2 Wheel Motion

Lowertown Arts Festival

2009-05-27T15:03:00.004-06:00

Cori, Coen & I met Jessi, Gage and Taylor at the Lowertown Arts Festival in Paducah last Saturday, to just hangout. 1st priority was getting lunch. I opted for a gyro from one of those festival trailers, not exactly authentic. Spent most of my time watching Gage eat a corndog for the first time. He was really confused about the stick. Amy Lavere was playing on the stage. Great tunes, think I'll try to pick up her album this week. Ran by the Maiden Alley Cinema tent. Cori, my Mom, and I caught the Kite Runner here. Unfortunately with Coen, we haven't been able to catch very many shows here. They are now running a "Guys Night Out" & "Chick Flicks" promo. They are showing Fight Club on June 30th sounds fun.

We then browsed a few of the galleries. I made one purchase from Enrique Gonzalez who was in from Lexington for just 2 days for the showing. He had some really fantastic horse racing paintings, but I chose the following. Bet you can't guess why?

photo quality isn't that good, took it from my phone. It's 24 x 48, and makes a nice addition to another cycling painting I picked up in Florence a couple years ago.

The kids only lasted another 1 hr before the sweltering humidity and heat intiated some mental breakdowns. After a stop at Etcetera Coffeehouse for an Izze Sparking Grapefruit soda, we called it a day.

Ch-Ch-Changes

2009-05-27T14:21:00.002-06:00

So a lot has gone on in the last month. Coen is walking pushing a cart and is cutting the top 4 front teeth. He's been working on breaking them through for what seems like 2 weeks. Should be any day now. I can't believe how fast it is going by. Gets better everyday. He's also starting to mimic which has been fun as well, just gotta keep him away from my brother now, or he'll constantly have his hands down his pants scratching his stuff.

On a professional note, I took the the Director of Pharmacy position at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. I'm really excited to get started. The Hospital is growing, has a new CEO which I really like, and there are several opportunities to make improvements in the pharmacy department. I think it will be challenging, and will give me some valuable experience for the future. I'll even have a chance to get an MBA paid for at SIU. With the new job, also means we'll be moving to Carbondale in the next year. I'm disappointed that I'll be moving further away from my brother and his kids, but excited to move to a college town. Plus I think the cycling is going to be a lot better.

Cori and I had been unhappy with our work situation, which was in turn, making living in Paducah not fun as well. We did consider moving back to Denver initially, but the thought of moving that far away from family again wasn't ideal either. So we decided to get jobs we think we'll really like and go from there. If we find that it wasn't just the jobs, then we may make the move back to Denver someday. I do think we'll like Carbondale, but we'll see.

On another note, I've been able to start riding more consistently. I've got some good rides in the last 2 weeks, slowly buidling up the miles. I'm targeting some races in August and September to be ready for. Hope I can stick to my plan.

River 2 River Relay

2009-04-28T13:25:00.007-06:00

On April 18th the Pope County League of Extraordinary Sportsmen tackled the 80 mile River to River Relay. We had Damon Turner, Dustin Turner, Jess Taylor, Clint Taylor, Brian Levin, Allen Clay, Justin Wolff, Gordon Dugan, and myself. This was my 2nd year participating. I don't enjoy running, but have a good time hanging out with the guys and telling stories. We all met at the Dixon Springs Chocolate Factory, after loading Wolff's suburban, and exchanging the customary insults to one another, we headed over to the start. Apparently the insults took longer than expected and we missed our start time. Oh well, we just had to start 30 min later, and they corrected our time. During the drive over, we decided who runs what stages, through intense negotiation and peer pressure. Damon has always been our ringer, but broke his foot falling out of a deer stand this year. (side note: It was his 2nd time falling out of a deer stand. 1st time fell asleep, 2nd time stand broke) He got no sympathy and still had to run the hardest stage. Since I signed on last year as an alternate, I used that to my advantage to only have to run 2 stages instead of 3. I did however get stuck doing the 2nd hardest stage and the longest. My goal earlier in the year was to average under a 7min/mile. During training I could do it no problem if the terrain was flat, but considering the elevation changes on my stages, I was hoping to keep it under 7:30.

I started with Stage 7. I knew the first hill would be hard, but didn't realize how steep it was the last quarter mile. It took me 8 min to get to the top. Unfortunately the downhill was just as steep and hurt just as bad. I finished the stage in 23:14 for a 7:44 min/mile avg.

As soon as I finished I grabbed some water, and put my Ted Hose on, and grabbed some lunch. I tried to keep my feet elevated and stretch at every stop, but it gets a little crowed with 8 grown men in one car. My next stage was 16. Knowing how bad the downhill on my first stage hurt, I knew I was in for more of the same. The stage didn't disappoint. I also got to run in the rain, which was good and bad. It made the downhill a little slippery, but gave me something else to think about besides my legs. I ended up finishing in 29:30 for a 7:17 min/mile avg. Overall I was happy with my performance, next year I think I'll try to find some flatter stages to run, or at least cut out the long steep downhills.

Our team goal was to go under 10 hrs and we finished in 10:00:37 so we have some unfinished business there. We finished 21st in the open division and 53rd/232 teams overall. Not bad for a bunch of guys just getting together.

Also my Newton shoes were great on the flats and uphill, but were awkward running downhill. I still really like them, and I felt more efficient and didn't hurt near as bad after finishing compared to last year. I personally think they are the real deal.

Pics courtesy of Clint Taylor

I should also mention this race finishes in my hometown of Golconda, Il. We even got our team pic in the local weekly paper. Glad we didn't choose Renis Pinkles as our team name.

Newton Neutral Racer

2009-03-30T12:31:00.002-06:00

So I bought a pair of the Newton Running Neutral Racers a couple of months ago, to try before the River 2 River Relay race coming up. Last year I ran in a pair of Saucony Progrid Triumph 4. I originally chose these, because they felt best out of my few options available in Paducah. I don't dislike these shoes, but I found it difficult to change my running style and I always felt beat up after a run of 3-5 miles. These however are my favorite pair of shoes, when it comes to strength training.

Regarding the Newtons, I should preface this brief review with the following information. I don't really like running, but have a great time doing this relay race, and have considered doing a triathlon in the future, so I casually run from Jan-April. I know very little about proper running technique or training. I decided on the Newtons after reading a couple different reviews and watching some video's. I was basically looking for anything that would make me more efficient and comfortable. My goal was to find a shoe that would be comfortable and light that I could use to run 5-10k distances.

Initially I started with short runs of only 1 mile to familiar with the shoe, and allow my feet to adjust. It does feel different at first, especially for me, as I was a heel striker. I did have a little soreness in my Tibialis Anterior muscles. After 4-5 runs I started to increase my distance, and have had no problem sense. Currently I'm running 4-5 miles 3 times a week at a pace of 8min/mile. I plan to start increasing my pace with a goal of running 6-7min/mile for the R2R. For reference, last year during my first leg of the race I averaged a 6:30 min/mile for 3 miles, and a 7:30 min/mile for 3 miles on my last one.

I do think the metatarsal pads on the bottom of the shoe, train you to run on that part of the foot. It feels really uncomfortable in these shoes to go back to striking the heel. I have also noticed that they have made me more conscious of not overstridding. This may become more of a problem as I try to increase my pace. They are super light, but I've never felt that I needed more cushioning or support in these. My only complaint is that they do feel awkward running down moderate hills, but again I've never found this comfortable. Some complaints that I've read about are: (1)They aren't good to use on the treadmill....I've used them on the treadmill several times and have had no problems. (2) They wear quite quickly....Mine have minimal wear after about 40 miles. I have no desire to become a long distance runner so I don't see this being a problem for me. I don't think they would be the ideal shoe for marathons, but I could be wrong. I also don't believe you will want to run sprints in these either, but for moderately paced distances of 5-20k I think they are great. I should also mention that I haven't tried any racing flats, which also are highly recommended for those distances.

I'll post another update after the Race. Wish me luck.

Wildwoods

2009-03-20T11:25:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I was in STL for a StLCOP Alumni Association Board meeting, and to get Cori's car serviced, so I thought I should squeeze a ride in if I could and get some of the climbing I miss down here in KY. I stopped by Mesa to give DB a shout and catch up. Unfortunately I needed a Conti GP 4000 tire to get my ride going. Mesa didn't have one not in some funky color, so I stopped by Maplewood and got some major stick shock. $69 bones for GP 4000? UGH! That's $17 more than they are listed at Excel. After a veggie burger and some cucumber chips from OR Juice & Smoothies in Clayton (DB recommended) I headed out to Six Flags to get my ride on. It was a great day ~60 degrees and sunny. I had to cut my original route short, due to running late for my meeting, but still got plenty of climbing. My legs were cooked, considering this was my 5th ride since Oct.

Here is the route. Hope to get back soon for some more.

03/20/2009 Route
Find more Bike Rides in Allenton, Missouri

Back in the Saddle Again!

2009-03-10T14:51:00.002-06:00

Finally....Got my new ride built last week after having to hunt down some parts that were holding me up. I haven't ridden since October of 2008, and it felt great to get out, even though I'm lacking any type of endurance or power at the moment. The next week will be spent, just try to get my bootie accustomed to sitting on a tiny little saddle. I was sore after my first 30 min ride. I forgot how bad the 2nd ride feels, but I got through it. Mentally I feel like a new person. I can't believe how much I've really missed the bike over the last couple months. I'm hoping to be race ready by June, I guess we'll see how well I can stick to a training program with a little one at home.

Lance and Yellow Devil

2009-02-23T12:23:00.002-07:00

Also Funny

On live broadcast, you could see the other riders come up and give Lance High-Fives. Personally all the people running in the road was getting annoying and dangerous.

Oops! My Bad!

2009-02-23T12:02:00.002-07:00

Not sure if you saw this or not. I think Chris was on the rivot and not thinking to clearly. Wish I could hear what George said to him. I just find it funny.

Power

2009-02-04T12:11:00.003-07:00

Well we survived the epic Ice Storm this past week. We were without power for 5 days. Didn't realize how much you use it until its gone (I was reduced to checking facebook and email on my phone). There are still 100,000 people in Ky that don't have it. Following the storm we had our 2 busiest days at work on record. Sometimes a feel like I'm a robot at work...

Other News:
Coen has popped out 2 bottom teeth, and is starting to get mad when you take things from him. It was cute at first, but that wore off quickly. He's growing up so fast.

Got my first day of training for River 2 River today. I also ordered some new Newton kicks. Thought I'd check out the whole forefoot running technique. Anything to make it easier more efficient, because I really don't like to run. I Guess I do the relay to remind my how much I love cycling. Last year I swore I wouldn't run it again, but how quickly you forget. As an added bonus they look sick.

Has it really been that long?

2009-01-27T12:00:00.014-07:00

Can't believe it's been a year and a half since my last post. I'm thinking about getting back into updating this thing again. Part of my downfall has been my obsession with Facebook. If I'm not one of your friends yet, look me up. Anyway what has happened since my last post.

1. I became a dad. Coen Thomas Dugan was born 7/1/08. He's the most wonderful thing ever. I've never been so overwhelmed with emotion in my whole life than when that little guy was born.

2. Cori and I moved to Paducah, Ky. You may ask, what was I thinking? At first it seemed like a great idea financially and to be closer to family. Lately it has felt like a big mistake. Even though I grew up in the area, I just don't feel like I fit.

3. My racing/riding has become almost nonexistent. Only got 3 races in last year, none of which turned out well. I'm looking for motivation to get back at it this year. I've realized that I'm happiest when I can ride routinely and get outdoors. On a side note I have started running a little, and have toyed with the idea of trying a triatholon.

Let me know if your still reading, and I'll try to post interesting stuff more often than yearly ;)

Oh yeah, I turned 30 as well....ouch.

July

2007-08-13T22:42:00.000-06:00

This post is just going to be all about July. While I like to read blogs, I've found it difficult to stay motivated to post routinely, especially since they blocked the site at work, hence the month absence. Anyway.

Had a few races.

Longmont - got caught behind two crashes, jumped a curb and rode though some lady's yard, then did solo TT for 3 laps to get back on - finished with the pack.

Salida - Rolled down with Ty . 10th place in the TT, got poured on the whole race. RR did 3/6 laps and pulled the plug. No since in finishing once your out of the the top 25. Got dropped 1st time up the climb, caught back on right before we started again. Dropped again worked with Jared and 3 others to get back on, but didn't. 3rd time up Jared and I decided to call it a day. Crit - felt pretty good, counter attacked after Jared was caught. Spent a lap solo, once caught there were 3 counters, and I was tailgunning for the next three laps. Once the pack got down to 30, I couldn't close all the gaps in the head wind section, and finally blew. Was bummed about that. Just needed about 30 seconds recovery. Was first Cat 3 crit all season that was single file the last 20 min. Still had a good time, and the road race is still hards as a mofo.

Fed Center, I was sucking wind the whole race, finished 31st?. While I like the fact it is a circuit race, 12 turns with no rhyme or reason is a bit ridicolous. I never knew where I was going next.

Bannock, made a stupid move with 4 to go, ended up 23rd. Race was fairly fast. Did avoid disaster when I got pushed to the curb when some dude changed his line and bumped another guy going through a corner. I basically banked into the curb, scraping my right pedal. Still don't know how I kept it up. Heard that the guys that saw it were impressed. I was just glad to keep the rubber side down.

Cori and I made a trip home to celebrate my mom finishing her chemo treatment for Breast Cancer. Had a great time. The usual suspects were present, and Gordon ended up doing an impression of Capt. Jack Sparrow at about 3 in the morning. Spent a day at Cori's parents pool, then a day on my parents boat at the river. Got in a couple rounds of golf and drank a few cold ones.

For the record 96' Pirates were the best basketball team. If your from Pope County, you'll understand.

Landlord

2007-06-20T07:23:00.000-06:00

Pearl is a bitch!

A few I haven't heard

2007-06-20T07:17:00.000-06:00

My college roomate nicknamed "Piss" sent me these:

The opening scene of the movie "Saving Private Ryan" is loosely based on games of dodgeball Chuck Norris played in second grade.

Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves.

Chuck Norris doesn't wash his clothes, he disembowels them.

Crop circles are Chuck Norris' way of telling the world that sometimes corn needs to lie down.

Chuck Norris needs a monkeywrench and a blowtorch to masturbate

Recharging

2007-06-18T08:03:00.000-06:00

I've been trying to recharge this week after last weeks debacle. Got some recovery rides in, road Rash is mostly healed, and finally got some decent sleep. I had to work over the weekend since we were moving the hospital so wasn't able to do the Rocky MTN Omnium, which included the Hugo Road Race. I think I made a good descision considering there was a huge crash at the crit Thursday, and they neutralized the race. I was really disappointed with how the omnium was organized for the 3s, so didn't mine missing it at all. Instead I did some max efforts up Lookout MTN Sat. and Sun. to see where I'm at. More recovery the next couple of days and hopefully I'll be back to 100% for Dead Dog.

Colorado Cycling Festival - Rist Canyon Road Race

2007-06-18T07:20:00.000-06:00

My adventures started Friday when driving to Boulder to pick up my bike. About 1/2 mile past the foothills parkway exit, my left front differential and drive shaft blew up on my car. As I'm calling roadside assistance my cell phone died. I then yelled, threw my phone, and said lot of dirty words. This was just icing on the cake for how my past week had gone. Luckily a service technician from the dealership stopped to make sure I was ok and I borrowed his phone to call my buddy Taylor to come get me so I could pick up my bike before the shop closed. Gotta have priorities. We left the car for the tow truck to pick up and headed on to Fort Collins.

After a quick spin to try to loosen the legs from not riding for two days, Taylor and I joined Owen, and Erin for dinner at Enzo's. Big thanks to Owen and Erin for allowing us to crash at their place.

The Race - I cracked....Not much more to say about the race than that. 4 crits, 2 crashes, travel, little sleep, and stress from work all within a week finally caught up with me. I had no power from the beginning and knew I was going to be in trouble. I got dropped up the climb quick then rode the rest of the race with Brian Huggins from HART. I ended up 46th/60+ starters giving up 13 min to the winner. My race turned into a training ride, and I was able to enjoy the course and views. Even though my effort sucked, the course was awesome. It had a little of everything, flats, long climb, long descent, and steep rollers. My favorite section was the downhill and and the steep rollers across Horsetooth Reservoir. Here is a pic of me on the back of a group of 4 going across the rez. My favorite road course to date. I thought the event was well run, and the BBQ after the race was great way to catch up with everyone and make excuses for how bad we did. I would highly recommend doing this race next year. After detonating, I decided to skip the race Sunday and instead had a great day with my better half. Breakfast at Crepes n' Crepes. I went with the Nutella and strawberries. Lunch and Beers at the Irish Hound. Followed by a afternoon nap and a light dinner at home watching the Soprano's finale. WTF with the ending, hated it.

Tulsa Tough

2007-06-14T21:55:00.000-06:00

First let me say this is well run event, with cool courses and a community that is totally behind it. I represented VC for the weekend along with Jon Baker. It was also relative easy travel. Caught a flight from Denver, took the complimentary hotel shuttle to the Race Hotel, which was within a mile of all 3 courses. I would highly recommend doing this race, if you like Crits.

Friday - 7pm start, poured rain the whole race. 10+ crashes. Every time we came through the wheel pit, there were 4-5 dudes getting a free lap. I like racing in the rain and was feeling great. Sitting 10th wheel with three corners left, when the guy on my inside layed it down, sliding under me. I basically rode him across the pavement. Got up adjusted my brakes and rolled in 23rd/100. Minor scratches.

Saturday - Sitting 15th with 5 laps to go, when I heard the infamous "inside, inside" then got t-boned. The guy high sided me and I landed hard on my butt and back. Wasn't able to get up for a while, so didn't get the free lap, plus my bike was screwed. DNF/100

Sunday - crit had a steep climb. Stayed towards the front. 3 guys got away. I goofed up coming through when I saw 1 lap to go on the counter. It was actually for the break that was catching us. I hit it hard up the hill pulling away a group of 4, but then realized I didn't hear the bell, so we got caught going through the start finish again. I was able to hang towards the front the last time through and finished 14th in the field, 17th overall out of 100.

Overall I felt pretty good all weekend, without the crashes, I think I would have pulled some good results. Sunday I was quite sore, especially my lower back which started to act up the last couple of times up the climb. I ended up a lot of road rash on my right elbow and arm, and I left my right butt cheek back in Tulsa. Tailbone was bruised as well.

Other Damage - Broken handlebars, Broken seat, cracked frame, worped both my wheels, broken barrell adjuster on the front brake. I didn't find the crack in my frame until wednesday the following week, after I raced sunday and the Mead training race on Tuesday. Luckily Excel was able to warranty my frame and had me rolling again Satuday for Rist. Big props to Dan at Excel for taking care of me.

Memorial Day Weekend

2007-06-14T21:45:00.003-06:00

Memorial Day Weekend

2007-06-14T21:08:00.000-06:00

Cori and I had a great Memorial Day weekend. I got some good long rides in, played a couple rounds of golf, and got to spend some QT with Cori's family. Cori and I squeezed in a quick ride friday before her parents and her brother and his girlfriend arrived. Later that night we had a nice dinner at Table 6. Saturday morning I took off for a 4.5 hour ride from Cherry Creek to Evergreen and back. I had a great ride going up Deer Creek to Parmalee Gulch, Bear Creek, Kerr Gulch, then down the frontage road from Genesse to Golden and Back. It' hard to get my ass out of bed before 6am, but I sure like riding early in the morning. That afternoon, we headed up the the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch. We love that place. Totally relaxing. Cori's Dad is a golf nut, so we played a couple rounds at Red Sky Ranch. Probably the nicest 2 courses I've ever played. I didn't play to bad, considering the last time I swung a club was February. I even managed to get in a good ride Sunday morning out to Wolcott and then up to top of Cordillera and back to the Ritz. We had perfect weather and it was nice to get away for a weekend.

SOLD

2007-05-30T08:33:00.000-06:00

2004 54cm Specialized Allez Pro frame and full carbon fork.
Frame is the exact same as the S-Works E5 frames that year, its component mix was less expensive, which is why it was branded Allez.
Fork is also the same as used in the S-Works lineup - however this one is BRAND NEW. Steerer tube is uncut and expander plug is included.
Also included is a new Specialized OS road stem. It has the flip-flop internals so you can adjust the angles in 2 degree increments from -8 to +16.
The pictured seatpost is not included in the asking price but you can make an offer if you're interested.

Geometry - Effective TT 548mm, 73.5 degree STA, 140mm HT length. see specialized.com for more details.

The frame is in Excellent condition. Cosmetically, there are very few blemishes - minimal wear to the paint on the drive-side chainstay, a 3M protector strip was always used. Some small scratches to the seattube where the front derailleur cable rubbed a bit. A small paint chip on the drive-side barrel adjuster near the headtube. The paint on the headtube was protected by the clear stickers.

Weight - 1960g including: stem, headset, bottle cage bolts, seatpost clamp, uncut steerer tube.

Post a comment if you are interested.

Panbeh

2007-05-22T22:22:00.000-06:00

Panbeh enjoying his summer haircut. He's our minature Lion.

Cherry Creek Sneak

2007-05-22T22:01:00.000-06:00

Here are some pics from the Cherry Creek Sneak that Cori and Blenda ran in a few weeks ago.

Coal Miner's Classic

2007-05-21T10:26:00.000-06:00

No redemption was to be had. Legs felt crappy and I got spit after 4 laps. Another DNF. Shit! I think I'm in need of some recovery.

North Boulder Park Crit

2007-05-19T19:19:00.000-06:00

Not much to report. Just mad at myself. Goofed around all day at the house doing laundry, running errands, then proceeded to show up late to the race. I only got in about 15 min of warm-up before the start. I knew this race would be extremely hard and fast at the start, and probably need a good 45 min warm-up. Not that it mattered, I couldn't get clicked in so I was about 30 deep going into the first turn. Ugh! A big DNF for me. first one in a long time. I wish I had some better excuses, but no one to blame by myself. I'll be looking for redemption tomorrow.

Marty had a great ride finishing 6th. Way to go Brah.

Henk

2007-05-18T15:02:00.000-06:00

I watched Henk Vogels in the WOT crit last weekend, then remembered the last time I saw him. I took this last year during a sprint stage of the Giro into Forli. Henk had got caught behind crash in the last 1km and casually rode it in. McEwen took the win. Wow, can't believe it has already been a year. Cori and I are ready to go back. More from our trip here and here.

WOT Pictures

2007-05-18T14:21:00.000-06:00

Check out Jared's picture blog for some pics of WOT Cat 3s

Tulsa Tough Anyone?

2007-05-18T11:01:00.000-06:00

I made the descion to do the Tulsa Tough instead of City Park and the State TT the first weekend of June. I just wasn't that excited to do the TT, and I've done City Park before, and while it is a cool course, there is always a couple of crashes. The opportunity to do 3 crits on new courses, against new competion won me over. I'll be traveling/staying with Jon Baker, but racing solo, so if you know any other 3s from Colorado going, let me know. Maybe we could work out a game plan for the races as a Colorado Contingent.

Flights on Frontier right now are ~$222 round trip. Cheaper than what I would spend in gas if I drove. Crazy.

CCTT #6

2007-05-18T10:46:00.000-06:00

My homie, Wind, failed to show last night. I was left by myself to battle the course alone. I felt good and the course was fairly fast. I turned a time of 24:05. I was shooting for sub 24, but just didn't get there. Maybe a 1500 dollar disc zipp would have saved me 5 seconds, but who knows. I'm still really happy with the effort. I finally broke the top 10 with 9th place. I was only ~50 seconds off the winner, which was an improvement, because I'm normally ~2 min. One TT left next week.

Wheels of Thunder

2007-05-14T09:10:00.000-06:00

Had a large contingent of VC on hand. Brent, Marty, Jayson, Lance, and Jared. I had 2 game plans, try to win some primes, or wait for the finish sprint and hunt some upgrade points. I accomplished neither, but felt I had a great race. Instead, I got bored, and chased down several breaks, and was in a couple others. Coming into the last half a lap, I was sitting about 15th on the top part of the course, and saw Brent and Teno top 5. I knew Brent had been sitting in most of the race, so would be fresh for the sprint so I went to the front to group with them. Their was a JDS rider off the front a couple seconds, and no one wanted to chase. We were still to far out for a lead out, but were starting to get swarmed on both sides, so I decided, now or never. Put my head down with Brent and Teno on my wheel, and got us to the last corner. A guy started his sprint about 600m out (WTF) and came around me. I couldn't match the acceleration at that point, so I swung out letting Brent come through, then swung back in. Brent followed some wheels and finished 5th. I held on for 10th. Teno 16th, Marty 18th, Lance 21st. Jared got caught behind the pile-up on the last lap. I was very happy with 10th since I basically led out the whole field for the sprint, I just didn't have any pop left to sprint. I'm glad everyone finished safely.

While we did have a lot of VC guys in the field today, and several where aggressive trying to get off the front, or chasing things down, I think we could have made the race a lot harder and worked on our organization as a team. I think if we have all 6 of us again, we are strong enough as a team to break it up, but that may mean sacrificing individual results. I would take a win for the team anyday, over a top 10 for myself. Hopefully we can put something together for this weekend.

CCTT #5

2007-05-10T07:16:00.000-06:00

I was "supper pumped" (man trip joke) about the race yesterday. It was great weather all day and little to no wind. My goal was to break 24 min. I rolled to the start ~7pm, just as this big ominous black cloud started to roll in. I thought it would hold off for at least another 25 min as it didn't seem to be moving that fast. Anyway I started, easing in to the effort for the first couple of minutes. I felt fairly good, then right before the turnaround, the wind reared it's ugly head. The brunt of it hit me past the Forrest section, with a massive 20+mph head/cross wind the last ~3 miles of the race. I hadn't left a whole lot in the tank, thinking I would have little wind the whole race, and I wanted to keep my effort steady most of the race. I went from turning over a 53x11-13 most of the race to 53x21 into the headwind, which also coincided with the small rises in the course on the way back. I also got rained on the last 4 min of the race. What a way to finish. I was pretty pissed when I got back about a situation I couldn't do anything about. Ty was waiting for me inside Tim's truck trying to stay dry, and his assessment of the race was about the same as mine.
Anyway, I turned a time of 24:42 good enough for 11th place.
Got leap frogged by several guys that had early start times. Looks like most times for the early guys were ~1 min faster, were mine was ~ 30 sec. Only thing to compare was that the rider that takes off 40 sec in front of me is also Cat 3, and we had basically the exact same conditions. He has been consistently 5th or 6th every week about a minute faster than me, but this week he only got me by 6 seconds. He probably had a bad week, but I'm gonna tell myself that I'm just getting faster.

To my friend:

2007-05-09T20:36:00.000-06:00

Wind,

We've had a close relationship over the past month. Just when I thought you had left me, there you were today. Glad I wasn't alone for the last 4 miles of the CCTT. Thanks for showing the love. I mean it. Look forward to seeing you next week as well.

Your bud,

Casey

Rocky Mounts Crit

2007-05-07T10:49:00.000-06:00

Rocky Mounts Crit - One of the best things about upgrading to a 3 has been the later start times. No more getting up at 6am. However, yesterday the later time, meant racing in the rain for an hour. It started coming down right before our 4:30 pm start. About midday I was searching for motivation to race as it looked like it was going to rain, then I remembered what Brent told me after Lincoln. "Dugan, from now on you like racing in the rain. It's one of your advantages." With that in mind I made the trip to louisville. Brent and Marty also joined me. I also wanted to at least finish this crit, the previous 2 times I had done it, I got dropped. This course was actually my first crit ever 3 years ago. I had moved from STL, my goal was a top 20, which I thought wouldn't be to hard considering I was finishing in the top half of sport MTB races bact in STL. I held on for about 1 lap in the 4s, and remember thinking what did I get myself into. Now I can laugh, but that was my first CO racing experience. Anyway, yesterday I just tried to stay up front and wide on the corners so I didn't have to brake. Game time descion had me swith to my training wheels from my zipps, which probably saved my hiney more that once during the race. Zipps don't brake worth a shit in the rain, even with the new zero gravity brakes. I had one guy ask me with about 15 mins left if I wanted to give it a go, to which I replied, "not really". Reason being they were chasing pretty well everything down, or so I thought. He attacked on the uphill and was quickly brought back. With three laps to go Brent, Marty, and I all moved up to the front. 2 guys went on the hill, opening up a gap, then another 2 Denver Spoke guys. I jumped on their wheel, and I think Marty was on mine. I opened up a gap from those guys, not wanting to chase that early, so Marty jumped to bridge and I opened up a gap to get them off the front. Then Collins and another guy came around to start the chase towards the finish, so I just sat on their wheels. My plan was to counter as soon as they caught Marty, but he was holding strong off the front, trying to catch the Denver Spoke guys. I was just following Collins wheel, so when he started, so did I. We caught Marty about 50m before the finish. I tried to come around Collins, I got about half way and clicked for another gear, and got nothing. I had being missing a shift the last half the race, and I guess I was in the lucky gear again. Afterwards Collins said he saw me trying to sneak past him. I'll get him next time :) I was happy with my performance, until I found out 2 guys attacked 1st lap and lapped the field. How did we all miss this? Then apparently 2 more guys got off the front and held on, So what I thought was a top 5 turned out to be 8th. Marty held on for 9th as well. Looking back I should have probably closed that gap to the Denver Spoke guys, so that when Marty attacked, they wouldn't have been off the front. I never thought they would hold it to the end. Oh well.

B-Day

2007-05-04T11:43:00.000-06:00

I turned 29 yesterday. Wow. Can't say I'm all that pumped that I'll be 30 next year, but there's not really anything I can do about it. Cori, Ty, Jen, and I hit up Sushi Tazu last night. The Volocano Roll is the bomb. I had a few Sapporos, and some Chocolate Devotion from Cold Stone Creamery. Even my bro remembered to call me. "Happy Birthday Fagwad!, your gift is in the mail, yeah right." That was the message he left. If you know him, that wouldn't suprise you.

CCTT #4

2007-05-03T09:44:00.000-06:00

Wind was the flavor of the day, again. 20-25 mph. I felt decent going in considering, I was feeling pretty shattered Monday after a hard weekend. A massage from Nicole at Eden II set me straight. Blew the cobwebs out Tuesday on the trainer, and was looking forward to Wednesday. My goal was to just go faster than the week before, and break the top 10. I turned in a time of 25:17:89 good for 10th place, again. So I was faster than 2 weeks ago in the wind, but still didn't break the top 10. I've finished behind Curtis Leschyshyn 3 times now. This week he got me by 15 seconds. I'll get him before it is over. Now I've got some motivation. The winner turned in a time of 23:05, that's just stupid.
I still don't have a rear disc, so If I ever decide to get one, that will hopefully get me a few more seconds. In the past I never liked TTing, but it has definately growning on me.

This weekend is the Lookout HC and Rocky Mounts Crit. I'm planning to leave Lookout to the skinny butts, and get in a long training day, then rally for the crit.

Sunday

2007-04-30T16:14:00.000-06:00

Yesterday got up and went and watched Cori run the 5K at the Cherry Creek Sneak. I've tried to get her into cycling, but she likes the running thing right now. It's been cool to watch her change from a goofy looking runner to someone who knows what they are doing. I glad she is doing something healty. She placed 52nd/222 in her category, and I know she was taking easy.

After the 5K I picked up Gunz and we headed to Boulder to meet Brent and Jayson. We did the Boulder-Old Stage-Left Hand-Ward-P2P-Raymond-Lyons-Hygeine-Boulder Loop. 75 miles (4.5 hours) It was great weather, beautiful scenery, and good company. I totally bonked about 10 miles from Boulder, even though I ate/drank a ton during the ride. Guess I was pretty wiped from Deer Trail. It was good to get a long ride it with friends.

Later that afternoon, Cori and I treated ourselves to hot wings, beers, and a burger from the Cherry Cricket. Yum!

Deer Trail RR

2007-04-30T15:16:00.000-06:00

Deer Trail (74 miles) - My goal was to get in the early break, so Brent, Marty and Lance could sit in. The race was active from the start. First move went about 6 miles in, with a group of 4. I tried to bridge, but the pack wouldn't let me go, so I helped bring the group back. As soon as we caught them there was a solo counter, then a minute later, another solo move to bridge. At this point, I was recovering, and had drifted back 10 places. We hit the turnaround, and another group of 6 got off, including Brent. This move should have stuck. All the large teams were represented except for 2, and most of the teams at the front were blocking for teamates up the road making it difficult to form a chase. I was hanging about 15th in the pack keeping an eye on things. At this point several guys started blowing the yellow line, moving up 30 spaces, or trying to bridge to the break. This happened repeatedly over the next 40 miles. These were such bullshit moves. The whole pack was calling the dudes out, but they kept doing it. The moto ref was with the break, so he was no help.

Brent said there were 2 guys in the break of 8 that wouldn't work, and after repeated attempts of trying to drop them, the break was brought back. When I saw
they were going to get caught, I moved up to ~7th place waiting for the counter, but as we caught them a handful of guys flew the yellow line again, and I got boxed in behind the guys getting caught from the break. So another group of 6 got off, but were quickly reeled back with some help from Lance who had moved up. At this point I was sitting about 20th, but wasn't too worried, as Lance was now covering moves.
We then went through town, getting ready for the last 25 miles of rollers, and Lance flatted right before the first roller and feed zone. Brent was sitting in recovering from the break, and Marty was somewhere behind me. Of course a group of 5 got off through the feedzone and we weren't represented. The last 25 miles are lot of huge rollers, so if we let them have a minute or two, it could be hard to get them back. I then saw Marty who said he was feeling good, and moved up to Brent to see how he was. He said he had recovered and was feelin good as well, so I decided I would go to the front and help work to bring the break back, while they sat in. I went to the front helped push the pace over the next 12 miles. We ended up catching the break right before the 2nd to last turnaround, leaving 12 miles. At this point I thought the race would start to split up so I stayed very close to the front covering any late moves. We made it to the last turnaround, and I was starting to feel pretty worked, and it looked like it was going to stay together till right before the finish so I drifted to the back to recover. There ~40 left in the main pack. From the previous 2 times I had done this race, the group splits up on the last two rollers leaving plenty of time to move up once the road opened up, so I
decided to wait for that. However this time 4 guys blocked the front, not allwoing anyone to get around and held the pack together until the last 200m, when guys started crossing the yellow line (again). At this point I was still on the back, and lost my nerve to even try to pick some guys off in a 40+ bunch sprint, so I just tailed in on the back of the group safe and sound. Marty got 13th, Brent got boxed in from yellow line passer for 21st, and I rolled in 36th.

I was happy with my performance, as I was active all day, and did a lot of work for the team.

I was frustrated with how the race turned out, especially with all the yellow line crossings. I was working hard to move up, and maintain my position with 86 guys, when they would just take a flyer to the left passing 30 guys. As a team I thought we did fairly well with only 4 guys considering there were 5 teams that had 6+. I thought with that many large teams a break would get away, or the last 12-15 miles would be hard enough to split it up. I never thought we would roll all the way to the finish with 40+. I guess if I wanted to shoot for a top 10, I should have just sat in all day, but what is the fun in that? I always want to get a good result, but lost my nerve at the end, and didn't want to take the risk sprinting on the
narrow roads. ugh! what a frustrating race.

CCTT #3 4.25.07

2007-04-30T15:14:00.000-06:00

I finished 10th/25 in the TT last night. They
shortened the course considerably due to flooding.
Therefore we had the short but steep climb about 1.2
km into the race, and they added a 1km 3-5% climb
towards the end. I went out too hard, not knowing how
to pace my self since the effort was going to be
short. With it being short I wasn't able to settle
in. I was cooked by the time I saw the 1 km to go
sign. Couldn't get out of my 13 at that point, but
was able to hold on for 10th at 14:50, 23 seconds off
top 5. Still a pretty good time compared to everyone
else.

Purple Posse

2007-04-30T15:13:00.001-06:00

pic

from Marty's Blog

Lincoln Plating Spring Cycling Classic 07

2007-04-30T14:40:00.000-06:00

Teton, Scott, Ross, Marty, Brent and I made the 7hr trip to Lincoln for the LPSCC last weekend.

TT - Saturday morning. 12 mile loop around a lake, with lots of rollers. We had wind also 30+ mph. We got in late friday night so didn't get to preview the course, just took advice from my teamates who had done it before. Also didn't get any sleep after having to call the front desk on the college frat party in the room next door. Cops finally escorted everyone out of hotel room at 2am. I was slightly pissed and took it out in the TT coming in 7th/23 riders. I went hard, and felt good. I was pretty happy with my placing.

RR - Satuday afternoon same course as TT, more wind. It was unbelievable. They shortened the course by 24 miles b/c of it. I actually took my zipp 404 off the front and rode my training wheel, to help with stability. Ran our race with the Masters so the field was 60+, which sucked when they were chasing down 3s trying to start a break, WTF. I got guttered and dropped on the first crosswind
section of the 2nd lap, and chased back on with a group of 7. I then got dropped on the last crosswind section at the end of the 2nd lap. I then chased for half a lap with 2 other guys and got back on again. At this point I figured I would get dropped again in the crosswind section, so I went to the front of the pack to give Marty some shelter. Once we hit the crosswind, I picked up the pace strung the pack out, and popped. I did spring Marty and Brent in a group of 8 with the move, but they got reeled back in the next couple of miles. I then rode the last lap solo, losing 8 min on GC dropping me to 17th/23 in my cat. I couldn't handle the accelerations in the crosswind when the pack was strung out, and I was already at threshold. I was fine riding at threshold, but when I had to go over repeatedly to close gaps, I couldn't recover at LT. Brent took 2nd and Marty 9th on the stage.

Sunday - 2 mile circuit race with a couple false flats and a 800m long climb that was substantial going to the finish. Since I didn't know how I would react, we
decided that I would try a move early and Marty sitting 6th on GC would counter or try later depending on how he felt. Brent was is a sprinter, and hewas going to sit in for the sprint. On the 3rd/8 laps I countered a move on a false flat section. I got about 10 seconds, and spent a lap off the front until they brought it back. Once I was caught another move went with 2 guys, that was quickly brought back, and then a counter move that got about 30 seconds. I recovered during the next 1/2 lap, then tried to bridge solo going on the climb. I got within about 10 seconds of the leader, and stayed that way for then next 2 laps, with the pack chasing about 20
seconds behind me. I got swallowed up on the last climb about 200 meters from the finish. The guy 10 seconds ahead, held on for the win. I was close, but didn't have any power left going up the last climb and got caught quick. Brent and Marty rolled through 9th and 11th. I felt a lot better during the crit, and was happy with my effort and experience I gained. It also rained and hailed during our race which made it very interesting.

My result in the TT/ciruit race, really has me puzzled as to why I couldn't hang on in the RR. Must just be that I haven't got the V02 max training in yet.

Overall the weekend was great, the race was well run with fun courses, and the prize money was good. Mad Props to John Lefler Jr. who was the promoter. I definately want to go back next year.

CCTT #2 - 4.18.06

2007-04-30T14:12:00.000-06:00

We had 25-35 mph SSE wind tonight, not fun. My legs didn't feel as good as last
week and I started out a little too hard, but overall, still felt like I had a good ride. My time was 25:57. I was 6 seconds faster than last week, but considering the wind I think it is pretty good. Most people had a time 30 sec - 1 min slower. The TT setup, and position (Thanks Teton)made a huge difference. I moved from 18th place to 10th this week.

Finally

2007-04-30T13:51:00.000-06:00

Got My TT frame in Saturday was up to 1:30 am building it Monday night. Got Teton to hook me up with a bike fit Tueday, and rode it for 1:30 that evening Just in time for CCTT #2 on Wednesday.

Boulder Roubaix & AFA 4.14.07

2007-04-30T13:30:00.000-06:00

Roubaix - Rolled to the race with Taylor. I was excited to finally get to race with him, since we train a lot together. Since it was so nice out DBC Events added a lap at the start to make it 62 miles of fun. Pretty uneventful race besides the roughness of the road, every lap guys would pop off the back. I found some good lines and tried to stay in those areas most of the race. Last lap couple guys attacked, so I moved to the front to see what was going to happen. My calves were starting to crap into and over the last hill, so I backed off a little. I drank 2 large and 1 small bottle with electrolyte mix, and didn't feel dehydrated, so i don't know what caused that. Was sitting about 25th coming out of last corner, (had about 50/85+ guys left at that point). I then moved up trying to get ready for the sprint. The pace really picked up about 600m out, and I lost the draft behind a guy that poppped and couldn't close the gap. Held everyone else off for 16th place about 5 seconds back from the winner. Taylor rocked a 6th place. There was a spectacular crash at the end of the 3s. heard everyone was ok, which was good, b/c it was nasty. Overall I felt great about the race. My goal was top 30. Big confidence booster considering there were 85+ starters and that course is hard. Felt 10 times better than Koppenberg. Only
felt like i was going into the red one time before the finish, and I was able to recover pretty easy.

AFA - Ouch. 4 laps/50.3 miles with +1000ft climbing per lap on the 1986 world championship course, 65+ starters. 1st time up the long climb field shattered. Kept 10 leaders in sight. Got back on after descent with a group of 9. We had a huge crosswind on the descent and a huge headwind on the flats leading to the climb. About 35 guys in the main group for start of the second climb. Got dropped again. Rode a teamates wheel the rest of the climb. I regrouped with 6 other guys and we
chased. I popped on a flat headwind section, about 100m off the main group. I almost got back on, but we then started the climb again. Rode solo for half a
lap. Another rider caught me and we rode the last lap together picking off a couple guys. I finished 27th. I was tired when I started so I was happy with my
finish. Chalk it up to training. I was absolutely cooked after the race, and the next day. Man that course is hard, especially with the 20+ mph wind. Marty had a great day scoring a 9th place. Kid can climb and should pull some good results this year.

CCTT #1 4.11.07

2007-04-30T13:15:00.000-06:00

That TT bike I've been stressing about still isn't in, so I rolled it on my road bike, training wheels and all. Turned in a time of 26:03.3 for 18th/24 guys. I My time was 26:03. I was 2:17 off the winner, and 1:15 off the top half of my field. Just as a comparison my time for the 1st TT last year was 28:37. My fastest time last year was 26:26. While I know conditions aren't the same for every TT, I so feel confident I already faster that my best TT last year.

Koppenberg - 4.1.07

2007-04-30T13:09:00.000-06:00

Koppenberg was mr first race this year and as a Cat 3, and it hurt. It was also my first race with VC. I hadn't done any VO2 max training, and it showed. I got spit out the back on the 4th time up the climb and rolled it in with 8 others for 51st place. I kind of expected that it. Looking forward to more intervals in the upcoming weeks.

Catching Up

2007-04-30T13:06:00.000-06:00

I'll try to catch up on my post in the next few days. Gunz told me that if your not blogging, you must not be training, so I want to put that myth to rest :)

What's This?

2007-03-30T12:59:00.000-06:00

Oh yeah, it's my blog, which I have seriously neglected over the last couple of months. To get up to speed.

Man Trip 06 was off the chain. Highlights - Gordon lost his wedding ring, Ty was a dancing maniac, I had a drunk philosophy battle with some chick at a bar, Todd bought enough cheese for 4 sandwichs, when we had 16 to make. Brian tossed his cookies first night. Clint had a spectacular wipe out on the slopes. I haven't laughed that much in a long time. That all I remember :)

Had a 4 day hut trip 1st of February, which turned nasty. Our group got seprated in a white out on top of a ridge at 12,500 ft. Spent next 3 hours in -50 degree windchill. 2 guys had to drop packs. We all eventually got to the hut. I had frostbite on 2 toes, and nerve damage in 3. Lost all the skin off the left side of my nose and cheek the next day. I was just happy everyone made it ok. Scardest I've ever been for my and my friends survival. Wife wasn't very happy with me when I got home. Toes didn't heal till the middle of March. Lost one toenail.

Got droppped hard on first group ride of the year. Just didn't have the motivation to hit the trainer hard with all the shitty weather. Have had some great rides with the VC guys, and have enjoyed getting to know them.

Went home last weekend for my godson's christening. Got in a epic ride in my home county along the river, and even got some fishing in one afternoon.

First Race is this weekend, and I'm pumped. I probably get spit out the back pretty quick, since I haven't gone into the red much yet this year, but who knows. I finally feel like I'm starting to come around with my training. I behind where I wanted to be, but still better that where I was at this time last year. Shooting to get some results towards the end of April and early May. I've been stressing trying to get a TT bike together. Spent my money for a frame on replacing the tires on my car after someone decided to slash the tires of 4 cars on my block. Guess I'm just lucky ;( Hopefully, I'll have one before the stage race in Nebraska.

Watched Blood Diamond last night. Great Flick. Also the Planet Earth series on Discovery is awesome as well.

Man Trip 07

2007-01-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

L to R (Gordon, Casey, Todd, Clint, Brian, Ty)
Man Trip 07 is in the books. More info to follow

Tired of the Trainer?

2007-01-15T14:15:00.000-07:00

Then read this. I thought 2 hours was a lot. I've heard of guys riding centurys on there rollers, but this is nuts.

Cali Anyone?

2007-01-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

Alright, who is ready to go to Cali for the weekend?

California on Sale!
Purchase by January 11, 2007.
Fly by March 9, 2007

For ALL sale fares and complete details, please click here.

To/From Denver:

Fresno $99*
Los Angeles $104*
Orange County $104*
Sacramento $119*
San Diego $104*
San Francisco $114*
San Jose $119*

Want an update?

2007-01-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Weather in Denver right now sucks, and isn't supposed to improve for the foreseeable future. Need to ride my bike, getting very cranky. Did take my first skate skiing lesson at Eldora Saturday which was challenging. Would have been better, if it was warmer than 15 degrees and the wind wasn't blowing 25mph. Look here for some pics of what Skate Sking looks like. Felt the need to include this b/c most people don't know what it is. Sunday I went with Ty to Keystone to freeze my ass off, ski a few runs, and then sit in traffic for 2 1/2 hours back to Denver - YEAH!

Gage's 1st Christmas

2006-12-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

My nephew Gage enjoying his first Christmas. He is almost 3 months old now. Unfortuantely I haven't seen him since he was born. Hopefully the weather around here will clear up and I will be able to get home soon.

Christmas in Vail

2006-12-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

I would have to say that if I was stranded anywhere for Christmas, Vail isn't too bad. We headed up last Saturday and started our trip at Beaver Creek. I didn't ski here all last year, so it was nice to get back. Snow and weather conditions were good. Had a good lunch at Red Tail Camp, and then headed to the Vail Cascade Resort & Spa.

The Cascade was very nice, and moderatly priced considering it was a holiday weekend. That night we drove to Edwards to eat at Sato Sushi. I know what your thinking (Sushi in the mountains?). Trust me this place is really good, they get fresh fish in daily from the vail/eagle airport and it is more of a locals place, so the atmosphere is laid back.

The next morning I woke up to falling snow. Ty and I caught 1st chair on the Vail Cascade lift and our day began. On the front side they had about 2 inches of fresh when we started. We instantly started making our way to the back bowls, were the snow got progressively deeper. Game Creek bowl to Sun Down Bowl to Blue Sky Basin. We were the first ones to catch 4 differnt lift that day. We laid fresh track for over an hour before we saw someone. By the time we got to Blue Sky the snow was 8 inches deep and it kept snowing all day. We had some epic runs down resolution. After lunch we hit China bowl and then made 3 runs down Red Square in the Siberia Bowl before ski patrol closed it for avy control. Overall one of the top 5 days I have had skiing. It snowed the whole day so the track kept filling in as fast as you could ski them. There were times the powder was almost up to my knees in spots.

That night we took a sleigh ride and had dinner at the Vail Golf Club. I had a good time but it was overpriced and not what was described when we made the reservation. I would not recommend going here.

The next day we got up and skied Vail again, but my legs were shot from the day before, so we stuck to the groomers with girls and pulled the plug early to catch lunch at the Red Lion I recommend the Nachoes and Burgers. After lunch it was back to Denver for a night of laying on the couch.

Denver Blizzard

2006-12-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

The blizzard that hit Denver last week, dropped about 2 feet of snow in 24 hours and therefore cancelled our Christmas plans. We had planned to make it home to Illinois to spend time with friends and family, but instead made the best of the situation and went to Vail for the weekend. We weren't alone, as Ty & Jen couldn't get back to North Carolina either.

Midyear

2006-12-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

Just got back from my annual pharmacy conference, not much to talk about there. Did have a good time driving down Pacific Coast Highway from Newport Beach to San Diego. Had a good lunch at 3 thirty 3 in Newport, saw lots of fancy cars and real life Barbies. Also had a great dinner at 21 Oceanfront . Ate at The White House, but thought it was a bit overrated. If you are every in the area and looking for a good time try the Rockin Taco . We went there 3 differnent nights for drinks and had a great time. I did however catch the flu from someone on the flight back wednesday, so I'm laying low trying to recover.

20 Questions

2006-12-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

Click here to see what I had to say regarding the 20 questions my friend DB asked me.

Linkage

2006-11-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

I've added state racing links, so that it is easier to search for certain races if you plan to travel. Feel free to send me more that I've missed.

Thanksgiving

2006-11-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

Had a nice Thanksgiving with Ty, Jen, Joel, and Anna. The wine was probably my favorite part. We then heading to Brenckenridge for a couple of days. Had a few Vanilla Porters at the Breckenridge Brewery, then ran into Chris Nunez at the Blue River Bistro. If you watch Miami Ink on TLC you might recognize him. The skiing wasn't much to talk about, except for Ty throwing an unexpected heli and landing it. I guess, I'll have to give it a try next time.

Made the Jump

2006-11-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

I joined the Vitamin Cottage 3s team this week. I got in a couple of good rides with team, and I'm super pumped about the upcoming season. We should have a strong team. It was a great opportunity to jump to a team that was dedicated to racing, and to train with a group of guys who take cycling as serious as I do. Several of the guys have the same goal as I do, to cat up, so it should be a fun season. 5 months to the first road race.

U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross

2006-11-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

High jacked this picture off Jared Roy's blog. Check it out for some good pics and video.

I think the pic says it all.

Had a great weekend working the pit for Taylor during the 2 USGP races this weekend. Taylor had a great ride saturday and even better one sunday. He finished 26th saturday and 18th on sunday. Considering the field, it was a awesome result. It has got to be fun beating guys that get paid to race for a living. A few thoughts:

1. Ryan Trebon is a freak, kid is crazy fast. In my opinion, he would have won going away on sunday as well, if not for the 4 bike changes.

2. Boulder Cup course was awesome to watch, best race atmosphere I've ever seen. The hill run-ups were sick.

3. If you don't get called up, or have a starting number in the top 30 you are already out of the race.

Sat. Race Report
Sun. Race Report

Sat. Results
Sun. Results
After watching the races, I almost want to race cross myself.

The Nut Cup

2006-11-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

I had a great time playing golf in Pinehurst. I went with my father-in-law and met up with 10 other guys for a weekend of fun. We were invited by my wife's cousin, Michael Landsberg to play in his private 72 hole tournament named the "Nut Cup". I know what you thinking, but it is actually in reference to Michael's life threatning allergy to nuts. After I finally got my clubs and clothes (American Airlines lost my luggage for 24 hours) I was finally able to relax. We played all weekend at Forrest Creek Country Club where Michael is a member. It has been voted top 50 private courses in the USA. I played 27 holes Thursday, 18 Friday, 36 Saturday, and 9 on Sunday. Needless to say I was a litte worn out when I got back to Denver late Sunday night, but can't wait to try to claim the 07 Nut Cup.

Sunday Cross

2006-10-24T07:24:00.000-06:00

Sunday I went out to the Boulder CX#2 to help my buddy Taylor who was racing the Men's Open division. After a ride around the old Morgul-Bismark loop for myself I headed back to the race. Changed a flat for him before the race, and got his wheels in the pit just as they took off. Taylor got a crappy starting position which left him about 30th/50 riders coming up the first climb. 3 laps later his was sitting 7 and looking good. I was also feeding him. Let me say that when he wants water he means water, not some type of electrolyte mix. Needless to say I found some water within about 5 minutes to accomodate the request, and drank the mix myself. For most of the race Taylor was working with a TIAA-Cref rider, but that guy eventually blew with about 5 to go. Taylor ended up closing the gap to 5th place, and made a move on the next to last lap to solidify 5th place. Before the race, I thought top 10 would be a great result considering the field, so we were both pumped about 5th. Super strong ride, considering his shitty starting position. If he was on the front row he might have had a shot at the podium. It was good motivation for him and me, as I'll be pitting for him when the US Grand Prix comes to Boulder Nov. 4th & 5th. The results are here, and he even got his name and result in VeloNews. While that may not seem big to you, I think it's the Cat's Meow.

Gage Carter Dugan

2006-10-11T09:53:00.000-06:00

I am the pround uncle of this little guy. Gordon and Gage after his arrival

What to do now?

2006-10-11T08:53:00.000-06:00

After Salida, I got my upgrade to Cat 3 and had planned on racing the Fed Center but, bad weather, vaction with little training, and a bunch of canceled races lead me to end my season early. Overall I had a great season. I reached and surpassed every cycling goal I had set at the end of the season. Now it is time for some golf, and easy rides.

Salida Omnium

2006-10-10T16:53:00.000-06:00

TT - I sandbagged the TT to save my energy for the road race, since my best finish in a TT this year was 20th. This turned out to be a big mistake as only 38 guys registered. I cruised in at 36th place, while Andrei took 11th and Ty 16th. If I had tried, I think I could have broke the top 10 considering the field.

RR - Disaster - I was feeling great, got to the park early had some time to shoot the shit with a few of my buddies and then got ready to roll. Just as we are getting ready to rollout. My back wheel goes flat (WTF). This was the first time I hadn't brought a extra wheel, so I felt guilty asking for a change that wasn't mine, before the race even started. So I hurried back to the hotel, changed wheels and the then did a TT effort to catch the pack before the neutral rollout ended. I ended up being about 1 min off before they hit the first climb. I started picking guys off, but realized I wasn't catching the front group, and I wasn't racing for 20th so I bagged it, hoping to be super fresh for the crit on Sunday. At this point I was pretty bummed how my weekend had gone.

Crit - Before the race Gregg and I had a chat about going together with about 3 laps to go. Here is his account of the situation. With our plan, I spent the first part of the race hanging in the top 10-15. HART had the #1 rider overall so their team (7 strong) were controlling the pace and chasing down everything trying to keep their boy in the pack. About 20 min in I got off the front with 4 others, but were quickly reeled in by HART who then sat up, bunching the pack again. At this point I was hurting so I drifted back to recover, then with 5 laps to go started working my way back up. No one was wanting to drive the pace because HART was chasing everything down, and they were content to cruise at 17mph. With 2 laps to go, things picked up and we were single file going into the false flat uphill (5 blocks long) when a HART rider pulled through and sat up. No one came around so the front group bunched again. Not wanting to wait for a sprint, and tired of the same shit every lap, I moved up on the outside and attacked about 20 meters out on the first of 2 corners before the finish. I was hurting, but figured so was everyone else. I caught everyone off guard, and they weren't able to react through the corners. When I got through the 2nd corner, I went as hard as I could go for 30 seconds and then looked back to decide whether to sit up or continue. To my surprise I already had 50 meters. Apparently everyone hesitated not wanting to be the one to chase. Having 6 corners in the next .4 mile stretch was a big help. I was able to recover, while maintaining a high speed and the pack couldn't organize a chase. Coming up the false flat for the last time I buried myself, took the last corner a little too fast (back tire skipped twice) and held off a fast chasing duo by about 20 meters for the win. This totally made my weekend. I was more pumped about winning here than Hugo. Still can't believe I was able to hold if solo for a lap in a crit.

Unfortunately, I wasn't any help for BAT, but Andrei
and Ty came through big time and both looked really strong
during the RR.

Where Have I Been?

2006-10-10T16:49:00.000-06:00

Good question - I'll try to catch up with a barrage of posts. I have a lot of catching up to do.

Sometimes I Wake-up Grumpy

2006-07-15T18:09:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I let her sleep.

Saturday Training Ride

2006-07-15T17:56:00.000-06:00

I decided to bag the crit in Ft. Morgan since there are no upgrade points available and instead do a long training ride. The 100+ degree temps forcasted for Denver, saw me Ty, and Taylor leaving my house at 6am (ouch)to try and beat the heat. Taylor was our tour guide today, and from the start was all business. We did 71 miles in 4:04 w/ 4400ft of climbing

Avgs: speed 17.8 mph, hr 147, power 172

Max: speed 53 mph, hr 178, power 1117

total work: 2407 kj

Looking forward to more of the same tommorrow.

Oh Yeah - It sucks when your AC freezes and it is 101 out.

Andy Finch/Sara Kay Memorial Crit

2006-07-10T13:57:00.000-06:00

Andrei and I, along with 45 other nut jobs braved the fierce
condtions for 50 minutes of pain on Sunday. (Temp was 59 and poured rain the whole race) I could have used a snorkel the first couple of laps. Felt like someone was holding a water hose in my face. After I settled in, tried my hand at getting off the front with a few other guys. We would get about 5-8 guys off the front but only about half would work or pull through. After my second attempt I went back to the pack and Andrei had a go which helped keep the pace high. I was able to recover during this point and when he was caught I attacked again over the top of
the climb to keep popping guys off. I never made an all out effort
to go solo, just to gap the field with the hope a few guys would
bridge and we could get going. After this attack no one bridged so I
sat up. That left us with 2 laps to go. Starting the last lap over the hill one of the guys I had been in an earlier break with attacked and got a good gap. I waited to see if anyone else was going to go, not wanting to drag the whole group up to his wheel. Finally Greg (Spike Cycling Team) jumped so I worked with him to bridge. The three of us ended up getting caught on the last straightaway, but had done our damage to the field because only 1 guy was able to counter before the last corner and climb. I ended up getting 4th. Greg got me by half a wheel for 3rd. The Winner got off the front after about 2 laps, and soloed home. I never knew he was gone until somebody said something with 3 laps to go, as I spent the first couple laps towards the back. I was really happy with race, being able to get off the front 4 different times and still finish strong on the climb. It was good to see Andrei at the front putting the hurt on as well and finish strong in 18th. We are now tied for 3rd place for the Best Team Competition and only 23 points out of first.

Proctor Cycling Classic

2006-07-06T13:45:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I headed back to Illinois to visit my bro and get a race in. I did the Proctor Cycling Classic Road Race which also happened to be the Illinois State Championship. I was excited to race back home, just to see how it compared to Colorado.

picture

The course was challenging with several rolling hills, but a little short for the 4s if you ask me, only 32 miles. My plan was to sit in the first lap then hammer the last 5 miles (several steep climbs) as I thought it would split apart leaving ~15 guys. 32 miles wouldn't be long enough to make endurance a factor or be a advantage for me. Race started off as planned, basically a group ride. No real attacks, and no one driving the pace, big suprise. Waited for the last 3 climbs and I went to the front and picked the pace up. Got a good gap over the first climb and hoped some guys would bridge, instead 1 guy dragged everyone up to me at which time, I gave the flick of the elbow to pull through with no reaction, so I sat up, and so did everyone else. On the next climb did the same thing, got everything strung out, and finally turned around and told the guy to pull through, to which he replied, I can't. So basically they wouldn't let me go, but wouldn't work either. At this point we only had 2 miles left and I couldn't recover in time for the sprint, so came through in 8th place. Team Mack won with XXX taking 2nd or 3rd. Big results for 2 teams that had over 5 guys each who didn't attack, help ride tempo, or do anything proactive. Do I sound a little bitter? I guess they did win, but we should have all just hung out telling stories for an hour, then got on our bikes and sprinted for the town sign. What a waste of a cool course. If I come back next year, I'll definately be bringing some teamates.

Differences between Ill and CO - Colorado is more agressive, faster, and teams play more of a role in the race. Competition is a lot tougher in CO. CO Courses are a lot longer, usually 50-65 miles. ILL climbs are bumps in the road in CO. While 30 guys did finish with the main pack, if this same race had happened in CO the whole race would have stayed together. Field size was only 70 guys.

Similarities - 4s race negatively in both states. Bike handeling skills basically the same.

Dead Dog Classic

2006-07-03T14:52:00.000-06:00

2 weekends ago I did the Dead Dog Stage Race. I was really excited and my form seemed to be great as well. So I headed up to Laramie, Wy on Friday and spent most of the night with Jeremy and Andrei trying to get my bike set up. In preparation of the TT on Sunday, I had a full TT cockpit set up on my road bike with cables, shifters and all, so I could get the best result possible. When putting my road handlebars back on I frayed my rear derailer cable hence the 3 hours it took us to get it shifting properly. Anyway I was pretty amped the next morning. We had a good breakfast at the Chuckwagon restaurant. I was so nervous before the race that an older gentlemen sitting behind me in the booth at the restaurant said if I didn't' stop shaking, he was going to spill his coffee and food all over himself. That gave Jeremy and Andrei a good laugh. The first disappointment was that the race course had to be changed do to a forrest fire, so the 7 mile climb was out and the course ended up being flat with 2 large rollers each way. Jeremy and Andrei went immediately to the front and started picking up the pace. This strung out the pack, but none of the other teams were really helping to keep the pace high. I sat in about 20th place. Eventually Jeremy got up with a group of 12 or so guys and Andrei and Matt put the brakes on opening up a nice gap. I then rolled up just to say high and helped block. As soon as I did this, I started getting yelled at to close the gap and stop blocking, boo whooo. Had one rider yell at me with the commment, "oh, they are really going to get away." If he didn't think they were, then why did he come around me and start chasing? This is why racing 4s sucks. Everybody races so negatively. No breaks get established, no one will work, etc. We were just trying to get some action going. Otherwise it is always the same - speed up, brake, speed up, brake, crash, attack through feed zone, brake, crash, field sprint. I personally get tired of this and want to make the race hard, so there isn't 50 guys left at the end. Anyway, Matt, Jeremy, and Andrei all got dropped and I was left alone with 10 miles to go so I had not choice but to sit in. About 3 miles out I was thinking I had good enough legs to win. I positioned myself on the yellow line sheltered from the crosswind. This side had been surging all race when there was an acceleration. I was sitting 3rd wheel behind Brent who got 2nd at Hugo the week before. Usually someone jumps with about 1k to go and things split up allowing you to move around. Not this time everyone held tight until 300m and then a guy on the outside jumped, but the guy in front of Brent never reacted, boxing us in. Never even had space to sprint so ended up 15th. This sat the tone for the rest of the weekend. It was basically going to come down to the TT, because we had 30 guys with the same time. The crit the next morning was uneventful as suspected. All my teamates got dropped again, so I spent a lap hammering the pace to try to drop even more guys so that there weren't as many to contend with at the TT. My legs were cooked after this and could only manage 13th in the sprint. I ended up 20th in the TT, which I was happy with, since it was my best TT placing all year. I ended up 16th on GC because 4 of the guys that beat me in the TT got dropped in the crit, so I guess keeping the pace high helped. Overall a frustrating weekend.

Amazing advances made in eye care: Dr. Taylor

2006-06-27T10:49:00.000-06:00

My best friend getting some press.

Eye Care

Arms to the Sky

2006-06-19T21:47:00.000-06:00

Saturday was the Hugo Road Race which my team Swift Cycling puts on. The Cat 4s had a 90 rider field limit which filled up by preregistration the week before. There were a total of 579 racers with 512 finishers. I had an awesome 2 weeks of training prior to this race which had me feeling confident and my legs feeling strong. Chaz, Jeremy, and Matt lined up with me for the race. We had to start on the last row, because we were late to the start line due to our volunteer responsibilites. With no warm-up, we headed out and spent the next 18 miles trying to weave our way to the front. I was only able to get up to about 50th before the first turn. After the turn, things strung out a bit and I was able to move up a little further. At this point guys were starting to open gaps from the crosswind and rollers and there was a lot of heavy breathing, so I decided I better move up quick. I saw Matt move into the wind and head for the front, so I jumped on his wheel and we went all the way to the front, then drifted left and slowed down to enjoy the draft. This is where our team finally got back together and hung out until the 2nd turn. After the second turn (now with a left right cross/headwind) the pace picked up a bit as a few riders got off the front through the feed zone. I had drifted back again so Matt pulled Chaz and I back up to the top 10. From here I settled into the pack about 20th, while Matt, Chaz, and Jeremy patrolled the front. Chaz and Jeremy got in some short breaks while Matt blocked. Once Chaz got caught he drifted back and told me to make sure I was in the to 20 going into the last turn as all hell would break loose. Sure enough it did. We now had a cross/tailwind and the pace was crazy 30+ for the last 8 miles. The pack instantly split with me sitting on the back of the main group of 30 riders. Eventually 20 more got back on. Chaz came by and I got on his wheel, then Jeremy came on my right so I jumped on his wheel , and this is where I spent the next 7 miles. Chaz was right next to me giving me the distance as my odometer stopped working and I wasn't familiar with the finish. 5 miles, 4 miles, Move up, 3 miles, etc. With about 2 miles to go the pace picked up again and Jeremy started moving me up. We were sitting about 25th, when he started to hammer and I just sat on his wheel as we kept moving up. We were about 1k out when there was an acceleration on the left and things started to split up. At that point Jeremy went all out to get me to the front, with about 500 meters I yelled for him to move left as he detonated, and I was now sitting 4th. A CPT rider jumped at this point and got a good 15 meter gap so I started to close It but came next to another guy so I sat back down to see if he was going to go or not, because I didn't want him to jump on my wheel. One look at him and I knew he was cooked so I started again. The last guy in front of me saw me coming, but couldn't accelerate, and at that point I knew I was going to win. I came by him and had a couple bike lengths and time to throw my arms up and get my first win. Finishing time of 2:39:36 for 64 miles with and avg speed of just over 24mph if my math is correct. Matt finished 11th, Chaz 16th, and Jeremy 48th. The results moved our team into 3rd place for the Best All Around Team Competition. I can't thank my teammates enough. It was great to finally see all the hard work pay off. I also wanted to thank my coach Mark Legg for helping me get to this point. Next up is the Dead Dog Classic this weekend and the team is now really motivated which is nice. Unfortunately we will only have 4 of us instead of the 7 we were expecting. I'm just excited to finally work together as a team and actually race.

Louisville and City Park

2006-06-19T21:32:00.000-06:00

I basically imploded at the Louisville crit. 95+ temp took its toll. I had no problem hanging with pack but got chest pains about 20 minutes in. It felt like my respiratory tract was on fire so I pulled the plug hoping to get some rest for city park. I hate DNFing but thought it would be best. Next day I felt much better at city park. This is a very technical course with several turns and 2 turns and 4 round abouts. I started off well, but on the second lap I was sitting about 25 when two guys in front of my got tangled and almost went down forcing me to slam on the breaks and that was it. The first group of 20 were gone. I then spent the next 10 minutes working with 4 others to get back, but 2 of the guys didn't know how to do a rotating paceline. Pretty frustrating. We then had 4 more join us and I thought we would get back. We got the gap down to 10 seconds, but this GS boulder would pull through and block then you pass him and he would cut you off in the corners. Total tool. The gap got back up to 25 seconds so I had a go solo as the group I was with wasn't going to get back. I got it down to 15 seconds after a lap and half, but wasn't going to be able to catch on without blowing up, so I sat up let the group catch me and sat on the back until last lap. Typical last lap - I was sitting 9th going into the last 2 turn around, watch guy in front of me (gs boulder) touch wheels trying to cut corner (big suprise) and go down, next round about watched another guy go down taking the corner to fast and then another guys just fell over, but I don't know why. I ended up taking the field sprint again for 23rd. Even though the result isn't good, I felt like I was getting my legs back.

Rocky MTN Omnium

2006-06-19T21:12:00.000-06:00

My parents came out for this weekend while I was trying to find my legs. It was a little rough considering I had taken off 16 days from being sick and our trip to Italy. I ended up 22nd in 8 mile time trial 1:26 off the winner. I was pretty happy with this considering I didn't have a TT bike or aero bars and it was only my 5th day back on the bike. The Circuit race next day wasn't as fun. It was a 1.2 mile circuit where I ended up 29th after getting dropped on the 1/2 mile (200 ft elevation gain) climb after about 3 laps. I had no legs and the 90+ temp was brutal. The last crit was in downtown Golden and probably the funnest race so far this year. My result again was 29th, but the course was awesome with 8 turns. There was probably about 1000 spectators which was pretty cool. I held on for about half the race then rolled solo for about 5 laps, and then waited for a group of 7 to catch me and basically waited for the field sprint which I took. Overall not bad considering how long I had been off the bike. Wish I could have pulled a better result while my parents were in town.

More Pics

2006-06-19T20:48:00.000-06:00

The Past 30

2006-06-19T18:37:00.000-06:00

Well it has been awhile since I posted, so I'll try to catch up. 1st Cori and I had a wonderful trip to Italy. No special occasion just a trip we've been wanting to take. Started in Venice and spent 2 days then on to Bologna/Forli. In Forli we caught a stage of the Giro d'Italia. From Bologna we took the train to Florence and spent 3 full days. On the fourth day we rented a car and drove down to Montalcino where Brunello wines are made. We then spent 2 days in Milan before finally coming back. Florence was by far our favorite. The food, wine, gelato and atmosphere were uncomparable. Cori's favorite part was a private cooking class she took in Florence, mine was probably the food and wine in Florence.

Just Got Home

2006-05-20T18:40:00.000-06:00

I'll update more in the next coming week. Cori and I just got back from spending 10 days in Italy. Great time, but glad to be back.

Before

2006-05-01T20:38:00.001-06:00

After

2006-05-01T20:38:00.000-06:00

VO2 Max 2nd Test

2006-05-01T11:20:00.000-06:00

I had my 2nd VO2 max test today. Can't say that I was motivated at all, and my legs weren't feeling the freshest either after Deer Trail on Saturday. After a Dexa scan, and getting stuck 5 times (ouch!) to get a line in so they could draw lactate levels I was on my way. Highlights of my results from all Test:

Dropped my body fat percentage 3.3 points since February 21st. Weight dropped from 162 to 156.

Increased My VO2 max from 52.2 to 59.3

Max HR dropped from 186 to 181, which most likely reflects that I wasn't rested enough.

Should have Lactate back in 2 weeks.

Deer Trail Race Report

2006-05-01T10:09:00.000-06:00

On Saturday I headed out for the Deer Trail Road Race. My team Swift Cycling promotes this race. Our field was full at 90, with a total of 571 riders registered for all categories. The 8:45 start time was a little rough considering it is an hour drive from Denver. Chaz, Ty, Jeremy, Dave, Andrei, Shuka, Tim, and I made the start for our 61 mile Journey. Just as we rolled out, it started raining. Normally I wouldn't mind the rain so much, but it was only 40 degrees out. As I was warming up before the start, it was sleeting. We would eventually get rained on 3 different times, making for a cold/wet first 40 miles. The course was changed a bit do to poor roads on one section so we did a double out and back to Agate and the one out and back down the big roller section. Course Profile. To Agate we had a nice 20+mph tailwind, which became a headwind on the way back. Right before the 2nd turnaround to head back to Agate, there was a small attack and I had bad positioning at the back after being caught behind a crash, so the chase was on. I basically jumped from groups of 5 all the way up until I caught the main pack of 30. This took about 8 miles and I had to close about 5 or 6 gaps in the process. At this point I felt good, but was having to spend to much energy to get back on. After the 3rd turnaround the Main pack was now 60 strong for the ride back to DT in the headwind. Right after the turnaround there was break of 4 that went clear. By the time I could move up enough to see, they had 2+ minutes on us and they were far enough away, I couldn't see what teams were represented. At this time the pace was slowing at we were only making 14mph into the headwind, and no one was organizing a chase. Knowing that if they had more that 3 minutes by the time we hit the rollers, it would be hard to bring them back, Andrei, Jeremy, and I went to the front to get the chase started. Andrei and Jeremy alternated taking pulls and I came through once. We eventually got a couple other teams to start helping and when we make the right hand turn through town, the gap was down to 1 min. Soon as we hit the first roller through the feedzone the pace exploded and the 25 mph crosswind slightly from our tail, started breaking the field up instantly. I was feeling alright at this point, not great, but wasn't having any problems matching the accelerations up the climbs. Right before the last turnaround, we caught 3 of the guys left from the break, leaving one guy solo. After the turnaround, there was an attack on the first hill back and this narrowed the group down to 20. We now had a right to left cross/heading at 25mph. We then caught the last solo rider about 4 miles from the finish. I was sitting sheltered next to the yellow line until 3rd from last hill when there was an attack and I had to move right to pass a few guys who had thrown out the anchor. While I was able to move around, the guy behind me closed the gap on my inside and I was stuck in the wind with no place to hide, with 4 other guys tailing me. This was the mistake that was the end for me. I held on for the next climb, but starting the 2nd to last one, I got dropped with 4 other guys. We worked together to try to get back on, but no luck. They were having a hard time keeping pace, so I gave it an effort on the last climb dropped them and Soloed the last 2 miles finishing in 13th place 1:16 off the winner and 16 seconds ahead of the the group chasing me, with a total time of 2:52:01. I was the first across the line who didn't finish with the main pack. Full results here. Can't say that I wasn't disappointed not making the main group, but I'm taking it in stride. I know I was strong enough, but made a mistake, got caught in the wind, and paid the price. This race was definitely hard, and the weather was the biggest factor, for example, last year I took 6th place with a time of 2:27:56.

Boulder Beer Race

2006-04-24T11:04:00.000-06:00

A hard week of training culminated in the Boulder Beer Road Race Sunday. I was feeling pretty tired from the weeks efforts so this was basically prep for the Deer Trail Road Race next weekend. This was 7.4 mile circuit race with 2 big hills each lap, click here for the course Profile. Andrei and Shuka joined me at the start line, so we had 3 Swifties. The race started as normal with nothing of note happening until the 3rd lap when there was an attack up the first hill. I just sat in and let everyone else chase. Andrei and Shuka had great position the whole race sitting around the top 20. At this point I wasn't feeling good, and was already thinking I was going to have a hard time hanging with the main pack as the group went on. I was sitting about 40th on the way back when there was a huge crash. I luckily was able to avoid it because I was sitting so far back, and chased back on within a few seconds. Between laps 3-5 there wasn't really anything happening, which allowed me to drink a lot and eat a powergel and drink and Enervitene Cheer pack which gave me my second wind. I was able to move up some and get in with Andrei and Shuka. The 6th and final lap saw a few attacks on the first hill, with nothing going as it all regrouped on the downhill. Coming down the last downhill, Andrei attacked stringing out the field which allowed me to move down the right side from 35th place to 12th. I was now just waiting for an attack on the last hill. Sure enough a guy from Spine & Sport attacked at the bottom and a Vitamin Cottage guy covered. They had 100 ft gap, but they were a long way from the top so I stayed patient and waited for someone else to bring it back. I ended up hopping on the wheel of 2 guys trying to bridge. By this time we were down to about 15 guys and we caught the 2 leaders just after the crest. I was sitting 5th wheel when a RMRC rider counterattacked on the left side and I hopped on 3rd wheel behind Louisville Cyclery guy in the last 300m and that is how it finished. I tried to come around the LC guy but I was spun out in my 12, I definately needed an 11. He got me by a wheel and I held on for 3rd. I was pretty pumped with this result as I wasn't feeling my best, and It is a definite boost of confidence going into Deer Trail. Shuka finished ~22nd and Andrei 33rd, which was great for the team as we all made the main group and were able to work together helping with positioning. Here are some pics from the race. First 2 pics arn't of my race, but give an idea to the views and course. The last three are. I'm in the orange kit and white helmet.

Bad Kitty

2006-04-17T13:38:00.000-06:00

Mountain lion attacks boy on Boulder trail
By Kirk Mitchell
Denver Post Staff Writer

Boulder - Members of a 7-year-old boy's family drove off a mountain lion that attacked him on a trail on Flagstaff Mountain late Saturday.

The boy, who was not identified, was walking last in a single file of eight family members and friends near the Crown Rock trailhead about 6 p.m. when his father turned and saw the lion on him.

The lion seized the child by the head and dragged him toward the woods, family members told Jason Blumen, a supervisor with Pridemark Paramedic Services, at Boulder Community Hospital.

They shouted and struck the lion with rocks and sticks, said Tyler Baskfield, a spokesman for the state Division of Wildlife. "They did everything possible to defend the boy from the lion," Baskfield said. "You've got to fight back with everything you have if you're attacked by a mountain lion."

Authorities said the boy had injuries consistent with a mountain lion attack including claw marks on his leg and puncture wounds on his jaw and head.

"The family showed unbelievable courage and bravery," said Blumen. "It was the family that ultimately scared the animal away, and I am 100 percent sure that they saved his life."

Blumen said the boy, who was later transferred from the Boulder hospital to Children's Hospital in Denver, is doing "remarkably well." Family members, who declined interviews, issued a statement saying he was in stable condition. The family's home town was not available.

Dean Paschall, division manager of visitor environmental services for the city of Boulder, which owns the popular recreation area, said the boy suffered facial lacerations and bite marks on one leg.

"This is something that is extremely unusual," Paschall said. "The mountain lions here are very accustomed to human beings. They don't look at humans as their natural food source."

Claire Solohub of the Division of Wildlife said traps were being set and baited with road kill to catch the lion. Search dogs and officers with guns and flashlights were combing the area. "Whenever you have wild animals and people living together, we can't always control what happens," Solohub said.

Baskfield said the cougar, if found, would be killed in the interest of safety because it's possible it would strike again.

"The mountain lion may have been confused and thought the boy was prey because of his size," he added.

Baskfield said authorities are considering restricting access to trails on Flagstaff Mountain until the mountain lion is found.

Boulder resident Chuck Corwin, who frequently hikes in the area, said he has never seen a mountain lion there, but the animals have had so much interaction with people that they're not afraid of them.

"It's going to happen every once in a while unless you kill every mountain lion in the state," Corwin said of Saturday's attack.

Although cougar attacks are rare, mountain lions have killed people in Colorado - three in the past 15 years.

There are an estimated 5,000 big cats in Colorado. Males can grow to more than 8 feet long from nose to tail and weigh up to 150 pounds.

Pledge of Allegiance

2006-04-14T10:46:00.000-06:00

My friend Emina Kadric went through her naturalization ceremony yesterday. She sent me the following pictures. We joked about all the national history she had to learn that I had forgotten. I believe most Americans take for granted their freedom and liberty, but seeing how happy Emina was, made me realize how great we have it. I'm extremely happy for her, because it is no small feat, and she can now enjoy the same priviliages I was born with.

Oredigger Classic Part 2

2006-04-10T10:29:00.000-06:00

Well my time put me in 24th for the Hill Climb. I'm coming to the realization that climbing isn't my stregnth. Danielson did it in 16:02 (new record) 2 minutes faster than anyone else. Next was the Coors Tech Center Crit. It is a 1.6 mile loop with a few sweeping turns and two that were 90 degrees. It also has a 150-200 ft climb each lap and the finish line is at the top. When I got to the race, I found out that they weren't running it as an omnium, so no overall points. Anyway the race started fast as always and I stayed in the top 20 most of the race. I didn't have any teamates so I planned to just sit in the whole race. Each time up the climb guys were getting spit out the back. I spinned up it in my small ring to try and save my legs for the last couple laps, while others were grinding out there big ring. I felt good the first couple laps and we were down to a group of 30. There was a small break of 4 that got off the front after a prime, but they weren't organized, so I just sat in. 2 laps later we were all back together with 3 to go. On this lap a guy attacked hard up the hill and had a good gap, it took us a lap to chase him down. At this point it was single file for the top 15 guys. Setting up the last lap Spine & Sports team moved 4 guys to the front for a leadout. I hopped in 7th wheel. I was feeling pretty good, but was trying to stay patient. S&S started their leadout way too early and 200 meters before the climb there was only 2 guys left so they slowed and a second leadout came in on my inside, boxing me in. Not much I could do at this point, but wait for things to break up so I could move around. I hit the climb in ~15th place and hammered in my big to the top. I rolled through 8th. This course suited me well. I was pretty happy with this result. I had a hard week of training, and this was a C race for me. Next race for me will be in 2 weeks, as I'm trying to get in some good training hours for Deer Trail.

Props to James for his strong finish in the HC, smoked me.

Oredigger Classic Part 1

2006-04-08T11:06:00.000-06:00

Today was the first stage of the Oredigger Classic. It was a hill climb up Lookout Mtn. Lookout is roughly 4.1 miles long with ~1500 ft of climbing. I got there about an hour before my start time and rolled up to the registration booth to get my number. The guy in front of me was all decked out in a Discovery kit at which point I noticed it was Tom Danielson. I guess he was wanting to add another hill climb record to his resume. I think the record is somewhere around 16 minutes. I preregistered so that I would have ample time to warm-up, however, it still took 20+ minutes to get my number. This cut my warm-up down to 12 minutes. Since I didn't get a good warm-up, I took it easy at the start, and finished strong. My goal for this season was to do this climb sub 23 minutes since 25:25 was my personal best last year (not good). I think my time was 23:07. I think this will get me into the top 20. I was pretty happy with this time since it is ~2:20 off my time last year and this was only the second time I've ridden it this season. Since most or our races are either crits or rolling in the early season, I haven't focused on climbing at all, so this was a pleasent suprise. I also picked up my Zipps yesterday, with these on my bike I feel fast, even if I'm not.

"City of Syrup"

2006-04-04T13:34:00.000-06:00

Final two pharmacists sentenced in 'syrup' case
For filling phony prescriptions, they get prison terms of 10 and 12 years

By MELANIE MARKLEY
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

The final two of six Houston pharmacists convicted in October of conspiring to fill fake prescriptions for painkillers and codeine-laced cough syrup were handed prison sentences Wednesday.

John David Wiley III, 41, and Anthony Dwayne Essett, 39, were among the six pharmacists convicted of dispensing 2,500 gallons of promethazine with codeine, a highly addictive cough suppressant known on the street by such names as syrup, lean, purple and drank.

The trial helped illustrate why Houston became known as the "City of Syrup" among some members of America's rap culture. The drug's popularity even gave rise to a distinctive, Houston-bred style of rap music.

The six pharmacists also were found guilty of money laundering and filling phony prescriptions for 1.7 million pills of hydrocodone, a synthetic narcotic widely known by the brand name Vicodin.

They also were convicted of conspiracy to illegally dispense the drugs.

Wiley and Essett are co-owners of I-10 East Pharmaceutical Services.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Wiley to 10 years in prison. Essett received a sentence of 12 years and seven months, and was fined $312,000.

The four other pharmacists convicted in the trial were sentenced earlier.

Otukayode Adeleke Otufale, owner of Med Stop Pharmacy on Hillcroft, was sentenced to 10 years.

Isaac Simeon Achobe, owner of American Choice Pharmacy on West Bellfort, received a 63-month term and was fined $5,000.

Chicha Kazembe Combs and Andre Dion Brown, co-owners of Mason Road Pharmacy in Katy, were each sentenced to 10 years.

According to testimony, the six pharmacists knowingly accepted fake prescriptions from Dr. Callie Hall Herpin, who pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution.

Also named in the conspiracy were Etta Mae Williams, 47, Karen B. Williams, 40, Darryl Armstrong, 41, Paul Henry, 40, Omar Fahie, 24, Eric Craft, 38, and Will Bailey III, 36.

The remaining eight defendants are scheduled to be sentenced later this year.

Koppenberg

2006-04-02T21:24:00.000-06:00

Koppenberg

Well I was hoping for wind to help break the pack up today, because the road was in such good shape, and I got more than I asked for (30+mph). Large field of 105 made the early start. Started on first row followed Matt, Jeremy, and Ty's wheel the first lap. They kept us in good position good position going into the climb (17% grade). I felt good first 2 laps. By the start of the 3rd lap we were down to 25. I was sitting towards the back of this pack and figured I better mover up prior to the next climb and ~5 guys were getting dropped each time up. I shot forward about 200 meters before the climb straight into the head wind (big mistake). Worked hard over the climb sitting 3rd. I sat up with a guy from 5280 to recover as a guy on our left attacked about where the finish line was. I was smoked at this point (HR 188) as a couple of other guys started chasing I just couldn't hold a wheel in the 30+ mph cross/head wind. I chased and got back on thanks to 40+ mph decent heading down marshall road. I caught the pack about 500m before we hit the gravel again. At this point we were single file and the guy in front of me opened up a gap, and that was it. We chased, but got no love from the headwind. finished up 21st with the winners in sight. Finished 1:46 off the winner with a time of 49:09. Made a couple of mistakes on the 3rd lap that cost me. Learned alot and had fun. Ty had an awesome race and rolled in 18th 30 seconds in front of me. He looked strong. I think he has been doing secret ninja training in his basement at night, because he says he hasn't been riding. It was nice to have a teamate to work with most of the race. Thanks Jeremy G. as well for helping close a gap on the 1st lap so I didn't have to.

UNC Crit

2006-03-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

My second race of the year. I was just hoping to keep it upright. Legs felt tired and tight today after the field test on friday. My race didn't go exactly as planned, but learned a lot. I could have sat in all day, but Ft. Lewis College had 9 guys in the field of 60 and were attacking every lap, until something stuck. I bridged to the third solo attack hoping to get a break started. I was afraid I was going to miss the winning move. Unfortunately a 3rd guy tried to bridge and basically drug the pack back up to us. I thought if we got caught, I would be able to sit in and recover, but FLC counter attacked as soon as we were caught and with only 20 guys all strung out, there was no place to hide. I chased solo for a lap and got back on, then they called a prime and I was out the back again. Probably should have sat in. Ended up finishing 20-25th/60.

Power Tap

2006-03-24T18:51:00.000-07:00

Got my new toy thursday night. Here are my results from my first Field Test. I went out way too hard on the first interval, and totally screwed the second one up. On the second one I rode the first 2 minutes in my small ring, until I realized my watts were low, and then proceeded to do an extra minute in my confusion. Oh well, I guess it is a starting point.

Field Test Results for Mar 24 2006

Conditions
Course : Cycling (Road)
Terrain : Flat
Wind : Breezy (10-15 mph)
Humidity : 0.46
Temperature: Cool (40-60 F)
Weight : 157.5lbs

Interval 1
Elapsed Time : 00:08:09
Distance : 3.05Miles
Average BPM : 169
Average Power : 307
Maximum BPM : 179
Maximum Power : 894
Average Cadence : 90
Perceived Exertion: 9 - very difficult

Interval 2
Elapsed Time : 00:09:01
Distance : 3.34Miles
Average BPM : 171
Average Power : 277
Maximum BPM : 181
Maximum Power : 630
Average Cadence : 90
Perceived Exertion: 9 - very difficult

Ninja Training

2006-03-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Clint sent me this site check it out. Make sure your speakers are on.

Ninja

CU Crit - A Display of Mastery Level Bike Handling (NOT)

2006-03-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

First race of the year. Started out mid pack and worked my way up to the top 20 after a few laps, and basically stayed there. The course, while being easy to navigate, wasn't technical enough to string out the pack except on Prime Laps. If every race was as sketchy as this one was, I don't know if I would do another crit. Chaz and I were following each others wheel until about 4 laps to go and I started to move up. The pack was getting strung out and things were starting to set up great. I felt great as well, until the 3-4 guys on the front decided to sit up on the back stretch going into a headwind. I guess nobody wanted to drive the pace into the wind. I was sitting about 15th, when 4 guys slingshotted down the inside corner when the pack slowed. They ended up trying to pass in the gutter going into the corner and 1 guy about a bike length ahead and to the inside of me touched wheels. I saw it coming, but couldn't avoid it. He then swerved and laid it down in the middle of the pack, I was the 3rd guy to go down. I basically ran over the 2 guys in front of me, only my right elbow (small scratch) and right side of my back touched the ground. Bike - had to take it to the shop to get both wheels trued and my derailer hanger straitened. Happy I'm fine and bike is fine as well, but still sucks working to stay at the front to avoid crashes and get taken out because of passing in the gutter. Check out JFB's post for pics. In the pic on the right I'm on the left side of the group in orange with a red helmet. My teamate Chaz is tucked in behind my wheel.

They Forgot the Zero

2006-03-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of the 10-20 inches of snow Vail was going to get, Steve, Ty, and I made an emergency ski trip to Vail Sunday. We wanted to make first tracks, so I got up at 4:45 am and the Ty and I met Steve in Morrison at 6am and we were in Vail by 7:30 am. The lifts don't even open until 8:30. We were so pumped until we got the snow report and they got a huge dump of 1 new inch. I though Ty was BSing me. I was ready to kick the weatherman's ass. Anyway, we were the first ones on the lift and went straight back to Blue Sky which they opened up an hour early. We skied the first hour by ourselves, I mean we were the only ones on the lift, didn't even see anyone for an hour. It was awesome, I felt as if I owned the resort.

Steve (master of facial expressions)

Ty

Me

Ty took this last pic right before I jumped off Lover's Leap. It was about a 6-8 ft drop (nothing to big before bike season).

Small Town

2006-03-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Ty and I hooked up with Krist T. ,a friend from back home, at Breck. He was out with some buddies he went to West Point with. I hadn't seen him in over 5 years. While I enjoyed relatively no responsibility through college, he made 2 trips to Iraq and Afghanistan. Glad he's back in the U.S. We spent time catching up on the lift rides and he offered some advice for Cori and I's upcoming trip to Italy. We eventually made it up to the Imperial Express. This is the highest lift in North America, taking you to the top of Peak 8 at 12,840 feet above sea level. At the top Ty and hiked across to Art's Bowl, and I skied the steepest run I've done so far ~45+ degrees through two rock outcroppings. As Ty, Steve and I like to say the Penalty for Failure on that run would have been severe. (Cori and Mom ignore the previous sentence) Great Day all around. There is just something about a connection you have with someone when you are from a small town.

Tristan Prettyman and Ben Taylor

2006-03-13T20:47:00.000-07:00

Cori, Theresa, and I saw Tristan Prettyman play at the Bluebird about a week ago. She has been described as the female Jack Johnson. Great performance in a small setting. Ben Taylor (son of James Taylor and Carly Simon) opended up for her. You can definately her James through Ben. My favorite song of Tristan's is Smoke and of Ben's is Digest. Check'em out.

Swift 4s Ride

2006-02-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I rode with Dan and Taylor in Boulder. A little chilly. All in all 40 miles in 2:45 with 4000 ft of climbing.

Today the Swift 4s got together. Pacelines and leadouts/sprinting were the flavor of the day. About 4 or 5 all out efforts of 2-3 miles (max HR today = 189). The weather was fantastic 60+ degrees and 5mph wind. Dan and Daniel joined us as well. Looking forward to the upcoming season.

Warming Up

2006-02-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

Finally Denver is starting to warm up again. Hit over 50 today. I got out for a late ride and snapped this pic on my way home today.

Coldplay

2006-02-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

Cori and I saw them Sunday, and it was a great show. Awesome vibe from the crowd. Come to think of it, the vibe from the crowd has been great at every show I've seen in Denver, definately different that the STL or the Windy City. Our seats, weren't the best, but the sound was great. Visually there show is on a differnt level then any other I've seen. The coordiantion of video, graphics, lights, and vibrant colors were second to none. They did however, leave Moses off the set list, which was the only downer second to smelling some drunk ass college kid's puke a few row down from us. I searched all over for a picture to best represent the feeling at the concert, but none did it justice. I guess you'll have to see for yourself. I recommend it.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

2006-02-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

Since the high today isn't going to get above 10. We slept in and and grabbed some breakfast at LePeep. Stopped by Emogene for a Chai Tea. and now it is nap time. I'm heading to the gym. Coldplay concert later tonight, can't wait.

Smiling already

Family Nap Time

Colder than a Polar Bear's Toenail

2006-02-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

Music Trivia - Anyone know what rap song that is from?

Current Denver temp, a balmy 7 degrees. Wind chill at -11.

Who's up for a ride?

Numbers?

2006-02-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

Had my first VO2 max test today as part of a study through the University of Colorado. This was my first of three I'll do over the course of the next year. I will also know my lactate threshold heartrate in a couple of weeks. The highest they tested so far in the study came from a Pro and his was 58. My numbers, nothing spectacular:

VO2 max = 52.2 ml/kg/min

I've seen some data that shows world-class atheletes average 70-80. Don't thinkg I'll ever get there, but should be able to raise it some over the next year, we'll see. The crazy things we do just for some numbers.

For those not into endurance sports, VO2 max is a predicter of aerobic capacity.