F...

That sums it up. Hot night at the DMV. Rollin' the KOM tubulars. 25 minutes in on the left turn going S on the N end, my tire decides to roll off. Never had that happen before, but when you roll tubies, you always have that fear in the back of your mind. The tire has been on there for several weeks and been through a few races and was glued on by pro's. Maybe the heat, excessive cornering, etc. I think I'll run clinchers only at the DMV from now on. Lot's of rash, but nothing serious. Reynolds has a sweet RAP program, and if you buy into it, your wheel is covered for 3 years, unconditionally. It just paid for itself.

moving on

Finally, got the downtown crit out of the way. I like that race way too much. Not sure why, flat and right handers, but I think I'm OK at that kind of race. I kept thinking about it all week long. You know, when your HR jumps to 150 and your legs get heavy just sitting there. Out riding around I found myself hammering along as I started to visualize the race. Glad its behind me know, just fun racing for the rest of the season. We didn't bring home the jersey this year, but there are benefits to that- no stress, no pressure, no target. Next...

Get it together

I need to do this. I'm feeling good. Just missed the front group last night, the legs felt good. Maybe Sunday...

Cancer

I have never personally had a close friend suffer from cancer until now. Both my grandfathers died from cancer, but I was young and didn't feel the emotional stress that much. Now that I'm older, it's stressful to see someone you care about suffering from such a terrible illness. You don't really respect the gravity of it until it is having an impact on your life. It hurts. It really gives you a new appreciation for so many things that one takes for granted.

Team TMac

I got 100. Let me know if you want one.

Over the Top

We started with just 4 of us for this race. Patrick, Ricky, Gary and I. Patrick had other commitments and was only planning on riding to the top of the 1st stage more or less for training. It only took about 5-10 minutes for the first attack to go off. It was covered, only to be countered again. This process continued for the first 20 miles, and was definitely softening up the field. I was feeling good and not letting any gaps open in front of me. The real climbing starts at about mile 23. I've never made it over the top with the front group. I held on as long as I could, but a group of 8 got a gap on me. I just settled into a rhythm and focused on getting to the top. There were a handful of us just pushing to get to the summit and start chasing. I felt pretty good getting to the KOM. There were no riders ahead of me accept the lead group. 6 riders came up and we quickly organized and did a good job of communicating to work together and chase them down. We set a hard pace line across the top and down the descent. After about 10 minutes we picked up 2 riders that dropped out of the lead group. We continued to work together with an echelon in the wind. The road turned to our favor with a stiff tailwind and our speed really picked up, we were cruising at 35 mph and I wasn't even working that hard. Unfortunately, riders began to to succumb to attrition and only 4-5 of us were still working. We got another time check with about 15 miles to go and it was 2:30. The group was demoralized and everybody basically gave up. We cruised along and with about 4 miles to go, the pace started picking up just a little in anticipation for the finish. Several riders took a pull, and then it was my turn to come through. I got on the front and something got into me. It wasn't much of a decision, but more of an instinct. I shifted down 1-2 gears, upped the speed, and crossed over to the far right side of the road so nobody could take advantage of my draft. I held it for about 30 seconds and looked back to see only one rider with me. I let him come around for a pull and then he suddenly cramped in his left leg. I came through and decided I was going to try and take it to the line. It was 3 miles and about 6.5 minutes off the front. It seemed like it was taking forever. I saw the orange cones and kept looking over my shoulder to see how I was doing. Hit 1k to go and they all together behind me but I still had a bit of a gap. I was just focused and going as hard as I could without cracking. The line came sooner than I expected and almost crossed it before I realized it. I managed to hold them off for 7 seconds and 6th overall for the stage.

I'm not much of a TT'r and lost 3 spots there and the crit was hard. Ricky poured it on early in the crit up the hill and it kept the attacks at bay. I managed to hang on until the second to last climb before I popped and chased solo the last lap trying to not lose any more time. I here there was a big fat crowd prime for the 3's (almost $400), I wish I would have been in tune with that. No wonder that lap was so hard, I thought we were racing for $20, I wanted to tell everybody to calm down! I think I finished 10th in GC. Overall, that was pretty good for me at high Uintas. Congrats to everybody.

Porc-Special 'Hogs' the podium...

Nice job guys.

The Dream

"It seems that even as riders move up through the ranks and hit the big time in Europe, they can never escape both the stigma and the reality that they are in fact $12k Dreamers. I wonder if Groenendaal is going to sign up? He clearly thinks that Sven Nys is #1, and with his place in Rabbobank Team Managment not secured for 2008, he may experience a lapse in income. These are the people that programs like these are designed to protect. Those men who have accomplished nothing outside of being astride a bicycle for most of their adult lives, with no edumacation, not other marketable job skills, and a severe lack of real world experience.

Dreamer: I'd love to boss, but my legs hurt and I can't be on my feet for more than 5 minutes at a time or my legs will swell.

Boss: Whaddya mean you can't? I didn't hire you to sit there with your legs propped up on the desk clicking through bicycle chat forums all day long,checking race results and claiming that you could beat the guy who won last weekend's parking lot worlds.

Dreamer: I've been thinking...maybe I'm not cut out for this whole nine to five gig. I mean, it's really starting to affect my training. Plus I get really tired at 2 o'clock.

Boss: Your days of mid-afternoon naps are over. Time to suck it up and work. Besides, you never get here before 11 and you leave at 3.

Dreamer: The group ride doesn't finish until 10:30! I can't get here any sooner. Plus I have to leave before it gets dark since I don't ride with a light. No self respecting pro would ever be caught riding with a light.

Boss: You're not a pro anymore. Now shut up and get me my latte.

Dreamer: You mean I can go to the coffee shop? Can I ride my bike there, leave it by the door outside, sit in spandex, sip espresso, and ask everyone who will listen "didja see me on the group ride?"

Boss: Whatever gets your motor running.

Dreamer: By the way, I need to take off the months of March and April. There's alot ofraces in April I wanna do and I'll need to properly train for them.

Boss: Get out of my sight."

- http://tommynelson.blogspot.com/2007/02/dream-on-dreamer.html

Nevermind

OK, so I got my legs ripped off. That wasn't supposed to happen. I feel awesome right now. Congrats to Goulet, he was in the break and attacked twice after that, the final on the last lap. Stung the legs pretty good, then he passed me in the sprint. Overall, our team has done a lot better, just not today. Mirror lake next week. Saddle up, 5800 ft in the first 30 miles. I'll rip your legs then... if your in the chase group.

OUCH

So I just found out that Brandon Shepherd was involved in an accident with a 16 year old motorist that failed to yield and hit him. He is all messed up, but it looks like he will recover OK. Sucks bad. Here is what he said:

"To All,

I was just discharged from the hospital today. I was hit by a 16 year
old driver that failed to yield while making a left hand turn on May
30th. I received fully broken femur bone along with may cuts. After
spending a few days in the hospital I then began to develop a Fatty
Embolism in my lungs which is much like a Pulmonary Embolism. Here
are a few pictures from the hospital. Some pictures are very graphic.

Brandon Shepherd"

He used to slaughter the B's at DMV a few years ago when I was still thinking about it. He took time off to get his MBA and pursue a new job. Wish him well, brandons2001@comcast.net

Feeling good, and not feeling good

=




Yeah, I'm feeling good. Watch out tomorrow, I'm going to tear your legs off.

State TT

My only excuse is that a Buffalo crossed the road in front of me on the climb out and I had to slow down momentarily. It was literally 20 feet in front of me.

Coalville to Coalville, 119 Miles

Everybody should do this ride. Mirror Lake Highway, 10 miles of twisty up and down dirt road, Chalk Creek, 30+ MPH pace lines for miles. 119 Miles. 7,000 Feet of climbing. Epic.

Bald Mountain Pass (el. 10,715 ft.) is a high mountain pass in the high Uinta Mountains in eastern Utah. It is the highest point on the Mirror Lake Highway (Utah State Route 150), near the trailhead for Bald Mountain and is the highest paved road in Utah

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VanGuardCycling/files/Coalville%20Loop.kmz