redlands in the books

monday morning i flew back from redlands back to a sunny boulder which was a nice welcome. redlands was good....kind of...its always to pop a result but that didnt happen this trip, but overall i was pleased with how it went. i got through it and didnt feel like i was in over my head which was a big change from the only other nrc stage race ive done at cascade last summer. the prologue was ok, i felt very good, but the resutl was nothing notable, i think i definitely should've brought my tt bike, instead of just riding the road bike with training wheels...but i guess i just wasnt sure where the form was going to be and didnt want to pay for two bikes. the next day was the first road stage...a 106mi circuit type race with 6 hard climbs. i felt awesome all day and was thrilled with how it was going, cresting the koms top 30 and feeling like i was barely pedaling, then with 20 miles left, the 2nd to last time up the kom i just completely shut down, i just went from feeling great to having nothing...got dropped from a groupetto with a bunch of fat sprinters...that was the lowpoint of the day, i finished alone and lsot 16 minutes on the day, deifnitely not thrilled with that...but i guess i took what i could from it, first road race of the year, tough being an nrc, i just didnt eat enough which totally screwed me...don't want to sound like a jerk but at home i can get away with these mistakes when its just a 3hr race, but when its a 4.5 hr nrc race one slip up and next thing you know you lose sixteen minutes, i'd rather learn that lesson in march and not at nationals.

this photo is from the first kom on the day, its hard to see but maybe if you click it, the photo will enlarge, im in the center of the frame, white helmet, wearing blue and white bikereg.com clothes.

the next afternoon was the crit, it was a lot of fun...it was a mile with 9 corners but they all had good flow to them and it was just really fun. my legs felt good and it didnt seem that hard...i got one flat but free lapped back in, there were a lot crashes a lot of them seemed due to tire blowouts, i was surfing the top 15 for a few laps and when the gas came off i almost jumped but i guess i was just nervous, not feeling quite confident enough to attack in these nrc's yet...maybe soon. the last 10 laps were pretty tough, the results in cycling news are messed up, i finished in the bunch...but it wsa good.

the last day was the infamous sunset loop. that hardest part of the day i think was the two crit laps we did downtown to start the race, i was hoping they would be parade laps but it was just as hard as the last two laps from the night before. after the crit laps we rolled up a 4mile climb out of town, then got onto the sunset loop. you do 12 laps of the sunset loop then come back to town for 5 laps of a finishing circuit. historically a very small group completes all the loops without getting a pro rated time and is allowed onto the finishing circuits. fly v had it pinned going up to the loop, luckily with about a mile to go a hole opened up and i made a late surge, entering the loop top 15 which was my best move of the day. the first part of the loop is some crazy descending on dark narrow roads, then you start a very tough kom that lasts for only ~5 minutes, but it false flats after the kom line for seemingly ever. the first time up the kom lap was insane, i had to stand for nearly 2k just to stay in the wheels but crested top 20, almost half the field got shelled just the first time up the kom. after that, i got a little too content and didn't fight for the wheels enough, i felt good all day but it just wears on you, on the 9th lap i got popped from the lead group, rolling in for 85th on the day...they give you a pro-rated time. it may not sound like much but for this time of the year i was definitely happy with it, and i hope getting through this when i got to gila in may i can pull out a real result.

for now im back in boulder for the last month of the semester, ill being doing some collegiate racing in between now and gila, and hopefully training hard, looking forward to see what the rest of the season will bring...it's weird to just be starting the season and already have such a hard race in the legs...hopefully it is only beneficial.

it always shows up

a wise man once told me that it is always hard to that the form will come when it is missing...but then somehow it always shows up

3 weeks i wasnt too excited about redlands, well i was but i was super nervous i had a very rough february training wise and was not feeling ready for a super hard race three weeks out, but somehow hefler worked her magic once again and i came out on the other side of these three weeks in a way better spot...im not sure ive ever said it enough but sue is an incredible coach, ive been with her since 2005 and do not think i could ever work with anyone else...im not sure anyone else could put up with my shit anyway...also equally as important as the coaching is the family avery mom dad all of them helped me keep my head straight as i had some rough patches this winter...i know i need the help i have an easy time getting my head all wrapped into a pretzel.

well the good news is in 3 weeks im feeling much better than when i last thought seriously about redlands, ive been slowly feeling better every week and this week had an awesome training week. i dont want to get too excited since the race hasnt even started yet but i will just go ahead and say i am looking forward a lot to this race, when i first found out i was going the instant plan was survival but now i think i can shoot for a little different

san dimas starts tomorrow, i wish i had been able to get into that. the first day is a 3.8mi hill climb prologue that is supposed to be a pretty tough climb, i think that wouldve been a lot of fun, hopefully i will do it next year. tomorrow is my last day of classes which is very exciting...im very lucky that redlands is over my spring break so i will only be missing one day of school...monday travelling back. also, i think this time last year i did jeff cup predictions, even though i will not be there here are my 2010 jeff cup winner predictions by category:

Cat. 4: Avery Wilson

Cat. 5: Eduardo S. Maeyama

Cat. 5 35+: Fritz Mehler

Wm. 4: Rebecca Wilson

Cat. 1/2/3: Mike Stearns

45+: Rick Tucker

55+: Pete Swan

Jr. 15-18: Samuel James

Wm. 12: Christine Fuentes

Wm. 3: Katherine Klausing

35+ 1/2: Ramon Benitez

35+ 3/4: Andreas Gutzeit

Thats all for now i suppose, the weather here in boulder is supposed to take a hard turn for the snow starting tomorrow, hopefully it melts up quick

first weekend of racing

THIS PAST WEEKEND WAS THE FIRST WEEKEND OF RACING. SATURDAY WAS A CRIT IN DENVER IT WAS IN CITY PARK...THAT IS THE NAME OF THE PARK IT IS NOT JUST SOME RANDOM CITY PARK, IT IS ON THE EAST SIDE OF DENVER RIGHT BY EAST HIGH SCHOOL NEAR THE DENVER ZOO. IM NOT GONNA LIE I WAS NOT A BIG FAN OF THE COURSE AT ALL. IT WAS .8 MILES BUT DIDNT REALLY HAVE ANY REAL TURNS IT JUST HAD 3 ROUNDABOUTS. I USUALLY LIKE TECHNICAL CRITS BUT THIS COURSE WASNT VERY FUN YOU HAD TO COAST LIKE TWO THIRDS OF THE WAY AROUND EACH ROUNDABOUT AND THEY SUCKED A LOT OF SPEED I DIDNT THINK IT WASNT THAT MUCH FUN...BUT IT WAS EXCITING TO BE OUT RACING. THE FIRST RACE OF THE DAY WAS THE COLLEGIATE RACE RACING FOR MY COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO...THE CU BUFFS. I DIDNT HAVE A TEAM JERSEY BUT THANKFULLY NORA OLSON HAD ONE I COULD USE, THANKS NORA! THEY ARE REALLY STRICT ABOUT NOT WEARING SHORTS FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN YOUR COLLEGE SO I JUST HAD TO ROCK BLACK SHORTS, IT WAS OK. SO THE COLLEGIATE RACE WAS PRETTY FUN IT HAD A PRETTY BIG FIELD 40+ PEOPLE SO IT WAS GOOD. IT WASNT TOO FAST BUT KINDA CRAZY WITH ALL THE ROUNADABOUTS SO I JUST STAYED TOWARDS THE FRONT AND WENT WITH ALL THE ATTACKS CUZ THAT IS REEL FUN BIKERACIN! EVENTUALLY ALISTER ON FORT LEWIS ATTACKED IT TOOK ME A MINUTE TO GET THROUGH A HOLE BUT THEN I TRIED TO BRIDGE BUT HE WAS MOTORING, ZACK WAS ON MY WHEEL WE COULDNT MAKE IT UP TO AISTER AND HE LAPPED UP BUT I STAYED ON THE GAS AND ZACK AND I STAYED AWAY BUILDING UP A DECENT GAP ON THE FIELD I TRIED TO DROP HIM BUT TO NO AVAIL AND GOT WHIPPED IN THE SPRINT BUT I FELT LIKE I ATLEAST GAVE HIM A CHALLENGE FOR IT. GOOD NEWS IS LEGS FELT REALLY GOOD AND SPENT 45' OFF THE FRONT SO GOOD WORKOUT. IT WAS WILD IN MY FIRST COLLEGE RACE OUT IN CO I GOT IN A BREAK WITH SOMEONE FROM BACK HOME ESPECIALLY SPECIAL WITH ZACK AS WE PRETTY MUCH CAME UP RACING TOGETHER AND HAVE A LOT OF HISTORY IT WAS COOL...BUT NOW THAT HE GOES TO CSU AND I GO TO CU WE ARE NEMESES! LATER IN THE DAY I LINED UP FOR P12 CRIT...IT WAS JUST A LOCAL CRIT BUT THE LOCAL FIELDS OUT HERE ARE FREAKING STAR STUDDED...DISCLAIMER...THIS IS WHERE THE EXCUSES BEGIN. YEA SO THE FIELDS HERE ARE PRETTY KILLER IT WAS ONLY 40 GUYS OR SO BUT SOMETIMES THAT MAKES IT HARDER ESPECIALLY WHEN 15' IN IT IS ONLY DOWN TO 20 GUYS, NOWHERE TO HIDE. BUT YEA IT STARTED I WAS FEELING DECENT STARTED THROWING DOWN SOME ATTACKS RIDING AS PER USUAL...SOON GUYS STARTED GETTING SHELLED AND IT WAS GETTING WINDY, ABOUT 30' IN MIKE FRIEDMAN...YES THE OLYMPIAN...THO THATS NO EXCUSE AND I DONT PLAN ON USING IT ANY RACES THIS YEAR SINCE HE IS JUST ANOTHER GUY TO BEAT...BUT IM GUESS IM USING IT RIGHT NOW...WELL HE WENT TO THE FRONT FOR 4-5 LAPS AND WAS JUST GOING CRAZY IT SPLIT THE FIELD AND I WAS IN THE FRONT BUT I BUSTED MY ASS TO GET THERE AND THEN JUST BLEW SKY HIGH AFTER TRYING TO PULL IT BACK TOGETHER FOR ANOTHER 10' OR SO IT WASNT COMING BACK TOGETHER AND I DROPPED OUT DISGUSTED WITH MYSELF...BUT CEST LA VIE, ONLY MARCH, GOOD FIRST DAY OF RACING. OKAY SUNDAY...SUNDAY WAS A GOOD DAY THERE WAS A 9 MI TT IN MORRISON, CO. TRYING TO GET THE LEGS READY FOR REDLANDS...ITS ABOUT 30 MILES AWAY SO I GOT SOMEONE TO DRIVE MY TT BIKE AND I RODE THERE, DID THE THE TT AND RODE BACK. GOOD NEWS IS I FELT REALLY GOOD ON THE TT BIKE, FELT PRETTY STRONG STILL NEED TO GAIN SOME MORE POWER TO GET READY FOR THE BIG STUFF BUT IM CONFIDENT ILL BE THERE IN GIVEN TIME, BUT FELT GOOD ON THE TT, TOOK 2ND IN THE COLLEGE RACE SO I WAS PRETY PLEASED WITH THAT, TIME 19:52, LOST TO ALISTER THOUGH, HE SMOKED IT 19:21. BUT I WAS DECENTLY HAPPY, NOT AS BIG FIELD IN THE TT AS THE CRIT ONLY 30. RODE BACK THERE WAS A TAILWIND WHICH WAS SWEET SLAMMED IT HOME AT 400 WATTS. TODAY IM SICK BUT JUST A LITTLE THING TOOK OFF THE BIKE TO TRY AND GET BACK ON NORMAL SCHEDULE BY TOMORROW, TODAY IS THE 9TH SO REDLANDS STARTS IN 16 DAYS...DAMN THATS CLOSE! PLAYING A TRICKY GAME BALANCING GETTING READY AND NOT SHOWING SICK OR HURT.

the big ring on the triple was too big....

i had to get a mountain bike crankset. its been gorgeous in boulder this week, absolutely loving it...feeling lucky that the weather gods have blessed us. training has been going pretty well, nyothing new really just going out and smashing it at 500 watts...had a good weekend of riding last weekend, really nice day on saturday for the gateway which is the big groupride out here, its about a 3hr ride, pretty fun mostly flat, one 5' climb that has some bite to it. usually its pretty fast which is fun, this was the last weekend before racing starts so guys were revving pretty hard. then had a good ride on sunday for the most part until it snowed the last hour but it was a wet snow more like rain so wasnt too much of a problem. this week has been good...i had gotten all registered for jeff cup to come home and do it over my spring break with the team, then monday night i got some great news...we got into redlands! i will be guest riding on the bikereg-cannondale team, so bad news is im out 38 bucks for registering for jeff cup but i will be doing redlands classic instead so its pretty exciting. im lucky to have the chance from the bikereg guys to get to do this race. its supposed to be really hard ive heard nothing but horror stories about the last day on the sunset loop, but im training hard to be ready so it should be good. the most important about doing redlands is that it marks a good transition out of the junior ranks and into full time senior where theres going to be a lot of nrc races on the plate. im excited to get a good nrc stage race into the legs early in the season so that i can go to tour of gila this year ready to go and rip some legs off hopefully...we'll see, that would be nice. other exciting news is that racing starts for me this weekend...i feel like all across the country people have already been racing a good bit, even at home where they've been pounded by snow, but im excited to get my season started. on saturday im doing a crit in denver, i will do the collegiate race which should be a blast, getting to race against a lot of good buddies from d20 that we're all just happening to be going to school out here. then ill do the 1/2 race later in the day, even out here in colorado ill have a kelly teammate, with russ brown. then sunday is a 8 mile tt, its only like 25mi from boulder so im planning to ride there race and ride back, trying to get in some good hours. redlands is a thursday-sunday race. thursday is a short 10' or so prologue, its a mostly hill climb prologue whihch is exciting, but it looks like most people still use the tt bike and since im flying im gonna save some dime by just using the road bike so not sure how that will play out. friday is a 106 mile road race with some pretty hard climbing in it and apparently last year got shattered by some brutal cross winds. saturday is a 90' crit that doesnt start till 6:15...ughhh not a fan of the whole night crits, i knwo some guys are but im a wuss. sunday is the brutal sunset circuit road race, 95 miles that apparently just blows to bits, this is the day that im most excited for and should be a really good test...or a really good heartbreaker, we will just have to wait and find out........

yea im pretty excited i guess you can tell by how much i just typed...though i doubt many are still reading far enough to read this sentence...except for you dad and mom, thanks guys