Chris Horner

I'll say it here, as I've said it before: Chris Horner is clean. So many people I know were speaking in complete doubt by the time he won stage 10 at La Vuelta. But this is not about doping, I just had to get that out of the way for all the doubters out there. I might expand on my 'why' later on, but I'll just go with this:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>If you don&#39;t think Horner&#39;s performance is believable, you haven&#39;t been paying attention to the little details of his career.</p>&mdash; Adam Myerson (@AdamMyerson) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamMyerson/statuses/378908857495347202">September 14, 2013</a></blockquote>

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Adam Myerson is a class act. Especially when it comes to doping/anti-doping topics. I had the good fortune of spending some time riding with him last winter. I saw him (at 40 years old) come back from his offseason. I went from riding ahead of him, to getting dropped on a 1% grade in the matter of 3 weeks. He said himself, that his FTP has improved and the only part of his riding that has fallen off is his peak power. Which makes sense: It has been long known that muscle composition is reduced in Type II as we age (especially following 30+ years).

The real reason for this post is about how much I like Horner and the fact that he has not yet signed on for a team for 2014. I'm 'new' to cycling, and don't know a whole lot of its history. The first year I really even watched the Tour (de France) was 2011. My favorite rider going into it was Chris Horner. He was by far a longshot, but I watched some of the Tour of California and was enthralled by his ride there. I had no clue how small or big his chances were, but I was excited to see him head to the big race. Sadly, he crashed early on and was out of the race. My interest dropped quite a bit. Nevertheless it was formed that he was one of my favorite riders in the peloton.

Now, following an injury-ridden midseason, he was able to come back and get 2nd at Tour of Utah and then get on the squad for the Vuelta. He made his underestimated presence known, when he was "let go" on Stage 3 by the "Big Names" and took a stage victory. It was a summit finish, so a decent selection was already made. With 1K to go, Horner attacked and people just looked at each other. If it was 2K left, the result would have been VERY different. But the short lack of response/concern with such a short distance left gave Horner the gap he needed to win. He lost the lead the next day (intentionally?), and thus the team was not under pressure. Horner went on to take stage 10 as well. And the overall victory. An unprecedented feat in a Grand Tour for a 41 year old to do (even the stage victories hadn't been done).

So, Horner did something that has never even close to been done before. That's pretty awesome. He is 'old' in terms of pro cycling, and is fragile - reinforced by his broken ribs at Worlds (although, if I fell on a coke can in a hard crash I'd be busted up pretty good as well). How much more time does the guy have left? Well, for one he's clearly in the best form of his career. He's a class act and is responsible AND respectful of his sport and his peers. That alone is reason to hire him. I don't know what sort of money he wants and what he's being offered - so that is likely the full reason why he has not yet signed.

Teams are hesitant to do an unprecedented thing - give a lot of money to an guy his age. But didn't Horner just prove his capabilities and riding at his current age are exactly that? Should he be getting a two-year high paying deal? That is debatable. He definitely deserves at least a good, solid 1-year contract. Then that team gets a nice boost in WorldTour Points...who knows what extra he could have gotten if he hadn't crashed out of Worlds!

I really don't think having Horner on your team causes any real doping concerned threats. His history of even mention in any doping scandals is less than most of the 30 year olds in the peloton (that would be zero, to my knowledge). He doesn't carry baggage like Contador, Basso, or even Frank Schleck and Danielson. He has 2 flaws: age and injury.

So, ProTeams, hire Horner. Just listen to him. Expect him to dictate the terms of his own training. And don't over-race him or throw him into crits or Paris-Roubaix. Maybe have him try to double up on the Vuelta by racing early, skipping part of mid-season, and no other Grand Tours.

I think Horner's a badass and deserves a reasonable, good contract. He's a talent whose capabilities are unprecedented, don't let that go to waste.

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.

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.

The Tumultuous Lead-in to Run For Glory - Part II

Due to the past week's events, I'll be doing a lead-in entry to my 23 mile birthday run:

2011 was tumultuous, and 2012 began in similar fashion. 2011 kicked off with my Dad's diagnosis of Leukemia just before the new year began, and the following very bumpy and long road from a very scary situation to complete remission to a successful bone marrow transplant (BMT). The transplant went very well and, aside from the inherent difficulties of a BMT, relatively smooth. It was a slow process from initial release from the hospital to gaining strength and resuming most normal activities. A huge day for me was when my dad and I went for a bike ride, it was a great experience to see him make a big step and enjoy himself. Aside from everything going on with my dad, things were pretty good. Leading up to December I had only been cycling and was kicking it into high gear to prep for the PVC Double Loop, a group ride gone awesome race with cash for the 8 sprints. However, the Tuesday before it, I broke my collarbone and was sidelined. My team still did excellently, in spite of preparing for me to be our sprinter...everyone stepped up HUGE and we were able to take two (or maybe three?) sprints in the race.

So I had a broken collarbone only 10 weeks out from my birthday and would take a few weeks to even start running. It was a very premature crunch time sort of situation. I knew my build (from running about 30 miles the entirety of July through early December to a 23 miler late January) was going to have to be well planned, and even better executed. I'd probably be able to do it regardless of planning...but I had set the goal to do 23mi in 2:50:00 (2:50:00 was my time for 22mi last year) - this was the tough part: 7:23/mi for a few hours on a fall season completely void of running. The base fitness was there from cycling, but my injury prone self was looking down an ugly road with a lot of injury possibility to come my way. I like the thrill of being in a fairly high pressure situation. I was ready for the challenge of going from a freshly broken clavicle to basically a sub-3:15 Marathon in 10 weeks.

So the training began. Day 1 after the break, I couldn't walk over 2.5MPH, it hurt like hell. You'd never know how much you bounce when you walk until you are extremely sensitized to it. I biked on an exercise bike. I walked outside for a few miles within that first week. By 15 days I ran 3 miles @ sub-7:00/mi pace...it killed my legs pretty bad, but I was quickly beginning to understand exactly how much fitness cycling gave to me. 8 miles while still in the brace, 10 miles on Christmas morning (~6wks post fracture), 14 the next week, 16 the week after (8 of it on bad ice). Setback - my clavicle aggravated the skin it was pushing into to the point I had trouble going up/down stairs due to the bouncing. Down week. 11mi the following Tuesday. Then my risky, but VERY rewarding, 19.5mi run @ 7:16 pace on January 14th. It was official; I was going to be able to hit my goal barring another clavicle-induced setback.

Then something pretty unsuspecting happened. My dad had some fluid build-up in his body, his appetite dropped to nothing, he felt like he had a cold...then the flu. It was quite reminiscent of just over one year before when he was then diagnosed with Leukemia. But the transplant had gone GREAT, his blood counts had been perfect, the bone marrow biopsies had all been clean...but something was awry. It was  Upon making an unscheduled visit to his doctor at Dana Farber (DFCI) we quickly learned it was his kidneys, hence the massive fluid build-up (20+ pounds). It was a reversible situation, but he was immediately admitted to the hospital that day on Wednesday, January 18th. Thanks to having myself, my brother, and my dad's girlfriend as a great support system, my dad had someone there with him almost incessantly while still allowing each of us to get done what we needed. I stayed in Boston on Wednesday (thanks to my brother's good friends Sevi and Courtney) and in the hospital room Thursday. I came home for the weekend to recover from my lack of sleep and get all my stuff together to camp out in Beantown for the next week. I managed to hit Friday Night Fights, getting a second place on pure adrenaline - as I had been stressed, nearly sleepless, and moving all out for the past two days with all the tests, retests, and checks my dad was going through at the hospital (and he was about 5 times as worn down as me! It's amazing how he just gets through all of it).

I had a semi-relaxing weekend, and went back down to Boston on Sunday. This time I stayed at a hotel down there, and was luckily able to set up my bike/trainer (surprised?! haha...gotta keep the streak alive!). This week was slower moving, most tests were done and it was just all about getting the fluid out and getting the kidney function back in the right direction. Finally, on Wednesday, it looked like he was really back on the right track. So, in a tough decision, I headed home to do my birthday run on my planned route in Maine (to be discussed on my next entry). I was pretty bummed that my dad was in the hospital for my birthday, but was relieved that he was improving and the end of his stay was coming up shortly. He was released today, Saturday, and is extremely relieved to be back in his own bed. Ironically, after his bone marrow transplant he was released on my brother's birthday! I definitely could have run 23 miles in Boston, but my route in Portland had so much meaning and would be a tribute to my mom...so it was something my dad understood very well and something I couldn't let pass. Had my dad not been doing so well, I would have reconsidered.

One huge thing to note is that on January 13th my sister, Alexis, flew out to Beirut, Lebanon for her second co-op at Northeastern. It's something she has been absolutely thrilled about since the opportunity presented itself and she had no idea if it was even possible for not. I am very excited for her experience over in the Middle East and the cultural experiences she will learn to appreciate and enjoy as part of her everyday life. I've never gone abroad with the intent to experience a culture, I've only gone for vacation. So I envy two things: 1) her desire to spend 6 months in a place where she knows no one and 2) to take the step and do what she loves with the confidence to know she's going to have a blast regardless of the circumstances. She is keeping up a blog (probably a hell of a lot more interesting than mine: www.lexinlebanon.tumblr.com) to let everyone know of her adventures in the Middle East. Check it out!...Now!...Seriously, what are you waiting for?

There my sister is...trying to adjust to the 'unknown' in Lebanon, just starting to settle in, and all of a sudden our dad is in the hospital. Even though the situation was well under control and all the necessary tests were being taken care of, she was still thousands of miles away in a time zone seven hours ahead of home. We talked with her on Skype and kept her up to date as best as we could, but it's tough to know how difficult it can be in her shoes. She's stronger than she shows and even tougher than even she knows, but no matter what it hits you like an anvil. My brother went to Italy for a semester abroad just after my mom was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer. I knew what it was like to be separated from home (Lex and Jase had college in Boston - the location of both of our parents' treatments, but I was in Rochester)...but never have experienced the detachment of thousands of miles and time zones and excessively expensive hypothetical trips home. To sum it up, both my sister and brother have had it pretty tough being abroad...which is supposed to be the time of your life. My brother worked through it, had his ups and downs, and walked away with an amazing experience he would never have had another shot at. I have no doubts my sister will keep up her excellent attitude and excitement, and eventually come back to America in July saying "Nooooo but I want to stay another month!".

Overall, we are now home and happy to be home once again. Despite an as usual drawn out discharge and rushing to get medication filled for pickup by the end of the day (many of you know this drill on some scale), his spirits were high and got progressively higher until he was in the comfort of our home.

Thanks to my Dad's strength and the great support of my brother, my dad's girlfriend, and all of our family and friends...we once again have come out of the hospital healthy, happy, and overcoming yet another bump in the road. Coincidentally, this reminds me of a quote from my first entry on this blog: a motivational poster my Dad got me years ago. "Challenges: A bump in the road is an obstacle to be fought or an opportunity to be enjoyed...it is all up to you." My Dad's hospital stay was surely not enjoyable, but sticking together and coming out on top once again is far more complex and much better than simple enjoyment.