Dead Dog Classic
The “Classic” part is an understatement.
It’s Tuesday and I’m happy to be home, to say the least. I had the unfortunate opportunity to stay an extra day in Laramie, WY., so I didn’t get back home until last night. To explain what happened from Sunday through Monday afternoon would take 3 blog posts, so I’ll keep it brief. Trust me, it was insane.
The Dead Dog went ok. Our Pro 1-2 team had a rough weekend. Drew and I finished well off the pace in various chase groups on the road race. I think Drew was 39th and I was 46th. It was an amazing course with hours of climbing, 60+ mph descents and great weather. 90 miles and nearly 7000 feet of climbing.
The photo above is near the summit of the course at 10,000 feet. It was a lung buster to say the least. While I didn’t finish with the lead group, I handled the tough day well though physically. I was penalized 30 seconds for my numbers being trimmed though, which was a bummer.
This is me somewhere near the 80 mile mark after I’ve climbed 6000 feet. I don’t remember this picture being taken. Must have been pretty out of it:
Sunday morning I woke up to go to breakfast and had car issues. I was out of it trying to get my car fixed most of the day and was about 90% sure I was going to drop out and attempt to get my car back on the road. I then decided to race the crit, but did drop out of the stage race after the crit to attend to my car. The crit was fast as hell, but I felt good. I was out of it mentally and finished with the group and no real results to speak of. The car debacle had gotten in my head and although I was racing at 30 mph in the crit, I was not racing.
It was a rough next 24 hours involving crappy motels, crazy towtruck drivers, and my wallet being $800 dollars lighter by the time we drove home.
It was an adventure, the legs are coming along and all things considered, it could have been a hell of a lot worse weekend in a lot of ways and I can look back on the weekend with a smile now that it’s over. Big thanks to the Symmetry Massage girls for helping me out and working on our battered bodies all weekend and Drew for sticking with me and staying up in Wyoming to help me figure my car situation out.
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Michael Jackson – Off The Wall
I haven’t done a music update in a while. This is what I’m listening to right now. It’s a classic that doesn’t need any review. Live your life “Off The Wall”.
R.I.P Michael. You’ll be missed.
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Those who I’ve raced and trained with probably know I have some sensitive feet. I have a wide, low volume forefoot and a extremely narrow heel. This makes finding cycling shoes that fit a serious problem. If I can find a shoe with a wide enough forefoot, my heel slips, if my heel doesn’t slip, then my forefoot is pinched and goes numb. On and on we go. Did I mention they are ugly too? If you ever want to see what track spikes and cycling shoes a size too small will do to your feet let me know.
I have tried nearly every shoe on the market and they all give me problems. The kind of problems that make training and racing miserable. The only shoe I can use that is production is the SIDI “mega” shoes. I should note, I can only use them if I have an aftermarket anti-heel slip piece installed in the heel.
Due to all of these issues, several years ago I took the plunge and bought a pair of Rocket 7’s. They are one of the 2 or 3 custom shoe makers. These shoes solved my problems. They were comfy, didn’t give me problems and allowed me to train and race at high volume with out perpetuating the foot issues I already had. Unfortunately, these shoes are garbage. They do not hold up. Plain and simple.
So, the hunt was on for some new shoes. I almost went with the new BONT cycling shoes. I speed skated a little when I was young, so I was familiar with BONT and their quality. After speaking to the nice folks at the The Skate shop, I almost ordered a pair. They are made in Australia and I see more and more in the pro peloton. I wanted an American made shoe if possible though and the ability to be fit by someone in person.
I decided to go with some shoes from D2 shoe made here in Colorado. You can see these shoes on the likes of half the slipstream team along with numerous other road and mountain pros. The Colorado Pro 1-2 peloton has a bunch of guys on these shoes as well, so I figured I’d keep it local. Plus, I could drive to meet the man that makes them and get fit at the source.
Custom Carbon Soles:
Don Lamson is the main guy behind the shoes. He has a rich history in cycling, which I’ll visit in part 2 of this story. Let me just tell you, he knows his stuff. He’s been around some amazing athletes and brings a great deal of passion to every pair of shoes.
These are just some D2’s custom lasts:
We started by standing on a glass top and Don traced my feet. Then we moved to a crush box (not pictured) to get the imprint of the bottom of my feet. Sometimes, a 3d foot scan is required, but Don didn’t think this was necessary. After that, he took a few measurements and we were done. Now all that was left was to pick colors and put my order in. The shoes take about 2 weeks to create and Don even has an amazing system for determining proper cleat placement. It’s a system he helped develop. In addition, he will do a laser cleat fitting in his shop in Eagle if you are willing to bring your bike up. I will probably take a half day some afternoon to drive and get my shoes so I can also get the shoes and cleats laser fitted on my bike by Don.
Don tracing my feet:
While I waited, I saw the podium shoes Don built for the Garmin team sitting on a table and a folder that read “Michael Barry”. Next to me were a pair of shoes made for Team Type 1 pro Ian McGregor. Don has some big names trusting their feet to his works.
These are amazing shoes and Don is a great guy. I can’t wait to get my shoes and hope they live up to my expectations.
Maybe this is the color combo I should get?:
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This past weekend, DC, Nick and I headed west to Glenwood Springs for 3 days of fun filled, racing action. It was a nice little omnium. For those who don’t know what an omnium is, it’s like a stage race except you don’t have to finish all of the races if you don’t want. A stage rage ala-carte platter if you will. Mmm… ala carte!
Pick and choose what you want to race. Want to be a wuss and bail 30 miles into the road race, but still want to race the criterium the next day? Well, you’re in luck because it’s an Omnium! I opted for a platter sans TT.
I digress…
Anyway, so rumors that Lance and his B.F.F., Levi showing up began to stew wednesday. I called bullsh*t right away. Most of us only have the choice to do races with little prize money and poor organization, why would Mr. Livestrong want to dredge the bottom of the pro race barrel with us euro wannabe’s? Well, I guess it was because he wanted to test their new time trial bikes. The ones with the dumpster-fire-esque paint jobs. They did show up, but I’ll save this encounter for another post. It was entertaining to say the least. I was wrong and they showed.
Click the pic below to see pictures from the weekend:
On the way up, we (mostly I) decided to stop at D2 shoe for a fitting. I have some sensitive feet and need custom shoes. Ahh … $650 shoes. I’m jumping ship from Rocket7. I’ll report more on this visit later. It was very cool! Don Lamson is a genius and has some amazing history in the niche of custom made cycling shoes as well as the famed Olympic project known as Project 96. You can see his works on half of the slipstream team among other pros and top amateurs.
So there you have it, two teasers about potential posts that I may or may not write in the near future.
Back to the Omnium though …
Time trial: Lance and Levi raced. They beat the next best pros by a minute or so. They looked like they were barely working when they finished. More on the sighting later …
Road race: It was a great course. Rolling hills through a canyon near Glenwood Springs. Dirt roads, lung busting climbs an several traverses across the Colorado river. I wouldn’t say it was epic, but it was cool. My favorite part was the motorcycle ref enforcing the “yellow line rule” on a dirt road with no yellow line. He went on a rampage of imaginary yellow line infractions which left several paid pros and local hardmen disqualified. Pretty hilarious and stupid. It reminded me of this. The only thing that would have been funnier is if the ref would have yelled “mark it zero” directly after he said “over the line”. Well, I didn’t make the front group, but I had a good race. Drew got 11th and Nick was top 20. Solid day aside from the stomach issues I had in the last 10 miles. I’ll leave it at that.
Criterium: Super fast, technical course. The attrition rate was going to be high, so I set my sights on making the selection of those who would finish and then hopefully having some cards to play and matches to burn for a break away or fast finish. Rode the front for a while and tried to get a break going. We shed 1/4 of the field in the first 10 minutes. I thought I had made the selection, but after a few big effort got spit out the back and my day was over. I just needed a few minutes for it to let up, but to no avail. Natural Groceries went Mapei-Roubaix style on the race. Baker lapped the field, Christian and Tarkington soloed in for second and third. I think 20 guys finished. The average speed was 27. Ouch.
Here is me on the front before I expired (there are 50 guys behind us strung out) That’s race winning Jonothan Baker behind me:
Solid weekend. Could have been better, could have been worse. Form and confidence continues to build and it’s shaping up to be a fun summer.
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Mid-June (already?)
Wow, it’s the middle of June. Spring always goes so slow, but once summer it’s – it’s on!
While my results don’t show it, my form and confidence is coming a long. I’m hoping the block of racing in the next 3 weeks hones some good form leading into Colorado State Crit champs and the Salida Omnium which also doubles as Colorado State road championships for Pro 1-2. I’m also excited that the Steamboat stage race is on. I heard it was cancelled, but I’m excited to race in Steamboat toward the end of the year.
Last week, I felt a little tired Wednesday and Thursday and then Friday woke up feeling like hell. I was confined to the couch for Friday and Saturday, but started to round the bend Saturday afternoon. It was a Nasty cold. Sunday was the city park crit. I was feeling ok and figured I’d race. It was on from the gun, I know because I drilled it on the front for the first 3 laps to shed some riders. I felt remarkably good for being sick. Unfortunately, I fired off a few too many bullets in the second half of the race trying to establish or get in a break. I was cooked with 5 laps to go. I held on for a finish, but had nothing at the end. I think that had to do with being sick. The officials botched the race. It was raining and hailing on the last 2 laps and the moto driver neautralized the race making it essentially a training ride with an entry fee. I guess he made that decision on his own. Whoops. Huge bummer. We would have definitely thrown down a top 10. Not much we can do.
Work has been busy. I need to figure out how I can phase that out and still make money. Let me know if you have any ideas. They need to be legal.
This weekend is the Western Slope omnium in Glenwood Springs, CO. Then a week off, then Dead Dog in Wyoming. That should set me up well for State Crit champs in Longmont, Fed Center Circuit Race, Bannock Street Criterium and then the Salida Omnium. July should be fun, fast and tough!
Anyone catch this article on VeloNews? Notice the picture of the four riders in the break. The first rider is my teammate about 10 seconds before Ben’s wheel exploded and about 30 seconds before Drew won the race. Bam.
Ok, wish me and the team luck this weekend.
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Nice work Nick!
You’d think this was his first time on the podium. Not the case.
He’s earned his stars and bars a few times.
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This part weekend I raced the Hugo road race. I’m not sure the mileage, but it was around 80, although it felt like a 100 mile crit at times. Although we have some of the most beautiful mountain roads in the country, most of our road races (the few we have) are out in the part of Colorado I like to call Kansas. The “right side” of Colorado is Kansas in my mind. It’s like racing in the midwest. Rolling hills, rough roads and wind. It was a day that was going to be filled with suffering.
We had a small team for the day (3 guys) and then we were whittled down to two when one of our guys forgot something. I’m not going to say what he forgot, but his proposed solution was duck tape and converse. Amateur.
So it was Nick and I, duking it out. I had good sensations in the legs. Nick and I were at the front, patrolling, covering breaks and hoping one of the breaks we would cover would turn into something. Kind of a lot of work for two guys. We hauled ass for a while, slowed down, attacks came, the group closed them down. I forgot how much I like road racing over crits. They are just as hard, but you get moments here and there to gather yourself. The cadence suits my style much more and there is a dance that is much more interesting than the balls to the wall strung out pain cave that is crit racing.
At the 45-50 mile mark I was feeling money, but everyone was getting anxious and it went into the gutter as a cross wind picked up. The field broke apart into 3 groups. The first group caught the break, then popped a few guys from the break and then the remaining guys pretty much limped in. Nick and I were both in the 30’s for place. Nothing to write home to mom about, but a lot of guys didn’t finish, so whateva. (Note to self: break into the top-10 ASAP).
I felt great, but when I needed the legs to fire the most was around the time I cramped. I eased up for a mile or two, recovered and hit it again. I should have made the split, but I didn’t. I finished feeling pretty good though. The form is coming. I wish we had more long road races. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that around the two hour mark is when my body decided not to cooperate. I think that’s directly tied to the fact I rarely race longer than 2 hours. The fitness and speed is coming along, but the endurance still needs work.
Allen Krughoff (rio grande) beating Jason Donald (Garmin) for the win:
That night was the Neko Case show. I was ready to go after wearing compression tights for 3 hours after the race. We were the ones in the 4th row in awe. Her show was great. I forgot how fun it is to actually go out on a weekend night. Social life, how I miss you!
I decided to opt out of Sundays crit in Boulder. I needed a bit of recovery and I’ve been hitting it hard lately, but I’m ready for things to get into full swing. City Park next weekend!
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Photo by dgrinbergs.
Saturday was Louisville. It is a short 3 corner course with a nice hill every lap. The field was stacked. 80 + guys for a local Pro 1-2 crit is pretty solid. Like North Boulder, we had no shortage of Philly winners and NRC powerhouses. It was HARD. My fitness isn’t where it should be by this time of the year, but it’s coming along. I need about 4-5 more fast crits to be feeling good.
My teammate Nick rolled off the front when the break went 5 minutes into the race. It contained Zirbel, Donald and pretty much everyone needed for a perfect break. I was stoked we had a teammate in such a good break, but as the break attacked itself and Zirbel and the other big boys turned the screws, Nick had to drop back. We limited our losses, but most of us were pretty cooked and our best result for the team was outside the top 20. The last few laps were crazy fast with Natural Grocers going to the front and shelling some big names.
Natural Grocers p/b XP drilling it on the front:
The sensations in my legs were pretty good and it was a good confidence booster. We shelled a good 20 guys, so while the attrition rate wasn’t as high as it’s been, it was still a hard day.
Results:
I was stoked for the Koppenberg, but I guess the previous nights rain made the officials nervous and they cancelled the race … for the third time this year. Personally, I think they should have had it. The conditions would have been rotten, but I think that would have made it awesome. Whatever. It’s the last time I plan around that race. Should have gone to the Iron Horse or Memorial weekend in Iowa/Illinois.
Sunday, I hit up a big ride through up Golden Gate through White Mountain ranch with my teammate Peter. He was fresh after not racing on Saturday and proceeded to kick the crap out of me. I was cooked yesterday and proceeded to nap for a few hours when I got home.
Hard-man Peter Vraniak at White Mountain ranch (epic view!):
I haven’t heard all the winners from this past weekend, but Alex Hagman was second at Iron Horse and Amanda Miller won Snake Alley. I’m pretty sure that Burlington is her home town or somewhere close to it, so congrats to her on “taming the snake” and reeling in the hometown win! I haven’t won snake, but it’s one of the 3 races I want to win before I call it quits. It’s an epic day that no other race I’ve done rivals.
I’m feeling some momentum …
Cheers.
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Extreme motorpacing
Aside from having a systematic doping system that involved the likes of sh*t heads Stefan Shumacher, Bernard Kohl and David Rebellin, the now defunct team Gerolsteiner also had quite the motorpacing routine. I’m not sure if sprinting around a car going 45 mph is possible clean, but these guys show us it’s definitely possible when your on the dirty.
If anyone wants to do this with me sans systematic doping, I’m in. All we need are some crazy cyclists and a good driver.
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Fast weekend (kind of)
Well, I guess it was an ok weekend. I never imagined my best race of the weekend would be the Sunshine Hill Climb. After all, I’m not a climber right? Well, it wasn’t anything spectacular. I finished 37th in the Pro race out of probably 50 starters. My time however was very respectable. As a matter of fact, the same time would have put me in 15th place last year. Go figure.
Anyway, I felt good, had good sensations and had a good time. I’m not a morning person, so racing at 8 am was rough, but I loved having the rest of the day to chill. Racing late in the afternoon makes for a nervous morning and day leading into the race. Nice win for Corey Collier beating Phil Zajicek. Nothing like beating the guy who stuck it to Lance and Levi at the Gila Monster.
Here is a picture of me on the climb. Check out more here. It was a good time:
As for North Boulder Park Crit … well, I sucked. I hit the Cat 2 race up with team mates Peter and Drew. It was a stung out affair. I stayed on the front, but went to mid pack to try and recover after a very active first few laps.
Well, a gap opened and I couldn’t close it. Pop. Done. Pretty f*cking embarrassing really. To not finish a Pro race is one thing, but Cat 2? Common. I do feel a little better knowing only 16 guys finished. Attrition baby. Welcome to Colorado racing. The good news was Drew making the 5 man break that went late in the race. A strange series of crashes in the break descimated the 5 man break down to 2 guys and Drew took the win. For some perspective he was a Cat 4 this time last year. The force is strong with that one.
Drew and I near the front in the beginning of the race:
Here are some pics of the Cat 2 race. If you want to know why Mavic recalled their carbon spoked wheels, check out the last few pictures in the gallery. VeloNews editor and all around hard man Ben Delaney crashed out of the break when his front wheel exploded on the last lap.
The Pro race was next. I felt ‘warmed up’ aka cooked from the previous races. On the line, I just wasn’t confident, which is a bad place to be. Maybe that happened when I realized there were 3 guys in the field who had won Philli and a few Tour de France veterans.
It as single file and a half mile long. I held on for a bit, but had a pretty short day. Congrats to Ian on attacking the late break and taking the solo win. Natural Grocers again showed their stuff by giving paid pros a run for their money. Check out the results. Recognize any names? Pictures are here. Keep in mind this is a “local” race. Welcome to Colorado.
Wish me luck. I might finish a crit someday this year …
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