Amish Undergarments

-IOWA CITY ROAD RACE-
You know you are getting close to this race when you start to see the horse-drawn buggies on the side of the road. I didn't know, however, how windy it was until I starting seeing the laundry the local amish had hanging on clotheslines literally flying at a 90 degree angle to the ground. The pantiloons were in full sail.

This is a great race, so I wasn't too worried about the wind, except to opt to keep my deep aero rims in the van, to live to fight another day. Yes, the wind, though, was rather a pain, as a decent group of around 20 or so Cat 3's tore off into the first cross wind stretch. Combining a brisk downhill pass with a 30mph wind was making me a bit apprehensive. So I nestled in the back of the pack for a bit, until I started to feel more connected to the bike.

The first lap everyone kept it cool. Then at the start of the second lap, things heated up for a bit. This is when relaxing in the back doesn't work out. So, I reluctantly worked my way up to the front portion of the race. By now, fortunately, I was feeling the groove, and was remembering how much more carefree things are at the front.

Lap number 2 finally calmed down, and everyone re-grouped, though they were softened up a bit. Riders would have attacked more on the uphills, if it weren't for the fierce headwind that smacked anyone who dared try to attack. I overheard a bit of a conversation and the phrase 'sacrificial lamb'. I just happened to be on the front, at the time, which reminded me that we still had a lot of racing left.

As we turned the corner to start the 3rd lap, I was pushing to stay right at the front, in case things heated up again. Brent Mitchell from the 'death squad' chatted a bit, jokingly... "This is the time in the race when Chad Bishop goes off the front on a solo flyer for the win..." I chuckled enjoying the fact that our heart rates were low enough that we could talk, even though this was a great place to attack. He was referring to my success at the Finchford race two weeks prior.

I replied "yes, I'll give it a try" and accelerated. I was just kidding, however, the move felt so smooth, and there was a guy already up ahead having a dig at the hill, so I decided to attack. Little did I know, several other riders had this exact same notion, and a break was formed!

When the smoke settled, and we could verify that we did have a gap, there were seven of us. A lot of teams were still in the group behind, so we agreed to work together, and smoothly rotated through. We had about 20 miles to go, but this was looking good. Bryan and Will from 'Bikes To You' were in the break, the two leaders of the Iowa Cup. Looked like another good result for their team.

Ok, lap 4, we were definately going to finish ahead of the peloton, so I was good to go with at least 7th... too bad the race only paid back 5 places. So, though we had been the best of buddies for almost half the race, at some point we had to go back to being sworn enemies as the finish neared.

The finish was into a head wind and hilly, so I was almost just wanting to get this thing over with. Being new to Cat 3 racing, I had a good result wrapped up, so I was happy. We jockeyed around a bit. Will went on a flyer, as his teamate blocked for a bit. All in all, Will's move worked, as he took another Cat 3 first place (also won in Altoona).

I ended up 6th, so I beat out one guy in our breakaway, though we all basically finished with the same time. Didn't get money, but, I think I got some points towards the Iowa Cup, since only four of us in the break were from Iowa. I raced all last year, and some of this year as a Cat 4 and didn't even come close to getting on that Iowa Cup leader board. I will be very happy, if I finally made it, and in the Cat 3's.

Speaking of that race... Will and Bryan have a huge lead, so calling out Adam Price, Steve Robinson (currently 3rd and 4th), and all other strong Cat 3 riders... if you want a shot at taking home that prize, they are the guys to beat.

Tuesday Night Team Ride

Pictured above are riders at our last Tuesday Night Ride in Muscatine. We staged sort of a 'Team Photo Session' with those who had jerseys and were able to attend.

Like most training rides in Iowa, we start off at a social pace, working our way to the county roads outside of town. Pictured below is a photo of the group stopped at the light, nearing the edge of town.

Here are some nice action shots of the group enjoying a beautiful night in Iowa, just minutes before 'the hammer went down'.

After racing un-challenged to a stop-ahead sign, I pulled out my camera to try and capture just one more shot. Unfortunately, I believe the group was annoyed with my sprint to the sign, and took advantage of my hesitation as I fumbled for my camera. No matter how I hard I pedalled, I couldn't gain any ground. Holding the camera in my hand wasn't exactly helping my pedalling effeciency. Below is a picture that should be memory provoking for everyone... GETTING DROPPED...

The group eventually re-formed and I was able to get the photo I had been seeking... "The Gold Chain".

Eagle Point Pics

As I described in the previous blog, I was forced to try and chase for a good portion of the race at Eagle Point. While this didn't work out for the sake of my ultimate result, it allowed me to make several of the pictures that Bryan Moritz's mom took. Below are pics of me in the front of the field trying to close down the gap...

Thanks to Bryan's family for the pics. I used to get hooked up with pictures when he was a Cat 4. That was really the only reason I upgraded to Cat 3 so that I could get in more pictures. Hopefully Bryan doesn't plan on upgrading to Cat 2 for awhile, so I can enjoy a racing season full of great pictures.

Crit Racing in Dubuque

A beautiful day for racing high in the bluffs of eagle point park in Dubuque, IA. I lined up with around 14 fellow racers for the Cat 3 event. Looking over the field, it was evident that a lot of strong riders were present, and that most of them had teammates.

Right from the start, Bikes To You sent guys off of the front, one after the other, as other teams tried to get guys up to the break. The trick to this race was to know which break was going to stick, and then have the strength to be in it.

The race played out almost in text book fashion... Once a break finally formed that had strong riders from three different teams, it stuck because their teammates then used defensive techniques to upset the momentum of the chase.

Once it became evident that the breakaway was going to have a serious chance at holding, I realized I had to try and bring them back. Unfortunately, this turned out to be all but impossible, with the combined strength of three guys working together in the break, and their teammates very tactfully blocking the field, I was going to have to accept taking my chances in the dreaded field sprint for fourth.

My teammate, Bill Ford, had raced earlier in the day, placing third overall in the Masters 40+ (great job), so he said he was just going to 'sit in the back'. I wasn't sure if he was serious or not, but logic would suggest that after battling with Jim Cochran and Dominic (of atlas) in an earlier battle to the death, he would be tired, and also content with his success earlier.

Otherwise, me and bill, and the guys from HBA were left to chase, along with one or two riders without teammates. I would have been thrilled with placing top 6 (in the money), but still was hoping that somehow the gap would come down and the group would be caught so I could get another shot at being in the winning break.

Ultimately, we never gained any ground on them, and with three laps to go, I started thinking about next weekend. Perhaps, 'I hoped' if the guys behind me were actually hurting, I would have a chance to do well in the field sprint for fourth, but that would have been far fetched, considering how much energy I used trying to get in the original break, and then later trying to chase it down.

Bummer? Not really. This was a full on Cat 3 race. Success is nice, but experience and increased fitness are also reasons to race. Not to mention the fact that was a great way to spend a beautiful sunday. And getting 'schooled' by talented riders is nothing to be embarrassed about.

On the other hand, the TT bars are being installed on my road bike today. My new TT bike isn't slated to arrive until May (hopefully, maybe they meant may of 2009, Trek is a little behind schedule with their production), so I have to break down and put the bars on my road bike, as time trials and duathlons are soon becoming 'options' on my race calendar (a fall-back in case I end up just sucking at crits and road races).

Cat 3 Racing Debut in Finchford

Sunday was my first race as a USCF Category 3 Racer. I knew I would be familiar with a lot of the entrants, but, for obvious reasons, I was apprehensive about how I would do at this upgraded level of competition and skill.

The weather was cold and windy, so basically same crap, different weekend. The namesake for this event references a nasty 'hell on wheels' type event in europe, known for its brutal conditions. So, in that spirit, the weather was perfectly fitting. The field was, however smaller than last year, probably due to the elements.

11 Cat 3 riders lined up along with 8 Masters racers. We were slated to do 10 laps, totaling over 50 miles. I really didn't have anything to lose in this race, being fresh from the Cat 4s, so I was just thrilled to be lining up, and that US Cycling allowed me to compete at this level.

At the first lap, Will Greenwood went out on a suspicious solo break. The Bikes To You Team tactics had apparently already started. Bryan Moritz stayed in the pack to help control things. Both of these guys did very well last weekend in Altoona, so I spent some time thinking about this move.

Then as I crossed the first lap, I thought about how I had finished my first lap in the 3's, and felt a bit of pride having actually accomplished one of my big 2008 goals. Instead of rolling over to the side of the road, and celebrating, however I decided to stick the race out and see if I could finish a couple of more laps.

Will's move didn't stick, but many riders made attacks throughout the race. I was really liking how the 3's/Masters were racing compared to the Cat 4 races I have experienced. Things were smoother, there was more thinking (tactics), and fitness/strength would be a factor, as some of the accelerations were strong enough to reduce the shell of some of the racers.

At some point, I looked around the group and got confused. I didn't see the Bikes to You riders, and thought maybe I had missed a break. In actuality, they had pulled out of the race (maybe VEISHA celebration in Iowa State worked to my advantage?). Also, some strong riders from HBA were missing as well.

Things were looking good for me if I could just finish, because this race paid back (very well) five places and four of the race favorites were out of the contest. However, that left 3 of the All Nine Yards Racers,2 members of the Rasmussen Death Squad 5000 and a racer who is always strong, dominic moraniec.

I was still just happy to be rolling along, and felt strong so everything was really fun. A couple of times I got caught out in between the lead rider and the pack. I didn't do this on purpose, and felt sort of odd when I turned around and saw that I was stuck in no man's land.

As the end of the race neared, I was gauging how much strength I had left, because it seemed like some of the remaining racers would be susceptible to being dropped. If the pack of 3's could get to less than 6, I would be in the money, and have a happy ride home.

At some point, while thinking about this, I chased down an 'all nine yards' attack, and inadvertantly ended up with a pretty nice gap. Assuming that his teammates would block for him, and knowing that I had a teammate in the pack, Bill Ford, I decided to have a go at it. Bill was racing as a Master 40+, so he was in a great position. He wasn't obligated to chase, and he could still win first in his race. Nice.

This is when the moto-ref became an awesome race amenity. He would call out the splits from time to time. The rider in the break with me (matt gumm) wasn't feeling quite as strong. So he wasn't able to contribute to the effort, except to help lessen the intensity of the pursuit by having teammates in the field.

I rode him off my wheel unintentionally, despite the motoref advising me to stay with him (again, awesome to have a moto ref, not only dispensing race info, but sharing his race expertise). I just had the legs that day, so I decided to see if I could hang on the gap solo.

Each time the moto ref gave me a split it was larger. It was around 30 to 40 seconds the first few times he gave me the split. Then it got to a minute, then later 2 minutes. I just put my head down and enjoyed a nice time trial on the roads of northern Iowa. Approaching the final lap, I turned around and saw a few riders chasing me down. Ah crap!

But wait, as I crossed the line for the bell lap, the crowd cheered wildly. Wow, I am the hero of the day... Not really, apparently the guys behind me were sprinting to finish the Cat 1/2 race. They almost passed me before the finish. More importantly, I had just one more lap to go (about 5.4 miles).

The moto ref advised me that I had a huge gap as I approached the final 2 miles, and congratulated me. I wasn't going to believe I had won my first race as a Cat 3, and $130 bucks until it actually happened. I spent the rest of the race thinking about all of the things that could go wrong (flat tire, severe cramps, angry red-neck vehicular homicide, brain aneurism, wardrobe malfunction, etc.)

At some point, I knew I would be able to win, even if it meant crawling across the line. I was happy to not be sprinting as I passed the 200 meter signage. Nice. Icing on the Cake, Bill Ford charged up the hill in the field sprint and won the Master's race. Needless to say, it was a good day for the Guys in Gold.


Pictured above is the podium pic with myself Steven Robinson and Brent Mitchell. Thinking about retiring from the sport now, maybe take up hang gliding or something. Thanks for the memories and good luck to all.

Does that mean I am a Duathlete not a Roadie?

Ran the Hayes Hustle 5k this morning, and I did pretty good. I won my age division and came in under 20 minutes, which was my goal. I came in at 19:45, which is about 6:21 pace per mile. This ended up being 8th place overall. I won a mug, and some GU, yee haw!

I hadn't ran at all on concrete, so wasn't sure what to expect. Me and my treadmill, however, have become well acquainted throughout this horrific winter/early spring.

That is the fitness assessment I needed to prepare for the Duathlon in Davenport May 4th. Luckily(?) the hummer hammer is cancelled, so my calendar is freed up to enter this race. Otherwise, I would maybe have had to do the bike race instead.

What does this mean for the Bike Race in Finchford this sunday? Well, my legs feel sore already, so I am thinking that might not be my strongest race. I really just hope to get the mileage, and use the ride as training (since my mileage is a bit off this week). I won't sacrifice any more bike races for running, though (I hope).

Racing for the first time as a Cat 3 on sunday, I was second guessing myself as I rested for two days to taper for the 5k run. However, I got the result that I wanted today, so just finishing strong tomorrow will be all good. Who knows, maybe this running stuff won't even be an issue. It was only 3.1 miles after all. On the other hand, that was 100% max effort for just under 20 minutes, that will probably be a factor.

Chad Bishop: Road Cat 3, Cyclo-Cross Cat 3

Ok, it's official, I am now an official Category 3 racer... What have I gotten myself into?

I set my sights on this upgrading notion last summer when I won a cat 4/5 race at the Illinois state champs, and got really serious about it after the new year started. I scored points in each of the first four races I entered this year, so I am thrilled to have set a goal and accomplished it. I raced just over two full seasons as a Cat 4 rider, so I paid my dues (in my opinion). I have experience and some success.

Sure I could have waited until 'after memorial day weekend'. That seems to be the big turning point for racers. But, I am not getting any younger, and I would like to get experience racing as a three. And, actually, I would have had over 30 points by then, so would have been automatically upgraded anyway, so it really wasn't a decision of 'if' but 'when'.

Ah, I am really inspired now! Except I am trying a two day taper to allow for a true 'race pace' 5k run this saturday. Yes, I said RUN. That might not be the most logical way to celebrate a cycling upgrade, but I have a slight running addiction. I think it won't be as bad once the weather clears up.

But, then Finchford. Racing 50 miles as a cat 3, instead of 35 as a cat 4, excellent. I look forward to racing with all the riders who upgraded right around me last year, as I sort of 'stalled' out at the beginning of last season. Maybe I'm strong, maybe not, who cares, the cat 3 races will be more my speed (I think, I guess I won't know until I get some under my belt).

Bill Ford, fellow team mate, is upgrading to Cat 3 as well. He claims to have 37 points (by his count... suspicious), but by any means, he is definately way past the stage of racing cat 4's. He will probably alternate doing cat 3 and Masters 40+ races.

I will let you know how sunday's race goes, it will be very interesting to see how I debut in this new field of awesome athletes.

Time to do the hustle

This is a cycling blog, but my cross training is part of my racing experience, so I thought I would log an entry about the upcoming 5k road running race I am doing this saturday in muscatine: "The Hayes Hustle". I figure it is short enough that it won't throw off my race the next day in finchford, and will be good preparation for my focus event, the cinco de mayo duathlon, in davenport.

Treadmill running has been saving my sanity this winter, as I can always swap out a ride outside with a run inside when the weather doesn't exactly fit my weekly training plan. I am hoping the run workouts are increasing my VO2 max and keeping my body fat at it's lowest possible percentage.

Some comments I have gotten that show me I am on the right track with my body comp:
1) "You are wasting away, what's going on" - Dean of College, Jeff Armstrong
2) "You are down to your high school weight" - Chad Yocom, Business Partner
3) "You look like a rockstar" - John Anderson - MCC Student President
4) "Don't lose anymore weight, you are getting too skinny" - former girlfriend
5) "The reason you are so cold is because you don't have enought body fat" - fellow cyclist

My goal with running was to get to the point that I looked physically ill, so mission accomplished. Now I can try and do some push-ups or something to add some meat to the bone.

I feel a little like Lance Armstrong going into this 5k race (except he is doing the boston marathon, close enough). I am not going to be competitive in the overall scheme of the run as a race, but I hope to still run fairly fast to show that cyclists are highly fit, regardless of the exact physical endeavor.

I am hoping to run this race in under 20 minutes (which is good considering there is a monster uphill section). That would mean essentially a 6min, 25 second average pace per mile. I should come in top ten if I can pull that off. I will run the first mile in 6 minutes, then hang on from there.

No More Cat Five Racing for Me?

ALTOONA RR -

On the drive up to Altoona this weekend, me and team mate Bill Ford had time to talk about race strategies and possible scenarios. I wasn't aware how large of a race this was, however, and my visions of crossing the line in the top positions were fading as I stepped up to the start with 57 other racers (pre-race jitters).

The altoona race was lots of fun and a great group, it was a good satisfaction to finish well in a 54 mile race. A lot of people (including myself) had crusty salt on their faces and arms, a good sign that we pushed our hydration systems to the max (and that we were overdressed, oh well).

This race was a great fitness test and a competitive field. However, I guess I am finally ready to upgrade, because I just don't feel like I should be racing with beginners/citizens(cat fives) as I head into my 4th year of racing. I am not 100% sure about racing with Cat 3's, but I know I am not interested in anymore 4/5 races, so upgrading is the only way to avoid that.

I finished 6th (unofficially), which isn't great, but not bad either because this was a strong lead group and a blistering fast last quarter mile. The racers ahead of me are planning to upgrade soon (actually bill ford applied for an upgrade today, and jimmy c. and carson c. mentioned they are upgrading soon), so it was essentially some of the same people I will be racing against in the future, if my upgrade is approved.

Teammate Bill Ford finished 2nd overall, finally earning the result that he deserves (well first would have been even more accurate) because he is the current Tuesday Night World Champion in Muscatine.

There are new guidelines for upgrading, I encourage everyone to check them out:
http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=580
The new point tables are much better and include some races that didn't score previously.

So, after doing all the math, I had 27 points. You only need 20 to upgrade and 30 is an automatic upgrade, so I decided to go for it (results still pending),before being called a sandbagger too many more times, ,or asked 'are you going to upgrade?' everytime I finish well or win an event.

Assuming Ric P. gives me the green light, I will be racing the cat 3 race this weekend at finchford instead of the Cat 4. I know a lot of the current cat 3 racers, because I raced/trained with them last year, so I have an idea what to expect. I hope for strong races and anticipate getting dropped from time to time. I am going to thoroughly enjoy this time of racing when I don't have any pressure to succeed because I will be one of the newbies in the race.

Even if I finish last in the next few races, it is within this even more respected racing category, so I will take it all in stride and enjoy the journey.

Upgrading has been my main goal ever since I started winning and placing well in cat four races last summer. A lot of sacrifice and dedication goes into 'making the grade', so I am excited to be this close to making it a reality.

Our racing team will now have a Cat 2 racer and two Cat 3 racers along with some strong Cat 4 competitors. Good times ahead.

I'm an Actor

Well, for whatever reason, I decided to join a theater group here in town to 'broaden my horizons'. I am a video specialist, so I was thinking that meeting actors (and becoming one), would somehow help my future creative endeavors.

So the big show is this weekend, and we have been rehearsing all week. Basically every night, all night, so I have been struggling to get the training in I want. Also, I have been having a huge '4th meal' at around 10pm each night. This seems to be adding a bit of weight to my frame. Acting is actually a bit tiring, so I am exhausted each night when I come home.

As far as cycling goes... I figure working on my acting skills could be a helpful race tactic. I know often fellow racers or tuesday night riders will 'act' like they are too tired to pull or sprint for the sign, but then miraculously muster up a surge of power to win the day. Well, maybe they aren't acting as much as simply lying.

So, I will plan on utilizing my new acting skills and dramatic theatrics out on the race course this year. I can't reveal any of my moves, but the short version is that you won't know which 'character' I am playing on any given day. Here are some possible characters I am working on:

1) Sam (A perpetually over trained athlete, no matter what day it is he has always had a really hard work-out the day before so he won't be able to ride very fast today)

2) Grant (King of the high mileage, don't try to ride more than he does, because he will always be miles ahead of you, and a fierce competitor in races that are 100 miles or longer)

3) Jackson (Stop-ahead sign warrior, not afraid to attack when it is most improper, also not afraid to race to non-existant signs just to maintain his lead in a race that only he has entered in)

4) Jeremiah (The undertrained athlete, always sure to inform everyone how ill-prepared he is for the race or training ride. In this way he has nothing to lose and everything to gain if he inadvertantly does well).

5)Ricardo (The alpha-dog, you can't beat him even if you win the race, because the ladies are waiting for him later that night in the limo ride up to the justin timberlake concert).

6)Alex (the duathlete, he is too cool to race to the stop-signs, because he is also a runner, and only races 'against the clock'. He can't understand how it is considered a race if you draft all day, then do a quick sprint at the end).

7)Randolph (A glutton who rides his bike to make up for all the damage his decadent lifestyle and poor eating/drinking habits would be causing if he didn't try and balance it with exercise, he is often hung-over on rides or possibly even has vodka in is bottle instead of water)

8) Cranston (The crafty yet wise rider, who has many tricks up his sleeves. able to win any race, if he choses with his intelligence and experience, though he isn't usually the strongest).

9) Pepe (More concerned with looking good then riding good. He usually surfaces on rides/races where there will be some sort of female presence. He usually tries to get to the front of the pack at crits where the audience has assembled,then recovers at the back during the rest of circuit. A flat tire, or near-death crash will be a given if he fears he won't place well in the finishing lap).

10) Oscar (Antisocial and mysterious. He seems pissed the whole ride, and not concerned with making any friends, only dominating the field, then doing burn-outs in the parking lot and flipping everyone the bird on his way home)

Well, one of these guys is racing this saturday at altoona, see you then.

Kent Park 2008

Yee haw! It was time to unofficially kick off the 2008 racing season with the Kent Park Spring Classic. This year's race saw 123 participants line up on a cold, but bearable, Sunday Morning, to race 6 laps (just under 4miles/lap) around the rolling hills of Kent Park near Tiffin, IA.

This race marks my 3rd year anniversary of competitive cycling. I entered this race in 2005, with less than a hundred miles of training, and was forever captivated by the challenge of bettering myself as an athlete.

I rode up in the stylin' red Harper's Racing Team Truck, with Bill Ford and Greg Harper. I wasn't able to recruit any team 'Pin-Up Girls' as of yet, so it was just the three of us. For future events, it is my hope that we can have a female entourage ride up to races with us, helping out with such duties as 'pinning-up' the race numbers, offering water hand-ups, cheering us on at check points, post-race massages, etc. I suppose a guy could do all of these duties, but that just isn't how I roll. Applications for these positions are now being accepted.

Ok, I know I am in dreamland with that concept, so on to the race report...

I lined up front in center in the Category 4 grouping, in the 4th tier to start. The referee started each race a few seconds apart, however, most of the racers who aspired to high placings (not just to finish) initiated a full-on sprint to catch up to the main group. So, it was. I sprinted all out, with two other cat 4 racers ahead of me (mike edwards was one of them), until we caught the peleton.
I am not sure how many of the 26 cat 4 racers made it to the main group, but it seemed like almost everyone did, though only 10 of us hung on for the entire race. I caught my breath and prayed that the group didn't accelerate until I had recovered... they didn't.

Wow, here I was, actually in the main group for the first time at Kent Park, I could see the front of the race. I got excited because I felt that one of the most important parts of the race had been accomplished. I celebrated by singing Snoop Dogg's "Ain't nothing but a G-Thang". I pictured the team pin-up girls and me rolling up to the next race in a silver cadillac escalade, champagne glasses filled with Gatorade, chopped up lines of whey protein chillin on a mirror, supplement pills spilling out of our jerseys, GU stained fingers... ahh yeah (ain't nothing but a GU thang?)

The first two laps were a little sketchy for me. Mainly feeling out the race and reminding myself how to best navigate the Kent Park route to achieve the fastest speeds with the least amout of energy used. I eventually found a nice spot near the front of the main group, so the rest of the race was much more comfortable (until the very end of course).

Three, maybe four people had escaped. Looking at the results, it seems like the breakaway had members of each of the larger teams. This is an obvious sign that some team tactics were in play.
Being a category 4 rider, I didn't line up thinking about winning, or even the top 10, so I wasn't really concerened with who was up ahead. I did, however want to try and follow any subsequent attacks, because my odds of finishing well improved with each rider that got dropped due to accelerations (assuming I wasn't one of them).

This course finishes on a steep hill, and each lap this hill got more and more intimidating. The other hills allowed for momentum from the prior downhill to carry riders up portions of the ascent, but this one yielded no such mercy.

I hung well at the front each time across the white line of this hill. Looking behing me, though, the group never seemed to get any smaller. I later learned that there were about 36 riders in this main group for the second half of the race.

Things picked up on the last lap, as expected, and some new faces emerged at the front. Unfortunately for me, I recognized some of the faces as fellow cat 4 racers. I switched my focus from the overall race, to trying to be the first or second cat 4 rider across the line.

This may have been a mistake, because I lost my position at the front as we rolled down the final hill, across the lake and into the uphill sprint. I was so focused on positioning with respect to these Cat 4 riders, that I didn't realize that the racers passing me (though not technically racing against me) would later be obstacles as I climbed the final sprint.

The race came down to position at the bottom of the hill for the 36 riders in this group. Though I had lots of power left, most of it went unspent, as I was navigating my way around those ahead of me that weren't accelarating at the same rate. This isn't an excuse, actually it is what I love about racing bikes. It isn't just fitness, strength, intelligence, tactics, experience, wisdom, endurace, post-race massages, shaven legs, saddle sore maintenance, etc.... it is all these things combined. So I wasn't where I needed to be on the final sprint, my fault... lesson learned.

Midway up the hill I saw team mate Bill Ford. He seemed to be in perfect position for a great finish. I later learned that his chain broke just seconds later, so he had to walk across the line. Even with that he ended up 40th out of 124 and 6th out of 10 Master 40+ racers. Great job.

I ended up taking an outside line, on the far side from the judge. This meant I had to travel extra distance, but it was the only line available, as everyone was agressively charging up the hill. I barreled across the line, knowing that at least 2 cat 4 riders were ahead of me (it ended up being 4).

I came in 5th out of 26 Cat 4 riders, and 17th overall. This is a good result for me, at least considering year's past. It was a blast to race with Cat 1,2 and Master 40/50+ riders. Good experience and confidence for the future.

Thanks to Greg Harper (who came in 2nd in the Master's 40+ race!, awesome) for driving and supporting racing in Muscatine.

Okay, now time to take a week off to recover... Yeah right, it is full-on in april and may, so time to turn it up a notch!

TV Time

Today I had Greg Harper come out the the TV studio here at the College where I work. I produce a weekly Access show called "Musca-T-Time" and thought it would be cool to spend one of the episodes talking about the Local BiCycle Racing Scene...
We talked about a wide range of subjects including: the 2008 racing team, types of racing, training, equipment, recreational rides, RAGBRAI, the Melon City Bike Club.

I am hoping to encourage more people to take up cycling so that it can potentially change their life in ways that has changed mine. Who knows, maybe the next great Tuesday Night World Champion was watching and will show up next week.

Crit Racing at Lake MacBride

To me, Kent Park feels like the unofficial start to the Iowa racing season. It is springtime, and a lot of the upcoming year's racers are in attendance. With that in mind, Sunday's race "The Long and Grinding Road" was positioned as a training race for Kent Park.

This caused a very competitive field, despite the bitter coldness, with 33 riders lining up. I imagine this race would have been even larger if the weather would have been more hospitable. The format of this race turned out to be much like a crit. Except the circuit was slightly longer than a mile and we were doing 2 hours + one lap (instead of 45 minutes). I calculated about 44 miles of total racing. Each lap had an uphill section, a downhill section and a mild headwind section. We ended up doing over 30 laps.

A lot of familiar faces were in attendance, with the exception of a team of three cat 1,2 riders from wisconsin wearing orange jerseys (Great Dane VC). No one knew exactly how to read them, so they ended up adding an excellent element of competition and strategizing to the race.

Because we ended up doing so many laps up the park's incline section, I would say the race favored the lighter rider who likes to attack on hills. As proof to the this I believe the top 5 riders were all under 150 (jim cochran, sean walker, james carrico...).

The wisconsin guys were organized and even had hand signals to communicate their tactics to each other (not to mention matching orange bikes). Jim Cochran ultimately escaped the group and built up a :50 second gap which held for the win. The Wisconsin guys were content to race for second, which they did successfully. We weren't really chasing Jim toward the end of the race. I believe because it seemed like the three guys from GDVC were technically 'obligated' to take on this task.

About one hour into the race is when riders who were still in the main group started to pop. There was a group of around ten, however that held together, despite some pretty quick laps from time to time. There was never a definitive effort to catch the leader, or make another break, but each lap was tense, not knowing if the 'hammer' was going to come down prior to the bell lap.

I was at the front portion of the lead group most of the second half of the race. I just felt comfortable with a certain tempo, and didn't want to be too far back if someone attacked. I dosed out my efforts, focusing more on 'holding back' then 'keeping up'. This is a good sign of fitness for me, because I know last year at this time, I would have been hanging on for dear life.

In the race for second, Sean Walker (and two of the orange Wisconsin guys) attacked hard on the last stretch of the final lap which is an uphill finish. My legs completely popped as I tried to match this acceleration... however, I didn't get passed, though I was basically standing still, because the last lap had spread everyone out, and I had a good gap between the next placed rider. I finished 6th overall, or 2nd out of 11 Cat 4 riders.

I had a lot of momentum at the start of the 2007 season... but some personal issues threw me off track in March and April. I came out of the funk strong, however and began winning cat 4 races mid-summer and into the cyclocross season. So, I am on sort of a mission, picking up where I left off last year at this time.

There are going to be a lot of great races this year, and the skies are only going to get clearer from here! I can't wait to put my baclava (?) up for the season. Man it is hard to look cool wearing a ski mask. If you want to see how cold it was and/or how dorky I looked, there are some pics by Shane Oswald here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/iowa_cycling/

Perfect Pushups

Ok, I know, something just doesn't look quite right with this picture... I mean why am I wearing a helmet to do push-ups? Regardless, I have decided to start an upper body routine patterned off of these push-up gadgets. I recall reading an article where Lance Armstrong was speaking about some of the perks of retirement. He mentioned that he could finally do push-ups. You see, when he was a pro cyclist, having a built upper body really only meant extra weight to carry up the hills of the Tour de France.

Hmmm, I think I can handle a little extra weight, especially in the form of muscle. Though, I did enjoy using this 'dead weight' idea to justify why my free weights gathered dust all summer. The main inspiration though, is the fact that I am involved with the new MUSCATINE MULTISPORT club. And, the gear we are getting is sleeveless, so having a bird chest and pencil arms would be hard to conceal. Below are the templates of the skinsuit I ordered.

I did the navy seal routine sunday, and my triceps and chest are still too sore to workout again. I guess it was a good thing I started acknowledging my upper body. Now, don't look for 'big guns' to emerge from my tri-suit this summer. I am going to do the bare minimum for upper body. After training rides I really just don't feel like pushing myself up and down for multiple sets of 20.

Prairie Rude Days - 2008 Season finally starts

I had trouble sleeping before this one... but as I was tossing and turning I realized where this race's name comes from... Paris Rouibaix. Hmm, funny. Normally this race is run through the sidewalks of the High School campus in Cedar Rapids, but their was too much sand and grit, so we instead did a 5 lap circuit out on the county roads.

If I would have known this the night before, I would have fallen right asleep, because this race format was much less technical and didn't feature the mass sprint at the beginning.

After the first lap I remember thinking, "huh, there isn't really any place to make a break, except maybe on one of the four corners". Then on the very next lap, a very subtle acceleration on an uphill stretch caused a gap. Me, Tracy Thompson and Benjamin Lewise were in this break. Tracy immediately assumed the role of 'coach tater' and gave us suggestions regarding speed. The rest of the race we basically pace lined until the final stretch.

Tracy's first action was to verify that we were each in a different category, in that way, we technically weren't competing against each other. Benjamin informed us that this was his first race. Naturally, my ego kicked in, and I decided I wasn't going to come in third. So, that left 1st overall or second place overall, either of which I was going to be happy with.

I ended up second overall and 1st out of the 6 Category 4 entrants. So technically I won the race that I entered, so the new Harper's Cycling Jerseys have debuted in winning fashion.

I elected to take the plate of chocolate rice krispie treats as my trophy. I completely ate the entire plate by nights end. My gut was stuffed, but this was still better than last year's routine, which would have been to take the 12-pack of Michelob Ultra and finish that off. Though, I suppose the calorie content would be about the same, with the beer, I wouldn't have felt like going to the St. Patrick's day group ride on Sunday...

About that ride...I am not going to comment much about group rides on this blog, but in general, Muscatine has a great line up of cyclists who tear it up on group rides all season long. Without these hard training rides, I wouldn't be able to compete in the regional races. Considering how sparsely populated the greater Muscatine area is, it is fortunate to still have good local competition.

Sunday rides are supposed to be 'easy rides' but we always end up sprinting. We went over to Illinois and had a nice ride. The weather is still cold, so I put on about 10 pounds worth of gear, and felt warm and toasty. It is very hard to go out in cold weather without the morale support of a group, so I am always thrilled to be logging miles when the wind chill is below 40 degrees.