Just some summer pics

New Car; Old One Exploded

New MTB; Old One Exploded

New Gravel Ride; old one Exploded

PR

I had the state TT today, and the junk is sore again! I warmed up, per plan, but had one small mishap. Landen did not replace the magnet on my wheel following Nationals. Thus, I had no speedometer. Moving forward.

I got out of the gates well, and passed two people before the turn-a-round. Between passing cyclist #1 and cyclist #2, I noticed what sounded like a jet. No, it was this guy . My monologue was as follows: I immediately thought,"nice, a very, very fast rabbit." Countered by,"Dude, what are you thinking, that guy just put 2 minutes into you, how on earth are you going to stay with him." Rob English is a TT demon and clocked a 51:20 for the TT!

I passed four more people on the way back, but was caught by another guy in the 1,2 devision. I did manage to not loose any more time to the second person to pass, keeping up with his pace for the last 10 km. All and all, I felt really good with the new saddle position. I ended up with a time of 55:03, a personal best for the 40 km TT, and besting my firecracker TT 40 km time by 2:03. I think runners call that a personal record. So to recapitulate:

40 km State TT
55:03
27.5 mph
5th overall

Schedule For The Remainder Of The Season

Here is what the rest of the year looks like. In leu of the fact that I haven't raced but 9 races this year, the next few months should be filled with a bunch of days, most notabally cyclo-cross. Below is a tentitive schedule:

Aug
2 OBRA State TT Championships
8 Willamette Epic TT
16 OBRA Hill Climb State Championships
28-30 Eugene Celebration

Sep
5 Mt. Bachelor Hill Climb or Cross over stage race
12-13 Everest Challenge
26-27 Central Oregon Cyclocross

CCC

I met up with my friend Marco in Bend this weekend to race the Cascade Cycling Classic. If former Spanish National Champion, Climber extraordinaire, Oscar Sevilla say a race is, "Really, really, really hard" then you know that there is something to it.

Although the stage races had 4 races, the Aubrey Butte Circuit race was the Piece de Resistance of the weekend. 4 laps with ~1000 ft of climbing per lap, this races is arguably the most difficult race I have ever done. The trick is to keep good position on the decent and flat sections and reach the climbs in the first five positions. Very hard and very mentally draining.

I arrived with the lead group of ~40 (out of 100) at the start of the climb on the last lap. I was on the rivet. I needed to make it over the KOM climb and two other climbs to arrive to the flame rouge. I made it within 10 peddle strokes to the top of the KOM. Implosion. Fin. Finished 37th and 35th in the GC.

I have only raced 9 races this year and 4 were this weekend. It would have been nice to get another couple stage races in the legs before that one.

Here is a link to a video of me passing some dude at the 1 km Mark at the TT, I am almost certain that he was drafting me.

Podium Training

I never realized how much energy and worrying I did in regards to training. When I missed a workout, or had a bad day on the machine, I went back to the drawing board, spending countless hours revamping the plan. Well, no more. To quote the wise and omnipotent Dr. Humphry, "I don't waste energy worrying about the unknown."

For three months now, I have been working with a coach and elite racer, Tommy Nelson owner of Podium Training. Last year was spent overtraining (15-25 hrs on the bike) with results that were, not up to snuff.
I had a certain criteria for a coach and tommy fit the mold, beautifully (he is an ex model, you know). Below is what I needed to justify a coach for my athletic pursuits:

1. A Coach had to be faster than me. I did not want someone that was some chump in a recliner with a little personal training background telling me what to do.

2. A Coach had to have a background in exercise science, preferably a b.s. or m.s. in the field. I personally, have a undergraduate degree in exercise science, and know how valuable this is in terms of coaching.

3. A Coach had to have an intricate knowledge of training and racing with power. A very critical component in making micro-advances in training.

4. A Coach had to be ACCESSIBLE. Often, coaches can only be contacted 1 X per week, or something silly like that. I think this notion is utterly rediculous. How can one accurately and effectively advise and coach a pupal without knowing his/her day to day progress and trials and tribulations? Tommy has UNLIMITED access.

Other than dedicating a large portion of my free time to cycling, getting Podium Training on the case helping me train effectively and efficiently has been the best investment I have made in my biking career.

Below is a picture of my coach, Tommy, spanking Ben Day from Flying V, Austrailia cycling team earlier in the year.

So Aero

With the help of my friend and teammate Luke from Collin's, I got setup yet again with the specialized body geometry 3D bike fit, this time for my machina de chrono. Fitting a TT rig is always a game of mm, with a improper fit lending itself to sacrificing power for aerodynamics. I think I have finally got the best of both worlds. Here is a pic.

T-minus 7,6,5...

One last big ride today, and then onto the Elkhorn Classic Stage Race in Baker City, Or. Gearing up to go do a large one, and then hanging out with the parents, for a couple more days. Rewind...

I forgot to mention that my folks are here from Iowa this week. We went to king estates for dinner, went to the coast, and saw UP last night.