TTT with the Diesel and Kamos

Tuesday nights are fun. There is a large group of us who meet down at Lamar for a handicapped group ride. the "A" group consists of accomplished racers, and fast recreational riders and the "B" group consists of beginners, rec riders, and accomplished racers who aren't quite fast enough for the "A" group. Each group is usually subdivided into three smaller groups ,the last in each group being the fastest. In theory that should allow everyone to come together near the finish line on the second lap.

This Tuesday anyone who is interested in doing the State ITT and TTT should come with TT bike in hand if (you have one) ,and get used to riding the distance in the TT position. If you've ever watched the TTT on TV during a pro race it is a very elegant thing to watch and I've always wanted to participate in a TTT. As much as everyone loves to time trial I figured it would be just Perry, Kingsley and me and so it was. We decided to roll out early before everyone else so as not to interfere with the groups of riders not doing the TT, so we rolled out about 5 minutes ahead of everyone. I was a little apprehensive about riding with Perry and Kingsley since they are light years ahead of me in fitness and have done a whole lot more racing than me. As we started off we agreed that we didn't want to race but just get used to riding the distance in the aero position and riding in a pace line on a squirrelly TT bike.

Rolling down 107 was smooth like butta', it's such a nice thing to ride with other skilled riders whose handling ability you are sure of. The first half mile or so we rode with about two feet between us and as we became more comfortable with the close proximity we tightened up the pace line and cruised along at 26-28 mph each taking about a 60 second pull and made the 90 deg turn off 107 without falling apart. I began to think "okay this isn't to bad" " if they don't crank it up I can stay with them". I did just that all along the river and up the first hill. Halfway up the second hill I flatted. I waved them on but the turned around and rode back down the hill to give me time to affect the repair.

After one of the fastest tube changes I've ever done, and just as I was putting my wheel back on. the first "A" group went flying by followed closely by the last (fast) group of "A"s and then my TTT Teamates. So, we jumped on the back of the group. I fully expected them to leave us but on the downhill grade and flat section before the next hill the areoness of the TT bike made it very easy to stay up. Starting up heartbreak (a hill about 1/4 mile long and 5-6% grade) I was sure that they would leave us. Ending up on the front of our TT group I got exited at the fact that we were staying with them ,and rode way harder than I should have and used a lot of cake riding at 19 mph. Almost to the top I pettered out. Perry waited on me and we got back on at the bottom of the descent and got sucked up the next hill from the draft of the group. Perry went to the front of the group and thinking that he was trying get me and Kingsley back in line I accelerated down the right side with Kinglsey following. Went straight to the front and started pulling down the long grade at 33 mph. The three of us were lined up again on the front. Starting up the long grade to the finish line I swung out, then Kingsley pulled and swung out, and then Perry "the Diesel" pulled through. Perry must have forgotten that we were TT practicing because he immediately gapped me and as I struggled to stay on I red lined. Letting out an explicative I swung out, toasted in the wake of the "Animal".

As I recovered I gained some ground but stayed about 1/4 mile back of the group. I could see the white jersey of Perry on the front dragging everyone down 107. I eventually started passing riders left by the pace. I was still riding very fast 29-30 mph along the road off 107 but it still wasn't enough to catch back up. Riding the TT bikes as a team was great while it lasted, we were a very smooth unit and I was comfortable the whole time. unfortunatley I don't think I'm the man for the job at the State TTT. Time is taken on the third man across the line. I felt kinda bad afterwords but I have to remember I've only ridden 2000 miles this year and raced only once since February. Besides, cross season is fast approaching and that is what my focus is. I always amaze myself at how I can rationalize anything into sounding better. C'est La Vie.

Turtle Intervals

Rode 68 miles today, hadn't ridden that far in about two months. Starting at eight in the morning meant getting up at 6:30. I'm not used to 6:30. Arriving at the start in Kingsport I was surprised by the number of people waiting to ride. 14 of us total, most of whom I've never ridden with before. I'm always a little nervous about riding with people I don't know, not because I can't hang on if need be, but what are their bike handling skills like. I hate to ride in a squirrelly group of riders.

The sky was not looking to inviting, dark, low clouds, with the rumble of thunder nearby. There was a small discussion about waiting it out, but most seemed ready to ride me being one of those. About 5 miles into the ride, just past the last building offering any refuge, the clouds dropped a load on us for about an hour. I didn't really mind though, I was thinking about the cross race I did in January in a downpour and 40 degrees, this wasn't so bad. Eventually the rain stopped and we moved along at a pretty good clip following a valley road on the way to Rogersville. As we started up a rise in the road I noticed a small lump in the road which turned out to be a Box Turtle. I really hate to see dead animals on the road, but there isn't much you can do to help a possum across the road but it's pretty easy to help a turtle out. "Helpin' a turtle out" means gettin' dropped by the group. Fortunately, things weren't rolling along at too fast a pace and I was sure I could get back. Which I did by riding an interval of about 3 minutes. I was almost back to the group when someone else decided to follow my example and "help a turtle out" I kept going and got back to the group.

Riding on a cool day as a result of the rain there is not a lot of sweating going on, but I still drink to keep the energy stores topped off. For me the this resulted in the Pee Interval. Rather than slow the group down I decided to ride off the front and get a big enough time interval to take care of bidness and then reintegrate the group. So, I told my buddy Jeff what the deal was and road off the front. I was hammering along and took a look back to see how I was doing and saw Mike Patterson trying to cross to me. He had covered about half the distance when I thought man he really must have to go. Finally finding a suitable side road I swung off, then I heard Mike yell "oh, sorry I thought you were going for a harder workout".

Once we neared Rogersville we had a pretty good hill to climb which broke the group up a bit and on the other side I found another turtle. This sucker was flat and fast, but I got him across the road. I think it was a baby snapper, maybe? Anyway Turtle Interval II commenced and I had to ride harder to get back than before. We were going slightly downhill, but I caught up as we started up a pretty good climb. When I got back one of the guys asked me if I "had seen the other two?" Crap how'd I miss two turtles? he said "no" with a good natured look of you idot on his face and said "no the two riders". I didn't realize there were two back so I suggested we pull off at the first opportunity and thought It was communicated up the group. Somebody didn't get the memo because we got all strung out on the climb and mixed in with a bunch of church traffic. Mike and I just hammered the climb to the top passing everyone till we reached the top and finally found a place to pull off where we finally got the band back together.

"A kind word turneth away wrath" or makes a redneck talk to you when he just called you a dumb ass under his breath. At the Rogersville pit stop a guy gets out of his car near me with his nascar hat on, makes the remark thinking I didn't hear him. That angered me. So, since the sun had came out and it had turned into a beautiful day I asked him just that. "Beautiful day isn't it" "yeah" he answered with a scowl. "Did you enjoy the race last night" with hint of sarcasm, "yeah pretty much" wouldn't even look me in the face. What is it about bikes and spandex that angers redneckeus east tennesseeus? They really don't know how to act when you speak to them and the realize you are a person going down the road.

After the pit stops we headed back to Kingport on road surface that looked like something from a disaster movie. As I topped another hill, low and behold I saw another turtle in the road ( why do they always seem to be in the middle of the road?) I swung off toward the center line to pick up my turtle when I looked up and saw Mike barreling down on me. All the sudden he clamped down on the brakes slides the bike sideways towards me with the "oh ****" look on his face. I braced for impact. He came to a complete stop in the locked and upright position, parallel to me about a foot way. Mr. Turtle was right in between us, blissfully unaware of the sitution above him. I wasn't sure if Mike was rushing to my aid, or was practicing sliding through a turn? Great bike handling Mike.

Not long after that we came onto some flat roads and got the train rolling, we covered a lot of ground pretty quickly, as we topped a hill near Yuma I sat up to wait on Mike who had dropped a chain. We started off the hill whippin it good when I made a left turn fast and out of the corner of my eye I saw a stop sign. Blew right through it at about 30 miles an hour. That was a pretty scary, couldn't see the sign for the all the tree limbs and weeds. I'm glad a car was coming down the road. I always try and stop at red lights and stop signs as we should since we are subject to all the same rules of the road as other road vehicles. I certainly wouldn't wittingly blow through an intersection.

On the way back on Carter's Valley road I was in the front thinking I new where I was going. coming down the hill I sensed that I needed to turn and looked back and saw someone giving the right turn signal. When I turned around I was about 30 feet from the turn and going about 25 MPH. No time to signal, tapped the brakes leaned steep into the corner and dove into the turn. I pulled that one out of my rear end. Couldn't believe I made the turn and stayed up. Quickly looking back I saw the ensuing chaos of the no signal, quick turn, folks spread across the road and some completely missing the turn. Don't let the guy who thinks he knows where he is going on the front. doh!

When I realized that I was only about five miles from the barn, I was ready to get this thing put to bed, so Jeff and I hammered the last few miles back in. Had a great ride with a good solid group of riders, plus it was made more interesting "by helpin a turtle out"

Where No Cross Bike Has Gone Before.......Pt.2 The Benchmark

Well, someone else has probably ridden a cross bike at Bay's Mountain Park before, but it was the first time for the ole' baldman steed. Jeff and I arrived at about 1:00pm in the heat of the day. Tame deer are running around like dogs up there. They just walk right up to you and possibly out in front of you. Hope none of them wonder of Bay's they'll get nailed by a hunter real quick. I digress, It was freakin hot! In the nineties again as we started down the road and up th Azalea Trail. Very dry, and sandy but climbed pretty fast up to the road. The heat even permeated the woods.

Once we reached the road I was thinking about the last time I rode here which had to have been five years ago. It's unbelievable how one doesn't realize how much they have changed over a period of time till there is a bench mark. When I last rode here I was on a mountain bike with a 30x32 granny gear(I can eat a pizza of that rear cog), this time I road my Bianchi CX bike wit a 36x26 low gear. Riding up hills on my CX bike that I couldn't ride on the MTB was very gratifying for me. Descending skills have really improved as well. I've always been a good descender on the road but at the bottom of a MTB descent I used to have to pry my white knuckled fingers off the bars. Riding the rollers on Bays which is loose rock gravel, bigger rocks and sand I felt confident not terrified as before. The last descent on the north of the rim around Bay's is very rocky and rutted in places, again not a place one would think of riding a cross bike, but I descended it faster than ever before and without walking. All these things combined bode well for CX season. We only rode for about an hour, but I felt very good about how I'm riding. Hopefully, with the start of cross specific training next month I'll be a bald cross machine in October. Also,when October rolls around I'll have more cross specific stuff to write about. I never realized how much fun it is to talk about oneself. Stroke the ego. I guess that's part of what a blog is about. Isn't it?

Andy and Cara, still at Worlds

Here is a pic from Cara's Picasa site of Andy rolling down the start ramp at the begining of his run for an 11th place finish, which was 31 second's faster than last year. I think TCRC needs a ramp like that for our TT's. Read more posts from Cara here.

Glenn makes it to Brest!

Looks like Glenn Himstedt is plugging along, he's made it to the turnaround point in Brest. Keep riding strong Glenn.

News from across the pond.

My friend Glenn Himstedt is currently participating in the 1200km (750 Miles) Paris-Brest-Paris ride in France. He's been training for this about 5 years now and all that hard work had come to fruition. In case you don't know, PBP is held every four years and is a distance endurance ride. Each rider has to qualify in rides called Brevets of lengths from 200k-600k and complete them in the required time in order to gain selection into PBP. PBP riders have 90 hours to complete the ride. If you would like to track Glenn's progress go here and enter his rider plate number which is 4808. As of 8:56 French time he was at checkpoint Villaines.

In other news MSG sponsors Andy Applegate and Cara McCauly are in Germany competing in the World Road Championships. Cara has already racked up an 18th place finish and has one a huge silver cup to show for it. She is posting to her blog here, so go and see how they are doing. Probably more interesting reading than anything I could write. To see pics like the one to right of Cara in leopard skin arm warmers go here.

Mountain! I dont need no stinking mountain!

Okay, a few posts ago I said I was through riding in the mountains this year. Of course when you live in upper East Tenn they're kinda hard to get away from. Today was supposed to be a flat to rolling sort of ride, but as we met at the starting point the other stronger guys were meeting there too and wanted us to ride with them over to Iron Mountain. I didn't want to go but reluctantly agreed.

Boy did things start to heat up about seven miles into the ride when the pace started to quicken. In the words of my buddy Bart "somebody started handing out some fresh one's" long and short of it I shot out the back like an exploding pustule. Three of us regrouped at the back and turned up Sciota Road. I was determined to get to the mountain I didn't want climb before the faster guys who went a hillier route. So I hammered (well it was hammering for me) down Sciota and up 107 to the base of Iron where Bart took over the pace making up the climb. The three of us rode at a steady pace wondering if we were ahead or not. At every turn I expected to see the other guys come screaming past us on their way down. Well, turns out we did get in front of them. Brad Price went flying by me about half a mile from the top followed by Jay Westbrook and Mike Stewart.

After regrouping at the top we did what I love best about mountains, descend. That's about the only thing I can do well enough to stay up with the faster guys. We went down the climb like a Peregrine falling from the sky onto it's unwitting prey. Going down fast, FUN. Regrouping again at the bottom, the screws started turning down HWY 107 (33MPH) somebody started handing out fresh ones and things blew up. I found myself and two buds Mike and Bart off the back again. Just as well they turned up Sciota and we went down the old Erwin Highway back to JC and arrived a few minutes ahead of the other guys. They are very strong.

It was a good ride , rode a little harder than I wanted. Bring on cyclo-cross, I don't need no more stinking mountains!

What the...........!

Can you believe this contraption? Looks' like something out of a bad SciFi movie. I got this from the free About.Com Bicycling newsletter:

The operator of a Hyperbike uses a total-body climbing, swim-like motion to propel the Hyperbike, while balancing as if on a unicycle. The driver twists his torso, contracts the stomach and back muscles, and alternately extends the arms up and down as in a foot pedal motion, while coordinating with the legs to get the best push and pull from the lower pedals.

I'd like to try and control this thing coming of "Bald Mountain"Neyaaaahh!

Where No Cross Bike Has Gone Before.......

O'kay, I know yesterday I said that I was through riding in the mountains. Wrong, I meant on the road bike. My fellow CX'er, Mike Seek posted a ride on the message board for Sunday morning consisting of some fire roads he was interested in. Sounded like a good idea since I've ridden on the road since April. Might be nice to get out in the woods....

Evidently, Mike and me are the only ones who thought a three hour tour of mountain fire roads was a good idea since we were the only two who showed. My legs really weren't happy about climbing a steep rock strewn hill at 8:00 in the morning, still upset about hammerfest from yesterday morning. Seems like it took a long time before they were spinning somewhat comfortably ( could be old age ). The road wasn't to bad over the first three miles or so, rocky in places up to tater sized rocks, but as we started to climb in earnest things began to change.

Rounding a 180 bend in the road I wondered who put the creek bed where the road was supposed to be. No way were riding that It would have been tuff with MTB gearing. Baby head rocks sticks, ruts, ... the cyclists anathema walking became our only choice. After a nice 50 yard slog things leveled out. Consulting the map we began to realize that we missed our turn about two miles back down the road. Undeterred we decided to continue on up the "road" walking another 25 yards. We where rewarded for our persistence with a dark shady forest with pine needles, grass, and fewer rocks for a road surface. It was a blast flying down the road bouncing and skittering along. Descending on essentially a road bike with knobby tires on this kind of surface is a little on the edge, amazing what a CX bike is capable of. Got a little squirrelly when we crossed some water running across the road stayed up though. Just when I got into the descending zone we dead ended on the edge of a gorge. Not yet having our fill of adventure we rode a side road that got extremely steep and rocky as we went down. I wasn't really exited about the direction things were going, straight down, in the opposite direction of my car, so we pulled the plug before things got to crazy and headed back down the mountain.

With all the descending getting back was a lot quicker than going out and just as tiring. It was a real strech of bike handling skill to get down the creek bed section unscathed. Mike flatted half way down. I'm amazed that we didn't have more. The descending was so technical my calves and hands began to hurt from riding out of the saddle and feathering the brakes for a good hour. Finally the descending was over and we stopped to observe a burned out rusted Subaru suspended in some trees. How does that happen? Just a little more climbing and the final decent to pavement. I flatted 100 yards from the pavement, front wheel, flying down the road had to struggle to stay in control on the rocks and stop without crashing.

Two flats down, 15 miles of difficult riding, 2098' of climbing, and three hours later we finally returned to the Cheoa parking lot unscathed. Great ride, proud of our bike handling skills on terrain better suited to a MTB and how well a CX bike rides in MTB country. When I got home I didn't even make it to the shower. Fell flat on my face for a two hour nap.

Goat's be gone

Had a great ride this morning. Funny how many people show up when there are no 6 mile climbs in the mountains involved? Had about 17 guys. It was a little sad to see that the goat farm was gone about half way through the ride. It was the "Goat Farm Ride" after all, and I was all ready to strap on my goat dance leggings and do the goat dance. Little hot for those though and I didn't want to be the only one with a pair. Starting at eight in the morning cut down the heat but the pace hotted up after we crossed Susong Hill " this ain't a race boys!". Seemed wierd to be riding so fast instead of grinding up a mountain. I think I'm done with mountains for this year, built plenty of power and endurance, now it's time to work on speed leading up to CX in October. I just had second breakfast: bacon, biscuts w/butter & jam and coffee w/milk. Ain't being a cyclist great. Nap time.

Surface of the sun

Man it's hot! Me and my buddy Larry road today at high noon. 96deg (100 heat index), 90% humidity. The air was so heavy and hot it was hard to breath. Like breathing in the air from an oven when you open it to get out your pizza. We actually rode a cool, tree covered road up a mountain to get cool. I can't wait for fall and the cool cross weather. I used to hate the thought of winter coming, but since I've discovered cross I actually look forward to that wet, cold, muddy CX Saturday. Days like today make me look even more forward to MSG Cross. I've got to do a lot of prep work to be ready to keep from being last.

Why do people do this?

I've looked at several blogs over the past couple of years and I'm not real sure why people do them. What I have read on other peoples blogs is usually interesting and witty though. I am primarily doing a blog to talk about cycling and in particular MSG CX.

I'm sorry about the huge picture of me but every time I re size it it screws up the title font. Don't know enough about it to make work. This picture of me is my favorite taken by my son who is an excellent photographer but has quit cold turkey. I like it because it shows me doing what I like best: going downhill, through turns, fast, on a cross bike. Look at the intensity in my eyes, that's CX.