be he and I for the line. I attacked him a couple of times but he managed to get back on. On the last lap I passed him at the last set of barriers and just stood up and gunned it for everything I had left in me. It took everything to keep him at a scant 4 seconds in arrears so that I could cross the line and snag the first double digit placing.

Cheers to Mr. Brown for the awesome sprint finish win. That is one of the best ways to take one.

Next up, the goodnight race, the end of the road for 06 race, the one to see us off into the holidays race....State Champs at Waterford. See you there!

Munson CX Report

2006-11-17T18:12:00.000-08:00

The job has had me on the road this week more than usual, and I've had little opportunity to catch up with the blog.

The Monroe race was a blast. It was one of those days where everything went as smooth as could be expected; the bike gave me no trouble, I took all the right lines with no mishaps, and the body responded better than I would have expected.

I felt great during the race. You know how sometimes during a race you suffer so bad that you almost feel sick, and on the verge of throwing up. Sure you do. Especially during an intense race like a cross race. We've all been there. But during Sunday's race, I was feeling great, and even better as the race went on. I don't know that it was becuase I was better hydrated (I made a point to keep drinking throughout the day on Saturday), or because I was just more rested up than usual.

The B race was fast from the gun. I didn't get the best hole shot this time as I've been lucky to do in all the previous races. My cleats were packed with mud at the start line, which I only realized after the race had already begun. I must have been at best 8th or 9th wheel back. I didn't get too excited, as I knew there was plenty of time to make it up. During the first lap I did well to pass some riders at some key points on the course, such as at a 180 degree turn, or at the barriers. By the end of the first lap I was already hanging with the big boys...Joel Budacki, Kevin McGrew, Andy Brown, and my up and coming prodigy teammate, young gun Taylor Birman. The kid is only 14 and he's ripping the legs off of guys twice his age.

As I said, the race went very smooth for me. I had no trouble in the sand whatsoever. The only trouble I would have is if someone ahead of me went slower causing me to slow up and lose momentum. For the longest time during the race I was riding with Kevin McGrew, and ahead of us was Eric Muehl, Andy Klumb, and Taylor. I was soooo happy to be riding with Kevin. At one point I even gapped him. I very much respect Kevin's riding ability. The guy is a monster on a cross bike. Riding with him and not losing his wheel did a lot for my confidence, which I think contributed to my feeling better as the race went on.

There were some great supporters out there watching and shouting encouragement. Most notably I saw Jay Moncel a number of times at different locations on the course extending some very useful words of advice. I specifically remember him shouting at me on the finish line straight and saying something to the effect of, "rest here", or "recover here". It made perfect sense. So that's where I grabbed a wheel and just focused on bringing the heart rate down a few beats to prepare for the next lap of suffering. Dominick Wieczorek, Dave Massey, Rob Foshag...thanks for the cheers!

With the three ahead of us, Kevin and I were having a head-to-head of our own, which even for me was exciting. I was hoping I could simply last to the end with him. So when we passed under the banner with one lap to go, I knew I could hang long enough to challeng him for the 4th place podium spot. It was right after the last set of barriers, by the entrance to the park, where I decided to put it in overdrive and try to gap him. It worked for a bit, but when I took a look around he was right on my wheel. I'm for the most part spent at this point, so it was only a matter of Kevin launching an attack of his own, just as we turned to head down the finishing straightaway, that got the best of me and left me to savor the last remaining podium spot.

For me, that was one of the most exhilirating races this year. It was VERY competitive. I would wager that the B-race has to be an exciting race to watch as a spectator. This year, there are a lot of strong guys, and none are really dominating to the extent that the result of each race becomes predictable.

I've been traveling a lot this week; I'm typing this entry from the bed of a Microtel. I just had a bottle of a Bells 'Hell Hath No Fury' beer. Good stuff. Good night all, and see you next at Bloomer!

I'm Iced, Man!

2006-11-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

I can think of two positives that came with making a last-minute change to my Iceman entry from riding in the Expert Men class to moving up to the Pro class. First, with the Pro race starting at 2:30pm, my wife and I were able to sleep in past 9am, and then lazily make our way over to the Cracker Barrel for a big country-style breakfast. With all that time on our hands, I had the chance to sit back and read the paper over a cup of coffee, some turkey sausage, and a big bowl of oatmeal topped with brown sugar. Second, the later start time coupled with the limited field size of the Pro race meant that I didn’t have to deal with the hassle of large crowds and the stress of getting to the start line on time with the right wave of riders. So by 1:30pm, I was already parked in the back of Kalkaska Middle School, comfortably nestled in the warmth of my car and taking my time getting dressed and enjoying the wafting aroma of hot embrocation cream that filled the air with a menthol-like pungency.

And that’s about where the positives end. We’ll, I can also say that it was also a nice photo op being lined up with the best of the best mountain bike racers in Michigan and the mid-west. Believe me, I knew that I was in way over my head, but what the hell, I thought I’d give it a go.

The 06 Iceman was officially my first mountain bike race. Heck, I’ve got an older 1999 Trek 830 with RST forks and some awfully shitty components. I spend the last couple of weeks up until Iceman upgrading some of the more critical items, especially tires, but I was in no way going to break the bank on a bike I ride maybe 4-5 times a year.

At 2:30pm, Dearborn Michigan bike shop owner Tom Demerly gave a 5-second countdown over the PA system to kick off the 2006 Iceman Pro event. It was an immediate out-of-the-saddle sprint to get up to speed to keep up with the pack. I was happy just to be in the group.

After the start we made a left turn heading west, and before I knew it we were launched into the forest. I managed to keep pedaling with the group for another, oh, half a mile or so. From there I was dropped from the lead group, after which I was passed, one by one, by every other rider in the field. I found myself completely alone not more than eight minutes into the race.

At the time I didn’t realized that I was the last of the Pro men’s field. There was a point when all of a sudden I heard a group of rider’s coming past, but then turned and realized it was the Women’s field. There were a few of them that passed me like I was standing still. A couple more went by and I found the strength to grab a wheel. These chicks were flying, and I knew it would only be a matter of minutes before I was shelled again. I found that I could keep up with them on the flats, but when we started a climb they would seemingly float away from me. After bombing the descents I could catch them again, but once the road turned up again, as it seemed to often do, I could only watch as they disappeared in the distance.

At one point I crashed on a downhill, right into the sand. I hit pretty hard and it took me a few to get up. But other than that I rode a very, shall I say, conservative race. I ended up with a 2:14, which was way past my goal of breaking the two hour mark. Physically I felt decent. I rode 90% of the race completely alone and I wonder if I could have improved this time if I had a group to ride with or a carrot to chase. No worries, I’ll be back next year to once again take part in what was one of the most enjoyable and memorable weekends I’ve had in bike racing. Next year you can bet I’ll forego the sleeping in part and get my ass up to race with a more appropriate category.

Vet's Park - A Lesson In Barrier Ballet

2006-10-31T06:19:00.000-08:00

Golly…I need to be more careful of what I write here. It’s sort of eerie that
what I wrote in my last post almost came to full fruition during Sunday’s Vet’s Park race. Of course, the very unwise decision to try and bunny hop the barriers mid-race was all mine to make, and no doubt that was the idiot move of the year.

As I sit here with a bruised and swollen lower lip, a sore neck, and a new dimple in my top tube, I cannot stop wondering what the hell came over me to convince me to remain clipped in and try to hop over the set of 16” high barriers. I know for sure I wasn’t contemplating the move anytime before or during the race. I recall making the decision right after the left turn on the approach to the barriers. All I can remember was that I was totally on the rivet and pumped with adrenalin. So much so that I have to believe that it clouded my ability to think rationally about the shit I was about to get myself into.

The front tire cleared with no problem, but the back tire caught the top of the first barrier, and the result was that the momentum began to carry me over into an endo. From there, everything was slow motion, like I had all the time in the world to see the next frames of my life unfold before me. The endo by that time was at the point of no return. Feet still clipped in, all I saw next was the second barrier coming right at me. My face was heading straight for the top edge. I had just enough time to put my hands in front of my face to protect my teeth. And then….SMACK! The first thing I saw was blackness, which then gave way to light, and then I had my full vision but was seeing stars bigtime. Ugh, that hurt. I remember sitting in between the barriers and seeing other riders galloping past and shouting words of concern. “J, you alright?”.

After recovering for a couple of minutes from my dazed and confused state, I found the strength to remount and continue the race. I took the next lap very easy, just taking stock of my injuries and confirming that all was still intact. I upped the pace for the last couple of laps to try and secure at least a couple of points. In the end, my attempt at being a hero for a day resulted in a pathetic but rightly deserved 22nd place. Surprisingly that yielded a meager 1 point, but after doing a little math I see that I have forfeited my crown as the B Series overall leader to Mr. Andy Brown. Andy rode an awesome race on Sunday. The kid is looking stronger as the series continues.

Next up is Munson Park in Monroe. I like this course and I plan to do well. If you’re coming out in hopes of witnessing my redemption attempt at clearing the barriers, stay home. It ain’t happening. Lesson learned…the hard way.

Lower Huron

2006-10-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

It was SOOOO nice to get back to racing. I was so pumped up that I had trouble sleeping the night before, just running through all sorts of scenarios in my head. “Should I attack from the gun?” Sure, if you’ve got a good enough warm up in beforehand. “Or maybe I should just sit in and suck the leaders' wheels until you can make a move.” Well I did that last time at Stony Creek, and it worked ok, but I still think I should have been more aggressive in the beginning.

I also had one of those wishful thinking type of daydreams. “Should I go all out and try to bunny hop the barriers, and win the admiration of even the elite guys warming up in the parking lot” I snap out of the fuzzy daydream after thinking what that might look like. There I am, coming up on the first barrier with controlled speed and my hands secure on the top of the bar. In the 3rd person, I see an image of myself lifting the front tire off the ground prematurely and setting it down right in front of the first barrier. I come to a dead stop, but the accidental endo quickly catapults me into a painful faceplant right smack on the top of the 2 ¼” wide wooden barrier. I bet that would get some good views on YouTube.

I was so geeked about my result from Stony Creek that I decided to come out fighting. At the gun I got a nice position, must have been 3rd or 4th wheel back. The guys ahead of me took a very early spill on the first lap after a very tight and slippery turn around a tree. It was as if they all just fell down and opened the road up to say “She’s all yours, Jason. Have at it”. I gunned it. I wanted a gap I could relish for at least a couple of laps. Looking behind, it looked good and felt good. I think I kept it for about a lap, until my homey Mr. Scott came up to see what all the ruckus was about. I welcomed his offer to ‘let him pull for a while’.

Yes, the early effort left me spent, but it had been too long without a race that I just had to fight with everything. ‘Cross just hurts so bad, yet there are points in the race where it feels so good. Like when you’re settled in on a section where you’ve shifted into a slightly larger gear and you’re just mashing out a rhythm.

Matt eventually pulled away, and I bid a quiet farewell to the tire in front of me that I’d been desperately trying to keep within a couple of feet for as long as I could. Some strong dude on a mountain bike flew by me and from what I understand
he and Matt fought it out for first and second. I was fighting to hang on to 3rd, and I was doing well to keep the gap on the guys behind.

Just over halfway into the race, I bit it hard on that wooden bridge. Right at the end of the bridge my front tire slid out and I was right on my side. I got up as quickly as I went down, but not before the guys behind me were right on my wheel. In my frazzled state of trying to settle back in, I was overtaken by I think three guys.

I eventually regained my momentum and fought to reclaim a few positions. At the end I was lined up on the wheel of 3rd and 4th, but they pounced first and I wasn’t able to close the gap. As a sprinter, it doesn’t feel good to lose when it comes down to a battle for the line.

Next up is Veteran’s Park in Ann Arbor. I do not generally do well on that course given the hilly terrain, but you can bet I’ll be coming out to throw down. Bring on the pain, baby.

Stony Creek Podium Placing - It's been a while!

2006-10-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

What a difference a year makes. I was warming up on the course at Stony Creek on Sunday just before the start of the B race,when Ken O’Day rode up along side and remarked at how it was nice to see the grass again.

Ain’t that the truth. In the not too distant past, at this same venue, if the sign didn’t tell you it was Stony Creek Metropark you would have thought that Tailwind Enterprises had set up a ‘cross race in the Siberian hinterland. Ice cold temps that dipped way below freezing and plenty of snow pack. I just remember the challenge in trying to keep the toes warm. It was also the first time I wore a full on, heavy duty, Michellin-man phat, down feather jacket during my warm up on the trainer.

Fast forward to Stony Creek 2006. I don’t think you could have asked for better riding weather. Sunshine, mid-70’s. Certainly not the weather you’d think of as the backdrop for a ‘cross race. But here in Michigan, we’ll take a nice day when we can get it.

I was hopeful I’d manage a better finish this time around because A) I put in a decent ride last year at Stony Creek (6th, B’s), and B) I got some new sweet ass Crank Brother’s Candy Ti pedals.

My decision to take one extra warm up lap resulted in my having to line up at the back of the pack at the start. At the gun, I stood up out of the saddle and sprinted around the pack and comfortably made my way up to about 3rd wheel. Nice. I was where I wanted to be, but I knew the challenge would be to stay there. The course was fast, and suited my riding style well. No real climbs of any significance, which was a plus. Climbing is where I get shelled at these races. This was more of a power course, and I liked it.

After either the first or second lap, I saw that I was in a break with 3 other guys. We had a nice gap, and that motivated me to hang on, hopeful that I could finish strong today and snag one of those hand-carved, walnut base podium plaques to add to my collection of two back home. All kidding aside, it was a suffer-fest from that point. Jay Moncel was driving a crazy pace, at least one fast enough to keep me at my limits. And fast enough to shell out the two passengers on our mini pain train.

For the last few laps, it was an all out battle royal between Jay and myself; Jay would hand out the beating, and I duly received each blow. Jay took every advantage to hammer on the inclines knowing the extra 20lbs I had on him would eventually
wear me down. It was a constant cycle of Jay gaps Jason, Jason catches back on. Finally, on the last lap, Jay shifted into the all-or-nothing gear and drove home the victory. Dropped yes, but I hammered it home with everything I had left in the tank.

Oh yeah, those new sweet ass pedals proved more of a headache than an advantage. I couldn’t clip in for the life of me. Granted I haven’t been riding them for more than a week, and shame on me for racing them when I’m not fully used to them. I think it had more to do with cleat interference. I tried shaving down some of the cleat, which I know helped initially, but maybe I need to take of more material.
If anyone has any suggestions please drop me a line (brakechan@yahoo.com).

2nd place. My personal best finish in a cross race. It only makes me hungry for more. It’s too bad I won’t be able to appease that hunger as we now enter a 2 week recess from the Tailwind races. No, I can’t make it out for the Kisscross stuff. The wife’s got me lined up to clean gutters, the basement, garage, and a whole bunch of other crap I have yet to hear about but can assure you will be handily delegated to me to complete before I can have fun again.

Take care out there!

'Cross Season Underway

2006-09-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh, 'cross season is now officially upon us here in Michigan. This past weekend saw the kickoff of the 07 Tailwind CX series, with double-header UCI races at Springfield Oaks in Davisburg, MI.

Saturday's race for me was tough. I suffered like a dog the whole time. It's always a harsh reminder during that first 'cross race of the season just how tough it is. I thought I rode a smart race; I got no less than 5th wheel after the gun, kept decent speed through the barriers, and never crashed. Tim Saari, as he did last year during the UCI openers, rode away with the race solo. He normally races the A's, but I think for the UCI events he's not up for forking out the extra cash for the UCI license. And so at least for the UCI weekend he's a guaranteed win for the B race. The effort resulted in an 8th place finish in the B's, but I was hoping for better. When I came across the line I was so exhausted that it took me a couple of minutes to recover enough to remove the damn transponder from my ankle and turn it in.

Sunday was a different story. With sore legs, I was unsure how my body would feel considering how much I suffered the day before. I got 4th wheel at the gun, so my position was good. I stayed with the leaders for the first lap but then started to fade. The day before I just barely beat Tony Ponton of the Flying Rhino's. Today I set the objective to try to keep him at bay again.

Tony caught me at I believe was right around the 20min mark. I accelerated to grab his wheel, and fought to stay there. From there, my race started to fall apart. On one of the off camber turns, I had waaaaaay too much speed and slid out, completely flipping over the bars with the bike landing on top of me. Quickly, I stood up and remounted, but it took me a while to get going again as I was in the wrong gear. From there, I just focused everything on riding as smoothly and as fast as possible. I didn't see Tony for a while, until shortly before the long run up I could see I was catching him. That was all I needed. I knew he was hurting, and fortunately I started feeling pretty good, much better than the day before.

I finally caught Tony, and he stayed with me for a while. But I only felt better with each lap which allowed me to put more time into him. I remained so focus on riding a smart race that I never kept track of the time remaining in the race. So there I am, riding up to the finish area thinking there's more laps to go, and I see riders stopped and standing at their bikes. The race was over. I didn't even know that was my last lap. That's the first time that happened to me. Usually I'm watching the lap cards thinking, 'Jesus I've got 4 more laps to go of this shit'.

Oddly, even though I felt 10x better than the day before, my finishing spot was two places worse than Saturday's race. 10th place still isn't all bad. It was good to finish on Sunday and feel so much better, like I still had some racing left in the tank.

Fellow teammate Matt Scott and I catching our breath.

Next stop on the Tailwind CX Tour, Stony Creek Metropark. Sunday 10/01.

364 Days Left To 07 TDL!

2006-09-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, what an awesome weekend.

So here I am after returning home from the north country. Let me first just say that the riding/racing up there was absolutely spectacular. For me at least, those were some of the best roads that I have ever ridden. I rode about 125 miles combined for Saturday/Sunday throughout the peninsula and I did not encounter a single pothole or crack of any significance. They were perfect. And, every road has a more than ample shoulder to ride on. Light traffic, beautiful scenery, fluctuating elevation…I think I’ll be putting my house up for sale soon to move north.

The 2006 Tour De Leelanau proved to be a real leg burner of a course. 104 (or was it 110?) long, hilly miles added up to lactic acid burnout and painful muscle cramps. As far as the race itself, unfortunately I didn’t do as well as planned. I was hanging strong with the front group, which started out with 150+ guys. There were so many climbs that were just taking their toll on everybody. I realized about halfway into the race that my legs weren't in climbing shape.

At the 61 mile mark, that’s where I bit it. We were on this long steady climb, I was towards the back of the group just doing my best to hang on, definitely hitting threshold. Then, we made a right hand turn on Tower Road. When we made that turn and I saw what lay before me, I about shit on the bike. The Nagly Wall. A 20% grade climb that was scary just to look at. Hundreds of people on both side of the road because this was the make or break point in the race. I was already redlining and to see that thing I said, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me!”.

I had it in a 39x27 gear, and I could barely turn over the pedals standing up. I was actually thinking that I might have to get off and walk, but I was telling myself to just stay on the bike, you can do it. It was so steep that I had to start riding in zig zags just to get up. People were just screaming cheering us on. Finally, a guy came out and gave me a push on my saddle to help me get up. It was a scene right out of the Tour de France.

When I finally crested, in a complete daze, I could see that I had lost contact with the main group. Oh what a disappointment. Unfortunately that Nagly bitch of a climb got the better of me. I had one WMCR rider along with another rider of who’s team I can’t recall. The three of us gave an effort to chase, but soon came to the realization that we were way off the back and the situation wasn’t improving.

After that it was just a long ride back to the finish area, all along the way contemplating what I need to do next year to better prepare for this type of race.

In short, the race made me realize that I need a lot more distance miles to be able to do a long race like this. I knew coming in that I did not have that kind of fitness. My entire season has been focused on relatively short, fast efforts. Criteriums,TTs, etc. I’ll know better next year.

Now it's time for 'Cross! First two UCI races this Saturday and Sunday.

Here We Go! TDL Time!!

2006-09-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

The countdown is on. In less than 48 hours from now the gun will fire marking the start of the 2006 Tour De Leelanau. After some long miles put in over the weekend, I made a point to get in some rest this week knowing I'd have to have some fresh legs to get through this 104.1 mile road race.

This year we've got quite a few guys that have moved up through the categories that we now have enough to field two teams of 9 guys. The first team will be the official Sunrise Sports team, and they will wear the traditional orange/black kit. The second, composite team will wear the previous green/black Bikesport kit that was used up until the end of the 2004 season.

You can check out the Sunrise Sports team roster here:
http://www.midwestcyclinggroup.com/2006SunriseSportsTourDeLeelanauBios.htm

The start list for this year's race contains the names of some heavy hitters; pro riders Nick Reistad, Chris Gottwald, Glen Mitchel, along with the usual suspects making up the Priority squad (Sheedy, Rytlewski, Hilger) will make for a fast paced race. I didn't have the opportunity to do the TDL last year, and given the extended course my goal is simple - stay with the main group until the end and if the opporuntity presents itself, sprint for a good placing.

Here's to a successful team effort, and I'll check in again after the race to fill you in on the details!

JBrake

Labor Day Weekend

2006-09-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

I've been in recovery mode this whole week. Last weekend's season finale of criterium races were intense and drained everything out of me.

It started on Saturday with the downtown Rochester criterium. This was to be my second race as a Cat 2, so I was motivated to do well and improve on my results since being shelled out the back at Rockford a week prior. The field consisted of some impressive talent with Nate Griffith making his Michigan comeback debut wearing an old Roll Models kit with torn sleeve cuffs. Also in the pack was some strong riders from Priority Health, Ford/Giant, WMCR, and Cane Creek. We also spotted one rider from Texas Roadhouse. Andy Weir, Rob Iser, and myself were present to represent Sunrise.

The pace was fast from the gun. The course was rather technical with a lot of turns that really forced you to corner correctly or you would immediately lose the wheel in front of you. There was also a hill in the middle of the course that I didn't find too difficult. Eventually a break of 8 riders got off the front, which included Nate Griffith, Tim Saari, a WMCR and Priority Health riders and others. Long story short, we chased and chased but the pack could never reel in the break. The sprint was for 9th place, and strong man Ben Renkema took it at the line. I rolled in 5th for the field sprint, giving me 13th overall.

The next day was the main event. Erie Street. I was looking forward to this race since participating in the Master's A race last year. This year however I lined up with the Pro/1/2 riders for the main event. 100km of super fast racing. Over two hours long and our average speed was just over 30mph. That’s 30mph for an average speed! We were at times nudging up on 40mph on the straight aways.

I had to pay close attention at those speeds, because I found myself looking over just to see who I was riding next to. I was on Frankie’s wheel for a long time, figuring if anyone knew when to move up and get in a break, he would. I was riding next to pro and elite riders like Chris Gotwald, Paul Martin, Darko Ficko, Mike House, Nate Griffith,etc., etc. Man, what a rush.

I was riding close to the front for the whole race. I fell back to mid pack just for a while to recover. The longer the race went on, the more confidence I was gaining and I was actually starting to think about giving it a go, for the overall! I felt like, ‘man, I’m not only hanging with
these guys but I’m helping make this race happen’.

Well, like I said when I fell back a bit, I looked up and was surprised to see that a break got off! After assessing the situation I realized that the split contained all the heavy hitters. I knew this would be hard for the peloton catch. It was a 20 man split. The peloton then chased lap after lap. Sunrise had radios on and we kept getting time checks. We were down 15 seconds for the longest time, then up to 20. In the final laps of the race, we began to close it down to 10 seconds, but we could never catch it.

I knew I had to settle for the bunch sprint. I gave it everything I had and came in 7th, which gave me 27th overall. Not bad for 102 starters. I was definitely pleased with this result. My legs were SHOT afterwards. Hamstrings were totally cramping up. I went home and ate like a horse and slept in. The next day was Rock City. I was drained and didn’t feel much like racing. Still, I went at it and did my best. I came in 29th out of 70 something guys. I just didn’t have the legs to do better. But that’s ok. These last 3 races have taught me a lot about position. I was doing very well to stay close to the front, and that in itself is a challenge in these races.

One nice thing about the close to the Labor Day weekend races is that I have now positively locked up the Cat 3 overall series for the Michigan Challenge. That was my goal for 2006. For 2007, I would like to target a top 10 placing in the Cat 1/2 series. I know I'll have my work cut out for me.

Rude Awakening!

2006-08-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

Wow! You think I could have picked a slightly 'easier' race to inaugurate my recent move up to the Cat 2 level. What a blowout! I think I lasted 10 minutes at most.

My hats off to Priority Health for driving such an insane pace at the beginning, and literally shedding scores of riders on each successive lap. My race ended when I got gapped right after cresting Maple Street hill. I was bombing the downhill just to keep the group in sight, but I spent everything trying to close the gap. That was it. I spent the next couple of laps riding solo and trying my best to look like I was chasing hard everytime I went through the start/finish line with everyone looking on. The officials finally felt it was time to put me out of my misery by waving a bright orange flag and advising me to bascially 'get the hell off the course'!

Our whole team fought hard, but only a few survived to the end. Congrats to Jeff Hamilton for looking every bit the pro rider out there hanging on tight to the back of the Priority train. I think Jeff came out with 13th overall, which without question was one of the best finishes of the day for a non-pro racer.

I think my son raced longer than I did. He rode well in the 3 and under category. Then afterwards, Aidan and I got a shot with pro rider and Michigan native Kirk O'Bee.

Up next, some fast racing over Labor Day weekend. The team will race in Rochester, Windsor, and at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Aidan To Race Rockford!

2006-08-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

My mom came through last night and offered to babysit my son Aidan, which allowed me to participate for the first time in the AAVC Criterium Practice held at Runway Plaza in Ann Arbor. Man, I wish I could have participated in more of these during the year. We did at least 4 training races which varied in distance, the longest of which was 20 fast-paced laps. This was great practice because it allowed me to work on positioning during the final laps of a race. I did well enough to win 3 out of the 4 races and took home some sweet primes! Thanks Joe!

I've got Rockford on my mind constantly now. My goal is to simply finish the race. I swear I can daydream about the course and bring back to memory, in vivid detail, every turn and incline on that course. I KNOW this race is going to hurt. But I'm looking so forward to the challenge.

My son Aidan will also line up at the start for his 3rd appearance in a Michigan Challenge race this year. I think he's leading in the series for the Under 3 Category, but I'll have to double check the points tally :) We did a complete overhaul on his bike last night so he'll be ready come Saturday. I've also got him carb loading on some Barney Power Bites to ensure he doesn't bonk during the 50 meter effort. Ha ha!

Marysville Ohio Crit

2006-08-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night Doug Gatto and I went down to do a crit in Marysville Ohio. It was billed as a Cat3/4 race, so I figured this would be my last 'official' race as a cat 3. The course was a four-corner, less than a mile long circuit, and it was fast! Those Ohio boys put the heat on. Right from the gun there were attacks, and teams did well to slow up the pace to try and let breaks go up the road. As a solo rider, I was left with no choice but to bridge a number of potential breaks that were sent up the road. That required an all out sprint effort just to bridge the gaps. I managed to keep good position up until the last couple of laps, where it turned pretty aggressive and I didn't do quite enough to keep a good spot. At the last turn I jumped out of the saddle, but turned off the gas once I realized I wasn't sprinting for the podium. All in all a fun race and a good experience.

**This Saturday marks my first race as a Cat 2. I just received the upgrade and now the real racing begins. Rockford is a fun course but one that hurts with the leg-shredding Maple Street hill that I reckon we'll go up around 30 times during the Pro/1/2 race.

You can really sense the season is winding down to an end. We did a recovery ride yesterday leaving Dearborn at 7:30am to head out to loop Grosse Ile. The morning started out chilly which required the use of arm warmers and a vest. Something I haven't worn in quite a few months.

Maillot Gone!

2006-08-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

It's been some time since my last post. It's been a bear trying to train outside as the midwest was hit with a brutal heat wave that sent temps soaring into the 100s. I've spent a couple of sessions on the indoor trainer, something I usually try to avoid until winter.

Our team raced the Maillot Jaune road race in Fenton Michigan on July 29th. My wife Patty and I actually went up the night before and made a little trip out of it. My mom agreed to watch our boy, Aidan, so the wife and I had a chance enjoy a little get-away. Neither of us had ever been to downtown Fenton proper. We had heard of this restaurant called the French Laundry that everyone raved about. We made a point to have dinner there, and we we're glad we did! The place was awesome. The food was out of this world. Good French cuisine. They had a beer list that went on forever. I opted for a glass of Chianti to compliment my dish thinking it might be a good idea to pass on the beer.

I woke up early and actually rode from the hotel to the race start. There was light traffic on the road and the short 2 mile ride served as moderate warm-up.

Unlike a lot of riders, I was one that did not have time ahead of race day to get out and pre-ride the course. So for the first lap I took it easy, just hanging mid-pack to get my bearings on the course and figure out where to avoid. The backside of the course was littered with cracks and holes that made for some sketchy riding as everyone was trying to find a clean line.

We raced 4 laps for the Cat 3 race. The race itself was fairly uneventful as far as any attacks go. That is, until the last lap. A young rider with the West Michigan Coast Riders launched a solo attack on the last lap with just a few miles to go. This attack quickly tore up the group, leaving only 5-6 to take chase. The chase group, myself included, did not do well to take equal turns at pulling, and on top of that most of us were spent at the effort. The WMCR rider, a guy by the name of David Williams, not only managed to survive the chase but actually increased his gap the closer he came to the finish.

In the end, it came down to a sprint finish for second. I was bested by another WMCR rider, who I later found out was David's brother! I was happy with 3rd. It was a difficult race towards the end and I'm glad I lasted long enough to do this well.

We're looking ahead now to the Ada Criterium which will serve as the State Championship Criterium. It should be a very fast race with a chance to put the sprinting legs to the test.

Thanks for reading.
Jason

New PR at Saddlemen PATT

2006-07-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

I particpated in the Saddlemen P.A.T.T. (personal achievement time trial) on Saturday with the aim of posting a new PR for the 10-mile out-and-back course. Although this was PATT #4 out of 6 total for the season, it was only my second participation for the year as both the May and June dates conflicted with other races on the Michigan calendar.

Until Saturday, my best recorded PATT time was a 24:06 done last July 2005. I was unable to best that time this past April during the first PATT of 06, but I came close with a time of 24:14.

On Saturday the conditions at the start line weren't the most ideal for a TT. There was a good wind coming out of the west, but it seemed to change direction on some parts of the course which made it feel like a crosswind at times. I gave a strong effort on the way out, knowing that I would have the advantage of a tailwind on the return leg. The return leg was fast; I was keeping 30mph on the flats for as long as I could.

I crossed the line with a time of 23:19, which for the 10-mile course is an average speed of 25.87 mph. There is definitely much room for improvement on this time, but I'm just glad that I'm making progress with each test against the clock. I've concentrated more on time trialing in recent months, and I was glad to see that the work is starting pay off.

Team Domination at Michael Rabe Memorial

2006-07-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

Hey Friends!

It's been quite a while since my last post. I was out on vacation from work and took advantage of being away from a computer for a good week.

Over the July 4th weekend the team participated in the Michael R. Rabe Memorial Bike Race hosted by the Wolverine Sports Club at the Waterford Hills Race Track. I believe this was the third annual for this race. It is a great format with 3 races in two days; a 3-mile prologue TT and short course crit the first day, followed by a long course crit on day two.

There was some confusion on the times for the prologue. I pulled off a personal best of 6'14" compared to well over 6'40" from the previous two years. One of the West Michigan Coast Riders showed a time of 5'59". After going back and forth the officials determined that his time was off by a minute and it should have been 6'59". For me this was good news because it meant I had secured 1st in the prologue.

Now to the crits. Turnout was disappointing as there were only around 15 guys in both fields, and the sad part was that our team made up roughly half of that number! So it was basically a test of survival for the other riders to try and survive the flurry of attacks and counterattacks we threw at them all day.

I should point out that in the short course crit I decided to become intimate with the pavement. I took off on a solo flyer going 30+. I tried to keep my speed going through a VERY sharp turn. I was a little too aggresive and my pedal hit the ground. I slid out sideways along my left side. Fortunately I stood up quickly before the pack came roaring over me. Both tires were blown from the rim. My teammates ran over to me and gave me two quick wheel changes. Before I knew it I was back in the pack. It was then, after catching my breath and calming down, that I began to feel the sting of the road rash. I had it on my left calf, my ass, my forearm. The worst was a very deep gash on my left pinky finger. It was deep, so much so that I could easily see the bone. The blood was coming out pretty good so I took a sweat band I was wearing and doubled it up on the finger to compress the wound and stop the blood. A temporary fix to get me through the race.

Long story short I pulled off a 5th place in the short course. Our man Rich Stark pulled of a valiant win by lapping us all! Great job Rich!

The next day's long course saw another great win by the Sunrise boys. John Zaccone and Rich Stark finished 1st and 2nd respectively after breaking from the field for most of the race. I came in to clean up and take 3rd in the field sprint after a model lead-out from Dominick Zaccone.

The next test of fitness comes this Sunday at the 1st annual Common Criterium which circles the Lansing State Capitol building. This race is a 1,2,3 combined field. Let's hope it's fast and crash-free! I hope the sprinting legs can hang with the top guns of the 1,2 field.

40K In One Hour - So Close, Yet...

2006-06-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

Man, I forgot how these 40K races against the clock leave you legs feeling the next day. I am sore as all hell. And all the soreness is coming from muscles I don't normally use when I'm in my regular road bike position. The more forward leaning position I use on my TT bike forces me to use more of the hamstring muscles way up to where they connect to my sit bones. It actually hurts to sit!

All the pain aside, yesterday's TT result for me was satisfying because I was able to better my time from last year. I actually pulled off a better time than what I was expecting. After finishing a 1:04:03 last year, I was setting for myself a high goal of knocking off at least a minute. I also had a personal goal of trying to better my teammate, Joe Lekovish, against whom I have yet to win a time trial.

I found this year's conditions to be ideal; the wind was definitely there as always, but there were opportunities, going both out and back, to take advantage of the ever-changing wind direction. I tried very hard to get in a groove for as long as possible on the long, flat stretches. I would steady my breathing and cadence to a rhythym and just keep it going. That definitely helped me to keep a high speed for as long as possible.

Dan Clark of Saturn of Toledo came past me more than halfway into my race. I did well to match his pace for as long as my body would allow, and there's no question his mere presence a few hundred yards ahead of me helped me to sustain my own efforts.

I was watching my computer on the final stretch with under a mile to go. I saw the 1 hour mark creeping up and I was just pushing the gears. I do remember at one point grinding away in the 11 cog, completely leaning forward with my nether regions just kissing the tip of the saddle, with about an 75-80 rpm cadence. I was digging deep.

The hour mark came and went, and it was a mad scramble to finish within the 1:01 mark. The effort paid off and I came in at 1:00:51! Not a remarkable time when you compare to 95% of the CatI/II field, but a big improvement for me over last year.

Now all I need to do is knock another 3'12" off of next year's time! Then I'll really be smoking...ha!

Ok, back to what I like best. Races with sprint finishes at the end. Next report after this coming weekend's Michael R. Rabe Memorial Race at the Waterford Hills race track.

Allen Park Success!

2006-06-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that I was able to make up for my poor placing at last year's Allen Park criterium by finishing at the top spot this past Saturday. I owe a big thanks to the team, as everyone put forth huge efforts to not only stir things up, but also to counter and chase down a couple of VERY significant break-away attempts.

Last year during the 4's race I made a tactical error by failing to maintain my position leading up to the last corner before the finish. And although I managed to pass up quite a few riders during the sprint, I still only managed a 6th place finish. With last year's experience under my belt, I knew that it was critical to be right at the front of the race (no more than 3-4 riders back) for the entire last lap of the race.

With just under two laps to go, John Zaccone made a sweet move up the outside of the road and quickly put a gap on everyone. What this did was drive up the pace, which is exactly what I wanted to happen. So as we crossed under the finish banner with one lap to go, I sat comfortably in 3rd position. I was looking at Zach McBride of Priority Health and saw that he was shifting down to a harder gear, a sure sign that he was about to drop the hammer and try to take it to the line. Sure enough he stood out of the saddle and tried to catch us off guard. I saw it coming so I reacted quickly to match his effort. I grabbed on tight to his wheel. We were now on the back stretch and we're going 32+mph.

I looked behind and saw that everyone was strung out. Perfect!! But then, Zach moved quickly left and stopped his effort. That left me alone with a long way still to the finish. I knew I had to keep the pace up or I was going to be swallowed up by the group. Just then, a West Michigan Coast Rider came roaring up the right (outside) of the road. I accelrated to grab his wheel. This guy was flying! Here would be my lead out to the finish.

We were now at the final turn. I leaned into the turn to take it as tightly as I could. As soon as we got around that corner, I stood out of the saddle and gave it everything. I passed the WMCR rider, leaving no one else between me and the finish line. During the sprint I saw two guys coming up on my left, but I knew I had the gap to seal the victory. For the 3rd time this year, I was able to raise my arms in a victory salute as I crossed the line. There's just no words to describe the feeling!

I couldn't have done it without the tireless efforts put forth by my team to set me up for the victory. We had a plan and once again it worked out to perfection. This is the year of the team for sure.

Team Success at Cedar Creek!

2006-06-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

Teamwork was the name of the game in yesterday's Tour of Cedar Creek, host of the 2006 Michigan State Road Racing Championships. Sunrise Sports put together a well thought out strategy and carried it out to perfection. The result: the second consecutive victory in a Michigan Challenge points series race.

The day was much cooler than what we experienced a week prior in Elkhart. In fact the weather was perfect. Absolutely gorgeous conditions for a bike race.

We had the likes of Rich 'the diesel' Stark, Matt 'the badger' Scott, Mark 'Kill em All' Caswell, John 'Take No Prisoners' Rigdon, Joe 'the Accountant' Lekovish, Dominick 'Hammerhead' Zaccone, and his son John 'the cannibal' Zaccone. All were on fire and all busted their butts to control the race from the gun. I can't count how many times I looked up the road to see Sunrise Orange controlling the pace or countering an attack.

The Cat 3 race was 68 miles (Four loops of a 17 mile course) in total so it was a long day in the saddle. I was the designated sprinter with John Zaccone as back up. As a sprinter, I took it easy for most of the race and concentrated on expending as little energy as possible.

On the last lap of 17 miles, I started making my move up closer to the front of the pack and worked hard to defend my position. Rich Stark and Matt Scott were up front keeping the pace constant. I made a request of the team to work hard to keep the pace high so that the paceline would form single file. This, rather than having everyone bunch together playing cat and mouse at the finish, which is a recipe for disaster (ie, crashes, getting boxed in).

With about a mile to go, I was about 6-8 places back. I wanted the right side of the road but Todd Freirichs of the Flying Rhinos was on my right and his position prevented me from cruising up the right side of the road to improve my position. With about a mile to go, I said to Todd "hey, give me some room in front of you to get over right". Todd gladly obliged. I moved over to the far right and there it was, an open straight shot up the road to move up.

I hammered down on the pedals and fell into 3rd position. The pace was up aroudn 27mph and the finish line was in sight. Suddenly, to my right Dominick Zaccone comes cruising by and yells for me to jump on. I did, and now were were moving with everyone else in single file behind us.

Then, the sprint started. There were 4-5 guys that made the jump and I quickly reacted. Now it was go time. 100% all out effort in the 53-11. I was picking them off right and left. As I was getting closer to the finish I saw only two other riders ahead of me. Before I knew it I had passed up John Zaccone and Dan Clark of Saturn of Toledo. I had clearly won, and had time to raise up the arms for a victory salute. I'm really starting to like this feeling!

The best part of the day, I was standing at the finish line and this guy comes up to me, looked to be in his late 50's and holding at his side one of those store bought leisure bikes. He asks me, 'were you the guy that just won?' I answered yes. He then asks me if I would autograph his helmet. I did it, but it just didn't feel right. But it's what he said afterwards that I'll never forget. He says, "you guys out here are just awesome and an inspiration to me. I'm so glad to have had the chance to see these races up close".

It's hard to top that!

2-Day Broiler In Elkhart

2006-06-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

So is racing in 96F temperatures hazardous to your health? It sure as hell felt like I was on the verge of suffering from heat stroke during Memorial Day weekend down in Elkhart for 2 days of HOT racing.

We did a crit on the first day at 4pm. It was boiling outside. Most teams were parked in an underground parking structure taking advantage of the shade during their warm up on the trainer. I rode one easy lap of the course, your average 4-corner downtown crit layout, and I was already sweating.

During the race I worked hard to bridge up to lead break of about 5 guys. I was out in no-man's land suffering. I think it was the most pain I've ever felt on a bike. My face was beating red in the heat, my heart rate was 191, and I was busting my ass trying to catch the break. Behind me the peloton was long gone, completely out of sight. In front the group was slowly coming back, but at times they would get farther away. I worked for at least 8 laps trying to catch these guys, all the while being cheered on by the crowds to continue the effort. I was actually concerned that I was going to get heat stroke, and there were two instances when I said 'I'm done'. I stopped pedaling and took a drink. But then, I just told myself to keep riding a consistent tempo without overdoing it and see what happens.

After another lap or two, I could see up ahead that the break were playing cat and mouse with each other and actually starting to slow up. I gave some stronger efforts and could see on each successive lap that I was gaining better time on them. Finally, I turned a corner with the tailwind and stood out of the saddle to give a good sprint. At that I finally caught on the back and breathed a very heavy sigh of relief.

I spent the next couple of laps recovering, and then for the final sprint I was able to take them all at the line. But, with all the time it took for me to catch the group, one guy had gone off solo and finished first. So I was happy with the second place finish.

The next days road race was just as hot as the day warmed up. The course was beautiful. Pretty uneventful until the finish. It was a downhill finish, and super fast. Way too fast. I had on a 27-12 cog and completey spun it out at 40mph. I sat up towards the end because it was becoming way too sketchy. Still, I was happy to get 4th.

Elkhart was fun and well worth it. The heat was tough, but I know everybody suffered as equally as I did.

Victory...Sweet Victory!!

2006-05-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm on top of the world. It's a great feeling and I'm savoring every minute of it. I'm on a high after pulling off a 1st place finish in last Saturday's Tour of Kensington Valley.

I've not had the best results in previous year's races that involved significant climbing. I've only come to the realization in the last year or so that my strengths lean more towards flat courses that end in sprint finishes. So as you can imagine, I didn't have the best expectations of how I would fare at this year's Kensington race given the repeated ascents that tend to favor the 150lb mountain-goat types. Couple that with the fact that I came down with a cold the day after Cone-Azalia, which left me resting and recovering instead of putting in the miles during the days leading up to Kensington. So at best, I told myself that I should concentrate on finishing with the lead group and not get dropped.

It's amazing how things end up working out completely opposite of your expectations.

I think the rest and recovery worked in my favor. I came to the start line feeling as fresh as ever, and it helped that the sun was out after days of continual gray skies.

The race itself was rather tame in comparison to the nightly training rides a bunch of us were doing in the weeks leading up to the race. My computer was acting erraticaly, so I can't say for how fast (or slow) we were going. But I know we weren't doing more than 23,24 mph at times.

During the race I had an issue arise; I had an urge to piss like you wouldn't believe. I drifted back to the last in line and started thinking about how I could relieve myself. I decided to do what I've heard about other pros doing in long races. I glanced back to see if there was anyone else that might be caught in my 'wake'. I rolled my shorts up my right leg and before I knew it I was relubing the drivetrain. Man did that feel good. Fortunately the pack was going slow enough that, after a few stomps on the pedals, I was back in the action.

Jump to two laps later, and the same thing happened again. I went through the same routine at roughly the same spot on the course. You see, I made a huge error at Cone by not drinking enough, which left me cramping big time by the end. I attribute the dehyradtion as to why the cramping set in, and that is what did me in during the sprint. For Kensington, I made sure to drink and drink and drink. I've never had to pee two times during a race, shit not even one time ! But the good news is, Kensington allowed me to hone my skills so now I'm damn near perfect at going while on the go.

So we came down to the last lap. Save for a couple of last ditch attacks, the group held tightly together in anticipation of the final burst of effort to come on the last hills. I told myself to hang on strong and fight to keep a front position up the hills. I had a good feeling that if I could match the final attacks up the hill, then I would have a great chance at the sprint.

As we approached the final climb up Farm Center hill I told myself to keep it in the big ring. All the while earlier I had always down shifted to the small ring. This time, I did not want to fumble with shifting back up especially if there were any attacks.

I made it up that hill in the top 10. We descended the short bit until the right hand turn until the finish. After the right turn, I knew there were going to be some earlier jumpers so I stayed out of the saddle with my finger on the trigger. Over the last few weeks I've become familiar enough with the final straight to know where to launch the sprint. It's easy to start too soon.

And that's what they did. The leading 5 guys all made the jump. I matched their effort and stayed on their wheels long enough until I saw it was time to go. I put a strong effort in and moved left of the rider in front of me. I gave everything I had, and it was a lot because I didn't work too hard to expend any energy during the race. It must have been enough, because when I looked back I saw a pretty good gap to Derek Graham, the Priority Health rider who came in second. I had enough time that I was able to raise my hands in a victory salute and enjoy the moment.

I sure hope to repeat this same success during the course of the season.
Thanks for reading.

Rain...and more rain

2006-05-14T06:06:00.000-07:00

I finally got on the bike yesterday (Sat.) after taking some time off from the Cone race. I came down with somewhat of a cold the day after the race, so I thought it was due time to give the body a break.

So yesterday the team convened at Kensington to get some long, tempo training in ahead of next week's race. We started early, just after 9am, and the rain was already coming down. The conditions were cold and wet, but with teammates to ride with it helped to keep you going that much more. It was interesting to see some of the other teams out there for a pre-ride of the course; Team Saturn was there with what looked like their full squad!

Yesterday's 3 1/2 hour ride will be followed up today with a nice spin on whatever roads offer the least flood zones. Hines is out of the question, so it looks like I'll take a couple of loops up and down Rouge Park.

Cone-Azalia!! A Sunday In Hell

2006-05-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday May 09th and I'm still recovering from a hard-fought race at Sunday's Cone-Azalia. Here’s a summary of my take on my experience at Michigan's own version of A Sunday In Hell.

My wife Patty was stationed at the first course marshal location on Platt road just past the first set of tracks. I wired myself with a radio with the idea that I could get some feedback from her duringthe race (probably illegal, but it was more for the novelty rather than using it to formulate race strategy).

Anyway, as the 3s were called to the line to start, my wife radioed me and said that the 1,2 guys just passed by and she said they were flying. Guys were already pulling off with flats and water bottles were flying everywhere! What’s ironic is that we purposely placed her and a friend at that location thinking it would be one of the more quiet spots on the course. Quite the opposite, it was by far the location with the most drama. She said one of the Texas Roadhouse guys was on a solo break from the field and suddenly, BAAM, he pulls a ‘Hincapie’ by breaking his steerer tube and falls hard to the ground. He came away with only road rash but the other TR riders came back to console him. I believe they even gave up the race after that point. So even before our 3 race started I already knew to expect a bit of carnage as we crossed the tracks on Platt road.

So there we were on the first lap and just as we were entering on to Petersburg from Cone, a crashed happened right in front of me. Down goes John Zaccone and Alex Keomany! I managed to go right between them and fortunately stayed upright. And then if I’m not mistaken it was only moments later as we made the left onto Welch that Joe Lekovish went off with a flat. Both John and Alex managed to catch back on eventually. John I believe had to chase back on twice during the race, and then managed to pull off a 3rd place finish. Excellent riding! Alex wasn’t so lucky as his crash resulted in some damage to his new carbon Blue, eventually forcing him to exit due to derailleur problems.

For at least two laps everyone’s focus was on working together to bring back a solo rider who managed to keep us at bay with what looked like a 15-20 second lead. The guy held strong, but we finally caught him with one lap to go.

So there it was, everything was set for a bunch sprint at the line. Just before the final turn on Redman road, John Zaccone tried his hand at a solo jump up the road. Sunrise waited to see who would counter. Priority Health’s own up-and-coming prodigy Derek Graham and two other strong contenders gave chase. All was reeled in again as we made the turn and headed into the final straight. Then again, some cat and mouse attempts, but all were futile. Then, the original rider who was off on his own for so long during the race made a last ditch effort to take it all to the line. I jumped quickly on his wheel, and it took everything I had to stay there. He was pushingwell over 30mph and continued to push. We had a gap on the field so I knew that if I just stayed with him that he would fade eventually. I knew he misjudged the distance and the line was farther than what his legs had to offer.

Sure enough, he faded and pulled off to the left, leaving me and no one in my way to sprint to the line.I stood out of the saddle in an attempt to accelerate, but quickly felt pain in both calves and hamstrings. I was starting to cramp big time. I did everything I could to keep going, but it wasn’t enough, and I was caught by the group just before the line. It was only after I crossed the line did I realize that it was mostly SUNRISE ORANGE that passed me up! Both Mark Caswell and JohnZaccone came forth to help a brother out by defending our well-fought battle all the way to the line. Excellent job guys! I took solace in the fact that our guys took 4 out of the top 5 places. Sweeeeeet!

06 MI Challenge Begins!

2006-05-01T05:14:00.000-07:00

It's official, the 06 season is underway. Saturday's TT out at Willow metropark was tough, but everyone seemed to improved their time from last season. I managed to better my 05 time by 1:35, so I was very pleased. That result put me up at 5th place overall in the Cat 3 field, which means I'm starting the series off with some points under my belt. During the race I saw that I was catching up to one of my teammates. As I reeled him in further, I still had a tough time distinguishing from the back just who the hell it was. Then, as I began passing the rider on his left, I looked right and made eye contact with him. I was happy to see that it was Rigdon, and I could see he was suffering with streams of sweat and what looked like chocolate Gu running along the side of his cheek. We had been trash talking each other since winter as to who would beat who at Willow, and you know it felt so good to be able to pass him!

Now the focus turns to the first road race of the season - Cone Azalia!

Week's Riding & Cycling News

2006-04-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

Training has progressed well this week. The Ann Arbor Velo Club Tuesday night ride might as well been called a race. A 42-mile hammerfest through the backroads of Ann Arbor, Dexter, and Chelsea, with flats, rollers, and the occasional pothole to mix things up.

Looking ahead to the weekend: Saturday marks the 2006 inaugural PATT (personal achievement time trial) hosted by the Cycling Saddlemen of Dearborn. This is a 10-mile out and back course that includes a few inclines and false flats to keep you honest. Also, the Ann Arbor Spring Training Series continues this Sunday with race #3 of 4 total for the series.

Some news on the team...CyclingNews.com listed our 2006 team roster on their site. Check it out at:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2006/apr06/apr20news2

Keep the rubber side down,
Jason

Easter Weekend

2006-04-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

04/17: Great training this past weekend. Good Friday was a day to get out and get some long miles; 80+ miles with some slight intervals mixed in. Saturday was a day for recovery so I put my son Aidan in the Burley trailer and we did a nice ride around the U of M Dearborn campus and Hines Drive trails. At 2 ½ , Aidan just loves taking bike rides. When the garage door opens, 90% of the time he runs for the bike. The other 10% of the time he runs over to the set of golf clubs (I’m also teaching him how to swing in the backyard). On Sunday I woke my TT bike from a long hibernation in my basement and took it out on a 25 mile ride. The Willow time trial is just around the corner, and so I’ll be spending more time in the coming days getting comfortable again in the TT position.

J

Warmer Weather Welcomed!

2006-04-12T07:44:00.000-07:00

04/12: It has been over 6 long months since I last rode a bike outside with bare arms and knees. Last night’s ride was awesome. I sweated, and it was because I was actually warm from the air temps, not just the effort. 35 miles on the regular Hines out-and-back, Dearborn to Northville loop.

We get a reprieve from racing this weekend due to the holiday. Instead, the objective will be to get some longer base miles in the legs.

It’s great to be back on a bike, outside, on roads free from ice (potholes are a given, just accept it), and with temps warm enough to leave the arm and knee warmers at home. Time to start remembering to pack the suncreen!

ride safe

Welcome Friends!

2006-04-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

Ye blog is Christened! First post baby.

The 06 season is off to a great start. I'm feeling good, having put in some good training over the winter. Right now were in the midst of our spring training series races out at Waterford Hills and Ann Arbor. Hanging in there with the big boys in the A's, and I'm glad as I feel like I'm really being pushed to a level of riding I've not achieved just yet.

This weekend will be a pack-in-the-long-base-miles affair; no major local races going on due to the Easter holiday.

See you next post.
JBrake