evanston crit and chicago crit

hey everybody

so last weekend was the evanston superweek crit. the course was crazy tight, 6 turn circuit. it was my first superweek race, and after hearing all the horror stories, i was a bit intimidated. turns out the stories were more or less true. there were a lot of crashes (a few right next to me) and it was pretty fast too. the legs felt good, but the cornering confidence was not where it needed to be. at the end of the 100k, what hurt most was my back and hands, rather than my legs. but anyways, i kept it upright and finished i think 54th, one of the last riders in the main field. my teammate mike (who i did pretty much nothing to help) ended up 20th.

this past weekend was the chicago crit in grant park. what a cool race! it was a beautiful day and the course was ideal for me: wide open roads, only 4 non-technical corners, and the scenery was hard to beat too- quite different from your standard industrial park crit. i felt really good for this race too, and this time was able to make something more of it. well, not really. i still finished 57th, but i raced the front and got in a few breaks (one featuring chris horner), although nothing lasted longer than a lap. anyways, after being as active as i could, i again tried to help out mike in the closing laps by pulling him up the straights, but he is a crazy man in the corners and turns out to be quite hard to follow around a criterium course. he got caught behind a last lap crash, which was unfortunate for us.

thanks to all who came out to cheer me on in these races. it makes it a lot easier with your support. i hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for some intense walker brothers rides come september.


- will

Mt. Evans Hill Climb

Last Saturday I raced in the Mt. Evans Hill Climb in Idaho Springs, CO. The race started at 7,555 ft and ended at a lung-searing 14,130ft. So almost 7,000 ft of climbing in 28 miles up the highest road in North America. Yeah, ouch.

The women's field was pretty big: about 45 girls started. The climbing was steady, and the group broke up pretty quickly. I got dropped by the leaders about halfway up, and rode solo for the rest of the race. For the most part, I felt like I was going at an excruciatingly slow pace. Those 28 miles took a full two hours and 40 minutes. But again, the plus side was that the scenery was spectacular. If I keep racing in Colorado, I'm afraid I'm going to give up trying to go fast and just enjoy the views.

At the summit, (which I finally reached after 14 diabolical switchbacks: no joke, I could see the top for a good hour before I reached it), there was a baby mountain goat! And you know, the finish and all that- at this point I was more concerned with getting to the top without getting high altitude pulmonary edema than trying to go fast. I finished about 15th.

The descent was awesome: not all that fast, since a lot of the turns were really hairy, but it was nice not having to pedal at all. A really good ride, and as usual, I was wishing the Northwestern cyclists could have raced with me.

Axie

Tour of Mt. Nebo

Hey guys!

So I've finally started racing in PA! After a canceled race and a conflicting work schedule, I managed to head to southeastern PA to race in the Tour of Mt. Nebo. The race was a very challenging first. Two huge climbs (though nothing compared to CO) dominated the course. I made a silly mistake on the second climb during the first lap (which included forgetting that I had another ring in the front that would have made the climb 10x easier) but I felt very strong on the flats and descents. I was able to convince my parents that they should come watch me race (my m.o.: they'd pay for tolls, gas and food) and it was nice to have someone there to cheer me on during the hills and to listen to my race recap afterwards. I realized that racing by yourself is definitely not nearly as fun as when you're with a team. Another plus with the parents: I convinced them to go with me to watch the Iron Hill Twilight Criterium in West Chester, PA. It was a pro/1/2 mens and womens crit in the historic Philly suburbs. It was great to see some of the East Coast cycling world. For the men's race, a Harley Davidson guy pulled an Leibo (a la Regionals) and drove the crowd wild. Many of the people there had just stumbled upon the race and it was cool to see a the world of cycling open up to some new people.
I've got two races in a week, a weekend of crits and I'll update you guys then. Besides riding my bike, working and the tdf dominate my life right now. Northeast PA holds very little else to do though the riding here is beautiful.

Triple Bypass- Riding in Style

So this wasn't a race, but it was still an awesome ride and I'm going to write about it anyway. Every year for the past 21 years, Team Evergreen has hosted the Triple Bypass, a 120 mile supported ride over three mountain passes for a total of 10,300 feet of climbing. Epic. 

I got started at 6:00 a.m. in Evergreen, CO. Almost immediately the route begins climbing Squaw Pass, whose summit sits at about 11,300 ft. The climb was pretty easy, and it was absolutely spectacular. At one point, the right side of the road dropped off about 800 vertical feet, and you could see forests for miles and miles surrounded by the 14,000'ers of the Front Range, (one of which was Mt.Evans, the mountain I'm racing up next weekend). Not a hint of civilization for as far as I could see. After about 16 miles, I reached the top where, (this being a supported ride) the race organizers had bagels and cream cheese, oranges, bananas, muffins, energy bars, gatorade, fig newtons and water. Mountains and delicious, free food- riding should always be this sweet. The descent was a lot of fun with some sharp, steep corners that made for good bike handling practice.  

The next 40 miles of the route were all uphill and into the wind. Not steep climbing, it just wasn't much fun. The next high mountain pass, Loveland, sat at mile 60. It's a short but steep pass that climbs up to 11,990 ft, well above tree line. Again, more beautiful sights and another fast descent. 

After Loveland came Swan Mountain, a short climb over a small mountain, before I finally reached the bottom of Vail Pass at mile 88. Vail Pass from the direction of the Triple is relatively easy, and after 10 miles, I was at the 10,300 ft summit. It was all downhill from there and I rolled up to my front door at 2:00 p.m. 

The ride really was too much fun and I wish you all could have joined me! Next year perhaps??

Axie 

Sunday Ride

Sunday Ride

Saturday I turned down two different group rides; a mountain bike ride, and a road ride. Instead, I planned to do a fairly long ride alone. As I drifted to sleep, I planned out my route. However, I was planning a pretty intricateroute, so I decided to map it out, using BikeMap.net. I got out of bed, and mapped it out. I wanted to ride it, but I wasn't sure if I'd actually get around to it on Sunday. This was the first time I had ridden my road bike in about three weeks, so I had planned a vigorous route to get me back in the saddle. I tried to get every possible hill in, regardless of the quality of the road. Sunday morning rolled around, and I decided to amp up the route, and bump the mileage to over 50. That also brought the total vertical climbing to over 5400 feet; about 108 feet of vertical per mile. I had bit of planning to do, and packing, but I was on the road by 1pm.

My route sent me down a familiar section of dirt road for the first bit, which helped me get the joyous feeling of riding back before I hit the hills on this 80 degree day. I was cranking along in the high 20s on this section, and then I made a sharp U-turn to begin the first hill of the day. Ten minutes later, I was at the top. Then back down the other side, and up to another summit. I stopped and took a panorama. (Peckville) I ate a bar, and pounded down the other side, across a 50mph highway, and up some more to a friend's house, where I chatted a bit, and got some water.

Continuing on, I hit the highest point of the day, took a few more panoramas (Washer's and Patten), and crept down a steep gravel "road" on the other side. Even after it became paved, it was still incredibly steep. From there, I had the chance to ride a flat paved section, so I put in a quick sprint, stepping it up to 34 mph. Up another hill, back down to a different section of the same 50 mph highway, and up another dirt hill, which is the highlight of a local 10k running race. On the other side, I stopped briefly to talk with my grandfather, and then took a 20 minute break to eat my two egg sandwiches. A group of cyclists also chose this spot for lunch, and we exchanged pleasantries.

Then it was back out onto the 50 mph highway, and up a gentle hill, and then a geographically straight shot to the next big town. This section of the routewas the most difficult for me to navigate, having only ridden it once before, and not all at the same time. There were many four way intersections that I paused at, before deciding the correct road. On more than one occasion, I found hills I had forgotten about. Fortunately, a long descent on the other side welcomed me, and then a short cut through a section of abandonded road spared me from riding through a traffic circle.

I rode back toward home, along a familiar commuting route, but then I veered off east, and dove down to a covered bridge over a river, before the steepest climb of the day. A short steep, but steep nonetheless. I came out on an other commuting route, the one I took to elementary school, and now to my job on a film set. This road had been recently paved, so that was a nice reprieve from the dirt I had encountered earlier. I stopped to watch a farmer wrap round hay bales with white plastic, a fascinating process I had watched at the same farm on a bike ride years before. Further on, I noted the exact location of the Leyden/Bernardston town line.

The best downhill in the county now awaited me, and I unfortunately was not able to break 50 mph, coming in at 49.3 mph. Then it was on and down a long gentle downhill into Vermont, and then back along a dirt road beside a winding brook. The brook fed into a river, and I went up, following the river, past a beautiful waterfall, and up onto a section of road I hadn't been on since elementary school. From there, I headed due north, and then came about on to a due south road which had more hills in it than I had previously remembered.

Out past a dairy farm, and down the central road of Leyden. I managed to avoid any significant hills, save the one I cranked up in my highest gear, courtesy of the downhill before it, and the speed I had worked up. Then a few more dirt roads, and I was home!

53 miles

4 hours riding time

5.5 hours elapsed time

13.1 average velocity

5400 feet of vertical climbing

http://www.bikemap.net/route/234223

fitchburg

so i spent my fourth of july racing a 4 day stage race up in MA. i was racing the pro/1 category, and the field was stacked as it was an NRC event.

day 1 was the TT. i rocked aerobars and borrowed a zipp 808 rear and 404 front from my teammate brett. i felt good, and still only came in 100th out of like 171 starters i think. more aero equipment would have helped some, but there were a lot of fast dudes. mike friedman of garmin slipstream was there and he raced in paris roubaix earlier this year. i avged around 27 mph. tom zirbel won and beat me by over 2 mins on the 9 mile course. he avged more like 31 mph, but then again he did beat levi at the USPRO TT championships last year. yea, he's fast.

day 2- circuit race
this race is a 3 mile circuit with a tough hill, a flat backstretch and then a 45 mph downhill leading back into the uphill. this race was crazy from the gun. people everywhere bumping bars, crashes, super fast...just chaos. i was feeling good physically, but i was too far back, trying to stay away from the crazy people, which seemed like everyone. eventually people started opening gaps on the back stretch and after closing a few i came off for good. it was not a crit, so i still had to finish, and rode ~72 miles because i was lapped by the field. there were 80 finishers and one was my teammate mike, so that was a good ride for him.

day 3- road race
110 mile race, 10x on an 11 mile hilly loop with a feedzone/finish climb that really hurt. it was again crazy fast from the gun. people were opening gaps all over on the hill, and i was too far back again and forced to jump around. eventually, 4 laps in, the field was starting to get down to a manageable size, but i broke a spoke before the fast descent. sram gave me no pace back up, and it was game on at the front, so i was unable to catch back on. i linked up with two other riders (one being OUCH pro bobby lea) and we rode the rest of the day, and finished ~40 minutes down. if i hadn't broken that spoke, i am not sure how i would have fared. i was already in the hurt box, so it was bound to be a long day for me whether or not i was in the field.

day 4- crit
after getting my face smashed in the first 3 days, i was intimidated for the crit, as these are not my strength. however, it was a manageable pace from the start, and the corners were not too fast or sketchy. like all nrc crits, it got pretty fast towards the end, but i was able to finish in the field in 76th position- nothing great, but i guess i'll take it after days 2 and 3.

i ended up 100th overall on g.c. not stellar, but i finished, and it's good to have my first nrc stage race under my belt (after crashing out of joe martin earlier this year).

i hope that you are all doing well. I am still home now, but will be back in evanston in a couple of weeks and look to get in on some rides. i also hope that everyone is able to watch the tour, because it is awesome. post to the blog and let us know what you are up to!


- will

Alex and I did the Turin ride at six o'clock tonight. It was a pretty easy pace and the group was smaller than usual. I think that there was a race downtown tonight. I'm just getting back to riding after a couple weeks of cross training, but Alex looked strong.

Hey all,
Last weekend I competed in the Dead Dog Classic stage race up in the mountains of Wyoming. Saturday was a hard, 53-mile RR that climbed the Medicine Bow Pass just outside of Laramie. The race started at around 9,000 ft in a little town called Albany (population: 15). The first twenty miles of the race weren't too bad and I was feeling strong. The serious climbing was in the middle of the course- 2,400 ft in 9 miles. Not too bad except for the 25 mph headwind. The group broke up really quickly on the climb and I ended up riding solo for the rest of the race. The descent was awesome- 59 mph, baby! So fun. The last 11 miles of the course, all uphill and into the wind, were not so fun and I ended up finishing middle of the pack.

The crit on Sunday in downtown Laramie was sweet. One of my GS Boulder teamates ended up winning it and I took 5th out of 25.

The crit was followed by an individual TT. The 10 mile TT is supposedly the highest 'flat' TT in North America at 8,800 ft. Not what I would call flat, the course had some pretty good hills in the final 5 miles. I finished a mediocre 15/25.
Fun, hard, windy weekend that left me exhausted and stoked to race again mid-July.
Axie