Seeing Sunbrellas

It's the eve of Mexico! The rest of the team has flown in today and I got to race once more before the Vuelta Senoritas starts. Race report: The Sun Devil Crit in Tempe, AZ was a 70 minute, 1/2 mile, two-turn crit, Just my course! Again there was a strong field including three Mesa riders plus our Director Sportif. I had to take a flyer on the first lap which sounded like more fun that it actually was, and then breaks started to launch. Josh launched himself and me from the field so I could sprint to the group. I made it with about 20 others who then lapped the field. Then Josh led me out for the final 2 laps. I said, "Joshua Carter led ME out!" But like a crazy field sprint I got boxed in the final turn and missed my Jelly Belly wheel to the finish and got 8thish in the sprint. So I may have made 10thish for the day. I'm definitely feeling strong for Mexico and am really excited. It is however the biggest race of my career so far. So there is some nervousness, plus just being in Mexico! Oh well, I really like my team and I have nothing to lose so I'm just going to be safe and have fun. All I know for the next week is that "Pressure makes diamonds." -and the massages should be nice too! Nos deseo suerte.

High Everyday

I'm surprised I've found a second to finally get back to my blog. Unfortunately I won't type everything I want because my right index finger is still numb. I jabbeb an X-acto knife into it Thurs and have lost all feeling at the tip, weird. At least it stopped bleeding yesterday. It may seem like I fall off the face of the Earth sometimes, but trust me that is impossible. In the past 4 days I've spent 20+ hours riding my bike. At 9000 feet that is!! I'm planning to do at least the same starting tomorrow (Monday) this week before MEXICO. I'm really getting anxious, even if it means getting my butt kicked a little. Josh and I will do one final "Shootout" Saturday and a crit on Sunday in Phoenix. Then it's off to MEXICO on Tuesday (Feb 28th)! Not really though, because the first stage begins in Tucson. Then 6 days and like 500+ miles later we end up somewhere 8hrs south in MEXICO. Realistically, this will probably be my second to last blog before I get back. My life will soon consist of 100 mile races and massages everyday for an entire week. Don't worry because I'm not going to drink the water! I'm just going to ride hard and "look" at the beautiful senoritas,..I mean scenery! BTW, Happy Belated Valentine's Day to everyone! I had a long blog thought out for it, but I ended up climbing another 10 miles (160 total) to a beautiful sunset on Mt Lemmon that day instead. Yep, I'm keeping busy on the bike even if though there are so many "Uggs" out here. So, today was the Tour de Groundhog in Springfield, IL where all of my friends and former teammates are having a ball in freezing degree weather. I wish I could be there, I forget how much fun freezing your nuts numb can actually be! I can't wait to see everyone again mid-March!! For now it's back to 100 mile rides and recovering with movies. "That's how I roll!..." (Can anyone tell me where in what movie that is. I just saw it for the first time, think Jack Black). Be back later, just before the Vuelta!

sdrawkcaB

I think "hell" would be very similar to this past week, except for the fact that this "week" has finally ended. I have to start way back at last Sunday when I raced Usery Pass near Phoenix. It was a 74 mile race and the course was as if we were in a large bowl going up and down the sides from the center. It was dark when we arrived, and because this is the desert it is nearly freezing when the sun is down. Sure 54 degrees isn't freezing, but it's all relative if you're used to 80 degree days. "Hell" I guess started somewhere between working Saturday evening and waking up at 3:30am Sunday to get to Phoenix for the 7:30am race start. Anyway, the entire day we were either going 20mph uphill or 50mph downhill. Eight really freaking strong pro riders including an ex-Discovery rider pretty much solidified a break, IN THE FIRST 3 MILES!!! Fortunately Josh made it in the break, but unfortunately was dropped after the first climb, as he is "vertically challenged." More unfortunate, I was not in the break knowing Josh was up there but not knowing there was a bada$$ climb so early. However in the end, Josh was dropped after the first lap and I was stuck sprinting for 12th in a widdled down pack. They only paid top five and pointed seven deep, so nobody in the group bothered sprinting up the last climb. I only cared at that point to beat the guy laughing at anyone pointlessly sprinting, and I did to finish top 20. Oh yeah, and then after bringing my legs to a cramp and resting two hours in a van chair, I had to go to work at 3:00pm. I haven't been so wasted since my 21st. Good thing Monday was a rest day, and I only had to ride easy for 1 hour and work 7. Tuesday it finally rained here. However they didn't count it because it wasn't measurable. I've never seen it rain anywhere and the streets remain dry, Weird! So the drought is going on 119 days! Now Wednesday was fun! I woke up at 6:30am not to go to work, but to ride at 7:30am. The group ride lasted about 35 miles before I got dropped in a nasty cross wind. I was able to get a good 5 hours of intense training in before I had to work at 2pm. Thursday I don't really remember. In fact I think perhaps maybe it was Thurs that it rained and I have it mixed up with Tuesday. I do know for a fact I went out with Johnny to a few bars Thursday night on campus. There was a Wildcats game so the bars got pretty bumpin afterwards, despite midterms (I remember those!). Friday I rode for an hour and got nailed by an orange from Johnny. It was after I nailed him and left a nice bruise on his leg though. The law is that you have to pick them up off the ground while on your bike, but he can't so he picked one off a tree. Bastard! After a fun recovery ride I got to go to work again for 9 hours. Then crazily enough I went out with Johnny and Peter till the bars closed because I was so tired I couldn't sleep. (Watch for a future blog, "How much does a Polar Bear weigh?") Saturday there was no way in "hell" I was waking up to ride the 7:30am "Shootout." And obviously I didn't. I slept in till 9:30, ate, and was at work by 11am. I got done with work at 10pm after serving a wedding of 271 people. Sure it was a beautiful wedding but our ballroom only holds 250 people! Another crazy night, and knowing I had to podium in 1 of 2 races the next day. That didn't happen! Today, Sunday, I raced once again near Phoenix, actually nearer to Mesa. I was going to race the separate Cat2 race and then race with Josh in the Pro,1,2. Today was a 2.2mile circuit race in a park/desert. The road was narrow and all chip&seal crap! Rocks were flying everywhere from the gun so I decided to get out because I wasn't going to be grated down like a sorry piece of meat today. After one lap I soloed to take the first prime but then got dropped after two laps off the front. My lungs were seared instantly and I kept thinking I should not have gone out this week, but the ladies are so persuasive. Like an idiot I chased back on and made it to the front again. After a sharp turn on the backside of course, I got out of the saddle and snapped my chain. I was fourth wheel and luckily managed to keep it upright while not going into one of the many cacti surrounding the roads. So I WALKED back only to get a flat somehow between the backside and start/finish line. Unfortunately the prime wasn't a chain, so my day was cut very short. I watched the Pro1,2 race and then we headed back home, unpodiumed and unable to race the Valley next weekend, :( I didn't have to work this evening, SOOOO, I'm here at Epic writing to all my blog people about how this cycling life is going, sort of. Sorry people, I don't intend to make this a diary, so hold off on the comments. I swear I have a point to all this hell come next blog. See you then!

Last ATO...

Welp,...I can't believe how much crap I've gotten when I don't blog. Sorry it's been awhile. There is a race coming up this Sunday in Phoenix, and it has a lot of climbing in it! Also, our new kits came in and they are pretty sweet and sharp looking. Today Josh, Johnny, and Todd rode with me to Kitt Peak. It's 48 miles to the base of a 12 mile, 7000ft hill. 7 hours and 120 miles later I'm getting refreshed on rainbow sherbert at Epic. Today marked the last of my ATOs here in Tucson. Oh, what are ATOs? Well they are kind of like LSDs back home in Lincoln Land. Long Slow Distance rides = Another Tanning Opportunity. I'm calling it my last because from now on I will be lathering myself up with SPF45. I am already as tan as my darkest days in July. I don't need anymore sun and I need my skin to stay soft and looking 20 years old for the rest of my life. I'm skipping out on Wienerschnitzel tonite. After bonking worse than ever today I don't think my stomach is up for 20 hot dogs. Weird! Yesterday I had fun at work as I'm still being "trained." It's just about learning where everything is and which girls have issues, which one's are legal. Stuff like that. I forgot how easy work is compared to this cycling thing. However it's the training that is hard. This season is going to be super fun with a team as strong as Mesa. I'm really excited to have started racing after my extended offseason. I'm also really thankful for everyone supporting me down here. Oddly, noone has said, "You're crazy, what are you thinking!" Okay wait, everyone's said that a time or two, but not about me driving 1500 miles with everything I own in my Focus. I definitely owe a big Thanks to everyone and I definitely miss home and everyone! Wow, I'm calling it food time now though, totally!

Roadrunner Day

It's the same beautiful day once again in Tucson, it's almost like Groundhog Day. Only there aren't any of those around, so maybe I'll declare this Roadrunner Day. I separate the days so far like this...Sunday-Mt.Lemmonhead, Monday-Throwing oranges on 3rd St, Tuesday-Intervals up Gate's, Wednesday-Hotdogs, Thursday-Open mic, Friday-P.P.Pizza, & Saturday-"Shootout+2hrs". Anyhow, today is all about rest and refueling for the hard weekend. My body is still in shock from the criterium, but all is good. I've met up with a couple of really nice riders this week who are following us to do a report on their website. You can hear my interview at www.cyclingradio.com I haven't listened to it because I hate listening to myself, so I don't want any comments about how stupid I sound. After this busy week I think I may even take some advice and start Yoga. The UofA yoga club meets Monday, right after work. I'm heading to dinner and the mall now, Sweet. Everyone, go have the best weekend, Laters!!

Blogcards

Consider these postcards, they are prettier but don't cost anything...

<-Mesa Cycles, helping mentally challenged kids ride their bikes.
Todd on campus. "We're late for Class!!!"->
<-Third street near campus that we cruise around on rest days, and maybe throw a few oranges at each other. <-Gates Pass, one of many torturous climbs out here, especially after 6hrs on the bike.-v
Here is a picture of where I live. Cloudy day, haha!->
<-There is always an airshow in Tucson! These I found on a recovery ride. -v

Last in training, First in racing!

I haven't known what day it's been for awhile, but after this past weekend I am no longer in the offseason. Last Friday night I couldn't get anybody to go with me to a show on campus, even if I paid their $3 cover. Oh well, we had to wake up and do the "Shootout" at 7:30am Sat and it was Mike's last day/ride in Tucson. We are all really dedicated to riding and training which is a good thing for the team. I could barely wake up in the morning, having not even gone out. We all made it through the 5hr ride and I decided to go out more and make it a 7hr ride. Perfect pre-race day ride, right? It's January so I don't even know what I'm doing racing anyway.
Sunday, Josh and I set out for Phoenix to do our first race in both of our new colors. The orange kits really clashed with both of our old team bikes, but we dealt with it since our Specialized bikes are not here yet. We were lucky enough to get clothes rushed out to us for the first race of the Arizona season. I was in a small skinsuit and it was tight! As we were warming up I told Josh, "The last race I did was Superweek, How bad could this be?" Two laps into a completely flat, three turn crit and I was put right back into Superweek! Basically we did 29.1 miles in a 60 minute crit. It was fast, not just because I was in it, but because a lot of well known Pro teams were represented (like...Navigators, Jittery Joe's, Tiaa-Cref, Discovery, Colavita). I went with a lot of attacks despite the 30mph speeds but it stayed together for a field sprint, which Josh won by three bike lengths. I wish I could say I led Josh out for the "V," but instead I placed 17th in the field of over 50. It was awesome to be a part of our first team victory for the season. Josh was not at his best this past week and still outpowered everyone in the end. We definitely did not expect to walk away with a victory, but it is exciting to start our first "training races" this way. I'm waiting for my first climber's race, and one with a lot of podium girls. Then everyone watch out!


**Race Schedule: Feb 5th Usery Pass Road Race, Pheonix; Feb 11th McDowell Circuit Race, Pheonix; Feb 17-19th Valley of the Sun Stage Race, Pheonix; Feb 28th-March 5th Vuelta Sonora, Mexico; March 12th Sylvan Springs Criterium, Saint Louis.

That's Rad Dude!

It's funny that busting my head in against a headwind yesterday and bonking after 4 hours of January intervals is not considered work to me. I am lucky enough to be in the most ideal place to do this all winter. Yesterday, however, I was subtlety reminded how much I take for granted after a small accident with a car. I'm glad to get the first road rash out of the way, especially before my first race this weekend. I'm definitely okay and so is my bike, just in case the driver who just sped off is reading!!!....So today I didn't even go out for my recovery ride because I was tired after working 7 hrs. I officially started at the Rad today and it is pretty awesome. In fact the Chicago White Sox are occupying 85% of the hotel at this time and I will probably be serving the "Big Hurt" some lunch soon. So far the job seems too good to be true. (See pic!) The staff all seem very nice and the perks of working at this hotel are unbelievable (Free Balley's, Starbucks, Penthouses, Spanish classes & Golfing,... to name a few). Monday I have to go to this tuxedo place to get fitted for my official uniform, which is a tuxedo. And I thought the Rad in Bloomington was nice! Well I apologize, but I am so tired to think of anything cool and interesting to say tonite and I have the 7:30am "Shootout" tomorrow morning. I hope to put up my blog about Uggs soon! or maybe the one about my tattoo, That should keep ya'll coming back! Buonas noches!