Friday, June 30, 2006

Shocking!

I'm absolutely stunned right now. This morning, a list of riders implicated in "Operation Puerto" was released by Spanish officials, and it was a HUGE bombshell.

Check out this list. I'm sure you'll recognize one or two names.

Astaná-Würth

  • Michele Scarponi (I)
  • Marcos Antonio Serrano (Sp)
  • David Etxebarria (Sp)
  • Joseba Beloki (Sp)
  • Angel Vicioso (Sp)
  • Isidro Nozal (Sp)
  • Unai Osa (Sp)
  • Jaksche Joorg (G)
  • Giampaolo Caruso (I)

CSC

  • Ivan Basso (I)

Caisse D'Epargne-Iles Baleares

  • Constantino Zaballa (Sp)

Saunier Duval

  • Carlos Zarate (Sp)

Ag2r

  • Francisco Mancebo (Sp)

T-Mobile

  • Jan Ullrich (G)
  • Oscar Sevilla (Sp)

Phonak

  • Jose Enrique Gutierrez (Sp)
  • Jose Ignacio Gutierrez (Sp)

Communidad de Valencia

  • Vicente Ballester (Sp)
  • David Bernabeu (Sp)
  • David Rodriguez (Sp)
  • Jose Adrian Bonilla (Sp)
  • Juan Gomis Lopez (Sp)
  • Eladio Jimenez Sanchez (Sp)
  • David Latasa (Sp)
  • Ruben Plaza (Sp)
  • Jose Luis Martinez (Sp)
  • Manuel Llorent (Sp)
  • Antonio Olmo (Sp)
  • David Munoz (Sp)
  • Javier Cherro (Sp)
  • Javier Pascual (Sp)former rider and now an official

Unibet.com

  • Carlos Garcia Quesada (Sp)

Riders retired or suspended for doping

  • Roberto Heras (Sp)
  • Angel Casero (Sp)
  • Santiago Perez (Sp)
  • Tyler Hamilton (USA)
  • Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Sp)

I think it's safe to say this "Operation Puerto" is the biggest doping scandal in cycling. I'm shocked, and more than a little disappointed.
One thing is for certain, it is definitely anybody's Tour this year.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Tip O' the day

When you wake up for a 7am ride, don't forget to wake up your legs as well.

The plan was for a 2hr journey but the legs were feeling really lifeless. At one point I was tempted to get a priest to give them last rites. The heart was willing, but the legs weren't having any of it. It was one of the toughest training rides I've had in a long time. I struggled to keep my HR in the 150s, as a matter of fact, I finished the ride with an average HR of 151bpm, and that is extremely low for an endurance training ride. I was gonna do some intervals, but said, "he hell with that!"

At least it was nice and still out, and I didn't have to battle any wind. Interestingly enough, I had a decent avg speed for my time out there....just about 19.3mph. That surprised me, I thought for sure I'd be in the 17mph range. That just goes to show, you give me a day with no wind and on a good day I could easily hit 22mph or so...and that's on my mtn bike. But, I don't usually get a day without wind, so it's irrelevant anyway.

Let's see how the afternoon group mtb ride goes...

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Rest day...like it or not

A large percentage of the population doesn't like to make decisions. These people have lifted indecisiveness to an artform. They'll typically let out a collective sigh anytime a decision is made for them...even if it wasn't what they wanted.

Last night I went to bed unsure of whether I was gonna do my scheduled ride or not. I woke up with my legs still not at their perkiest so I decided to wait and see how they felt later in the day. As the day wore on, I waffled back and forth, "should I ride, or should I take my rest day?" Decisions, decisions.
I was putting on a new chain when I heard the familiar rumble of thunder, and then a few minutes later my decision to ride or not was made for me. The skies opened up and let loose with a downpour. By the time it stopped it was steamy out, which is just nasty if you've got to be outside for any length of time.

So remember, when a decision has to be made, it will be made
, whether it's by you or someone else.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

That sucked

Yesterday I did a 1hr AM ride, then followed it up with an intense 2hr ride in the afternoon. I didn't go all out during the morning ride, but I went harder than I should have. Afterwards, the legs felt good, so I decided to do my regularly scheduled 2hr training ride, complete with some Power Intervals.
I don't know if it was the length of the ride or the Power Intervals, but by the end of the ride I was not doing well. I know what Egon meant when he said "I feel like the floor of a taxicab."
I even had to bail on my Power Intervals after the 3rd one. My power started dropping off on that third interval, so I figured I'd pull the plug on doing anymore, despite needing to do a total of 5 of them.

Even now, the legs aren't what I would call...lively. My plan calls for a 1hr ride today, and I was gonna do it this morning, but that ain't happenin'. We'll see how the legs feel this afternoon. If need be I'll take a rest day today and do my 1hr tomorrow.

The drama surrounding the Spanish doping scandal keeps getting bigger and bigger. TdF officials have notified the Astana-Wurth (formerly Liberty Seguros-Wurth) team that they're no longer welcome at the Tour.
If Tour organizers get their wish, that'll leave GC contender Alexandre Vinokourov scrambling to find a team to take him on. The Court of Arbitration is gonna be hearing both sides, and they'll be the ones to ultimately decide whether Astana-Wurth starts the Tour or not.

What a tangled web we weave.

Monday, June 26, 2006

In the news

Spain's El Pais has implicated Jan Ullrich in the Spanish doping scandal. With just days to go before the Tour starts we could see one of the Tour favorites under investigation and perhaps not even start the tour. Is Ullrich guilty of doping? I don't know...I hope not. One thing is for sure though, El Pais' "evidence" is paper thin right now, it's total speculation. It's a shame that newspapers will make these sensationalist claims without the hard proof to back up those claims.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Vote for Chris

Dickies Clothing Company is having a contest for "Worker of the Year". Chris Davidson, who wrenches for the Ford Cycling MTB Team, is one of the finalists. Team mechanics are some hard working folks.

Friday, June 23, 2006

Beat that dead horse

L'Equipe is at it again.

Recently there's been Operation Puerto, and the subsequent fallout, including Liberty Mutual pulling it's sponsorship of Saiz's team, Communidad Valenciana losing it's TdF invite, and not to mention several riders having a cloud of suspicion hanging over them. Operation Puerto is the biggest doping scandal to hit cycling since the Festina affair back in 1998, and rehashing Lance's alleged doping is the best that L'Equipe can come up with right now? Smart, real smart.

I just don't understand it.

If doping won't raise its ugly head for a while we're gonna get one heck of a Tour this year. Basso is looking like the man to beat, but Ullrich can never be counted out. There are several Americans that could be contenders too.

R&R

2hrs of saddle time w/ some Power intervals were supposed to be on the agenda today, but after yesterday's Tour de Hell I decided to switch things around and do a recovery ride. It was probably a good thing that I chose to stick close to home, as there was some major rain in the area.

So tomorrow, weather permitting, I will do those 2hrs.

Random mode on:

Bear Naked makes some awesome granola...their Peak Protein granola is the shiznit! I've been through a bag of it in less than a week.

World Cup- Mtn bike style

This weekend is the next stop on the UCI World Cup circuit. The best mtn bike racers in the world will be duking it out in Mont St-Anne, Quebec.

Good luck to all the Americans, especially JHK... I hope you can follow up Fort William with another podium visit.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Scorchin'

Man it was hot today. It was one of those kinds of days that makes you wish you lived anyplace but Florida. If my HR monitor was anywhere near being correct, it showed an average temperature of 98 degrees. I think it was pretty close to being accurate, as I was having to use my spare water bottle to wet my back and head. I was even rewarded with a mild case of dehydration...thanks, thanks for nothin'.

The group mtn bike ride was great today, we had a big crew out there. There must've been 10 or 12 of us. The ride had its drama too. Pat, Dave, myself, and I think 1 or 2 others stacked it at one point or another. My encounter with terra firma was the result of too much speed for a sandy, powdery dry corner. My knee dug a nice trench in the ground, and the ground returned the favor to my knee.


I'm outta here
.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Sponsor-n-da House!

I'm back on track with my training, and feeling good about my fitness and upcoming races.

Just about a week ago I created a profile on SponsorHouse.com. SponsorHouse connects sponsors with athletes of all disciplines. It's a really cool setup they got goin' there.

Anyway, I created a profile and then didn't do anything with it for a couple days, at which time I applied for a sponsorship. I wasn't gonna get my hopes/expectations up too high, because after all, I AM new to racing.

In the end I shouldn't have been so down on my chances...as the totally awesome folks at SixSixOne took me on for the 2006 race season. SixSixOne makes some great gear, especially their gloves.

Ohh, and no, I can't get you any freebies.


Monday, June 19, 2006

Gettin' raspberries

What is it with these nutritional companies supplying races with effing raspberry gels? I'm grateful for them ponying up for some schwag for us racers, but why raspberry? Do they pawn it off on us so they can get rid of the crap? Of the four races I've done, I've gotten those damned raspberry gels at three of them.


If you haven't noticed by now, I detest raspberry...no, make that hate, 'hate with the fury of a thousand suns' kind of hate. Sean don't do anything raspberry. Period.
About the only thing that those raspberry gels would be good for, would be to quietly squirt some on a fellow competitor in hopes the sticky sweetness would attract every bug in the region, and hound them for the entire race.

Couldn't they provide some other flavor? Any flavor would do.

On the training front, I got a couple of good hours in today. I was supposed to do some Power Intervals, but I just couldn't gather the oomph to do them. Other than that though it was a good ride day.

Looking ahead

I've had enough time to bask in my first big win, but it's time to move on. I've got more races to think about. As of this moment I am planning on doing 1 or 2 of the SERC races, the first one being SERC #8 in Ducktown, Tn. on July 16th. I understand that the trails there are awesome.
I'm just at a month before that race, so training is back in full swing after taking a few days off from regimented training. The next few weeks will be big training weeks. I will continue to work on sprinting, and producing increased power at lactate threshold.

Some of the people I ride with think I should move on up to Sport, but I am using the Beginner class in my freshman race season to help me learn race strategy, as well as developing race related bike handling skills (which is already starting to pay off).

Friday, June 16, 2006

Cloud 9

It's been almost a week since Sugar Mtn, and I'm still on a proverbial high. Despite the abundance of roads (fire, paved, etc) on the course, it appears that the event was well received. I was curious to know what the pros thought of the course...how it stacked up against other NORBA events (*I* thought it was a pretty tough course, but then I don't have anything to compare it to.)

Adam Craig had this to say about the climbing, "the steepest climb known to man..."
Jeremiah Bishop called it a "monster climb", and Geoff Kabush said that the course had, "Probably one of the most technical descents on the NORBA circuit..."

I'm glad it wasn't just me.

Time for some random pics from the weekend.

Team Pits


Pro men's podium


Super sexy Industry 9 wheels


JHK's race bike


Sue Haywood's Trek


Thursday, June 15, 2006

Showdown at Sugar- Race report

In years past, the NORBA series has never ventured farther south than Snowshoe W Virginia, so I never thought I’d be in a position to attend a NORBA Nat’l event. As soon as I heard that Sugar Mtn was on the NORBA calendar for 2006, I made plans to attend. I even went so far as to rearrange my race/training schedule in order to make Sugar Mtn my first ‘A’ race of the season.

I had never ridden at Sugar Mtn. Even though I hadn’t ridden there I knew that it was a climber’s course, after looking at the course map. In the weeks leading up to the race I started concentrating on climbing workouts. Since I was from the flatlands also-known-as Florida, I was gonna be at a serious disadvantage, so I wanted to do everything in my power to shrink that disadvantage. Fortunately, I had some business that took me up to NC about a week and a half early, so that gave me the opportunity to A) get acclimated to the altitude, and B) get some REAL climbing training in.

The week of the race I did a couple days worth of training early on in the week. Not too far from where I was staying was a steep 2.5 mile road, and this road was a great training ground. Sections of the road are a nasty 18% grade, so I think it gave me a good taste of what awaited me at the race.

My plan was to arrive at Sugar Mtn on Thursday and get a couple of laps in on the course, then one more lap on Friday morning. After that I’d take it easy till my race on Saturday. That was my plan, but as is often the case, it fell through before I even got checked in. Someone must’ve been doing a raindance, because it poured all Thursday afternoon… so much for a pre-ride. Since Thursday was a washout (pun intended), the new plan was to hook up with some guys from back home and we’d get a couple of laps in on Friday morning before the Semi-Pro race later in the day.

As tough as I thought the climbing would be, it was nothing compared to the real deal. The initial climb from the base of the slope was a kick in the pants. Being muddy and slick from the previous day’s rain made the climb even harder. I handled the climbs fairly well, but what gave me pause were the technical sections on the descent. Sand, the occasional root, and tight, twisty singletrack is about as technical as my riding gets back home. Rocks and roots galore awaited us on the descent. Did I mention that those rocks/roots were coated in mud and slick from all that rain? Slippery rocks and slick roots… ohh yeah, Sean is walking over that stuff! With my technical skills being somewhat suspect, I decided that, “discretion is the better part of valor”, and figured the best course of action was to do the ole cyclocross thing and run thru the techy stuff.

Once you clear the technical sections you get rewarded to a sick fast run down the slope. Tuck in, and hang on. Yeehaw!

After a couple of laps, it was time to go hang out in the expo area and watch the Semi-Pro XC race (Congrats to Florida boy Ryan Woodall on his win in the Semi-Pro race).

Ryan Woodall, gettin' it done in the Semi-Pro race.


The sun that we got on Friday would end up being a God send for me and my race the following day.

Saturday we were awarded with mild temperatures and more sun. The men’s and women’s Pro XC events were to take place at noon, and even though I had a race to think about there was no way I was gonna miss out on seeing my first ever pro XC race. Several of us hiked up the slope to watch the pros as they came up one of the steepest climbs, and once they had all cleared that section we walked up the slope even farther to catch them as they came down thru the technical areas. At this point, allow me to remind everyone that I still have a race to run in a few hours… so why am I walking UP a ski slope? You really have to be a total retard to walk up a ski slope prior to a race that is going to take you up that very same slope. What can I say, I’m a mtn bike geek.




As it turns out, watching the pros, coupled with the weather would be a major factor in my race.

My race was due to kick off at 3:30pm, so at 2:30 I got changed, got my gear together and went and warmed up.
Throughout all this I was surprisingly calm. This is a national event, I’m not gonna make it without getting a case of nerves, they’ll pop up soon.

At about 3:15 they start calling up the waves of riders. My wave will go at 3:42, and it includes beginner classes from 19 up to 39. There were a LOT of sport and beginner racers. If what the announcer said was true, there were over 200 registered in the two classes… the most ever for a NORBA nat’l event. The various sport waves start going and my wave is inching closer to the start line. Still calm. Hmm, maybe I’m dead.

We’re up. 1 minute before we go. Still calm. Did someone give me some Prozac or somethin’? 30 seconds. This is what I’ve been training for.

GO!

Before my pre-ride, my plan called for punching it for a wee bit at the start, but after experiencing that climb I decided to stick with a strategy of attrition. Get a decent start so as to not get caught behind a bunch of other riders while the leaders get a gap, and then start picking off my competitors on the climbs. Would this strategy work? Read on.

I get the good start I hoped for, solid but not too fast. It’s amazing how a climb can splinter a field of racers almost immediately. No sooner had the climbing started than riders were falling off the pace. I was already passing some riders. With the style of start we had, I had no idea of how many riders were in my actual age category, or even which ones were in my category. I knew of 2, and that was because I heard them mention their category.

The climbs up the slope were the steepest of the course, and there were 3 steep sections. As we were approaching the first steep climb, one of the riders that I knew I was racing against came along side of me, and even got ahead of me by a few feet. As he went by I noticed he was in his big chain ring! Is he crazy!?!? This revelation would lead to my only real mistake of the race. Being as this guy was a beginner, I knew there was no way he could make it up these climbs using his big chain ring without cracking, but what do I do? I attack and reel him back in, and subsequently get ahead of him. *Pre-race plan- Ride your own pace up the steepest sections and go on the attack on the less steep sections.

The steepest section was still to come and I was close to redlining after passing Big Chain Ring guy. At the top of the last steep section there had been a dude with a drum set during the pro race. The drum beat was providing a tempo to pedal to/take their minds off the climb. I wish he had still been there during my race.


I crested that last pitch and I had to stop, as my check engine light was close to coming on. Reeling that guy in had come dangerously close to costing me a DNF. As it was, a quick 15 or so seconds and I got my HR out of the stratosphere and I was moving once again. Some flat/downhill sections allowed me to recover for the next bout of climbing. This would be repeated several times over the course of the race. This course had very little singletrack. Most of it was fireroad with some paved sections thrown in for good measure. After my near disaster I was doing extremely well on the climbs. I was slowly picking off riders. Even now, I don’t know how many, or if any were in my class. I know some were sport class riders, but I just couldn’t take the chance, so I passed every chance I got. I got some good advice prior to the race. “When you pass someone, don’t ease off the second you get past them. Get a gap on them of at least 10 ft. That way they’ll be less likely to pass you back.

I followed that advice, and I have to say that when I passed someone, I never had them turn right around and pass me back. I’ll remember that little tip.

After an all-too-short descent we were heading up the last sustained climb. This was a recently cut fireroad, and while not as steep as the sections on the slope, it was almost worse than those sections. This climb was fairly straight, so you could look up and see the climb going on, and on, and on, like it was never going to end. It was torture.

I pass two more riders, and would eventually catch on to a train of at least 10 or 12 riders making their way to the top. *Pre race plan- Near the top of the last big climb, attack and gain some ground on the competition.

Of the 10-12 riders in that group I managed to pick off 5 or 6 of them before we entered what was only the second section of singletrack since starting the race. I catch up to and pass another rider in the singletrack. I exit the singletrack, onto a gravel climb, which can mean only one thing. I’m almost to the top, and finished with the climbing! The course peaks right at the entrance to SugarTop condominium, which sits like a monolith atop the mountain.


No more climbing. YES!

The flat paved section allows me to recover and drink some before the white knuckle descent.

*Pre race plan- Survive the technical stuff on the descent. Walk/run almost all of it. Try and make time and/or hold my position the best I can.

Remember how I said that watching the pros would be a factor in my race? Watching all those riders going thru the technical areas allowed me to take note of the lines being taken thru the sections. Add in the fact that the ground had dried considerably, and it resulted in an on-the-fly change in my race strategy.

As I entered the woods, and came upon the first technical section I found myself picking a line and riding it thru. It was a process that was repeated several times. It was as if I had ridden these trails for months. Obstacles that had given me pause the day before were no trouble at all. I’m still amazed at how easily I tackled those sections. My original plan would’ve had me walking almost 80% of the tough sections, but as it was, I rode around 80% of the stuff. While watching the pros, there were still two sections that I intended to walk thru due to their difficulty. As it turns out, I had no choice but to walk these two sections as I encountered a logjam of riders at both spots. No harm, no foul. I make it past all the rocks and roots intact. I survived, the bike survived.

I exit the last wooded section, now it’s just a fast winding descent down the slope to the finish. I follow a sport class rider all the way in, hitting a top speed of 30mph along the way. Wow, what a ride! I finish somewhere around the 45 minute mark, but it would be a LONG time before I learn my final time, as well as how I finished.

Waiting on the results I suffered enough for everyone, so I’ll cut to the chase. I finished with a winning time of 44:51. Second place was around 45 seconds behind me. My time was the third fastest of ALL the beginner classes. I still can’t believe that I went to a national race and won…won on a course with almost 1400’ of climbing. A Florida boy winning on a mountainous course… it’s a feeling that is extremely hard to describe.

The road to this race has been a long one. If someone would’ve asked me back in Aug 2004 if I’d ever find myself winning a NORBA mtn bike race I would’ve laughed at the thought. Going from 310lbs in 2004, to 185lbs in June ’06, AND winning at Sugar Mtn…it’s mind boggling.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Friday, June 09, 2006

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Panthertown

I've been trying to get some riding in for the past few days, and a Tour de Parking Lot is the best I could drum up. Today the planets aligned and the Cycling Gods smiled on me, and I actually managed to get some saddle time. Before I left home, my plan was to ride on the road and leave my mtn bike sitting till the race, but due to the narrow roads around here self preservation kicked in and I abandoned any attempts at road training.

The only place I could find to do some mtn biking nearby was a place called Panthertown Valley, which is owned by the US Forest Service.

Panthertown is called "the Yosemite of the East", because of its exposed granite domes. Geologically, the area is quite fascinating.



One aspect of the geology of the area is that there are some honest to God, sandy trails. Not as sandy as back home, but definitely out of the norm for what I've ridden in NC.
For the mtn biker, Panthertown is an area of extremes. If you're not climbing, you are ripping down a fast descent. There isn't a lot of singletrack, but what it lacks in singletrack it makes up for in big climbs and descents.

How about some Eastern slickrock?

Coming across some huge granite slabs (think Moab slickrock) was a pleasant change, and was big fun to ride on. I might try and ride Panthertown again one day, but the Forest Service is going to have to do some work on marking the trails. There were zero markings on the trails, and I tried my best to find the Cold Mountain Gap Trailhead, and never did find it. I just gave up and retraced my route back to the car. And it wasn't just me either. I came across numerous hikers, and not one of them knew the proper route/s. Some I think were downright lost. At least I wasn't lost, I just couldn't find the right route to my destination.

The final tally for the day was...
15.5 miles ridden
2000ft of climbing.

And yes, I am tired.

I'm looking forward to getting back on more familiar ground, where I can get some serious road miles/workouts in.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Sad

I'm currently in Atlanta, on my way up to NC. After checking in at the hotel and getting some dinner, I am so desperate for some saddle time that I ride in the parking lot at 11:00 at night. The worst part is, I logged 7 miles riding in a damned parking lot! After 30 minutes I just couldn't take it any more. I thought of leaving the security of the parking lot a couple times, but self preservation dictated that I stay put. Atlanta is dangerous in the daytime, nighttime is just asking for trouble.

Starting tomorrow I'll be able to get some real riding in.

The bed is calling. I'm outta here.