THE Espoir (and Junior) Team Website

2007-05-23T19:15:00.001-07:00

Wow, so it has been a really long time and all of you I am sure are no longer checking this site. I just have a hard time writing on this thing. I am really not the tell everyone my feelings and my life type of guy but I will keep you posted on a few things. First off, I am now officially graduated from Highschool which is just a crazy feeling. I feel like now my life starts and everything else was just practice. I have not been doing as much riding as I would like (or should i guess is more appropriate) and have been enjoying life after Highschool a little too much perhaps. I did the Santa Fe Century on Sunday and it was a pretty good time. The century crowd is defianately a different group of people than i would ever see on the racing circuit. I did the whole thing in my big ring just for fun and it wasnt all that bad except for Heartbreak Hill. A 53-23 was a bit stiff for that climb, but i made it. I got a new car (well new for me at least) for graduation and have already managed to mangle the rear trailer harness doing a little four wheeling. Some dumb ass rider took me and Scotterbot out last night when we were warming up for the Crit. As bad of road rash as i have, i am lucky compared to Scott, who evidently is nursing some serious damage to his hip. My hope goes to Scott getting better as soon as possible, and Scott, if you are reading this, like i said earlier, you have enough miles under your belt so dont rush to get back on the bike. Scott is a tough guy so lets hope for the best. Basically all my other time has been either working, sleeping, or hanging out with my girlfriend. Thats it for now, i am sorta getting tired of writing.
B

2007-05-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

ROTC State Championships

2007-05-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

While I am sure all of you would prefer a Podcast, you’re going to have to read the report on this weekend’s Cloudcroft beatdown. Unfortunately I spent Tuesday night cleaning and prepping the amazing KHS XC904 Team so I could not race it in the Fat Tire Series.

So now to the action: I drove down with my parents on Saturday morning pulling “The Rig” (yes, my parents are officially old enough to have one). For those of you not blessed enough to know what “The Rig” is, it’s a 2007 Toyota Tundra pulling an 18 foot Fun Finder camper. We got in beautiful Cloudcroft a little after noon and settled into a campsite approximately 14 inches away from a part of the course. I took the bike out for a course pre-ride, and seeing as how the course was a loop, I stopped over by the start finish line and picked up my packet and number. I tucked all the goods into my jersey and rode back to the camper just before afternoon storms hit. I was a bit nervous as to the condition of the course with the storms, but I remained optimistic, knowing the KHS would get me through regardless of weather conditions. The afternoon showers ended and the sun came up, the perfect combination for a smooth non-dusty course.

The following morning I slept in late (the race didn’t start until 10) and then we rolled on over to the start line. We got there right about 8:30 and within a minute of pulling in the rain came. It wasn’t that nice “look how pretty the rain is” kind of rain, it was more the “Honestly if this comes down any harder I am getting in the car and driving home” kind of rain. It rained steady up until race time. Because the conditions of this course get so bad in the rain, they cut the lap count from three to two.

I busted out my always comfortable Voler clothing and lined up in the front row. After an incredibly hard start I was able to settle in and almost clear the first slick uphill. I got back on the bike, and by the time I reached camp the sun was out and I pulled the rain jacket off and threw it. A short section of dirt road allowed me to recover for the long scary descent that was to come. The descent itself is not all that techy, but the shear speed that it is ridden makes it a bit gnarly. About a half mile from the end of the descent I passed Damian, who had flatted on a berm jump. For the first time in my life I was in front of the guy and sitting in third place overall. I pulled my head together for the scary banked corners at the bottom and tried to keep it as smooth as possible. As I approached the last corner my confidence was up and I didn’t hit the brakes. I rolled into the corner at about 32 miles an hour (keep in mind the course is glazed over with mud) and heard the distinct sound of my tire burping air, followed immediately by the popping of tire bead off rim bead, and then followed by a sliding of my forebrain across a muddy ground. I pulled myself up and tried to ignore the cameraman who had so conveniently just got a picture of me piling it into the ground and pulled my spare tube and Seal-N-Flate off my seat post. Much to my dismay the rim was packed with a thick layer of mud that I had to remove before I could get the tire back on. I put the tube in, politely told the cameraman to please not take anymore pictures and tried to inflate. The mud had plugged the canister and I only got about 6 PSI out of it, so that’s when I started freaking out. I had just saw the last man in my class pass me, and Damian was coming around the corner. Using my crazy cross skills I picked the bike up and ran it to the bottom to get some more air. After about 5 minutes of trying to get a Schrader valve pump to put air into a presta valve, I gave up and ran up the trail a bit to find the adapter from my air canister. I used el hand pumpo pequeno to inflate the tire up to riding pressure and got back on the bike and started the climb. I went probably harder than I should have up the hill, but as my good buddy Skinnyfast always says “you can’t win if you are afraid to lose”, well, that and the fact that I was already losing. By the top of the climb I had moved up to third in my class. I hammered the single-track, and despite the thick mud the bike still rode as smooth as butter. I caught my last guy as we rolled through the start- finish line to start the final lap. I had made up about 7 minutes in lost time and now all I had to do was keep it.

Since this is way too long, I will spare you all the heartache and just say that I came out with the Big W.

As always I would like to thank the sponsors that made this all possible: KHS bicycles (which are just incredible bikes), Rudy project (for keeping the mud out of my eyes and the rock out of my head), Clif nutrition (for keeping the motor running), and The Bike Coop (for hooking me up with Chamois butter for protecting my tender backside).

2007-04-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

Wow, so yeah its been a super long time since i updated. Anyway the last post was obviously senior prom, i look like a dork in a tux, but my girl looked beautiful as always. I look sorta toasted in some of the pics because i had the SYDC that morning. Talk about a killer ride. Took me 7 and a half hours to ride the 82 miles all on a mountainbike. Thats a long ride. I must admit that after the ride i was super mad and was like all pissed at matt (for no good reason i might add) because he said it was 70 miles and it ended up being 82. Once i got some food in my i thought back on it and was like "wow, that was a killer ride, i can't believe i just did that, im glad Matt did that". So matt, since i know you will read this, there was like a half hour period there where i really really hated you, and then, i really liked you all over again. Anyway it was an interesting experience for me. its amazing what your body does when you deplete it to that extent. I have always been fit, but thats a different kind of fit. For the first 2 hours i felt great, the third wasnt bad and the fourth was absolutely brutal. Then, something that never has happened before, my pain receptors actually turned off. No pain, no thoughts, i pinched myself and couldn't even feel it. i must say that is slightly scary feeling, but enjoyable. Then, an hour later they turned back on and thats when i got ugly. I hallucinated a couple times, saw a black ford explorer right in front of me. problem was, the other two guys said it wasnt there. i swear i ould have reached out and touched it. I saw a wild horse, but then when i got near it it was a rabit, seriously seriously crazy stuff going on in my brain. When i got to the last stretch of pavement all my pain went away and i felt like i could ride another 80 miles. Its really amazing what your body can do to itself. i have a whole new respect for guys like tinker and matt.

Thats it.

2007-03-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

2007-03-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

So again, i guess there is really not much happening. I have been busy getting some good base in this year and today hit the 30 hour/ 500 mile mark. I will probably start my first build period when i hit 700 miles so it should be about a week and a half at the rate i am going. I got in a good 8.5 hours this weekend by doing a 5.5 hour ride with Mike and Dan at white mesa and red mesa. About an hour from the end i fell and hit a rock with my hand and severely damaged the tendon. Just today i got full mobility back, but it still really hurts to move it. I have been off the mountainbike since, but have been doing base on the road bike. 2 hours 20 minutes yesterday and 2hours 7 minutes today. I will probably ride a short bit tomorrow and take friday off in preparation for the SYDC on Saturday. Its going to be a busy weekend. I have the SYDC starting at 0630 on Saturday morning, then as soon as i finish that i have to come home and get ready for prom. Prom festivities will start about 1700 and go until probably 0100 or 0200 Sunday morning, unless they go better than planned in which case it might be more like 0300 or 0400. Then it will be off to bed for a couple hours and up to hopefully get in a 3 hour road ride. After that i have to go to the NAU freshman orientation they are having at the Marriot in town. Hopefully sunday night i will be able to catch up on sleep. To top it off i have to have 34 lines of Hamlet memorized by Tuesday.

I should probably go to sleep now and load up. Thats it for now.
Later

2007-03-07T08:02:00.000-08:00

So the weekend races happened and about all I can say is that i was not recovered from my sickness quite well enough. In addition i am fat and out of shape and the combination of the 3 made for a really bad weekend on the bike. I rolled something like a 30:23 in the time trial which is well...something like 5 minutes slower than my man Scott rolled. We skipped the team trial which i have to say i was happy with because i wasn't going to do it anyway and i didnt want to look like a wus. The crits on Sunday started and it took my body 5 minutes to realize i was supposed to be riding, by then i was dropped out of both of them and just rolled around with my head crooked and drool coming out of my mouth. It has become very clear to me after this last weekend that i can't get by just riding once a week. Anyway i guess that is it, nothing really new happening.

I'm out.

2007-03-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

SO... I was supposed to be running tomorrow, but since i am making the move from the spinting team to the distance team, the coach won't let me run until i have run a time trial for him. Since I have only run with the distance guys twice he doesn't think that it is possible for me to have the endurance necessary for the 2 mile. I guess a 24th at nationals doesnt do that much for you. I have been sick the last couple days so i haven't run since tuesday, all in a desperate attempt to be ready for the 4 races i will be doing this weekend. Hopefully a TTT and an ITT tomorrow and a 3,4 crit and 1,2,3 crit on SUnday.

Tomorrow will be the first ride since last Sunday. Is that bad? I'm not sure, but i will tell you one thing that is bad... dumping your girlfriend and then trying to take her best friend to prom. In case you didnt know, it doesnt work, but feel free to try for yourself.

2007-02-17T20:50:00.000-08:00

Wow, so as Matt Shriver would say, "i have been off the back in updating my website lately". Anyway, alot has been going on and i haven't found much time to update my blog. Track has been killing me so i havent been doing much riding. This week before today i had done a total of maybe 3 hours, all on the rollers. Thats sad, especially since i probably ran for about 8 this week. The only time that i can catch up on miles lost is on the weekends so i generally plan on about 4 hours both Saturday and Sunday. My first track meet is only two weeks away and my first bike race is the day after that so i have alot coming up in the very near future. With track and riding i havent found any time to get in the gym, but i have been lifting pretty much daily in the ROTC room at school. My weight is starting to steady in at a pretty reasonable place of about 156 pounds and my BMI is about 7 so i guess that aspect of my fitness is pretty good. I got up 160 on the bench press yesterday which is a far cry from the 175 i have been hoping for, but hopefully i will get there soon enough.

Today i went out with THE NUTS and SKINNY on the trusty KHS FLITES for about 2.5 hours. I wasnt happy with that so i tacked on an extra hour to bring the grand total ride time to 3 hours and 40 minutes with exactly 60 miles. Had to run by my girlfriend's house in the last hour because i ran out of food and water and was very near death, but somehow i made it home with a respectable ride in a respectable time. I threw in a bit of dirt road off of Alameda on the way home and i must say, i am more and more impressed with my FLITE TEAM on every ride. Did i mention i got the brand new 2007 KHS XCTEAM mountainbike? you want to talk about a sick bike...thats the one. If you are looking for a good 4 inch travel cross country bike that is smooth as butta and stiff as a frozen corn cob i suggest you get your butt over to the BIKE COOP and have them order you up one.

Not much time until graduation.
B

2007-02-03T16:07:00.000-08:00

2007-02-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

Some images for your viewing pleasure. See if you can figure out what is going on.

2007-01-31T20:13:00.000-08:00

No School Today... gotta love sophomore testing. I went out last night becasuse i didn't have school today and had a really good time. Today i was supposed to work but unfortunately Sandy is sick and was unable to pick up the necessary supplies. I was going to do a nice road ride today for about three hours but since the weather was bad i ended up just staying in and doing 1.5 hours on the stationary devices consisting of an hour on the rollers and a half hour on the trainer. Got the Cateye computer hooked up and it is definately awesome. The cadence is a good training tool for me because just before i crack i start pushing some massive gears. After that i went out and just rode my dad's bike around because its got flat pedals. I did some trials moves and goofed off since now i can manual and bunny-hop with platforms. I dropped 8 pounds in the last 4 days and while most would say that is good i am sort of pissed about it. I have spent the last 3 months trying to put that weight on. I am up to about 10,000 calories a day to try to avoid losing anymore and i have been running and riding nearly everyday. In addition i do atleast something to work the arms so hopefully that weight will be coming back up.

Thats it for now i guess, i probably wont be updating for a few days since i have track and a ride tomorrow and a party friday... and dont forget the ride with the Navigators on Saturday. And oh yeah, a ride on the new mountainbike Sunday. Look for a new update by monday, hopefully with some pictures so i dont kill all of my readers with my poor grammar and boring writing.

Out
B

2007-01-29T20:11:00.000-08:00

Some big news going down with me lately. Track is finally to the point where it is not hurting and i actually enjoy showing up everyday after school. Riding i hae to say is actually taking a bcak seat to that right now, though i did manage to get in a good 9 hours this weekend on the trusty Flite for some nice base build. Hit practice after school today after some unnecessary girl drama and did a half hour of core work followed by 15 minutes of sprint start workouts followed by 4 300s at 80% effort and 1 300 at 95% effort. Hit work after that and worked for 2.5 hours. Gotta say i love the added perks of working for a couple of cyclists, today, the bonus was a Cateye Double Wireless cycling computer with cadence. I will be putting that to good use. Exactly 5 days from today I will be heading out with the Navigators Pro squad...Be prepared to hear about the Skinnyfast Jr, throwdown that will take place, its going to be huge (keep in mind by throwdown i am talking about eating, and yes i will probably be throwing down some food at the AYCE Buffet after the ride). In ten days i will be riding 105 miles with the Cycling Center Begian U23's, hoping by some miracle thzt i last the whole way and can actually get recognized as a bike racer.

Thats it for now.
PS Skinny- J let me know today that the new mountainbike is in so look for a ride happening on Sunday.

2007-01-24T20:34:00.000-08:00

Well, there hasnt really been all that much riding going on here lately. Track pre-season started on Tuesday and I am already sore. I was a bit shocked when we ran 6 100s on the very first day, but found that I actually have better fitness than everyone there, I'm just not fast. Somehow I didnt find out that preseason was only for sprinters until after the 6 100s, so as of now i am a sprinter which is fine by me. Personally i would rather be a sprinter than a distance runner, but the hope is that the sprinting will jump start my running muscles because i know i can run for a long time. After 2 weeks of preseason the real season starts so we will have to see if i have any speed by then. If nothing else, i will be in top running form for the running leg of the Mt. taylor quad that i am doing with Hawk, skinny, and crashy. If all goes as planned and crashy wrecks less on snowshoes than he does on a bike we should be a force to be reckoned with.

After practice yesterday i rode for about 35 minutes on the rollers while watching GW as he explained that he has done nothing wrong. Its hard to believe but i have actually gotten pretty good on those things. i only fell off once the whole time and it was because i was trying to do the no-hander. No ride today as i was worked after practice and had the trail usage meeting. Tommorrow is lifting day, and hopefully a short little trainer ride while watching Saw 3.

2007-01-23T20:06:00.000-08:00

Do you like to ride mountainbikes in the state of New Mexico? Do you like it when a motorbike or ATV runs you off the trail? Do you think single track trails should stay singletrack?

If you answered yes to #1, no to #2, and yes to #3 then there is absolutely no reason to not be at the meeting to discuss trail usage tommorrow night at the UNM continuing education conference center from 6-9. Mountainbikers will probably be the most underrepresented group there so show up and support the sport you love. If you need another reason to come...I am going to be there.

See you all there.
B

2007-01-18T20:54:00.000-08:00

Im always on my pivot for my digits, you dig it...

So anyway, not alot happening in my life right now. I am finding it extremely hard to find motivation to anything at school. Every time i try to sit down and get stuff done all i can think about is graduation in May. After that, a quick, or long, trip out to The Creek to see all my old friends graduate, and probably some pretty intense "Holy Shit Bill's back" parties. At least I've heard thats what is going to be happening. Not sure about the info for Tour of Ohio yet, but I may try to work it so i stay and chill for a couple weeks and then hit the Tour. I was informed by my parents that i needed to get a "real job" over the summer, I am guessing they want me to work like 30 hours a week. So, i figure a month in Ohio is maybe not out of the question. Here's to hoping.

And now... for something bike related...

I went out for about two hours after school today and felt incredible. I did some foothills fingers including that long one east of Montgomery. Would have been longer, but i got quite frigid.
Laters
B

2007-01-16T20:12:00.000-08:00

Fothills trails + iced over snow tracks = slow riding with lots of bumps

The foothills aren't quite in riding shape yet. The North sides of every hill are a mess, and the footprints in the snow defianately don't help. The snow was hard today so i could ride on top of it, but plan on a sloppy mess if you go out there on a warmer day. Overall i don't necessarily reccomend it, but if you have to get your foothills fix, go for it.

2007-01-11T21:02:00.000-08:00

OKAY, SO AFTER READING MY LAST POST I CAUGHT A HINT OF AMBIGUITY IN IT. REALIZE THAT I AM NOT TRYING TO GET UP TO 175 (THAT WOULD BE RIDICULOUS AS I CURRENTLY WIEGH A HEFTY 157), I AM TRYING TO GET UP 175. THE LAST TIME I MAXED ON BENCH WAS ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO AND I GOT UP 150. THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE AND FIGURE 175 SHOULD BE A MORE REASONABLE WEIGHT. I HAVE TO SET SMALL GOALS FIRST RIGHT?

ANOTHER HARD LIFTING WORKOUT TODAY. 3 SETS OF 4 REPS ON EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: BENCH PRESS 125LBS, LEG PRESS 270LBS, DUMBELL PRESS 110LBS. THEN FINISHED IT OFF WITH 2 SETS OF 10 REPS OF STRAIGHT BAR CURLS 50LBS. THATS ALL I GOT. HOPEFULLY I WILL RECOVER ENOUGH FOR THE SATURDAY MAX SESSION. ANYBODY WANT TO SPOT ME?

2007-01-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

I suppose theres not much happening around New Messico for me today. Woke up sore from the hard workout i did after my doctors appointment yesterday. I decided to hit the Base Gym for the first time yesterday and must say i was quite impressed. The place had two cardio rooms, two weight rooms, two basketball courts, a pool, a sauna, and some huge, very masculine stinky locker rooms. I have never felt so scrawny in my life as i did in the "military" gym. I started out pretty light to get warmed up and was just doing the dumbell press with a 45 in each hand. i thought i was doing pretty well until some huge marine starting pressing 270, which means he was doing a full 40 pounds more than i was doing in a single hand. When i had had enough of that humiliation I went into the other weight room to work the legs a bit. I figured i could make up for my weakness in this aspect so i went to the leg press machine and put on 400. Now realize that putting 4 100 pound weights on a bar 3 feet above the ground is hard for the average cyclist. By the time i had managed to clank all 4 weights up there everyone in the place was already confused as to why i was having such a hard time. I did 4 sets of 5 reps and was going to take my weight off when a Navy guy (judging from his t-shirt) said "hold up, just leave those on there". He then proceeded to put 2 more 100s on each side and then do 4 sets of something like 12 reps. Shouldnt all these guys be defending our country instead of showing skinny guys up in the gym?

I'll hit the gym again tomorrow after work, and then again on Saturday. The plan is to get up 175 by the end of the week. I'll let you know how it goes. I really just want to be able to press more than those guys can in one hand.

2007-01-08T20:35:00.000-08:00

SO yeah, its been a while. Life happens and i get busy. Anyway, let me try my best to update all of you on what has been happening. I believe i left off with State Cyclocross Championships so i will pick it up right after that.

The Wednesday after states i flew out to Providence for u23 nationals. Got there late on Wed. and found the house no problem. Ms. Ryan (she tells me to call her Colleen, but its hard since i am her guest) was more than friendly and put me up on her sons couch. Thursday morning J and i woke up relatively early and went for an absolutely gorgeous ride (and not gorgeous for New Mexico, actually GORGEOUS). SO we hit the double d for a quick bite and then worked on mounts and dismounts on the college baseball field. We rolled on back to the house, wrote some updates on the web and then i went kayaking. The amazing thing was that i was actually able to kayak on water, a phenomenon that rarely happens in the brown state, (no the Rio Grande is not water)

Friday we got up early to ride the course and pick up the Freeman's on the way and totally got lost. Ended up going from Norton the Providence via I-90 (look at a map). Needless to say we got there an hour late and missed the course preride. We caught the next one and chilled at the course all day until J had to race in the 35 masters race. He did well and didnt get lapped and New Mexico's own Patrick Morrissey got 9th. Went home, ate, and hit the sack. Got up early on Satuday and actually rode the course this time. I crashed in practice, but did no major damage and the crash was actually sort of planned as it helped me find the point that i could take this particular corner. Clarrissa raced pretty early in the morning and got 5th. Mechanical problems kept her out of the medals, but still, a great ride from an up and coming junior. At 1 pm i rolled to the start of the u23 race and lined up about 4 rows back. The front row was filled with people like Jesse Anthony, Chance Noble, Jamie Driscoll, Bjorn Selander, i dont want to miss anyone, but you get the idea. So by the time they said go i was freaked out and was wondering what i was doing lined up behind such good riders. I will make this short. I got 24th out of a field of about 55 starting 25th. Overall can't be too mad. I gave it everything i had and just couldnt outsprint the sonic u23 guy at the end. maybe just because he has been training with Matt Shriver.

Sunday was a more exciting day with Clarissa going off at 8:30 with the womens b race. A broken chain on the first lap destroyed herr chances of a top finish, but she did claw her way back as best she could. I went off an hour afterr that with the U35 B race. I started back in 150th and finished 28th out of a field of about 180. Mountain bike skills payed off as i was able to keep my bike upright in the first lap carnage. I passed about 50 people in a single move, hows that for badass. So overall a fun and productive nationals trip. New Mexico had one 9th, one 5th, one 2nd, and some other great finishes.

Sorry for the terrible grammar. If i dont right these things quick i tend to cut them very very short.

WIth a little Slow Motion by Third Eye Blind, I am tuning out.

2006-12-10T20:17:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the down time. lately i just havent felt like writing a blog. So today was New Mexico State Cyclocross Championships and things went great. The course was phenomenal, which i would hope since i woke up at 4:30 to set it up, the turnout was good and we even had a catering company provide food to add to the festivities. In addition after the race we had not one but two tailgate parties in which people were able to drink beer/beverage of choice and chit chat about cross and what a crazy success it was this year. Hopefully whoever takes it over next year can continue the tradition.

This was my last race before i roll out of town Wednesday for nationals in Providence. After struggling for 20 minutes, i got warmed up and managed to stay pretty smooth and fluid. The good news i guess is that my fitness has come so far in one season that i started out as a mediocre racer who never needed a warmup to an elite racer who needs a long warmup. Its funny how the more fit you are the longer warmup you need. The training has come around perfectly and it appears that i will be at my peak on the day of nationals- how's that for planning? I managed to roll to a ninth place finish today in the elite race, so thats not bad. Taylor Lane nearly lapped the field again, which is good for him but bad for me as i will be racing him at Nationals. I am leaving Albuquerque early on Wednesday for a few days to adjust to sea level before i have to race. If nothing else both J and I will be looking good as we are bringing some serious equipment with us. Along for the ride come 3 sweet KHS cross bikes, all identical, 2 sets of Spinergy deep carbon wheels, a set of Easton vista SL wheels and a set of box rim tubies for the really nasty stuff. With that we should have just about all the bases covered and the right tires for any condition. Look for Clarissa's name on the top of the list as she should have a good race. if nothing else, she will learn what nationals is like so she won't freak out next year when she hits in the big Kansas City. Thats it guys, I'll try to keep you posted.

src="http://us.video.aol.com/snag/?pmmsid=1434732&autoplay=0"
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2006-12-04T18:16:00.000-08:00

So pretty much this is a sweet music vid. Listen to that accent and that voice, crazy good. Plus the guiterest is pretty much a bad ass and the chick is pretty cute.

Not much here today other than waking up with a badly swolen ankle.
Laters

Skinnyfast Jr

2006-12-03T19:48:00.000-08:00

Not much happening with me this weekend other than the sweet team Christmas party and a nice race attempt today. I say attempt because i crashed really hard on the first lap and ripped a side of my body off. I got back up and did another lap, dropped a chain and ended up running nearly an entire lap. After a bike switch i rode another 2 laps and when i looked down and saw blood dripping down my leg and a big hole in my skin suit i called it quits. With a roll of Saran wrap and a jar of vaseline i was able to get it all wrapped up and treated, unfortunately it gave me the appearance of a giant used condom being held in place with tape. I guess that is all part of the game. The good news is that i didnt do any major damage to the sweet bike and i didnt break any bones.

Yesterday we had a team Christmas party at the Freeman's house which was just sweet. I ate way too much food but had a really good time. In addition we managed to talk Clarissa's mom into letting her go to nationals which means that we may at least get someone on the podium. I wanted to go rock climbing afterward, but Caleb bailed because he wanted to do well in the race today and Amanda's swim meet got out late so she couldnt go either. Thats it for now i guess. I am going to down a few thousand milligrams of Motrin and hit the sack.

The picture is from Durango.

2006-11-30T09:21:00.000-08:00

So after the two hour delay this morning classes are so short that our teachers say we can do whatever. Since my second period is in the comuter lab i figured i would take the time to catch up on some blogging. I am sitting in Architecture class trying to figure out how to extrude doors onto kitchen cabinets, which, in a program as lame as AutoCAD is actually quite hard. Plus, the computers are so slow that the 3D rotate command doesnt really work which makes formatting the UCS extremely hard. After the cabinets its time to extrude the toilets, and that i can handle. I mean, cabinets don't really need doors, but houses totally need toilets. On top of the AutoCAD problems I am already past deadline on a couple of engineering design problems in ProEngineer. i finally got the student version for it on my home computer, but for some reason it says i don't have to correct license even though i spent an hour trying to install it. if anyone can help with that problem please let me know. if i get it up and running at my house i can crank out the design problem on a fast computer and get it done sooner.

How can it be that on the coldest day of the year my car actually overheated? I am pretty sure the 12 degree temperatures up at my house last night froze the water/coolant mix and therefore, there was actually no coolant flow. Hopefully the 35 degree high temp today will be enough to thaw stuff out before i have to make the longer trip from school to work. Pulling over on I25 at the exit ramp to I40 is no fun (i know because i have done it...twice). Thats tht first overheating problem i have had in my car since i put the new radiator in about 6 months ago and thats why i think that it had to have something to do with the coolant freezing in the lines.

Thats it i guess. No ride today as i will get home after dark and really dont feel like going out in the cold.

Skinnyfast Jr.

2006-11-29T20:30:00.000-08:00

FaceBook.com Thats where the action is. Its free, and I promise i will give you some of my friends so you wont look like a loser if you join. Plus, then you get to be associated with me, and you know you want that. Anyway, thats where the big picture albums will be posted, so for example, if you want to see all the Homecoming 2006 pictures, you have to be my "friend".

I have officially run more miles this week than i have ridden. went for another run tonight and did 4 miles in about 25 minutes. Not great, but i am working on the 202 800, some work to do before track season in January but i will get there. I will not finish highschool having never played a varsity sport. track is the last chance for me. I have to work tommorrow after school so will probably just take my day off then and ride on friday with j-money at Hyder.
Thats it. I am busy IMing Peeps from the creek and finding a crash pad fo my trip back there this summer.
Lates
Skinnyfast Jr

2006-11-27T19:43:00.000-08:00

I have a problem... actually i have multiple problems, but that has absolutely nothing to do with this blog. I just needed something to start the post off with because it is really hard to get these things started. Now that it is started...

I pretty much had an uneventful day. I went to school and work after that, picked up the bike case that Sandy so generously lent me for Nationals, as well as a travel wind trainer and then came home and ate spaghetti. I went for about a 5 mile run in the dark, which i found extremely peaceful, and then came home and shaved my arms. yes, this is what my life has come to, i find enjoyment in the smallest things, like when you shave your legs and then put on a pair of cold pants. Or shave your arms and then put on underarmor. I guess life could be worse. I could have been with my friends when they all got MIPs on Saturday.

On a more training oriented note, my running form is really coming around, which is good for the start of track in January, and i am riding pretty strong right now. After this weekend's climb i realized i am lacking slightly in power, but overall still have descent climbing legs.

Just over two weeks until the most painful race of my life, will i be ready?

2006-11-26T16:54:00.000-08:00

So i just got back in town after my big Thanksgiving trip and am just eating some dinner and settling down. I got the actual stats for Mt. Graham: Starting eleveation was 3000 feet and finishing elevation was about 10,700. I passed through 7 different climate zones on the way to the top from Arizona Desert, to Alpine forest, to butt ass freezing. Did the climb in about 2.25 hours not including the 20 minutes i spent just getting there. The descent was just at an hour and i only almost died once when i hit a yellow line layed into a corner and my front tire slid out. Thankfully i was on the cross bike and by some miracle one of the side nobs grabbed and i stayed up. The cross bike gets a little scary at about 35 miles per hour, and just can't lay down as hard into corners because the bottom bracket is about a half inch higher than on the road machine. In adddition, at 35 miles an hour the front end gets so twitchy that some minor speed wobbles develop, probably just because the front end is higher. All-in-all it is still a great riding machine and is not so scary that i couldn't ride it, the geometry is just not meant for that type of long-term speed.

After the climb, i didn't ride again the rest of the weekend. On top of that i ate way too much food and gained a couple pounds. The off time did my brain good and i am ready to drop that weight in a couple days and hammer out some workouts.

That is it for now.
A fat Skinnyfast Jr. tuning out

2006-11-22T08:21:00.000-08:00

Since i am going out of town this weekend for Turkey Day, there may be no new posts for a little while. I may be able to pick up a wifi connection at an Arby's some where, but then again, it is vacation and i may just not want to have to think.

After school today i am rolling out of town, which should put is in Safford sometime around 8 oclock. That should give me plenty of time to get a bite to eat and get some good sleep in preparation for the big mountain climb tommorrow. I will hit Mt. Graham at first light tommorrow, and will hopefully be done by noon. Its something like 22 miles straight up, 15 on road and 7 on dirt and about 150% more elevation gain than Sandia. Should take like 2.5 or 3 hours up and then a nice, cold, scary descent with no gaurdrails and blind corners. Since i will be on my cross bike (spinning out my 34-11) the descent alone will take about an hour, assuming that i don't fly off a cliff somewhere (in which case the descent would actually be much quicker).

I will keep you posted as to my times, and how the whole thing went when i can.
Out

SF JR

2006-11-21T20:10:00.000-08:00

Not much happenin here today other than school and a ride with the team afterward. I went to school and took a ration of crap from the liberal kids in my first period class over the make- believe "protest" that we had to do. Unfortunately my grade was dependent on how well i answered the questions afterward so i couldn't just tell them to shut up and that it was all made up anyway. The end result was me trying to argue a point to a bunch of blabbering idiots who have no political views of there own and are simply reciting the ideas of there parents/ liberal news channel. I guess they just don't believe that the Pledge of Alliegence should be said in schools (which was the only point i was trying to argue). Anyway, after school Skinnyfast called me up and said he was doing a ride with Hawkinator and FSA and Jeff at Hyder park and wanted to know if i wanted to come. I called Jeff and FSA and they said that they were going to ride down there and Sharon would pick them up later. We met up in about 15 minutes, and after a few bike adjustments we rolled on down there. Got there a little late and Hawkinator had to leave, but Clarrisa and Skinny and i got in some good intervals. We chatted for a while about form and style. We discussed the previous races, like all good teams should do, and then Sharon picked us up and we rolled on home. On the way we had a good discussion about politics and the state of the country
Six slices of pizza later i am here in bed ready to turn out the lights.
Click

SF JR

2006-11-20T19:17:00.000-08:00

Just some action pics for your enjoyment

My Homecoming dates (and people say i got no skills)

The best junior squad in all the land (or New Mexico at least)

just a sick cross pic

(me carrying my new cross bike)

2006-11-20T18:17:00.000-08:00

So today something really cool happened. I got a D on my report card and was totally freaked as to what my dad would take away from me, or what he would say. in fact i was even thinking about all the places i could move to when i got kicked out of the house, but instead, my dad and i sat down and had a talk like rational men. I guess he has finally realized that i am an adult now and need to learn to live my own life. The talk essentially went something like this: "Bill this is totally unacceptable, so you need to tell me a plan for what you will do about it. This class is just like college, so don't expect to get homework in there. Study for the tests and work hard. Something may have to go, you have to decide where your priorities are." Thats it. An adult conversation with no threats and no juvenile, "i will take this this and this away from you", crazy. But, before any of you say it, yes i know a D is totally not cool. i did some thinking about my life this past weekend, and really established who i am as a person. I need to pull my mind back into the game and live my life as the person i am. Enough bad decisions. That grade is coming up- the goal is a B for this grading period. I will keep you posted.

SF JR

2006-11-19T17:39:00.000-08:00

wow so its been a really long time since the last post. In fact most of you have probably just stopped reading my posts. Anyway, a lot has happened since the random article i wrote about doping. I turned 18 so that is pretty exciting I guess except that 18 is one of those ages where you really can't do anything, but you still have to go to big boy prison when you really screw something up. Not that i am a drinker, but i find it extremely unfair that on the day of my 18th birthday i got my civil service card in which i had to essentially sign my life over to the government. I can now die in roadside attacks in Iraq, yet at the same time the US government won't give me all the freedoms of an adult. I know i am just whining, but still, it sucks.

On a lighter and more bike oriented note, i finally got my settlement check from the stupid lady that hit me in May. I guess i can't really complain with 4 grand, but don't think for a minute that it is an easy way to get a new bike. if we added up all the time we spent trying to get that check it would have worked out to about 20 bucks an hour, and i make half that at my job without having to deal with ignorant people. i used the settlement to pay for my new road bike (see pictures from a few blogs ago) and i bought a sweet team deal cross bike too, which has been my baby for the last month. Yesterday it managed to carry me to a 4th place finish in the A race which ain't bad. I am happy to have a result like that because it means that my Nationals form is slowly coming around. It better speed it up a little because i only have 6 weeks left. On my way to the 4th place finish i managed to beat crazy fast badass Taylor Lane, which is always a goal for me because when i am riding with him i know i am doing well. Unfortunately in today's race i wasn't so lucky as Taylor Lane not only beat me, but lapped me as well on his way to winning the A race. I found out last week that i will actually be racing Taylor at nationals because i am too old to do the junior elite race and they put me in the U23 race. I guess that is not a huge deal other than the fact that now will be racing to not get lapped instead of racing for a top 5 finish. I guess top 15 in a U23 field is better thatn top 5 in a junior race. I guess that is all the news for me right now. I will try to be better about posting, but that probably won't happen. In addition, i gave the username and password to my junior teammates so they can post stuff up here too. Hopefully we won't bore all of you to death. We will initial all our blogs so you know who is writing. Out

SF JR

2006-07-31T13:28:00.000-07:00

With all the recent doping scandals I feel it necessary to shed a little light on the subject. First off, realize that I am not trying to offend and only expressing views that I have come to believe to save myself from mental anguish associated with the destruction of a sport that I love. That being said, I feel that no one in the sport is truly clean. It comes down to where one will draw the line. If you are truly looking for a cyclist that competes completely naturally and is supplemented only by what is found naturally in food, and with levels that are naturally occurring, then you will continue to be disappointed and let down. On occasion I have used Endurox for recovery from hard races. Endurox is a substance created specifically to enhance athletic performance. Once, I even used SportLegs, a substance that tries to eliminate lactic acid buildup in the legs. Does this make me a doper? Not to the UCI, but perhaps to the true advocates of the sport. This brings me to Landis. While I am not saying that he did, or did not supplement testosterone into his body, I do think that he is on a certain substance, possibly UCI approved, that aids his ability to perform. Is Landis the only one? Absolutely not, as we have seen in recent weeks, but when is the UCI going to stop pulling riders we all love out of the sport we all participate in? If every rider in the pro peloton is taking a substance to help in his or her performance (regardless of whether it is legal or illegal) doesn’t that make all these victories by so called “dopers” legit? If you want a solution to the problem it’s this: make all substances legal. If that were the case our sport would be the cleanest it has ever been. If that were the case there could be no cheating. If that were the case perhaps we could all be perceived as athletes and not falsely accused of being cheats. These doping scandals are bad for the sport. The American public, and standard citizens in any country, can not truly understand how difficult this sport is. Each time the cycling ignorant press releases one of these stories it only serves to further diminish our athletic abilities to the public. The UCI thinks it is making this sport better by pulling dopers, (in reality we will eventually be left without heroes and without a pro peloton) but in doing so we will all be relegated to the back of people’s minds as cheaters.

2006-07-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

I decided to change the look of my blog....... something more suitable for my racing abilities (Plus, they didn't have a red one.) Anyway, check out the new link for everything you could want to know about New Mexico cyclocross.

2006-07-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

After a very easy week last week, i decided i needed to pick up some good miles this past weekend. Thursday i tried to go Mountainbiking and just was not feeling it. I ended the ride after about 20 minutes. I was having all kinds of trouble with my bike so i took it down to the shop to order a new bearing and bushing kit. After 3 years of hard riding and racing, i think my frame may be ready to give up the ghost. Unfortunately i can't break the thing in half and pick up a new one under warranty so it looks like i will have to just buy a new frame. I guess i can't complain too much though as it has won me plenty of races. Friday i tried out the rollers that Skinnyfast gave me, and what can i say, that was an experience. It was my first time on rollers and i didn't really think it could be that hard. I was after all and expert mountain biker and could hold a line on a road bike. I couldn't have been more wrong. Those things made me look like i was 6 year old getting off training wheels for the first time. I spent about 20 minutes combined total on them and called it a day. Saturday since my mountainbike was in the shop i decided to do a long road ride. I ended up going out with Skinnyfast and our newest teammate Clarrissa. Thats right, we now have a girl on our team. The craziest thing is though, she dropped me on a climb and she is 13 years old. Now i do have the excuse that i didn't want to shift out of my 53 and all i had on the back wa s a 23, but still, expect good things from her very soon. We rolled out the the August 1 roubaix course and did three laps of that and then just did a bike path loop. Total time was right at about 5 hours. Sunday i had to wake up at 4:30 and head out to Bernalillo for the KHSnm.com Junior/espoir time trial. We only had 30 riders, but we still managed to pay the bills. After that we played some basketball and headed back to J-moneys house for lunch. I got on the rollers Sunday night for about 20 minutes and actually got pretty good at it. I can now actually ride rollers one handed and jump off the side of them (although only about 10 percent of the time). Today i will have to do some long easy miles to get nice and warmed up for tommorrow's race. Last week i didn't have the legs, so i need to make sure i have them this week.

If anyone knows how i can get rid of unnecesary and irrelevant comments on my blog let me know. I really just don't want to know anything about urethra fun, or whatever those spam comments are about.

2006-07-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, Okay..... i know i have been boring all of you with my lack of blog postings (not that the ones i do write are exciting anyway) but i have better things to do. I am on season two of Alias and have 3 more seasons to watch before the end of summer. The blog postings take a seat behind that, and riding, and work and just life in general.

I got in some great riding this weekend on the beautiful and functional new KHS Flite 3000. Full carbon tubes lugged with aluminum and comes with an Alpha Q full carbon pro tour fork for less that 2000 MSRP what a deal. In total i got in about 7:30 of ride time this weekend. A warmup for Matt, but nonetheless a long weekend of riding for a 3 hour racer like myself. On Saturday it was out to Corrales in the rain with Monkeynuts and Skinnyfast Sr. Of course Monkeynuts and i rode down from tramway to meat up with Skinnyfast and then had to ride home so we got in about 1:30 more than the skinny vegan. Sunday it was out to check out Hawke's roubaix road course that will be raced on August first. With 1.5 of the 4.5 miles each lap being dirt, that should make both Skinnyfasts a serious threat. WHo is the team leader? That's for us to know and you to find out. Unfortunately the new bike got muddy for the first time and now will never ride quiete the same again. I knew it was inevitable but it still sucks to get sand in the chain and mud on the deraileurs. I cleaned it up las night, but noticed that the new external bearing bottom brackets do not seem very resistant to grit and grime. I took out the spindle and cleaned everything up, but it seems that there is actually grit inside the bearing cups. Oh well. i guess if they still spin it's all good. Thats it for now. My goal is to update my blog more fregquently that the team website is updated, so look for an entry once a week.

2006-06-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Finally. I got my new road bike stuff yesterday and was able to get the thing built up in about 4 hours. I didn't even have to make adjustments on the first ride today. It is definatley not going to be the bike slowing me down. Something like 6 of these bad boys exist in the country right now.

2006-06-16T16:54:00.000-07:00

ANOTHER REASON WHY I LOVE NEW MEXICO
So with the riduculous emails circulating through the racers list, sometimes i just like to mix stuff up a little. I probably don't agree with a lot of what i say, but it really is funny how worked up people get over stupid mindless crap. Let me show you:
This is the original message
Bikers,
Ok, here I am asking for help again, but this benefits all of us.
Both AZ and OK have signed new laws which decrease the legal passing distance of cars to 3 feet.
I have asked my sister, who is a state representative, to introduce a similar measure for NM.
If you have a moment, drop an e-mail to your favorite Senator or Representative and indicate your approval of such a measure for this State. Go to: http://www.nmia.com/nm.legislature-info.html if you don’t know your rep.
The OK bill was HB2926 and a version is available for viewing after a diligent search of their legislative web site. (Reg. session 2006, Author: Reynolds, floor version) I have a copy if you can’t find it.
Dave Porter
This is one i decided to agree with
In AZ it was a matter of making it a law that you had to give the rider 3 feet... Before that, you could buzz them without any issue.That said, it doesn't mean jack. I am routinely passed by people going 45 or 50 mph within 2' of me. It's nice lip-service, but that's all it is in my opinion.-Travis
this was my 2 cents
As Travis said, all this is just lip-service. If anyone here can honestly say to themselves wow, that law would make a difference and cyclists would get more respect on the roads, then by all means spend your time pursuing the issue. Me, well, I’m going for a ride because I know for a fact that laws mean nothing to the 98 percent of ignorant Americans who drive Hummers to the grocery store. We will continue to be the most hated people on the road and we will continue to be targeted by trucker bombs and hot cigarettes. No law will change that, especially since a law of this level will never even be known by the same 98 percent of ignorant Americans. The 2 percent of people that actually know about the law are cyclists, who have a conscience and don’t drive Hummers. So I ask, What is the point? It will make no difference. With my recent accident I have found the police do not care about anything without a motor. I mean really, why would they? Think of how hard it would be to carry a dozen donuts, eat a donut, and talk on the cell phone while riding a bike. We will continue to be left high and dry by citizens of this beautiful, lazy, wasteful country. Get used to it or buy a Hummer.
Bill Cowan
and now for the funny part................
the heat i received back
Bill,

Wow. I just recently subscribed to this list and I'm impressed at how entertaining it is. Thanks for sharing your opinion with everyone. I typically don't respond to e-mail like this, but I couldn't let this one slip by. I agree that this proposed law will most likely do nothing to make public roads safer for cyclists. I commute 180 miles per week here in Durango, so trust me . . . I have my share of idiot drivers to put up with . . .even in cycling friendly Durango.

That said, I have to take exception to your email being peppered with the phrase ignorant Americans. I'm pretty sure that this proposed law won't apply to non-Americans (though illegal aliens may be an exception), so why do you keep referring specifically to Americans? I get the feeling that you hate this country Bill. You also seem to stereotype law enforcement agents. While most of them that I have met aren't the kind of people I'd like to hang out with either, I believe they have a pretty difficult job, and to characterize them as all donut eating cyclist hating people . . .well . . . you should be embarrassed. Then again, I am not familiar with Albuquerque law enforcement practices either, so I may be speaking out of turn here. I do know that Durango has quite a few police on mountain bikes, so I have to think they could identify at least a little bit with us.

Bill, here's the deal . . . there are idiot people and idiot police the world over. The United States doesn't have a monopoly. Based on your comments, I'll do a little stereotyping myself. I'd say that you are a typical "open minded" free thinking liberal guy who is bitter most of the time about things like gas guzzling hummers and people who pass you too close. Sometimes its just bad driving Bill -- not malicious at all. Even if someone does pass you within an inch . . you can't do anything about it in most cases and no law will stop that type of behavior. It's just a fact of cycling life . . . get over it. It's just because they are idiots or poor drivers. .. Americans yes . . but mainly idiots.

It is true that MOST people don't care anything about laws because they don't have to. Their moral code (derived from religion, or like me -- just a personal code) allows them to obey the law without thinking about it. But . . .if you take your line of reasoning a bit further, that would mean that we shouldn't have ANY laws. Good idea?

You also characterize this as being a "lazy country". Ever been to Mexico City Bill? How about Lagos, Nigeria? Trust me that you'll have a whole new definition of what lazy is after visiting those places. To further drive my point home, when is the last time you used a piece of technology that wasn't at least partially developed by an American or an American company? MOST of the rest of the world clamors for American technology and culture. A great example is the bicycle industry. Twenty-five years ago American bikes were a joke, now we make the best stuff in the world. Was it all those "lazy" Americans at Specialized, Cannondale, Scott, Trek, etc. that made that happen? If there is a giant natural disaster in the world (think Tsunami), whose military helicopters are there first (or at all). That's right -- it's those lazy Americans dropping off the care packages. I think (or hope) you see my point Bill. Oh, and before you point out that those American bikes are all made in China, I'll postulate that you are also the first one to tout how great it is for companies to help developing nations and "native peoples". Chinese manufacturing of Trek frames or crap you can buy at Wal-Mart stimulates the world economy, and even the most die-hard liberal dude would have a difficult time arguing with that.

I've wasted enough time replying to you now, so I'll end it by suggesting you relax Bill. It'll all be okay. Hummer drivers aren't your enemy, not everyone in this country is wasteful. If this was such a bad place, it is strange how all these people from other countries are trying to get here, huh? Guys like you THINK they are making this country better. Guys like you actually make it worse. Think about what I've said, don't worry, have a great weekend, lighten up and enjoy the ride. It'll be okay.

No reply is necessary.
(name withheld just so you can't call him a dumbass to his face)

Ignorant Americans? Thank this guy for proving my point.

2006-06-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

okay, finally i am writing another blog. I have found that it is really not easy keeping up with these things. I was out of town all last week and find it hard to write at night now as i finally have a girlfriend (although i don't know how much longer that will last). Throw some riding in there and work 2 days a week and it leaves me with no time that is empty enough to write an online journal entry. Thankfully school is out now so i got a little extra time, but who am i fooling, i really just have better things to do with my time. Anyway...
After a week off the bike i hit the foothills on the trusty FS bike on Monday. After reading Matt's blog about the tram tower climb i decided i would go give it a try since my legs would be fresh (read stale). After about a 15 minute warmup i hit the climb and made it past the first wall, so i knew i could make it atleast to the last switchback. i tried my best to recover whenever possible and get ready for the wall at the end. Just like the last time i attempted this climb i fell over 30 yards form the tower. i rolled back down slightly disappointed and just did a foothills loop. ended up being about 1:45 time. After loosening up the legs on Monday i decided to do the crits on Tuesday. Jumped into the C race first got pushed into somebody right at the beginning and ended up shreading my bar tape and running over somebody that had fallen on the ground. I stayed up right thanks to the mountain biking skills. i did like 3 laps in the c's and then dropped out. Same thing with the b's minus the wreck at the beginning. After a rapid search for some race wheels for the A race i pulled together some mismatched wheels for two different people and lined up on the line with the big dogs. I ended up finishing with the pack in the A's, my best a race finish yet. I even spent some time on the front. of course that time on the fornt was not at the right time and i ended up hurting my teammates more than helping them, but i guess i just got to learn the ropes and maybe try to get on the same page as the rest of the team for next time. I should at least get into the same book. Hopefully i can make something happen for next week. thats it for now.

2006-06-02T07:24:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have those days when you just feel like launching off of everything in the trail?

2006-06-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

Since I am pretty lazy, for all th info check out my link for the Pro Team. All the info is there plus some pictures of how bike racers are supposed to look.

Since nothing is up about the crits here it goes: I did the b's and just sat in. I wasn't happy with sitting in for long though so i made a few attacks all of which got pulled back. I ended up finishing 9th. Could have been better if i just set in and waited for the sprint, but that would be a cat 4 move as i would just be racing for 4th. Plus, you can't win if you are afraid to lose. After the b's i jumped in the A's and just sat in for about 20 minutes. Finally i got kind of bored and i rolled up to skinnyfast and said "I am shot, what do you need me to do" he responded that i needed to go to the front and pull back the break of 4 guys that was twenty seconds off the front. I rolled up there and time trialed it for 2 laps (it felt like 4) and dropped the gap to within 10 seconds. one would think that at that time scitchmo Joe behind me would come around and close the gap and actually then be racing for 1st. i guess everyone would just rather watch the junior blow up and race for 5th. And i thought the A race would be different, thats just one more thing i love about New Mexico bike racing.

2006-05-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, so since I haven't posted anything in a while i figured it was time.
Where to begin. Lets just start with Gallup: After a relly slow week on the bike following my wreck i was a bit nervous to go out and race. thankfully for me, I had no other Junior competition. This in fact was a very good thing as i rode slower than SKinnyfast racing downhill on a cross bike with a gimp shoulder. For those that know the handling skills of the old Bill, you will know just how bad this is: I was riding like i was when i first met the DANimal. For those that don't know how bad that is let me explain. It is much like No Dirt Tony riding a road bike in the Bosque (skinnyfast, you know how bad that is). Anyway, i was riding terribly ended up finishing like tenth in the pro/expert overall and a full twenty minutes behind Damian. Needless to say I was happy to take the money and head on back to the shitbox, oh sorry i mean Albuquerque. I am getting ready for the 3 day 4 stage race in FLagstaff this weekend. There is an uphill prologue to start, so that should hopefully put me in the leaders jersey for the first road race, at which point i can drop out and call a weekend. those LaLuz power climbs should come in handy for the Prologue. it is my race for sure so we will see.

2006-05-10T18:47:00.000-07:00

One would think that a 150 pound teenager would be visible on the side of a road, unless he happened to be very skinny, obviously not the case with me, but nevertheless the lady that decided to park her car at high speeds on Alameda directly in front of me, claimed that she did not see me. One would also think that that same 150 pound teenager would at least leave a dent in her sidepanel when they barreled into it at fifteen miles per hour, again, not the case. If you haven't figured it out, i got hit by a car. Well, it wasn't so much that she hit me as that i hit her, but it was her fault. I am sure that she made the choice between the phone call she was currently making and nailing me, and incedently decided that discussing who bought the booze for her 14 year old daughters baby shower was much more important. Who am i to judge. that discussion could have been very important, she must have thought i was an ass because i was so intolerant of her family situation. I may be an insensitive ass, but i am an ass with an expensive 2 piece roadbike and a bruised kidney. I am just glad that she made the right choice and decided to buy the booze and ignore me. if her daughter did not have that then the baby shower would have been a total bust. She could have at least invited me.

Okay, so i know that i make no sense, i am just pissed because i got to see the inside of a carbon fiber fork, WHILE I WAS STILL RIDING IT. I am probably jumping to conclusions too quickly. The lady who hit me appeared to be only about 19 herself, so her daughter probably isn't 14 yet, she obviously had other things on her mind then the skinny tall dude in bright red that was right in front of her. There is a good part to the story however. The nurses at UNMH happen to be super hot. of course the IV in the arm for 4 hours doesn't feel great, and when the hot nurse has to put it in your arm 4 times that doesn't feel great either, but at least the scenery was good. i have to be positive about something. Oh yeah, i also got 4th in tour of the Gila

Pictures of the portable 2 piece road bike to follow

2006-05-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

On a more depressing and more serious note, I would like to send out my wishes to the family of Bill Mclain. While I did not know him personally as well as some bike racers did, i did get to know him at some of the roughest times ever, promoting bike races. Bill was instrumental in the KHSnm.com 'cross series and his lively attitude and love for bikes will truly be missed. He was however, as i knew him, a live life to the fullest kind of guy. While he will be missed in racing he definately wouldn't want us to skip riding our bikes. So for Bill, the next time you get on your bike, or pop open a cold one, send a little toast out. Bill left a little bit of himself in all of us, that little bit is the love of riding. Go out and ride fast and love what you do, because that is exactly what Bill Mclain would want all of us to do.

I send my deepest condolences to the family of Bill, and i hope that they will live life as he did, that would truly make the city of Albuquerque a little more beautiful.

2006-05-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

Amazing race coverage produced by skinnyfast in cooperation with The Rock. Follow car driving performed by The Rock. Racing completed by Skinnyfast Jr. Possibly more to follow with the details if everyone is interested if not i will put them up here anyway and you can just not read them. For the full scoop and more news about the real pro team, visit www.khsnm.com.

LIVE COVERAGE of the Cat4 Gila Monster; Junior Bill Cowan Looks To Take the Overallby: SkinnyFast, 2006-05-07
We want to welcome all our readers to the final day of the Tour of the Gila. Cyclingnews.com refused to cover the Cat 4 race live so we here at KHSnm.comnews.com decided to send our intrepid reporters down south. Our hero Junior Bill Cowan sits in 11th overall as we head into the last day. He has promised to attack early and often on the Sapillo climb in an attempt to gain the Pink Jersey of race leader. We caught up to him before the race as he was lining up the logos on his wheels and ask what the plan was. “I’ll sit in until the base of the final climb and then attack hard. I have to drop the race leader and get some time back so this is my last chance. I don’t want to go home in 11th.” According to his advisor/coach young Bill has what it takes. “We come down here in the winter specifically to ride these courses so he knows them well. He’s ready to go. We tried to get some time back yesterday in the crit but that didn’t quite pan out. He knows he has to attack so it should be explosive.”
8:45 AM – And its Game On here at the Tour of the Gila. The final day. The Gila Monster. First we would like to send our thoughts out to Bill McLain’s family. Bill is one of those guys that everybody will miss. Also out to Ryan Blickem (TargetTraining) for a quick and full recovery. We hope to see you up and about soon.
Well, our junior racer Bill Cowan sits in a position to win today if things go his way and it’s time to race!
8:55 – Bill sits on the front looking confident for the roll out thru town. He’ll be speeding down the road on a stock KHS Flite Team edition Frame and fork outfitted with Oval components and Shimano drivetrain. If you are following the Live Action from the Albuquerque area you can head over to the Bike Coop and talk to Greg about what KHS Bicycles can do for you. Keeping Bill upright and in flight will be some sweet rolling Kenda Criteriums mounted on a set of Spinergy SS Tiliums (spinergy.com).
9:05- The race is on and there are a couple NMVS riders going to the front. They now have a slight gap. This is tailwind so it probably doesn’t hurt that much to be up there out of traffic.
What does hurt is a bug in your eyeball so Bill will rely on a stylish set of Rudy Project Wizaards to keep his retinas intact. Don’t think you have to be scorching the competition at the hardest stage race in America to where the Rudys though. Barbeques in the back yard, sailing on the ocean, crashing surf at Tingley Beach are all great places to sport a set of Rudy Projects.
9:15 – Some teams seem intent to blow this race up and it is working. Dropped riders are coming at us fast and furious. If you want compliments to come at you fast and furious think about some Specialized Pro Carbon shoes . . . wait, they don’t sponsor us.
9:25 – The rollers continue to take their toll. Speaking of tolls, have you ever taken the NY State Thruway? Local rider/celebrity Bryson Sewell (5280) is in the Cat 2 race this year and appears to be on the Thruway to Hurtsville. Remember Bryson, It’s not whether you go to Hurtsville; it’s whether or not you catch the train out in the morning to Badassville. Hang tough young fella.
9:32 – Now the action is heating up. Several sorties off the front have strung out the field. We saw the Pro,1 race roll out and no joke when the neutral flag went down a TIAA-CREF rider just took off. 108 miles of that does not appeal to me.
9:34- This just over race radio: It’s hot out. Thanks.
9:36 the descent of the RR climb and the pace is brisk. There’s been an attack. No he’s brought back. Evidently sitting on the front wasn’t such a good idea; NMVS rider drooooooooooopped.
Something you never want to drop is your head on the pavement so Bill is sporting his team issue Rudy Project helmet (Rudyprojectusa.com). Comfortable, breezy, and it probably comes in a color that matches your uniform.
9:38 Rollers are taking their toll. One whole team off the back. HBBS? Local rider Dave Worth on the front setting a tough pace for his teammates. Bill is tucked in tight about 8th wheel. This is no joke today as probably 15 riders are packing it in already. You know what else isn’t a joke? Looking good. That’s why Bill is dressed out in Voler jersey and bibs today. The best uniform ever deserves the best materials.
9:42 Two riders off the front. One of them in about 20th on the GC. The way he’s rocking. It will be tough to hold out the day. The gap is about 30 seconds. #37 has flatted! He sits tied with Bill on GC. Teammates waiting from Ariel-Zia Velo. Chasing hard thru the caravan. . . . not yet . . . uphill . . . they are back on. Team work pays.
9:46 Pace tough on a hot day. Bill sits on the Race Leaders wheel. Good move since the dude is HUGE. This pace is hurting people but there’s a descent coming.
9:48 Lining out on the descent! There’s a gap. Riders in trouble at the back. Ariel-Zia moving up. It’s a freewheel. Everyone looks relieved. Nope, It’s an attack! 3 Riders with the gap! Field splitting. They are movin’ it.
9:51 Two up the road. Field starting to fragment on the next climb. It’s a cross wind here. The pace has backed off as the two race leaders come into view. #34 and 41 are starting to look a little knackered on their own.
9:54 My bad, solo rider of the front with two chasing, then the pack. Leader on the Feed Zone descent all tucked in about 45mph. #500 is our current leader then 34, 41 and then the pack.
9:58 Bill is safely down the descent in ninth wheel looking good. Race leader has about three minutes on the field. Goodluck with that. Well, we’re off to the feed zone. Speaking of feedzones if you get a chance try out Jasmines on Central down by Route 66 Diner. It’s choice.
10:56 – Bill has just come thru the feedzone. #500 is still of the front! By a couple minutes. He looked pretty worked but hanging on. There was a small loose group containing some contenders dangling 5 seconds up the road on the now greatly diminished group but not going anywhere. Race Leader was still there. OOOOOOOWWEEEEEE I can feel the excitement in the air! There is going to be a throwdown on the Sapillo! A throwdown I say!
11:06 – Craig and I are hauling ass back thru the valley. I’m kinda scared. We’ll be parking up at Pinos Altos for the finish and walking down the mountain as far as possible to see the action. 24 miles to go! 25 of it uphill.
We are now on the Sapillo run in. Everyone jockeying for position. It’s important to know where you are when you blow up.
And on to the lower slopes and they are MOVING! The first 17% switchback . . . and the race is blown up 30 seconds in! Crazy Cat rider to the front and off! It’s countered by Bill! Two more riders bridge then blow. Bill setting pace! He promised a showdown and he’s delivering.
A small surge and Bill backs off. Riding tempo
Crazy Cat up the road Bill riding second, NMVS rider bridged up. They come together. Where’s is the rest of the field?
The gap is opening. GC leader dragging a small group in chase. Bill looks solid. Another switchback. Ouch! The crazy cat goes again Bill can’t match it!
Crazy Cat up the road Bill surges to close. NMVS just went backwards on 10%. Wow that was insane!
Small group of climbers now forming. This has been incredible! The punch counter punch stops for a while. The GC leader is struggling to close. Can’t do it. Crazy Cat rider is away again. Bill looks around but gets no help so he ups the tempo to keep tabs on the move.
Bill is solo in chase . . . no, he has a rider with him. Bill drops him trying to chase up to the leader.
Coming to the short descent. This has been knockdown dragout. Bill attacks! The group behind with the GC leader can’t answer on a difficult section. Bill gasses it.
They’re dragging him back on the long downhill. Too much power in the GC leaders group.
Bill has been brought back. There is still the Crazy Cat rider up the road but his gap has flattened out at one minute.
Group of six chasing. The gap is down to 45 seconds.
Rolling hard thru the mountains. Bill takes a pull. Gap down to 38 seconds. Now 35. The race leader is pulling hard! Gap is at 30 sec
1K to go! Bill is third in line. He looks whooped but is fighting.
500 meters 18%grade and the riders are out of the saddle! This finish is brutal! 400 . . .300 . . . 200 . . . Bill goes for it! He attacks the group! They can’t go with it but one guy jumps the wheel . . . 100 . . .
It’s a bike throw on the line for the bonus seconds! Verhuel calls Bill as the winner of the group sprint, third overall on the day. 5 bonus seconds for Bill.
That race was everything it promised to be. Wow! Bill should be comfortably into 4th overall on the GC moving up from eleventh. What a ride! That was unbelievable! This kid is the real deal. He promised to attack and did.
That’s all from our live coverage. Thanks for joining us.

2006-05-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

Not a whole not new with me aas always. Following a day off the bike onFriday and a date Friday night (see bottom for details) my parents and i cruised on out the huge and largely populated Cloudcroft for my second High Altitude Classic. i figured weather couldn't be any worse so i was looking forward to actually racing on the course when it was dry. Saturday afternoon we arrived and checkied in to our cheap hotel, and then my Dad and i went out to preride the course. Now preriding with my dad is more of just starting at the same time with him and waiting at intersectons, but regardless it was fun. i got to see the fast descent on the back side adn rode all the fast stuff at about 70% of maximum effort. i realized just how fst the back side descent was when i hit forty doing only 70 percent of max. This is on a mountain bike trail (singletrack at that). After the preride we went ou to eat at Big Daddy's Diner, which happens to be the most popular resaraunt in town with a full 5 people. After that it was early to bed for me and some last minute race strategy planning.

For the 9am start it was a little chilly but i managed to race in a ss jersey with a base layer, and shorts. Like always, i was the best looking guy in the whole pro field with my KHSnm.com gear and my new FOO wool socks. I had a good start and took some risks on the first decent and actually settled into about 10th place in the pro field. half way around the first lap i caught Albuquerque's own Hawke Morgan and Casey (sorry no last name) on a climb and went around them. that put me in a solid 8th place overall. On the fast decent Hawke passed me again near the bottmo but then proceeded to blow up his tire right in front of me. I passed him and caught Santiago Chavez on the long dirt road climb after the descent. Santiago and i rode together for the rest of the race. The second and third laps were relatively uneventful as Santiago and i just rode together in 7th and 8th place. on the third lap on the long roade climb we caught 6th place, a teammate of Damian's. I was pretty motivated now to stay with him as 6th overall for me would be an excellent finish. unfortunately 6th wasnt ready to give up just yet. he started putting the hurt to me on the last singletrack section and Santiago went with him. santiago then seemed to blow himself up and i went after 6th with Santiago on my wheel. I had about 1 mle to go when i told Santiago, "Bro I'm going to go with all i got. if i can't make it you better that guy. we are so close. i put in my last effort and blew up 100 yards before the finish. i ended up taking 7th in the Pro/expert field overall and first in my division, just 4 seconds behing 6th and 4 seconds in front of 8th. overall not a terrible race, but 4 seconds, damn.

So now, about the date. Never mind you guys don't care. and i don't want to write anymore, i got to go do a short trainer workout. i'm out.

Leaving for Tour of the Gila on Thursday morning, look for me online wearing the bright pink jersey.

2006-04-27T18:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the great guys at the Bike Coop, i was able to get hooked up with all the stuff i need for the race this weekend. I picked up some cable housing and a new cable and finally got my bike shifting. Riding a single speed when it is not supposed to be one kind of sucks. I also picked up some espresso flavored Hammer Gel. For those of you who haven't tried it, mmmmmmm.

After changing the cable and the tire i had to head on out for a ride to see what i could screw up a couple days before the race. Surprisingly it was nothing. Just did a big NF loop and did the jump trail as well. Then i cruised on home and ate some meetloaf, after putting some more stickers on the Jeep (its up to 62 of them now). Other than that life has been pretty boring. No ride tommorrow............................................on the bike at least........................................as i might be going out tommorrow evening. Do you think it would scare her away if i said i had to do intervals?

2006-04-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

Not much going on in the hood around here these days. i hit up the infamous Dan Tuesday ride last night and got a full 1:15 in before we called it a night. i was cool with that because it was just enough time for me to blow up an already blown up tire, pussy out on the second jump in Otero Center, and pull the metal lining through the ferrule of my shifter housing. I guess some days are just better than others. After the ride i cruised on down to the DANimal's house and picked up a tire to race on for this weekend (lets hope i don't blow this one up as well)

Today it was Juan Tabo intervals. 2 times up La Luz road in the 53-19 gear seated the entire time. the last time i attempted this my cadence never got down below about 40 and i had to stand up a couple times. this time, all the way to the last right hander twice seated, with my cadence down at around 20 for the upper parts. after the second time up i I went from the turn to the top all out standing, turned around went back down to the turn and then back up again all out standing. Cruised on back down the bumby ass road with my hands on the bars about 20 percent of the time and passed a car. they yelled at me and told me i was doing fifty on the lower portion. i think their speedometer was wrong. then again they were driving a Toyota Prius hybrid, so they were probably doing fifteen and i just heard wrong. What idiot thought up a car that only has an electric motor up to the speed of 15 miles per hour? A drunk quadraplegic grandmother could do that in a wheelchair, but i digress. back to the riding part. i rode home. total time just over 1 hour (matt, dont laugh i don't like to ride my bike for 14 hours).

2006-04-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

I am dropping out of school and giving up racing, so i am selling my bike stuff. Make me an offer, and if it is good enough i may not even be joking. On that note, i practiced for time off the bike by taking a day off the bike today. after school i headed over to work and worked for about 3 hours. On the way back to mi casa, yo visito mi jefe Jamie or "the other Chris Carmichael" of course i don't really mean Chris Carmichael because he does not inject me with chemicals on a daily basis and does not cost me 500 dolars a month. Sorry, i didn't mean to say that. I am not trying to imply that a very famous cyclist is injected with chemicals on a daily basis. He also does not pay 500 dollars a month for coaching.

in fact he gets free coaching and takes his chemicals in pill form. Sorry, i didn't mean to say that either, it just slipped. I actually do no think that Lance Armstrong is illegally doped, the stuff he is taking is not on the banned substance list yet and probably won't be until next year, at which time he will be on something else that is also not on the list. oh wait, he is retired. I am probably going to generate a lot of heat for this but what the hell, i live in New Mexico and can handle the bitching. Am i saying that Lance Armstrong cheated, absolutely not, in fact i am almost certain he did not, he simply used a substance that would not have been acheived through diet or acheived in the same quantities. Just like you and me. What am i talking about? Well, do you use AccelGel? Would you get the perfectly concentrated blend of 4:1 carbs and protein if you ate a normal meal in the middle of a race? maybe, would it help your perforance? No, it in fact would slow you down. AccelGel uses science to make you faster. Does that make you a doper?

This is all just food for thought. hell, i am just rambling and maybe am making no sense at all. maybe i don't even agree with what i just said. i don't know. I am tired and and need some sleep. i got to get my IV bag ready.

All of this is by no means serious, just something to think about. Just to clarify, i don't have an IV bag. if i was doped would i be racing in New Mexico?

2006-04-23T18:24:00.000-07:00

First off, to address the comments. Glenn got right back up and into the race and actually finished in front of me. it wasn't too bad of a wreck but he was still a little beat up. To address Travis' i definately noticed that the B's don't chase down everything that goes up the road, for the most part. My main concern with the B's was the longer distance, and the faster speed they can go when they want to get something done. now on to the the real blog.

I was going to go for a short little mountainbike ride with my dad this morning on my SS but still can't get that thing up and working like it should. Maybe i should run down to the guys at Bike Coop and pick up a thru axle conversion kit and see if i can put that thing in. On top of that, i mounted up some old tires on my FS mountain bike and there were holes so big that even Stan the man couldn't seal them. Hopefully those kenda's will be coming in soon. I stopped riding the Spec. Fast Trac that Matt let me borrow because i blasted through a technical section and blew a hole in the back one, dented my brand new rim and everything. I patched the hole, but am going to buy Matt a new tire because i would feel like a total jackass giving him back a ripped one. i wanted to avoid tearing the front as well, so i took both of them off. the only problem now is that i have no tires that actually work. In the process of changing tires i dropped my front rim on my garage floor and now it is scratched up. That just totally sucks, i hate when new stuff gets damaged, but i guess that is just the price you got to pay to play.

Anyway, my Dad backed out on the ride anyway so i decided to do a long easy roadride on the trusty KHS Flite 2000, with custom painted bottle cages of course. i wanted just a mellow 2 hour ride and ended up doing a kinda hard 2.5 hour ride because of the damn new Mexico wind. I got about 5 miles of wicked fast tailwind after fighting a headwind for an hour and a cross wind for .5 hours before the wind shifted and i got more headwind. I don't want to sound like a Cat 4 though, because i am far from it, i am a cat 5. Maybe for tour of the Gila i will race in leather workgloves and a Camelback. Sometimes you just never know when you are going to flat those quadruble system box rims and need a steal tire lever to change a flat, then do a drivetrain overhaul and still pretend to be racing. My philosophy however is a little different. if you are not fast, at least look good being slow. As for me, it will be the super sweet KHS Flite 2000 red and white Road Bike rolling on Spinergy Rev X's and the new Voler team gloves. i don't care if i get beat by the guy wearing workgloves, because at least i look good. Ok so maybe that is not true. Anyway, i am just rambling, i have better things to do. my girlfriend* just got off work and i've got to pack for Hawaii*. Hellz Yeah.

Disclaimer: All content in this blog is not true and should be viewed at the sole discretion of the reader. The material herein this blog is for recreational use only and should not be taken seriously at all. All untruthful things are marked with a * symbol.

2006-04-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

Galisteo Classic
As everyone knows, i am not a great Roadracer and have yet to win a road race. I was a little worried about if i would be able to stay with the c-race today, so naturally i jumped into the B's. Here i was Cat 5 Bill Jumping into a race with some sandbagging cat 3's. I guess if that is not a good indication of whether i am ready for Tour of the Gila, then nothing is.

After a little while in the field heading North to the first turnaround, my legs started loosening up and i got relaxed. The pace stayed pretty mellow out to the turnaround, and then some idiot decided to attack into the corner. I was sitting behind Glenn Golrad pretty comfortably, and then all of a sudden i saw his tires start smoking and i heard metal on metal contact. I had my hands on the tops and really couldn't do anything but shoot off to the side. i chose the left, and thankfully he went down on the right. Amazingly, that wreck and crash avoidance drill really didn't even get my heart rate up. I guess i am getting used to road racing. I knew the pace would jack after the turnaround, so i went to the inside and actually initiated the attack before the guy in front started it. I really am learning how to race my bike.

We just basically cruised on without incident south through the start finish line and started heading out to the second turnaround. it was reallitively uneventful with the exception of some useless scetchy attacks. For some reason i thought the B's would be ifferent than the c's, nope, just faster. We hit the first short steep hill and everyone dropped down to the small ring. i was looking around wondering why i was the only one in my bigring, but then it occured to me that i didn't care. At the top there was a couple more attacks and then it settled down. at that time we picked up a couple A racers that had been dropped and people imediately started bitching because they were A racers. yep, it is for sure just a fast cat 4 race. I didn't care that there were A racers in our field, obviously they are not going to be a threat to a B racer's position, and they were actually pretty big so i could get a good draft. Jeff Collins flatted and that was the last i saw of him. though i felt bad, i also knew that it was a big competitor out of the race. To my surprise i made it to the second turnaround with the pack and actually felt pretty good. I anticipated the acceleration and didn't get gapped after the turnaround. With ten miles to go i felt a thumping and looked down, i had a flat. Crap. I put my hand up and yelled at the wheel car that i needed a 9 speed. He started counting the gears on the back, so i just shouted and told him to give me a damn wheel. I apologized to him later. in fact, it was a very good wheelchange and i lost only about 20 seconds. I started my insanely fast 10 mile bridge to the pack, and closed it down to maybe about 10 seconds. I was spinning out on all the downhills and just couldn't catch up with them. to make matters worse, i dropped my bottle when i was trying to put it in the cage and had no water. i couldn't close the gap and finished about 20 seconds back from the field.

Overall it was a great race for me. i confirmed that i have the fitness for tour of the Gila, but was still pissed about the flat. I realized after the flat, that i would have had the legs to get something done at the finish, but instead, had to use all my energy to try to get back on.
I didn't even get my bottle back.

2006-04-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

To promptly address Matt's hope of a good comeback: I hate to say it, but i think i said something like "I don't know about that, but it is pretty good". Yes, i know how stupid that is, but i was in oxygen dept and wasn't thinking clearly. On to a more positive note. I met up with Dan and Mike for the standard kickass Tuesday ride and to my surprise, there were actually some other people there. Mark, Robert, and Mitch also came along so we got in a really good ride. Dan always knows how to make a great ride, and you always get a workout no matter how fit you are. I finally just stopped thinking and really let it all hang out on the downhills today and was keeping up, well almost, with Dan and Mark. i even caught Mike once, he is still recovering from a broken ankle though. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, check out my pic on the front page of nmcycling.org. i don't know how long it will be there, but that is not the point.
Anyway, not much to say here so i think i am out. I will keep you all posted on my results at Galisteo RR this weekend i am doing the B race, so i will be super happy with a pack finish.

2006-04-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

Finally some results i don't feel ashamed to put up here. After the severe bonking/passing out/drooling/sleeping incident at the Coyote Classic a couple weeks back i was a little nervous at the start of today's race. It was a great course for me though. Total power course, probably putting out close to 300 watts the entire day. I took advantage of the 40 mile per hour headwind on the dirt road going out. I knew my biggest rival couldn't push the gears i could turn so i just got on the bar ends and hammered. i was with a group and kept motioning for them to come through, but i guess the man with 7 teammates in the race wanted to conserve energy (I beat him anyway so not a big deal). And all the others were just enjoying the skinny junior pulling the pro field along. Each time someone would come through and get smacked in the face with the wind and slow down. i wanted to draft but knew i couldn't go that slow as the people behind me would catch on, so i just stayed on the front and pounded away. It was like a Cat 4 New Mexico road race, only with faster people and less needless tapping of wheels. By the time we reached the tailwind road section i had been dropped, but managed to pass all the people in the group i was in by the finish. At the halfway point i had almost 8 minutes on my second place guy and had only lost 7 minutes from Damian. I just kept hammering and even caught up with Nina Baum, collegiate national champion. We were hammering along the road together and she tried to exchange pulls, but the wind was coming off her head and hitting me square in the face. i finally told her just to sit in behind me and i just pulled her along. For those of you who don't know Nina, she is a super nice and talented rider and was instrumental in helping me create a resume and really get into racing. We finally hit the dirt road leading to the finish line and finally had a tail wind. In the words of Nina, "this is better than sex". At this point i was totally motivated and put it in the 44-11 and just hammered. Nina stayed with me for a while and i dropped her just before the finish line. She finished only about 10 seconds back.

overall i won the Junior Expert division and came in 10 out of all th Pro/expert field (29 riders)
this was also the first time i have ever beaten Nina
I was happy because i now know all my power training workouts are paying off.

2006-04-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

As i said before, i was planning on hitting the Dan ride on Tuesday, but plans changed. At 9 oclock on Monday night my friend called and said he had 2 tickets to the Bob Dylan concert on Tuesday night. I had to decide whether to hang out with Dan or actually do something fun. i figured that if i didn't ride with Dan he might get the hint that i don't want to. Okay, i am just kidding. Dan is the man and if you havent riden with him yet you are missing the sole purpose of the sport. i have never seen anyone that can descend climb and do technical stuff as well as Dan (well maybe Matt, but i was talking about humans). I left Dan all alone and hit the concert about 6 oclock with my friend Travis. Stopped by the friendly Bike Coop first and picked up some much needed disc brake pads and then headed over to pick up some Hos. (HoHos chinese food of course) Terryaki Chicken, Sweet and Sour Chicken, and Mongolian beef plus rice for 4 bucks, super score. So travis and i loaded up the car with the Hos and drove on over to Tingley for a little tail gatin' before the concert. It must have looked like fun bcause some homeless guy came over and asked us for food, and then proceeded to sell us stolen Bob Dylan T-shirts. After eating all the Hos we went inside and found our seats, 30 rows back and on the floor, damn. No worries, we scoped the place out and picked out front row box seats next to some fine Chicas. The lights went out and we made are move. With no security problems and no old ladies we settled into our new seats. As a drunk Myrl Haggard opened for Bob we chatted the girls up and got some names and numbers. Unfortunately they both are going to UNM, damn.

Apparently, "Everybody must get stoned" is not just a song of Dylan's but also a concert rule. By the time he played "Like a Rolling Stone" Tingley had become one giant hotbox and everybody was having a great time.

I don't agree with smoking anything, and i think people who do drugs are making horrible choices with their life, but it just so happens that the lady on the ground in front of me was lit up all night, and i have to breath. Needless to say, by the time "Rolling Stone" was over, i was just getting fired up.

So enough of that, lets get on to the real purpose behind this blog. HARD RIDING
Today: Power climbs- times up La Luz road to the third right seated in the 53-21 gear. After the second time up, seated small ring all out to the top, back down to the third right and back up small ring all out standing then just a gentle cruise along tramway. Altogether 65 minutes, 33 of which were just below impossibly hard.
Tommorrow: Thursday ride with Dan, unless of course Lynard Skynard is playing at Tingley.

2006-04-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

Its a day off for me today, so i hit the gym after school. Did some pretty tough lifting with about 40 reps of dumbell press with 80

12 reps of incline bench with 95

and about 30 reps of incline bench with 75

also i threw some climbing in there for warmup and cool down. If you are looking for a good gym to go to, i definately recommend Focus Fitness at Paseo and San Pedro. The people there really know what they are talking about, and most are actually educated in what they are doing, what a novel concept. plus, they are pretty cheap. I will be back to riding tommorrow night with the famous (or is it infamous) group ride with Dan. We will be hitting up Otero, because there is a good chance it could be closing pretty soon.

Countdown to tour of the Gila: 23 days

In about 30 days you should see a picture of me wearing the pink jersey.

2006-04-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

With the lack of a KHSnm.com junior team website, and the poor quality of the espoirs website, from now on, consider this your KHSnm.com Junior team website. Of course, i didn't talk this over with the other Junior, but i can't imagine he would be opposed to the idea. With that in mind, here are ten things i Love about New Mexico bike Racing
1. People will show up at a race that costs 16 dollars, and still bitch about how bad it was afterward.
2. Cat 4 racers will burry it into the ground 400 feet before the finish line, just because there had not yet been a wreck
3. Cat 4 racers will ride 1000 dollar wheels like they are pro, run into someone, and then complain "Hey hold your line, these are brand new wheels"
4. Juniors can race for free in the junior field, yet still feel thay are to good for that
5. A team is characterized by anyone wearing the same Jersey
6. Someone wears leather work gloves in a race, while riding a carbon Colnago
7. People whine and complain because they didn't get scored
8. what they don't want you to know is that,
A) their number was upside down and backwards ( no you cant turn 96 into 69)
B) they were DFL anyway so who cares
9. nobody follows the yellow line rule (you can't pass if it is a dotted line, even if you do weigh as much as a car)
10. everyone thinks they will be pro someday, even if they are 35 and in the 4s

2006-04-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

Nothing much to bitch about today. I woke up about 6:30 and headed out to the wonderful foothills for a ride. Got about 3 hours in, which is pretty long for me. Man, i have to say, getting out before the sun comes up over the watermelons is nice. I only ran into one idiot the entire way out to 1-40. When i say ran into, i basically mean that he ran into me. he was coming up the hill so i got off my bike and pulled to the side. he cam by, and then fell into me on a smooth piece of trail. Matt is right when he says all the idiots are out this time of year. So i cruised on down to montgomery, did the little patch of road connecting the N ans S foothills and went all the way down to the FooMTB adopted trail. If you havenet ridden that, stop whining and get out there and do it, it is some killer single track. I really don't have much to complain about this time. cruised on back to the casa. on the way, i damn near ran over about 90 rabits, but everyone can use a little bunny hopping skills right? It definately felt good to ride after two days off the bike.

If any of you out there are looking for a sweet XC fork, go with the 06 REBA. That thing is just sweet . Had it not been for that thing today i probably would have broken something. I was just cruising the upper trail in the S foot hills and went off that little drop in the botttom of that central canyon and totally burried my front wheel into the ground. The fork held up with no sideways squirting and got me back on line. Thats enough for now, i am off to work.

2006-04-08T18:41:00.000-07:00

It was up at 6:15 this morning for me and i rolled on over to the "The Cave", an acurate name given the darkness and lack of intelligent life forms, to take the ACT. I hate to complain about a test that so adequetely monitors my intelligence and establishes what i will do for the rest of my life, but i just really don't want to read about a girl going and visiting her aunt NINI or whatever because her parents went to JIJI or what ever and I especially don't want to answer questions about it afterward. not only that, i find it extremely boring that i must look at 16 different charts trying to relate completly unrelated things and answer questions about what happens when you put Mountain Dew in a toilet bowl. At least make it a challenge and give me 24 charts and relate such things as pigs and pencil sharpeners. To finish it off i had to write an essay about why seniors should have special parking lots over freshman. It could just be me, but i personaly think it has something to do with the fact that seniors actually have cars, that were so generously bought by their parents the moment they turned sixteen. Of course IfJane Doe senior got a parking lot that Joe Freshman wanted to reserve for his senior year it is likely that some unrelated organization would have a lawsuit and have to pay money because it just so happened that Joe Freshman's fathers fathers mothers daughters aunt was a Native American and that was why Joe didnt get his spot. Ok so i will shut up, maybe i am just bitter that my parents don't buy my gas.

2006-04-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

So, with the huge success of Matt's blog, i finally decide to create my own. Most likely updated once a month, this is the place to come for all the most recent news in Albuquerque. For the beer part of the blog, just refer to Matt's, for the boobs part, well, i don't got those, and i am not getting any so go somewhere else. i got the bikes part covered though. Racing season is upon me, so sit back in your chair and get ready for some poor grammar, weak humor, and a lot of bitching. Oh crap, i think i have become a New Mexican.