Suhr the Blur

History being made in neuroscience. Can't wait to see the Google search of the brain, and all the things to come of this. Check it out it will be live for a few more days!

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

Superfreakonomics or fact based proofs?

2009-10-30T13:36:00.001-06:00

via realclimate.org

Proof that Superfreakonomics is for entertainment only. It is unfortunate that many readers will believe that Mr. Levitt's proofs include well thought out logic based on facts but RealClimate has proven otherwise.

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

When the VIX is low, it's time to go! You've been forewarned.

2009-10-22T11:16:00.001-06:00

via lewrockwell.com

Peter Schiff: The Coming Dollar Crash « LewRockwell.com Blog

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Your art and culture for the day...The BLU!

2009-10-15T13:47:00.001-06:00

via 2photo.ru

I love this guys ideas and his execution is amazing.

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

Dyson unveils blade-free fan. Amazing physics.

2009-10-13T10:19:00.001-06:00

via news.cnet.com

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

The Future of Computer Interaction 10/GUI

2009-10-13T10:08:00.001-06:00

via ignorethecode.net

This has a pretty slick design. I wish I could try it out!

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

I love Physics! Watch CD's flying around dorm room!

2009-10-12T18:15:00.001-06:00

Click picture to watch the full CD experiment video (1m28, 8mb), or check out the best exploding CD here. (6s 2.1mb)
No one of harmed by the experiments, of course, thanks to the fact that on fragmentation, rotating objects break away at a direction perpendicular to their axis of rotation meaning that the entire room was peppered around the CD, but nothing behind or in front of its face could get hit.
Several companies have made the maximum speed CD-Writing standard 48x (see article) instead of 52X or higher due to the fact that at 52x the CD is spinning at 10 000RPM and several CDs have been known to explode at those speeds, destroying the drive and some times sending pieces out from the CD tray. The fastest drivers on the market today employ multiple reading heads to achieve twice, or even 3 times the read rate for the same RPM, so until DVDs take over CD drives still have a lot of room for improvements. Just in case anyone is wondering: if a CD really was to spin at 35000RPM in the drive, it would be possible to read it at 175X :)
Update: Matt e-mailed me the following warning:

You'd think a CD could handle 52x, right? After all, they make drives that fast.... but apparently that's not in the Playstation black-disc spec. I tried playing GranTurismo on ePSXe, and it exploded right in the drive!
Shockingly, we all got hit with shards of CD (which were slowed down when they blew the faceplate off my CDROM drive), but the computer was fine, and the CDROM still works today, after dismantling it and removing all the shattered plastic.
- Matt Pierce

via powerlabs.org

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

Location one.

2009-10-05T16:03:00.001-06:00

Posted via web from Suhr Designhaus

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale

2009-09-01T20:44:00.001-06:00

via vimeo.com

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

Op-Ed Columnist - Until Medical Bills Do Us Part

2009-09-01T15:13:00.001-06:00

Critics fret that health care reform would undermine American family values, not least by convening somber death panels to wheel away Grandma as if she were Old Yeller.

Skip to next paragraph

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Nicholas D. Kristof

On the Ground

Nicholas Kristof addresses reader feedback and posts short takes from his travels.
Go to Blog » Go to Columnist Page »

Related

Times Topics: Health Care Reform

Readers' Comments

Readers shared their thoughts on this article.

Read All Comments (302) »

But peel away the emotions and fearmongering, and in fact it is the existing system that unnecessarily takes lives and breaks apart families.
My friend M. — you’ll understand in a moment why she’s terrified of my using her name — had to make a searing decision a year ago. She was married to a sweet, gentle man whom she loved, but who had become increasingly absent-minded. Finally, he was diagnosed with early-onset dementia.
The disease is degenerative, and he will become steadily less able to care for himself. At some point, as his medical needs multiply, he will probably need to be institutionalized.
The hospital arranged a conference call with a social worker, who outlined how the dementia and its financial toll on the family would progress, and then added, out of the blue: “Maybe you should divorce.”
“I was blown away,” M. told me. But, she said, the hospital staff members explained that they had seen it all before, many times. If M.’s husband required long-term care, the costs would be catastrophic even for a middle-class family with savings.
Eventually, after the expenses whittled away their combined assets, her husband could go on Medicaid — but by then their children’s nest egg would be gone, along with her 401(k) plan. She would face a bleak retirement with neither her husband nor her savings.
A complicating factor was that this was a second marriage. M.’s first husband had died, leaving an inheritance that he had intended for their children. She and her second husband had a prenuptial agreement, but that would not protect her assets from his medical expenses.
The hospital told M. not to waste time in dissolving the marriage. For five years after any divorce, her assets could be seized — precisely because the government knows that people sometimes divorce husbands or wives to escape their medical bills.
“How could I divorce him? I loved him,” she told me.
“I explored a lot of options with an attorney here in town,” she added. “The attorney said, ‘I don’t see any other options for you.’ It took about a year for me to do the divorce, it was so hard.”
So M. divorced the man she loves. I asked him what he thought of this. He can still speak, albeit not always coherently, and he paused a long, long time. All he could manage was: “It’s hard to say.”
Long-term care constitutes a difficult and expensive challenge in any health system. But the American patchwork, full of cracks through which people fall, has a special problem with medical expenses of all kinds bankrupting couples.
A study reported in The American Journal of Medicine this month found that 62 percent of American bankruptcies are linked to medical bills. These medical bankruptcies had increased nearly 50 percent in just six years. Astonishingly, 78 percent of these people actually had health insurance, but the gaps and inadequacies left them unprotected when they were hit by devastating bills.
M. still helps her husband and, quietly, continues to live with him and care for him. But she worries that the authorities will come after her if they realize that they divorced not because of irreconcilable differences but because of irreconcilable medical bills. There were awkward questions from friends who saw the divorce announcement in the newspaper.
“It’s just crazy,” she said. “It twists people like pretzels.”
The existing system doesn’t just break up families, it also costs lives. A 2004 study by the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, found that lack of health insurance causes 18,000 unnecessary deaths a year. That’s one person slipping through the cracks and dying every half an hour.
In short, it’s a good bet that our existing dysfunctional health system knocks off far more people than an army of “death panels” could — even if they existed, worked 24/7 and got around in a fleet of black helicopters.
So, for those of you inclined to believe the worst about President Obama, think it through. Suppose he is indeed a secret, foreign-born Muslim agent who is scheming to undermine American family values while killing off as many grandmothers as possible.
If all that were true, why on earth would he be trying so hard to reform our health care system? We already know how to prod families into divorce and take a life unnecessarily every 30 minutes — all we need to do is reject reform and stick with exactly what we have.
•
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Sign in to Recommend More Articles in Opinion » A version of this article appeared in print on August 30, 2009, on page WK8 of the New York edition.

via nytimes.com

This is not how it should be! How can anyone think that our health care system does not need work?

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

All quiet before the Snow Leopard Storm

2009-08-28T04:23:00.001-06:00

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

Breakfast of Champions

2009-08-26T11:31:00.001-06:00

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

Are there rules in the kitchen?

2009-08-13T13:04:00.001-06:00

I have noticed recently that heb it comes to cooking my tastebuds rarely scream "NO!" to the concoctions that my mind invents. Now this can turn out ugly, like some of the strange color shakes I have blended after hard rides. They usually contained more veggies than a usuall smoothy, and maybe even some protein powder and any nuts lying around. But sometimes this invention catalyst works out well.

Today for example I prepared a Summer Cajun Turkey Sandwich.

Sunflower Market 9 Grain Bread
Pesto
Stone Ground Mustard
Boar's Head Cajun Spiced Turkey
Peperjack Cheese
Ripe Alvocado
Swiss Chard from the garden
Sliced Strawberries

I was skeptical when I made it this morning but it turned out to have just the right combinatuon of spice, sweetness and smoothness. All in all a big throughly satisfying combination for such a small sandwich.

From some horrible processed food comercial back-in-the-day, "Be bold, Be daring!". And maybe give it a shot in your kitchen or throw in your own twist next time.

Posted via email from snowbbdd's posterous

Is this what should happen under health care that is working?

2009-08-11T18:36:00.001-06:00

In 2007, 62 percent of U.S. bankruptcies occurred in the wake of medical illness, and 77 percent of those in medical bankruptcy had health insurance (usually private insurance) when they first got sick.

via roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

Get the facts about the stability and security you get from health insurance reform | Health Insurance Reform Reality Check

2009-08-11T18:29:00.001-06:00

via whitehouse.gov

Do you know the health care reform facts or the myths?

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

In the pain cave on my bike...

2009-08-06T12:05:00.001-06:00

Cheek To Cheek by Ella Fitzgerald
Download now or listen on posterous

07 Cheek to Cheek.mp3 (5455 KB)

In the pain cave on my bike while I was riding up Flagstaff out of Boulder, this song came on... Amazing how music can instantly decrease your suffering with just that little distraction.

Posted via email from snowbbdd's posterous

Media-opoly aired only once on NBC, now it lives on.

2009-08-02T09:47:00.001-06:00

via vids.myspace.com

This is why you can't get news from any TV outlet.

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

Dirty Circuit Records - I'm on a Boat (Dirty Bass Rmx) dedicated to Stephen "ScubaSteve" Semmelroth

2009-07-19T00:52:00.001-06:00

I'm On A Boat (Dirty Bass Rmx) by Dirty Circuit Records
Download now or listen on posterous

I'm on a Boat (Dirty Bass Rmx).mp3 (3070 KB)

Posted via email from snowbbdd's posterous

Eoto

2009-07-15T19:03:00.001-06:00

Posted via email from snowbbdd's posterous

Eoto

2009-07-15T18:56:00.001-06:00

Posted via email from snowbbdd's posterous

Crazy Abelton Live+Mac Demo

2009-07-15T18:36:00.002-06:00

Posted via email from snowbbdd's posterous

Hail storm!!! - deck

2009-07-10T19:57:00.002-06:00

Posted via email from snowbbdd's posterous

Road Trip '09 Photos

2009-07-07T23:55:00.002-06:00

At last here is the photo journal from the trip: (links should be in trip order, NM, CA, UT)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2416297&id=10204300&l=8fddae70a4
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2416307&id=10204300&l=a1e79d9ae5
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2416331&id=10204300&l=b801f6b7bc
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2416337&id=10204300&l=3c91260fbc
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2416422&id=10204300&l=f344d3ed88
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2416444&id=10204300&l=b103f1ea49
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2416456&id=10204300&l=1a14b14a47

Posted via email from snowbbdd's posterous

Dennis you need this song!

2009-07-06T19:57:00.001-06:00

Goofballs by Keller & The Keels
Download now or listen on posterous

Goofballs.mp3 (4133 KB)

Posted via email from snowbbdd's posterous

Gargantuan Swiss chard from the garden! It is out of control!

2009-07-05T19:17:00.002-06:00

Posted via email from snowbbdd's posterous

We Rent Movies, So Why Not College Textbooks?

2009-07-05T12:58:00.001-06:00

via nytimes.com

This is such a great idea! I wish they had this when I was in school.

Posted via web from snowbbdd's posterous

Developments...

2009-05-25T02:28:00.002-06:00

First, I have some cycling wheels for sale.

Wheels and Bike Box: Info and Pics

Second, I just returned from an amazing trip camping, hiking and exploring the Southwest US. There will be more to come, but here is a taste.

Natural Hot Springs

Twitter is the new Blog

2009-04-23T11:23:00.003-06:00

Since I am horrible at updating the blog now, so I think tweets will be the new norm.

Twitter: snowbbdd

The Next Chapter...

2009-02-10T18:24:00.004-07:00

Well the cycling chapter of my life has most likely come to an end. I have been tempted by other interests in my life and was no longer willing to put in the training time necessary to ride at the level I was accustomed. So after a long summer decompressing from the last six years of training, I am now happily employed as a snowboard instructor at Copper Mountain, CO.

Training for ski school has been a great learning experience and I have found joy in teaching students a new sport. I am mostly teaching students between the ages 6-15, with the occasional 3-5 year old and the occasional adult class. Most of the older students can pickup the idea of the sport in a day, and then only require practice, whereas with the smaller kids it is usually just a battle of trial and error and as long as they are having safe fun then the day is a success. However that is not always the view of the parents, and thus we have to explain that the sport requires fine motor control and independent foot movement that small kids don't fully develop until they are at least eight. But this is all part of the fun, coming to work every day not knowing if I am going to teach three three-year-olds or a class of 13 teens, or a few adults.

The resort life is very relaxing and I have certainly gotten my fair share of powder days when the resort volume is slow. I live at the base of the mountain so I can say that I love the commute to work.

The school has almost 350 instructors between ski and ride, and part-time and full-time, to handle the volume of busy days, but on slow days there are probably closer to 40 instructors working. The season has been down in overall volume so far, but that just makes it better for those that make the trip. We have about average snow now, but so far February has been scary warm. We shall see what the rest of the season holds but hopefully it will include a blizzard.

I will be teaching hear until the end of April, and then will be on to a currently undecided endeavor. Many ideas are being researched but no path is set yet.

VOTE!

2008-08-31T01:24:00.003-06:00

I urge everyone to please take the time to think about who your voting for, and read about the candidates, their past, and their policies. Do not let the mainstream media distract you from what truly matters.

Please visit the site below to see how your views really align.

Who should you vote for?

Grass Track Racing From T&T

2008-03-17T16:43:00.005-06:00

Alright time again for another chapter. After returning from Stuttgart, I took a little off season, i.e. three weeks, which was very much needed after the almost 12 month season. There is no doubt that racing as much track and road as I did in that year has seen me grow leaps and bounds. I mean I went into the Gent Six (blog Nov '06) having never raced an international madison. But at the end of Stuttgart, I have raced four international madisons and a half of dozen madisons around the US. So in the past year I have advanced well past the rookie stage, well at least on the track.

So after a little time off the bike I was invited back to Trinidad and Tobago to race in the Southern Games. With two weeks to go, I jumped back on the bike. And put in as many miles as I could, a couple of efforts, and then it was off to the races.

The Southern Games consisted of two days of racing with 8 total cycling events. The biggest difference about this race is that it was held on a grass track. Now I know you are thinking how in the world, as any of the other tracks I have mentioned on my blog are all substantially banked. But this track is almost flat and about 450m long. During the games there was a full track and field competition taking place on the infield while track cycling raced around the outside.

The first day of racing was a quick learning experience since I have never raced the grass before. However I have raced a bit of cyclo-cross and I do mountain bike when I get a chance, so racing over bumpy terrain came very easy. The biggest difference while racing was that you could not "float" on the pedals, a key feature to track racing especially when you are drafting. Floating enables you to recover while you are still racing, and half of the game is conserving energy for when you need it the most. Therefore, racing came down to pure power and sprinting, since a breakaway was impossible because it was so hard just to keep the bike moving.

The international field consisted of 8 riders from T&T, 4 from the USA, 2 from the UK, one Spaniard, and one Canadian. From the international field, only the two British riders, Ben Elliot and Adam Duggleby, had considerable grass track experience because they have this type of racing back in the UK.

Ben on the left, Adam in the center, and Kelyn Akuna on the right

I have to give a big thanks to them for sharing all their knowledge on how to set up the bike for the grass. I think it came as a shock to most of us at just how slow the track felt. There was a couple days of rain just before the event and track soaked the moisture up, making it a little soft. After a few races we found that about 70psi was the right tire pressure, and we all figured out just how small a gear we had to ride to make the racing feel manageable. I ended up riding a 47x16 or 79" gear! For those of you not familiar with just how small this is; well on a hard track we race around a 90" gear and warm up in around an 84" gear. So a 79" gear is considerably small for racing...normally. In this case it was great, especially for me since I have developed a very nice, fast, spin from riding so many madisons over the last year. And this spin proved to be very dangerous.

The 8 races consisted of 500m, Match Sprints, 1000m, 2000m, 3000m, 8000m shortened to 5000m, 10,000m, and a Devil Takes the Hindmost (Miss and Out). In the end the promoter also decided to add a Keirin for the sprinters. On the first night of racing, I ended up getting second in the 2000m and a nice cap to the evening with a win in the shortened 8000m. On night two, I ended up taking another second in the 3000m to start off the evening. By the final event, the 10,000m, I was in competition for the Best Overall International Cyclist with Ben.

He was just coming off of a win in the Keirin, a few events earlier, and had also been digging supper deep in other races of the evening, so I thought I had a decent chance to pull off the win. The race started out easy with some small attacks but nothing getting to far away before getting chased down. I was in for the sprint since all the other races worked out that way. By the last four laps I was riding mostly on the front, since I was heavily marked from my win the night before. I was trying to keep the pace up but every time I let off the gas, the pack seemed to sit up with me. With three laps to go (~1500m) I looked back in the pack and noticed, surprisingly, that Ben, my biggest threat, was no where to be found! We kept on racing and with one lap to go, coming across the home straight, the whole field had sat up waiting for someone to start the sprint. Out of no where Ben appears at full speed and attacks the field.

Now Ben is at the ripe old age of 31 and has trained at an extremely high level in the past. I believe at one point in our conversations he mentioned that he tried out for the British pursuit team, and ran a 3:24-standing 3k, and a 1:06-flying kilo, only to barely miss out on making it. He has also set a few TT records across the pond, so this guy knows how to completely bury himself. He showed us this in the first event of this evening, 1000m, where he took the win, and then was on the ground at the awards area trying to throw up for the next 5 minutes. Suffering to the max.

So after the race I learn that he was completely dropped from the field, and managed not only to chase back onto the field but also threw in this massive attack. I was kind of caught off guard but managed to chase him down, just in time to recover for a few seconds on his wheel before he blew up and slowed down. At this point with 300m to go, I knew I had no choice but to sprint for the line. The sprint worked out well but one T&T rider managed to hold my wheel, sprinting from behind me at the last second while I was digging all the power out of every corner of my body to hold him off. In the end he nipped me at the line, but I managed to beat Ben which was what I needed for the overall.

My first cycling trophy!

All in all the trip was great. The grass track was a nice change from the hard tracks and especially the funky concrete 500m I raced on my last trip to Trinidad (blog June '07). Oh and it was very nice to actually race on this trip down, as the last trip was almost completely rained out.

As for the next big event on the schedule, I have been invited back to T&T for West Indies vs. The World in April 6-21. So a little more training and then we will return for 3 days of track and a couple days of road racing to round it all off.

The rest of the pictures from the trip.

Stuttgart Trip

2008-01-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

I know. I know. I am very OTB (of the back) on this one. I have now been home for almost a week, but I am going to post the scoop now. Better late than never.

The trip to Europe for the second leg of my winter six-day season turned out to be a big disappointment. The travel over and the preparation for the race in Stuttgart was perfect. We were all set up to ride at our highest level. The racing started out with a short 25 lap Madison points race. We were in the front of the field scoring points and controlling the race. It came down to the final 2 laps. Ryan was in second position. I was setting up for an exchange with one to go looking back into corner three for Ryan. I heard a crash and when the field came out of corner four there was no Ryan. He was attacking over the guy in first when another rider passed him on the outside and pulled down track before he was past Ryan, chopping Ryan's front wheel out sending him to the ground. Unfortunately, Ryan ended up breaking his collar bone sidelining him for the trip. I finished racing the rest of that night and the next two days by myself, just following a rider on another team in and out.

So that pretty much sums up the trip. But for your viewing pleasure here is the trip in pictures.

Stuttgart, Germany

The Mustache Photographer's Website: Jurgen Burkhardt

Back in Belgium

Across the Pond for Round Two

2008-01-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

The last week has been pretty uneventful. Most of the time was spent recovering from the speed "training" we received in Canada. and then running last minute errands for this trip.

Now I am trying everything I can think of to try to stay awake until a decent time this evening to go to bed. I arrived in Izegem, Belgium this morning after traveling all yesterday, thus I am trying to force my body onto the new sleep schedule. Luckily, we did not have any problems with our flights or the trains and we arrived smoothly at the USA Cycling house for a short adjusting/training period before we race.

We are scheduled to race the U-25 3 day race, which is happening in conjunction with the Stuttgart, Germany Pro Six day race. Our race runs Friday through Sunday.

Anyway, this sleep deprived blog is now finished. Hasta manana.

Burnaby Six - Day Five

2008-01-05T16:34:00.000-07:00

Still holding strong.

Results: Burnaby Six Day

Photos: www.descantes.com

Burnaby Six - Day Three

2008-01-03T12:47:00.001-07:00

Ditto.

News:
Cycling News Coverage

Burnaby Six - Day Two

2008-01-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

Photo Courtesy www.burnabysixday.com

Day two was much better than day one in terms of the shock to my body. Day one was an extreme shock to the system but night two felt closer to a normal night of racing. Unfortunately, the world cup racers are still destroying us on the big gears. We are riding a 88in gear because the U-25 races are restricted to no bigger than this gear. Where as the world cup racers are used to riding between a 90 and 96in gear in the one day world cup madison races. We still believe that six day racing is a different game and thus the legs survive the six consecutive days much better when you start out on the small gear. So we will stick to trying to find our track spin, which is very important when trying to keep up on a smaller gear, as the big gears keep winding it up and taking laps. However the signs of some tired legs are slowly appearing, and we can only hope that by the end we will be able to climb our way back up to an honorable placing.

Updates in the news:
BurnabySixDay.com

Burnaby Six Photos

2008-01-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

A Vancouver, BC photographer, Greg Descantes, has been taking some awesome photos at the race.

Check it out at: www.descantes.com

Burnaby Six - Night One Standings

2008-01-01T13:44:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of Canada's Pedal Magazine

My Six Day Season has Begun!

2008-01-01T01:40:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of days I have made my way up to Burnaby, Canada. There is a nice 200m indoor track up here that holds a six day race every January. If you have been following the blog long you might remember that we missed this race last year do to an unfortunate turn of events. As for this year it is quite the opposite. We had a nice relaxing trip up here and were well recovered for the race.

Now I am recovering from the first night of racing! It was very fast due to the amazing field that has turned up to tune up for their next big races. At least four of the riders have been racing the world cup schedule this year and showed a nice turn of speed tonight. As for us we had a rough time keeping our head above water. This is mostly due to the fact that we haven't raced since October nationals and with a good block of training under our belts we now need to clear out the cobwebs in the legs and get them back into track shape. All in all this will be the best preparation for our trip to the U-25 races in two weeks.

To keep up on the racing probably before I can post updates, I believe the Burnaby site will be updating with news and videos. You can visit it at: www.burnabysixday.com

I guess that is all for now, I have a nice dehydration headache and really need some sleep...

Six Day Racing Returning to Its Roots

2007-12-28T00:18:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this is a possibility! It will be amazing to have a renaissance of Madison racing in the US. I hope the racing will attract interest and fans to pack the arena and start a new heyday of the sport I love. But I am getting ahead of myself, just take a look at the link.

News Story From Cycling News

'Tis the Season to Deliver Pizza

2007-12-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

As a pro cyclist without a pro contract, working becomes more of an art than just getting a job. I mean I have skills and desire and plenty of time, but none of these fit into a job that works with a pro cycling training schedule. You see I am a likely candidate for any job I pick, but as an athlete there are certain requirements for the job to be worth the money.
1. The job must be between the hours of 4pm and 12pm. I am not a morning person and when you add in two meals with a two to three hour training ride in between, you are left with rushing to work by 4.
2. The job can not include being on your feet for the entire shift. If this is the case then you end up with no legs for riding the bicycle, which is the only reason you are working shift jobs in the first place. So this is important.
3. Th job can not involve extensive training or being the key member of an extensive project. I need to be able to cut the job when my next big trip comes up. I mean the whole reason I am training at a pro level is to compete at pro events and at this level of the sport most involve more than a quick road trip and a one day race. This year alone has brought four major trips, ranging from a five day trip to Trinidad and Tobago, to a three week road trip to race national level track races this summer. Along with the nationals trip in October and now with two major trips on the calendar for January alone. I can simply not get involved in any sort of team work environment.
4. The job need to pay decently. Meaning at least 10 big bucks an hour. Even that wage is hard to swallow knowing that I have a college degree. But this is the minimum to save any decent money past paying my bills for the month. Any less and it becomes worthless for the impact on training.

I think that about covers it for requirements for a job that fits into this crazy lifestyle.

Back to the story. It just so happens that after contemplating and searching and trying different jobs out over the last year, I have been gainfully employed for the last month as a pizza delivery boy/dish washing machine! This has been the best fit that I have found. You get to sit down about 60% of the time. The hours are in the correct range. And the wage has evened out to 15 bucks an hour when you include tips. And you can leave when needed.

So after finally making ends meet, it is time to go back on the road. My trip to the Burnaby Six starts on the 29th with racing beginning on the 31st. This will be the best Madison competition so far this season, and is sure to be the best track racing in North America this winter. It will be the perfect preparation for the trip to Europe to follow, and I can't wait!

Another perk to delivering pizza in the winter is to see all the Christmas lights throughout the city. This was by far the most over the top display I found. They even have reindeer and sleigh flying from house to house.

Fall Update

2007-11-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

My, my, how time flies. I must call this my Fall update since I have pretty much dropped the ball on the blog during this season. As my sister put it, "you should update your blog before you leave again!" I guess that might be jumping the gun a bit, but we'll get there. Wow I guess I have been dormant since a week after getting back from the "Summer Tour." Anyway I have now found some time to update so here we go.

A month of my life was filled with Track Nationals. I don't mean that I was gone at nats for a whole month. But between finishing off the major training prior to nats, taking another road trip to LA, participating in a USA Cycling Madison camp leading into nats, racing nats, taking a few days to relax in the CA sun, and then returning home, it seems that we may as well call it a whole month!

The USA Cycling camp was a great start to a multi-year program that will work to promote US riders to take part in the European Six days each winter. This year the program will allow several selected duos to compete in multiple under 25(U-25) Six day races! The European Six day races are all run similar in that there is a pro level Six day race where these riders race for Six consecutive days and approximately 3 hours per night. These races are similar to a carnival type atmosphere, and it might sound ridiculous to say knowing how ingrained NASCAR and football are to American culture but these events are the "thing" to attend when they are in town. And almost every night the arena will be filled with 3000-5000 paying spectators. Now the U-25 races serves as the "minor leagues" and when promoters need more pro riders they look to the top U25 riders to fill in the spots. Furthermore, many of the top endurance track cyclist in the World Cups and World Championships take part in multiple six day races each winter. You could say that these riders use the six days to train for the World Cups. So all in all USA Cycling has made a huge step in the right direction for the future of American international track stars.

I guess I can give you a short summary of how my Nationals unfolded. I didn't make the final in either the scratch race and points race. I was not riding very smart and I did not have the legs I wanted. I just felt really dull. Luckily though my legs came around for the madison and we had a good ride taking forth for the second year in a row. But on the bright side, we are now the top U-25 team, keeping our streak of being top in our age group going. I have to say that all the madison training that we have put in this year has served to specialize my ability to the madison, which is not to say that this does not translate to other events on the track, but most other endurance events on the track require more sustained power that comes with time and more road miles. I can say that each of the last five years I have become more proficient on the track, but each year the level of competition and overall involvement has also increased. This is a great sign for the sport and I hope to see this continue in the years ahead. Adding to this trend is the work on new tracks all over the country, which will help to grow the sport even more. these are all good signs and I think we can now say that our sport is in a growing phase, now we just need a little helpful publicity.

After we settled in back at home, we were approached by USA Cycling to be involved in the European U-25 six day program this winter. We are still finalizing the exact dates of our trip over the pond, but it should start some time in the middle of December and last about 4 or 5 weeks! This is the best opportunity of my cycling career! I can't wait to duke it out with the best U-25 riders in the world for multiple races! I mean we are riding at another level compared to where we were last year when we raced the Ghent U-25 Six. Only time will tell but if we stay healthy this will be one wild ride!

So what have I been up to since the nationals adventure? I have been putting in many, many miles on the road. So many miles in fact that I don't even bother counting anymore. I now ride by hours and even those sound outrageous to me. In the past month I have passed a few mile stones. I can now say that I have ridden for 7 hours. I put in a 20+ hour week. I ran out of climbs to ride in Colorado Springs on a particularly cold 40-45 degree, 5 hour ride. And we are now making it a habit to combine a 2 hour group ride with a 2 hour motor-pacing session on the road, as we have done for the last 4 weekends. However, with all this suffering, and you don't truly know suffering until you motor-pace, I have seen the biggest gains on the bike ever. People say that we are missing sustained power and we are putting in the work to put that concern to rest. I predict that there will be big things to come for us in the next year, now we all just have to wait and see what fate has in store.

Now you can send a blow-up doll for any occasion!

2007-09-19T23:44:00.000-06:00

That's right! Target proudly presents blow-up doll humor for any occasion. This is only a sample of the cards you can choose from on your next shopping excursion. I have to admit that these are quite possibly the most entertaining cards I have seen in awhile and I would buy one in a second. I mean the card contains at least five stages of humor:

1. There are blow-up dolls that you are supposed to relate to.
2. There is some witty little line about the blow-up doll scene.
3. The satire emerges.
4. You can't believe what you are seeing.
5. It sets in...there are blow-up dolls on a greeting card.

I approve.

A Picture Ode to Kiel

2007-09-14T17:21:00.000-06:00

Because sometimes in life you meet people with so much spirit it must be shared. Click the title for the album.

Alright, "its business time!"

2007-09-13T23:17:00.000-06:00

After you are done reading this fabulous story from the July road trip be sure to click on the title for a special surprise.

So if you ever find yourself driving through Nebraska on I-80 be sure to stop at King Kong Burger! I believe this is a one of a kind gem in the middle of nowhere, well actually just East of Lincoln. From the highway just look for the giant King Kong in the sky.

Once you arrive, you can enjoy all the wonderful gorilla decor, including a Gorilla band which looks like a knockoff of the Chuck E Cheese animatronic version still haunting my childhood.

After you have settled into the "jungle" and absorbed the ridiculous extent of which this theme has been applied to the restaurant, you can take a look at their amazing menu. Ryan and I came back to this place for their huge Gyros, but the Kong's smallest burger comes in at 1/2 pound with the range ending at the King Kong with some insane amount of pulverized cow overwhelming the little bun.

After eating one of these Gyros you can make it at least another state without a need for food...I am salivating over them now.

Ha...upon further internet searching it looks like the little King Kong, actually a chain of four restaurants, took on the Burger King on their promotion of King Kong the movie! Take a look here.

And don't forget about the surprise in the title! Enjoy!

Home...!

2007-08-06T04:13:00.000-06:00

We made it through the last three weeks of racing. We are on the way home today, Chicago-Colorado Springs stat!

Details and pictures to come.

Detroit NasTrack

2007-07-28T16:15:00.000-06:00

Here is a nice video preview of our last stop on this tour, The NAS Track at Rochester Hills, MI. Enjoy!

Detroit Free Press Video

Until another internet connection finds me on the road...

Another Madison in the Books

2007-07-28T15:35:00.001-06:00

A Scene From the Road

Cresent Beach, OR

Last night, Ryan and I competed in the FSA Grand Prix Madison. It was the culmination to a long day as the race started at about 11pm after 4 hours of other events had concluded. There were 13 teams in the 80 lap race, 32km, and overall the race was pretty quite with few attacks. Our strategy for the race was to stay with the top teams and sprint for the points which were every ten laps. There were about six good teams all keeping the race going, our strategy paid off and with 30 laps to go we were tied for first! At this point things started getting tough. I was feeling really bad with an upset stomach, probably the worst I have ever felt in a madison. Not really sure what caused this but at the same time I ran out of energy. So the last 30 laps was a game of me trying to hang on and Ryan keeping us as close to the front as possible. Yet again our nemesis of the season the Fuji/Salamander guys caught some luck and were able to jump in front of us in the last three sprints. Overall a very good clean race with us ending up second. Next time I will be sure to properly fuel on the day of an 11pm madison!

The series of events after racing:

Completely destroyed after the race, this feeling continued until my stomach finally came around at about 4AM!

MceeDee's, Ryan's fuel of choice at 12:30AM when the 24hr Safeway decides to close for the night!

On the road again.

2007-07-27T15:47:00.000-06:00

Hello again from Puget Sound! I don't know if the picture is any good, I mean taking pics of hte sunset with a camera phone is not a good idea. But there was an awesome sunset last night when we were playing Bocce Ball after dinner.

We have not talked in almost a month! I really cannot believe it, but ever since 4th of July things have not slowed down. Finally I am finding some time on the road to write a bit.

So to fill everyone in, the 4th of July followed just like the last few years, with wonderfull afternoon storms wreaking the day! After an 8 hour rain delay we finally started racing. And needless to say I was mentally wrecked by that point. So not one of the best memories, but we got through it.

Now we are on the road and almost half way through the road trip of CA-OR-WA-IL-MI. Last weekend we race down in San Jose, and ended up having a really good Madison missing out on first place by only 2 points,17 to 19. Tonight we start another weekend of racing at the Marymoor Velodrome in Redmond, WA. I am feeling fresh and very ready to tear some legs off!

Tonight is the Miss and Out and the Madison, with a Scratch and Points race tomorrow.

Well time to get to the track. Bye for now.

4th of July Fury

2007-07-01T00:43:00.000-06:00

The real track racing season has begun here in the US. And this July 3rd and 4th the Independance Day Grand Prix will take place in Colorado Springs, CO.

There is a Madison race the night of the 4th and it is sure to be one of the best of the season! The fastest riders in the US will pair up into at least 4 teams to battle it out over 40km!

If you are in the state of Colorado you need to come witness this event.

Along with the racing that night there will be fireworks to follow making for a wonderful summer evening.

If you decide to attend, racing starts at 7pm on the 3rd and 6pm on the 4th, with the Madison happening no eairlier than 7:30pm on the 4th.

Free Music before July 16!

2007-06-26T22:20:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite bands, The Format, is offering their last album, Dog Problems, for free until July 16th. So head over to www.theformat.com and try something new! You have nothing to loose and only smiles and aural pleasantries to gain!

A Trip to the Rainy Season

2007-06-13T22:36:00.000-06:00

Well I have finally found time and energy to update the blog. The part time job at USA Cycling has turned into more work than originally planed. But at least it is a desk job in the sport I love.

The weekend excursion to the Southern most islands in the Caribbean was a nice getaway. I would like to say that it was great racing but we were only able to race two events out of the scheduled seven. The rainy season started a week before we arrived and it confirmed itself to us about 48 out of the 72 hours we were there. It rained on Saturday morning, all morning. Then it stopped just enough so we could see the track but not ride it in the afternoon. Then the rain held off Sunday morning so the Palo Seco Games, track and field and track cycling, could go off as planned.

We ended up meeting Pablo, a fashion photographer from NY, down there. So our team was made up of Emil, a local Colorado racer, Pablo, and I, along with our coach Des Dickie. Des is from Trinidad, and has ten siblings, most of which still live on the island. So almost everyone we ran into knew Des, which was interesting to watch the whole weekend.

When the time finally came around to go to the games, I was excited to finally get a chance to ride outside after being stuck inside on the rollers the whole day before. Our competition at the games started off with a 500m, or one lap, race. Standing start, all out effort. Now keep in mind that this track is a stretched 250, so the corners are 45degrees, but unlike a 250 where the corner is over just after it starts, these corners go on for probably close to 100m as compared to, maybe, 50m on the 250. (So to put it in physics terms, you have to have a greater velocity so that your change in acceleration, as your velocity vector turns through the corner, is high enough that your normal force from the track is enough to keep you on the banking and not in the ditch.) Basically, you have to ride at race pace on this track to stay on the banking. There is no “warming-up” on the track. You can only ride hard so you don’t fall off, as Emil will tell you.

Anyway, as for the racing, the gun went off for our one lap race. I ended up getting a good start for an endurance rider and was sitting forth going into the first turn. Then the star sprinter from Trinidad and Tobago, who started behind the field, came flying over the top of all of us. So flying down the back straight I was sitting in fifth. As we entered turn three, Pablo was in forth and riding hard. I knew that the top four went into the sprint competition so I decided just to block for Pablo. It all worked out great, Pablo made it in and I ended up fifth.

The second race was a 5000m scratch, 10 laps racing.
Des told Emil and I to use a little team tactics in this one since it was us three vs. six Trinidad riders. So Emil followed suit and attacked a half lap in. It was a good attack, another Trini got away with him and they were off for about 3 laps. Then Emil finally dropped the Trini and the rest of their team chased down Emil. I was just sitting in waiting to make the counter move. After we were all back together, another Trini ended up attacking before I could get the chance, but I chased on, he let me pull through, and then I buried it. He held onto my wheel and I pulled us a good half lap up on the field. In the end, I ended up sprinting to early and he took the win. But ending up in second was fine by me as I was planning on taking the podium in all the remaining races.

Unfortunately, the weather beat us and the racing was called. All in all, a good trip. And there is talk of going back in the next year. We’ll see, but I wouldn’t mind seeing more of the islands.

As for racing in the near future, we are starting the local Tuesday/Thursday race series here in the Springs tomorrow night. There is a ton of Madisons planned for the season, and I can’t wait to create some exciting racing at the track. It should be lots of fun, so if your in the Springs or nearby you should stop by and give a shout! 6:30 til 9:30 T/Th every week until September

Check out all the pictures from the trip here!

Working and Training Kills Blogging

2007-06-12T22:35:00.000-06:00

Every night I say I have to update tonight. I promise to have the full story by this weekend.

Anyway, 500m track and 45degree bankings makes for a wild ride!

Off to the Caribbean!

2007-05-31T22:13:00.000-06:00

4am tomorrow I will be on my way to the airport to catch my 6am flight to travel all day to Trinidad and Tobago, arriving at 10pm. A nice relaxing day in the sky, hopefully. It is going to be a whirlwind trip. Arrive on Friday, rest Saturday, race all day Sunday (7 races I am told), and fly back Monday. It will be nice to see the beach again. I totally missed it in Aguascalientes "Land Bound" Mexico!

Anyway, I am dedicating my races to my friends William and Cassie Holmgren, who are getting married tomorrow night. I am still sad I will be missing it since many mutual friends came into Colorado Springs for the wedding. But I am sure it won't be the last one in our group of friends.

I will be sure to take many pictures of the festival and bring back a good story.

Settling in for the Summer

2007-05-21T23:22:00.000-06:00

After the chaos of the last two weeks, I am finally in one place for at least two weeks. I have moved back in with my parents as I can not afford to commute the 90 miles from Boulder to the track more than once a week, and for the summer I will be on the track at least three days a week, so this would simply not work. My heart is still in Boulder and it will always be calling when I am away.

I also started a job today at the USA Cycling Development Foundation as a summer intern. But for the first couple of weeks I will be helping to organize the 10 USA Cycling Development Camps that are planned all across the US in the coming two months.

As for training, it is simply amazing! I am far above any point in last season and the real intense track training has not even started! Last Sunday we were doing 20 min Madison intervals behind the motor at around 56Kph, or 34mph, and I was barely breathing. I guess 3 months of intense training toped off by a Six-day at over 7000 ft is finally starting to show its effects.

And for racing, word on the street is that I could be headed to Trinidad and Tobago for a one-day race. This would be between June1st and 4th, and the event would have seven races in one day! Pretty crazy but sounds like a damn good time. And to top it all off the track is huge, like 400 or 500m, with 45-degree turns. I mean I need to go just to see this crazy thing. I can barely imagine it.

So we shall where life takes me next. I can’t wait.

Changes

2007-05-06T17:08:00.000-06:00

The coming two weeks will contain the most amount of changes occurring at the same time in my entire life, and I am not ready for it!

Let me elaborate since that probably doesn’t make much sense. It is not that there have not been changes in my life before, but now all the friends and acquaintances that I have come to know during my years in college are moving on, and unlike in high school where most of your friends are simply people you know and see everyday at school, during college you hangout and get to know people very personally. And for me I only keep relationships that comfort and help me to grow into who I want to be.

As I type this, I guess I am realizing that the whole community that I have built around me is about to scatter across the country, all following their personal dreams and aspirations. And from now on, we will only be watching each other from afar, understanding only the broadest of each other’s lives, not knowing nor being able to help with the everyday struggles that everyone experiences. Our only tool will be empathy. These relationships will no longer be personal; they will be constrained by technology. I guess in the end we will all be forced to focus more on personal attainment, which I am not ready for. Furthermore, I don’t know that personal attainment is as important to keeping the human condition healthy as keeping and growing personal relationships.

And as the time comes near I am simply trying to claw and suck out all that I can gain from these few remaining experiences.

So as we all go forth we should all stay in touch with those who mean the most to us, no matter if it is a friend or a relative. These connections are what keeps us alive!

Now I am tired, as my race today was nice and windy. So as a random person said to me the other day as I was riding home from training, “Keep on keeping on.”

Any thoughts? Stories? I would love to hear them. Please post in comments or send me an email.

Aguascalientes Six Recap

2007-04-27T01:07:00.000-06:00

I know it is a bit much for one post but trying to update the blog when it was in Spanish was a nightmare. Enjoy. Links to pictures are at the end.

After getting an invite three days before the event, we frantically worked with the promoter to get our team to Aguascalientes, Mexico by Monday. My coach Mark Tyson and I tried to find another competitive partner for me since my usual partner, Ryan Luttrell was out with an injury. We came up with, Jackie Simes IV, who rode with Taylor Brown in Ghent, Belgium last November when we raced the U25 Six. Jackie is a young rider with racing in his blood, who we knew would be up to racing competitively at the Six. So with a partner and confirmed tickets, I was set to go try my hand at my first elite six-day race.

Before I left I did some quick research on what to expect based on past results. I came up with results on last years race. And saw that there were a few well know European six-day riders who attended. Thus my expectations were set on racing the hardest six of my life. This would be a big step above the U-25 category in Ghent and would be a good step on the way to the next winter sixes in Europe.
Along with finding out that the competition should be top notch, I learned that the format would consist of four to five races per night. This turned out to be the case, as every night there were two Madison chases, one to start the night and a longer one at the end of the night, with an elimination race for all riders, and either a scratch or a points race for one rider from each team in the middle. Therefore the volume of racing, between 55km and 95km, was considerably more than in Ghent where there was only one Madison each night, between 30km and 40km. I welcomed this chance with vigor, and felt ready to race as the last four months of training went very smoothly.

The start list was made up of 7 international teams and 5 Mexican teams. The international contingent was as follows: two teams from Spain, one from Argentina, Canada, and Chile, Jackie and I on USA1, and the Brown brothers on USA2.

Day One
The main goal for the first night was to race conservative and get a feel for the rest of the teams. The first chase was a struggle for everyone since the altitude was around 7000ft and most of the racers were from sea level. I was coming off a bit of rest so I just wanted to get the legs opened up and prepare to throw down on the following days. Jackie and I held our own and had no problem riding together, which was nice since this was our first time.

The day was a lap fest with Chile, Spain 1, Spain 2 and Canada taking a lap in the first chase and then Chile taking another lap on everyone in the second chase. We ended up 6th by the end, with USA2 in 8th.

There was a decent crowd and to my surprise throughout the first chase one section kept cheering on our team every time we passed them. After the race two teenage girls called me over to the stands to talk. I have to admit my Spanish is very bad, but I ended up meeting them on the infield where they wanted my autograph. This was a first time experience for me, and a very pleasant welcome to Mexico.

Day Two
Racing went smoothly. The legs were open, and most of the riders had started to adjust to the altitude. We ended up taking a lap in the first chase with Argentina. Jackie and I were running on all cylinders and had no problem gaining the lap. The standings after day two were: Chile in the lead with Spain 1, Argentina, Canada, Spain 2, and USA1 all two laps down, leaving USA1 in 6th and USA2 one lap behind in 8th.

The crowd was again very supportive of all the racing, and the two girls from the night before brought out their whole family, about a dozen people, to watch the racing. I enjoyed having a cheering section for us tonight and we tried our best to give them a show.

Day Three
After day two I thought that we would have the rest of the racing under control. But every time you relax in Six-Day racing, the race bites back. There was no sign of it coming but Jackie’s legs did not show up for racing today. I guess he had some nausea and at one point in the first chase got a touch of light-headedness and had to end the race pace. I could not believe it while this was happening, as I was unaware of his state until we fell off the back of the field. I was doing my all to throw him into the race with the most momentum so that he could try to maintain the pace with ease, but every pull he was hurting and would come to running pace by the end of his pull. I would ride around as slow as possible to keep his turns as short as possible and even skipped his turn when the pace was easy. But in the end all our efforts added up to us losing our lap that we gained the day before. This left us in 7th place, with the only hope of his sickness being a 24hr bug.

On a better note, in my 20 lap scratch race, where only the black numbers from each team were racing, I ended up attacking with World Madison Champion Miguel Alzamora with 12 laps to go. We railed the pace for 4 laps putting us 3/4 lap up on the rest of the field with 5 laps to go. From there on we just paced the field and it came down to a sprint finish with him just nipping me at the line. At the time it was by far the most exciting race of the night and the crowd was behind us all the way.

Day Four
Day four was both a welcomed event, since we could almost see the end of the Six, and a dreaded day since we were unsure of how Jackie was going to come out of his stomach bug. As it turned out, he felt a little better although not 100%, but I was feeling great so we managed to keep our position. The chases were uneventful since we could not attack and just had to keep our position in the field and ride efficiently.

I had another great night in between the chases. We were racing the elimination. All the riders started this race every night and each lap the last one across the line got pulled out of the race. I acknowledge this is my least favorite track race as not only is the pace extremely fast for the entire race but every lap the back of the field tries to squish themselves into the front of the field, which leads to some close calls and very aggressive racing.

However, on this night, Antonio Miguel Parra, of Spain1 decided to attack the race, a very uncommon move in this event, and ended up breaking away. Since I don’t like riding in the field in the elimination, this was a great opportunity for me, and my legs agreed in this case. I came flying over the field to go chase down the solo break. When I caught him, we had a good 1/4 lap on the field. We put our heads down and hoped for the best. As each lap past, no one made an effort to chase us down and the race was still happening behind us. With the field slowly shrinking, each pulled rider gave me a boost of excitement. By the time anyone finally caught up with us there were only two left in the field, thus four of us left in the race. Unfortunately, as the two riders passed over us, I was stuck in the back and got pulled finishing in 4th, my best place of the six in that event.

Day Five
After the great racing of the past two days, I was excited to start the second to last day and felt decent and now knew we were going to make it through. But as I said before if you get comfortable in a six it will always reawaken you. This was no exception. I was all set to try to take our lap back as Jackie said he was ready to go again. So we were in the first chase on the front of the field and I was coming in off relief for our second exchange of the chase. When all of a sudden I hear a “pop” and “fissss…fissss…fisss”! I immediately abort our exchange, and grab my bars. I knew it was one of my tires that blew. Jackie flies under me, and the rest of the field diverts high. I focused in on quickly learning how to control this new contraption that my feet were connected to! Luckily I only had to guide this squirrelly mess a few feet down the track to the seam between the flat apron and the banking. This was the only place on the track that would help guide the bike through the rest of the turn and allowed me to keep my skin.

After my short adventure, Jackie was able to ride the rest of the chase following another rider in and out as a measure of where we would have been racing. He did a great job of riding solo and I was able to get my spare wheels ready to take on the rest of the evening.

We ended the night in 8th as another Mexican team overtook us by 4 points. USA2 was in 10th.

Day Six
Our last day of our first Six, was horribly unspectacular. Jackie was back to as close to 100% as you can get after five days of track racing. But I felt my worst of the week as my legs simply did not want to go race pace, let alone attack. The Mexican teams had their day and kept the racing fast and hard. I guess they were just saving it for us, but after every race we looked at the Spanish and shook our heads in disbelief. Jackie and I held our position and the competition shaped up with the international teams taking the top five and the US teams battling the Mexican teams for the rest.

Final standings were:
1. Chile
2. Spain 1
3. Canada
4. Spain 2
5. Argentina
6. Mexican - Chocolate Mayordomo
7. Mexican – Chivas
8. USA 1
9. Mexican – IPN
10. USA 2
11. Mexican – Jalisco
12. Mexican – Aguascalientes

As for my reflections, I am glad Jackie and I were able to come together as a team and ride at this new level. Most of the troubles we had were not from the speed or technical demands of the Six but came from outside the races. His stomach bug, my flat, all part of the sport but to win any race you have to have a bit of luck in lining up all the details. Racing is not just about performing on the bike, but performing is at the end of a long equation. It was nice to get through the first one unscathed and we will both be more prepared to take on the races in Europe this winter. As for me, I am hoping to see great gains in fitness, similar to what I experienced after Ghent, and I am sure to bring my A game to all the national track racing for the rest of the summer.

Pictures:
Aguas Album 1
Aguas Album 2

Thanks for reading,
The Blur

Craziest 24hrs of My Life

2007-04-13T23:03:00.000-06:00

Well just a day after my last blog my world got turned upside down. I had just finished my last VO2 intervals workout of my five week training block, extended to seven weeks since I came down with that cold for two. (VO2 intervals are the hardest intervals you can do on a bike for an extended amount of time, i.e. over 30 seconds. My last workout consisted of 8 intervals of five minutes each.) So I was happy that I had made it over some of the toughest training there is each year, and was planning how I was going to tackle the two races this weekend.

But my plans were suddenly broad-sided by a call from my coach with the news that we got a last minute invite to a Six-Day race in Aguascalientes, Mexico that starts on Monday, and how he was going to try to find me someone to ride with, since my usual partner, Ryan Luttrell, is laid up with an IT Band issue. Anyway, we worked all evening and ended up calling up Jackie Simes out of Trexlertown, PA, who had ridden the Gent Six with us. He was as happy as I to receive the news and agreed to go. So over the last two days we have been working with the promoter to get us all settled with travel itineraries.

Yesterday I went driving all over the state to collect all the race equipment. After Gent everyone stored some wheels; my bike was in the Springs at the track since we were training a few weeks ago; borrowed a bike box from a fellow CU cyclist; Vermarc, old clothing sponsor of SPiKE, came through with a few racing kits for us. Anyway everything is ready for packing and I am flying out on Sunday.

The racing starts on Monday and goes through Saturday. The Six is part of a week long city festival with crowds up to 4000 nightly, all looking for a little bit of track racing excitement and a good show. I did some research on the Internet last night and came up with last years home page, so for some more info about the event go to '06 Aguas Six. After looking through the results form last year it turns out that there should be some big European six-day racers coming, so we will have to hold on to our pants. This is going to be a step up from the Under 25 category that we raced in Gent and about as close to a Pro Six that we are going to get on this side of the globe this year. It should be a manageable step up and will definitely be a hell of a lot of fun.

I will try to update from Mexico but I will be sure to get some good pictures, and will post anymore online results or info I can find online.

Until then, the road awaits.

It's Been Awhile

2007-04-10T12:37:00.000-06:00

Sorry to keep you all hanging. Over the last three weeks we have had some excitement in Boulder, though not in racing. I ended up coming down with a good chest cold that sacked my energy and took a good two weeks to subside, thus making life a bit of a drag and racing useless. I was also at the peak of an intense training block, which lead to me taking some good R&R. In the meantime keeping things interesting, my roommate broke two vertebrate in his back while skiing, and thus is forced to do just about nothing for 6 to 12 weeks. I hope for his speedy recovery.

As for me I am looking forward to intense training on the track coming in May. And I can't wait! Although, I did get a taste of the track last weekend. We ended up training on it both days and I ended up doing some sprint training in our final session. This was a completely new experience. The workout was to do accelerating motor 500m. This entails sitting on the back of the motorcycle in the draft high on the track, taking a couple of laps to gain speed then dropping down the banking to the pole lane and then completing a lap and a half while the motor is still accelerating a bit. This was by far the fastest I have ever gone on a track as we were ending them around 42 mph! At this speed, on the track in the Springs, the bike starts to drift up track because the track was not built for this type of speed and you have to change the way you steer in order to ride at this speed. I was unfamiliar with this and was kind of spooked but at the same time really excited to have a new challenge in the sport I love.

As for now I am headed out to do some more VO2 intervals, hopefully before the rain.

A Short Film

2007-03-19T13:03:00.000-06:00

My friend Allen Krughoff, who I used to ride with on CU Cycling, put together this short with some of the good times of the preseason base miles. This year to try to make base miles (i.e. long, 3-6hr, slow rides) more of a party rather than a bore, he started the Base Mile Militia with the intent of getting a good group ride together twice every weekend for a couple of months. It worked out quite well and was a great time when I attended, so here's the film. I am in the CU kit throughout. Enjoy!

In the Spirit of Tax Season

2007-03-16T14:23:00.000-06:00

Here is a little food for thought while you fill out your taxes this year. I came across the APT Tax System which Edgar L. Feige, a Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has created in response to his recent research. His novel idea is for a completely automated tax system with several distinct advantages, such as the uniqueness of being completely nonpartisan, and fully progressive. I can only hope that this will be a part of the future of this country.

For now visit: The APT Tax

"Maybe some national figure will realize the power lodged in an idea with virtually universal benefit and agreement. What can you do? First, familiarize yourself with the details of the plan and then tell your friends and bring it to the attention of your elected representatives."

When Riding the Road...Don't Crash

2007-03-13T18:05:00.000-06:00

Saturday, March 4th, at the first race in Boulder, I had my first crash on the road. I can now say that falling on the track is nothing compared to falling on the road. I still have some nice deep road rash on my right knee and hand after a week, and the pain is not getting any better. Basically, if I am awake and not moving, then I'm in pain, but thankfully I feel the best when I am on the bike.

So how does one get into this mess? Well the race was coming to a close on the last lap. I was in a group of about 10 off the front of the peloton of about 50. We were chasing down 4 guys ahead of us. I was feeling really good. I was really excited, knowing I was about to get a top 10 in a decent field of Pro/1/2's. Maybe just a little too excited.

Anyway, the group I was in had givin up on chasing down the break out front and now everyone was jokeying for position for the sprint that was less than 1k away. I was riding on the left side of the group, in bad position, trying to advance some places before the last turn on the course. I ended up riding off the rode into the ditch to avoid colliding with the guy on my right. At this point, I would have probalby been fine if I had slammed on my brakes and let the group past before trying to get back in the race. But I was so determined to keep my position and get a good result that I did not use my brakes and instead tried to manuver my way back onto the road. This is where the shit hit the fan, as the road had a nice covering of gravel and after successfully getting my front tire on the road, it lost traction and sent me to the ground. Unfortunately, I was not the only one in this crash as another rider ended up running into my shoulder (which was now on the ground) thus sending him flying. Luckily, I made it out with only a sprained CV joint in my shoulder and some damn good road rash on one leg. The other rider however was not so luckly and broke his elbow.

I still feels good to know that the hard training I put in in Jan and Feb has left me at the top of the fields in Colorado. I can only hope that as I put more speed work in as the track season approaches that this will give me a good chance to get my upgrade to Cat 1!

But for the moment I am taking it easy as I am under the weather with a chest cold. I hope it is gone by the weekend, because the CU Cycling team is hosting some good racing all weekend.

Anytime is a Good Time for some Smokin Jazz

2007-02-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

Colorado National Monument...A Must See Attraction

2007-02-28T00:24:00.000-07:00

So in another effort to escape the snow in Boulder, this past weekend my roommate Kiel and I took a trip over to Grand Junction, CO to see the sights at the Colorado National Monument. We thought that this would be the perfect time to escape, since there was no racing, and it would just be a good chance to relax, recharge and reset in the wilderness. So we choose to do some winter camping and to experience some of the scenery from the cycling movie "American Flyers" on the seats of our own bikes. If any of you readers have never seen this great cycling classic, you should pick it up the next time you want a little glimpse into the cycling lifestyle along with some great Colorado scenery. I would rate it about a 6 for the Hollywood's portrayal of cycling, mostly based on the 80's corniness.

You might recognize these pics from the movie, it was an awesome ascent, nice and curvy, a tunnel and sheer cliffs all around.

From the top, if you look closely you can see the road twisting around down below.

We got to the top just at sunset, the view was perfect.

Kiel breakin into the water supply in camp. We were one of two sites occupied that night out of 20 available, which worked out perfect since lots of fellow campers ruins the point of going to the wilderness. I would not suggest camping here in the summer as there are 70 sites total.

The "Fire-Pig" loving life on the road. It even ate up the mud at the monument, as about half of the road is currently under reconstruction.

Well we decided after our night in the woods that a stop at Glenwood Hot Springs would be much better then riding again in the cold. It was a great decision and was throughly enjoyed!

For all the photos of the trip visit: Colorado National Monument Album

P.S. It did not snow over the weekend in Boulder but there is a nice two day storm coming tomorrow. I can't wait...

Valley of the Sun Recap

2007-02-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry that it has been awhile. After driving back from Phoenix last week, I have been busy trying to recuperate and the brain has been pretty much shut off.

As for the recap of the Valley of the Sun Race, I would say I am pretty happy overall with my performance being that the race was the culmination of the biggest five week base block I have ever done (base meaning high volume, low intensity training which is the beginning of every cyclist's season each year); being that I have never put in a real full base block. Last year I was out from January until May with a knee injury and then I jumped straight onto the track never really putting in the slow long rides. So I am feeling pretty good already after putting in this work this season.

The VoS race started off with a 22k (13mile) time trial which I ended up 35th, about 1:35 off the leader in the Cat. 2 field. I have never been a good time-trialist but my roommate Kiel lent me his TT bike and I was able to get a decent position on it in the week prior to the race. I felt strong and focused in the first TT of the season which at this stage is about all you can ask for. The speed will come in the next two months but it is good to maintain strength year around.

The next day the Cat 2 stage was a 93 mile road race made up of five and a half laps around a pretty flat circuit with the exception of a mile long, 500ft elevation gain, climb before the hilltop finish. The day was very chaotic throughout as some riders missed their start do to an accident on the I-10 freeway, and then for most of the race there was a 30+ mph wind, which meant a cross/head wind for 3/4 of the coarse. Only the climb had a tail wind, so there was really no section to recover on each lap. I felt pretty miserable for most of the race, getting dropped off the back of the pack twice up the climb and having to chase back on on the down hill. I ended up sitting at the back for two laps before the finish, hating life. But to my surprise when we got to the last time up the climb, no one wanted to keep the tempo high, and everyone just sat looking at each other trying to conserve all they had left for the finishing sprint. By this time in the race I just wanted it to be over and I got some good motivation on the last lap just knowing that I was going to finish. I was sick of sitting and waiting at the back, spinning, and decided to put it in a high gear and do a little power climb because I knew I was not going to have a sprint at the line. This ended up dropping about half of the 30 rider pack I was in, and I ended up leading out the remaining riders with 5 coming around me with 100m to go. So I finished seventh since there was one solo attack that got away form our group. I was completely amazed at how it all unfolded, and it turns out I might become an alright road racer after all.

The VoS ended with a criterium in downtown Phoenix. It was nothing special, just a normal Cat 2 early season crit. The course was fun but the skill of the field made the crit very sketchy and nerve wracking. The 55 minute race came down to a field sprint, I had poor positioning and was just happy to finish in one piece in the field.

Overall, I finished 18th in the omnium. Right after the crit I drove through the night with my roommate Kiel and returned home at 8am. Nothing like ending the trip with a bang.

Back in B-Town

2007-02-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

I made it back from Phoenix, after an 13 hr drive through the night with my roommate Kiel. Luckily, the whole trip went very smoothly...I will post more later after I get a bit of sleep.

The Big Trip So Far and the First Race of the Season

2007-02-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the bulk post. The classy Embassy Suites Hotel we were staying at in Albuquerque wanted $10 a day for internet, ha! You can get free internet at a Holiday Inn. Someone please explain this one to me.

The trip out of the deep freeze has been wonderful, busy and rewarding. The trip started with a seven day stay in Albuquerque to train with the Cycling Center Team. The weather was a bit cold in the beginning with around 45 degree highs but quickly warmed up into the 60's. With warm air finally in the face, the forth week of base was long and relaxing.

One of the highlights of the stay was a citywide group ride organized in support of the Veloport Project that wants to bring indoor track cycling to NM along with an already completed BMX track and a closed loop road course. The project is in the final stages of funding and if all goes well will be completed in 2008!

The ride consisted of the two pro teams, Navigators and Lipton, along with the Cycling Center picking up the community at the Balloon Museum and then going on a nice hour long loop. The ride went as planed and the community was riding alongside the pros for most of the ride. They all seemed to really enjoy it, and best part of all was the overall acceptance of the community as not a single motorist honked at the group of over 200 rolling through lights waving as if in a parade. Velonews was there to mark the occasion, see Albuquerque Group Ride Article.

The day before I left for Arizona, the Cycling Center Team took a trip to the top of Sandia Peak with the intention of snowshoeing for four hours at 10,500 feet. I had never been snowshoeing before, but have been itching to get out in the wilderness for about a month. I was literally on cloud-nine tromping around in the snow on the top of the peak for the day. Snowshoeing is addicting as I now want to get a pair when I get back to Colorado. Think of it as hiking without trails, so you can literally point to where you want to go and just set out for it. The shoes were capable of going up, down, and through anything because of the nice cramp-on style spikes on the bottom of the shoes.

Scott Tietzel and I on top of an old cabin at the top of the peak.

We all had a little too good of time doing some Extreme Snowshoeing, i.e. jumping off or sliding down any hill, or cliff we came across.

The only casualty of the day...my jeans.

Lesson Learned: When jumping off cliffs with snowshoes on, beware of spikes on bottom!

After my adventures in NM, the trip continued on to Phoenix, AZ, where it only rains in the winter. Arriving on Thursday, I set out to do a little ride with the extra power of about 50 watts with the lower elevation. Too bad the altitude EPO only lasts a couple of days, but it is always a super human good time. Kind of makes you feel like you could win a stage in the Tour!

As if all the training in NM along with the 4 hour high altitude snowshoe, all without a rest day, was not enough, I went on to pack the weekend with the local Phoenix group ride on Saturday and then race on Sunday. The race was the McDowell Mountain Circuit Race, where the Cat 2 Men had the opportunity to race a total of 2:15 with both a Cat 2 race and a Pro,1,2 race.

I started off by riding the 45min Cat 2 race. The pace was good and not too taxing, with the race coming down to a field sprint out of the last corner 300m from the finish. Unfortunately I ended up first out of the corner since the four that were in front of me pulled off on the long hill up to the corner. Thus I was left with no option but to start the sprint and hope for the best. I ended up leading out two other guys who came around me by the finish leaving me in third. Overall not to shabby for the first race of the year.

Results of Cat 2 Race, where for some reason I am listed as second...could I get some more prize money?

So with that performance, I was for some reason feeling pretty good after all the volume, travel, and altitude in the past week. My coach and I decided that the second race of an hour and a half with the pros was a good idea and I should just sit in with the pack. The race was faster but manageable up until about 45 min left where a nice storm rolled in complete with rain and an almost constant headwind. The pack immediately exploded with about half the field of 55 dropping out by the end. I ended up time-trialling the rest of the race about a minute off the back of the field. For some reason I get very motivated in the rain, and didn't really mind trying to catch the field as I could never put in that kind of effort out training by myself. It is also somewhat rewarding to go rolling by other racers who have been shot out the back of the field later in the race and have obviously just thrown in the towel.

Result of Pro,1,2 Race

In conclusion the last two weeks have been some of the best early season training and racing I have ever put in and the change in pace has been mostly relaxing. The rest of the week will be in preparation for the Valley of the Sun Stage Race this weekend. I am going for a top five so we will see how it turns out. Until then I am watching and hoping that the snow in Colorado will stop by the time I get back on Monday but right now it looks like there will be a welcome back snow on Tuesday. When is it going to stop? I want spring!

Good Standup to Release Some Stress

2007-02-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

If you have 45 minutes to spare this is a good verity show type standup by Demetri Martin:

Video from Comedy Central's Standup Showdown

Where the cloud over how to eat started...

2007-02-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

From Oat Bran to Omega-3 the age of nutriantism is upon us. From the National Academy of Science's 1982 report on nutrients, the "Food Industry" has been ever evolving to "produce" the best foods for you. Now it is time to unveil the truth about how the government has manipulated and disordered Americans' view on what is healthy to make room for those companies which profit from this confusion. The time is now to start eating real food and stop eating processed designed nutrients, because for once we should believe that we don't know everything about what foods contain, and the 17,000 new food products produced each year are NOT "better" for us. Stick to what your great great grandma ate and you will be healthier.

This is one of the most informative and convincing articles I have come across as to where we went wrong and what you can to do fix it starting today; it is verbose but it will be well worth your time.

So start by becoming informed through logical argument: Read Unhappy Meals by Michael Pollan

I don't believe this...

2007-02-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

Optical Illusion

Two Days Until the Adventure Continues...

2007-01-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

I am finally going to make it out of Colorado and on to some warmer weather down South, hopefully. I say hopefully because I guess last week it snowed two inches in Mesa, AZ!?! Which is almost as unlikely as me racing the Tour de France. I hope that this crazy weather has gotten all the NM and AZ snow out of its system and will leave me out of the cold for the next three weeks.

The plan for the trip is to continue the biggest base I have ever put in on the bike, by first going to a week of the Cycling Center Camp in Albuquerque, NM. Bernard has been nice enough to let me jump into the camp he is hosting for all the US riders that are going over to race in Belgium this season. The camp will also have riders from the intercontinental pro team Navigators Insurance and the pro women's team Lipton. All three teams are having a big unveiling next Saturday night. I am looking forward to the long group rides with these professional riders and the Cycling Center riders that are coming over from Europe.

After I get a decent beating in NM I am going to drive over to Phoenix, AZ to stay with my cousins, Bonny and Jeff, and put in some long solo rides in the AZ desert. I figure if there is any place that will be dry and warm this will be it, and maybe my body will thaw out. After a week of that I will be finishing the trip off by testing my gains from the Six in November and this massive base load against the Cat 2 Mens field at Valley of the Sun, a three day stage race in Phoenix.

Over the last two weeks I have been making the best out of the cold riding conditions. Sunday was the pinnacle with the best group ride I have ever had in 30 degree weather. My house the Chaomis Army Fort, full of four other cyclist, joined with another cycling house of five and went on a 4 hour mountain bike ride around Boulder.

For more on the adventure, see The CAF Blog.

Things I won't miss on my trip...

2007-01-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

After the quick little off season, I have decided to get out of Colorado and put in some good base miles in the fair Southern states. So next Thursday I will be off to spend a week in Albuquerque, NM training with the Cycling Center Team and maybe some of the Navigator, and Lipton Teams. After that I will be headed over to Phoenix, AZ to stay with my cousins, training for another week. And then we will finish it all of with the Valley of the Sun Stage Race. All in all it should be a relaxing trip.

Here are the wintery Colorado things I will not miss:

Driving in Blizzards

Riding in less than 40 degree weather

To Be Healthy, Eat Like an Animal!

2007-01-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

It is nice to finally see this sort of thing in the news. It will be a nice shift from the eat less approach. The American diet and the Food Industry is truly out of control, producing cheap calories with little nutrition or fulfillment. All you need to eat is on the outer isles of your local grocery store, and just remember if you buy it you will end up eating it.

BBC Article

Just a thought...or maybe a wish...

2007-01-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

If you find a fortune outside of a fortune cookie, could it be your fortune? I mean, it is just about the same, I did just find it, similar to just picking it out of a set. It could be reactivated by being in the possession of a new person. Or maybe it is still active; I would think they only run out after being possessed by the same person for awhile. Anyway I kind of like my fortune so we will see.

Unfortunate Turn of Events

2006-12-30T00:19:00.000-07:00

As I stressed out this morning about how we were going to get out of the freakin' Third Blizzard of '06, my madison partner, Ryan Luttrell, ended up falling off his bike on the way to the grocery store and getting a stage two concussion. Therefore, he will be unable to race next week and we will not be traveling to Vancouver for the Six, thus my off season starts today. However as I am disappointed that we will not be able to try our legs against those Canadians' or experience New Years outside of CO, I am excited at getting the off season out of the way while the endless amount of snow melts off all the streets.

The First Six of '07

2006-12-27T00:49:00.000-07:00

As the holidays wind down, and I finally recover from my college experience, I am looking forward to a long road trip and to racing some of the best riders of Canada and North America at the Burnaby Six. I will be heading out on the 30th, stopping by Portland to spend New Years with one of my friends from high school and college, and then arriving in B.C. on the 1st. I am really excited to relax on the open road and experience a New Years outside of CO. I will try to bring everyone the events of the trip as they unfold, internet permitting. The organizers, a team effort I believe, have already been very accommodating as we are set up with host housing. I can't wait to see the North West and Southern B.C. Everyone keeps telling me it is amazing.

The Dome of the Drome From Space (Thank you Google!)

Burnaby Velodrome Homepage

What to do in a Blizzard?

2006-12-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

24+ inches of snow in 24 hours + done with finals + 4 crazy skiing roommates = I got to be the first one off the house!

Merry Christmas!

The Last Ditch Effort

2006-12-12T23:21:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard the title sponsor of my Spike Pro Cycling Team, BioTest Laboratories has backed out of their three year commitment of $300,000 per year, after just one year. This leaves 10 riders with a full line of equipment sponsors but no monetary sponsor, which eliminates all travel plans thus ending publicity and forcing the rest of the equipment sponsors to back out if this becomes reality in 14 days. Therefore, if anyone that reads this blog knows of a business that would like a title sponsorship, or an individual that would like to support the Olympic Track Sprint Team hopefuls for the '08 games, then please send an email to codyracing at aol dot com.

Full Story

Videos of the Pros

2006-12-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

I am finally feeling recovered and getting back into the swing of things in college. Only two weeks left until I will be finished with my undergrad in Physics, and it feels great to see the end in sight.

I uploaded some videos of the Pros racing at the Ghent Six. This first one is of the top three teams taking a lap on the field. You can see how precise their riding is, always trying to stay at the bottom of the track as to ride the shortest distance each lap, and the way they weave their way through the other riders on relief.

This second video is of another event that is part of the racing each night. It is called a Derny race and consists of six riders each being paced by a motorbike.

For more video from the Ghent Six go here: Google Video Search

So what does Track Cycling feel like?

2006-11-29T19:11:00.000-07:00

Click the title for a good story about an ESPN reporter trying to find her ticket to the Olympics, through any sport. The first part is how it feels to ride a track for the first time.

A Tragic End to Our First Six

2006-11-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

The last two days have been sobering to say the least. After not making the finals in the U25 race we went back the following night to watch the racing. Just after midnight in the second madison of the pro’s race, rider Isaac Galvez of the current world champion madison team was tragically killed in a freak accident. He passed of internal injuries after running full speed into the guardrail with his chest. It has been exactly 50 years since another rider was killed in a Six. The rest of the riders were very saddened by the loss of one of their family and the Six was cut short with no racing on Sunday.

For the full story go to: Cycling News Story

As for our last race, we put up a hard fight; gaining a lap to the team we needed to beat but then having them pull it back after we were the only ones working to keep pace on the front of the field. Then with a quarter of the race left, I put in one final attack, only to make it about a quarter lap up before crashing on my own. We are not sure if my tire blew first or if I hit the blue band first and then the tire blew when I was coming back onto the track. But nonetheless, I went down and that ended our effort to gain the elusive lap that would have catapulted us in front of 4 teams and into the final.

As for our first experience in the European U-25 Six-days, we feel that we were well prepared for the technical aspects but that we are lacking speed for many reasons. We were able to fit right into the racing action, and ride to our limit on the toughest, shortest track on the Six-day circuit. But for many reasons we are short on top end speed. For starters, most of the other teams have raced the circuit for a few years and have at least two other Sixes in their legs from this season. Second, we are one of only a few madison teams in the US and finding competition to race against does not come often. However, we were as prepared as we could have been and are looking forward to hard training in the months and season to come. We plan on coming back in the next year, hopefully more than once, but we are also looking to develop our power and speed in some pro road racing in the first half of next year. As for now I am just resting up for the rest of my final semester at CU Boulder and dreaming of a pleasant Christmas holiday.

Thanks for reading during my first European trip, and be sure to check back soon. Our next trip is to LA in second half of January, for the Second Round of the World Cup Track Series.

Ghent Update - The Day of the Storm

2006-11-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

It has been a hard three days of racing thus far. We feel that we have been riding conservatively since we are still getting used to riding at this tempo and with this caliber of riders. But I have a feeling this is going to pay off tonight. The top 6 teams in each heat are going to the final two days of racing and we are currently in 7th. However, last night we saw two teams loose their legs and both lost a lap. Now there are only 5 teams on our lap and two supper star teams ahead on laps. So tonight we are going to go throttle the race and see who is next to go. Ryan, my partner, feels like he is getting his legs under him, since we have been mostly on the road for the last two months it has taken some time to get the track speed back, but he feels it is there now. I am feeling good, ready to race for everything. We came here to make the final and tonight we will prove it.

Below are some pictures of the start of the first night of racing, just to give you a little idea of what it looks like every night. The crowds have been getting bigger every night, as last night was the first to be sold out.

Start of the first race

Just a little media coverage

The Pros racing a warm-up Points Race

Here is the most coverage in the US media: Cycling News Coverage

Enjoy!

A Story About the Two U-25 Teams at Ghent

2006-11-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been a bit out of touch on the race updates but we just found out yesterday that the hotel has internet, well one cord that ten teams get to share. But it is good so here comes some updates! Click on the title for the story.

The Calm Before the Storm

2006-11-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we headed down to the 6-day track in the middle of Gent, Belgium. Bernard plugged it into his GPS and 30 minutes later we were there. We arrived at the velodrome right as they were finishing painting the last signs on the track. Since it seemed like we were the only ones there, I was not sure if we were going to get to ride, but after about 20 minutes they said it was fine to ride. We were more than ready and ended up being one of only three teams on the track. It was very nice to get used to the track without any traffic and get in the exact work we were planning on. Ryan and I got in some throws with our friends from PA and with one of the top Pro Madison teams, riding for Capri Sun this week. After getting the legs opened up and putting in some decent work, I tried out the race wheels. Everything felt good and I sure could feel a difference between the race 404's and the Training/track specific overbuilt 404 Zipps just sent to us. They will be great to train and race local events on next season.

The venue seats 5500 people and should be filled by weeks end. The crowd will be crazy and drunk by the end of each night and should provide a great atmosphere to go into battle. The track itself is 167m and has 54 degree banking in the turns. At the end of warm up after riding the blue band for 20min I was doing a flying effort at top speed. Without remembering how much G's you pull in the corner it almost caught me off guard as I flew through turn one. It is truly amazing how much your whole body compresses in each corner and then decompresses on the straights. It is comparable to stopping after descending in a high-speed elevator or in a corkscrew on a rollercoaster; you actually have to work to hold your head up. All in all, the track and the bike were feeling good by the end. Just need a little rest now and we will be set for Day 1. Please enjoy the pictures of the calm before the storm below:

Putting the finishing touches on the paint when we arrived

The home straight with the door in the track open

The track from the nosebleed section

From the rail, 54deg looks insane at this angle

Looking at the other side from the rail

The door

Almost done touching up the blue band

From the apron

The turn looks a little more sane from this perspective, maybe because my feet a firmly on the ground

The event poster

The Cycling Center

2006-11-20T02:18:00.000-07:00

Today is a special day for all because it is pouring out. It has rained every night that we have been here and the last to days it has rained during the day, so we will be on the rollers for a nice spin this morning just like yesterday. Later today we are going to the 6-day track to get some training in. I am very excited! The track is only open for the 6-day every year so we are expecting it to be very busy. I will write on the track tomorrow but just as a teaser, it is a 167m track with I think 49degree turns, but I will have to check on that.

We are finally on a Belgium sleep schedule, which is just in time to have to change to the 6-day sleep schedule. But that shouldn’t be too hard since it is just staying up later and sleeping in. The Cycling Center run by Bernard Moerman and Ann Dusauchoit has been a wonderful way to be introduced to Belgium and a nice place to start off my first trip to Europe. Before arriving here, two of my roommates gave me some insight to the center. They have both been here more than once to race in the summer. The Cycling Center is best known for bring Americans over to race in the Kermises, which are 2:30 to 3 hour races held almost everyday during the racing season. And because they only have an amateur class, instead of categories, each race has fields of 150 or more. Thus you can get very intense long races whenever they fit best into your training schedule allowing for athletes to push their limits as quickly as possible. Also, Bernard has close ties to US Postal and the National Team and has gathered the best doctors and support staff to keep all the guys at their best. As Bernard refers to his program, “this is where you come if you want to learn how to race your bike.” I believe he has had something like 15 guys in the last two years sign pro contracts! It is truly one of the fastest routes to the pro peloton for young American riders.

At full capacity he now has room for 24 riders, and during the season has enough staff and team vehicles to send a team of around 6 to three races at once. This is truly a first class operation and it shows in how much Bernard and Ann love what they do. As for the center itself here is a little tour:

The front of the center where Bernard and Ann plan on living after it gets renovated at the beginning of next year

The rear entrance (all the cars are for Belgium riders, signed to the team next year, that where out on a group ride that morning)

A side view, or as much as will fit in my camera at once. The new building in the center is the recent addition connecting the front house to the old back hotel. We are staying in the top.

The kitchen/sitting area of the upstairs apartments

An upstairs apartment, just Euro beds and storage behind the camera

The view from the upstairs window

The dinning/TV recreation room

The Bike room/ garage

The training sunroom

A view toward the city

The loaner bike, since I only had room for the track bikes and wheels. US Postal recently gave it to the Center.

That about covers it, there is another 18 beds in the back old hotel, another kitchen for all them, refrigerators and closets galore. There is also a massage room complete with infrared sauna and steam room. Pretty much all a rider could want to attain full recovery every day.

I guess it is about time to jump on those rollers before lunch and our time on the Ghent 6 track! It will be insane!

Day Two – Getting on Euro time and other reflections on the road

2006-11-18T13:54:00.001-07:00

Today was a pretty eventful day overall. Woke up at 7am, and ate a wonderful breakfast made by Ann, Bernard’s wife, consisting of eggs & bacon, granola & yogurt. Then at 8:15 we were off to the Eddy Merckx Track in Ghent.

It is in a national sports facility with 2000m rowing lake among other venues. The track has been redone in the last two years making it indoors and doing overall improvements on it. It was very nice indeed.

We ended up riding during the kids program so we were staying above the blue line, riding different pace-lines for about an hour. It felt amazing to be on an indoor track again, after freezing our butts of in the springs the last couple of weeks and having some stressful midterms at the beginning of this week.

Riding the track is very meditating especially when you are tapering for a big event, just spinning the legs and riding in circles. Just a side note, one training session a couple of weeks ago in the springs was in the low 40’s with a bit of ice high in turn two. Another, last week was in the mid 30’s, which meant that by the time we were done with warm-up we almost had frostbite in the fingers. Pure craziness but I guess this is part of the program when you are preparing for a winter 6-day season. This whole season has been nothing but new experiences, first year pro, first time to Europe, first time racing a full year with no end in sight. But all in all I am loving every second of it.

After getting back from the track we had a bite to eat and then headed out for another easy ride with a local, Peter. He took us all around…I would tell you where but I was lost the whole time. Then right when we got back it started to rain. Bernard always says you have to steal the weather here. And that has been the case the last two days; yesterday it got super windy right after we got back.

Just some R and R for the rest of the day. Riding again in the morning. I'll get some picks of the Cycling Center up tomorrow and give you all the inside details. Can't wait to get on the 6-day track on Monday and get some throws in. The tension is building everyday. It is going to be awesome.

What a ride!

2006-11-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

Wow this trip to Belgium is already off to a bang. Since I am a wonderful procrastinator I have slept 6 of the last 49 hours, for my normal sleep schedule this would be more like 18 of 48 or more. But since I had a paper due the same day I was flying over here, I decided to pull an all-nighter before catching my flights. So getting that paper done at 7 am and catching a bus to DIA at 7:30, then flying to DC, and then on to Belgium arriving this morning at 8:30am, this has been quite a ride. Luckily all the travels went well. Then after we got here, Bernard from the Cycling Center, where we are staying for the first four days before we go to the race hotel, picked us up from the airport. Then the rest of the day was filled with eating and riding a bit. In summary I have been doing things for the last 49 hours with a two long naps on the planes. I guess this is kind of what it would be like for med students fulfilling their residency. But I have to say; I have not actually felt tired until I sat down a moment ago to watch TV that was it. So thus I am writing this before we sit down to dinner, and then pass out for the best sleep ever! In the morning we are going to train at Blaarmeer, another indoor track in Ghent. Yeah, they have two! It should be good because most of the Six-day riders should start showing up for a little track time. Anyway, since writing sentences while being sleep deprived has turned out difficult, I will check in tomorrow with some words on the CC, maybe some photos of the area, and our first experience on a Belgian track.

A View As a Ghent Spectator

2006-11-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to some photos of going to the Ghent 6-day as a spectator. They just make me really excited! I can't wait! Four days until I leave!

cricket players dope and take their bans like real men should

2006-11-01T13:43:00.001-07:00

Oh life... what will you bring next?

2006-10-31T01:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, being 22 and getting ready to graduate in December, having a long term goal that will not support you fully nor work with a full time job is all draining on the sprit and hard to imagine how it will all work out. But I guess this is what is part of the sacrifice that comes with having a dream. I guess this should be the best part of life, not being tied down with a family or stuck in a job because of a family, just a time to enjoy all the opportunities that one can dream of. Boy I only wish I could relax and enjoy the ride.

Track Nationals Pics

2006-10-26T19:03:00.000-06:00

Provided by the very talented Mark Legg. Enjoy.

The "Off-Season"

2006-10-22T21:47:00.000-06:00

Over the last five years of training to become a professional cyclist I have always had an offseason around September and October. But now that I am a Pro cyclist and have decided to focus on track cycling there will be no "off-season" until maybe Feb. Even that is a huge MAYBE?!?

How could this happen?, you ask.
Well there is a little know part of cycling called Six-Day racing. This used to be the most popular sport in America around the turn of the Century, even madison Square Gardens was built for velodrome racing. But now since Americans are so in love with watching NasCars fly around a track at Mach 1 until a big ass American wreck occurs and then we can all shit our pants at the same moment and hope that no one is unjured in these gas guzzeling balls of steal. Anyway, in short not many people like seeing men push the limits of human conditioning at the "slow" pace of cycling.

Luckily in Europe the sport is still flurishing. Each Six-Day the tracks are filled with spectators in the stands and on the infield. And every night for about six hours, for six says in a row the races are held in front of partying spectators, complete with live music, food and enough liquor for everyone.

Thus we arrive at my lack of off season. My partner and I have been invited to race at the Gent, Belgium Six-Day over Thanksgiving. So while every other cyclist is taking time off I am training. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled at this oppurtunity. I can;t wait until the rest of the pros start training for next season and the group rides will start up once again.

By the way, for anyone that has not seen a track race. The finishing speeds for some of the races are around 60-65 Km per hour. That would be just a little under 40 miles per hour on a bike with no brakes. It is quite a sight to see and love!

Suhr

Another Way to Stop Spam

2006-09-28T00:57:00.000-06:00

Google does it again! By allowing plus addressing in gmail accounts, Google gives you a way to keep track of who is selling your email address! Read how to use it at the link.