Zach's Blog

hiatus

2011-06-27T01:55:00.002-04:00

I have decided to take a hiatus from racing this summer. While I may do one or two races on the track this summer, I just need to focus on my own health and fitness before focusing on racing and winning races.

I have been having a rough spring and summer season, with losing a job I had, and having constant back pains for the last two months now. Trying to do stretches and light workouts in my bedroom to get past the back pains but right now nothing seems to be working. It could be something more serious that I've gone to a doctor for it, but right now I don't even have health insurance to get x-rays and stuff done. So for now I'm just trying to relax, I plan on getting back on the bike lightly pretty soon, and just take nice easy rides to see if that might help my back in any ways. I know from past experiences that riding the bike have helped my back and core get stronger, healing and previous back pains I have had and preventing further back pains. So hopefully that will be my only answer I need... to ride the bike!

So, for any of you readers that are racers in the Lehigh County and Berks County area. I wish you luck to any races you have this summer. You won't see much of me around.

Off the bandwagon

2011-02-18T23:44:00.001-05:00

I have fallen off the bandwagon with cycling. My motivation just isn't there anymore. However I do plan to get back on it soon. Weather is getting pretty nice early this year, and my girlfriend wants me to race. So, I plan on doing just that.

I have retaken an old love of mine back in the fall, bowling. I used to bowl a lot growing up but I've lost touch with it during the college years. Last June I've met my girlfriend, now of 8-going-on-9 months. Turns out she loves to bowl and does so in leagues. I've gotten back into bowling because of her and now we bowl in a league together.

Enough of bowling, since this is a cycling blog. I might start up a new blog for that, but not sure.

I cannot believe I haven't updated this blog for almost 9 months. I don't have many readers but I hope to get back my previous readers and new ones soon.

That is it for tonight. I hope to post another one soon to update saying I am riding.

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season opening results

2010-05-15T22:37:00.002-04:00

Today wasn't very good for me. Lack of training these last few months did it for me, sadly.

First race was a 2K (6 laps) scratch race. I actually finished the race but got second or third to last. I kept with the main pack until a two or three laps to go and then just dropped off. I was in an 86" gear (48x15) for this one, and I felt my cadence was too high and that caused me to drop off because I just wasn't getting any faster at one point.

Second race was a 3K (9 laps) point-a-lap race. for this one, I went up to 88" (49x15), which turned out to be a bad move. After the free lap, everyone just sprinted out of the fourth turn and I tried to keep up. I was able to for about a lap or so, but then because I was pushing harder to keep my speed with them, I spent my energy quicker than I expected to. I dropped out after 2 or 3 laps when I just couldn't push anymore.

Third race was a 3K Sprint Race, with a sprint lap at 6, 3 and 0 laps to go. This one, I decided to stay in 88" thinking it'd go just a little slower. I was kinda right, kinda wrong. I kept with the field for the first two laps, then someone attacked and the field broke up. Kept with one small pack for a little, but started dropping back cause they were pushing hard. I pulled up to take a second to think about it and then considered just dropping out. At about the time I was ready to get off the track, I saw the big field in front of me by about a half a lap was slowing down so I wanted to stay in and sprint hard to catch up to them. Unfortunately at this time, the race officials thought I was done and getting ready to leave that they blew the whistle and pointed to me as to say "you're done, get off now". I was kind of disappointed then.

Overall, my performance SUCKED. I did not enjoy it today and hope I will soon find the equilibrium between work and training. I really need to get back on the bike more often and SOON! Just work is kicking my @$$!!!

That is all for tonight. Next weekend R-Phils have home games so no racing. The following weekend I think it is just back to the track. Not sure if there are any local criterium or road races, but I'll update on that soon.

2010 season starts for me!

2010-05-15T09:34:00.003-04:00

Today is the first day of Master's and Rookie's at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center (Trexlertown, PA). I'm excited, but also pretty nervous as I have not been on the bike much this last few months. Also, I've only been on the track bike once since the end of last year's track season (and that was about a month ago). So yeah, pretty nervous but I'm just going to give it all my best today. I won't be racing much this season due to my internship with the Reading Phillies. I've recently thought about just sticking with Track and not worrying about road or criterium races this season. but I'm sure I'll be motivated at some point to do some of my favorite races (i.e. Allentown Sportsfest and the Pottsville City Cycle 17).

Well, I'll post my results later today or early tomorrow.

Spring Time

2010-04-03T23:00:00.002-04:00

This year, Spring means many things. The more important things are:

1) warmer weather
2) cycling season coming
3) BASEBALL!!!

Ok, so I never talked about baseball before, but it only matters this year to me because of my internship with the Reading Phillies (http://www.readingphillies.com). My cycling season is going to be light this year due to my internship with the R-Phils, as i am required to work all home games this year. Out of 16 total track races for me, most I can make would be 8 or 9 I believe. That's how drastically shorter my season will be compared to last year.

But yeah, I'm excited for both the Baseball season to be starting officially this week, and Cycling season is right around the corner. The Thursday Night Training Crits have started this past Thursday, but I will be making very few of those. Traffic from Reading to Trexlertown, PA is tough enough already, I just don't think I would have enough time to make it to the races and get a few laps in before the start. We'll see though.

Happy April!

Bummed out

2010-02-19T10:33:00.002-05:00

Just had a reality check. The 2010 road and track season for me is going to be barely existence.

First, the track. According to the calendar on the velodrome's website (http://www.thevelodrome.com/) there will be a Master's and Rookies race every weekend between May 15th and September 4th. I am doing an internship with the Reading Phillies (AA Minor League affiliate of Philadelphia Phillies - rphils.com) and on weekends I only work if there is a home game. Well, that's about half of my summer weekends that I'll be working. 8 Saturdays I am not working this summer, but provided one or two weekends of vacation and other stuff that may come up, it's going to be between 5-7 races this weekend I'll be able to make up. Also can't forget weather, which has cancelled 2 or 3 races last season. The good thing that can come out of this is that I will start regularly training soon, and train hard, so I could kick it up to Category 4, maybe 3, by the end of those very few races I can make.

Road... Just like last year, Saturdays will be primarily for the track. However, if I can fit a road race with track racing on a Saturday, I will probably do that. Sundays, if there is a criterium I want to do it.

Seeing how limited even my training will be this year, I am going to focus on probably 90-95% track and not really focus on road training too much. Just like any other years, probably going to only do Criteriums if anything. I don't know how much of all-around training (hills, flats, track, downhills, etc) I could do with the time I won't have for training as I would if I didn't have this internship.

Welcome to the real world, Zach...

twenty-ten resolutions

2010-01-04T22:37:00.002-05:00

Yes, I call it twenty-ten, I won't call it two-thousands ten.

I didn't get around to this until 4 days into the new years, but decided to write it tonight before heading to bed.

1) lose another 5-10 lbs by summer
2) get back into a regular training schedule by February
3) Upgrade to Cat 4 in Road and Cat 4 or 3 in Track
4) place top-15 in all of my road races. I simply just do not want to be lapped in criteriums anymore which will be quite an accomplishment for me this year compared to the last three seasons.
5) Buy new bikes (road, track, possibly cyclocross) and maybe upgrades for those bikes.
6) Give cyclocross a try in the fall.
7) Get more sponsors
8) Start riding 3+ hours on training days.

That's pretty much it for this year. Let's see if I can get all of them done. Happy New Year everyone!!!!

The year 2009

2009-12-31T01:26:00.003-05:00

First off I'd like to talk about the coaching.

The plan that was written out for December was very good. The only thing that would have made it better is if I was actually out riding my bike just about every day I was prescribed to ride. Honestly, December was a busier-than-expected month for me, and I only got out at most twice a week this whole month. It was also very cold and windy in Eastern PA, and has snowed once, enough to cancel my riding for a few days.

On a brighter note for January, the start of 2010, I got a trainer, riser-block and mat for Christmas. A very nice, lightly used (on eBay) CycleOps Magnetic Trainer. I got it for a great deal (saved at least $100 from retail price of all three combined) and mainly it was because I knew it was going to be a bad winter. My prediction is correct so far. I don't know, maybe I've become a wimp when it comes to riding in the winter, because I used to never mind it. Now, I won't ride outside unless it's at least sunny outside, very little wind and 20+ degrees. I used to ride down to 10 degrees in any condition except icy roads obviously.

Now, as I've done in the past, I will reflect back to 2009 and my resolutions from last New Year's Day.

1) Top 9 at Rutger's Season Opener Time Trial for the ECCC collegiate season under the Men's D category.
Well, I did not get top 9 but I did have a decent trial.

2) Lose 10-15 lbs by mid summer
I didn't lose it by mid summer, but I did lose 12 lbs somewhere around August and September. Now I just have to concentrate on keeping it off this winter unlike last winter.

3) Start track racing and upgrade to category 4 by end of the season
I did start track racing and enjoyed it very much. However, I am not Cat 4 yet.

4) Place top 15 in all USCF races over the summer
Haha yeah, my motivation to RIDE the bike last summer was very little. I need to ride more. No I did not place top 15 in any races except 4th in a race of only 4 riders.

5) Category 4 in Road possibly?
Read #4 and you'll see this is a BIG no!

6) Upgrade bike components
Hm... the only thing I would consider an actual upgrade during the race season were the aero wheels I got for my track bike. For Christmas I did get a new Sigma computer from my older brother, pretty nice computer and now I have to choose between the Sigma and the Cateye currently installed.

7) Compete in at least 6 USCF races (Road races, crit, or TT)
Hm, most I can remember competing in are three races. No, make that four.

So those were my resolutions from last year. I did complete 2 of these and partials for some. However, I still have more work to do.

Tomorrow or Friday, I will post my 2010 resolutions. 2010 is going to be a great year for me, and not just in cycling but in my life, my officiating job, etc. I cannot wait to get 2010 started. Oh yeah, been pondering this question. Will 2010 be pronounced "two thousand ten" or "twenty-ten"? I like the second better. It's easier to say.

coaching... finally

2009-11-28T22:50:00.000-05:00

So I did it. Today, I finally "signed" with a coach, my personal good friend and a great, professional cyclist Kim Geist (http://www.kimgeist.com/). Long time due, I was able to figure out what type of budget I should have for the next few months and decided to go with her coaching services on a consultation base. This will hopefully only be temporary, just until I start working in March at a paid internship. When I figure I can afford it, I'll go with the full-blown coaching service.

When Kim told me she was going to make a "business" out of her coaching, I knew I had to sign on with her asap. Why? While the both of us attended DeSales University and raced for the cycling team, she has done me and the rest of the team huge favors by giving us free training schedules, tips, words of wisdom, etc., and it has all helped me out big time. And yes, I did say free. Let's say Kim was just practicing for when she started doing this as pretty much a full time job after we graduated this past May.

Unfortunately, and understandably, she wasn't able to provide me or anyone else with free training schedules, but I have paid her several times over the summer to write me up 2 or 3 week plans. Each time I came out stronger than before. If she could do that to me in just a few weeks, I can only imagine what she could do for me from now until the spring when I start racing again for the 2010 Road and Track season. But, like my momma always said, don't count your chickens before they hatch.

On a last note, Kim will be using TrainingPeaks for all of my training schedule. It's an interesting web application/program, as I was just getting myself familiar with it. The free account stuff is good for me for now, but I may eventually upgrade to the Premium.

So, I'll let you know how the coaching comes through in a few weeks! Until then, enjoy your Thanksgiving Day leftovers!

It's Late!

2009-11-08T19:59:00.002-05:00

Well, as I did the last two years, I wanted to post my end-of-season rankings. However, being Category 5 at the end of the year it is kind of not accurate to what I was at the official end of the season. By this time, many Cat 5 who are better than me would have upgraded to Category 4, pushing me up to a better ranking than I really am. I did have a decent season though, having once reached top 120 in the nation, and top 20 in the state if I remember correctly. That is on account of placing 4th out of 4 riders in a race that I did pretty well in compared to the other riders in my category. So, let it be known that my official ranking does not reflect my actual capability.

I got big plans for 2010. By the end of this month I will be meeting with a friend of mine, professional cyclist Kim Geist at http://www.kimgeist.com, which we will be discussing coaching. I've pushed off coaching for too long and it shows in my racing results. While I may be a smart cyclist, I'm not a very strong one and without the strength needed, I'm not winning races. Now is the time to start coaching and training for the 2010 season to start somewhere around April or May. I also want a coach so I have a schedule to follow and it will "force" me out to ride. I haven't ridden much in the last 2 or 3 months. At most, I'd say I was on my bike 10 days out of the last few months, which is pretty sad, despite a scheduled 3 weeks break in August/September.

So, this is it for now. I will update about my coaching once I get that set away and started by the end of the month. 2010 shall be a great year for me, and I will reach Category 4 by the end of the season in both road and track!

Should have raced

2009-09-21T00:32:00.002-04:00

Looking at the results from last week's criterium, I probably should have raced. Even if I finished last place, I would have still gotten some points to give me a better ranking. There were only 11 racers, and some didn't get points, I'm assuming those are the citizen riders, not license holders. But whatever, I'm 112th out of more than 2500 riders, which is still pretty damn good. Yeah, I know, I just got lucky with the one criterium where only 4 riders were present, and I got 4th.

So, just as I do every year, I will be posting my official, end-of-season rankings within the next few weeks. I don't believe there are any more big races left in Pennsylvania, or in the NE region of the US, so my rankings should be pretty much set, give or take a few places by the end of the year. Even though some would tell me to upgrade to Cat 4 with a ranking of 112th, I am just not ready yet. This winter I hope to get very serious, more serious than ever, with my cycling. I hope to hire my good friend, Kimberly Geist, as a coach within the next few months, and just start cracking down with a good training program that will get me better.

2010 is going to be a good year for me in a lot of aspects. I hope to get a job sometimes soon or within the year 2010 and I should be able to upgrade to Cat 4 rightfully (as in, upgrading and not then just getting last in all Cat 4 races). There are a few other stuff I hope to achieve in 2010, but those will just put you to sleep if I type them out.

Anyways, I'm currently on a 2-3 week break from cycling. I've felt lately no motivation to riding, but just laying around and doing nothing but watch TV and play video games all day. So, I'm going to do just that for the next two weeks. I also officiate soccer on the side, doing high school games during the week and youth games on the weekend, so I'll get my physical activity through that. I've also taken up jogging, starting on Friday, but I doubt that'll last once I get back into riding. Need to run more though...

Until my next post, enjoy life!

Official End of 2009 Season

2009-09-13T07:45:00.001-04:00

Well, this morning I happened to wake up between 2 and 3 AM for whatever reason. I was thinking, I'm up now, I might as well go to the Yuasa Right from the Start criterium in Laureldale, PA. I got on the computer, played some games for a little, then at about 5:00 I started getting ready. My mind was not well rested though, apparently, and had the timing of my preparation and leaving for the race all messed up.

Race starts at 8:00, and I usually like to get to the course at least an hour ahead of time, more preferably an hour and a half. So this would add up to arriving sometimes between 6:30 and 7. I had that figured out earlier, but I didn't figure out what time I should leave by (which would have been 5:45ish). Then a little later I was thinking about it and thought "ok, I need to leave no later than 6:45", totally forgetting that I needed to ARRIVE at about that time. I get into the car at about 6:45 and head out. I turned around about 2 miles into my drive realizing that I was going to be late and may risk missing the race. Good thing I didn't pre-register, or that would have been $20 I lost for good.

Yes, I probably could have still gotten there by about 7:30. However, I have a strict pattern of getting ready for a race and I would have had to skip several steps, including a good warm up, in order to race.

So, having said this, my race season is officially over for 2009. I would like to give one last shout out for my only personal sponsor, Tooks International, the maker of Tooks Hats. The website again is http://www.tookshats.com/ I will have a Sponsors list to the right eventually, once I clean up all the crap all the way over there. Some things are outdated obviously.

Have a good Sunday everyone, and a good week!

My season is soon over

2009-09-11T23:00:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow (Saturday) I am hoping to race at the track for the last race of the track season. I got my goods from my sponsor, Tooks Hats http://www.tookshats.com which includes the Tooks Classic beanie, some stickers I have placed on my wheels and bike, and a Tooks shirt to wear before, in between and after races (as term of my contract). I have mentally prepared myself (and still am) for tomorrow races, but the weather god must not be looking in my direction right now. Looks like rain for most of the day at 50% or more chance. I will be really disappointed if it does rain and the track racing gets cancelled and not postponed. I gotta think positive though, as that has worked in the past regarding races. Days that looked like rain (even up to 90% chance) would turn around and be a decent to sunny day after all.

Then, on Sunday, is a big day in Reading, PA. They got a carnival-like gig set up for the day around the race course (which is a criterium by the way). So a lot of people should be there, maybe even the news (from rumors) will be there. This will be a big race for me, as I try to keep my 4th place in state and 105th in nation standing. If I do well, who knows, I could pop up to 2nd or 3rd in state and top 100 in nation (how awesome would THAT be?!). I'll have to put that in a cycling resume I plan to start up soon.

So, pray for no rain tomorrow until after 3:00. What the heck, ask for no rain until Sunday afternoon haha. I can't wait to wake up in the morning to see what the weather is looking like tomorrow.

Tooks Hats

2009-09-06T00:34:00.003-04:00

So, I ordered one of the hats from my sponsor, Tooks Hats. It came on Friday and I haven't really had much of a chance to try them out, mainly because I don't have an MP3 player anymore after my last one decided it didn't want to charge batteries anymore. I gotta order one soon to try out, I think I'll just get a cheap 2gb MP3 player just to last me a few months until I can afford a better one.

The hat I ordered was the Tooks Classic Beanie in black. I have it plugged into my computer now as I type this and jam to some DMX, Eminem, and other Hip-Hop/Rap music. With the surprising loudness as I hear it, I thought it was too loud that people around me would hear when I'd wear this in public or whatever. However, when I took the hat it was almost no sound when I had the computer music turned up to the loudest. Just like headphones or earphones, no one around you can really hear it unless they are really paying attention and you have it on the loudest volume setting. I wouldn't suggest having this on the loudest when riding or running as you'd still need to hear traffic around you, but I think this would be safe enough at a lower volume for riding. I don't know this yet, and won't get the chance to do that until I get a portable media device (i.e. MP3 player). I will probably be ordering the skully soon as well, since I could use that under my helmet to keep my head cool in the summer and warm in the winter. This will certainly keep me entertained on long, boring training rides!

Off topic: a few hours ago I discovered on the www.usacycling.com website that I am ranked 108th in the nation for Category 5 Criterium racers, and 4th in the State of Pennsylvania. I have some other of my rankings, including age groups and total riders, to the right of this blog post. Check it out!

Weekend race report and my new profession

2009-08-30T21:39:00.005-04:00

This weekend was the Vortex Cycling Club hosted race weekend. Yesterday was the Criterium that was different than last year's criterium, and much more of a criterium than in previous years. Today was the Circuit Race, which was the criterium in previous years. The Criterium yesterday was cut down from 30 to 20 laps because of the races already falling behind before the start of the first race, our Cat 5. I hate how they always target the Cat 5 races for cutting down. The Circuit race today was it's usual 10.3 miles, 8 lap circuit.

Before Saturday, I was the only rider pre-registered for the Cat 5. Right now I wish I was the only rider to show up haha. Just so happened we had 4 riders total, meaning only ONE was not getting any medal. And that one happened to be me unfortunately. Two other riders were Vortex teammates of mine, and the other guy was a Guys Cycling rider who I knew from track racing this season.

If you did the math, that means I got 4th place out of 4 riders. However, it did come down to a semi-sprint finish at the end among the four of us, almost. First off, I got dropped at one point because the Guys Cycling rider (Anthony is his name) attacked on the one lap just to speed up the race a little. That was totally unexpected and those three riders rode together for several laps until I was able to catch up. At one point I think I was more than 1/4 a lap behind them. They slowed down after the first preme lap and I was able to catch them. The next preme I made sure I wasn't going to get dropped again, so with no intention of going for the preme I just stayed on a wheel that whole lap.

With two laps to go I was in the front pulling everyone... it was now or never for me. coming into the third turn I looked back and saw that I was ahead of the other three by about 5 yards. I decided to attack coming out of the third turn up the slight elevation and go for the Gold. Well, when I started attacking one of my teammates got right on my wheel, pulling everyone else with him. Coming out of the 4th turn towards the start/finish line, everyone started sprinting on the last lap and I tried my best to stay with them. One of my teammates and the Guys Cycling got off the front, and I was with the other teammate until the hill where he just started sprinting. Now, I should say, my teammates were Juniors, probably 13 and 14ish, and like 100 lbs. The teammate that I was with got away from me and I tried to counter it by cranking hard in a bigger gear to catch up and pass. It did not work, and I came through the finish line 4th and last.

The circuit race went pretty much the same as last year, but this time about half the field than last year. We only had 10 riders (last year, 21 or so). Right on the first lap I got dropped on the limb and just decided to ride and not really race. I had a guy behind me, but he was behind by a good distance so I just made sure I kept my distance, but not push too hard and kill my legs because I had to run later in the day while ref'ing soccer matches. After getting lapped twice, I crossed the line in 9th place.

Overall, it really wasn't a rewarding weekend for me. I mean, the rain from Friday into Saturday and the coldness (60s) Saturday morning caused many riders not wanting to show up and race, and caused the other riders in the field to go slower. If this had been a sunny day with the four of us, I possibly would have gotten lapped.

As for my new profession... I was asked to do the announcements and stuff during the races, and turns out I'm pretty good at it. I got a lot of compliments from people, saying I made the races more interesting to watch.

Announcing New Sponsor

2009-08-27T13:03:00.003-04:00

Tooks International
HTTP://WWW.TOOKSHATS.COM/

About Tooks Hats: (taken directly from their website)
Tooks were born in the spirit of winter sports but can be used for just about any activity. Whether you're out walking, jogging, biking, snow riding, or just hanging around the house, Tooks make the perfect companion to your MP3 or other favorite media player.

This company had offered me a sponsorship a few days ago after seeing an online profile of mine. After viewing their products and debating about it, I've finally decided to sign the contract of sponsorship earlier this afternoon.

I plan on getting making my first purchase soon. Once I get the product, I am required to make a product review (as a term of the contract) so I will let you readers know what I think of the product!

I particularly became interested in their Sportec Skully, which will fit easily under the helmet and keep the sweat from my face and the sun from giving me helmet tan-lines (as I like to call it). And, with the removable headphones, I can use the Skully during races where I wouldn't be allowed to listen to music.

Great Track Racing Day, Horrible Weather!

2009-08-22T15:49:00.001-04:00

My recent post mentioned the death of our dog, Wizard. Today, I decided to wear his collar in his honor and in memorial of him. I felt his presence around me all day, and that really made me better and ready to race today.

We had rain this morning, but the rain stopped and the track dried up in time for the racing, despite being started 15 minutes late. Not a whole lot of people showed up, and I was wondering what the track officials were going to do about that. My category, Men's 5, was not combined with any other races, but the second and third races were shortened a few laps since we only had like 8 or 9 in our field. Some of the other categories were combined since they didn't have as many showing up.

My first race was a 2K (6 laps) Scratch Race as scheduled. Just a normal race, nothing special, I was in my 88" gear (49x15) which was a good gear to be in. I raced this very strategically and it paid off. I got 4th place!

The second race was supposed to be a 3K (9 laps) Point-a-Lap race, so I went down to my 86" gear (48x15). However, they changed it to a 2K Points-a-Lap which I did not like at all for two reasons. First, there's not enough laps to really benefit from being cross the start/finish line first of each lap since you only get one point per lap, and two, I wish they had told us earlier so I could have stayed in my 88" gear. Anyways, I tried to go for the first lap's point, but when I realized who I was dealing with while in my smaller gear, I sat in and just rode with them. The first three guys got away, and I rode with this young kid, probably mid-teens, until the last lap where I just took off and left him behind. I was 4th across the finish line, but when the points were added, I got 1 point which gave me 5th place points-wise.

The third race was supposed to be a 4K (12 laps) points race, with sprint laps every 4 laps. They shortened that to 3K points race with a sprint every 3 laps. Now my 86" gear was good for this race. Still, there were stronger guys in bigger gears so I tried to sit in as much as I can. With a few laps to go, I was in 5th and on my own, and saw the same young kid ahead of me probably 15-20 yards. With these last few laps, I caught up to him and just barely beat him in a final lap sprint with a bike throw (which is when you use your legs and arms to "push/throw" the bike forward).

Now, at this point I'm usually done. However, with the advantage I had of a smaller field and getting some points, I qualified for the Featured race. After a small intermission, I got back onto the track ready for this one. The featured race combines the Men's 5 and Women's 4 in the B race, and the Men's 4 and Masters in the A race. The B race was first, so there were about 12 or 13 of us lined up with the combined Women and Men field. Instead of the scheduled 24 laps scratch race, they changed it to a Power Sprint Elimination race. What this is is that the race starts with a neutral lap, then when the gun goes off out of the 4th turn, the next lap starts the elimination process. The last person to cross the finish line of each lap is eliminated from the race. This goes on until 5 riders left, which then the lap count is 5 to go. Keeping positive and strong, I made sure I was in the front the whole time through the elimination laps, which I was pretty much the first or second guy to cross the finish line just about every lap. Once the last person was eliminated and 5 left, the actual scratch race started. There were 3 guys and 2 girls left. One guy and one girl went off the front, and I rode with the other girl and guy left in the field with me. With two laps to go, I started sprinting and then realized that the other girl was in front of me by a quarter of a lap. I sprinted all out to try and catch her, but I didn't start my effort soon enough and she was able to beat me out by 10-15 yards for 2nd, while I got 3rd.

The President of the cycling club team I'm on told me "just 10 seconds earlier and you would have caught up to her and gotten 2nd". Geez, thanks for THAT comment haha.

This was a great day, and not only because I raced well, but I felt I was able to honor Wizard in a great and respectable way, placing top 5 in all of my races. I don't know yet if I'm ready to go up to Cat 4, I'll see how I'm feeling these next few weeks I have off from track racing. I only have one more race that I can make at this time, but I'm trying to open my schedule up for the next race, Sept. 5th. If that doesn't happen, then I will be able to make the final race of the season on the 12th.

Sorry for the long post, but it was such a great day for me. Thanks for reading if you made it this far haha.

RIP Wizard

2009-08-20T23:48:00.003-04:00

I didn't think I would have a post like this so soon after my cat died last summer... Wizard, our small-size dog, was killed today after being struck by a car while loose from the house. He was a strange dog, but definitely a joy to have in our lives and home. We only brought him into our home about a year and several months ago. His life, although short-lived, was full of excitement and fun. He will be greatly missed.

Track Racing

2009-08-15T21:38:00.001-04:00

Today I was in Trexlertown again for another day of track racing. Today on the menu was a 2K scratch, 4K points race, and another of my absolute unfavorite race that I hate so much, the Unknown Distance race. Today turned out to be a weird day.

In the first race, the 2K scratch race (6 laps) I was in the field for most of the race until the last lap and a half when I finished behind the lead field by about a half a lap I believe. There were some guys behind me but I couldn't tell you exactly where I finished. I was in my 49x15 for this race (gear ratio) which comes out to be about an 88" inch gear (how far the bike will go in one full pedal rotation). This is all track cycling talk.

For the 4K sprints race (12 laps), there was a sprint lap every 4 laps (8 to go, 4 to go, final lap) which I knew would make this a faster race. I went down to my 48x15 (86") to give it a try. I tried to keep up and was doing a good job until 4 or 5 laps to go when I started dropping back. I got lapped with 2 laps to go, and I pulled out only finishing all but one lap.

Now, for my most hated race, the Unknown Distance... This is where the "weird day" part comes in. As you may remember in my previous posts, I hate this race because you have to really use your ears in this one to listen for the bell to mark when we have one lap to go. I did pretty well keeping up with the lead field, which after a few laps went down to probably 10 or 11 of us. I was leading the field for a lap, and then pulled off to get back into the field and sit in. This turned out to be a good move at the right time, but I ended up getting in the far back of the lead field instead of in the middle where I wanted to. It would have been more perfect if I accomplished that.

After a lap of this, the bell goes off and everyone starts sprinting. Coming around the finish line with one to go, I just gassed it with ALL I had, and I mean literally ALL I had and started passing other riders one by one. There were four off the front, and I caught up to these two guys a few meters behind them, and sprinted out for 5th place with them. I missed 5th place by an inch or two, and I'm not sure if I beat the other guy or not. My honest guess would be that he beat me by just a very little. So out of 15 or so, I got 6th or 7th in this race, which was my best performance for today and one of my best performance in my cycling career, despite it being the one I absolutely hate to race in. When I got back into the infield, Dad was waiting for me but didn't expect me to practically collapse on the ground after getting off the bike. I couldn't feel my legs after all that energy I exerted from that strong effort. My heart rate maxed out at 235 bpm, and my established max heart rate from last year during a testing was 199 bpm!
I'm amazed I did this well in the first and last race, considering I haven't been to the track since the last time I race there about a month ago. I'm ready for next week's racing now, I can't wait!

I have two more races I can make it to (of the final three available). The next one, as I mentioned, is next week. This will be a make-it-or-break-it for me, as to whether or not I'm ready to upgrade to Category 4. I want to do well next week, and then take the 2-3 weeks I will have to train hard for my final race on September 12th, hopefully as a Cat 4.

Warning, watch out for Pick-up trucks!

2009-07-29T20:28:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, while on my bike heading to the group ride, I ran into the back of a pick-up truck. It was completely my fault, and I know any lawyer will tell you not to say "sorry" or admit it was your fault, but it was. We were at a T-intersection, and the truck had just recently passed me. I'm pretty sure he did the tap-and-go at the stop sign (tap your brakes, then go without coming to a complete stop). Thinking he was on his way into the intersection, I looked right to see a motorcycle coming, so I went down to a slower speed (10-12 mph probably) and kept looking right waiting for him to pass. Then I went to look forward to get ready to go, and I saw the truck still in front of me.

Lucky for me, I was towards the left rear corner of the truck and was able to avoid hitting my wheel and having any more physical injuries. The collision happened when my right brake lever hooked onto the rear of the truck and I slammed hard into the cap of the truck and then tumbled into the road.

I rolled myself to a stand-up position, looked at my bike and then to the driver of the pick-up. He got out and was like "oh wow, are you ok?". Very nice guy, didn't even care about the little scuff I made on the rear door that was made from my brake lever. I was fine, just cut up a little badly on my left elbow and a few small cuts and scraps on both of my knees. The guy just happened to have an unopened bottle of water and some paper towel so he helped me clean my elbow. Then, just by pure coincidence, an off-duty EMT guy drove by a minute or two later and noticed that I was bleeding and saw a bike under the truck, so he pulled over to offer assistance, and had an EMT kit in his vehicle. He got his stuff out to wrap my arm in bandages and then offered to take me home if I needed to. At this point I was feeling fine enough to continue riding, so I politely turned down the offer so I could go catch the guys for the group ride before they left.

My bike is fine, the handlebar was knocked a little out of sync from the wheel so when I got to the group ride location I corrected it. Then we went out for our ride. About halfway through I was starting to feel the pain and all in my upper body so I turned around and called someone to come get me.

Today, I'm just feeling very stiff and bruised up, so I took today off from any sort of physical activity. Hopefully, but not likely, I'll feel better tomorrow to go to the track for a 2 hour training. Fingers Crossed!

RADIOSHACK!

2009-07-23T15:44:00.001-04:00

http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/07/23/radioshack-lance-armstrong-team-up-for-2010/

Lance Armstrong just recently announced the forming of a new American Pro Cycling Team for which RadioShack will be the new title sponsor.

My predictions: this will be just like the USPS and Discovery team again. Dominating the world of cycling, with top names like Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer, with Trek as the primary bike sponsor. Yes, I even think Levi will leave Astana and come back to race for an American team just like when he was on the Discovery Channel.

I can't wait to see what the cycling kit will look like, I'll be sure to get at least a jersey!

Weekend Racing Reports

2009-07-21T22:38:00.003-04:00

Saturday - Track Racing
Didn't go so well this day. I got to the track about 5-10 minutes before my first race, due to officiating basketball games in the morning. Note to self, do not race on track without warming up!

First race, I got lapped but finished. Second race, got lapped, did not finish. Third race... by this race I was getting embarrassed enough that I was considering just not racing in this one and heading home because I had two more basketball games to officiate, but I thought I'd have a little fun. So I put on my smallest gear (48x15) and got on the track. Once the gun went off for the race to start after our free lap, I attacked, right off the front. Took one lap to myself, pulled up and let a rider go through and got on his wheel. We were caught shortly after and everyone just passed right by me. I got lapped then (surprise, surprise!) and then got off, did not finish.

Kind of disappointed, but I should have known this would happen without any warming up.

Sunday - Irving Park Sportsfest Criterium
Got to Allentown, PA at about 7:15. Got my race number and went back to my car to get everything ready. Carried my stuff over to the corner of the first turn to do my warm up there. I took a few laps around the course to get used to the corners and the different road surfaces. Then got on the trainer for my usual warm-up.

My friend Taylor came at about 8:15, got on her bike and I showed her around the course. Then it was time for me to stage at the start/finish line. Whistle blew and we were OFF! I stayed towards the back to try and read the field, see who were taking corners fast, who seemed to hesitate, etc. We started off at abotu 16-17 mph which I thought was a little slow for this crit. After a lap or two, someone decided to attack and bring the pace up to 22+ mph. This caught me off guard and I was dropped immediately. I tried to sprint to get back on but it was too late. I rode with this other guy who got dropped, and he didn't seem to know how to "take turns" riding together. I ended up being on his wheel for most of the rest of the race. I pulled a few times but he would always want to pass me on the back stretch for whatever reason.

Then we got lapped (of course, surprise surprise!). One of the riders from the field dropped off after passing us, and we caught up to him, but he was still a lap ahead of us. the three of us rode together for the rest of the race. On the last lap when we got the bell, I just attacked and went all out, crossing the finish line by myself ahead of both of them on that lap, but really only beating the one guy. The other guy technically was ahead of us.

According to the results, I finished 13/16. Top 15, not bad, but still bad enough getting lapped.

Next race in my mind to do, is the Doylestown Circuit Race on August 2nd. I don't know yet if I'm doing it, but I think I will be.

This weekend

2009-07-15T23:10:00.003-04:00

This coming weekend, I will be doing two races of different discipline. On Saturday I will be racing at the track, provided I can get there on time from officiating basketball in the morning. If I don't get there on time, or I'm just getting there at noon, I'll miss the first race, no big deal. I will race the second and third race no doubt. My plan is Friday afternoon before the track office would close, I'll call the office to see if they know what the first race will be. Then Friday night I will make sure I have the gear that I want to race in already on my track bike so if I were to arrive a few minutes before the first race I can just hop onto the track and hope for the best, without any warming up. My plan is to place top 5, preferably top 3, in one of the races. I'm hoping for a 1K or 2K scratch, especially to be the second race.

After that I'll probably take a light spin on my road bike when I get home to prepare for Sunday. On Sunday is my favorite race I like doing every year, the Irving Park Sportsfest in Allentown during the Allentown Sportsfest event that I believe runs a week long every summer. This one I plan on placing top 10. I'm feeling really good these days, and I think by the end of the month I could be at a peak in my training, just in time for the Doylestown Circuit race on August 2nd. My plan for this race is just stay towards the front the whole race, and partake in a sprint finish. Knowing my sprint capability, I'm sure I can beat out many of the other riders.

So there you have it. My plans for this weekend! Post-races report this weekend or Monday.

Scratch that...

2009-07-12T13:27:00.003-04:00

Haven't been sleeping well the last few days, and was at a wedding ceremony and reception until late last night, did not get home until 1:15 or so... couldn't get out of bed this morning when my alarm clock and my father (human alarm clock) would wake me up. So I did not go to the race.

Kind of disappointed but hey, I really needed my sleep! Next weekend is another track racing on Saturday, and then the Allentown Sportsfest race, one of my favorite races, that is on Sunday.

More about these races to come during the week.

JBN Criterium Race

2009-07-10T10:25:00.002-04:00

After not being able to do this race the last two years I've been racing due to whatever was going on that weekend, I have the opportunity to finally do this race. I don't know anything about it though other than a lollipop.

"Lollipop?" you asked. Yes, Lollipop. It starts on this one road (the "stick" of the lollipop) in front of the Just Be Natural (JBN) store/warehouse, goes to a T intersection, makes a left and that starts the loop. Then on the final lap, when you get back to this T intersection, you make a left to head back to the store/warehouse for the finish. Hence, a lollipop.

My objective for this is a sprint finish with the peloton. I've been feeling really great lately in my training, and the course doesn't look too difficult that I should be able to keep a good pace with the peloton. I'm also aiming for a top 15 finish.

When you get a chance, go visit my friend's blog to read about her success lately. Being just like me last year, getting lapped, finishing not so well, she started to kick some butt and has had several top 3 wins so far in her field, including two First place finishes! Her name is Brittney Kolb, click here for her blog.

Wish me luck!

WANT!

2009-07-01T01:01:00.003-04:00

Just found these online, I want these to blast my country songs to my country song hater friends while on group rides. Speakers for your stem/handlebar!

Racing Updates

2009-06-27T22:58:00.005-04:00

I forgot to update on the Cargas Criterium from last weekend, but it didn't go so well so my subconscious must have purposely made me forget to update. Basically I was doing well the first few laps, started having some pains so backed off a little to ride with someone else. Then I had this huge back pain in my upper left back under my shoulder blade, and every time I took a breath I got this sharp shooting pain, like someone was stabbing me in the back (not that I would know what that feels like literally). I ended up just dropping out for my own safety. I did just come off of a 6 week break from any real training, and a cold/sinus infection a few days prior, so that could have played a part.

Earlier today, however, I was at the velodrome for 3 races; 2k Scratch, 3k Point-a-lap and an unknown distance race. God I hate those unknown distance!

The 2k scratch race went ok, but man the field I was racing with was so shaky! I've never felt so nervous during a race and nearly got wiped out like 3 or 4 occassions by either someone in front of me cutting me off without looking or on one occassion someone to the right of me coming into me. Then on one occassion there were these two riders in front of me and I thought for sure this shady guy was going to take out the other, resulting in me running over them and crashing since I would not have had time to react.

3K Point-a-lap was pretty good though. This time I didn't care for getting any points, I was still kind of shaken up from the first race that I just wanted to survive. The field split up in the last K (3 laps) and I thought the four of us riding together were going to sprint for something like 9 or 10th place. I was the last rider of the four of us coming through the first turn of the last lap. on the back stretch i gunned it and went right by the two in front of me, but the guy in front wanted to sprint it out with me coming out of the last turn, and I gunned it with all I had, beating him by just inches.

The unknown distance race: I had nothing left in me by this race and as much as I tried, I could not keep with the field after 4 laps or so. I ended up getting lapped and pulled myself out of the race.

Then I got some good news. My dad had come into the in field to meet me while I packed up to leave the track and head back to my car. I asked him "What place were we fighting for in that second [3k point-a-lap] race?" He said "oh, I'm pretty sure it was fourth place". I didn't think that was right, because I knew there were at least three off the front, and I could have sworn there was another small field behind them and in front of us. He was pretty hard-nosed (it's a word, look it up!) with his words, saying that there was only a few off the front and we were the next field to cross the line. After a back and forth debate, I went to check with Ben, the guy with the results and he told me I finished the race (points-wise) in 5th place. So my dad might have been right with the 4th place over the finish line, and then after the point were totalled up I only had 1 point, which I did not expect at all, placing me 5th overall.

So, it was a good day for me. I'm feeling a lot better and more confident on the track. I got two weeks before my next track racing, due to 4th of July next weekend and a friend's wedding the following weekend. I'm going to debate upon either upgrading to 4 or staying in 5 for another race during these two weeks.

Unless I don't say anything until then, Happy 4th of July!

Full Day of Racing, Weather Permitting

2009-06-19T22:48:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is a busy day for me, depending on the weather.

In the morning I'm heading to Phoenixville, Rain or Shine, for the Phonenixville Criterium. I plan to be there prior to 7:00 for the race at 8:00. No real plan except to just do what I've done at Penn State. Stay towards the front, if there are any primes, go for the first one to get some points, etc. Just not crash this time obviously. Reason I chose to go rain or shine is because if it rains, the field will decrease probably in number and the speed of the race will be a little slower, which is better for me. My biggest fear is the inexperienced riders that may not have any experience riding or racing in the rain, and will cause crashes. Fingers crossed!

After the race, I may head to T-town for some more track racing. This, however, is dependent on the weather. If it rains, races will automatically be canceled even if it's just a slight rain. Since we never get to know the race events ahead of time, I can't really come up with any plans.

Now I must head to bed, getting a late start for the night already, ugh! I'll post tomorrow night!

Track and Camp

2009-06-13T23:26:00.002-04:00

Had my third set of track racing today. Didn't go so well.

Woke up feeling a little sick (my brother got sick last week and must have given it to me or something). It showed in the first race, I was feeling like crap and pulled myself 7 laps into a 9 lap race (3k scratch) because I felt like I was going to throw up.

Second race, a 4k Points Race (points every 3 laps). No details for this except that I got lapped and didn't get to finish.

Rain hit us hard and for a while, and they cancelled the rest of the races so I didn't get to do the last race, which was a 7 lap Snowball. This race starts off with a free lap, then every race is worth one point more than the previous lap, with the first lap being worth one point. I was trying to get myself ready for this one, and wanted to go in my 49x14, my largest gear, cause I wanted to attack on the very first lap and try to get the first three laps to total up 6 points and then try to finish top 5 in the last lap for more points (7-5-3-2-1 or something like that for top 5).

Had a bad day, so instead of upgrading as I had hoped to, I'm just going to say that I'll be Cat 5 until I'm ready, at which point I will post when I do upgrade. Not sure if I'm racing next weekend, might take two weeks off to train harder.

Tomorrow I leave for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Road Camp that I am assisting the Camp Director as the final puzzle piece to my internship. I'm am excited. I don't know how much, if any riding I will be doing. Ray did say I may get to ride, so I am taking my road bike with me. This will determine if I race next weekend at the track or not. If I'm just driving the follow van all week and not getting any riding done, then most likely no racing next weekend.

Have a good week!

2nd T-Town Racing

2009-06-06T15:07:00.002-04:00

Just left the velodrome and now am sitting in a Barnes and Noble waiting to have my hair cut in about 30 minutes. Then off to the beach for a week of vacationing!

So todat started off a little bad for me. I was on the track with my 48x15 (currently my smallest gear) during warmup. I went back to my stuff to put on my 49t chainring that I had just bought on Thursday. I couldn't get it on, the chain was too short for me. I went around looking for ANYONE who may have an extra link or two so I could race with a 49x15. After failing at first, I went back to put on a 48x14 for the day. After putting that on and riding around, I found someone who had some extra links so I grabbed a few to put on my bike. I had about 20 minutes left before my first race of the day, which is enough time............. when you do things right.

I put on the chain and was having some problems, so I called over my team's coach who took my chain and called me an idiot (not really, I called myself an idiot but would have been well deserved if he did) because I put a "loop" in the chain (hard to explain, but the chain could not straighten out). At this point the Cat 5 guys were already lining up with the race to start soon, so I knew I wasn't getting on there for the 3k scratch race. I was able to fix up my chain and everything to ride my 49x15 for the rest of the races.

The next race was a 3k win and out. The sprint laps were 3 and 6, with the finish at 9 laps. I did ok in this race, I tried to go for the wins of the 3rd and 6th lap unsuccessfully, and had a decent finish in a sprint for like 10th place or something.

The final race of the day was an Unknown Distance, just like my last race I did two weeks ago. I was a little nervous because I didn't know if I'd hear the bell this time or not. I actually did hear it this time, and had a decent finish again, no more than 10th place I would think.

I'm getting better. I decided I'm going to stay in Cat 5 for one more week, and just try to get some good results next weekend after my vacation. If I can finish good in all of my races, then I'll be ready for Cat 4. They did the Miss and Out in Cat 4 today, which is one of my favorite races on the track. I wish I did it with them, I could have done well.

Now I must go pack up and head out to my car before going in for my haircut. Then it's off to the beach! And guess what is coming with me? MY ROAD BIKE! I got it back yesterday and cannot wait to ride it. Probably going to do an early morning recovery ride tomorrow.

Several Updates

2009-06-04T02:49:00.003-04:00

With my bike expected to be back in my possession in the next day or two (hopefully before I go on vacation on Saturday), I've updated my "2009 Races I Plan to Do" list to the right. There's a lot of races, which I'm glad about. I just need to find a job SOON so I can afford these.

I've been on the track a lot the last few weeks, and I'm heading back for another "Rookies and Masters" series this Saturday before heading to the east coast for some sun and beach. Then I'll be back the following Saturday for another track racing day.

Next week, while on vacation, I'll be pretty restricted to just flat roads with very little stop signs and lights. I'm guessing for getting back onto the road bike after a 4 week break this wouldn't be a bad thing, to just do sprints and standing starts to prepare for the following weekend's racing.

The following week (after vacation) is the Junior Road Development camp that is to be held at my now-alma mater, DeSales University. As an extension to my internship, I will be assisting my supervisor, the camp manager/director, in the operation of the week-long camp. I'm excited and cannot wait (in addition to my excitement for a week-long vacation that I haven't enjoyed in years due to school and family obligations)!!

So there you have it, my updates. Please comment on my blog, I feel like no one's reading my blog posts anymore haha. There is the option to post anonymously so you don't need a gmail account to post!!!

T-Town Bonanza

2009-05-23T19:04:00.004-04:00

The Cat 5 races on the schedule for today were:
2 KM Scratch race
3 Km Point-a-Lap race
Unknown Distance race

2 KM (6 laps) Scratch
This race went fine. I found out that I'm in too small of a gear (48x15) when I felt like I was spinning too fast, as confirmed by Kim who showed up to watch the race. Anyways, I was towards the front for most of the race, but at the end when everyone started sprinting, I just couldn't match up to them because of my small gearing. It also just wasn't a good day fitness-wise.

3 KM (9 laps) Point-a-Lap
I remember doing these in the training classes I've done the last two summers, but I think it was in a different format. For today, one point would go to the first rider to past the finish line on each lap, and the final lap would go 3-2-1 points for the top three finishers, respectfully. After our free lap and the bell went off, I gunned it with another rider, and we got a bit of a gap from the field. I was thinking about whether I should pass him on the 3rd and 4th turn to go for the single point, or let him have it and go for the second lap's point. I let him have the first lap and on the back stretch he slowed down a bit so I gunned it passed him just before the 3rd turn, and coming out of the 4th turn I thought I was by myself. Another rider somehow caught up to us whenever and he beat me to the finish line on the second lap. I was so disappointed. After another lap I took myself out of the race when I was felt like I was running on empty and felt I should reserve myself fro the last race. Kim, who is my coach, wanted to yell at me but she said it was taking every fiber in her body not to flip out. I guess I made the wrong choice........

Unknown Distance Race
I don't know how many laps we did, but it was between 10 and 15 laps I think. I stayed with the field for most of the race, and felt pretty good. However, because of my hearing-impairment I could not hear the bell ringing, thus I didn't know when we were on the last lap. Until I realized we were by everyone sprinting like crazy, it was too late for me. In the future, for these kind of races, I'm going to ask the officials to use the gun to signal the last lap, or if they could do some sort of visual method for letting me know the last lap.

So, my first track racing experience didn't go too bad. I just wish I got some more training on the track in the last month or so, but I was too focused on the collegiate cycling (which you can't blame me for).

I can't race next Saturday's races as I'm going to a referee clinic, but I definitely am planning on making June 6th. That gives me two weeks, so I hope starting Monday I can get some serious training in, probably 2 or 3 times a week. Build my leg and fitness up a bit before the next race I can make. Road bike is still at Trek which sucks... I'm actually fixing my MTB just to get out on the road again soon!

Track Racing begins TOMORROW!

2009-05-22T17:06:00.002-04:00

The moment is here. I have been waiting a long time for this! I officially make my debut to track racing tomorrow at about 12:00. The Rookies and Masters race series for the 2009 summer season begins in less than 24 hours at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center (formally Lehigh Valley Velodrome in Trexlertown, PA!

I don't feel in my best fitness at the moment (due to my road bike still being in the shop) but I was on the track several times in the last few weeks and am ready regardless of my fitness level. I'm nervous of course, since I do not know what to expect as to the experience and level of the other riders in my field. I'm starting out at Cat 5, but I believe after this weekend, unless I do extremely bad, that I will be upgrading to Cat 4 due to my past experiences on the track.

So, since I do not know the itinerary for tomorrow since I won't see it until I get there, I cannot come up with a game plan. So I'm just going to leave this post as it is. Expect a post-race report tomorrow night or Sunday.

Masters and Rookies series race schedule:
http://www.thevelodrome.com/mastersandrookies.php

Until next time...

One chapter ends, another begins

2009-05-18T01:43:00.002-04:00

This past Saturday was the 2009 DeSales University graduation. I completed my required courses and internship credits, and got to walk and officially GRADUATE!

While I will miss my friends, especially the many of those that I'll never see again, the professors and staff, the security guards I made friends with and always hung out with... I will especially miss more than anything the cycling team. While I will still help out with the club/team in the future, I will never race and represent DeSales University again. It was the cycling team that made me the person I am today, and it has hit me recently that this is real, I will never race with them again.

I don't think it's really going to hit me until the winter time, when the ECCC season will be posted and I will have to look at it, knowing I won't be racing any of them collegiately. It's going to suck, but I will stay involved with ECCC one way or another.

Coming up, my first track race on Saturday (May 23). I was on the track early sunday with some teammates, and I didn't feel like a track racer anymore. I'm going to do a quick-boost kind of thing this week, going to the track 2 or 3 more times before Saturday. More on this later in the week. Thanks for reading!

unintentional 4+ weeks break

2009-05-14T00:34:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, I noticed my brake wasn't setting properly, kept shifting position and rubbing my wheel. After trying to fix it several times, I took it to the bike shop. Turns out there was a problem with the allen screw that holds the brake in place. because of corrosion or whatever, it bonded with the metal piece, that is welded/glued to the carbon frame. So, in order to get it loose, the bike shop guys had to drill it out. Since that did not work, they ended up having to take the whole metal piece (that is "glued" to the frame) out by tapping it, breaking it, and then drilling it out. After my buddy Chip, the mechanic who has worked on my bike earlier today, called Trek to see what to do next, turns out Trek is not authorizing them to do any more work, and required them to ship the frame only to their factory.

So, Chip has to strip the frame of any parts and components, and then ship it to Trek. Trek will then inspect it, make sure it is still good, and fix it. There is a chance it is not safe to ride it, even if they put in the new metal piece. If that's the case, I'm screwed big time. Even if they can fix it and it'll be safe to ride, I'm still going to be screwed somewhat since I'm looking at about $400 of parts, labor, and other fees (i.e. shipping).

So, now I need to figure out how to get some training in, without having to go to the track (about 30-40 minutes drive) up to 5 times a week, to further prepare myself for the track season that starts on May 23. It's just not economical for me since I'm soon to graduate (on Saturday) and I still don't have a job lined up yet.

FML!

Love?

2009-05-09T18:21:00.002-04:00

Ok, if you read my previous post up until today, then I have to apologize for the:

Love,
Zach

at the end.

What happened is that I often make the same exact posts in two places: 1) here and 2) on my family's yahoo group. As you may have just guessed, I made this post first on my family's group, and then copy-and-pasted it onto here and forgot to take those last two lines out. Not that I don't believe in genuine posts, it's just that sometimes I am time strapped and can only write one thing. I do sometimes post originally on here, and then copy-and-paste it into my family's group. Other times, I make two completely different posts, since you readers know more about cycling than my family does, and I can talk in cyclist-language more. I hope all of this makes sense, and please accept my apology for that. Those last two lines are gone now, so don't think I all of the sudden started loving on you guys, whom I've never met in person yet!

COMING SOON: a few-parts post on my looking back to collegiate cycling, since I will be graduating in exactly a week (WHOOHOO!), and how it made me the person I am today. The good, the bad, the everything!

Penn State Criterium Report

2009-05-04T14:55:00.004-04:00

BEST RACE EVER!

So, the night before and the morning of the race, I kept reminding Kim and Taylor how I'm going to grab at least one preme point, to end my collegiate cycling career on a good note. I need to motivate myself like this more often! And was I MOTIVATED to NO END!

Got to the start line right in the front, so I was already in a good position. Taking off on the whistle, I couldn't clip into my pedal on the first try but got in on the second try. Went hard with a sprint and got into a good position, around top-10 into the first corner. I rode harder than I ever have, knowing I needed to end with at least one point. We went through about 3 or 4 laps, and I was getting anxious waiting for the bell to ring to announce a preme lap. Finally, I believe on the 4th or 5th lap, they rang the bell and I pushed harder. Still about top 10 (according to Kim) I got on the left side of the field since all but one turns were a right turn. I wanted to be on the outside to sling-shot past the riders when they would hit their brakes. Coming out of the chicane (spelling?) S-turn (left then immediate right turn) I sling-shot past everyone, and was in second position for the last two turns. I got passed by two more riders and when I looked back, we had a slight lead. After almost getting caught by a UNH or Penn State (blue jersey) I crossed the finish line in 4th position on that sprint lap to earn 2 points!!!!!!!!! I was so excited that I forgot I was still racing (haha) and with everyone starting to attack I dropped back a little, but still in a good position (top-15 or so).

I stayed in about the same position for a little (2 or 3 laps I think). Then it happened... I went down solo out of the right turn of the chicane, scraping up my right leg, butt and elbow. I quickly got up, went to the pit to fix my bike (dropped chain and brake needed to be realigned) and take my free lap. When the leading field (where I was) came around, I got back in. Two laps later, I crashed again and was hurting too much to get back into the race. I went to find Kim, left my bike with her and went to the ambulance to get checked out.

I'm a little disappointed, but not as much as I would be if I didn't grab those points. I wish I could have finished the race, I think I could have done very well, but like I said, I was hurting too much to ride anymore.

This was by far my best race ever. Even better than the Philly race that I actually finished every lap. Two points! Not a lot, but it's the first two points I got on my own. I'm so proud of myself.

Kim sent out an email to Taylor and me this morning and said this was the best collegiate season with DeSales University, in terms of determination and commitment. Taylor even did pretty well after upgrading to Women's B last weekend, just missing the last placing for points by one place. She looked good out there this weekend, and I have no doubt she'll be a Women's A rider next year or the following.

I've decided earlier today I'm going to write a long (but divided into several) posts about my ECCC experience the last three years. Be on the look out for that this week sometimes when I find time.

Road Race

2009-05-02T21:47:00.002-04:00

Just as I had expected, my performance was poor on the climb. However, my expectation for the whole race was below par...

I first had a bad start because I didn't hear them call all Men's D riders to staging, so I was towards the back of the group. At the start of the race, I was feeling good, and working my way up to probably the first 20-30 riders. Then I don't know what happened but my legs just tanked out and I went back to the field again, eventually dropping off the back. I was, at one point I believe, in last place. I did catch a few riders, they passed me again, and back and forth until the 5 mile climb. I pretty much kept my placing for this except for one guy, I believe from Steven's IT, who passed me. I had my focus on this Penn State guy in front of me trying to catch up, and I did get close by about 20 meters or so, but then he just pulled away on the last bit of the climbing when my legs were tanking out again. I passed another Penn State rider, my good buddy Felix, and finished 4th to last. I know I said I didn't expect to do well, but I didn't think the bottom 5.

Tomorrow is the Criterium. Just found out a few hours ago we are going in the opposite direction of last year's same course, which means I avoid the power climb in the counter-clockwise direction, and can use that to build up speed for the last stretch of each lap. Gonna be awesome, I'm looking to grab a few preme points and hopefully finishing good.

Crit report tomorrow (if I remember this time). I'm sure going to miss racing ECCC after I graduate!

Penn State weekend

2009-05-01T09:03:00.002-04:00

Today between 2 and 2:30, we will be heading for Penn State University for a fun-filled race weekend. The only thing different this year is that instead of an Individual Time Trial, Penn State changed it to a Team TT.

Road Race:
I don't expect much for this. I'm just going to do my best to stay with the field until the 5 mile straight up hill climb. After that, we'll see.

Criterium:
Last year this was one of my best criterium results during the season. My only fear is the power climb, as I'm usually attacking them too hard, have to take a short break while everyone gets away from me, and then get dropped like a bomb. I'm going to have to find that medium of power, yet conservation of energy. I'm going for a few preme points as well, and hope to place top 15.

Weather Report:
Rain all weekend. I usually hate rain in all other events/sports/etc., but I'm going to really be thankful of the rain this weekend for cycling. It slows everyone else down, while I still race at nearly the same pace/effort. Just like the Philly Phlyer weekend, I'm hoping to kick some butt!

Race reports to follow the next few days!

X-Pot

2009-04-30T20:35:00.002-04:00

ok, I just realized I forgot to update on X-Pot, so for that it'll just be a quick update:

The Road race was seriously like Pro-Level, with the ridiculous climb that I ended up walking up the first lap. The Second lap I was able to get up, barely. I got pulled out of the race after the second lap, so I could not do all three laps. I'm almost thankful for that, because I don't think I would have wanted to do the hill again.

Criterium: Definitely not a criterium. More of a circuit race with a wheel pit. I somehow managed to get placed 22nd out of 50+, but I'm almost certain that is a mistake. I got lapped by the field but they let me still race the last two laps. 22nd, really? Oh, I did beat out two RIT guys in a final sprint. I even caught up to a guy who was in front of me by about 20 yards or so, but I'm pretty sure he was a lap ahead of me. I just felt like working on my pursuit/sprint.

There it is in a nutshell. I'll be posting about the Penn State weekend later tonight or tomorrow morning. I've been so busy with the last week or two of school that everything has just been stressful and overwhelming, and I haven't been able to do my regular updating. However, I'm officially done with classes today, and with no finals I have a little more time to myself. Just got a few more hours for my internships and I'll be done.

MIT weekend

2009-04-23T21:45:00.002-04:00

Last two years as you may remember, the Boston weekend was usually the Boston Beanpot Classics that was hosted by 2 or 3 different Boston-area schools. Well, this year it is only MIT hosting what is now called the X-Pot.

We are staying with a host this weekend, should be nice. I hope they're hockey fans because I wanna watch the Flyers' game Saturday night after they had beaten.

Anyways, Saturday is the road race for us. 27 miles total starting at 10:35. Each loop is 9 miles, with what looks to be a big climb for about .75 mile between the 3rd and 4th mile. Never did this course, so my only plan is to just to get a good warmup in, and then fight to stay towards the front. I think it could go somewhat slow during the first lap, but then once we come around and every knows what the course is like, it'll pick up for the second and third lap.

Sunday is the Criterium. 1.1 miles per lap going for 30 minutes at about 10:40. The course looks a little difficult according to the elevation chart, but I'm going to make sure we get there early enough so I can ride the course a few time, and then get a really good warmup in just like at Philly. I'm going for a few prime points throughout the race. Then I want to finish top 15, although top 9 will guarantee at least one point. I'm going to start making something of myself for this weekend and next weekend at Penn State, the last two of my collegiate career!

Taking my laptop to the house, but not sure if they'll have wireless access. If they do, I'll post. Otherwise, wait until Sunday afternoon or night.

OH SNAP!

2009-04-15T21:28:00.003-04:00

Today my rear derailleur cable snapped at the shifter on the handlebar, and when I took it to the bike shop they tried to fix it in the 20 minutes they were still open, however some pieces of the wires from the cable got jammed into the shifter somehow, and now they need to take my shifter apart. So no racing on Saturday for me most likely, because they said it could be Saturday when they have it done.

Sucky, but now I can get on the track with the better weather we'll have the next few days. Supposed to be in the 60s tomorrow and Friday, and in the 70s on Saturday. Kind of pissed about the 70 because I'll be heading home, most likely without my bike, and I'm supposed to officiate a basketball tournament for most of the day. Ugh, good day and gonna be stuck indoors.

Here's to hoping my bike gets done before Friday!

Cherry Blossom race a possibility?

2009-04-12T23:30:00.003-04:00

Next Saturday in New Jersey is the Cherry Blossom Challenge circuit/road race. It's part of some county festival that is a few weeks long or whatever, and on this Saturday is the race. If it's like any other festival races, it could very well draw a huge crowd of spectators.

The location is about an hour and a half away from school if I have the right parking lot according to Google Maps. I'm going to see if one of my teammates wants to go, since we are not racing at Dartmouth next weekend. I'm just debating now if I really want to get up that early for a 7:00 start (would be about 4:30 departure to get there by 6ish).

Now, I may still be going to Dartmouth with the Kutztown University team, but I'm going to think about that this week. If I decide not to go to Dartmouth for whatever reasons, then I will debate on doing this Cherry Blossom Challenge at Essex County Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ. I emailed one of the race directors/promoters for a few more details of the course, to make sure it is worthwhile going if I/we do. More on this in a few days.

One last thing, I've posted on the right column information about the 2009 Track season at Valley Preferred Cycling Center. Be sure to check it out!

Change of plan

2009-04-03T19:16:00.003-04:00

After talking with a teammate, looks like it'd be best for me not to go to West Point with the team with a stomach virus in me. This would be better, I wouldn't want to infect them with my sickness.

So, all I can say is Good Luck to Taylor and Kim. Kick some ass this weekend!

Race against the virus

2009-04-03T14:48:00.001-04:00

This weekend is the Army Classics at West Point, NY. However, a new race has been presented to me, as I got violently sick last night with a stomach virus. I'm almost certain I will not be racing tomorrow in the Circuit race, but not sure about Sunday yet. I will just see how I feel all day tomorrow and Sunday morning.

We leave early tomorrow for West Point, and then will be staying at a Courtyard in Fishkill, NY. I will post more when I get there tomorrow night. Until then, wish me well in my recovery.

Philly Phlyer criterium report

2009-03-29T18:30:00.001-04:00

So, after having crashed yesterday and waking up with my back pretty sore, I still decide to race this morning in the 20 minute criterium. And it was a good decision!

I got my warm up in and got to the start/finish line to race. Had a good start, and actually stayed towards the front for a bit. I started falling backwards, but I kept pushing hard to stay in the field, and that I did. A few times I would work my way back to the front to partake in some action, but I couldn't win any preme points. Preme laps are every few laps usually, and is a way to get a few extra points by being the first to cross the finish line on a preme lap.

I was feeling really great, and stayed inside the field for all but the last two laps. I got dropped with 2 laps to go, and after trying several time to sprint and get back in, I looked back and saw 3 guys behind me by about 80 meters or so. I first thought I should just pedal hard and keep my distance from them to finish, but then I dropped back more to ride with them for the last lap. on the last stretch of the 2nd to last lap they did catch me, and I rode in a line with them. On the 2nd to last turn of the whole race, I went inside and started passing the three guys, and got by them prior to the last turn for a sprint finish. I just hauled it with all I had beat them for 38th place, out of 53 that finished, at least 60 started.

I can't tell you how happy and excited I was today, I'm still happy about it! This is the first criterium ever that I did not get pulled or lapped in. And it's funny how I went from being pulled a few laps in two weeks ago to actually finishing every single lap!

Taylor did well today, placing 4th or 5th. Kim did excellent today, placing first. Not only did she place first though, she went off the front on her own and kept gaining time, eventually lapping everyone after about 13 or 14 laps. She was amazing today!

Next week is Army weekend, I hope I can keep up my good work! I'm going to make some more challenging goals for myself now that I know I'm getting a lot better!

post-crash

2009-03-29T07:37:00.002-04:00

Woke up this morning to a sore back, but my knee and everything else is fine. I did get hit by several wheels on my back so I was expecting my back to hurt. I just popped a few Ibuprofen this morning and am taking a bottle with me.

As of now I'm still planning on racing in the Criterium that will start around 10:30 for my category/division. If my back gets worse, then I'm sitting out.

Race-report tonight!

sharp left turn, then BAM!

2009-03-28T12:08:00.003-04:00

Got no warming up in prior to the Cat 4/5 race, so I just decided to start in the back and try to hang on for as long as I could. Ended up being dropped, and decided since I got another race, that is more important to me, to just lay back and do a warm-up pace for the rest of the first lap and then take myself out.

Lined up for the second lap, was feeling very warmed up. Took off, and felt great, I was towards the front, going back and forth between 3rd and 6th wheel. On River Road, which was pretty flat, I was expecting several breaks, but everyone stayed together for the most part. Two Army guys attacked, but they didn't get far and was swallowed up quickly. Then we came up to a sharp left turn and then BAM! Two guys in front of me go down. I knew they were going down by the way the one guy wasn't keeping his line around the turn, so I went towards the outside more to follow this one guy's wheel, who was just to the right of the initial crash. He, for some reason, felt the need to slam on his brakes when I was expecting him to start sprinting up the ramp, and with very little time to crash I ran right into his rear wheel, taking both of us out. I got hit by a bike or two while on the ground, a few bikes went over top of me. I scrambled to get back up and get my bike up, the chain was off so I quickly fixed that. When I took off I noticed the rear wheel was rubbing the brake, so I got back off to fix that. Then my knee started to hurt. I hurt my knee last week playing basketball when I was tripped and hit it directly into the floor, so I just aggrevated the injury today in the crash. I stopped racing, and went back to the staging area, very lightly pedaling because I didn't want to injure my knee anymore.

I thought I was scared to death about racing tomorrow in the criterium, now I'm even MORE scared (can you get more scared than to death?) because I just crashed today. I'm just going to rest my knee tonight, and see how I feel in the morning.

In my brother's dorm at Ursinus now, waiting to go to his tennis match that is at 1:00. My dad came to watch both of my races and then we went to have a late breakfast and now we're here to see my brother's match. SHH, I'm on his computer without his knowing, I just felt the need to update my blog about the crash haha.

2009 Philly Phlyer

2009-03-27T20:21:00.003-04:00

I have a huge, busy weekend up ahead. I can't wait for a break over Easter weekend!

For the circuit races tomorrow, they are having both USCF and Collegiate races. At 8:30 is the Cat 4/5 race, and at 9:15 is the Collegiate Men's D race. I'm crazy enough to do both, back to back. Both races are exactly the same, 6 miles per lap, 2 laps, 12 total. The reason I decided to do both was to use the Cat 4/5 race as "warmup", while still going to attempt to do well. Then I will go all out in the Men's D collegiate race right after. Never did a back-to-back race like this, but I'm prepared.

For the Cat 4/5 race (non-collegiate), I will be racing for Team Vortex and wear the jersey while wearing my DeSales shorts. I'm just going to get in a field somewhere, and just ride it out. Unless it is for first place, I'm not going to do a sprint at the end as I usually do, especially with others racing. I'm just going to ride this out, view the course, and come up with strategies for the Men's D race.

After the Cat 4/5 race, I will line up for the Men's D race and change into my DeSales jersey. For this race I just gotta get to the front and stay there for the majority of the race. Any breakaways, I'm attempting to follow, or if I can't I'll try to help bridge any gaps. I want to finish top 20 in this race.

As of now, weather says just cloudy for most of the day, as oppose to rain as it has been saying all week. So hopefully it'll be correct and it won't rain.

On Sunday is criterium. No non-collegiate races so just one race for me. Men's D is at around 10:00 or so, and if it rains I'm going to be scared to death, but gotta be fearless. Why would I be scared? My field sucks at racing, no one knows how to ride properly in a race, and crashes happen a lot in D. then add the rain.... YEAH! gonna be ugly so hopefully that'll be the motivation I need to get to the front and STAY there, to avoid crashing.

Race report coming Sunday night.

Lance Armstrong

2009-03-25T11:07:00.002-04:00

Lance Armstrong is in surgery now, if he hasn't come out of it yet. Sucks what happened to him. If you haven't heard yet, he broke his collarbone in Spain during a race:

Read about it here

He's on twitter, so I've been keeping up to date about his last few days:

http://twitter.com/lancearmstrong

Here's a picture he posted just an hour or so ago before going in for surgery:

http://twitpic.com/2fewc

Get well soon Lance, I wanna see you race in the Tour de France!

Delaware race report

2009-03-23T23:39:00.002-04:00

I only got to go Saturday, and was not able to go Sunday. The road race was pretty good, I liked it. It started western Delaware in Newark, went east into Maryland, and came back to the west coast. I knew Delaware was skinny, but I didn't know you could ride your bike across the state in less like 15-20 minutes!

I did pretty poorly. I guess I didn't warm up enough so I just have to warm up better next time.

Like I said, the course was pretty good; challenging and technical as I like it. One of the best road races I've done. What I didn't like was the course marshalling. Some of them were airheads and didn't know how to point properly, which caused me (and I heard a few others talk about this) miss three turns, or going the wrong way. That's something USAC should do, have a Course Marshall license, haha.

Anyways, I usually go through the whole course mile for mile, but I'm tired right now and need to get to bed. Just in a nutshell, I got dropped off the back like 3 or 4 miles in, and was by myself for most of the race. I found a few riders ahead of me eventually, and went into my sprint pursuit mode to catch them. Caught and passed one on a hill, and eventually caught two others that I rode with them. The very last turn prior to finish, I was leading the paceline and went through the intersection, because of the cop standing behind a telephone pole and the sign for the turn was almost impossible to see. The two behind me somehow knew to take the turn, so they beat me to the line when I was hoping for a sprint finish. I turned around, gave an attitude to the cop, and then went to cross the finish line. I got 34th of 36 that finished, 38 that started.

My teammates did pretty well, Kim got first in all of her races, and Taylor definitely improved from previous races, getting second in the criterium and finishing well in the other two races.

Philly Phyler this weekend, I'll talk more about that this week.

Sucks for Lance Armstrong, breaking his collarbone, but I'm sure he'll recover prior to the Tour de France. Not sure about the Giro d'Italia though.

U of Delaware race weekend

2009-03-20T22:10:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow (Saturday) morning we are heading down to Delaware for the road race. After my last two weekends of criterium fails, I hope I can use the Road Race to redeem my dignity. Road races, everyone usually starts off slower, so if I warm up for 30 minutes prior to starting I should do fine for the first half of the course.

About 17 miles long, It should take me no more than 1:10 to finish. Looking at the elevation chart at http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/de/newark/421157963389 it seems pretty easy with flats/rolling terrains the first 6.5 miles, before the first of three "climbs" prior to a flat/sprint finish. I'm going to try to keep with any leading or lead chase pack. This way, by the time the climb comes, I can just keep my pace similar to those around me, and if I get dropped I can use the valleys in between the climbs to catch up. If all goes well, I hope to finish strong.

I am pretty sure I am not racing Sunday, due to something I need to do at school if I can't get someone else to cover for it. I will do my post-race report tomorrow evening, and let you know then if I'm racing Sunday or not. Sunday is an Individual TT and Criterium, so I won't be disappointed if I don't go.

Grant's Tomb and Stevens Duck Country Criterium

2009-03-16T09:17:00.002-04:00

First off, apologies for promising I'd write over the weekend and didn't get a chance to. When I wasn't out driving or at the race courses, I was pretty much sleeping. I don't get a break anymore.

So Saturday, we were at Grant's Tomb (Criterium) in NYC. Same course as last year, just a different start. I just went as hard as I could because I knew if I didn't I'd get dropped right away. Well, I did go hard, and still got dropped within a few laps anyways. And pathetically, I got pulled from the race a lot earlier than I did last year. Freakin' winter sucked! Didn't train at all and put on some weight, which is showing in my performance so far in Collegiates. I ended up placing 41st out of 46, which I think is wrong because I'm pretty sure I was closer to last, if not last. I think the race officials messed up or something as I did end up getting lapped but they didn't pull me right away because the pace car got off the course for a lap for whatever reason. Anyways, I'll take 41st, but I did do a LOT better last year than I did this year.

Sunday, Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ hosted the Stevens Duck Country Criterium. My view of the elevation chart was so wrong, because I thought it was just moderate down and up round-2-blocks lap. Nah, it was more of a straight down, flat, straight up, somewhat flat course. I have pictures which, if I remember to, I will post.

The downhill was always fun, but just like any other races, people must really LOVE to brake. I learned from previous races and would get on the outside of the downhil turn and just past everyone. However, the hill was a killer. Oh yeah, and SPEED BUMPS?! How did ECCC approve of this course?! Speed bumps, pot holes everywhere... this was one the nastiest course ever.

Back to the downhill, I discovered you really don't need to hit the brakes more than just a tad bit, because I went down and made the turn easily just about each lap I was in the front or by myself. The one lap, I was less than 45 degrees (angle) off the road when making the turn, and I was comfortable doing that!

Well, for some reason I wasn't placed, and actually given a DNF. Everyone else placed, which just shows how pathetic my performance has been so far this season. I need to make a change. Kim even wrote me up a training plan for the next two weeks, which I'm going to make sure I follow, even if I gotta let my school work slip a little to make it happen.

Taylor had a good weekend, struggled a little but she's doing fine. She raced in both Women's Intro and B on Saturday, and for a starter like her I think she did fine. Kim got 5th on Saturday and second on Sunday. As of the end of this past weekend, we are placed 12th in the Conference, going up one place since last week when we were 13th.

Next week is University of Delaware, which I will talk more about later this week. Thanks for reading!

Grant's Tomb Criterium at Columbia

2009-03-14T06:32:00.002-04:00

in just a little bit we will be leaving for Grant's Tomb in NYC, hosted by Columbia University. I can't say much as I have little time to.

I did this last year and can't really remember how I placed except that I was one head my teammate Jon. But he had a mechanical, and I think he could have beaten me.

I plan on just staying with a pack, not getting lapped and finishing strong. There is a power climb that I'm sort of fearing, but I should do fine.

Tomorrow we go to Stevens Institute of Technology for another criterium, I'll talk about that later today.

Team Winter

2009-03-12T17:16:00.005-04:00

Not sure how many of my readers know about Team Winter, but here is a very inspirational video:

This morning Mr. Vinecki, Winter's Father, had died after a battle with cancer. Winter has been an inspiration to me and if something were to happen to someone I love, I hope to have the strength to make an awareness as she certainly had. She has eventually become a part of a group called Athletes for a Cure, running in their 2008 triathlon, which there she has a line of clothings, sunglasses, and other things to help raise money for research and such. I got a pair of the sunglasses as a gift about 2 months ago, and in honor of Winter's Father and her cause, I will be sure to race with these sunglasses in all of my collegiate races.

Some relative links:
http://www.athletesforacure.org/
http://athletes.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=290780
http://burnurl.com/p7w5uZ

RIP Michael Vinecki

It's been lost, and it's been found

2009-03-09T09:56:00.002-04:00

I emailed the Rutgers Cycling Team President yesterday prior to going to bed, asking if anyone turned in a Cateye Astrale 8 computer. Chris (president) responded to me saying that Joe Kopena did find a Cateye computer and has it! I emailed Joe and is still waiting for him to respond to me. So instead of paying almost $50 for a new Cateye Astrale 8 computer kit, I will only pay between $15 and $20 for a mount kit, since my mount did break, causing the computer to fall off my bike. Definitely a relief!

Rutgers/Princeton Race Report

2009-03-08T11:30:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the Time Trial at Rutgers and the Criterium at Princeton. I was aiming to do 7 minutes for the 2.7 miles in the time trial, and ended up doing 7:23. This course was similar to Rutgers TT two years ago, and I did almost 9 minutes, so I definitely did improve my speed/sprinting. However, so did everyone else in my field since last year, and I got 91st out of 122 in Men's D. I based teh 7 minutes goal off of the results from last year's race, and that didn't work out for me. However, I still consider this a great time for me and I think I did pretty well.

We then headed towards Princeton for the criterium after we all raced the TT. The usual 4 corners with a power climb. A power climb it WAS! I completely bombed on this course and got 51st out of 52 for Men's D Division-2. And as I've said in the past, brakes should be illegal in criteriums, just like on the track. There were 4 or 5 crashes that I know of, all after a turn and involved someone hitting their brakes too hard from what I've been told. And, I almost rear-ended one kid who slammed on his brakes for no apparent reason! No one was in front of him or to the left of him, and he took the inside of the turn as I was following him. I yelled at him to not use his brakes as hard next time. When I was pretty much by myself or with another rider or two for the last 4 or 5 laps I did (got dropped because I was going to get lapped), I hardly used the brakes on all the corners, and on the first, third and forth corner I would go through around 20-25 mph.

This morning we left at about 5:30 bright and early for the Rutgers Circuit Race. I forgot about Daylight Savings Time today and woke up at 5:10 when I set my alarm for 4:10 last night, and I get a friendly call from Kim at 5:25, thinking it was 4:25, asking if I was coming or not. Luckily my cycling bag was still packed from last night and so I just grabbed that and my food bag and went outside to see Kim and Taylor waiting for me in Kim's car just outside my dorm. I only forgot my sunglasses but I was fine without it today.

We get to the course, first to show up so we were really confused if we were in the right place or not. We were, and people started showing up about 5 or 10 minutes after we parked. I rode the course once with Taylor, and then got on the trainer. I wasn't feeling good this morning and could not eat anything solid, so I went to race on a near-empty stomach, even though I tried forcing
food down. I was able to get half a muffin and half a banana down, but that was it, nothing else was going down.

"GO" was yelled and I went off the front. I lead the course through the first turn, looked back and saw I was a little too far, so I slowed down a little and got into the field. Ended up being 3rd and 4th wheel which I was happy. I was feeling really good and had no problems for the first half of the first lap. Then, about halfway through someone attacked off the front and I went to chase.

Realizing it was too early, I backed off and went back to 3rd or 4th wheel, at which point everyone started chasing. A few broke off and caught him, while the field just became a big pack that I was in the middle of. Still feeling good though, and thought I was going to make something happen soon.

We crossed the start/finish line after the first lap and when coming around the first turn, I saw people slamming on their brakes, sliding their rear wheel, and when I got a clear look, there was a 3 or 4 bike crash in front if me, I barely got through going between two bikes and a person on the road. Those that got by quicker sprinted right away to take advantage of the situation, and since I slowed down to go by the bikes on the road, I needed to sprint harder to keep up. Couldn't do so, and the field broke up rather quickly.

After the second turn, I believe still on the second lap, I hit a huge bump in the road and my cyclo-computer broke off and my water bottle fell out of the cage... I went the whole 30 minutes without water, the dehydration definitely kicked in halfway through which slowed me down significantly.

After that, I tried chasing these two that were in front of me, but couldn't and saw a pack behind me, so I slowed down for them to catch up to me. Rode with them for a little, and on the second-to-last lap I did a chase for those two that I saw were slowing down. No one from the group I was in followed me so I was on my own, eventually wasting my energy and having to go back to the group of 6 or 7 of us. On the last lap me and someone else then did a chase for these two and caught them half way though the lap. Then the rest of the previous group caught up and it became a sprint for the finish. I beat out 2 or 3 of the guys I was "racing" with, while several were off the front already beating us.

Overall, I think I did well considering my circumstances. If I had my water and drank from it, I could have done a lot better. I ended up placing 42nd out of 52. A definite improvement from the criterium yesterday, but still have a lot of work ahead of me for this season.

Overall, this weekend was great; for me, for both my teammates, and the team in general. I hope we all keep doing this and improving for the rest of the season, and despite being a 3-person team, I think we can rank high at the end of the season.

Rutgers/Princeton Spirit of 69 Season Opening weekend

2009-03-06T23:50:00.001-05:00

Last time I'm going to Rutgers (at least for a while as I do plan to go back to school for my masters and can race if I go to a school that has a team). Didn't get to go last year as you may remember half the team didn't want to go on account of the early morning rain.

Short and sweet since I need to go to bed. Waking up in less than 5 hours!

Time Trial at Rutger's... same goal as last year, Top 9 to contribute at least one point to the team and be the first to do so for the season. Going to try and spin at about 90-110 RPM and go no less than 23 mph for 2.7 miles.

Princeton's Criterium, not really much for me to go off of since I didn't get a good look at the race flyer. I'm just going to race with no goals intended except to finish strong and not get lapped.

More tomorrow when we return. Oh, and take a guess as to why Rutgers and Princeton got together and called this the Spirit of 69. I'll tell you why it is tomorrow. Good night!

Good News! (and other things)

2009-03-01T06:53:00.002-05:00

First off, I got some good news, probably just for me. I was comparing the Track schedule with several races I'd like to do over the summer, including the Pottsville City Cycle 17 (non-usac). On the track I would only be able to do the Masters and Rookies Series on Saturdays this summer, and unfortunately that is when some of my favorite criteriums are, and so is the Pottsville CC17. The last two summers the CC17 fell on the last Saturday in July so going by that I figured it would be July 25th this summer. When I looked at the track schedule, that is a Masters and Elite Championship weekend, which means I do not race that weekend! So the good news is that I'll get to race in the City Cycle 17 this summer! Not much for all of you reading this, but I was afraid recently that I may not be able to race in the CC17 this summer if it falls on the same day I have a track race. This summer is more for my track career than road once I finish up the Collegiate Cycling season.

Speaking of which, next weekend is the Easterns Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC) season opener at Rutgers and Princeton, starting with the Rutgers Time Trial opener on Saturday. Couldn't do this last year because more than half the team didn't want to go on account of the rain that day, but this year I hope we fight through it because they are calling for rain again (but it's a week away, things can and usually do change). This year I'm making it happen. I'm going regardless, and I'm going to place top 7 to be the first to contribute points to the team. Overall I hope I do top 10, but 7 or less will get me at least 1 point. Then there is the Criterium at Princeton later on Saturday, and then back to Rutgers on Sunday for a circuit race. More on those later this week.

Kimberly Geist of Metro VW will be racing with us again, in her last season with the DeSales University Cycling Team, prior to graduating in May, just like me. She's mainly the reason why we place top 10 in our division at the end of the last two seasons, even though our other team members have contributed points, including myself for a few points after a team time trial.

We also have newcomer and freshman Taylor, who will be racing Women Intro for a few races. I have good feelings about her, especially after seeing her training with me on the road and on the trainer. Not to put pressure on her if she happens to read this, but I do think she could kick ass in the time trials and criteriums this year. She'll do fine in road races as well.

It is only the three of us this year. Only one from last year's team graduated, the others dropped out of the team because of either lost interest or busy schedule. Kind of disappointed but whatever, we'll still do well with the three of us. Yes, this means I'm the only guy on the team this year so I have to really make something happen.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last year for the DeSales University Cycling Team, but Kim, Taylor and I are going to start making the team known to the local community for any high school seniors interested in coming to DeSales University. Even though Kim and I are graduating this year, we still care about the team and do not want Taylor to just be left in the dark. Since Taylor still has three years before graduating, I want to see her race until she graduates so I'll even help out with the team after I graduate. In a few weeks there is an incoming-freshmen event for those graduating high school soon and coming to DeSales University in the fall, so I got us a table to that event and the three of us, and hopefully Scott (the president of our club), will be there to try and raise interest. Even if we don't have a team, I hope for the club to still be here.

Well, that's enough for one day. It's about 7:20 am on Sunday, and I plan on going out for a ride between 8 and 9 this morning for up to 3 hours. I'm gonna do some sprint and time trial workout for at least the first hour, and then base fitness riding to the end. Have a good Sunday!

Updates

2009-02-23T13:37:00.003-05:00

Wow, I don't know if I've ever gone this long without posting something on my blog. Was having some problems with Blogger since Google bought them out or whatever happened and now you need to have a gmail account or something? I don't know the whole story but I had to create a gmail account in order to get back into this blog to update it. But I'm back and am getting ready to update regularly again because Rutger's ECCC Season Opener is in less than two weeks!

This winter absolutely sucked. I was not able to ride much since early December up until a few weeks ago when we just kept getting hit with snow, rain, heavy wind, etc. It's been better lately and have gotten out a little more but it still sucks. This week I plan to go out for a few rides, including a skills training workout with the newbies on the team to work on cornering, bumping, riding in a group, etc. That will be on Thursday, and then after that I will be getting a VO2 Max test done in the science building on campus. I'm quite nervous about this and not sure how it will turn out. I will be disappointed if I don't get a good number, but I will have a goal to reach after this week since I will have another one done in like 2 months as part of my internship.

Well, I gotta go tutor someone in computer applications (excel, access, etc) so I need to get read and leave in a few minutes. Be sure to look out for several posts coming up!

Until next time...

I'm now a trackie

2009-01-06T17:54:00.002-05:00

Finally, after so long of waiting, I have purchased a track bike. I now own a 2005 Fuji Track Pro that I bought used. I don't have pictures of the bike yet, but will next week when I go back to school and can post it. Unfortunately, the track is closed for the season. Happens to be the FIRST time the track has ever been closed for a whole winter season, not just bad weather (as we have been getting lately). I think that's messed up though, they've always kept it open during the winter until we would get bad snow weather, but whatever. I have to wait until like mid or late february until they reopen it, so it's staying in the garage for now until then.

That is all for now, short and sweet!

New Year's Resolution

2008-12-31T12:58:00.002-05:00

With about 11 hours to go in the year, I thought I'd take this time to post some cycling-specific resolutions and goals. Some are the same or similar to last year's resolution, as I did not reach them or didn't have a chance to.

1) Top 9 at Rutger's Season Opener Time Trial for the ECCC collegiate season under the Men's D category.
2) Lose 10-15 lbs by mid summer
3) Start track racing and upgrade to category 4 by end of the season
4) Place top 15 in all USCF races over the summer
5) Category 4 in Road possibly?
6) Upgrade bike components
7) Compete in at least 6 USCF races (Road races, crit, or TT)

I'm going to try and approach my training differently this year, and include some lifting to improve power and strength, as well as endurance. Hopefully this will help me in upgrading to Category 4 in Road, as well as do pretty well on the track. In all honesty, I believe I belong more on the track than I do on the road. I'm more of a sprinter and I have power that makes me more of a track racer, and I do not really have a huge amount of endurance, as needed on the road.

Anyways, Happy New Years, and enjoy the extra second we are getting today!

Transitional days

2008-12-27T20:47:00.003-05:00

As 2008 comes to an end and 2009 is about to start, I thought I'd go back to last year when I wrote down some cycling-specific resolutions and my results/reflections:

1) NO MORE CRASHES!

I did just that, no more crashes (well, still got 4 more days to go with at least 2 rides planned)

2) Top 9 at Rutger's Season Opener Time Trial for the ECCC collegiate season under the Men's D category

We actually didn't go to the first day of Rutger's, so I was not able to attempt this. This will probably be a resolution for next year.

3) Lose 20 lbs by summer

by summer I lost only like 5 lbs, and over the summer I lost another 5 lbs. I was able to keep most of that 10 lbs off, but never reached 20 lbs. current weight is between 175 and 178.

4) Place top 15 in all of my USCF road races over summer

Still not able to keep with the pack on races, but definitely getting better. Best I did was 19th, and that was out of 21.

5) Purchase a Fuji Track Pro

Haven't done that, but will be getting one next week

6) Start track racing, place top 10 in those races

Since I never got a chance to buy a track bike yet, haven't even raced on the track. I did, however, place 3rd in the AP Finals at the track on a rental bike, so that counts towards this... somewhat...

7) look into upgrading to Road Category 4

I did look into it (haha) but never actually did. Going to try to approach my training in a different way this year in order to do better in my races and maybe upgrade to 4 sometimes during the summer.

8) Upgrade to better wheels, tires, components, etc.

Well, I did do some upgrades. I got better tires after I was force to when one of my former tires became damaged. I got a new stem after a bike fitting several weeks ago. Other than that, I really didn't do any upgrades on my bike. Never got a job over the summer to afford upgrades, unfortunately.

So there they are. In the next few days I will be thinking of some more resolutions for next year, and then post them up. Thanks for reading!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T22:15:00.002-05:00

and a HAPPY NEW YEARS!

As a tradition, my immediate family exchanges gifts the night of Christmas Eve. This year we did it a little earlier, more like the afternoon or evening of today, but that's ok!

I got:
$80 gift card to Marshalls
Jeff Dunham Very Special Christmas Special DVD (funniest guy EVER!)
$200 from my dad to go towards the purchasing of a Fuji Track Pro (used @ $500)
Monopoly Electronic Banking board game
Garmin Nuvi 255w GPS (that I got a few weeks ago from my mom)

My younger sister's gift to me is yet to arrive, she told me she just ordered it online yesterday (late shopper, following in Mom's footsteps!). Probably should be here early next week in that case.

Anyways, I hope everyone got what they wanted, or will get what they want tomorrow from Santa Claus and loved ones. Drive safely too, and those of you that will be riding, ride safely! Unfortunately no outdoor riding here for a few days now, we got hit with a lot of snow and ice in the last week. Roads are horrible and nasty right now.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

My 11th Ending

2008-12-12T09:46:00.004-05:00

Today is the last day of classes for the Fall (and my 11th) Semester, and what's even better is that this will be MY last semester of required courses! I have two more classes to endure through, the next one starting in a few minutes.

Next semester I have to do 12 credits of internship (480 hours in 16 weeks). Since most of my work I'll be doing next semester will be within the internships, I wanted to have something to do outside of my internship. So I decided to take a photography class that meets Tuesdays and Thursdays evening. This will give me something to do and work on while I'm not working on my internship stuff. More about my internships when I get all the details worked out.

Later today I will be having Body Composition and VO2 Max testings done in the state-of-the-art science building we have on campus. What does this mean? FREE!!!! The one professor is an advocate for our cycling team on campus, and has offered us testings last year. Well, if you remember, last year I was in a collision with an SUV, just a week or two before the testings were to be done. I was fortunate enough to be able to have the testings done today, after all of my classes are done and I can relax finally (before Finals, that is).

Last Saturday I had a bike fitting done for $50, and let me tell you, it was DEFINITELY worth it! Everything was off on my bike, and so everything was adjusted (saddle, cleats, seatpost, etc). I feel a lot better and stronger on the bike now, but I will give more details when I get more rides in with the new fitting.

Well, my coaching class starts in just a minute of this typing, so I should go head to class. I'll write more soon!

Where's the motivation?!

2008-11-14T23:52:00.002-05:00

I've been very unmotivated to ride the bike lately, but that could be because it is getting to be like winter and because I've got so much school work and getting little sleep because of it. I swear, every year about this time I fall into a human version of hibernation, where I just want to sleep all the time. And it has gotten to be like that, whenever I'm not in the classroom, in the University Center for breakfast, lunch or dinner, or when I'm not in the library doing work, you can find me in my room sleeping. So it's hard to get myself out anymore for rides.

However, my biggest paper this semester is due next Friday (Nov. 21st) so I've decided that maybe I'll just do one ride this coming week (Tuesday or Wednesday), while working on my paper the whole week. When I finish this week, then I plan on getting restarted with my regular training to prepare for the collegiate season that starts in March. This training will consist of some outdoor riding, but I plan on doing a lot of indoor training video sessions. I just bought two training videos off of eBay, so once I get those this week I will have 4 videos. Two are the Chris Carmichael videos (Time Trialing and Sprinting), while the other two are Spinervals videos (Ride Strong and Recovery/Technique). I could probably come up with a decent training program using each videos at least once a week and have at least one or two rides outside a week. My winter training will also consist of some weight and resistance training as well.

So if anyone out there is a certified coach or know a good deal about training with videos and such, please give me your suggestions. Again, the videos I have are:

Carmichael Training Series: Time Trialing
Carmichael Training Series: Sprinting
Spinervals 1.0 Ride Strong
Spinervals 8.0 Recovery and Technique

I also want to incorporate some weight and non-cycling cardio (i.e. Tae-Bo with Billy Blanks with a friend of mine) training, so I will most likely be training just about every day. I just have to remember about recovery, and maybe every other week having a day off or something. Anyways, give me your suggestions if you have any.

WISH ME LUCK ON THIS THEOLOGY PAPER, GONNA BE A KILLER!

Have a good weekend y'all!

Phinally, 28 years later!

2008-10-29T23:45:00.003-04:00

Where were you in 1980 when Tug McGuire pitched the last strike over home plate of the 1980 World Series? Where were you 28 years later when Brad Lidge finished off the second night of Game 5 with a strike out to win Philadelphia's 2nd World Series Title?

I wasn't born for a little more than 4 years after the 1980 World Series, but I was in the living room of my home with my dad watching the 2008 World Series, Game 5 (Part 2). And the feeling is unexplainable!!!! I've never been this excited in my LIFE!

And Cole Hamel gets the 2008 World Series MVP (and a 2010 Chevy Corvette which he said he'd give to his wife since it was her birthday today)!!! Congrats to him and the Phillies organization!

I also want to congratulate the Tampa Bay Rays. In my mind, they are still winners! Why? They only been a team for about 10 years now, only one year as the Rays (were previously the Devil Rays). They also had the worse record in the MLB last year, and have suffered a string of bad luck with their records, players, managers, etc. in the past 10 years they've been a team. To go from being the worse team in the MLB last year to being the best in the American League and second best overall, that's just amazing. I hope the Phillies and Rays match up again next year, it could certainly be different!

There has been announcements that Friday could be the day of the Phillies Parade. I hope to get a chance to go, even if I have to skip my classes to go. It would be well worth skipping the classes for this chance to be part of a HUGE celebration!

Congratulations Philadelphia Phillies, you've PHINALLY DONE IT!

Break's over, cooler stuff

2008-10-26T17:03:00.004-04:00

I decided I've been off of the bike long enough (almost 2 weeks) and was back on it on Friday for a group ride with two of my friends, and then today for an hour on my own. Last time I rode, it was pretty warm, but almost 2 weeks later of being off the bike it has certainly gotten cooler. Anyways, it was certainly good to be back on the bike after a much needed break. I should take breaks like this more often than I do now (which is hardly ever).

Off topic (of cycling), Phillies are now 2-1 in the World Series, and I know they'll win the title. I even think they could go 4-1 in game 5 at Philadelphia, denying the Rays any opportunity to win again or to play on their home field this season. This will certainly be awesome, the Phils winning a World Series title since their last (and only) one 28 years ago! If they do, my brother and I said we would go to Philadelphia to celebrate and to see the parade that they'll probably hold in Philly. GO PHILS!

Off-Season stuff

2008-10-11T23:34:00.002-04:00

It is officially my off-season time right now, as it has been for the last month or so since my last race late August. However, I caught myself recently still treating this as during the summer season and have eventually worn myself out. I started feeling depressed and seriously unmotivated to do any riding a week or two ago and didn't know what to do. I had to actually FORCE myself to get out for rides anymore. When it used to take me like 5 minutes to get dressed and be out on the road, it was taking me more than 30 minutes to get dressed and get out on the road because of the lack of motivation.

Having figuring this out and my body's desire to get me to STOP! and slow down, I've decided this Monday will be my last ride for the rest of this month. I haven't been out since last Friday up until yesterday, and then I went out for a big group ride today (a 2:30 ride that took over 3 hours because of regrouping and breaks). Tomorrow I'm off because of family and officiating a soccer tournament, and then Monday I hope to get out with my best friend for a slow ride. After that, the bike stays home while I go back to school on Tuesday. Hopefully the last 15 days or so of the month will be long and short enough to work mentally and physically for me. And what luck, November 1st is a Saturday so I can do a good first-day-back ride!

My off-bike training will consist of some lifting and weightroom cardio, and I'm considering getting a set of rollerblades because my good friend, Joe, at school rollerblades a lot and I would like to get back into that (last time I rollerbladed would be no less than 10 years ago. Besides, rollerblading works the back and core muscles (for balance and posture) as well as the legs, so it would definitely supplement my cycling.

Kind of off topic, today was another veloswap at the velodrome in T-town. It's like a flea market style, where bike vendors and personal vendors come to sell stuff. Bike shops will go to get rid of their overstocks of older model bikes, accessories, clothes, etc. while personal vendors come to get rid of junk piled up in their garage. I went to help out with my good friend Kim who had a table set up for her personal stuff, and to help out my club team that had a table set up for baked goods, several bikes (all but one was sold, I might be buying the Fuji Track Pro that was not sold yet), and several other stuff. When I went walking around, my Air Products Track program coach Jorge had a table set up for his club team, and he had for sale two San Marco saddles for sale, brand new for $30 (later research shows MRSP between 60 and 80). Because he knows me, he dropped it down to $25 for me. I think I got a good deal on this. Then later on I was looking at shoes and bought a pair of Nike Shoes for $60, half off of the original $120 deal. So for about $200 work of stuff, I've paid $85! I'm going to put the saddle on the bike if I get time to tomorrow, and try it out and adjust it until it feels right. Then for the test on Monday when I go riding. I figured that if I don't like the saddle I could always sell it on eBay for the same price, or hopefully a bit of a profit.

Now, I must go to sleep since tomorrow I go out for breakfast with part of the family... Good night!

(when you get a chance, go to http://fcskim.blogspot.com and congratulate Kim for winning Nationals in the team and individual pursuits in Colorado)

Rose Long

2008-09-19T01:10:00.003-04:00

Last week, a friend of mine, Rose Long from UVM, whom I had just met last Spring during one of the collegiate races, was hit by a car and sustained a lot of injuries. She was in the hospital for a few days or so, and was recently released.

Insurance won't be able to cover all of the costs, especially for the oral surgery she needs. If you can donate, even just a buck, please do so at http://www.roselong.com, a website set up to raise funds to help cover the costs due to this horrific incident.

My heart goes out to her and her family. I hope and pray for a speedy recovery, and hope she'll be back for the Spring 2009 Road Season. She was the ECCC leader last spring, and I hope she'll be able to defend her title this year.

Good Luck Rose, and get well soon!

Confirmed, Welcome Back Lance

2008-09-09T21:30:00.000-04:00

It has been confirmed that Lance will be making his comeback, and has been quoted to saying that he would like to try and win his eighth Tour de France title in 2009. I am so excited!

News report on comcast.net here:

http://www.comcast.net/articles/sports-general/20080909/Armstrong-Comeback/

Anyone else getting excited?!

Lance's Comeback?!

2008-09-09T09:29:00.002-04:00

According to cyclingnews.com, anonymous sources have rumored that Lance Armstrong will be making a comeback for 2009, including to race in the Tour de France next summer. Is it true? Here is the article from Cycling News.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-newswire9-2008sep09,0,7175841.story

You be the judge...

Lehigh Valley Winery Criterium race report

2008-08-31T07:56:00.002-04:00

First off, I forgot to give an update on my races in the last few weeks. Why? Because I didn't do any of the planned races, and I did one that was not under the "planned races" section of my blog (the AP Finals which is the previous post). Sorry...

Yesterday was the Lehigh Valley Winery Criterium, another race I did last year, and the race that my club is the host. What does that mean? I had to get up at 4:00 am, to be at the race location by 5:30, only to find out I would just stand around and talk to the mothers of the junior racers on the team. Ok, so I did help put up the start/finish line which involved a teammate climbing into the tree, but that was pretty much it and only took 15-20 minutes.

The course is 1.3 miles long, a downhill at the beginning and two climbs with a false flat in between them at the end.

at 7am, I got back to my car, unpacked my bike and got ready for the race. Ate a banana and a chocolate chip muffin, drank a lot of sports drink, and just warmed up in the parking lot and on the race course. at 8:30, my race went off.

Feeling very comfortable, I actually stayed in the field for 2.5 laps. However, the pace picked up on the first climb on the 3rd lap (which made no sense to me) and I did get dropped. My legs felt like they were lead at this point and I kept considering just dropping out. I kept going though, and with a few laps to go I did get lapped. However, I just caught on to the back of the field and did a lap with them, which helped me catch up to a racer ahead of me on the same lap. Him and I then rode the last 1.5 laps together and it came down to a sprint finish. This is byfar, the FIRST and ONLY time anyone has beaten me out in a sprint. I was spinning in too low of a gear, while he just kept inching away from me. I gave up about 20 yards from the finish line because I wasn't in a sprinting gear.

I got 2nd to last place (19/20) but there was at least 22 starters. I think I did better last year than I did this year at this race.

Possibly another race next week, I would just have to give up a some soccer games I am scheduled to officiate in order to do this race, since it is on the other side of the NJ/PA border, but only 30 minutes from my school. Even though it might be possible to do all, it would be too much driving for me. I will update later this week.

yesterday I was a bike rider...

2008-08-23T00:37:00.003-04:00

Tonight, I became a competitive cyclist.

I got 3RD and a bronze medal during the AP Finals at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center (Formally Lehigh Valley Velodrome) in my Adults category (19-39 year olds). I was up against 8 or 9 other cyclists, 3 or 4 of which I was to be concerned about being about the same strength as me or stronger. I almost got beaten by another guy, but just at the end I gave a few hard pushes to inch away from him, I just barely beat him by an inch or so.

Pictures will come in the next few days when they are put on the velodrome's website and when my dad runs the pictures from the camera to the computer.

New Dream: become a pro track rider at the Friday Nights in 5 years!

Michael Phelps

2008-08-17T20:56:00.002-04:00

(tried posting last night, blogger wasn't allowing me to log in for some reason)

Congratulations to Michael Phelps for an incredible 8th Gold Medal win yesterday with his relay teammates. I was watching the race live and was scared they wouldn't do it when the second swimmer was falling back a little, tiny bit. But then Phelps was able to make that up and surpass the other swimmers by a little, and then the fourth guy finished it off. Just incredibly awesome.

And did you hear?

Phelps is the wealthiest swimmer at age 23, bringing in $5,000,000 in endorsements.

And I was blown away by this next fact about him... HE EATS 12,000 CALORIES A DAY! A DAY!! He trains 30 hours a week, I barely do that in 3 weeks, some of the time. The guy is incredible and just, a superhuman! WOW!

Haha very funny

2008-07-29T20:00:00.003-04:00

If I haven't mentioned it yet, I am a High School official for basketball and soccer, as well as doing youth organizations. One of my basketball officiating "brother" sent out an email to the "brotherhood of officials" (10 or so of us in the brotherhood of "Axis of Evil" as we're called) busting me about not doing as well as I said I would in the Pottsville race, and then another "brother" sent out this email in response:

Test results just announced by head of city rec. dept.,Mary Quirk, that bicyclist,Zach Ellwood, had a high amount of FIC in his urine test which explains Zach's poor finish in last weeks race.Zach ,who touted throughout the "Deuce" that this was his year to win it all ,never thought that the substance would show up in his post race urine sample. When I questioned the local lab about the substance symbol,which perplexed even the so called "experts" the tester told me it is a very common substance found in O-Burg area people and that Zach is just a victim of his environment. The FIC is .....................................

FREEZE ICE CREAM!!!!!!
That explains why Zach had that extra "spare tire",better luck next year,follow in the feet of Stepdad and drink your nourishment

Yours in sports,
Joe-Secretary Pottsville Basketball Officials

Freeze is an Ice Cream/Restaurant place just outside of my hometown. And my "stepdad" is another official that everyone calls my other dad because I'm always around him and I do look up to him as well. I thought this was funny enough to share.

And actually, another funny thing is that I haven't been to Freeze in at least a year! I'M INNOCENT I TELL YA!

Allentown Sportsfest Race Report

2008-07-27T20:15:00.002-04:00

Another PR today. Average speed of 20.6 mph at finishing line. Could have been higher but I'll get to that in a bit.

Before the race as I was warming up, I noticed my front derailleur was acting strange. I COULDN'T GET INTO THE LARGE RING!! My buddy from the local bike shop was there to race Cat 5 as well, so he looked at it quickly and told me to just try to get into the large ring and stay in that ring throughout the race. I was able to get it into the large ring eventually and didn't even touch the left shifter except to brake. Turns out you could do this criterium in the large ring alone.

So the races were all behind about 15 minutes, and of course since we're Cat 5 and we "really don't matter all that much" they knocked our race from 12 laps to 10 laps, so we only did 8 miles (.8 miles per lap). I had a good start, was in the middle of the pack for the first lap or two, then started dropping back. I was able to stay directly behind the pack for another few laps until my legs were getting that stiff feeling from the lactate threshold level being reached or surpassed. So I just kind of backed off a little, hoping I would sprint on the downhill to catch up. No luck. There were at least two guys that got dropped before me, and so I kind of slowed down. (This is where my average mph could have been higher if I didn't slow down to let these guys catch up to me). Anyways, so they caught up to me, but the older rider couldn't keep up anymore and so I rode with just the one guy. Pissing me off by drafting me, and I've tried everything to get him to pull through, except actually saying "hey buddy, pull through and do some of the work" (I'm still shy about that kind of stuff).

So then on the second to last lap, I started slowing down conserving my energy and had my head tilted back to see what this guy was doing. This lap we were doing like 13 or 14 mph, just trying to see what the other was doing and figuring out what we needed to do. coming around the first turn of the last lap I was able to get him to pull through and I drafted him until the 2nd turn which he just didn't want to lead anymore. I stayed on his side and on the third turn, I started sprinting and got ahead of him by maybe 5 yards, I sat down until the fourth turn, still looking back to see where he was, and then a few seconds out of that turn I got out of the saddle and sprinted for the finish line ahead of him. Just to prove I am a tactical rider and a darn good sprinter. I just need to be up front so the sprinting power can be useful.

for a good article on this subject, big guys like me and sprinting, speed, etc., click here to go to my blog-friend Ron over at Cozy Beehive who found an article about it

According to the final results I finished second to last, but like I said before, there was at least one more rider behind me than the guy I finished with. I don't know how many started, but hopefully the DNFs will be posted as well when the results are posted online.

Like I said, I think I have great sprinting potential, it's just a matter of staying with the lead pack until the finish where I can unleash the beast in me.

Tomorrow I start training at the track. I still don't have a track bike so I will have to use one of the velodrome's bikes, which are provided for free when you do the Air Products Developmental Cycling Program. I will be participating in two of their programs; Adult Advanced and Adult Fitness. I can't wait. I also hope to get a track bike before the Air Product Finals, which is the last night of Professional racing at this velodrome, which has a "special" race for those that participated in the Air Products program. So I will get to race on a Friday night in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of spectators, as well as many who will watch it live on TV on the local channel. Talk about pressure!

Pottsville City Cycle 17 Race Report

2008-07-26T17:21:00.001-04:00

so today I did the Pottsville City Cycle 17, a non-usac sanctioned race. Last year I did horrible, but this year I did a lot better. I did 17 miles in just over an hour, and had my best average during any race which was 17 mph. This was with a power climb on each lap (3+ miles per lap) that I couldn't make it up each lap without walking up except for the last lap last year. This year, I got up all 5 times, and not only that, I got up quicker on all the laps individually than I did the only time I got up last year. My climbing skills are getting better!!!

My time was something like 1:01:16. Last year my time was like 1:08 or somewhere around there, so I did beat my time last year by 5 minutes. I placed 45th out of well over 60 riders. This year there were a lot more competitive guys than there were last year, which did play on my mind mentally prior to the race and probably was why I dropped off the back of the main group through the bike path on the first lap. After getting dropped I decided to race against my time last year. Next year I hope to do around 55 minutes.

Anyways, my buddy who races for Kutztown University won the race, beating the guy who won this race 5-7 years on the row. My buddy just barely beat him out in the sprint.

Now I must relax and get ready for my race tomorrow morning, a 12 lap x .8 mile/lap criterium. Knowing that I did 17 mph average today, I should do well tomorrow.

Overall, I felt great and comfortable on the course. The one turn I was always having problems with last year, I only went off on the first lap when I was with the leading pack. Someone kind of got in my line and I was forced off the road, but not so much that I got right back in where I was in the pack. Other than that, I was comfortable. Now I must concentrate tomorrow morning... race report will come tomorrow night or Monday.

Double Header this weekend

2008-07-22T13:09:00.002-04:00

This is one of the few weekends I've been waiting for all summer. The Pottsville City Cycle 17 race on Saturday and the Allentown Sportsfest on Sunday. I can't wait. Huge Carb-loading starts Thursday Afternoon for this weekend, and then at least a day off from riding next Monday!

Saturday's race, Pottsville City Cycle 17, starts at 10:00. 17 miles total, with 5 three mile loops. Since the course is about a 15 minute drive from my house, I've been training on it for the last several weeks, as well as a few times earlier in the summer. I will go there one more time tomorrow before the race.

I plan to get there around 8:00 or 8:30 (it will get crowded since there is a kid's race before this race) so I can go around the course at least one time as warm up, and then get on the trainer or just ride around the parking lot and course until the race starts.

Last year I didn't do too well, on account that my bike was in the shop for a week up until the night before the race, so I had no time to practice that week. My legs were stiff and not ready that morning, and I felt it through the whole race. I did somewhere around a hour and 6 minutes, placing 48th out of atleast 60. This race is open to ANYONE, of any age and skill level, so there aren't categories as USAC races are.

My friend Kyle from Kutztown placed 2nd last year, and he plans to go for first this year. Another one of his teammates from Kutztown, Noah, will be joining, so I believe the two of us will help Kyle throughout the race to get first, while we'll place, hopefully, top 5. My only enemy is 18th street, a power climb that is pretty scary. If I can get up that with Kyle and Noah, I should be fine, however they're both Cat 3 while I'm cat 5 so they could very well get ahead of me easily. I'll just sprint on the downhill to catch up with them if I have to on each lap.

Then Sunday... Allentown. I remember this course from last year and liked it a lot. 12 laps of .8 mile each. This is the one that I mistakenly tried on the 3rd or 4th lap to push myself towards the front of the pack on the slight uphill at the start of each lap, and burnt out my energy. This time I will just try to get a good start and be close to the front of the pack during the race. At some point, if no one does yet, I will probably initiate an attack (I hope no one else doing the race is reading this!) to speed things up, and maybe have a few others leading the race that I could work with to keep away from the pack and finish together with a sprint. I have a lot of confident in myself for this one, because I did well last year in this one and could have done better if I didn't make that mistake on the 3rd or 4th lap. I was very comfortable sitting in the back half of the pack while waiting for something to happen. I just got impatience with myself and the rest of the pack that I wanted to partake in some of the actions up front. Anyways, I hope I can make the breakaway with another few riders to place top 5. If that doesn't happen, I will try to place top 10. My main objective is to finish with or ahead of the main pack and not get lapped!

Saturday afternoon I'll post about Pottsville, Sunday or Monday I will post about Allentown.

I'm coming home!

2008-07-14T07:44:00.002-04:00

Monday morning, we're going to be packing shortly and then loading up the two cars to head home. I can't wait to get home!

The purpose of this post is for two things... first is to say I did not rent a bike as I wanted to, because I realized that with the flatness of these roads near the shore, and I did a hill profile it is an altitude change of like 15 feet on this island of Stone Harbor and Avalon, and the shortness of the island that I could go from the tip of Avalon (North) and the tip of Stone Harbor (South) in like 25 minutes or less, and it is about 12.5 miles long. It would be more like a time trial workout, maybe do some sprints. I wouldn't have wanted to do like 5 or 6 loops to get a 2+ hours workout. I also wouldn't have been able to find any hills unless I went out of, what I would consider, my comfort zone since I do not know the area that well. The only thing I know are the roads of this island.

The other reason is to announce my race schedule (to the right) has changed. There are possible races I can do every weekend until the end of August except for one weekend, and even though I'll most likely not be doing all of them, I don't know which ones I will be doing. The definites are the Allentown Sportsfest race, Pottsville race, and the Lehigh Valley Winery Criterium. I'd like to do a road race for once (besides collegiate) and so Deodate is highly a possibility.

Now, I pack...

Momma, what's vay-kay-shun mean?

2008-07-12T00:41:00.006-04:00

If you don't know where that's from, then you missed out on a great movie! (Forrest Gump)

Anyways, I am going on vacation Saturday morning and got some sad news... my parents are not allowing me to bring my bike. We're only going until Monday but I can't live without riding my bike. Heck, I had to go a whole week without riding because I was working the Tour of PA, and that was almost murderous on me, especially when 100+ other riders around my age were riding their bikes and I had to freakin' work. So I was thinking about how I will survive (again) without my bike, even for less than 72 hours. Then it hit me, I remembered that there is a bike rental place. So I went to google "bike rental in Stone Harbor" and it was the first Google hit. Harbor Bike & Beach Shop

Looking at the rates, I can either rent a road bike for 3 hours for $16 or for another $9 I can rent one for 24 hours ($25). I would either just ride Saturday or Sunday and do the 3 hours (2 hour bike ride or so), or I can do a ride Saturday evening and a ride Sunday morning within 24 hours... decisions, decisions. I guess I'll just decide when I get there. I just don't know if I can bring my own pedals since they have the clip and straps on their bikes (according to the pictures). Maybe they will swap pedals if I bring my own? If not I can probably just swap them easily and they wouldn't know, unless they have a way of figuring that out but I doubt it. I'll probably also bring my HRM watch along, but the computer stays home. I'll be doing some work on the bike tomorrow morning before leaving, taking the pedals and HRM off.

Anyways, I'm excited to go to the beach for the weekend. We're all busy these days that we can't go for a full week like we used to all the time, but we might get a chance to in August before the youngest (of five kids) in the family starts college (where does the time go?). I will post about my vacation Monday night.

One last thing, congratulations to Kimberly Geist for a good night of racing at the track tonight during the pro series. She got 2nd place in the Miss-and-Out race, and didn't do bad during the other races. She also earned $50 during a preme race and just barely had $20 stolen at the last second of another lap. Good Job Kim!

Tagged

2008-07-09T15:25:00.003-04:00

So my Friend, Ron of Cozy Behive, tagged me in Six Random Things About Me. So I have to write six random things about myself.

The rules are:

Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Write six random things about yourself.
Tag six people at the end of your post.
Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

So here I go:

1) I dream of being a National Basketball Association (NBA) official some days

2) I have a high IQ, but am not book smart (Similar to Albert Einstein)

3) I regret never taking up cycling at an earlier age, before I got fat!

4) Tennis and Horse-Back riding have always been interesting to me, and I'd like to take up both eventually, in addition to my cycling

5) I believe in the Extra-Terrestrials and the Paranormals.

and last, but not least...

6) I have never been out of the Eastern Standard Timezone, and regret not going to England with my parents and two of my siblings when I had the opportunity to

Ok, this was tougher than I thought it would be.

Now I have to tag six people... The six people I tag are Brittney, Chris, Cycling Dude, Rebecca, SierraMTB and Bike Lane Diary.

Tour of PA RECAP

2008-07-08T16:15:00.003-04:00

Thank you to all that have sent your messages, emails, posts about the death of my cat. I appreciate all of them!

So a week ago yesterday, I got home from the Tour of PA week, which was just an awesome experience. We arrived in Philadelphia on June 23, slept at a Crown Plaza, and went to the Memorial Park in Philadelphia on the 24th for the Prologue Time Trial and the Stage 1 Criterium. Both were fun, and we really didn't have to do much, just put up a few signs, take down a few signs, and do a number of random stuff. I got to watch most of the Criterium which was fun, and Kyle and I did watch some of the Time trials prior to that.

Then we headed to Downington and slept at a Holiday Inn, which was pretty nice. The next day we arrived to the start line of the Stage 2 road race, which ended in Carlisle. I was part of the Sign PickUp Crew as I called it. Basically we followed the race and picked up all of the signs along the way, such as the 50 KM To Go, 30 KM To Go, KOM and Sprint signs, etc. Mike and I were in charge of picking the signs up while Victor drove the truck. When we ended up in Carlisle, we transported stuff from one truck to the other as needed, helped teams unload their stuff from the Pitt Ohio trucks, and then headed to another Holiday Inn we were staying at for the next night.

Stage 3, Camp Hill to Bedford, this was just a little more than 100 miles long with 2 KOMs, 2 Sprints and 2 Feed Zones. Stage 4 went from Bedford to Latrobe, which I believe was a short day. Stage 5 was about 90-some miles, but the last 10-15 miles was ended with 3 circuits. That one went from Ligonier, through Latrobe where we finished the day before, and ended up in Pittsburgh. This was my first time in Pittsburgh. Then another criterium in Pittsburg, 50 miles as originally scheduled...

We had a tornado warning (IN PITTSBURGH?!) so the race was halted after a few races, and because it was being televised on Versus, they needed to make sure the race would continue eventually and end within the time alloted. So, for every 3 minutes the race was halted, the race officials dropped one lap. By the time the race was restarted, it was down to 18 laps, so about 10 laps were "canceled". Then the officials said that this criterium would not be counted for the whole tour, but would only count for itself. So in another sense, the race, sprint, and mountain leaders, and best young rider were all determined after the 5th stage. I thought that was stupid, but whatever. The race went on with 18 laps to go and the field split up immediately since there were a lot of riders not riding to race, but riding because they felt they needed to because of the sponsors and all with the TV being involved. I found out later when talking to some of the riders that NO ONE wanted to race anymore, they only did because it was being televised and to satisfy the sponsors. Riders were being dropped within the last 8 or so laps when they would fall back too far, and eventually it was down to, I would say, 20 or 30 riders in the main field. It came down to a sprint finish (by now the sun did stop by and dry up the road a bit) and the US National Criterium Champ, Daniel Holloway, won the criterium.

So that's my recap. I had a lot of fun and, being that I am a sport management major, I realized that THIS is the kind of stuff I want to do. Work for Pro Cycling Tour or other similar organizations and help with races, teams, etc. I hope to do an internship with Pro Cycling Tour, which has a headquarter within 2 hours of my hometown, so an internship with them is definitely not impossible for me! My supervisor, who "answers" to these guys for these races (he also helped with the Triple Crown that my friend raced in) and gave me the name, number and emails for the contact person, so I definitely have my foot in the door!

Anyways, Thank you for reading, and sorry it took so long to actually make this post. I hope to have more opportunities to do these kind of stuff, especially if I can get an internship!

RIP Sunny

2008-07-01T21:35:00.004-04:00

Just over an hour ago, I had to put my cat to sleep. She was a great cat and I will miss her until the day we meet again at that place beyond the sky. Vet said she probably had a stroke several days ago and that is why she wasn't able to eat, drink, or walk much the last few days. I feel bad that I wasn't there for her until I came home from the Tour of PA yesterday, and kind of mad that my mom didn't call me about it but I'm sure it was because she didn't know herself if Sunny would be OK or not.

This is a collage "banner" I made several years ago when I wanted to make my cat feel special and let her know that she is very important in my life. I'm glad I did this, I have some pictures to remember her by, including some today that were taking during her last few hours.

RIP Sunny. I love you and will miss you! You cannot be replaced...

one last thing (Tour of PA cont'd.)

2008-06-27T00:37:00.002-04:00

I want to say that this experience has made me realized that THIS is what I want to do with my major, and I really do not have much, if any doubts about choosing Sport Management as my second degree. I'm loving this experience, and I am going to start talking to several people about a possible internship next spring. Like with some of the pro teams, some of the race organizers and other people who know people that could help me.

Tour of Pennsylvania, Mid-week Recap

2008-06-27T00:18:00.004-04:00

I just want to say one thing. This is a very awesome experience for me. I get to see the behind-the-scenes of a bike race, and I have got to say it is a LOT of work to put together a tour and then run it, and I'm only doing less then 5% of it. Some would say "all you need to do is call the cops, make sure they'll help escort the riders, then call some sponsors to get money and stuff, then make sure the towns and cities you're going through all know what's going on, then find the riders". While all that is true, that's still only a small percentage. Now I don't know much about the details that happened prior to my actual start on Tuesday, but if what I'm doing is like this, then I can only imagine how difficult it is. Congratulations to all before me that have made this race possible, I am honored to volunteer for such a great and successful Tour of PA race.

On Tuesday was the time trial prologue and the actual first stage criterium, both in Philadelphia, (which it happens to be the same location as the Philly Phlyer's Team Time Trial and Circuit Race during my recent spring collegiate season). Both were interesting, and I got to witness most of them, the most I got to see of this tour. Wednesday was the second stage with two KOMs, 2 Sprints and a feed zone. 91 miles from Downington to Carlisle, I was in the truck behind the caravan, picking up signs along the way (you know, "50 KM to go", "30 KM to go" spring and KOM signs, etc). So I didn't get to see anything but the start of the race. This morning was a 104 miler with two KOMs, two sprints and 2 feed zones. We had to line up right before the riders took off, so I barely got to see anything. For both of the last races I was able to give my camera to someone I knew who both would see more of the races than me. Because we had an interesting KOM today, riders were dropping back and we were able to see some of them since we did a pretty good job staying in the caravan, so tomorrow I'm going to try my luck and hope that happens again so I can take a few pictures of them when we drive by any.

Tomorrow is a short race, 59.5 miles, from Bedford to Latrobe so there are no feed zones nor sprints. There are, however, two KOMs, so we still have some signs to take down. However, we should be able to stay in the caravan section for most of the race until closer to the end when we'll have more signs to pick up. Saturday we go from Ligonier through Latrobe to Pittsburgh, and then Sunday is the Circuit Race in Pittsburgh, which I can't wait because I'll have more time to watch the race then since there will be no following of the riders and stuff.

I miss riding my bike though, and seeing all of these guys about my age riding their bikes, makes me jealous!!

I'll wait until Monday when I get home for another post, stay tuned! In the meantime try to catch this race on the Versus channel and go to http://www.tourofpa.com/ for regular updates! I will probably be in a picture on http://www.dailypeloton.com/ as well, as there was a lady taking pictures and asked some of us to get together for one. I'll let you know!

Living on the road

2008-06-23T15:27:00.003-04:00

Pretty soon I will be leaving for my friend's house before we head down towards Philadelphia for the Tour of PA. I am taking my laptop but I don't know how often I'll get to use it since I won't be able to sleep until late and have to get up pretty early each day. I have my camera but won't be able to post pictures until I get back next Monday.

Just a reminder, if you get a moment to watch it, the Tour of PA will be featured on the Versus channel from Wednesday to Saturday at 6:00 and on Sunday at 5:30. That's Eastern Standard Time (EST). I'm sure if you go to their website during the week (www.versus.com) you might be able to catch a few highlights videos.

Busy Times Now

2008-06-18T23:03:00.003-04:00

First off, the exciting news! I will be working at the Tour of PA that is the first of its kind in the United States (or from what I've read). It is a 6-day stage race running from the 24th to the 29th. I will be taking my camera, but can't guarantee that I can take pictures if I'm working. The Tour of PA will also be on the Versus channel so if you want feel free to watch and look for me at the finish lines of each stage. Check out the Versus website for listings! I can't wait to head down to Philadelphia next Monday to start working on Tuesday. What's even better is that it goes towards Pittsburgh, eventually finishing in Pittsburgh on the last day. I can't want to see PIttsburgh, where I almost went to a school in the area (Robert Morris University).

Next... To Road Race or to Crit, that is the question. this weekend there is a Road Race on Saturday and Criterium on Sunday, both in the same area of Bloomsburg, PA. Because of gas I only want to do one or the other, if I do any, since I don't want to drive both days and don't know anyone in Bloomsburg that I could sleep at between both days. I might skip both since I need to save up some money for a concert I'm hoping to go to, and albeit both races have money rewards (I think) for Cat 5, I know my chances of winning any money is no better than 100-1.

Next... I joined a local group ride that a friend of mine has told me about. Bunch of older guys, several like to go at a slower pace while some are Tri-athletes and road racers that like to go at a faster, more serious pace. I joined the second group of guys, but we regroup often and what ends up happening is that when we regroup, us faster guys will get in the middle or behind of the slower guys for a mile or so to recover, and then we take off again. The slower guys didn't seem to mind so whatever works, right? Every Tuesdays and Thursdays, I think I'm joining them tomorrow for maybe half of the ride since I do play basketball Thursday nights. Tuesday night we left at about 5:30 and didn't get back until 8ish. I didn't get home until 8:30, I ended up doing about 42 miles total in about 2 and a half hours total (we take breaks when we regroups, one of the downsides of this group ride).

Probably the last thing for tonight, this Friday is the start of the Professional Track season at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center (formally the Lehigh Valley Velodrome) in Trexlertown, PA. My friend Kim will be racing Friday night so I'm excited to start seeing the professional race, the same night I want to be racing in 10 years or earlier. I think I would have more potential as a track racer than road.

Anyways, that's it for tonight. Tomorrow, instead of doing the Thursday night crit (expected to rain I think), I'll just stay local and do a light ride or join the group ride for 10 miles or so before turning around and heading home. Don't want to use all of my energy if I'm playing basketball later.

Next week when I'm doing the Tour of PA, I'm not sure if I'm going to have much internet time between end of day and sleep, as well as in the morning between sleeping and going to next stage race. If I can grab a few minutes during my busy week I'll make several posts next week about the stage races and my experiences. If not, expect a LOOOONG post when I get back the following weekend!

Cargas Criterium Post-Race Report

2008-06-15T19:44:00.003-04:00

The course was a good one. two nearly-90 degree turns and the other two are more of a longer curve in the road than a turn. Uphill finish as expected by the hill profile I dug up.

I was on the trainer for 10 minutes, then got off the trainer and rode around a little. Then when the kids races were over, the course was open but the president of the club had an extra jersey he was bringing, and he showed up like 20 minutes before the scheduled race, so I had to try and pin the number on the jersey and then get everything else ready. Scheduled time was 1:20, and I was ready just before that and wanted to take a lap around before the actual start. I went up the "finishing hill" to take a lap or two, but saw that Cat 4/5 were already lining up. I had no idea and ended up in the back and knew I was screwed already.

Well, the whistle went off and I started to sprint to get my way to the front. I kept getting cut off by other riders wanting to do the same exact thing, so coming around the the base of the hill before the end of the first lap, I was in the back quarter of the field, and pushed up the hill with my teammate Aaron right next to me. I stuck with the field again, trying to move towards the front, but getting cut off again and coming around to the hill I was in the back again, but this time no such luck staying with the field and dropped off the back. I wasn't too far back until the start of the fourth lap when the field started to drop more people off the back on the hill. The biggest problem with this course was that just before the hill is one of the near-90 degree turns, and so the people in the front would speed through, and the further back you are, the more you're using your brakes, so the people in the front have a lot of momentum and the riders in the back have to push harder up the hill.

Anyways, I got lapped like 4 times, and with 5 or 6 laps to go the official started to take out anyone who were lapped or WAY out of contention, so Bob (our president) and I were pulled while Aaron did a good job staying in the field. However, he was in the back and with 4 laps to go we started shouting that he needs to get to the front now for any sort of chance. He couldn't push forward and so he finished in the back of the field, which split up on the last lap.

This was probably the WORST performance I've ever had, even worse than my very first race at Rutgers last year. There was at least one guy behind, I think he pulled himself off the course after getting lapped once. I stayed in, wanting to finish, until the official started pulling. I don't know if I'm being placed or not. I will post about that tomorrow or Tuesday, by which time the results should be posted.

This was a bad day for me, I don't know if I wasn't ready (i.e. didn't warm up or eat enough), or if it was just overall a bad day that nothing could have made it better. I think the second was the situation today, as I think I ate and drank enough, and had at least 20 minutes of warming up.

I have more work to do than I thought I did. Next week is Bloomsburg Town Park Criterium on Sunday. I think I'm opting out, taking a few weeks off from racing before the JBN race, which is one of two main focuses right now. My other is the Pottsville City Cycle 17 race.

I have some exciting news which I will keep the suspense up by waiting until later this week to post.

Too many!

2008-06-14T01:51:00.002-04:00

I just checked the registered riders for the Cargas Criterium, now that registrations are over. 58 riders are currently registered for the Men's Cat 4/5 race!!! Why not split it up into two different races now, since that is pretty large and I know there will be many day-of-registrations not counted for at the moment. So, I would say maybe 65-75 total???

So, first off, this is my first combined categories race if I haven't mentioned that yet, and second off it is a large field. What should I expect? I'm starting to get scared and nervous that I might end up in the middle of a pack, and may cause or become involved in a crash.

Weather is going to be nice on Sunday. Not stormy as it was expected earlier this week. Storm will come tomorrow afternoon/evening, and end in the middle of the night. Sunny and cloudy most of the day Sunday!

Post coming Sunday night or Monday, watch out for it, it might just come out of nowhere and bite you.

Thursday Night Training Series report

2008-06-13T11:53:00.002-04:00

So last night, I finally made my way down to Trexlertown for the TNTS crit. I had no intention of going all out in this training crit, since I'm doing a criterium this weekend. I talked to the coach of our team who was doing the training crit as well and he said to just sit in, so I thought it would be that easy... HECK NO!

Right off the start people started sprinting and going hard, so I tried my best to stay towards the back of the pack. On the third lap of 15, there was a sprint (sprints are every 3 laps) and I already got off the back. By the end of the race I was lapped twice, which was pretty disappointing, but hey, it's only a training crit that cost me $5. I'll be doing the Cargas Criterium this weekend, next week I'll do the training crit again and maybe the Bloomsburg criterium that weekend.

Now, I gotta go lift at the weightroom, and go for a 2+ hour bike ride!

Cargas Criterium

2008-06-11T01:46:00.003-04:00

So, I just signed up for the Cargas Criterium, my first USCF race this summer (late start, I know). I don't know why I registered for the race this early in the week, probably because I'm up at about 2am in the morning and really can't sleep right now and have nothing better to do. That is a problem I've been having lately, haven't been getting much sleep lately, but I won't bore you with that. I'm also hoping to kill some major time with this post!

So the criterium is this Sunday in Lancaster, PA. going to be a bit of a drive, about 1 hour and 30-40 minutes. I hope to meat my teammates halfway in the Reading area so we can carpool, since we will be coming from different directions before crossing on route 222.

Short, one mile loop, I signed up for the Cat 4/5 race. My first 4/5 combined race, I would love to see if I can beat any cat 4 riders to prove to myself that I can upgrade by the end of the summer. What's even better for me is that I will be part of a team this year and not unattached.

Anyways, we're doing 20 miles which would be 20 laps, with a short sudden climb at the end of each lap and with an uphill finish from what I can see from the hill profile. I used Sanoodi.com to determine the hill profile since the flier only gave the map of the course and location.

For this race, my main objective is not to get lapped. Second objective, top 15 finish. I have become a much better racer since last summer, and have learned about energy efficiency when racing.

Weather shows scattered storms, with 30-40% chance. Hm... I think I'll be fine. Race goes off at about 1:20, finally an afternoon criterium that I don't have to get really early for!!!

Results and my impressions Sunday evening.

Crap, only killed like 15 minutes... what to do now, I wonder..................

Triple Crown Classics at Reading

2008-06-08T10:40:00.005-04:00

On Thursday I got to go to Reading, PA to see the second race in the Triple Crown Classics series, sponsored by Commerce Bank. Just a post for some pictures I took

got to race about 2-3 minutes late, this picture takes place of the start picture I wanted to take

My friend Kimberly Geist (on left in blue and black) of Metro VW.

This has to be one of the best pictures I've taken in my life. I like how I managed to somehow focus on her and "blur" out the background on a simple Kodak digital camera. My friend Kim again.

This is the finish. The girl in white is Miss Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, very talented woman on the bike. Congratulations to her on beating out 4 other woman in the lead pack.

Today is the Philly race which I could not make it because of the basketball tournament I'm officiating this afternoon. My money's on Miss Ina for the win of the whole Triple Crown series.

change of plans, again

2008-06-08T10:27:00.003-04:00

My parents decided we weren't going on vacation next weekend, rather sometime in July, so I will most likely be doing the Cargas race. I have asked off from work for the weekend from Friday to Monday for the vacation, so I can get plenty of rest and have plenty of time to be nervous haha.

Training plan for this week I am tweaking a bit than originally planned. I'm not riding today because I am officiating a basketball tournament this afternoon (two semi-finals and a championship match). I'm sure I'll be running enough for those high school level games. If I get back home in time, I might go out for a light recovery ride, or I'll try to do an hour in my room, with or without a training video (CTS Sprinting or Time Trial). Then tomorrow, one hour ride, 2 hour Wednesday, training crit on Thursday with maybe 50-70% effort, light recovery ride Friday for an hour or so, then Saturday I'll either take the day off or do some short riding around the neighborhood, maybe a few 10 second sprints and work on my cornering. I really wish I had a group to ride with in this area, pack-riding is still my worse weakness and fear.

Post on the Cargas Criterium coming this week.

I'm a working man! (EDIT 6/1)

2008-05-30T23:25:00.003-04:00

So I did get a job, working for WIS, where I will be helping with inventory counting for multiple stores and such. The craziest thing about this job is the crazy hours! Since many of these companies prefer inventory counting to be done during non-peak hours, we need to do it like early morning or late night. So, some days I could be getting up at 2 or 3 am in the morning, going to work, then leaving to go to the store we're counting at about 4:00, could be anywhere from 1-3 hours of a drive, possibly more, then count for several hours, then drive back. the good thing is that if it is a morning job, we should be back mid to late morning, so I can just sleep for several hours and have the evening to train. There will also be nights where I may work from 5 pm to 3 am or something like that. What sucks is the driving pay... we don't get paid the first hour of the drive (company van, I think we'll be taking turn driving or something like that). My training starts on Monday.

I brought this up because now I can afford to pay for races, which I will most likely be doing my first race next weekend, the Cargas Criterium. About 1 hour 30 minute drive from my house, buy my race isn't until 1:20 (for once, in the afternoon!) so I don't have to get up AS early, but I would like to be there to watch several of the races prior to mine to get a drift of who doing what, and get an idea of the speed I should expect. When I am 100% sure that I will be doing this race (you know me, things can always come up) then I will post more about it sometime next week.

Happy end of May!

CORRECTION: The Cargas Crit is not next weekend, but the following weekend. Also, my parents were talking about going on vacation possibly that weekend, so I may not get the chance to do that race as well.

crap, not again...

2008-05-21T23:41:00.002-04:00

Again, I will have to miss the PSU Harrisburg Criterium. I know, I know... I promised that I would be doing it. Well, I had a little problem this week with getting a job, in that I haven't gotten any calls or interviews yet, and so I have no money now and do not feel like using my credit card to register for the race. Not yet anyways, unless something happens like tomorrow morning I get a call from Ollie's or any of the other places for an interview and get the job before 8:00 PM, in time for me to register for the race. If that happens, then I will for sure registered, but the chance of that happening is around 100:1.

To your right (if reading this web-based and not using an rss reader like Snarfer that I use) will be an updated schedule of races I plan to do. "Plan" does not equal "will do", so I can't say for 100% that I will be doing these races. If any of you are a complete fan of me and would like to see me race, please email me or write on one of my recent posts and I can let you know for sure if I'm showing up.

On the weekend of July 12 and 13, there are two races within a 50 miles drive, a road race on Saturday (12th) and crit that I missed and wanted to do last summer on Sunday (13th). I think I'm going to consider doing both on that weekend, assuming I will have a decent paying job and can afford to pay about $50 for both combined.

Track racing starts next weekend, and I still do not have a track bike. Most likely I won't be getting one on time and probably not until mid/late June or early July. So, I'm going to get a late start on the track season and will have to just use this summer as a "Start-up" and then in the fall will be the collegiate track season I might do, and then next summer I will race for real.

Ending... my best friend FINALLY got a road bike. He still won't sport the spandex sports or pocketed jerseys, nor the clipless pedals and cleats, but I think eventually he'll come around. He does not plan to race like I do, but rather just ride for fun and fitness, while still trying to keep up with me. We'll see how it goes tomorrow, when we do our first ride together with his new bike, a used 58cm (tall guy) Fuji ACE.

new pic

2008-05-18T23:33:00.002-04:00

As you may have noticed by now, to the right I put up a new profile picture. This was part of a team photo taken a few weeks ago at our last cycling meeting before the summer. Compared with last year's team photo, I look a lot better in shape. I still have some "chubby-ness" to take care of, but hopefully with the heart rate monitor and a solid training plan, I can lose the flab and tone up in the next three months before school restarts late August.

Couldn't ride today because of the morning rain and a banquet for my sister in the afternoon and baccalaureate for her graduating class several hours later. The weather was great in the afternoon and evening, which I wish I could have made time to ride. Tomorrow I'm supposed to do one hour of Active Recovery, but I think I'll do the two hours I was supposed to do today, with 15-30 minutes of recovery/cool-down. Lift on tuesday and back on schedule with my training plan.

On a sadder side, the Flyers lost to the Penguins (6-0) today in game 5 of the NHL playoffs and were eliminated. Next year... next year for sure.

My heart is beating

2008-05-15T10:37:00.003-04:00

Several things... first, my biggest news for this post:

I GOT MY HEART RATE MONITOR!

ok, so that may not be big news to everyone, but it is certainly for me. I got it yesterday and immediately set it up and went out for a ride. I noticed I'm training better, like my average speed is higher, because I'm working harder to stay within a certain zone. My stats for yesterday's ride:

Time: 2:23:05
Avg HR: 149
Max HR: 178 (for the day)
Calories: 1250+
Fat: 71g

I know the calorie count is a little low for 2+ hours, but I really wasn't pushing myself too hard for my first ride with it. Also, I'm still recovering (even today) from a lifting session on Tuesday, my second one since I've returned to lifting since January. The range I set for yesterday's ride was 156 to 174.

Next thing... NO race this weekend. I've decided not to go to Syracuse because I forgot about other plans made for this weekend, and I've decided not to do the Union Grove Road Race because I didn't want to kill myself while still being sore from lifting this week. I'm lifting today again, but will be a light one.

Next... I plan to do the Thursday Night Training Series criterium this afternoon at 5:30 in T-Town. Today I'm not going all out, so I wouldn't be surprised if I drop within 4 laps. Again, I'm still sore from the lifting and do not want to go all out. I'm also going to be playing basketball tonight at 8:00 with the guys I've been playing with since I was 17 years old.

Finally... I'll definitely be doing the Penn State Harrisburg Criterium next weekend. Unless something more important comes up this will be for sure. I'll write about it next week.

Summer Plans

2008-05-14T01:06:00.003-04:00

I've come up with some summer plans as far as cycling and fitness goes...

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER...
1) Get to the top of the Haven Hill climb (from my house) in less than 19 minutes by end of summer (current Personal Record, 23:35 set on Tuesday, May 13)
2) Place top 10 in the Lehigh Valley Winery Criterium in Category 5, if I upgrade to 4 by then, place top 15 (In August)
3) Place top 5 in the Pottsville Cycle 17 race (non-USAC sanctioned race) with Kyle from Kutztown University (In July)
4) Place top 15 in the PSU Harrisburg Criterium (May 26)
5) Get into the 160s range for weight, and tone up like mad!

I just made all but one or two of these in my head in the last few minutes, I just wanted a reason to show off my Personal Record for the Haven Hill climb, and to set a goal of 19 minutes or less... then I thought of a few other goals as well... I'm sure I can reach the 4-5 minutes difference in the 3 months. It take about 10 minutes to get to the base of the climb, which I'm sure can be shortened up a bit with a bit more speed on the way there. So yeah, 19 minutes is definitely do-able.

This weekend there is a Syracuse Race Weekend with 3 stages; a road race, TT and crit. Kyle from Kutztown U. is going so I asked him if I could tag along and I'm waiting for him to get back to me. If I can, I may consider going with him. It will certainly be fun and challenging. The road race is a bit scary, with a wall-like climb according to the hill profile provided. Anyways, I'll post more about that. If I don't do that I might doe the Union Grove Road Race on Saturday...

we've gone through all 4 seasons at least 3 times in the last 2 weeks

2008-05-11T06:37:00.004-04:00

In Northeast US, we've seriously had it all in the last 2 or 3 weeks. This morning I wake up feeling good and I have decided that I want to race. I get on the computer and check weather.com and see that right now it's not even 40 degrees... IN THE MIDDLE OF MAY!!! And by the time of my race (8:30), it won't even be 60 degrees.

Normally I wouldn't let this bother me, but the reason it is bothering me is because of my car's air control not working properly and I can't get heat or A/C at all. Sometimes no air even comes out. So, I would be pretty much freezing the whole drive there until the sun shines brightly in through my car's windows. Maybe AFTER the race the car would be toasty.

I've decided, only because of the weather, that I'm opting out. I'm pretty pissed since I've already paid my $25 plus the $2.70 bikereg fee and I'm sure I'm not getting my money back if I ask for a refund. Most places won't unless for a good reason (i.e. got injured the night before). I'd be laughed at if I say because it's too cold for my car to drive.

Next week is the Union Grove Road Race near Lancaster, I don't know if I'm ready to do a road race right now. Yes, I know I've done road races during the collegiate season, but I'm on my "break" right now. I'll look around to see if any other races are going on, usually the Hellertown Crit would be happening next week but that was canceled this year.

I'm going back to bed, getting up in an hour or so and then going out for a ride. Good night...