State Time Trial Championship

Thanks to everyone that helped to make the State TT a great success. Pete did a terrific job as promoter, which is a tough (and often thankless) job. The weather broke out perfectly, with no rain lightening or hail. Well, except for the continuous SE cross wind, but you can't have everything. A big shout out to the Creighton student crew recruited by Kirk Peck to help out with monitoring the course and doing all sorts of important small things that makes the race run smoothly.

The team had some nice results as well: Jackie Weires (Women's 40+), Mike Melton (Men's cat 3 50+), DaVonte Vinson (Juniors 10-14), and myself (Men's cat 4 50+) all received State Championship gold medals in our respective classes. The course was difficult with the SE crosswind: riders fought a headwind all of the way out, and did not really receive the full benefit of the tailwind on the way back. The rollers over the final 5 miles really put everyone in the pain cave to finish up the race.

Subaru Cup Day 2

Sunday morning dawned bright and warm with low humidity, as apparently the weather gods had acquiesced to the mountain bike gods request for another day of perfect weather. The short track course was all doubletrack with a pair of modest power climbs. There were some rocks, some sandy sections, some long sweeping high speed turns, and one really sketchy gravel covered sweeper. Cat. 2 was split into 3 heats for the men based on age divisions with my group in the middle of the order.

After the first race finished we scrambled to get a good start position. As we lined it up I got that queasy nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach knowing that right from the start we would hit the opening climb at full gas. Don sent us on our way with the usual spirited “goooooooooooo”, and we all went appropriately ape shit. As we crested the first climb I was sitting right around 4^th or 5^th wheel, and by the time we hit the pavement on the lower portion of the loop I had weaseled my way up to third wheel a few bike lengths behind Bryan Frazier (Wildside Velo) and Jason Ruesch (Rib Mountain Cycles). Jason overcooked the sketchy gravel corner and went down almost right in front of Bryan.

Slightly freaked out, I maneuvered around the down rider and Bryan and I charged to the front. After that it was pretty much a “mano a mano” slugfest. Bryan hammered me for another lap or two before I made a move for the front. I let it all hang out on the climbs, but Bryan hung tough. Eventually I was able to create a little separation and eke out a 5 second gap. I knew I had to keep the pace high and avoid any major mistakes, as one significant bobble would quickly erase the lead. Bryan has been riding really well this season and was 5^th overall in cat 2. at the Trek Big Ring Classic (WORS #3), so I knew he wasn’t going to fade.

With one lap to go I hit the line clinging to a slim lead. As I hammered up the first climb a woman who had been spectating the race whispered “bury yourself”. It was an interesting contrast to the usual cacophony that is present at races. For some reason this got me really fired up. I couldn’t tell how close Bryan was going into the last turn but I was scared as ‘ell that I was going to blow the win on that corner. I slowed down quite a bit and made it clean. As soon as I was clear of the gravel I got out of the saddle and put the power down on the final straight, crossing the line in 1^st, just a couple seconds up on Bryan. In the overall standings my final time was 2^nd overall behind Paul Mumford (Kinky Llama racing) , the guy who had taken the overall win in the XC race the day before (with a ~3 minute margin of victory!).

The 2011 Subaru cup weekend was good despite…or perhaps because of the disappointment endured. I’m a firm believer in the value of experience, and that applies to races where everything goes right as well as to races where everything does NOT go right. So I’ll take the good and the bad from this weekend and consider it a worthwhile experience that will ultimately benefit my racing in the future. Next up is some more local Psycowpath action with the Tranquility/Lewis and Clark stage race weekend followed by a week in Canada for work, and then the Omaha race weekend, where I’m looking forward to racing in the Cat. 4 road race. A big thanks to Emily for being an awesome superfan this weekend.

Subaru Cup Day 1

warning: I wrote this in bits and pieces over the course of the road trip back to Omaha from WI, don't feel obligated to read any or all of it in one sitting :)

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in years of training, racing, and coaching (not necessarily in cycling), it’s that sometimes despite the best preparation there are forces beyond your control whose confluence will derail even the best laid plans. This past weekend of racing was a nice reminder for me that the glory we seek in racing is both accentuated and tempered by occasional disappointment.

I went into this race weekend on a mission. I wanted a top 5 overall placing and an age group win in the massive cat. 2 Legacy XC field, and I was looking for a win in the Impreza short track as well. I’ve never had such a good base going into a competitive season for cycling, and I was ready to test my mettle against some of the top cat. 2 competition in the midwest. After a fairly successful early season campaign in the Nebraska Lottery Psycowpath Series, I figured I had enough fitness and experience that these were realistic goals.

Our travel to the race went smoothly, and we arrived at Mt. Morris (a bit of a misnomer, but Hill Morris doesn’t have the same ring to it) on Friday afternoon for a couple of pre-ride laps. The course was a nice mix of power climbs and semi-technical sections including some nice rock gardens, rooty sections, a few steep drops, and lots of twisty singletrack. The climbing was split between both single and doubletrack sections, so in some areas passing was easy, whereas in others it was pretty much impossible. I came away from the pre-ride feeling good. The course was favorable for strong climbers, and none of the technical sections were difficult or scary enough to force any kind of selection. I was confident I could stay reasonably close to the better descenders in the woods.

The Cat. 2 Legacy XC field was split into two races that were slated for early morning start times on Saturday. The juniors, women, single speeders, and 19-29 age groupers were in the first race, and the 30+ riders were in the second race. Since my racing roomie Tim was in the SS class we had to show up early to have him ready for the 8 a.m. start time. I bummed around for a while and walked the leadout to solidify my strategy for the first segment of the race. The leadout itself was a wide grassy doubletrack with two solid power climb segments separated by a winding grassy descent. I was relieved that there was ample space to allow me to get to the front before we dropped into the singletrack should the start not go as planned.

I got in a solid 30 minute warm up on some beautiful country roads and made sure that I got my ass to the start area early enough to secure a spot on the line. Because WORS races are so big, the sport and comp. races (both subsets of Cat. 2 ) are started in age-class specific waves. For the Subaru cup the normal sport or comp. distinction was discarded and all of the cat. 2 riders were combined and sent off by age group. Upon arriving at the start area I was dismayed to see that our age class was LAST in the starting order. We would have to sift through all of the slower riders in the waves preceding us as the faster riders in the other waves raced ahead with nothing but open trail ahead of them.

The start was the usual flurry of grunting and elbows. The lead group got out pretty hard, but I was able to work my way up to second wheel behind Kurt Schwiesow (Tower Clock Eye Center) by the time we hit the first section of singletrack. As soon as we rounded the corner and dropped in, we came to a screeching halt. I looked up to see a line of riders, many walking their bikes, extended before us for a long ways. I immediately realized that this would make winning the overall title for cat. 2 (based on time) pretty much impossible. Damn, I forgot about this aspect of WORS races! Things eventually got going again, and most of the rest of lap one was a sketchy game of cat and mouse as I tried to stay on Kurt’s wheel while we both made quick passes when an opening presented itself. At some point he got a little too hasty in his attempts at passing and crashed not far in front of me, vaulting me into the lead. Sweet, I’ll take that.

It wasn’t long before we were back together, and he eventually jumped around again with a tricky but well executed pass as we started to hit traffic from a previous wave. After coming around a sharp blind turn I found myself in alarming proximity to a slower moving rider. I feathered the brakes and leaned inside to pass. Unfortunately the rider behind me chose to follow my line…without the slowing down part. He ran directly into me taking us both down in a tangled mess. In most crash situations you can get up quickly and get your bike rolling again within about 30 seconds assuming there is no damage to you or your bike. In this case though, the overtaking rider had managed to nicely wedge my pedal into his spokes. It was a major pain in the ass to get the two bikes untangled and cost us not only a couple minutes time wise but also a loss of many positions. All of those hard won passes earlier in the race were effectively erased.

This unexpected handicap kind of took the wind out of my sails for a bit, but I quickly decided to claw back as many positions as I could. After all I didn’t come all this way to DNF or mail it in. After re-combobulating my bike, I re-mounted and proceeded to scrap for every place I could get. After a valiant but ultimately futile effort, I finished 5^th in my race (~2.5 min down on the winner) and about 40^th (out of ~220 total) overall in cat. 2. I know there wasn’t much I could do to change how things turned out, but I was still really disappointed. I’ve been looking forward to this race for a year, and this was not the way I envisioned things playing out. I know that’s how racing goes sometimes, but it was still a bitter pill to swallow.

We spent the rest of the day “superfanning” for the cat. 1 and pro races. It was awesome seeing the stars of the sport duke it out on a tough course, and I was able to put off the boo-hooing for a while and just have fun. That evening in our hotel room I got back to some proper moping as I rolled my 5^th place medal over and over in my hands. After a thorough self-pity session I made a firm resolution to kick some ass in the short track race the next day and retired for the night.

(to be continued...)

Valet Veloer

Another Velo First!


Hey,

I had the honor of being the very 1st ever officially recognized biker to take advantage of Omaha Bikes valet parking at the College World Series. Witness the #1 valet ticket that Julie has given to me. She didn't know to whether to give me one or two valet tix since I broke out the 1960 Huffy Daisy tandem. Dig the cool Reds attire too.

The Main Event

Hey Team,

Are we ready to rumble? Saturday is the Main Event. Steel cage death match. The Nebraska State TT race, which our club hosts. Some notes. Feel free to race instead of volunteer if you are on the fence. We have lots of volunteers lined up courtesy of Veloer Kirk Peck's Creighton connections. 20 something Creighton students are coming to man the intersections, the turn around points, and be a vocal force during podium presentations.

Things you can do to help: Come. Recruit other bikers you know to register. Bring coolers with ice, and bottled water. Bring some brooms to brush the road. Bring bungee cords to batten down banners. Chairs, umbrellas, cowbells, noisemakers, etc.

Veloer Christyn Stumps is making 4 loaves of banana bread. Make some vittles of your own and throw them into the kitty.

Any photographers out there?

The weather is looking good. Volunteers show up around 830 AM. Racers will launch at 930 AM.

Operation Subaru Cup-Engage!

This past weekend was the Nebraska state championship mountain bike race at Ponca State Park. A small but strong and good looking crew of Velo Veloce/Greenstreet riders made the trek up to Ponca for this Pyscowpath classic. Todd Eyeberg and I contested the Cat. 2 open race while Dave Randleman opted to increase his hipster cred on the single speed. For me it was an opportunity to add an off-road state title to my resume, and to earn some redemption after bungling the Cat. 2 race at Platte River last month. I raced well at Ponca last year, and was looking forward to the punishing climbs and flowy singletrack again this year. Going into the race I wanted to simulate what things would be like at the Subaru Cup next week.

The Subaru Cup is one of the bigger if not the biggest cross country oriented mountain bike events in the Midwest. For the second year in a row it is a stop on the USA Cycling Pro XCT, as well as serving as the midwest regional mountain bike championships for the XC, short track, and super D events.

My plan going in was to get out hard and try for the holeshot. Ponca has a fast flat/downhill lead-out and I figured it would require a lot of steam to get to the front. After going over it a few times prior to race time I opted to eschew my big ring and avoid the risk of a shifting error or chain suck just prior to entering the singletrack. My feeling was that the course at Ponca didn’t really allow a lot of room for passing and so getting stuck further back than 3^rd wheel entering the singletrack climb would be a tactical mistake for me. Similarly, the lead out at Subaru Cup bottlenecks quickly and being at the front is advantageous.

As the starters whistle blew I got off to good enough start, but was a few wheel lengths behind Ian Robertson, a Cat. 2 roadie riding for Flatwater Cyling. I haven’t raced Ian before and didn’t really know who the heck he was, only that he was in front of me and going fast. I expected some pressure from the usual suspects; Kevin Bratetic, Monte Bonin, Ryan Van Houwelling and Steven Mongeon, but I wasn’t certain what kind of a threat this guy presented.

I settled for second wheel going into the singletrack and tried to gradually move my way up to get on Ian's wheel. Just past the first road crossing there is a short quick descent that funnels into a hard uphill left turn. Ian botched the turn, causing me to nearly ride straight up his back. We got going again and I stayed more or less right on his wheel up the next set of steep climbs. After we crested and the trail opened up a bit I didn’t hesitate and went around. I’m not sure exactly how long he stayed with me, but I felt like I was alone before we hit the next road crossing.

Heading into the third lap, my lovely superfan girlfriend Emily informed me that the gap back to the next rider was about 30 seconds. I couldn’t see or hear anyone behind me in the switchbacks, but I had to trust what she told me. I figured 30 seconds was not a comfortable enough cushion with a lap to go, especially if I crashed or had a minor mechanical. I pinned it on the power climbs and rode steady in the flats and downhill sections, keeping a little in reserve in case I got pulled back in by anybody.

I caught my favorite Polish pirate (‘the dread pirate Doloto’) just before the first road crossing, which strangely enough was EXACTLY where I caught up to him last year. We rode together and pondered the significance of this coincidence for a brief bit before exchanging pleasantries and parting ways. The rest of the race consisted of shredding sweet singletrack and was otherwise uneventful. Crossing the line with a finger in the air was sweet, sweet goodness! I took a moment to savor the victory and appreciate all of the things that came together to make for a successful race.

All things considered it was a good haul for the VV crew as Randleman took first in the SS class while VV/Greenstreet group ride regular Doug Reid was second (hey Doug, you need a jersey? hint hint). Todd wasn't super pleased with his race but still managed 9th out of 18 in the Cat. 2 open race. Post race socializing was fun as usual and the EVCC crew was burning burgers on the grill to keep our spindly bike racer bodies from wasting away to nothing (thanks EVCC!).

This week will bring to a close my early season training, and I think my preparations for the Subaru Cup have progressed well. I should be in good form for the big dance, but I’m not exactly sure where I fit in in a race this deep. The last WORS race this season had almost 350 guys (!!) in cat. 2 split between sport and comp classes. At the Subaru cup the cat. 2 races will be split according to age, with the 39 and under in one race, and the masters, juniors, ss, and clydes in the other. I get a little nervous thinking about the size of the race, but at the same time I recognize THAT IS WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR! So bring it WORS, it’s time to see what we’re made of.

Subaru Cup Video Remix Finalist - Martin Tank II from Team WORS on Vimeo.

Auspicious Beginnings

This past Saturday I raced in the NE road race championships put on by the friendly folks of the Elkhorn Valley Cycling Club (EVCC). I had an awesome time, but going into it I was still a bit suspicious of this road racing thing. I've always considered myself a mountain biker, and scoffed at the idea of joining the ranks of the leg shavin' roadies. I guess you could say Saturday was an auspicious occasion for me. Which in the parlance of my ancestral lands means it was both awesome and suspicious! Anyway...

I arrived at the Stanton Co. fairgrounds early in anticipation of the experience ahead. All of the talk of the randomness and unpredictability of cat. 5 races had me a little on edge, so I wanted to get there early and have some time to just "chill" before warming up. Driving into town I got a feel for the lay of the land, and I excitedly took note of some of the big rollers that were on course. Going into the race I knew my fitness was good, and I felt that a tough course would suit my strengths well. Not long after I arrived the Trek/MWCC crew rolled in. We proceeded to chat intermittently while getting prep'd for the race. After the boys learned that I was racing the 32 mile cat. 5 race I was informed I would not be allowed to return to Omaha if I did not win. Sweet.

After a decent warm-up I hung around the start area waiting as the lower categories were sent off. I talked to my fellow VV teammate Troy Perry, and we formulated our plans for world (or at least cat. 5) domination. I made sure I had a position at the front at the start and off we went after the neutral roll-out. The first couple miles or so were pretty mellow as nobody was in any hurry to get to the front and hammer. I took some pulls, and duly sat in while others took theirs. EVCC junior racer Glen Houts got to the front and finally put a little zip in the pace. There was some mild sketchiness as guys rotated through, but I stayed close to the front and was never really too worried. Although we had not previously discussed it, Troy valiantly and unselfishly proffered his wheel as he guided me out of trouble and into the hills. Unfortunately, not long after that Troy had some mechanical issues that took him out of our pack and left me alone to fend for myself.

Earlier we had discussed the fact that there were some pretty tough hills around the 20 mi. mark, and I tentatively decided that I would bide my time until then and get some pack time in. Going up the first set of decent hills on the course I was first wheel and rode a steady tempo up and over. One of the guys just behind me said something and I looked back to see...daylight. I had inadvertently ridden us off the front. Great, we had a break going about 10 minutes into the race...isn't this what people told me to avoid? At any rate, I wasn't feeling too taxed and just decided to roll with it.



As the race wore on it seemed apparent that the main group was not going to catch us anytime soon as they were nowhere to be seen. Shortly after we made the turn on highway 32 heading west we hit THE hills, at which time I went to the front and laid down a steady but hard tempo. I figured I'd test their legs a bit and see what they had in the tank. If it was necessary I could attack later. As it turned out, no attacks were necessary and i was able to ride both guys off my wheel. I figured this was my chance to take the race so I maintained the hard tempo and the gap grew.

The last 8 or so miles of the race head north over a couple big rollers and then finish with a good long flat section. On this day there was a pretty stiff north wind, and I started to worry that if there was a big group working together that they'd be able to bring me back as I fought the wind alone. I thought of all the grand tour stages I've seen where the breaks that had been away all day long get caught with only a mile or less to go. I put my head down and turned the cranks as hard as I could. Fortunately for me this was a cat. 5 race and not a grand tour, and there was no pack bearing down on me. I was able to cross the line solo for my first win on the road. I gave the double arm salute as EO'B informed me it was now acceptable for me to return to Omaha without shame.



I'm hoping for a category upgrade after my victory, and looking forward to learning more about racing on the road. In the meantime though I have some business to attend to on the trails.

This weekend I'm off to Winter Park, CO for some R&R and I'm hoping that the trails there aren't covered in snow still. Seems weird to think of snow when it's blazing here in the big O. The next weekend is the Psycowpath Ponca XC race, which I believe is also a NE state championship race. I'll be vying for the cat. 2 title there against some strong competition. This will also serve as my final tune-up for the WORS Subaru Cup Midwest Regional Championship at Mt. Morris, WI.

Finally, I just wanted to add that Mike took us out on a really nice road route through Council Bluffs and into the Loess hills on Sunday. Thanks Mike that was cool!

The Best Laid Plans: Race Report State Crit

El Guapo riding 2nd banana in this pic. Great fast course. Great plan. Bad execution.

Yes, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Jono and El Guapo hit the pavement early Sunday bound for far-away Land of Norfolk. I confided in Jono my plan for battle. Primary plan was to come home with State crown for Criterium, Cat 4, 50-59 age group. Done!

That was the third stone to be gathered to complete the triad; State TT champ, State RR champ, and now State Crit champ for my category/age group.

The battle was won, but the war was lost. Mostly due to tactical blunders by yours truly. I came out of the gates slow. Trailed the first lap, but finally found my wind. Moved up and eventually rode up front. Led for a lap or two, but never further back then about 5th out of 27 warriors. I'm feeling in the zone and listening to heavy breathing behind. Then the weirdest thing. They stop the race about 1/2 way into it. We wait on a railroad train to pass by, even tho the tracks are never crossed. Bad juju for me. Gave everyone a chance to recover right when I've got the turbo diesel at wide open throttle. After about 10 minutes, we fire up for 11 more laps.

I'm riding up front again and then on the last lap, the wheels fall off. First , I get pushed way out to the curb by a some EVCC rider who didn't hold his line. I slow down to avoid crossing wheels and swerve way to the outside curve. People behind me screaming at me, but it tweren't my fault. I lost about 10 places, and tons of speed. Tactical blunder #1 by Guapo. Should have been the rider on the inside track on that turn, not on the outside. I was at his mercy. I paid.

Now I'm in big trouble. I take a corner real steep and catch a pedal. No wipeout, but big scare and I lost a fraction more time at a critical juncture. Tactical blunder #2: Should have stopped pedaling for a fraction of a second at that steep angle. Still, I'm about 15th coming into the final drag strip to the end. I'm gaining, picking off some guys. Heading towards a top 6 or 7 finish. But, wait!

Then the coup-de-grace! My right shoe comes out of the pedal. Tactical blunder #3: I knew I had a bad cleat and spaced off replacing it. I paid.

I have to pedal one leg for the last 100 meters or so. Left leg pedaling, right foot way out to the side. Guys scream past me and I fall to mid-pack fodder. Oy, that hurt. Rode the perfect race until the last lap.

Still, as Kanye sez, that which does not kill me only makes me stronger. Or was that Moses? Whoever.

All in all, great race tho. Felt pegged but competitive. Like the Governator, I'll be back! Bout time to break out the mountain bike for once.