Bird's view... Racing with DS

3 races.  2 days for the old guys...

yep that is the DS and Bird splitting the winnings as we worked to contain Leduc and ended up with DS finishing fast for 3rd place at Tour de Moore....Elizabeth and Teenie did the W3,4 earlier.  Teenie then joined DS and I for the Men's 50+..... finished in time to cheer Giselle on to an 11th place finish in the women's Pro 1,2,3 ... DS and I then headed up to the Brick City Criterium for a fast 4 corner crit... I held on for a 4th place finish.....

the call....Tour de Moore.....
60+.. (DS 3rd) 27miles 1 lap

14 starters (2 not up to task, but the rest, old race horses…. Tim Kerr, Bob Land, Gillis, Leduc, David Stevens, Norm Lack, DS)… pace not really going at start so I go to the front and lift the pace. Everyone responds. We get a paceline going (about 6 of us going through). I launch an attack lifting the speed and getting a gap…too early… just testing the legs…… At 5 miles we rip through the first right and hit the little “tester”… Lack and I go but let it come back… pretty steady pace.. Leduc makes an effort but not really going. DS counters, leduc slows… up to the fort and the right turn to the rollers… some efforts here… DS covering Leduc and riding strong through the paceline.. Smart, not staying on the front… no one gets away, but not really trying. Lack and I make another effort but not hard enough.

3+ miles out, heading to right turn, pack really slows and I go… really going.. not wanting to race Leduc up the climb …  .....(Click here to continue reading)

Bird's eye view...... addendum to Steve's post..

Saturday’s highlights… teenie missing the start of her race and chasing back on to end up 2^nd… the “chariots of fire” award.   Brandon..3 crashes in one day…must be a record… didn’t go down but had to bunny hop a rider then the curb only to hit a brick wall head on….. then, a crash before we even start racing the Cat 3,4 putting us at the back of the start… didn’t slow him down, but the next crash did prevent him from having a top 5 placement (Tyler Hamilton award).  Baker fighting to hang in a slugfest to make a top 10 finish..

Sunday  45/55+… game plan.. START AT THE FRONT… Steve has a good shot at the 45+ SC Championship, and DS maybe the 55+.. so if we are there at the end, plan is I do a lead out with Steve on my wheel and DS follows his…. Steve says best to string this thing out due to corners and damp pavement.  DS says if it gets bunched up I should go and string it out….. and, right before the start….Giselle whispers in my ear “ride smart”…

Whistle blows and GO!.  A rider goes…. I take second position and we push the pace…. I take the lead halfway around (ride smart)… wanting to test the turns… (corners as DS says).. we rip through 2 laps and I fade back into the pack… we are rolling averaging 26mph… out of the saddle sprinting out of every corner…… Steve moves up .. a break goes .. Steve chases… I chase…… Steve chases….and chases… and chases…. Gets back in and I come around trying to give him my wheel as I hear him say “I don’t think I have it today”… I try to be smooth hoping he recovers…..recover?  He is passing me on my right moving back to the front…. Another break, Steve goes,  I go…… I have lost count on the laps… back side turn… scraping metal someone hits the pavement … no idea who…..”its Randall, he’s OK, getting up… he will make it to the pit…keep going” I hear from Steve… we are drilling it.. we come around and DS is jumping in … blood on his elbow, knee, and socks.. he goes to the front setting pace….  Comes back….  Steve moves up fighting for that 4^th position… Steve, DS, and I are all together near the front… 6 or 8 back…. 3 laps to go…  DS “says got to move up” I say “not yet, follow me”… DS goes to the front  (what?)….. no one will go around ….they are hanging him out to dry ….. 2 to go…. Last lap DS back in the pack … pace is ratcheting up…. the locomotive  is moving up.. second to last turn .. accelerating… tension…focus…you don’t hear….. nor think…. running on autopilot……last turn… Steve comes out in 4^th .... 200meters to go,  I am 6-7several riders back (wasn’t I supposed to be leading?) thinking GO STEVE GO….

Steve takes the bronze…. I am surprised with a 3^rd place in the 55+ …. DS finishes like a true gladiator before heading off to the medics… …   

Medals Really Shine in the Rain

It was a great weekend for TEAM headstrong in Charleston, SC, in spite of frequent rain and the complications it can bring to a bike race. The nasty weather did it’s best to turn us away, but it didn’t seem to dampen our team spirit. Teammates cheered on each other to give them the boost they needed to take home some glory. And we left Charleston with some glory.

Teenie and Brady started off our crit racing weekend with the Smack Down at Ion Village women’s cat 4 race. The Ion course is basically a flat, fun, 3-corner criterium with some cobbled strips thrown in occasionally to add some flavor. The corners are normally pretty simple, allowing you to pedal through most of them at speed. Add in some rain and the game changes a little.

The cat 4 women were lucky to race in dry conditions, and they put on a good show. Brady took several primes throughout the race. Teenie road strong narrowly missing her own prize during one prime sprint. It looks like they were on form and we were all cheering them on for a good result. Teenie delivered the first podium of the day with a great second place finish in the race. Brady finished strong as well, and we were all smiles.

Brandon lined up next for the men’s cat 4/5 race. Brandon raced well and stayed near the front as always. I’ll let him tell you all the details in his own race report, but let’s just say the finish didn’t turn out as he planned. On the last lap, he was held up by a crash, but he was able to avoid any serious injury by employing his mad MTB skills.

Later that afternoon, Brian, Steve, Brandon, Bird and Randall lined up for the cat 3/4 race. We were all pleased to have the opportunity to race together in this combined event and spirits were high before the start. Those spirits were dampened a little by some showers that showed up while we warmed up under our team tents. It wasn’t looking good for our race, and you could sense the change in mood as we all worried about our safety.

After our trainer sessions, we set out as a team to survey the course. On our warm up lap, some knucklehead tried to run across the road right in front of Brandon, and he chose to hit the deck instead of sending her to the hospital. It was a pretty serious crash and not something that any of us needed. Brandon is one tough dude, and he got up with fire in his eyes as he joined the back of the field for the start of the race.

The rain made things very slippery and everyone was super nervous as we rolled of the start line. We sprinted up to speed quickly hammering down the front stretch towards turn 1. I realized right away how painful this race would be, as we almost came to a complete stop so riders could gingerly tiptoe their way through the first corner. Of course, after the exit we had to sprint back up to speed again before the next turn. It continued like this for the entire hour. People slipped all over the place and some crashed. It was the hardest race I’ve done in years because you had to do 3-4 sprints every lap. The efforts took their toll on our group as more and more riders dropped out of the race. I dug as deep as I could suffering in the group trying to stay in contact with the field. Luckily the rain stopped and the road started to dry out a little as the laps counted down. In the end, I was able to sprint for 10^th place and I was very pleased with that result after such a difficult effort.

The rain stopped for the women’s open race, but I wouldn’t call the course dry. Even with the threat of more showers, Giselle, Sam, Linz and Catherine were determined to do well. Sam was very active early covering some moves and creating a few of her own. G ended up covering one of the counter moves that went after Sam and a 4 woman break was quickly established. G stayed with the front 2 as they dropped one girl. Sam covered any chasing activity while Linz and Catherine worked hard to rejoin Sam. In the end, G was able to finish third, while Linz, Sam and Catherine finished 5, 6 and 8 respectively.

Sunday was much of the same weather-wise, but there were state championship medals on the line. Nothing like a little hardware to add pressure to an already tense situation. The state crits would be decided on a very flat, wide open course at West Ashley High School. There were really only 2 turns on the whole course to worry about, and those turned out to be quite challenging for many riders. The EMS crew was kept pretty busy bandaging up riders that got it wrong in the last 2 turns. It’s not good for moral to watch the ambulance get out onto the course for almost every race.

Randall, Bird and I lined up for the Masters 45+ race on a pretty wet course. Luckily it wasn’t actually raining when we started, but the conditions were not ideal. We raced hard and tried to make an impact. At one point, we got caught behind a split in the field and we worked very hard to try to limit the damage. Luckily for us, the front group didn’t organize and we were able to rejoin the race. I was really worried about all the energy I had spent trying to get to that front group, but I was hoping that my teammates were feeling good. We all took a couple turns at the front to keep the pace up in the final few laps, but we were not successful in lining it up for the actual finish. I knew who I wanted to follow and I got into position with 1 lap to go. Things got pretty exciting in the last couple corners, but I was able to use my cornering prowess to hold position well. I came out of the last corner in forth spot and gassed it for the line. It was awesome to get that feeling of racing for the win again and I gave it my all. I didn’t catch the winner and one rider was able to pass me on the right, so I finished a very satisfying third place.

I was hoping that my bronze medal would inspire Brian to get some glory in the cat 3 race and he needed that inspiration as he warmed up in the pouring rain. They started in the rain and it barely let up the whole race. He road smart staying near the front and using his considerable experience and skill to avoid any mishaps. The entire team cheered him on from the sidelines under our tents and umbrellas. One rider snuck off the front with 3 laps to go and they never saw him again. Brian sensed a lull on the last lap and hit them with everything he had with half a lap to go. His gap proved too much for them as he roll in for an impressive second place finish 6 bike lengths in front of the charging field.

Brian’s silver medal was just the inspiration we needed as the women took the line. Giselle and Linz were the two teammates that decided to brave the rainy conditions, and they made the most of their effort. One rider from NC broke away early and proved her win on Saturday was no fluke. G and Linz worked together and stayed out of trouble in the nasty conditions. On the final lap, G put her head down and lead out the sprint with several corners to go. She crossed the line in second, as Linz timed her sprint perfectly to take third place right behind G. Since the race winner was a NC girl, G and Linz won the gold and silver medals for the state championships.

Brandon lined up for the last race of the day in the same nasty conditions. He raced well and gave it his all. In the end, he managed to come home in sixth place to cap off our successful weekend.

TEAM headstrong had a very strong showing in Charleston taking home 4 State Criterium Championship medals. Great job to my teammates on an excellent showing. I had a great time racing and hanging out with everyone and I look forward to more fun to come.

Medal Summary:

Women’s Open

Giselle Weekes—Gold

Cristina Lindsey—Silver

Cat 3

Brian Myrick—Silver

Masters 45+

Steve Baker—Bronze

Hypothermia - Arizona Style

After 6 winter seasons in Colorado and 25 years of snowboarding and skiing, hypothermia was still just a distant term.   It got real for me on April 14th in Arizona of all places.  It was not pretty or fun.

Teenie and I were racing Colossal Cave RR today.   She survived a 4 lap finish but I logged a DNF after 4 laps(5 laps scheduled) .   Marginally dressed for 55F dry temps, we faced 42F/15 mph wind/driving rain the entire race.

Uncomfortable quickly escalated.  I lost complete use of my hands and could not shift, my HR fell to 135 on an RPE of 10(usually 170 on RPE 10), I totally lost focus, my vision was effected.  Ultimately, I could not think.

When I got to the car, I violently shook for 40 minutes.  I could not turn on the heater, despite the fact we have owned the car for 8 years.  I was a wreck.  When I stopped shaking, I promptly fell asleep.

Teenie, dressed smarter, was in pain but not to my extent.  Maybe she is just tougher?  This is not first time I have ask myself this question.

#24 Marginal gain - Make sure I have clothing in AZ for all conditions.

Sorry, I don't have picture.  I am glad to have survived and be writing about this.    

What's Up?

This weekend (April 14th) is the Assault on the Carolina's on Saturday.  Brandon and I and some  cycling friends from Atlanta are joining us for a great ride out of Brevard down 178 and back up Ceasar's Head.

Next weekend is Ion Village (21st) and the SC Crit Championship(22nd)  ( Click here for details ) in Charleston.

And the following weekend is the Tour d' Moore (28th)  in Southern Pines... followed by the Brick City Criterium (29th).

I will be racing at Ion (Cat 3/4), the SC Crit Championship (45+) , and the Tour d' Moore.(50+ and the 60+ races).

Let us know who is planning on attending .... just make a comment and I will create a rider schedule ....

Cracked on Mt Lemmon

This is the face of a man sitting on the guard rail at the 8 mile marker; cracked, done, finished.

I have always said you have to fail to win so I guess I made a down payment on winning.  To me, you must know your limits(a moving target) in racing and training and the only way to know a limit is to reach it.

Today, I was over reached and under geared.

Over reach - When one trains beyond ones limits on a short term basis...........over training is similar but refers to a more chronic long term issue.   I have been increasing my training load in a focus to increase my threshold power.   I have gone from 3 hard days a week to 4-5.   This means 2-3 days in row.  With a lot of rest, AOK so far.  So, today, I went for a 4th day!  Ouch!

Under gear - Refers to using too small cassette in the rear.  After racing and riding successfully in the rollers on a 50/34-11/23 combination, I took it up the big hill.   Not there yet, my cadence fell below a sustainable rate as I put too much on my legs.    I think I needed a 25 to keep the pedals turning over, at some points.

Risk is an interesting thing.   As an entrepreneur for 40 years, I know a fair amount about it.  You might think I am big risk taker??..........only to a point.   I tend to risk when I can afford to lose.   Saturday, I took a risk by going off the front late in a crit.   When the dude with me pulled the rip cord right after we jumped, leaving me solo,  I was overtaken and finished back in the field sprint.    I felt perfectly OK to go for the win, only to lose.

If you watched the PR on Sunday, you saw a man take a huge risk(and win) and cyclists will talking about that around campfires for 10,000 years!

Today, I found I did not have 4 days in row in me........tomorrow, I spin for one hour??  No big deal.  THEY don't take away my birthday.

See ya out there.

One Tenth Of A Second

I have probably went up Paris Mtn. 39 times in 2012. With number 40 I was not so lucky. It rained a lot the night before, but when I left the house the sun was shining and the roads were pretty much dried up. Going up the front side, there was not a wet spot on the road. Then going down towards Furman, I kinda road down as always - fast! That's when it happened. I leaned into a turn and before I could register the wet road with all the leaves, my bike slid out from underneath and I went sliding and flipped once until I came to a stop. I was sitting on the road shocked and dazed. That is when a good sumaritan drove by and asked if I was alright. My instinct said yes and then I guess he looked at me and stopped his car. That is when I noticed that something was wrong. I could not lift my left arm and I had about 40 square inches of road rash. I had road rash everywhere. Knee, hip, shoulder, both arms and both hands and a bruised forehead. Obviously I would find out later that my collarbone was also cracked. I didn't have one piece of clothing that wasn't torn. I must of been sliding on one side and then flipped to the other side. The last entry in my Garmin said I was moving into the curve with 25 mph. My sumartan offered to drive me home. I figured it might be better to cancel that days workouts. Later that day, I was informed that I might be off the bike for 6-8 weeks. Everything because of one tenth of a second.

Remembering Lou Tice

Teenie and I heard this morning that our mentor and teacher, Lou Tice, died last night.   We don't know the details.  Lou was 77.

You won't see many stories, about guys dying, in this Blog but I felt compelled to write this.   I am pretty sure without Lou's influence, there wouldn't be TEAM and there wouldn't be Blog.

We met Lou about 20 years.   Lou used to say, "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."(this is one of many Louisms you will hear Teenie and I speak).  We were ready.   In the ensuing years, Lou taught us how to think, not what to think but how to think.   He taught us how to create meaningful and lasting change.  With Lou's help, we changed our lives in very significant ways.   Lou was an unbelievably effective teacher.  If you have been effected positively by either of us,  you have likely been effected by Lou, even though you never knew him.

The difference between great and good is magnitude.   A good person leaves a better world behind.   Great people leave a lot better world behind.   The world is a hugely better place because of Lou Tice.   I have known 'of' great men but I am not sure how many great men I have known personally?   I knew Lou and he was truly a great man.

The world has suffered a loss.  Teenie and I have suffered a loss.  Although, gone, Lou will never be forgotten.   In Lou's honor, I will redouble my own efforts to make the world a better place.  When Lou hears this, he will smile.

TEAM MATES ADD VALUE

Sometimes, I take, having great team mates, for granted.   Last week, the Hoodster and Camille came in and rode the legs off Bake, Teenie and I.   Hoodster casually gave me some advice after we climbed the Watershed.......I needed to turn a bigger gear(#13 Marginal Gain).

Later, Teenie told me I had been working with her all winter on this!  The advice stung but my respect for my team mate, made me feel I needed to try some changes.  Late in the week, I did some short 3-4 climb, comparing varied cadence, but no progress.

On Sunday, I decided to take my new bike (53/39-12/25) to the Watershed and Pierson Falls.   I started cycling at 215 lbs. about 5 years ago...........I tried this gearing then and I was walking..........I had serious trepidation.  

Giselle and I hit the climb shoulder to shoulder.   About half way up, I asked, "Are in Z2?"   She said she was in Z2/Z3 and ask me.  When I said I was at threshold, she replied, "Oh, my!"   That said, I was rolling.  My pedal stroke stayed smooth and the gearing 'made' me turn a bigger gear.  Later, the analysis of the training file revealed strong results.  I continued the big gear work on Pierson and the rest of the ride.

After standing up a steep pitch, G told me to belly breathe(#14 Marginal Gain) a couple of times to bring down my HR.......this I will practice in the future.

I have always known that the best way to get better at something is to surround yourself with better, stronger, wiser and more experienced people.   I got confirmation of this last week.