2013: The Beginning

Now is that interesting time of year as an endurance athlete. The race season is long since passed. You've taken time off, lost fitness, gained 'too much' weight, and let the mind wander. The 'off-season' was a haphazard compilation of fun riding, no riding, frustrating riding, and dreams of lots of riding. It was also a time to catch up on things that were but a figment of the imagination in the sweet-spot of summer racing and training: beer, late nights, that extra couple hours of doing something for no reason...essentially what everyone I know calls "life" or "fun". Aside from the extra time spent with friends -whether it is spent going out to dinner at 9PM or sitting at home catching up - I have few qualms with the dissipation of such things. This past week was the culmination of apathy for the structure and intensity by which I normally construct my training and general life planning. I had a hell of a lot of fun, saw many good friends (I'd like to 'give thanks' to the holiday bringing so many great people back home), indulged in good food and libations, and really let my training fall from a priority to a daily supplement. I ran in a race and played football the day after - two things I know make my body recoil in soreness...from Thursday through Saturday, I actually had to hold the railing while going down stairs. I went out to the bahhhsss with friends three times this week and shockingly enjoyed every bit of it (except almost falling asleep Saturday night!).

Some would think that these things signify that I am far from being prepared to re-enter training, or that it was such a "detox" that I will struggle to maintain focus upon an abrupt return to my daily toil. Neither of these are true. This ability to detach is critical in understanding the importance of every day's work and still being able to maintain focus on goals that are months or years away. Without an ability to step away from every minor detail, we lose sight of the entire picture. That doesn't mean that if a workout goes poorly then nothing matters or if a workout goes uncharacteristically well that all is perfect. It means you step away, understand the outcome, and grow. It's the beauty we experience as dedicated athletes while training: we wake up every single day knowing, not thinking, that we are better than we were yesterday. It's not always physical improvements though; every day offers different types and magnitudes of growth.

Today marks the day that I officially step into my training for 2013 and beyond (because what I do next season is more relevant to my future than the present). I am taking a variety of critical steps in improving my health, fitness, guidance, emotional strength, and my surroundings - both on and off the bike.

I leave you with something I saw this morning and see every morning when I wake up:

It is time to not only slowly 'return to glory', but to lay the foundation of the rest of my life. It would be foolish and simplistic to say that all this training is only for benefiting my future in cycling or even sport in general. Unlike many others, I do not carry the hope or idea that 2013 will 'go beyond my wildest dreams'. Thus, here is to 2013 reflecting the work, the dedication, the persistence that will lay a foundation of growth and fulfillment for years to come.

Inadventent Reflection: Looking Back to June

It's interesting to look back on your thoughts from months ago, when things go entirely different than you ever anticipated. Well, here's a fine example of that. I wrote this on Tuesday morning, June 26th, 2012 - the day of the Exeter Crit. When I wrote this up planning to put myself in great position for the finish as I did at Keith Berger on Sunday the 24th. It was great - my positioning could have been slightly better...going into the sprint I was in 7th, but too far back on the top three to get up there. I was already into 6th place, and was next to a younger rider - he was about 3 feet to my left so I had a real clean lane - when out of nowhere someone completely cleaned out my front wheel. He came from behind me and on my right side, where no one was when I started the sprint so I was focused forward and to the left - working to pick off a couple final guys. Had my acceleration been typical to me, I would've given a really great battle for 4th place. But that was long gone when I hit the ground at a touch over 38 miles per hour. It would have been my best ever race. Even if I ended up in 5th, it would've outweighed anything: 2nd at Washington County GC, Winning the 4/5 Witches' Cup, controlling an entire crit - placing in all 3 primes and 2nd in the finish. Would've put all those to shame. But some ignorant and foolish rider took me out...I could never find a video of the finish to figure out who did it, because I didn't see a damn thing when it happened.

So here I am, almost 5 months later, and nothing for the rest of summer went according to plan. Actually, it went quite a lot worse. I did a few smaller races, but never returned to the fitness I had back in June. I've flat out missed over 4 whole weeks training since that crash (only a few days due to injury). I probably missed 4 weeks in the previous 4 years. I'm getting back into riding consistently...not feeling perfect, but much better is for sure. After this weekend I'll be into my 2013 training and getting set to run my 24 Miler birthday run in January.

Here's my write-up that was from June 26th...which was effectively the end of my 2012 season:

Title: Self-punishment to yield self-benefit

"Everyone knows that in order to grow you need to challenge yourself and work your ass off, sometimes to a point that is seemingly beyond your capacity (but really you just learn that your capabilities are greater than you ever imagined). That's what cycling has been to me. Ever since I really started racing bike last spring and declared myself a cyclist a year ago, I have been growing so fast my only rationalization of it is to soak up every bit of it. For a while I just accepted it and loved it, as naturally as anyone would. But a couple months ago, when I was a Category 4 racer and I wanted to race Green Mountain Stage Race as a Cat 2, I realized that accepting improvement was not nearly enough anymore. I was going to have to embrace every little component of cycling in order to grow as I needed for myself: making sure my body position is stable and smooth, knowing how to race and not merely racing, knowing every last strength extremely well...and knowing my weaknesses even more, and on and on. There is a theme in cycling when it comes to getting better: knowledge is absolute power.

A teammate and good friend, Jeff, has been guiding me through this process and with excellent effectiveness. He might know my capabilities - both intellectual and physical - even more than I do. I am slowing gaining progress on learning how to race well, something that is borderline subconscious for Jeff after his years of high level racing. It is extremely hard to learn to race when your focus is jumping categories quickly. When you upgrade really quickly you don't have time to test yourself with attacks, bold moves, igniting a breakaway, and drilling the hills so hard you think you're going to explode (with the hopes that everyone is even worse off than you by the summit). You learn to race just smart enough and just strong enough to ensure those upgrade points keep coming - but by doing this you merely learn to race in a comfort zone that results in...well...a result, regardless of how good or bad it is. You get many top 10's and not so many wins, where a couple more months in the category would yield big wins. Along the way you're bound to get a W here or there but while your focus is winning, the strategy is getting yourself to the next level. In order to ensure this, you sacrifice a little bit of that top end of the potential that is needed to yield a win.

Now that I am Category 2, something I desired to complete at the end of the season, it is an entirely different sport. I was beautifully positioned on Sunday at the Keith Berger Crit for at very worst a top 10 (my head was 100% on a top 5 as we went down the back straightaway), and it fell apart in milliseconds. And I couldn't do a damn thing about it. All of Monday I was struggling to focus on anything else, I wanted to find where I failed to adapt to the situation and give myself the edge above everyone else. I couldn't find it. I was ready to give an amazing effort at a top finish, and it disappeared in front of me and I was hopeless in doing so. As much as I hate failing at a goal because I made a mistake, I learn so much from these things: I have had few situations in which I made an error that was fatal to my finish. At the Nutmeg crit, I foolishly went on a massive bridging effort and then breakaway for half of the race. I got sucked back into the pack despite trying to stay away. I recovered enough for a 4th place in the end. No longer will I get such chances, every little thing you do to waste energy will cut you down in the finish. If that wasn't enough, the guys I am racing for cash and upgrade points are amazing atheltes. They are guys who write off people like me as 'not worth the worry' and cruise seemingly effortlessly to victory."

It was interesting reading this after going back through past drafted, but not posted blogs. I think that should be the key reason many people write their own diaries (whether public or private), so you can put yourself back in time to when you wrote it.

It's nice to see a little flicker of the excitement I had within me back in such prime fitness this summer (even though I wasn't even close to where I could have ended up in 2012). That excitement about my current fitness is no longer there, but it is not a bad thing as I know I am sitting in what I would like to describe, mathematically, as a 'local minimum'. Not sure if that has ever been used in actual endurance sport terminology, but here is my definition: The time point that signifies the lowest fitness on a periodic or seasonal  scale.

My excitement about my fitness may no longer be present, but it has been replaced by the raging fire that will ensure great levels of improvement.

Cycling Bars: The Making of a Double Batch!

So, you like the cycling bars, right? Well I like them a LOT, and go through so many of them that I needed to make a double batch. I'm going to figure out the cost of a batch & per bar once I remember to save all my receipts!

The Making of a Double Batch! :)

Big bowl, lots of yummy.

Mix it up good! Once that binder is in, not much is going to change.

Put the binders in, and heat it up!

Continually stir, once it bubbles like this (or has big bubbles in the middle) you're ready to pour! If you're keen, you may have notice I switched where I was heating it...I went to gas - if you do this it is really easy to burn the mixture, and agave nectar + almond butter is not cheap!

A good trick is to pour some then mix, then pour more, etc until you have empty the pot. It makes mixing much easier and a lot smoother and, most of all, more even. The bigger the batch, the more critical it is to do this - such as tonight's double batch!

That would be a 17.5"x11" pan and is about 1" deep. Lots of bars.

I had some extra from the big bowl, so I made some Power Balls. Some sports require one ball, cycling requires a lot of them.
One critical note: the balls do not hold together well, you need more heavy binder (almond butter, etc) for them to actually hold shape well. These were pretty fragile!

Just wanted to give y'all a little foodie goodness!

Wrapping up the CX Season (a while ago)

2012 was my first year doing CX and I was far worse at it than I thought I would be. I was force-upgraded to Cat 3 in CX thanks to me Cat 2 on Road. This concept works great for people who have some history in cycling (junior, MTB, etc), but not for those of us who have been seriously riding for less than 2 years and the most off-road experience was Battenkill - that one time on dirt (okay, I have probably ridden about 80 miles on dirt out of my 13,000 total). Needless to say, I was unprepared...and the fact that my forte (pronounced fort!) is strength just made it exponentially worse because I'd try to go hard, and I'd end up going down hard.

I was committed to doing "well" in the Cat 3 races: by that I mean a top-half finish and having fun/learning. Well, I was having too much trouble with the techy stuff in races to be able to settle down and follow people's lines and work on my own learning how to take/find lines. After a series of very frustrating races that left me without much improvement by means of skills or enjoyment, I downgraded to Cat 4. In the Cat 4 races I was actually able to emotionally (not physically :P) relax and learn. I even had fun in little bits of 5-10 seconds at a time. The only part of cyclocross I really liked was being redlined constantly...it was the only comfort I found in races. However, normally when I'm redlined most everyone else is in the hurt box with me - CX is different...WAY different. Everyone is going "wicked hahhhhhdd!", just some people turn their bikes well and wicked hard = wicked fast. Whereas for me, sometimes the harder I went the slower I ended up going. I accepted things weren't going to be pretty and might not get pretty for the season (spoiler alert: they didn't, but they got a bit better).

So my CX season is long since past, but it was fun and deserves a little blog attention. In other news, today was the One Year "anniversary" of breaking my clavicle! Feels like it's been far longer though. I did a sprint on the exact same place where I crashed (read here: http://pursuingglory.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-first-crash-32mph.html). It went well, hopefully I get a little redemption in the Doppio Ciclo on Saturday, as I was unable to participate with my fresh injury last year. It'll be my last 'race' with Base36, which is both bad and good. The guys on Base36 welcomed me as a newbie to the sport last year when I didn't even understand bike racing...I just could ride. Now, I leave the team having grown quite a lot - through wins, losses, crashes, injuries, bad moves gone good, great moves gone bad, and everything else in between. The progress I have made is massive, I'm very happy with myself - but I'm not at all surprised given the atmosphere and guidance I had from so many people, especially Jeff. My first "race" as a Base36 rider was a local crit where I attacked off the front going into the last (1.3 mile) lap. I got caught with 250m to go and only managed 7th place. In a couple Pro123 races this summer I positioned myself to be sprinting for a top 5 finish - neither of which worked out due to a crash in front of me one time and being crashed out another. But nevertheless, knowing you are right there and ready to place in a pro race is a huge thing. Getting yourself in position is 90% of the battle. I have no doubts that very early next year that last 10% of the battle won't blow up in the final seconds of a race. It's been a while since I really thought about seeing the white line and watching the my front wheel eclipse it. Feels like an out of body experience, but I'm excited to be reunited.

Next post: 2013 Team and thoughts on the upcoming winter training season.

PROduct Giveaway!! PROBAR: Review of The Best Bar Out There

First off. PROBARs rock. Comment on the post with your name if you would like to be in the drawing for a giveaway of a full sleeve (12) of PROBARS! At the end of the post I'll list the types of bars that I chose for my special mixed sleeve. I promise, they're all awesome (and I haven't even tried them all yet).

From PROBAR's homepage:  "PROBAR creates delicious, convenient, healthy plant based food products.  We strive to become the leading provider of REAL FOOD choices while maintaining our commitment to quality, sustainability, and fantastic taste." Trust me, they mean what they say.

PROBARs galore. Will they be all yours?

Just a few weeks ago I became an Ambassador for PROBAR, a whole food bar. The cool thing is that I didn't seek out PROBAR because I wanted free food. My first exposure to the brand was when I was riding with a friend and he bought a PROBAR. The first thought I had was "woah these things are calorie dense" (at 350-400kcal per bar). I checked it out, doing the classic ingredient review I do with most new foods I come across. It was just a bunch of stuff you could get at your local natural foods store. None of the extra junk that is unnecessary for a bar. So I bought one the next time I saw one, then I bought some more. Soon enough I would have 2-3 on long rides and avoid eaten them out of the cabinet as a snack so I could save them for cycling! I liked the bars so much I shared pictures on facebook, and that's when PROBAR asked if I would like to be a social ambassador. Where do I can I please sign?!

I'd like to say that the only reason I'm set up with PROBAR now is because I honestly love their stuff so much that they saw my excitement for the product. What I discovered was very well put by a friend who hates eating while riding (she was also just in Vegas for 70.3 Worlds). She said that they fill you up pretty well and sit very comfortably, not like how a CLIF bar sits like a complete brick in your stomach. (Also note that a PROBAR is 1.5 times the calories of a Clif bar.) Another friend pointed out that it's just like eating good natural food, and you don't get the awkward texture or weird acidic taste when you eat something that is more processed.

PROBAR calls itself the "whole food meal bar". This name is very fitting, as it is far separated from the 'energy' bars, protein bars, and meal replacement bars that are so strongly pushed in both the worlds of athletics and everyday use. The problem with almost every option (and many of the high volume/advertised brands) are that they really aren't made of stuff that is all around great for you. Many of them use processed carbohydrates, sugar substitutes, and other less than natural or unnecessary components.

"simply real"

On the other hand there are a few that truly stand out. Vega, Larabar, and PROBAR are the only three that I can recall and give full "approval". Vega comes from a line of mostly raw, extremely health-focused foods and supplements. Larabar is very simply made of dates, nuts, and a couple other basic add-ins. PROBAR has a lot more ingredients than Larabar and thus has a brilliant variety of flavors. The ingredients are of the same nature - almost entirely organic or raw - and are things you can pronounce and know from day to day food encounters. However, the flavors are amazing and widespread and never get old (I can tell you it takes 1 or 2 Powerbars and I'll call it a year, plus they don't even feel like food when you eat them).

Take your pick. I know mine!

Now you might not get why I feel these bars are not created equal...if you look at the ingredients on a PowerBar you'll see the ol' "Contains 2% or less" that can include more than 50% of the ingredients. What's the deal with that? Why do you need less than 2% of Nonfat Milk Powder and "Partially Defatted Peanut Butter"? Clif bars, which are definitely more natural than PowerBars, have mostly organic ingredients but uses soy protein isolate, which is highly refined and often treated with extreme levels of heat (275F to kill bacterias), to increase protein without adding fat. Most fat is not bad, it is actually very good for both athletes and non-athletes alike. Especially when it comes from high quality nuts! However, PROBAR uses the natural protein in nuts to provide nutrition. Most things you come across in this world of nutrition and sports energy are things that have been refined and refined (not to be confused with optimized or perfected), making them increasingly processed and more difficult for the body to use as energy. All the while they are being advertised as better than any of the competition because they have "proprietary" components, when those are the parts that put them below the more natural and complete options.

No need to enlarge to show the amazing natural texture on these bad boys.

The lucky winner's sampler pack will include the following:

• 2 Superfruit Slam
• 2 Superfood Slam
• 2 Whole Berry Blast
• 1 Koka Moka
• 1 Double Chocolate
• 1 Apple Cinnamon
• 1 Nutty Banana Boom
• 1 Cran-Lemon Twister
• 1 Cocoa Pistachio (Sweet/Savory)

Comment on this post with your name for your chance to win some Mighty PROBARs! And get out there and try it, whether it is during activity or a delectable snack/mini-meal, your body will thank you graciously. A big thanks to PROBAR for supplying me with the extra case so I could do a giveaway.

Lobsterman 40K TT Race Report

Warning: I'm actually throwing around power numbers today (a rarity for me)! I may revisit and do a strictly power-based analysis, but we shall see.

As many (most?) of you know, my racing in cycling has either been non-existent or rough since the end of June. I lost a lot of fitness. But I had finally gotten back to the form I feel that I had wayyy back in May this spring. Luckily, I was going to have a true test of that form with a 40K time trial in the Lobsterman Olympic Tri Relay. I was excited to do a real man's TT (I had done shorter ones, the most recent of which was when I had a sore hamstring in a stage race so I was focused on keeping myself in good form rather than burying myself as deep as I possibly could). This 40K was a real chance to test my fitness and, more importantly, my ability to dig deep - something I hadn't really done any of since I was doing actual workouts in June.

The relay was a guys vs gals throwdown, the teams were quite evenly matched. We had calculated out the expected times and it was looking like we would be within one minute of each other by the finish! I was excited for the race as I was expected to make up some noticeable time, as the female swimmer and runner were exceptionally strong (Amanda - runner - was fastest woman runner of the day!).

Right after mounting. Not wasting a moment to fire up to speed!

My warm up wasn't as extensive as planned. I wanted 15min easy, then some brief moderate efforts, easy, build to threshold, then back down. Follow it with a couple hard surges and I would be primed to go full throttle from transition. I only got 20 minutes with a couple efforts, easily enough but not perfect. Given that it was a 1 hour TT I'd be okay...as long as I didn't go too hard to start!

My plan was to go 63 minutes or less, I had tempo'd the course a couple weeks before and figured at my planned wattage I could be 62min + mount/dismount for around 63. My guess from riding and some short intervals was that my FTP was sitting somewhere above 320W, so my goal was 325W. I figured at this effort I would be sustaining a Heart Rate of 177bpm, which equates to a lot of pain. If I got above 325 I'd be very happy, and if I was above 330 I would have my Quarq checked for accuracy! I started the bike 4+ minutes behind and wanted to bridge the gap early, then put time in the bank for my runner (Amanda's Dad).

My two days of CX last week paid off :p, my mount onto the bike was super smooth and there was no delay in flooring the gas down the hard-packed 200m dirt road that started off the bike. I climbed out of the park, focusing on an even but strong effort. Little did I know, I was pushing over 360W for over 5 minutes to start the TT...well above my hopeful 325W average. I figured out I was going too hard when I finally looked down at my computer and was averaging 341W 10 minutes into the TT. As relays started in the final wave, it made the TT excessively mentally taxing - as if the physical aspect wasn't sufficient effort. I was passing people by the 10's, hitting the brakes, accelerating, and so on. This was obviously less than optimal, but it kept me from putting my head down and blowing myself up, although the accelerations really crush you in a TT. I hit the 20min mark just slower than a 60min 40K - 13.18km (39.55km/h). I knew the climb out of the park slowed the first part's average, but the second half had some noticeable climbing, especially for a TT. Things started to hurt right around 20-25mins, and at first I worried that this whole time trial thing was a bad idea. Luckily, I remembered TT's past and my lackluster running career: "If you're not hurting by halfway in, you're not doing it right!" I was coming up on 20K and kept rolling along hoping I'd be under 30mins, at this point I knew I could toss 62mins out the window...I was shooting for a sub-1 hour 40K on a darn hilly course & on a road bike without aerobars. I thought this was well beyond my abilities, especially given that a good TT setup could definitely benefit me over 90 seconds and at best over 1mph (3mins). I think my setup on my road bike is pretty optimal, so I'd take the 90 seconds before the 3 minutes (Thanks Dave!).

At 20K I was barely under 30:00 and was averaging 323W (NP = 329W). I had used a little of minutes 20-30 as recovery and my power had dropped off a fair amount. I told myself a little mantra I have developed "If you can get 50% there, you can make it all the way". I was hurting, but knew I could make the push to hold tight for another half hour. It was now time to focus on staying steady and in the 320's. For the next 10 minutes I felt like I had to grind to get up over 320W, I didn't know if I was going to be able to hold my goal average but I knew if I did it was going to require a lot of digging deep. 40 minutes came along and I was climbing up to the highest point of the course, there was a little cross/headwind but the elevation drop would help, as my avg speed was now down to 39.3kph. I focused on smoothness and cadence, and hit the next 6 minutes at over 45kph (28mph). I was back on track to be sub-60min. But alas I was back at the elevation of the finish, meaning it was up to me to keep the pace and pacing uphill and keeping the throttle high on the downhills, there was no more resting to be done unless I fully spun out (120rpm) in the 53-11 or it was a turn I couldn't pedal through.

With 10K to go, things started to become a blur. Scott cheered for me around 8K but I swore I heard him with 3K to go. Luckily the passing became less dense and I had sections where I had no one withing 50-100m of me, which meant no dodging people and I could focus on the road and throwing everything into Slice of Life motoring along at a clean 25mph. My back was absolutely killing me. I was thankful for every little climb where I didn't care about staying low/aero so I could sit up and let it release. I was out of the saddle going up the South Freeport Rd climb. Hitting the last little dip before entering Winslow (after the church/French school) with 4 miles to go absolutely did me in. At 54 minutes my power dropped below 320. My displeasure with this is shown that from that moment until the finish my heart rate escalated from 177 to the finish at 189. Entering Winslow Park I blew through the turn far faster than I otherwise should have, but I couldn't sacrifice losing a single second. Out of the turn and I was sprinting to regain speed for the downhill. I absolutely floored it, in the drops and out of the saddle on everything more than 3%. The final 4 minutes I put down almost 340W and it nearly killed me. I barely managed to dismount my bike on the dirt transition, and probably had the most horrifying display of running form of the day as I ran to rack my bike, hand off the chip, and keel over.

My final time was 59:40, power of 322W (NP of 325W), HR avg was 179, cadence was 95, and speed was dead on 25mph (40.2kph) - not including the runs for transition. The TT was the hardest thing I've done on the bike. I knew it would be, but actually going through with it was excessively difficult and even more exhilarating. By the end of it I couldn't tell if it was sweat or tears dripping down my face, but either way it was a blast. I wouldn't do one tomorrow, but it's definitely not something I'm 'afraid' of anymore. TTing isn't my strongest discipline but this was a huge step in getting mentally and physically prepared for being able to hit strong time trials.

Last, but not least, by outperforming even what I could put down for a time (and I am very realistic with my estimations - although I did nail the power part of it!) the guys ended up taking the girls by over 4 minutes. However, we were 7th place Male Relay and the ladies won by 5 minutes! So, in essence, everyone came out winners...but the guys will get dinner taken care of by the ladies :).

(More pictures to come when they're out)

Suck It Up, Buttercup.

After a hiatus from the normalcy of training, nutrition, life, and work that started off the summer of 2012 as a truly amazing experience for me, it is time to get back to the basics that made me feel stronger than I ever have in my life, physically and emotionally. I'm going back to my normal diet state, which pretty much makes me a super-powered herbivore :D. I'm going back to my (essentially vegan, with some outside experimentation - I never stop experimenting) optimal dieting simply so everyone who wants to spend time or meals with me does not forget how much of a huge pain in the ass I am to be around. Or maybe it's because I'm now officially a social ambassador for PROBAR and I get amazinggg vegan whole food bars that make me so happy I want to eat nothing else (except for massive salads. And cookies. And other delicious healthy things that are so good my non-vegan friends think I'm an evil magician).

The real reason is a combination of things that leads to a singular cause: to be as fit and strong as I humanly can be when the world ends on December 21, 2012. Although if I could be as strong as a cockroach by then I'd likely outlive all humans...I'll ponder that one later. My 2012 season was going as great as I could have imagined - I'll do a season wrap up sometime soon, as it's pretty much over. Then 6 weeks of losing fitness (3 of which I didn't even touch the comforting saddle and bars of Slice of Life) kinda got in the way. Crashing in a really good position in the final lap of my last two races of the season didn't help build things back up either, so it's back to the drawing board.

Don't get me wrong when I say this (but I'm sure most people will get me wrong aside from a few who really really know me), I'm not satisfied finishing this season in category 2. It was my bare minimum goal for 2012 back in the spring when I was category 4. I finished it within 6 weeks of racing and was looking (and, more importantly, feeling) great to be hitting the upper goal of 2012. Race Mayor's Cup in the Pro/1 field, if not that then put in my upgrade request (from what I hear it sounds like it's more complicated than going pro) after a podium in the 2/3. But alas none of that is happening, I won't even racing Mayor's Cup. Now I know most people think I should be off the wall pumped that I'm cat 2...and I was amped......back in June. I have no reason to believe I should be category 1 at this point given that shortly after my upgrade everything fell apart except for my (invincible) bike itself - she held on nice and tight. I joked to my teammates/friends that TCR stands for Travis Crash Resistant. Hey, if you can't laugh at yourself stay away from me because you're no fun!

I got caught in a vicious cycle of:
1. Something problematic or interfering happens (crash, injury, travel, etc).
2. Subsequent loss in fitness due to lack of access to training or inability to train.
3. Struggle emotionally with losing fitness...fight the urge to believe hope is lost.
4. Remember that I *am* strong and it WILL come back, it just takes time.
5. Step 1 comes back along, manifesting itself in a new form...before the fitness had time to return.

This happened about 5 times over. It included 3 crashes, which were literally the best (not worst) of the problems. After June this year has absolutely sucked, and I've let my fitness and health fall off far more than it needed to given the difficulties. I believe external things can only effect an individual so much. Because no matter the negative external source, a strong and mentally tough individual will be able to find a way to either overcome said difficulties or use those difficulties as motivation. Regardless of what happened this summer, I'm not pleased that I faltered in my motivation and performance. Looks like it's time for yet another "Return to Glory", but on a whole different level.

On that note, I shall take the very wise advice from probably the most influential person in my life. It's time to stop deflecting and complaining and to "Suck It Up, Buttercup": the famous, never out of place nor uncalled for, always 'well played' words of Deb Kroot.

Ultimate Cycling Food/Daily Snack - take your pick!

It's been a long hiatus. And how better to get back to it than by talking about food & cycling? You probably can think of a lot of ways, but you'll definitely enjoy this one.

One natural food bar that I absolutely love is PROBAR - if you haven't tried one, do it! They're an extremely tasty, well balanced, and energy-filled bar. I first saw this when Doug (a damn good coach of all endurance sports) and I were on a ride and he got one. A new recipe I found from Neil Bedzek's Homemade Cycling Bars is awesome and reminds me a lot of PROBARs but you get to eat the "batter" while you make them. They're an amazing bar for cycling, up to a moderate intensity. On a long, easy ride you could pretty much intake more Calories than you burn if you have enough of these with you...they're that good. I've been twisting it around a few different ways to test out different fat-carb-protein ratios. The base recipe binds so well that even in your sweaty back pocket (inside a plastic bag) it stays in a block!

So here it is - super easy to make GF/Vegan.

Binder - heat up in a pan until it starts to bubble, make sure you stir it consistently or it can burn/caramelize.
1 Cup sweetener (Agave Nectar, Honey, Maple Syrup, Brown Rice Syrup, or the 'financially efficient way' with Corn Syrup)
1/2 Cup Nut Butter (Almond, Peanut, Cashew, etc)

Dry Ingredients:
2 C Rolled Oats - not quick oats
2 C Cereal - I love Mesa Sunrise Cereal (GF) by Nature's Pride Organics
1/2 to 1 C of whatever mix-ins you desire (Raisins, Craisins, other dried fruit, Sunflower Seeds, Nuts, Chocolate Chips)
Salt for taste, if desired (or extra sodium if you sweat as heavy as I do)

Mix Dry Ingredients in a large bowl until evenly distributed...once that binder goes in the mixing isn't nearly as easy. Pour the hot binder over the dry ingredients and mix until everything is soaked up. Always, always (!!!) taste the 'batter': A) It's yummy and B) you can fine tune the mix-ins or add more binder before finishing. Once it's glorious, press into a 13x9 or large pan so it is 1 inch thick. It doesn't matter if you don't fill the whole pan, it's gooey enough that it won't spread once you form it. Toss it in the fridge for 30mins to solidify the binder and you have a glorious set of homemade bars for cycling or snack. I hope once I get my food processor back up and running I'll be able to get some dates finely ground up (a big part of PROBARs) and toss those in to top it off.

EDIT For Advanced Progress of bars, inspired but oncoming summer and warmer temperatures (3/10/2013): Recently I've been trialing these bars in a better "heat-friendly" form. I bake these on 350F for 10-15mins, just until the edges very slightly brown. You want the heat to bind them more strongly, but not make them brittle. There is a fine line here...especially when I start posting amended recipes where I reduce fat content in the bars. I botched a batch last week, and the were brittle enough that eating them with one hand while riding was doable but difficult - bumps knocked pieces loose :(...which is not fun when a piece could be 50-100kcal!!

Not enlarged to show texture - false advertising not necessary here.
(Test batch in the pan, ready to be cut into squares or simply eaten with a fork.)

My test recipe from last night (to be unveiled next week) was a huge hit at the SMR group ride this morning. Jeff, who in particular is tough to please with homemade stuff, was a big fan...that's how I know I really did it right.

Hope you enjoy! Feel free to post the variations you make that work best. I'll post a few variations of this recipe next week once I do more experimenting.

EDIT #2: Here's the "Nutrition Label" for 1/12 batch. A medium sized (I'd say 2.5"x3" bar). A BIG bar is 1/9 batch and is 3.25"x3.25". I have to go ride my bike now. 4.5 hours, 86 miles, and I will be bringing a BIG bar with me (and a PBJ sandwich and a sweet potato muffin). 200kcal/hour, kids.
Cost: Price per bar. Yes. they are ~$0.45 EACH. Beats a store bought item by, say 400%?

Tour of Washington County 2012 Stage Race Report

Stage Races: There are epic ones like Le Tour, Giro, Vuelta, ATOC, etc. Then there are the ones the rest of us call stage races, which are awesome in their own right...just don't think about any of the big ones when you're tired and sore on day 2 of 2! My first ever stage race was this past weekend, the Tour of Washington County (hereafter TOWC) in the towns of Smithsburg, Boonsboro, and Williamsport in Maryland. It was a 2 day set up of a Saturday Road Race (43mi) and Sunday TT (10mi) & Crit (20mi). All in all this is pretty short for a Category 3 stage race, but it made for a good first go at stage racing. As a 'kicker' and because I was making the 10+ hour trek, I added in the TOWC Kick-Off Criterium on Friday night in Hagerstown, MD - seen here.

Friday Night. Double fisting and in the 23lb of Ice Bath in order to prepare for the stage race ahead.  (Note: Don't try this before doing a stage race. Especially if you are under 21 - and I mean AGE, not RACE AGE!)

Road Race: Smithsburg
Friday tired me out a little, it was faster than expected to say the least...but it went well enough that it was worth it. Saturday came along and I headed to the race. I met Tim Durrin at Midas to get my car fixed while we raced. During warm-up I was on the phone with Midas and paid for the work order! The course was a rolling 6mi circuit, with some hills and one 'wall'-ish hill. As the race went on, it slowly and unknowingly beat my legs down...we tried some attacks and burnt those matches to no avail whatsoever - it stayed completely together. On the last lap I started to get pings (like many others I later discovered) and on the last wall - 2 miles to go - I got full hamstrings crap on the left side. I was able to sag the climb and survive, using the downhill to reposition. Coming into the finishing mile I was positioned top 10, gained a few slots and was 5th going into the last up-down before the finishing kicker/hill. This time it fully seized up. I was in third position, gaining on 1 & 2. I had to stop pedaling and use my right leg to downshift. I survived, edging out a gaining 4th place by a half wheel! Got the 4 second time bonus (note: this comes into HUGE play later on!!). Even more importantly, after the 14 points in 2 days I have officially rounded out my Category 2 upgrade. Time to hammer away on the TT and get a GC slot!

ICE BATH!! We emptied the hotel's ice machine. Baller status.

Time Trial: Boonsboro
First ever TT, second ever time on the TT bike (Thanks Ralph!!). First time in a speed suit (Thanks Jon) and first time with a TT helmet (Thanks Adam). I didn't realize it until the race started, but the rear brake was rubbing every time the frame flexed from standing/accelerating/climbing. I pushed it from my mind as best as I could and just hammered away. Legs were not happy, I couldn't get my HR to my 185 "sweet spot" that I hold steady for 20-30mins on breaks, but I was moving. I ended up 4th in the TT, 25 seconds out of first place.

The weekend's fuel of choice. Homemade no-bake granola bars!

Crit - 20 Miles 14 Miles: Williamsport
We didn't know the TT/GC status until we arrived. I was in third, 21 seconds out of first...and just 4 seconds out of 2nd. The two guys ahead of me were on the same team...not fun at all! The guy who was in 2nd place was the guy I edged out in the road race. Had I not held on with the cramp, I would be 12 seconds out of 2nd place GC - a near impossible feat to overcome. The time bonuses were 3-2-1 seconds @ 25%, 50%, 75% completion of race, and then 6-4-2 seconds at the finish. It was clear, I needed to crush this race and had no time to relax...I would be going all in for every single sprint. I could handle sprinting every 5 miles, thanks to my repetitive sprinting training. But the race was shortened to 14 miles due to an ugly crash in the masters race. Now I would be sprint every 5 laps, or 3.5 miles....on an uphill 150m drag. Uh ohhh. There was no alternative, so I stuck to the plan: 2nd place GC.


The race started. My legs were fried, my left hammy was toast, and the course was such that I couldn't avoid standing after turns and on the hill. This was going to be interesting, but I made my plan and if my hammy blew up and I pulled out...so be it. I came all this way to break legs, I wasn't leaving without it happening even if it meant breaking myself. The pack held together pretty much entirely (thank goodness!).


I must say that if you were in this race or watching, I raced this 100% textbook - I could not have positioned or raced barely any better (and I almost never say anything like this). I was ready and more willing to go deep than any other person in the race. I knew it, too. And I was on fire. Sprint 1: Positioning, excellent. Result, 2nd place. 2 seconds down, I'm now 2 seconds back and didn't see #334 or #332 in the mix (1st & 2nd place GC guys). Good. Sprint 2: Positioning, textbook again. I attempted to seated sprint this one in order to save my hamstrings/legs for the final 2 sprints. Seated I still pulled off 3rd place, gaining 1 second. Now I was 1 second down. Sprint 3: Decent positioning...5th wheel into a 120deg turn and people going on your inside is okay but not great. I went hard. I needed this one. I dug deep and got 2nd, sighing as I crossed the prime. I was not virtually in 2nd place GC. "All" I had to do was beat #334 on the final sprint. No cakewalk there. Last lap: I am burning all over. Worse than Friday, at least muscularly. I hold position and am 4th wheel. No sight of #334, I refused to look back. 2nd place was laying 0.7 miles ahead of me. Final turn! Some A-HOLE decides to dangerously cut inside of me (likely cause of that ugly masters crash). I couldn't crash now. I took the turn so wide I was riding the outside curb, with no draft and a 10m gap! I started my sprint, accelerating well considering the cumulative toll on my legs. I slipped into one guy's draft and was instantly out the other side. Only 1 man in front of me now...gaining, gaining, I needed more distance! The final turn killed it for me. I had 2nd bagged and would have had first given just a little more road (as the winner informed me). On this day I was okay with being second...but only because it pushed me into 2nd GC :p haha. I ended up placing in every sprint gaining a huge 9 seconds out of a maximum 15, something even I didn't know if I was capable of doing. I guess the toll of the heat and the stage race hit everyone.

If you're not first, you're last! At least I managed to split up the teammates.

It was an AWESOME experience. I am so pumped from this stage race I want another ASAP, but likely will be waiting until Green Mountain for it. Over the whole weekend (including Friday) I got 25 points, which is kind of crazy...as I planned on getting 11 in the races. I'll take it, and on Thursday I received my Cat 2 upgrade. Time to rock out with the big(ger) dogs! I have so so many people to thank that I will be doing a separate post to thank all of you! But still, THANKS - you know who you are.

Tour of Washington County 2012 Kick-Off Criterium (Cat 3/4) Race Report

This whole 'plan' was decided on Tuesday, I drove to DC to stay with my buddy Rob Thursday, and raced Friday through Sunday. Jeff suggested I add in the Kick-Off Crit on Friday because I was making the trip anyway. I was worried that this would take too much out of my legs for the weekend, but he advised me to trust the race to stay together and, if it did, go for the sprint. My drive to DC was miserable. I got stuck in traffic in NYC on midday Thursday for 2 hours, nearly running out of gas so I shut off my AC and was pouring sweat as I got fried in my car. In traffic an 18 wheeler kept rolling backwards as we were on a slight uphill...it very very nearly rolled right into my hood. Thankfully another 18 wheeler saw this and laid on his horn. Just when I had used up all the area of reversing towards the car behind me the driver decided it'd be a good time to put on his brakes. I was freaking out as there was absolutely nothing at all I could do to get out of his way, except back into the vehicle behind me! The drive took a miserable 12 hours (with water/pee breaks and gas). Luckily I brought all my food with me or it would have added even more time.


Arriving to the outskirts of DC at 8:45PM, I picked up Rob at work. We hit the grocery store (Rob has seriously gained some cooking capacity/knowledge since he's been in DC - I was pleased) and got home before 10PM. I had talked to someone through a friend about selling my Trek in DC, so I headed out on the 2 mile drive to sell it quick before eating dinner. I met Sam at his house. As we walked to his apartment - Trek in hand - I realized I locked my keys in my car. I called AAA ASAP. They said 40 minutes, which is reasonable. It took 95 minutes, which is excessively unreasonable. I had to call 3 extra times to figure out what the heck went wrong. This was my first ever bad experience with AAA...excellent timing, now I was going to eat dinner at midnight the night before my biggest ever weekend of bike racing (I am very specific about food/timing around cycling). I sold the bike and had some delicious dinner at Rob's (thanks Rob!!).

Fuel for the fire.

Friday comes along, the race at 6:30PM. I left Rob's at 3P to pick him up at work. DC traffic is hideous even during the day. The race was about 1.5 hours away from his apartment, so with traffic we were expecting a 5PM arrival time. Traffic was far worse and out ETA dropped back to 5:30PM, which was still comfortable for me. Until my car "broke down". Being in traffic and with the heat, my driver's front brake locked up. I didn't notice at first as we were in traffic, but as the traffic subsided it was immediately apparent that something was wrong...I couldn't exceed 25mph. Luckily I pulled over, because when I did the wheel well was smoking - tasty, black smoke. It tasted like brakes (not really, but it was nasty). I looked at the clock - 5:05 - and our ETA - 5:35. Making the race was going to be extremely tight!! Even if the director permitted me checking in after 6PM (registration usually closes at 30min before the race). I called my Dad to see what I should do (get towed to the race, then deal with the car later...or get towed to DC and bag the race). He said that as I had come all this way to race my bike, I should at least see about getting to the race. Basically I needed his OK so if I got Rob and I stranded in Hagerstown, then I could say it wasn't just me blindly wanting to race and nothing else. I called AAA (second time in 24 hours!) - they would be able to reach me for towing at 5:45 at latest. Uh oh...that means getting to the race at 6:15 - enough time to make it to the start line without a warm up (I was planning on warming up in the race anyway to save for the weekend). While on the phone with AAA I was talking to Rob - I told him we were likely bagging the race and just going to DC as there were no shops near Hagerstown that were open even after 6PM. I considered getting a taxi from the highway to the race...but then my car, with $$$$ of bikes was sitting on the side of the road. While on the phone with AAA I told them to cancel the call to Hagerstown and just bring me back to DC, I had officially mentally bailed 100% on the race, which was pretty crappy...there was just no way I was going to make it. Now, if I'm going into this much stupid detail about a race I didn't race that'd be weird, right? Right after I edited the AAA call to go to DC I turned on the car and prayed to whatever gods of cycling may or may not exist. I shifted into Drive and released the brake. The brake was not rubbing!! It had cooled off enough! I told AAA to cancel the entire call and that they would hopefully not be hearing back from me in 5 minutes. Rob asked "How are you going to use your brakes?". I told him I wasn't. Haha! I was going to use the E-Brake foot pedal and hold the Brake release lever to slow the car. Our ETA to the race was now 5:50. It was going to be tight even without traffic anymore. I kept distance from other cars and drove with the most efficiency I have ever in my life!


We made it to Hagerstown at 5:48. I ran to registration, got my bib, and ran back to the car. I changed up while Rob mixed up my bike racing cocktails, and was on my bike a little after 6:00. I ditched the idea of throwing on the GoPRO that Jamie @ GBS lent me...I needed to focus on the task and get my head into the race. I usually am emotionally prepared to race many hours before a race. Today, I had bagged the race just over 1 hour before the start time...and now 20 minutes before the race I had finally gotten into my place of Zen - saddled up on Slice of Life.


The crit course was PACKED! It was an event that was more populated than the Clam Fest here in Maine. People were cheering, out on restaurant patios, etc - it was going to be a fun race. Too bad I wasn't ready and had the stage race on my mind. Two laps of noodling around the course and m head was in it. I was ecstatic to be here and the car troubles and midnight dinner last night were a thing of an entirely different existence. I was in Hagerstown to race; nothing more, nothing less. I had a quick chat with Rob during my warm up as I traded out a half-empty bottle and kept 2 full bottles on the rig (gotta keep in the fluid for the weekend). One sprint on the finishing straightaway and a 2 minute steady effort and I was primed! We waited 50m from the start/finish for some weird reason. Then someone called my name to see if I was present...not sure why though. Then they started announcing riders' names. I realized I was getting a call up, woohoo! The top 12 ranked riders were called up, I think I was 8th or so out of ~100...not bad, but I definitely didn't come here to get 8th place!

0.8mi/1.3K. Races clockwise.
4 Right turns and the left-hand chicane into a quick steep pitch. Finish is just slightly uphill even though it says flat.

The race went off, the tempo was much faster than I expected as I had heard that New England crit racing outdoes most of the country. My first experience was to the contrary...we were hauling and there were pretty regular attacks. My plan was to sit in and let it stay together. I did my very best to not cover any moves, but when 4 guys started to get distance my instincts took over. I jumped the gap. We held only a lap or two. It was almost definitely going to stay together. "Good" I thought "Save it for the sprint". All was well until some guy went hard off the front at 8 to go. I took a short pull in the process to not disrupt the pack's chase. He had a good gap and not much was happening. Finally some people got anxious and it shrunk. We were Gruppo Compacto at 3 to go...yesssss it was playing out just as Jeff had hoped for me in order to save my legs for the weekend. Although the base effort was much higher than expected. 2 to go. On the last 2 corners a couple guys jump. I'm now second wheel and they're gaining. No choice but to close. With less than a mile to go I was going to blow my saved energy. I reeled it in by the start line and it was clear it'd be a tight group finish. On the back stretch I was 4th wheel, one guy paced it for about the past half lap and started to lag - reasonably so. I stayed alert and kept access to respond to anything at all, knowing a move had to happen. My legs and lungs were close to red-lined from staying up front after pulling back the attack only a minute before. It was the classic way Jeff describes a crit finish: if your lungs should feel like they're going to bleed, then you're in the right position...stay calm, it's supposed to feel like that. At this point you have two choices: give in to the intensity, burn, and give in to the idea that you can't sprint off of fiery legs and burning lungs...or trust in your fitness, training, and capabilities.


I heard a click 10-15 feet off my back to the right (we were lined up on the left side for the upcoming right turn in 300m). Before looking I knew it was a serious acceleration, so before looking for it I jumped, accelerating for a few seconds. I looked right and sure enough one guy (Luis) was blazing up the right side. Another acceleration and I was nearly on his wheel. Now it was seriously burning. If he laid down much more wattage I would be using my final sprint just to hold his wheel. The turn came and we hit it crazy fast, but smooth. The guys stood out of the turn and sprinted. Only one thing was clear at this point: hold that damn wheel and it's your express ticket to a win...nobody was going to be making moves past us before the final 90 degree turn to the 150m finish. There's only one thing I like more than a 400m drag race, and this was it: I knew everyone was going insanely deep just to be in it for the finish. Which meant sprinting off burning legs and out of breath. As we came into the turn (which had brick through the corner) my wheel bounced around - as expected - but held okay. Luis had a good 5-10m on me due to a better corner. I hammered, when you get a perfect gear into a sprint it is a beautiful thing...in this case it was also known as invincibility. Sometimes you don't even know when you're 1 inch from the line, other times you are pretty damn sure over 100m away. This was of the latter type. I was already gaining on Luis fast and had no concern of those behind me - it was up to me and the white line to settle this battle. I finished strong, accelerating or maintaining all the way through the line. With closing the gap just before the final lap and the way Luis attacked it was the most I've ever been cooked at the end of a crit. It was completely worth it.


It was apparently a big deal winning this race. The townspeople and the crowed were both awesome - totally into the race, and surprisingly excited to have been there! A couple people came up to me a little later and congratulated me. One guy asked if I had a pen, I said 'sorry I do not I was just in the bike race' and asked him why. He said for an autograph. I laughed and said "you're kidding me, right?". He was dead serious. He never did get a pen, luckily for him as he would've had some useless scribbles on his hat!


The podium presentation was awesome. They gave me a bottle of champagne to pop on the podium. The guy who ended up in second asked if the director had just given alcohol to a minor; I assured him that I was in fact 23 (both real age and racing age :p haha).

Cat 3/4 Podium. Perfectly timed picture by Rob!

This race was great all around. I finally raced somewhat "smart" for a crit and didn't blow myself up during the race. It's amazing how good of a finish you can have if you don't waste energy foolishly or uselessly. The awareness and preparedness I had for the final attack on the last half lap while red-lined definitely shows that I am gaining skills mentally when racing. All-around I'm very pleased about the race. And, don't worry, I saved the Champagne bottle! It's now hanging out next to the Witches' Cup Criterium trophy from 2011 (my very similar big win last summer).

Purgatory Road Race 2012

Here is a debrief I wrote to an email group regarding the Purgatory Road Race in Sutton, MA on 6/10. I need a filler report before I delve into my write-up for the Tour of Washington County Stage Race (and Friday's Kick-Off Criterium).

Purgatory Cat 3 Race Report: A lesson on how not to race bikes (unless you are working for a teammate in the peloton. But even then, such racing is highly discouraged haha).

We were also set for a good 5 laps at 11 miles each, totaling ~4500ft gain. The course has a seemingly MASSIVE elevation loss and a noticeable, but not nearly as massive gain. (Hank et al, correct me if this seems incorrect). After the neutral start 12 riders got away, no one cared to ride faster than 20mph. The first thing Joe, myself, and a few friends of mine (who were planning an attack after the climb on lap 3 of 5) heard was 1:30 gap with 12 riders in the break. I had no idea this even happened because I - for the first time in my racing career - took the advice of many to stay away from the front as I tend to work myself for no reason.

The gap got to 2:25 (I think) and I was sick of the field making no effort. I slipped off the front when taking a pull and no one did anything, mini effort and I had 50m. I stuck my head down and rode hard. Quickly I had 30s on the field and half a lap later as the legs were getting quite heavy I was within 60sec (!!!) of the break. Sadly I was not fresh due to the Nutmeg races the day before, or I would have laid it all on the line in effort to make it onto the climb and go to war on that 1K hill to latch onto the break. However, the pack swallowed me up, but we were now withing 80sec of the break - which was slowly falling apart. Very few wanted to work aside from myself and sir Joe Lynch. We knew a couple things: 1) if we sat it wasn't going to come back and our best placement possible would be 8, even with the falling apart breakaway and 2) we didn't come this far to sit around with a pack of individuals satisfied with a poor placing.

Joe and I made attacks and drilled the field for the remaining two laps, each of us gapping the field on multiple occasions. The efforts Joe put in were (as expected) massive and unforgiving. At one point on the backside of the course where there was the 250m 3% climb, I thought I popped - I started to get the chills/goosebumps/cramps - and told Joe and another fellow whom we were off the front with that I had officially imploded. I slowed to something shy of 5mph and the field was on me before I could relax. I barely latched on and somehow recovered to continue to assault with Joe.

Now we were within 60 sec once again after falling back to 90+ sec on the third lap. It was clear we were devouring the pavement between ourselves and the breakaway because while taking a pull on a long straight I saw SRAM Neutral Support. 1K later, it was pulled into a driveway. As Bob Roll would say, "The referees have declared that the breakaway will be caught, the team cars are being stopped along the road." I must note that during the last feedzone a gutsy individual took it upon himself to win. He broke away from the breakaway and won cleanly.

We passed the SRAM car and it was on to the final climb. Taking the right-hander to the 1K climb, Joe was fully exploded and I was rendered something just shy of dead. We eased up the rest of the climb and called it a day.

Final result: the breakaway (except for the valiant lone ranger who went solo) did not survive and nor did we. The friends I had in the field and was hoping I would help did not have sufficient legs to place or collect money. Joe displayed his classic capacity to endure and endure, especially on a course that wasn't quite his forte. Although, when you can dig deep like Joe every course is your course. I made an effort to do (what I feel is) one of the most amazing feats in cycling, bridge the gap to a break. However, I could not sustain the effort and am a bit stronger because of it.

The End of a Glorious Age

I knew it was going to happen as soon as I sat upon Slice of Life - my Giant TCR Advanced SL 2. My 2006 Trek Madone 5.2 was going to be a machine of the past. I considered keeping it around as a training bike, but the feel was so different I knew that training on it at all would inhibit my capacity on the new bike. So it was set aside and eventually up for sale. Last month, I sold the SRM that was my trusty training partner. Then I got really lucky. I was going down to DC to stay with my buddy Rob for a stage race in Maryland, and another friend down in DC knew someone who was looking for a bike! How about them apples! And it was the right size. So I eventually met with him last night and did the old money/bike switcheroo. It was nice to finally sell something I hadn't used, but I can honestly say it was a little sad to part with Lamia.

Not just because I spent so many hours riding, or the races I did (and the many during which I was so fortunate to actually cross that pretty white line first), or the people I met in the community. But the main reason I was saddened was because that chunk of well-aligned carbon fiber and efficient drivetrain was where I began to love cycling. Before Lamia cycling was much less a "sport" than "cross training", a method of maintaining fitness during my injuries as a runner. But all that changed on Lamia, which was intended as my entry into the world of triathlon in 2010. I fully decided that I was going to focus primarily on cycling just one year ago when I was living in Boston at my brother's apartment after graduating; in part due to my lack of spring swimming and in part due to my joy of cycling. And now - a year later - I am within striking distance of my Category 2 upgrade within less than 2 months of Category 3 racing.

I'm racing the Tour of Washington County, which was initially going to be a solo race with no one I knew. Luckily, Tim Durrin was easily convinced into racing with me this weekend. While we are both going to be racing for GC contention, it will be good to have a strong athlete with whom I am comfortable racing and in whose abilities I am confident. It's going to be a slugfest...especially because I'm throwing in a crit tonight on top of the stage race. Let's hope the body is recovered after last weekend! I'll find out in 7 hours' time.

Return to Glory 2.0: Lake Auburn RR

It has been a very long time since my last post. Over a month and a half. Ouch. Luckily this doesn't mean that everything was going poorly, although things could have been a bit better. Battenkill was a blast (how could it not be!), but after that I had a flare up with my Achilles, then an obnoxiously confusing finish to Blue Hills which left me in 12th rather than top 5. The upturn was the last race of the Scarborough Crit series.

With about 8 laps to go (of 20), Hank and Chris Green got off the front. A few people tried to make moves but nothing stuck. Jurgen and I then decided it was time to give it a go. We attacked on the back stretch, but got hauled back in by none other than Ed Sebok. So we went again, Jurgen up the left off the front of the field and I went up the gutter on the right - away from the pack. Jurgen and I put in a really heavy chase for Chris and Hank that lasted a couple laps. They (if you have any idea who Hank and Chris are) were hitting it hard. Finally, up the little incline they were right in front of us - 25 meters - and I was burning...just hoping Jurgen would come around to close the last bit. Sadly he didn't (a massive 5 hour ride the day before finally got to him) and I gave A LOT to finish it off, bummed that I lost him in the process but it was my only hope of closing the last little bit. I tried to settle in, but my recovery wasn't coming along. I took pretty even pulls the rest of the way. With 4 to go Chris pulled past me and said, "Travis, it's all or nothing now". We held the break and I got the sprint. So I got the win on the first and last SIPC races in a breakaway, which I am pleased with. I ended up 3rd overall for the series with missing 3 races and 2 of my races were after another race, and I am also quite happy with that.

Fast forward a few weeks and it is the Lake Auburn Road Race. I had a grudge going into this one thanks to a dropped chain and the remaining 1.25 laps of TTing with people on my wheel, so at least I had some good practice hammering...that could be a foreshadow. The weather was classic crap: 55F, raining, windy. However, in my history of racing, bad weather yields a good result. I had 2 very decisive wins and 2 second places in bad weather (the two wins being ugly rain and cold).

Thus, small field (nowhere to hide) and people generally unwilling to work in a pack (good thing). At the line we were informed that we would be doing only 4 laps (w/ 3 potential King of the Walls - KOW). I ditched my 'jetpack' (extra water bottle in the back pocket, terminology cred to Jurgen as I have never heard this before) as the race was going to be just under my "3 bottle threshold". I tried to warm up for the race, didn't really work haha. The first downhill I was shivering so bad I kept checking to make sure nobody was encroaching on my space for concern of causing a pile up. First time up the wall we went slow. It was pretty lackadaisical for the whole first lap. I took a couple pulls just to keep from freezing. I talked to a CCB guy and we planned to attack the following lap.

Next lap comes around and Connor Cushman (PVC) takes the KOW and I'm second. I push after the hill to cause separation and stir things up. It worked...a little. The pack pulled back to me and Conner, but not easily - it was strung out. I sat up and someone else went off the front, a few of us pulled them in. It was clear it was about to hit a tipping point: it just wasn't going to be ping pong. Either attackers would be at bay, or the field would separate enough for a break. The latter happened, thankfully. It was seven of us to start. After the next KOW, which I happened to take (essentially sealing the KOW win), I took a huge pull. I felt the pace wasn't quite elevated enough and needed to at least feel like I had a strong gap. I'm guessing it was around a mile. I think we only lost one guy through that section. But over the next couple laps it was down to 4. I wanted to press steady through the hills, but the break was lagging a bit. We regrouped and were at 2 to go. Nothing interesting happened until after the 1 to go bell. On the downhill, our 4th man dropped. I later discovered his chain popped off and he was unable to reset it without stopping (a feeling of which I am all too aware). He easily held to take 4th place though, so that was a silver lining, as he deserved it.

The last lap I took the KOW and tried to keep the intensity up. The two Zipcar guys were not as keen on the constant rotating paceline and we settled into a 15-25sec pull scenario. I got anxious here and took the pull because the pace was lagging slightly (and we had no information on our gap). I also was comfortable being at the steady effort and didn't want to sit up and "get cold"...or allow my fellow riders to get rested. We came into the hills and I elevated the tempo. One Zipcar guy dropped and said "Take it" to his teammate. I thought one thing, "Good luck, bud". I wasn't cocky, I was just feeling great and unless this guy was seriously pulling a Lance-style Alpe D'Huez faux-tired then the likelihood of my winning was quite high.

After the two step climbs, he held tight with me through the false flat...I was hoping I'd be able to gap him. At least I had him breathing pretty good. But this was definitely not going to be as simple as I initially evaluated. Fair enough, I thought, he is a strong rider and he damn well better be going deep to win!! Through the false flat and up the last climb/feed zone he was right with me. After the climb he moved past me and I pulled behind him. This lasted two seconds, I knew I could hammer as hard as anyone dare challenge me for the last 1500m+. I attacked him without any hesitation. A gap opened and it was pretty clear I had it in the bag because I was still feeling strong. Secretly I wanted him to surge up and fight me, but alas you can't always get what you want.

I rode out the rest pretty hard and won by a clean margin. My first serious solo finish since a little over a year ago at Bristol Mountain RR.

Low-res image grabbed from my Dad's cell phone video.

I'm pleased with the results, but let down by the field size. Doesn't do as much for upgrade points as I had planned on 10 points today. Regardless it was a great day of racing despite the cold/rain and I felt great. So I'm happy.

Also: big shout out to Eliot Pitney, fellow Base36 teammate, who took the W in the Cat 5 race (and should be racing alongside myself...or at least out Cat 4 contingent!). Also, well done to Steve & Liam in the 4's. Definitely happy everyone stayed safe with the given weather conditions.

Battenkill 2012 Race Report

Battenkill 2012 Race Report: Travis Kroot, Category 4 (Yellow) - Pictures to be added as they surface!

Note: this is my individual race report - I hope to do a report that encompasses Jon's race and notes the excellent performances of all the other great Maine cyclists who took on the Battenkill. Likely to be placed on the Base-36 cycling blog. Stay tuned!

I will give a quick lead-in to this…I ambitiously signed up for Battenkill in December as a Category 3 while I was still Cat 4. I was hoping to get early season race points before Battenkill and upgrade. However, I was only able to manage hitting a couple pre-season crits and did get some good places (two firsts, a 5^th, and a 4^th). Nevertheless, they don’t count as upgrade points and the kind race directors of Battenkill switched me into the Cat 4 field. I was very excited to race Battenkill, regardless of the field I was in…it was going to be EPIC!

Race week was amongst us and Jon and I spent our last preparations for Battenkill doing “way too little” riding this past week. But we both had great legs today! We drove out Friday (yesterday) AM and got to Cambridge, NY before noon. Hit pre-reg and the (boring) expo, then headed off to pre-ride the first 15 miles of the course (including hill #1, Juniper). The hillier than expected sections before and after Juniper resulted in a slightly hard than intended day before race ride, but it was good to shake our one-day cobwebs out! We stretched out then drove the course and took very diligent notes on all aspects – not just the hills. After the drive we ate a sufficient but not at all spectacular meal at the Cambridge Hotel (it was good! Just with the Battenkill being so epic our expectations were rather high). Following dinner we settled into our respective places of rest and hit the hay.

Race Day: 100km, 62.25 miles, 3950ft +/- elevation gain/loss. 10 dirt sections totaling ~25% of the net mileage.

Boom baby!

We headed into the hustle and bustle of Cambridge at 8:30AM – 2500 cyclists and the spectators and volunteers that come with it shake up a little town/village like Cambridge. It was an EVENT. Not just a race. It was well run, beautiful, and epic. My race started at 11:00AM sharp, Jon’s at 1:50PM! He was going to be anxiously waiting around quite a while before his race…and I would pay my dues on the back end, excitedly awaiting his finish. I started my warm up, and after checking both my sets of wheels in my bike (gotta have extras in case of a flat) I had somehow altered my shifting and could not access the three large cogs on my cassette – BIG PROBLEM! The fellows at the Mavic support tent got it figured out, but I later discovered that my shifting was still shifty…but was OK for racing, it definitely made me nervous about shifting if it came down to a sprint (recalling my broken collarbone). I’m not sure how it got messed up because it was shifting beautifully on Friday’s pre-ride. Looks like I need to get bike mechanic skills ASAP. I got warmed up (20 mins nice and easy) saw the OA/CycleMania guys and we gave one another our regards for a safe and strong 100 kilometers. Then it was to line up at 10:50 and it was gametime.

The race started out easy (neutral 1K start) and stayed easy for a few miles. After mile 4 it picked up to get position for the covered bridge – turn @ mile 5.1 and bridge @ mile 5.3. Made it through in the top 10 and we were into the first dirt section @ mile 6.0. Everything was pretty relaxed for a while, I helped push the pace a little on the climb @ mile 8 or so to try to feel out the field…but nothing was happening yet. I was able to scout 3 of the guys who eventually were in the last group of 8 – so I had 50% of the strong guys marked. Juniper hill was nothing crazy, I led up over (seated in my 39-27) and pushed hard down the first bit of descent in effort to keep the early stragglers off. This is where I mark this race as a massive asterisk to anyone who wants to understand the Category 4 Battenkill. ***No one in this group would work together. It was a battle to get people to get out of their own way! As a reference, most of the Cat 4’s finished in 2:53 or so and we barely broke 3 hours. Not a HUGE time difference, but very surprising considering the strength the field showed from miles 40 and on.*** No one really made an effort to work the tempo and we were rejoined with a massive field (ugh). I stayed up front for most of the next sections to stay safe and waste some energy like I am so well known to do – oops. Rich Rd @ mile 14.6 was nice and clean and the dirt was good riding. Nothing interesting really happened for a long while, randomly coming off of a pull I found myself and another guy with a 15m gap. He kept rolling and we got a small gap. I was well aware he was not the type of guy I would even consider breaking with, but he was a nice guy and we took it easy and chatted it up for a bit. Through Feed Zone #1 @ mile 22.4 and we were caught by 23.0, which was nice because I was no longer stuck out front. I finished my bottle by mile 22 and switched my spare from my pocket into my cage – the ol’ self-sufficient feed zone.

Another few miles of easy riding and we came to Carney Cassidy @ mile 26.0, which is a dirt section with an early stiff climb and then another stiff section @ 27.2 (but neither were anything crazy – the group pretty much stayed intact until Wrights Rd and Meeting House Rd in the 45ish mile range). I crested the pavement section of Carney with some really solid pace and looked around, a few of us had separated the field slightly. Then I got blasted with a headwind over the crest. The guy on my wheel said, “That’s a bummer, had we not gotten hit with wind I would’ve made a go at it with you.” Agreed, sir…but alas we were stuck with the most frustrating race field with whom I had ever been placed. Miles 30-34 were once again easy-ish going (ate and drank here). Then @ mile 34.0 we hit Safford Rd, which was the most gravel covered climb so far and the descent was definitely a bit shaky – tight turns off camber, and not a great surface. Up over Safford we still had a group sized around 40 or so. Clearly, we had a lot of guys with a minimum of “good fitness”…but soon we would find out those who were “fit”! On the descent of Safford I gapped the group a little as I spaced out on the really sketchy turn on the descent…luckily I held tight and once the group rejoined one guy said “Man! You really crushed that and handled it well.” I quickly informed him that I was thankful the rear panel of my bibs were black rather than white (in a less formal and PC manner, of course).

Then @ mile 39.1 we hit Cheesecake Factory Rd – a really rough section of gravel road that had no “good” line you could take. Plus, we had started over-taking a lot of the earlier races’ stragglers and thus did not have much choice of line. A few of us took some hefty pulls here, but as Cheesecake was pretty darn flat nothing really happened…maybe we shed a couple guys who had poor handling or low confidence? 41.5 to 44 was easy, as the group once again did not want to work with each other and were awaiting the glory of Meeting House Rd!

Wrights Rd came along @ mile 44.6 and we were back on dirt – good dirt this time. Up the climb, probably the smoothest climb I had of the day in spite of my calves already experiencing pretty steady spasms! I was NOT AT ALL pleased at this fact and couldn’t figure out why this was happening. I shrugged it off and accepted that it was going to continue. If I had a full muscle cramp/seize, then I would consider it. Then came the most unexpected part of the race: after the small uphill on Wrights Rd the surface turned absolutely horrendous. I was not the least bit prepared – neither in skill nor mentally – for this section. It was very deep, very loose gravel and sand. Fishtailing was more common than line-holding and things got quite jittery. I actually was emotionally prepared to crash and then chase back onto the group right after. I have decent handling but this was something for the cyclocross and mountain bike guys! Every time I had to put effort into stabilization and pedaling simultaneously I was getting more and more calf and anterior tibialis spasms…I wasn’t sure how things were going to hold up but was committed to not letting anyone get away from me.

Through Wrights Rd without any issues and we were very quickly approaching Meeting House Rd, still with 40 men in tow. This is where my frustration with this group was released. We hit Meeting House @ mile 48.6. I sat 3^rd wheel to start the climb onto the dirt but very soon found myself on the front and laying down the hammer. I wanted to shed everyone I could without blowing myself up. It was time to create the separation: those who were prepared to win, and those who couldn’t. I worked it hard up the first part, then @ mile 49.5 it quickly kicks hard and I ramped right though it at pace. I didn’t look anywhere but forward and down. After a good time on the front another guy (Chris, a professional triathlete in ITU racing – yes, a PRO) took over and continued the dishing of the hurt. Once we crested Meeting House onto pavement I dropped back. There were about 8 guys in front of me so I looked back to find a place to settle in. There was one guy to my left…one to my right…and only one more behind me. We were officially down to 12 riders! I smiled at the notion that minutes before we had nearly four times as many riders in our group. J.

Shredding the field on the front...and clearly going very deep to do so. Just speaks that much more of the final group we had.

 The one thing I did not smile at was the spasms that had steadily developed over Meeting House Rd in my quads. Things were starting to go for some reason, even though I felt strong still. As long as no seizing happened in my calves or quads, I was all set. Spasms are completely manageable.

It was off to the races…finally we had a group who knew what the hell they were doing in a race! We HAMMERED downhill, blasting through and taking pulls. It was clear everyone in the group had no intent of anyone returning to our separated group of 12. From 51.5-54 it is very fast, then smooth until 56. Once it was pretty clear the riders behind us were completely shattered, the pace relaxed and the paceline SUCKED. Some guys would pull through then it would stop. This inconveniently kept happening for Chris – the pro tri guy. So I let him pull ahead of me, then I took his wheel and pulled through for him. I found myself stuck on the front. Clearly someone was messing up pretty seriously and sucking wheel…imagine if we all did that! We could have a group of 20 annoying wheelsuckers in no time as the shattered souls regained life upon rejoining the leader’s pack.

Next up: @ mile 56.1 – Stage road. The final test; a solid dirt hill that is pretty outright relentless 56 miles into a tough race. I knew my fitness was fine to stick this out no matter what. My quads had started to experience some serious spasms on the last part of Meeting House Rd and I didn’t know what unkind words they would be shouting at me as we hit Stage Rd. Frankly, I didn’t care – I’ll insert the classic “Shut up legs” here. Stage Rd hit the group hard. No one was too keen on pulling. One guy surged up the left and quickly changed his mind on attempting to lead the pack. I decided it was time to just go with the pack and not dictate the pace on a hill (finally, eh?!). Another guy (whom I later found out was a professional athlete) finally made his showing of strength. Mike started working Stage Rd pretty good – I asked him what his PowerTap was showing for Stage and he said we didn’t let up on 500W for it and pushed over 600W at some points, but “settled” into 550W or so. Settle was right! We only lost 3 or 4 of the group of 12 by the time we crested Stage Rd.

This was it. I (we) had long awaited to be in the small group of riders who would eventually make the go for the win and deserve the glory that one gets by finishing Battenkill in the lead pack. We were the top 5% of this field of 125. The previous 57.8 miles separated the men from the boys…but the last 4.4 miles would separate 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd…all the way through 8^th. I had no intent to be anything but #1 in spite of my legs wanting to give out for some reason. I still had strength, but for some reason things were giving out. Now was no time to be concerned with that though.

We hit the 5k, 4k, 3k. People stopped wanting to work, but there was still a little paceline going on – just not hard. I took one pull (which I planned to be my second to last pull) and awaited my next pull through to bring me up towards the front with 1500m to go. 1K is a HUGE point here – the road is completely close from 1K to go and we would have free use of the road, but no one would want to be nose into the wind. My pull never came. The group let up and I was STUCK! Last wheel – literally. I didn’t panic, I tried passing on the left, but the cones leading into the 1K to go were on our left and I was blocked on the right. 

After the road opened up @ 1K, I moved up left and was able to half tuck in, sharing 4^th wheel. The bulk of the group was sticking right to take the corner on the inside. I had planned this out, I was going to stay slightly left…and when the group swung fast around the right turn with 400m to go I would hold my line and slip into 2^nd or 3^rd wheel. However, Chris laid it down! With 550m to go he started pulling as if he would rip the cranks off of his bike. I am not exaggerating one bit. I WISHED I had been 2^nd wheel to him…I would be invincible. I shit you not, he ramped up the pace to something I had never experienced in a leadout, he was in full TT mode – going to the gutter with every last drop of gas his professionally tuned legs had (he can run a 14:13 5K). And here I was, stuck out in the wind, holding pace with him. I quickly decided I would be waiting on the sprint with the power he was putting out – he did not let up one bit.

Finally, with about 150-200m to go, Mike moved out from third wheel and started for the line. The guy on second wheel did not do a damn thing. I pulled up on Chris’ left and laid it down. I had already made my fatal mistake. I overgeared. I didn’t have the acceleration I should have – ESPECIALLY on a sprint of such a short distance. Part of it was my concern of the gearing slipping as my bike wasn’t shifting perfectly throughout the race – I had noticed the most issue in my smallest 3 cogs, conveniently the places where I would start and end my sprint! So I hit it, dropping everything I could – I was only hitting 80’s in rpm – but I passed Chris and it was clear to me with 50m to go I was not getting anything worse than second place. I wanted first. I needed first. I didn’t get it. Mike held out just enough and I just couldn’t get that last bit of top end acceleration due to the wear and tear of the Battenkill and my own two tactical errors. Mike had a killer sprint. He beat me in a sprint that I should have had and was very confident in well before the race started. He deserved that victory. Mike, well done…you got me!

Overall, I am extremely pleased with how the race went. I fought through cramps for the first time in my cycling career, traveled dirt sections that I didn't think were possibly navigable, and rode a beautiful race that is completely unparalleled in both uniqueness and epicness. My only regrets were the two lapses in execution that led to a second place finish: not being able to get a spot in the lead-out train and overgearing for the final sprint. My greatest pleasure was Meeting House Rd when I led the charge to churn a group of 40+ cyclists into a pack of 12.

I hadn't had dairy in about a week, but I couldn't pass on this delicious stuff (it was seriously REALLY good).

To say that it was just a race should be deemed illegal (if you've done it as you moved up the categories and are finally racing Cat 2 or PRO/1 - then you can treat it purely like a race...but you damn well better remember how amazing of an experience it was all the times you did it before!). To call it an event is reasonable. To call it purely epic and glorious is spot on. My greatest respects to everyone who dared put his or her wheel on the line, my regards to those whose races were shunted or faltered by flats and crashes, and my wishes to those who had injury to a speedy recovery! To the 20 or so winners of the individual races, amazing work - don't take your wins lightly. Only a couple times have I gone so deep in races. I have never had 7 other guys with me when going that deep. And I have never been so pleased with finishing second in my life - that is a massive tribute to the race and the racers. (If you know me well at all then you will understand how massive that is).

It looks like this will lead me into my Category 3 upgrade, then it's a quest to pick off some points before stage races - where I will seriously test the potential within myself to bring up the level once more. I couldn't possibly be looking forward to it one bit more.

While it was an amazing race, there is always work to be done and meters to be gained.

"Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it."