GSTS BMW

With Brandon and Ray sitting 7th and 11th overall in the omnium, the boys were looking for a great finish Sunday on a course that suits their stature and power.  They rode a text book 2 up ride closing breaks, positioning themselves and waiting for would be an ultimate sprint finish.   87 riders started and the majority were still in bearing down on the finish.

Ray had positioned himself well with Brandon on his wheel and day light ahead as the big guy pounded towards the line...... then all hell broke loose when a rider veered right and took Ray's front wheel sending him hard to the pavement and causing Brandon and at least 10 others to crash.  Unfortunately, Ray was knocked out cold suffering some serious injuries and had to be taken to GHS where he was diagnosed with a concussion, 3 broken ribs, a punctured lung, a broken clavicle, and multiple face lacerations.

As I write this, he is still in the hospital after having his collarbone surgically repaired and awaiting to have a tube taken out of his lung.  He is in great spirits for such an ordeal and is hoping to be home by Friday.  It was a bad move in the wink of eye that caused this, which will cause Ray several months.   But, he will be back.... looking for that finish line and an upgrade to Cat 3.

Drop him a line, and let him know you are thinking of him, and be thankful he will be on the road in the near future.  rfreeman253@gmail.com  770.402.6156


If you care to watch the video click here .. and remember always "hold your line!".

Debbie does Leadville: Here we go......

Debbie does Leadville: Here we go......: Actually, this all started about a year ago when I announced to my husband that I wanted to do the Great Divide race. After an argument abou...

First Race of the Year

The first race of the season is always exciting. Great weather, new kits, and new teammates on the road with me all add up to a great Saturday afternoon in Greenville. Brandon, Ray and I rolled out and the race was very predictable for the most part. Staying in good position most of the race I felt we never lost control of the situation. One sizeable break went off the front and got to maybe 10 guys. Brandon and Ray went to the front to do some work. They pulled it back to a comfortable enough distance to see the break was not working well and was soon back in the pack.

Fast forward to the last lap and its definitely coming down to a bunch sprint. I make a move on the backside of the course to the back of Brandon’s wheel. Got to get there early as its prime real estate to go to the line. Ray has got the same idea and we get into our pre- planned pace line. Staying on each other’s wheels and making good use of the 8’s we make it to around top 10. Across the tracks and we roll down into the hill watching for the move. I’m in the drops ready for Brandon and Ray to start stomping the serious watts out, but the pace never picks up as there are riders blocking the entire road. We are coming in way too slow, this is crash territory. Five hundred meters to go and Ray starts getting aggressive with a move to the right. I stay on the wheel as he comes slightly back to the left. I see daylight to the right and take a gamble. Clear road!!! I hit the gas and break from the pack with only three guys to my left (see banner). I get one and am gaining on the others when we cross the line. A great race with some great teammates I am definitely looking forward to a lot more.

My Mt. Lemmon experience

It's Thursday night and we just completed our first long training ride.  The day was full of excitement. We climbed over Gates Pass and pushed our legs hard on the flats.  Randall (DS) explains the plan for tomorrow's ride up Mt Lemmon.  I'm listening to Randall while thinking about my bike that had made a weird noise at the end of today's ride.  I really want to go to mile marker 20, but due to the unknown weather conditions at this time of year we will only be going to mile marker 15.  I'm a little disappointed but understand the concern.  We are told that when the first person gets to mile marker 15, they are to turn around and go back down the mountain.  When you see your teammate come down you are to turn around, no matter where you are, so that the whole team gets to the bottom at the same time.  Now a little anxiety starts to set in.  I'm the biggest guy on the team and I really want to make it to mile marker 15. I turn to Brian and Giselle sitting next to me who are both really good climbers and plead: Don't come down the mtn. until I reach the top!  As the meeting ends, my anxiety level rises as I worry about making it to the top. Did I push my legs to hard today? Oh yeah I still need to fix my bike.

I walk up to Roger's house to take apart my rear wheel.  Roger and Craig jump right in to help even though it's about 10pm.  We strip apart the rear wheel, clean all the parts, and regrease everything.  We put the wheel back together and nothing has changed.  I may have to borrow a wheel in the morning.

I lay awake in bed thinking about my bike and how I'm going to make it to the top of Mt Lemmon.  I have climbed with Brian, Emily, and Lindsey before and know they can really climb.  I have heard stories about Giselle being a climbing animal.  It's now 12am and I still can't sleep.  My roommate is not sharing my problem.  I think about the climb being 5% grade, which is a lot better for me vs. 10%.  I might have a slight chance of holding on to someone's wheel.  I set my alarm for 5am to work on my bike again.  I really want to be on my equipment when climbing the mountain.

At 5am the alarm goes off and I sneak out to the garage to tear the rear wheel apart.  I have an idea on what the problem might be.  Not to much later, Roger comes out to the garage and offers me some coffee.  This guy is awesome!  I find the problem with the wheel and get it fixed.  Time for some breakfast and the ride.

As we roll out for the ride to Mt. Lemmon,  I have 30 miles to make a game plan for the climb.  I decide that when we hit the base of the climb I'm going to take off to get a rhythm going and maybe a little bit of a lead so I can jump on some wheels as they catch me.

I start the climb as I planned.  I create a little lead and when I look back, I see Brian and Giselle riding together a couple hundred yards behind me.  I assume that they are laughing at me and just waiting to blow by me.  I hit mile marker 3 and my brain switches from trying to keep up with the other riders, to survival just to make it up to the top.  I have never gone up such a consistent climb.   Brian and Giselle are just cruising along.  I think of the man at the parking lot that says he does this climb every Friday.  I decide to slow my pace just a little, I fear that around each bend there will be a steeper pitch that will put me in the red zone.  As I hit mile marker 5 Brian comes up and says hello.  I have no response.  He tells me to drink some fluids and we start to climb together.  The pace stays consistent and the gradient has not changed.  Every mile marker Brian yells out 'drink'.  Even though this sounds simple, I probably wouldn't have taken many drinks on this climb do to my thirst for oxygen, not fluids.

We approach our first little descent around mile marker 9,  I tell Brian this is where Giselle  will catch us.  I look back and see her hammering down the short decline and a few seconds later she is on our wheel with a loud YEEHAWWWWW.  Brian and I have no response for her excitement.  I tell Giselle that she doesn't have to wait for us and that she can go on.  She graciously declines and the three of us start to work together and encouraging each other.  This works great until mile marker 13.  Giselle asks Brian if he is ok.  Out of no where this really deep voice says NOOO....  I had to turn around to see who said it.  This didn't sound like Brian's voice.  It was him,  his body was starting to crack.  Brian is fading off of the back.

I turn to Giselle and ask if we should wait for Brian since he has been with us the whole time.  I'm excited about the idea of slowing down.  She looks straight into my eyes and says "no-we can't do that to him, lets keep going".  She just never stops!   I dig down a little deeper thinking again about the guy that does this climb every Friday.  Finally, mile marker 14 arrives, I can feel the pace picking up a little bit.  My adrenaline starts to kick in knowing that the ride is about over.  We see mile marker 15 and act like the pros in the tour who have worked together all day to stay in the breakaway, but somebody must finish first.  So we shake hands and Giselle takes off for the first place finish.

Physically this was not the hardest climb that I have ever done. However it was the most mentally challenging and exciting climb that I have done. I will not forget Mt. Lemmon for a long time to come.  The way the team pushed and encouraged each other was one of the greatest experiences of my life on a bicycle.

The photo is of Brian and Giselle who encouraged me and challenged me all of the way to the top.  Thanks for the great ride.

PS.  The descent was a blast.

Race Tactics

Thanks Steve for the informative lecture on race tactics.   I wish that the whole team could have joined us.  For those that missed it what follows is Steve's lecture outline.....

3 Rules

The rules build on one another to help you ride as efficiently as possible.

Rule #1: Use People

• Draft when you can to save energy
• Make quick decisions to maximize efficiency
• Strategically let others do work

Rule #2: You Can Recover

• Gives you confidence to try new things
• Opens up tactical opportunities
• You won’t be afraid to do some work strategically

Rule #3: Swim Upstream

• The race is at the front and you can’t win from the back
• The current is always moving from front to back
• “Float” and you’ll go backwards
• Move up when the current is slow; hold position when the current is fast
• Less danger at the front
• More steady pace up front
• You can react to tactical situations if you’re at the front

Rule Of 8's

These more advanced concepts help you succeed in almost every competitive situation.

Anticipate

• Knowing what's going to happen before it happens is a serious advantage
• Anticipate changes in course or weather to get in position before everyone wants to do the same thing
• Good racing tactics are predictable, so anticipate others using them as well
• Avoid dangerous situations by evaluating situations and predicting outcomes

Intimidate

• Making other riders do what you want them to do is a powerful skill
• Make things happen for you when you can as safely as possible
• You can gain an advantage over other riders if you convince them that they need to worry
• Know when people are using this rule against you

Dreaming of Leadville.......

I just wanted to let everyone know that I got into the Leadville 100 mountain bike race. I am so excited, and more motivated than I have ever been (it's hard not to be). I will be racing my road bike on a few rare occasions, so I haven't totally abandoned you. I plan on starting a separate blog about all things Leadville. Stay tuned.......

Yoga Gives Me the Reason to Race

Today I went to yoga and it was about 50% as hard as my first effort on Monday!   I did not get better at the poses.  I was not in better shape.  I was in my COMFORT ZONE today and out of it on Monday.

You have not raced in months and although GSTS is not your first race, it is may be your first one this year.   Over the months of 'off season', your COMFORT ZONE has seen some shrinkage.  Most, if not all of you, are feeling some anxiety about going to the line.  Some of you may be having high anxiety?   Let me think of a few of the potential excuses that you are conjuring up:

*  I am pretty busy
*  It is early in the season
*  I am not in race shape (of course it is a 'training race')
*  Taxes are due (April 15, but the four hours I would gone are critical)
*  It might rain (I race at 10AM and rain is forecast for 4?)
*  I have a pimple coming up on left elbow

I bet some of you have even more inventive excuses?  These feelings are not anything to be embarrassed about.   How do you think I felt on the way to yoga on Monday??  Why did I go?   Like you, I have goals and yoga can help me get there.  I focused on them.

GSTS can help you get where you are going.  It's main purpose may be to re-expand your COMFORT ZONE.  You have more important races ahead and you need to be comfortable when they get here.  This is the first step to that comfort.

GSTS is a great place to start!   You will have TEAM support, a lot familiar faces around, and you know every square inch of the pavement.

Tip from Teenie:  When you feel the anxiety, visualize a time when you were very successful.  Just replace the negative image with the one of  a success in past.   Bring that successful image and emotion forward.

Be safe and be headstrong.

Blood on the trail.....

DS is off fighting the "crud" in the warm climes of Arizona, and back here in the east we are making the most of the cool weather.... Beth/Jim Hoffmeister and I braved the frozen temps in the Pisgah NF on our mountain bikes yesterday, where we headed up a 10mile climb on Cathey's Creek to Farlow Gap and looping back around the west side of Pilot Mountain for a 30 mile slugfest....  what's a little blood on the trail when you are having fun....

#13 Marginal Gain - Acupuncture

Some of you have heard me say that being married to Teenie is like being on a Star Trek voyage.   It got strange today.

Still on Yellow Light, I headed to Yoga at  9AM, on Teenie's prompting.  I have been poking around,  and tried one core class to replace Sam's class while we are in Tucson.   I am really a yoga virgin.  After 1.5 hours in 105F heat, putting my body into unnatural pretzel like positions while standing on one leg, I was beat.   Feeling like I had just done a 3.5 hour hammer fest team ride, I did not speak a full sentence for 25 minutes.   When I did, it was,"Wow, that was hard!"  Pretty sure I lost 6 pounds via sweat as that was the net gain in weight for my towel and shirt (both of which are dry fit stuff).

A cat nap ensued and then came the real terrifying news.   I learned I had an appointment with an Acupuncturist at 3:30.   Being honest, our new friend Mary had suggested this treatment and I politely had responded positively.   Now a guy was going to stick needles in me (who knows where?) to cure bad sinus and allergies?  'Mary, is a cool person...it'll be OK.'  How is that for whippin' out a quick affirmation?

At 3:30, I rolled into a strip center on Prince.......not the best part of town.   The glass in front of the office has 1000 diseases named on it.  Presumably, these guys can cure all of them.   I do not see sinus and/or allergies.  I really don't even know what feng shui is?  To tell the truth, I just looked up how to spell it.   But, I am dead sure this place has zero feng shui.

After a quick consultation,  Dr Robert Wu, OMD (?) looked up my nose, pressed around on my face and made a diagnosis.   Even though Dr Wu is hard to understand, his simple explanation seemed very credible.   He said my nose was clogged, not allowing the mucus to escape.  Mucus was rolling down my throat, irritating my esophagus and bronchial tubes........at least, I think that is what he said?

Dr Wu urged me to come to the next office for the fix.   Seated in a metal folding chair, I soon had 3 needles sticking out of my cranium and Dr Wu inserted the first two swabs (green) up my nose about 4 ft into my sinuses.   "Five minutes," he said,  "and I'll be back." (didn't somebody famous say that?)   These were followed by yellow swabs for 5 minutes and finally brown ones for 10!

All good.   They gave me powder to put in water and drink (imagine drinking the root of dessert plant).

$123.00 USD (not won, yen or anything like that)

'Come back on Wednesday!'

In all seriousness, while way out of my comfort zone, I did not have a bad experience.  Going to any doctor is not fun but if this one cures me, I will be singing his praises.

Just think, today was my 'day off'.  Lemmon tomorrow, will be breeze.

"Beam me up, Scottie" 

Continuing Along the Lines of Mental Training...

One of my greatest teachers (in addition to Randall...really), is Lou Tice of The Pacific Institute.  He is the best presenter I have ever had the opportunity to watch and learn from.  We worked 'together' on-and-off for 20+ years and I still recommend his/their curriculum, should you ever have the good fortune to participate.  I also recommend Lou's live seminars--although I recently heard he is on sabbatical due to a throat illness.  How sad.  

His wife, Diane, is a gem and inspiration in her own right.  A stage-4 cancer survivor, she utilized the concepts that she and Lou taught to millions each year through affiliates, like me, and is cancer-free (read: cured), maybe 20 years, later; she still thrives.  They fostered and adopted 11 children.  3 severely abused young boys (heads flushed down toilets, shot at, burned, etc., etc.), and dealt with the trials and tribulations of life and raising these children.  No one is immune.  They entertained and coached such dignities as President Vincente Fox (Mexico), the president of Ghana, the president of Guatemala (Oscar Berger), Coach Pete Carol of USC, and others, too numerous to list (see website).  

In working with Lou throughout these decades, I've learned the importance of my thoughts.  I've learned that as life deals us challenging curve balls that are so often out of our control, that the only thing we really can control is our thoughts.  And I've learned that my current thoughts do determine my future and that my physiology is attached to these thoughts.  So if I want different results, I must think in a manner that promotes such.  Below is a clip from The Winners Circle Network (WCN) that Lou/The Pacific Institute send out daily. Enjoy it.  And if you'd like, sign up.  It's free:    http://mailman.wolfe.net/mailman/listinfo/wcn

Winner's Circle Network with Lou Tice - 2/7/12 - "The Secret of Success"

Today we are going over the secret of success, in one word. And, I am going to guarantee it. One word, I promise.

For over 40 years, I have been studying success. Some of the most successful people in the world have been my students, and I, in turn, have learned a great deal from them. I have also spent a lot of time in the company of some of the world's most respected research psychologists, talking about what makes some people succeed and others collapse - the difference, in short, between the cans and the can-nots, the do's and the do-nots.

And after all these years of study and research, I can tell you one thing with the utmost confidence: the secret of success is "Attitude." That's it. And it is really not a secret. People who succeed do not have fewer problems than other people. They do not start out with the most brainpower or better parents or more money, either.

As a matter of fact, sometimes they start out working against incredible odds. But they have a way of looking at things, a way of seeing obstacles as possibilities, a way of hanging in there and making the most of every opportunity that almost guarantees success. If you are running up against an unexpected challenge, do an attitude check. Ask yourself, "Am I not seeing the way around, because of an attitude?"

You are successful - and flexible, optimistic and hardworking. So if you want to sum it up in a word, it is not difficult to do: success is a question of attitude.


Lou Tice
The Pacific Institute
www.thepacificinstitute.com

Green Light/Yellow Light/Red Light

A few years ago, Teenie taught at a couple Ironman Clinics held by World Class Ironman, Heather Goldnick.   As you might imagine, world class people become world class athletes.   Here is what I learned from Heather as a clinic participant:

Heather always knows when she is training/racing what 'light' she is on.

Green Light - This is all go.  She is training or racing 'all out'.   Focus is on her goals, short term/intermediate/long term.

Yellow light - She is training or racing at a reduced rate.  Injury, equipment, etc is slowing her down.  Focus is on getting to GREEN.   Get the problem fixed and quick! If she can get to green, she can win!

Red Light - She is stopped.  Injury, illness,  personal problems and/or equipment have halted all progress.   Focus is totally on getting to GREEN.  Forget the the training ride, race being missed or the fact that peleton just rode away.   Think of one thing, getting the 'wheels back on'.

I have been on yellow light since CAMP.  I made some mistakes still focusing on the big goals.  Today, the light turned RED and thank goodness for Heather.  

Right now, I have dental issues, my Dad (86) is very sick and the green monster (also known as the mocus) has dropped me like a like a rock.   Yea, I know, some people have real problems!  Teenie says, "My feet stink and Jesus doesn't love me."  It ain't all that bad but the light is RED.

I have one thing on my mind and it's color is GREEN.   My RAS (Reticular Activating System) was on tonight  and it caught a TV add for minuteclinic.com .  I am there in the AM.  I am on total rest.  Talked to my Bro and we have a 'next action' with my Dad.   I have a dental appointment in Greenville next week.  

 You'll see me out there soon....I will be the guy on GREEN Light.

#12 Marginal Improvement

#11 MARGINAL GAIN

Sometimes, it's not about a training method or what you need to eat.  It's about staying healthy in face of illness around you.  Schusler was struck at CAMP.   Some of us may be trying to shake it off??

Linz lost her campaign and has succumbed to several days off.    I am close but still fighting.   My symptoms include serious sinus drainage resulting in coughing and a very raspy throat.

After being around Teenie for 30 years, I am not much on pharmaceuticals.  I have pulled out an old friend............          


Untitled from Steve Baker on Vimeo.

Flap Jack Flats 30K TT

We opened our 2012 season with a 30k TT, today. Perfect training for this time year.   A 45-50 minute 'full gas' interval.  If you do enough of these, most coaches will tell you that you will end up with a higher FTP (or FPT).  F for Functional/ T for Threshold/ P for Power.

Teenie has taught me to ask:  What went right?

*  My neck was OK after almost a year of rehab!
*  My pacing was pretty darn good.
*  Bike worked well.
*  I dressed right for the temperature/conditions.
*  Power output was solid for this time of year.

What can I do better next time?

*  Get to the race earlier.
*  Warm up better.
*  Go out just a little easier in the 1st quarter of the race.
*  Put a lot of Z4 intervals on the books prior.
*  Ride my TT bike, a lot.
*  Get on the podium (I had my podium shoes, just in case).

As always, when we came to line, we raced all out.   This was a training race, however.   We did NO taper, no training for it, did not look at the course prior, did not have all our 'go fast' equipment........we still raced hard and it was fun...REAL FUN.

The season is on us and I, for one, am excited.

Let the racing begin.

Oh, the course had 800 feet of climbing going out and the decent coming back......far from FLAT as it's name describes!  They did serve Flap Jacks....all varieties.  Yummy.  Two hundred people were out.  Flap jacks are popular out here.  And, congrats to Teenie for 2nd in Cat 4 (field of 8).

Things I Learned in Tucson, AZ

I recently took part in the TEAM headstrong Spring Training Camp in Tucson, AZ. It was awesome to spend time with my new teammates riding our bikes in the AZ sunshine. In addition to logging some quality saddle time, we spent many hours together off the bike eating meals, laughing lots and just chilling at Western HQ. I feel very lucky to have shared this experience with my teammates and I know we’re all better riders and people because of it.

All the women stayed at the Maddox house and all the men stayed 2 doors down at Roger the Rocket’s house. (Unfortunately, that’s not written on his door mat…not yet anyway.) Western HQ was the central hub for all the activities for the week.

Being on the same team with your significant other can have advantages, and I was very pleased to be able to stay with Sam at Casa de Maddox. Of course, that did mean that I stayed in a house full of women, and that’s always interesting. Everyone had a fantastic time and everything worked out very well.

Spending this much time with people can be very insightful. I’m happy to report that I learned a few things over the course of the week. I thought I would share them here.

1. I have some of the most fun teammates on the planet. We laughed enough to make our ribs hurt.
2. Some headstrong teammates are already fit and riding like champions.
3. My teammates are getting smoother with all the paceline practice we do.
4. I can’t use my weight as a climbing excuse anymore. Our “King of the Mountain” weighs even more than me.
5. Owning a house in Tucson, AZ is great for your fitness.
6. Some women splash like a duck in the bathroom.
7. Even after 25 years of racing and training, I can still bonk on a 15 mile climb.
8. Video editing is 10 times harder and more time consuming than shooting the footage.
9. Women can’t work toilet seats.
10. Everyone will eat a gluten free diet when it includes tamales and chocolate cake.

Quote for the Day

Outside of a dog,  a bike is man's best friend.  Inside of a dog, it is too dark to ride a bike.

Conquering Mt. Lemmon, AZ

2012 Team Camp in Tucson, AZ wouldn't be complete without a trip up the most grueling climb in the area. On Friday, we climbed Mt. Lemmon. This popular local climb features a steady 5% grade for more than 25 miles. With the ride over from Western HQ we only had time to do 15 miles up to Hoodoo Vista. Believe me, it didn't feel like "only" a small climb while we were ascending. This climb is so long they add an extra "m" in the name.

TEAM headstrong 2012 Camp Day3 from Steve Baker on Vimeo.

Fun Times in Tucson, AZ

I finally managed to edit some of the footage we shot in AZ. I hope the video depicts how much fun we had in Tucson. More to come...


TEAM headstrong 2012 Team Camp Day 1 from Steve Baker on Vimeo.