Let’s start with the riding. I am still riding, training, and loving it.  I had a week where I had caught the summer head cold, and was fighting that, but that is going away, and I feel better daily, and stronger on the bike.  My state RR is coming up next Saturday, then we head down to ATL for the 100K classic, which I did last year and it was a blast.  We are hoping to score some bed space at the Rigby’s again, so Michael if you read this, hook it up.

Next, work….I have taken a new position at work that I should be starting next week, one more step up the ladder.  This is something though that I have not strived to do perse’. I have never been one to try to climb the corporate ladder, I just did my jobs well, people noticed and I network well.  I have always thought that I would be a good candidate for a sales position, and this new position is a step in that direction…What? You did not think I was going to race a bike for a living did you??? Truth be told, with my life as it is, I feel like I could not do it anyway. Let’s face it, I love my wife and son too much to spend more than a week at a time just racing bikes, no matter how much I love my cycling.  Thing is, I can race in some sort or fashion until the old ticker stops, So that I am not worried about, and I am on a team where everyone for the most part is married and has kids.

Speaking of kids…I have made it a point this week to spend more time with my son.  Even on the days when I get in after training and the legs are tight and tired, I get up and go out to throw the football, and I have to say it has been rewarding for both of us.  It is amazing what that time gets you back.  I now and the go to person in the house..Dad, can you get me this? Dad, can you tuck me in? This is great.  We have been trying to learn how to catch the football, a soft one as to not poke eyes out, and for the past couple of days, the catch has been eluding him. Well, not tonight.  IT CLICKED! He started catchin everything….Now I am not throwing the bullet of course, but I do throw it, and he is catching.

Sometimes when you take time to look at life, you cannot help but smile. It is about what you make it and what you do while you are here and who you influence while you are here.

HUMP

It has been a little while since I have posted anything bike related, not because I have not wanted to, but because I have taken a break from racing, to do some family stuff, and just ride….You remember right? That feeling of going out, meeting the group, getting in a good long ride, talking, joking and laughing?  If you have yet to wax philisophical and think about that time, or you cannot remember the last time you just rode, then by Gosh! You need to do it!! Grab your spandex and go! I am not talking about anything structured either, some of the best rides are when you take off with a 20 spot in your pocket, the MP3 player (of your choice, since I am not getting caught in that who is better arguement here), some water bottles, and spare tubes and just took off.

I say without structure, but I have had structure, I have been doing my intervals, doing my workout prescribed by my coach, but I have also been going out on the days that I can, and meeting up with the guys that got me started in the first place.  They help me with my intervals, by just being there motivating me.  It helps to know sometimes that someone is behind you.  They also get me out away from town.  I know that if I get away from town, I am more inclined to ride longer, not because I do not like my bike, but because, my wife is a lot better looking!!

A scheduled 1.5 hour ride with intervals, turns into a solid 3 hours, which I feel is going to translate into some good race fitness in the next couple of weeks.

Speaking of racing, the next race for me is coming up.  From here until October, we will be racing a good bit.  I am ready, I am feeling that itch to compete, which is a good feeling.

Later,

HUMP

Last season, I raced these races as a Cat 3.  I was right on the verge of upgrading, and having the best season of my cycling so far, I was winning races, which felt great, I was always riding strong. 

This time…Not so much! As per my title, this race is held in the beautiful area of Asheville, NC. This has got to be one of my favorite mountain cities, a little hippy, some weird folks, but you cannot get around the atmosphere and the views of the mountains.  I love it up there. Last year the race started like previous years with a time trial up near Marshall, up above Asheville.  I did the TT last season, almost missing my start time, because traffic into and out of Asheville on a daily basis is crazy, I do not think too many people who work there, live there, because the cost of living is so high, so they were all on the road.  I did not do the TT for that same reason, and the fact that I do not have a TT bike, and showing up to do a Pro 1-2 TT without the proper gear is just not fun.

Last season, the next day was a RR, and here is where I am going to insert my gripe….People, Look around you if you live in Asheville…Are you doing it?…Ok, what do you see???…Any guesses, yes, you in the front with the tie died pants on!  Mountains!! You are correct, gobs of them, little ones, big ones, little country roads, and little traffic.

So why in the world would you not take advantage of this and do a proper road race that takes in some of this scenery and terrain??? I cannot or the life of me figure this one out, instead, we show up on Saturday afternoon to a crit in Brevard ( Another cool town).  This crit was not ordinary, it was .5 miles long, and I think it was rounded up from .45, or .4444445 miles, because it was tight. The start finish line had a hill, then you turned right, down, hard right, then flat, hard turn back on itself a bit right, then rolled back around to the hill.

Stacie and I got there a little early, which is the norm for me, since I do not like to be rushed to get ready, which allows me time to talk to people that I have not seen in a while, and catch up on what they have been doing.  What struck me as weird as well, was the fact that the back half of the course was thru a neighborhood, no curbs, road then yard.  I looked at Stacie and we both were thinking the same thing, “Someone will be in that person’s yard before the race is over.”

The team had good numbers, I think 6 of us were there, Myself, Blair, Harkey, Conn Man, Adam, Darren, and Rigby, still reeling from the honeymoon..Looked like Lauren did not even allow the boy to eat on the honeymoon, because he looked skinny. Just kidding, he always looks like that.

the fireworks started from the gun on this race, and did not let up.  Darren and I were on it early.  I was redlined for a while.  Surely we have been in this thing for a while…Look Down at computer…What! 20 minutes! Out of 70! I have to recover somehow.  I dropped back on the back while Chris and Conn man took over, adn tried not to get gapped out on every corner of this crit…Easier said than done.  Two guys were off the front, and they ended up lapping the field, but not before Thad Dulin took off on a flyer to try to do the same.  He ended up third.  I finished, but I was lapped twice I think, but I had six laps, so I just kept riding, I could not bring myself to just stop, that would come later.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday- We will sell you the whole seat, but you will only need the edge!!!

Same course as last year, triangle with a crazy 180 turn at the bottom. This year though, the front stretch had been paved on half of it, so it was smoother.  I won this crit as a three, so I felt good about it…Too bad the legs didn’t.

We started with 41 racers, a small field for sure, but there were some hitters, we had all of the team, plus Knetche, who had raced the master’s race the day before.  DLP had some some of their guys back, I-9 had some guys, Dirk was in there for Texas Roadhouse, and just for good measure, let’s throw Hilton Clarkes little brother Jonathan Clarke in there from Toyota United. This is going to be fun…Oh yeah, just to make it ineteresting, let’s jack the teamp up to 100. That should do it, the hurt cake is mixed, the oven is on, let’s see if we can have dessert.

First eight minutes, and the pack is down to 20 guys…I told you it was hot. I had a dig, and got away with one of the I-9 guys, and we had a small gap.  Let’s keep trying.  Group is closing though, and here comes Harkey.  Then everyone else.  They were throwing out five dollars a lap for the first 20 laps, so we picked up some of those.  I was feeling like a big long brown one, legs felt like lead, I could not get any snap out of them.  About halfway thru this time, I had been sitting back on the back, trying to recover, when I found myself moving up the side. I could see Harkey and Conn up near the front, Reid was back near me, so we still had some guys, and Harkey and Conn were both riding much better than I was.  Finally I came around the corner and got up on the front. I hear Harky yell go, so I pick up the pace, I did not jump, because if you read back a couple of lines, you will remember I have no snap.  I make the big 180 turn, then just stand on it.  Now or never, hope Harkey can capitalize on this, because this candle is burning at both ends, and I am about to burn my hand.  I pull off right up near the SF line, and Harkey takes off, but I don’t think they let him get too far, I could not tell, at that point I could not see because my eyes were crossed and the steady stream of sweat into them just made matters worse. Next lap, I am just surviving, getting gapped out on the big 180, and then fighting to try to stay on.  Next lap, the fight is gone and I cannot stay with the pack, so I roll around again and pull off to Stacie on the sidelines. I was shaking, could not talk.  All I could do was just take water and pour it on me.  By now, the pack is maybe 11 guys, and it is all over the place, Thad has gone again, and got a good gap.  Here comes the Aussie! Jonathan closed the gap to Thad, so I knew that guy would be hard to handle.  Harkey and Conn get away, and work to establish and gap and close down the gap to the two leaders.  Harkey’s face was telling it all, it was hot and tough.  Boyd was back watching Dirk, since Thad woudl win the overall if he stayed away from Dirk. Reid was back there in that pack, riding great, staying in there.  Thad, Jonathan, Conn and Harkey all made it around to lap, and Jonathan sprinted like he was shot out of a rocket.

I left after all of that, also after stopping to talk, something I find I do pretty well, adn frequently.  Heading back down the road, Harkey called and said that I actually had one another 5 dollar lap…Cool.  Stacie and I stop at the grocery store, grab an iced double shot and a big chocolate chip muffin and then head home.

Lesson: Do not expect to always be feeling good, fact of life, you can only be 100% a couple of times, sometimes you just do not have it.

HUMP

Well, last week, the team sent us up to do Master’s Nationals, this was going to be one of the major goals for me this season, but the week before I came down with tendonitis in my right achilles, so I was down, but feeling better.  We got there on Tuesday afternoon, after stopping in Knoxville to meet Mo and Gerri for some lunch grub.  Adam ordered what turned out to be the smallest pizza I have seen, the thing had to be no larger than 6″ across…Note: order the next pizza by size and not the pizza of the day.

Anyway, we decided to go down and get our packets prior to setting off to see the road race course.  We all got things, and headed to the course.  The course was in a great park named Cherokee Park, people were everywhere, walking, running, sitting around, playing golf. This was a very nice area, big houses abounded, and the course was in some nice shaded areas. Things were marked, so we set out to see what it had for us. The course at first was unassuming, but later morphed into something totally different.  I was feeling good, so we did the first lap easy and then hit the second lap.  There were three big hills in the course, nothing major mountain size, but enough to feel, especially when you are trying to go up them fast.  There were numerous little rollers, rough sections of pavement, and I think only one section that would be considered fast and straight. This looked like on the outside, a course that suited me and one that a break could get established on.  Lori (Cheetah) Harkey had raced it already and did well in the break of her group.

Wednesday came soon and we were off to get ready to race, Myself, Adam and AT Stamp were on call that day, seeing as we are the only ones in the baby Master’s class (30-34).  We met AT at his hotel and rode over from there, which turned out to only be about 10-15 minutes away, so a good warm-up.  When we got there, I climbed the last climbed up to the start finish line a couple of times, just to get the feel.  Well, I got the feel.  My achilles started to tighten up sitting in the parking lot at the SF line.  I even told Adam,”I will need some ice tonight.” This let him know, in the code speak, that I was hurting.

We took off and headed out.  I was feeling good, but my nerves got the best of me.  I went too hard, too soon, and was soon redlined on the heart rate.  This is where this course rear it’s ugly head, if you read lines it, you really had a bad time of recovering, because you were having to hit it up another climb again.  I got in trouble, but I migrated back and started to settle down.  I then went again on one of the climbs and got a gap that was feeling pretty good.  This drew out the three other guys in the group that I was supposed to be watching.  One was Mike Olheiser…Google his name, you will see what he is and what he has done.  I got dropped, plain and simple.  I waited on the group to see if I could help AT then.  I rejoined, regrouped and started trying to help pull back the break.  i would get on the front, and pull at a steady pace to until I got to the hill, where I would drop back and pedal easy up it, until we got to another section where I would pull again.  That lasted for a couple of laps, where I then went back to try to organize some help from other teams that were there. No Dice!  I had enough, my leg had enough, so I came out about hwlfway thru the race.  I was bummed to say the least, but Harkey was right there, keeping my head above water.

Mike ended up attacking the break, and putting a major amount of time into them and the field.  He then went on up to Fitchsburg Longsco, and ended up 11th overall there, without a team to support him….DANG!

Intervention time: Collectively, the team told me that I needed to lower my saddle.  Harkey and Scottie told me as well as Knetche. Knetche said that he had been watching me and although I looked pretty good climbing the feedzone hill, I did look like I was reaching for the pedals.

I will go aside here and say that Gerri had already over the phone diagnosed that my saddle was too high! Go Mewitt!

Anyway, so Friday comes and I lower the saddle.  I get dressed out and let Adam know that I am going out to see how it will feel and if my leg feels better.  Man! almost immediately I could tell a difference.  I stayed out there by myself for an hour, just listening to music and riding, pushing it a few times just to see what would happen, and it just kept feeling better.  The team then showed up and I rode another hour with them. 

That night we all go bowling…Harkey and I decided that when we were finished racing, that the team would put up the bikes and start bowling…We had a blast!!! The moto for the night was “As long as they all go down!” Scottie never had bowled, so his first game was a little slow, but on the second go round with coaxing from all of us to play again, he almost tripled his previous score.  Darren and his family were there with his youngest daughter having the most fun out of all who was there.  It was a great night,and a good way to relax.

Saturday: No one on the team had to race, but Butch (aka Dad) was racing that afternoon, so we wanted to go watch.  We got up and drove to Indiana.  Harkey wanted to take us out to the TT course and ride since it was a nice road with little traffic.  It turned out to be a good ride, we did get cussed at by a guy in a van down by the river, and his motivational speaking was not too motivational (Sorry for that SNL kick-back, could not help myself. Chris Farley RIP) Anyway this guys is dropping the “F” Bomb and Scottie and me and we are on a road where there are no lines, the road is ultra wide and this guy is the only car…talk about temper issues.  We head back to see Butch finish up, and seeing as Kent Bostick and his crew are racing next, we had to stay and watch that one.

Sunday was the crit, the boys raced their race great! Darren was so close to taking the 40-44 jersey, that I bet he is still smiling right now, “D” rode a great race, getting into a three man break that went the distance and missing out at just the last little bit. Great result.  the 35-39 guys races a killer tactical race that saw Harkey and Jeremy in a break of about 8 racers.  Scottie was coming across with two other guys in tow, and Shane and Blair were controlling the rest of the pack.  Some things happened in the race that caused some problems for the finishers, in the previous race, they stopped the field early, once the break had caught them, to allow the guys sprinting for the win to go head to head…Well in the 35-39 field, they left everyone together, which put guys in ther sprinting for 12th, and getting in the way.  If this would have been your typical crit where 12th place may have been in the money, that is one thing, but this is Nationals, and the race was up the road in the break. If they wanted to race for placings, let the field do it two or three laps before the break caught them, and leave the road open for the break to fight it out.  Oh well.

Mine and Adams race did not come down to the break staying away, althought many tried, me included, the combinations were never there to make it stick.  Coming into the final lap, next to the last corner, a rider from NC, we will refer to as squirell, did his squirelliness and went down.  This was in front of me, which took me to a stand still and a subsequent 19th place. I was ticked, because, although I was not in the spot to win, I could have gotten a better place, but that is how it goes I guess, and I did not go down which was good.  Adam was active also, setting me up with a monster dig to get me across to a break that had some danger people in it.  All in all, we all raced well I think.  A little down time and training from here on out, and then start racing again in a coupleof weeks, hoping to finish out the season with some good results…Maybe even get to go to a big race somewhere…We will see!

HUMP

I got the call from the orthopedic doctor yesterday morning telling me the MRI had came back clear and that I was free to go race the Master’s…!!  I have been sweating this for the past week, things have been going well, and I had been feeling good.  Now I am here waiting on the calvary to come by so we can head out.

HUMP

I know I did not post about the Pro 1-2 race at the NC State RR’s, I have been slack, training and resting. One thing I would like to say about that race, is that it was faster, I feel that Hincapie-Coca Cola contributed a large part to that, and we had representation in every move of the day, with Jeremy (Conn-Man) taking third overall out of a large group.

I also would like to thank all of the Coca-Cola ladies who tirelessly kept us in fluids both days.  I would especially like to thank my wife…I know, shameless plug for the other half of my immediate team, but Stacie has gone from a person who cared little about cycling when I first started racing, to a full blown addict, with need of treatment.  She has taken it upon herself to learn the details of the feedzone, one place where she shines.  I think she could run a small army of people to feed an entire pro-team, she just has that knack. She always gets me what I need, and she is always there for others.  Good Job Babe!!

Next thing: New SC Laws concerning cyclist…Finally, we have a larger voice when it comes to harrassment. SC governor Mike Sanford signed into law http://www.pccsc.net/advocacy.htm 

In summary, it makes it easier for us as cyclist in SC to prosecute an idiot who feels it necessary to harrass a person on a bicycle…I read a quote over the weekend that stated, “We as cyclist do not impede traffic, We are traffic.”

Being a victim a couple of times of direct harassment which I categorize as being touched or hit by a motorist, or having something thrown at you by a motorist, I am glad that something more severe can be done.  I will leave you to read the above link.

Master’s Nationals: The team will be heading up and over to Kentucky this week to contest the Master’s National RR and Crit.  We will be racing on Wednesday and Thursday for the RR, and then on Sunday for the crit, which leaves a good bit of time in between for idiocy and story telling.  Well, and riding some of course, but more of the story telling.  Anyway, we will have three of us racing in the baby Master’s class, at least that is what I have seen it called on other blogs and websites…30-34 age group.  Myself, Adam Little and AT Stamp will contest that race, with the intent on bringing home the first Stars and Stripes of the season.  Chris Harkey, Blair Craig, Scottie Weiss, and Shane Martin (not the one running for a senate seat) will contest the 34-39 class.  Scottie and Harkey have both wore the stars and stripes, so we have a really good chance of bringing home the second jersey of the week.  Darren “D-Money” Fuller and Chris Knetcsche will contest the 40-44 category, with D-Money coming off a NC State jersey win, you can bet he is watering at the mouth for the big one.

We all do the same course, with the 30-34 doing 13 laps.  The course from the USAcycling web site looks to be a good one, not flat, not mountainous, but with some rollers.  We will ge a better idea on Tuesday afternoon when we pre-ride the course and lay out the strategy.

Tendonitis: This brings me to my last installment today. Last Sunday, after some great training, I was out getting in an easier ride with some of my local riding buddys when my right achilles started to hurt.  I finished up the ride and went home to ice it…Well, it did not get better the next day.  I had this last week as rest a recovery so that I can be ready for Wednesday, so I took it easy, iced it and took some anti-inflammatory medicine.  Wednesday of last week, I got out with Stacie and rode for about 45 minutes, at which time it started hurting again.  I then went home to the ice, and made a decision to find out what was up.  I hit the orthopedic doc on Thursday, and he felt like it was more than likely tendonitis, but to rule out any major problems, I was off to Piedmont Imaging on Friday for an MRI.  Now I am sitting here waiting for the results.  My gut tells me that everything is cool, it is just tendonitis and I should be fine to head to Kentucky….I will let you know.

HUMP

I bet that you are wondering what the heck this title could mean, well I will tell you, I got to experience one of the coolest up and coming stars of the Triathlon world on Saturday night.

After our Master’s race Stacie and I followed Chris and Lori back to Casa Del Harkey so that we could get cleaned up and grab a quick bite to head off to make Ali’s Triathlon event that evening.

Now, I have watch triathlons on TV, like Kona and the Bermuda race, envious of the fact that these people run and swim for competition and not because someone just told them that they were getting a beat down, or to keep from drowing, due to falling the the local creek.  These people not only do these two, they throw in the bike leg of it just in case you did not get enough from the other two.

 This is right after “The Pass in the Grass”

So we get there and Ali is psyched, because not only is Uncle Chris there, Aunt Lori is there and Stacie and Bruce are there as well.  The event started with the kids doing four laps of the pool. From what Lori has been telling us, Ali has been practicing here swimming, because she swam much faster than her last meet. 

Up and out of the water and off to run…This meant us as well! We hook it out of the pool area, and outside…Over the intercom before, they announced that someone had lost their Spiderman paddle float….HMMMM! “Harkey, Where is it?” ” That is just wrong.”

Anyway, so when we get out there, Ali is already on the bike making laps of the course in fine Harkey fashion, one speed…Full bore.  This is where her nickname that I have so given her comes into play.  Chris and I are sitting in a turn when this little boy comes around, with Ali hot on his rear wheel, being a Harkey, she picks the first place to pass, and in the grass she goes…She made the pass and blistered the little boy.

We then hear a commotion before the corner, which was blocked by trees…Chris had that feeling, and yes she had went down, but when we got there, she was up, one was crying and Ali was grabbing her bike to finish..What a trooper!

Off the bike and to the run, and Ali is doing great! She is talking to her legs, her dad is running beside her giving encouragement, and she is telling the legs to keep pushing.

After all is said and done, Ali got 10th, and like I said, I got to witness a sport at the level where everyone gets excited.  I was pumped. 

We all left there to grab a meal and then head back to Chris and Lori’s

Good Job Ali..Keep up the good work, you never know how far you can go, until you try…and if she keeps making passes like that, the women’s Hincapie Coca-Cola team may be getting a new member before they know it…She is a Harkey!

 The proud Aunt and Uncle

HUMP

Saturday, Salisbury NC: This was the scene, it was hot, it was early, and I had slept in.  I had intended on waking up at 5:30, because I really did not know how far we had to go to get to the race course, luckily is was not that bad of a drive. We woke at 6:15, and we had to race at 9:00. Typically this would not be a bad thing, but I wanted to eat a little something, and then be able to get there, get registered and get things in check. I like having a little bit of time.

We got there with plenty of time, so I got dressed and met up with the other teammates.  Saturday was the Master’s day, with Sunday being our P1-2-3 day. We also had Reid racing the U23 RR.

It is funny, that sometimes I fret over the fact that indeed, I have come to a point being over a quarter century and some change where I am considered Master’s category.  Not that bad though, seeing as everyone but Reid is in the same boat…er bike.

Thing is this let’s us race two days and also win some jerseys…Good deal!

Well, I am from SC, not NC, so I figure my day is best spent in the service of others, so from the gun I took off.  The course was about 13 miles long, and we were scheduled for 6 laps, so my thought was that if anything, I would draw the fire, have someone else chase and then one of my teammates would take off and then I would work to stay off the wolves and help my other teammates with water or moving up in the field, whatever they needed.  Thing is, it did not play out that way.  I looked back at the first corner and I had a nice gap going.  I was feeling good, so I put my hands into the drops and started pushing.  I look back  again and my gap has grown, so now I get into time trial mode, steady power to the pedals, standing only when I need to.

The course was a great course, nothing major in the way of hills, but it was not flat, more false flat all day except for a small area, a course that can sneak up on you as the day wears on, because you do not realize that you are climbing some of it.  I am rolling along and the motorbike official comes up and gives me the gap to the field.  He tells me 4:30 and that the field is not racing yet.  Whoa! Alright, now what? Well, just keep pedalling and focusing on staying hydrated and see what happens.  Right before the feed zone was the only hill so to speak that looked like a hill, refencing back to the fact that the course was not flat.  This was not that bad of a hill, but I would stand none the less to get over it, because on yonder side was the feed zone, and seeing as the mercury was rising as well as the humidity, the order of the day was a bottle a lap of CytoMax (Thank you Taylor’s Nutrition http://www.taylorsnutrition.com/)

I crest the hill, but noone I know is there, and I am looking to drop a bottle and grab a neutral water…none there, I give them the big what is up shoulder shrug, we have all seen it, and keep rolling..Hopefully Stacie will be there the next time….Fast forward into the future..(Insert weird sci-fi music here) Stacie told me that they did not expect me to be out there by myself and they missed the lead police vehicle..and yes that is a HEMI!!

Anyway, I still had one bottle, and some food, so on my second lap, I crack open the powerbar and scarf half.  Well, this goes on for some more laps, actually I was out there for 50+ laps, which was great, but bittersweet, because my average was falling, and I knew something was going to happen.  Starting the last two laps, I look back at the first corner past the feedzone and I see two riders approaching…I see that one is red, black and white, but at the distance I can only hope that it is one of the boys…When they caught me, I find that it is Rich Harper (Inferno Racing) and Jay Charles (Outspoken). Jay and I are from SC, Rich is a NC boy, so if this lasted, he had no worries…My only worry was lasting long enough to get to the end, because Rich ramped the speed up on me.  I sat on.  I had other dogs in the fight behind me, and I wanted to make sure I did not help the effort anymore of them staying away.  We rolled the last lap up to the feedzone, and turned to make the final run to the line.  I had pushed off cramps for the past two laps, sprinting was not in the legs, and I had looked back at the top of the feedzone hill to see nothing but bare road behind us, noone was coming.  We crossed the line with Rich Harper taking the 30-39 NC Master’s Title, Good Job Rich.

Well, behind me unbeknown to me was Harkules himself by himself taking fourth place and the 35-39 NC state title.  Cool deal! So, we are back in the parking lot, and we find out that Darren Fuller has won his state title, so there if you are counting are two jerserys…Then we are sitting there and here comes Reid winning the U-23 race no problem..Three…Then Mac Cannon wins his race to take the 50+ that is Four.

I would have to say that is one good day for all, especially all of our sponsors who have invested in our team.

More to come.

HUMP

 This the inside looking back toward the door.

These pics are from the porch, one looking toward the screeded in area, the other in the screened area. The dogs liked going in and out of the cabin to the porch, seemed like they thought it was their little space.

This is a pic looking from the porch to the car, notice the natural rock retaining wall.  I did not get a pic of the steps, but they were all rock with a bent tree handrail…Very cool and rustic.

The pic beside it is of the view just off to the right of the porch.  The owner said that usually the Mtn. Laurel are blooming out, and there is a waterfall right below, but the dry drought conditions have caused it to only be a trickle.

This is the main view from the porch. I don’t know about you, but I could get really used to drinking that first cup of coffee looking at this every morning.

Okay-As the title states, I figure I would give a little run down of the crit.  It was HOT, not just in tempeture respect, but in racing respect as well.

From what I am told from teammates, is the course changed.  Normally the course is a big rectangle, and the team has done very well in pat years.  This year they changed it due to a business owner I think it was.  It was “L” shaped a more technical than before.  Taking a good corner was a must, because there was only really one good straight, and that was on the back side.

The plan was to be active, and make things happen, we wanted to be aggressive, so we lined up on the second row…I look over to the left and then when I look back, I am the only guy on the second row…What just happened? Aliens would not come out in the heat, so noone was abducted…I look back and the whole team except for myself is sitting toward the back.  No biggy, I want to try to do somethig early if I can, because I know some of the stronger guys will get to rest and then make some moves.

Off we go, and it is a short holeshot run to the first right hand corner.  Then onto a short straight to turn 2, then left at turn 3, then right at turn 4, Straight….There is this guy in the field, let’s just say he was fluffy.  He has opened a huge gap! I jump around to the left with another rider and push to the front group, turn 5, then head toward the S/F line. Go around this one more time, and then I think the announcer threw out a prime.

Third lap, things are fuzzy, Weird how that happens, but I end up off the front with three other guys, Chris Earnst, sorry if I spelled it wrong Chris, and two guys on the same team.  We build up a gap and it is at about 15 seconds, I am thinking that hey, there are two guys in the break from the same team, they have smaller numbers in the field, so I am not going to work as hard as these guys.  Chris may have been thinking the same thing, I would pull through when he did.

Mechanical- I broke a spoke…(For my readers who have been with me from the beginning, you will remember that my front wheel went through a meat grinder as in someone elses skewer down in Belize.) Apparently, one of the other spokes got stressed in that meat grinder, and this was the time when it had enough of the festivities and wanted to see what the world had to offer, in the form of breaking and flying off to the side of the road…Good bye spoke, write when you get to the landfill.

Geri had put a set of wheels in the pits, so I rolled over and got the front going again.  Then a couple of laps later and I case a pot hole on the back side. The seatpost slips and I am kicking myself in the chest.  I pull in again, Stacie rushes over with the tools, and I am back in business.

By this time, Brent Bookwalter has bridged the gap.  We are rolling along when up ahead I see the tail of the pack…Man, Are we going to catch the pack? We did, me just barely.  My seat started slipping again.  Geri had pulled back to help me get back on and I had to really push to stay connected.  Lap are now going by faster as the speed has ramped.  I can see the other break mates up in the pack and know that I need to get up there. I tuck in behid Reid, but not thinking, I do not say to Reid, “Let’s Go, get me up there.” I then move up to two guys behind Scottie, same thing, there is this guy in front of me who is big, not fat, just big, and when Scottie would look back, he could not see me.  In hindsight, once again, I should have said something.  He was feeling good and could have gotten me up there.  He said that the end, that it would have been good day to have the radios.  I was tanked from the crit, so I am not sure if it would have helped me being behind him…Maybe, maybe not.  In the end, I got 5th, Harkey got 7th, and I think Scottie got in there as well.  I liked that fact that the break lapped the field, Geri has done it so much, it is becoming old hat to him, but I have never done it, so that was cool, it was not on my own though, so I have to say that the other guys probably contributed to it more than I did.

Thanks Geri for not leaving me on the back, and the other guys who worked hard in the pack to cover moves and to keep the wolves at bay.  Hopefully next time this happens, I can know then that communication is key, and that I need to let my teammates know when I am right there and dig to make sure I make good on the effort that they put forward…Maybe next time, I will not be the one in the break, and I can work for someone else.

HUMP

And no, I am not trying to harken back to one of Clint Eastwoods movies.

This was one weekend that I was looking forward to, Roan Groan RR, which is 55 miles and ends in an 8 mile climb that averages 7%.  I feel that I am an alright climber, but for the most part, this was going to be a training race. 

THE GOOD:

We found a small cabin outside of Elizabethton, about 4 miles from the start, so that was going to be fun.

Here is the link:

http://www.vrbo.com:80/62291

I have some pics, but am having problems uploading them, so you who are reading will have to wait.  Let’s just say that I had thought about riding over the morning of the race, but since the last bit of road up to the cabin was gravel and steep, I figured I would drive.  We got in on Friday evening about 9:00p.m., got settled in and watched a little TV.  The cabin had everything you could need, it was small, but it had one bedroom with a bunk bed that had a double sized bed on the bottom and a twin size on top, bathroom had a shower and sink, and was very nice.  It had a full size fridge, oven and double stainless sink, all the dishes were there as well as the linens, and there was a coffee pot with coffee and filters waiting.  Satellite TV with DVR, and a screened in porch….Oh, and let’s not forget a view that would stop you in your footsteps.

So off to bed, they had a pull out day bed, so we decided to sleep in it since it was hot and the AC unit was in that room.  I slept okay, I was still hot, but managed to get some winks.
Morning came early and we were up at 6:00. I ate some oatmeal and drank a pre-race drink.  I had aspirations of going to the race and staying with the lead group on the climb and trying to attack in the last little bit to take a good spot….Well, at least I did in my mind.  Some of the team wanted to race, but for some reason the promoter decided that they wanted on line registration only.  This was the first year they did this, so I know two teammates, that I would have loved to have there, not get in due to this.  This left Reid and myself to figure out our plan for the day and see what would happen.  Like I said earlier, I had two long weeks leading up to this weekend, getting myself ready for Master’s Nationals, so my legs were tired.  I had been feeling good climbing, so I was thinking that I could do a good result.

Reid and I decided that the best plan for he and I, since we were only two was to sit in and let the race play out and then try to see what the climb would do.  Last year the race had some big names and some good teams, so right out of the parking lot it was like a cat shot out of a cannon fast.  This year, not so much. It seemed like everyone wanted to just ride along and talk. The pace was slow.  Three guys rolled off the front, and noone seemed to care.  Thing is, since they did not care, the break got out to 4:30. 

THE BAD:

We hit the first climb of the day and Eric Murphy (Myogenesis) and one other racer take off.  I wait a little while and try to get across. 

“Aside”  I have been having a problem as of late keeping a hard pace on the flats….Still trying to figure that one out, but it had been giving me problems.

Anyway, three other guys come with me, but one has a rider in the break and he is not working and we are not making ground. The pack catches back up and I get back in.

Apparently the two catch the three and simple math gives you a break that is at 11:30..or is that fuzzy math? Well, there goes the race, noone wants to chase, the only team with numbers has the guy in the main break. 

We hit 19E, and this is where the ugly happens.  Someone lit a match…Oh yeah I did that.  Myself and Brent Bookwalter…yes, Team BMC, national champion in more than one discipline and said to be the next big thing in cycling, and seeing as he is young, he is on the right track.  He and I get a small gap, but the pack is on us like  glue.

Then it gets a little steeper and more matches, but this time I had one burning at both ends and I was suffocating from the smoke.  I did not feel good, the guys were hitting it and I had to claw my way back to them.

I knew then that the last climb scenario I had played out in my head earlier was not going to come about, so I got back in the field with Reid who had spent the last 10 minutes chasing back on.  We both knew that we were not going to make the payout, or going storming to the front, so we hit the climb and just climbed. I strarted rolling along pretty well, spinning a pretty good gear, standing every little bit to keep my pace as well as give the legs a different position.  I was passing people, not blitzing, but I was going past them.  I actually climbed this time better than last year, but not fast enough to catch any of the big names.  I ended up 16th on the day which in the big scheme of things was not too bad. Reid finished, and we decided to bomb the downhill back to the little store to pick up a cool refreshing Coca-Cola Classic…Wouldn’t that be good right now…You know that you want one…The store is just down the road…Go get you one in the can…Very cold and very good…MMMMM (Shameless plug for the sponsor).

That night Lauren Trull and Michael Rigby, two teammates were getting married in Blowing Rock, so we headed over and enjoyed some time with the team and others without being in lycra. 

Next post will be the The Good about the Bristol Crit and The Bad…Stay tuned…For now, I am going to lay down, two and half hours of intervals in 99 degree weather does something to the strength….COKE! I had to do it again…

One other thing, Reid and I were riding along in the pack and started telling all the other racers,” Would it not be nice to have a Coke right now?” ” We want everyone once the race is over to go get you a Coke or anyone of the Coca-Cola family of products.”  Reid then added that Powerade, a coke product would have the electrolytes that we all needed…We are shameless in our pursuit to please our sponsors as well as selling their product.

Later,

HUMP