First track race of 2011

The preseason racing at the Marymoor velodrome has officially started and the first races were last night.

It went about as well as I expected and was a great test of my form and reintroduction to the track. I didn't do anything special but the main thing is that I relearned a whole bunch of stuff.

The action didn't really start until the last race; the 5x5 points race. The points race is one of my favorite races so I was pretty excited to race one again. The first couple of sprints were like normal and then a breakaway happened. It was a big one and they had a giant gap forming. I didn't really worry since about 90% of the time a breakaway doesn't stay out and gets pulled right back in. Not this time; we didn't organize soon enough to real them back in. I made a couple of attacks in the hopes that people would take chase but all that would happen is that they would slow down when I pulled off. Feeling pretty tired I sat up and went to the back for a bit of a rest; hoping that someone would turn up the throttle. Finally I made an attack and found myself in the middle of nowhere. Figuring that it was all or nothing now I put the hammer down and tried my best to make contact. I was all in and put in more effort than I knew I had in me this early in the season. My legs were searing and the commentator was cheering me on as I edged closer and closer but by the time I was just over half way there the race was over and I got nothing for my efforts. I'm pretty sure that I could have made it if I wasn't so under geared (should have been at 90 gear inches as apposed to 86) and will be changing that for next week.

In other news; I now have a pair of Easton EC90 wheels on order and should be here soon. I'm excited to be finally upgrading my wheels. New wheels is probably the single biggest upgrade I can make right now. I'm hoping that Ill be able to get a new track frame in the near future though. I may or may not get a new road bike before that though. Much to contemplate and much to be excited about.

Picture from Dennis Crane

http://www.dbcphoto.com/Cycling2011-5/Track-2011/Marymoor-FNR-51311/17052500_8hbWR2#1291205317_wbP9pKR

Track time, fixies and money

Today I rode the track for the first time with my track bike this season. It is kind of hard to tell where my form is right now since the last couple of days were pretty tough. On Thursday I went out and attacked every hill and on Friday I was still feeling good and ended up going for a longer ride than planned. For the most part I took it pretty easy today and just got myself reacquainted with the bike and worked out some kinks in the new position. I did a few sprints and got into a couple of pace lines. I was yet again reminded as to why I love racing track around here as I chatted with people that I haven't seen all year or am just meeting for the first time. Everyone is friendly and welcoming. Everyone is just waiting for this week to fly by and start racing on Friday nights again.

I got a job at the local bike shop. So far it has been a great job and I can now actually afford some of the equipment that Ive been pining after for

quite some time. The problem is now I can also afford the parts that I think I want and probably wont be able to save any cash for a while.

My form feels like it is coming around quite nicely. I fee

l stronger than at any point during last season. I guess thats what I get for actually training seriously. I was very impressed when the other day I towed my boss up a hill while on my fixie. He was in the big ring and apparently not pedaling at all. This just helps to boost my confidence and tell me that Ive been doing the right stuff.

I'm currently saving up to buy a pair of Easton

EC90 TKO wheels. These will be one of the best upgrades that I could do right now. There is also a possibility that I can chat with the Easton Rep and get a sponsorship. I'm crossing my fingers on that one and hoping that it can be done. My goal is to have these ready to go for the FSA Grand Prix on July 24th and 25th.

Something that I was told about today while at the track was Chrome's new Sherman bag. This is just what I have been looking for. Ill be able to carry all my gear and a set of wheels to the track with ease. This is big for me since I don't own a car and I also don't want to ride my race wheels down the street and potentially damage them or get a flat (Tubular tires can retail for as much as $120 each and can take an hour or so to install properly.)

Dammit Jim I'm a doctor not an astronaut (Westside Series# 3 3-20-11)

Okay I'm not a doctor either (which would you trust me to do first though?) but the point is that I am just as much a mountain biker as I am an astronaut (or doctor for that matter.) I only dabble in mountain biking and really only race in the dirt when I miss racing or forget the pain from last time. Most mountain bike races are about an hour longer than the 15-20 minute races I am accustomed to at the track.

I just finished my first race of the 2011 season, Westside series#3 at Soaring Eagle Park (better know to us locals as The Beav) in the Sport class. Like it was last year; I did a mountain bike race as the first outing. Unlike last years race I didn't have a flu and was feeling pretty good about everything. I knew that if it was going to be muddy I would be just fine since it would be just fine since it would default to being a race about brute strength and horsepower which is something that I can do. It just depended on getting a good starting position and just hang on for a couple laps and then launch myself. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get a good start position. I found myself with little left in the tank about 2.5 laps in. I was still passing people but I knew that I would now be fighting for a top ten finish and not a podium slot. I gauged my efforts wrong and hit the wall hard. For a second I caught myself thinking of excuses to leave the race and go home in shame. I felt like crap: I was over heating bad and my hearing was starting to go, breakfast was coming back for a reunion tour that would undoubtedly result in horrible disappointment. I had to get myself out of this mental hole and back in the game. I drank some water and took off what layers I could and decided to take it back a notch to stave of breakfasts second coming. I started to play music in my mind and in a little I was feeling much better and passing riders again. I wasn't 100% but at that point I was happy with something. All was going well until I chose a bad line over an obstacle and crashed in a way that smacked my knee into the bike, pinned my leg and dropped my chain all at once. As I was pinned I saw all the people that I had just passed overtake me again. Lucky for me there was only one person in the bunch that matter. I got up quick fixed my chain, limped for a bit and got back on the bike. The rest of the race was uneventful and I ended up taking 6th place finishing in 1:10:59. Not bad for someone that only dabbles in mountain biking. I am not disappointed in the result; I didn't come in last and I didn't puke. I learned a lot about myself as a racer and took a lot from the experience. My endurance is still not where I would like it to be but it is for sure a ton better then at any point during last season. I feel confident that with a bit more training Ill be hitting it hard in May (track season starts.)

I need a haircut

And another thing

Mark Bezos presents why you help others and to do it now instead of later. Give what you can even if it is not a monetary asset. I feel that this philosophy represents exactly what my team is all about and why I love it so much. I can actually help people with this talent that I possess

New kit and my pants don't fit so well.

Lets play "whats that smell?"

Just before my ride in crap whether

About a week ago I picked up my new team kit. This is the first team kit and first full kit that I have ever owned; the fact of which just seems to solidify a lot of things for me. Ive taken the next step on my journey to becoming a serious competitive cyclist. It just fills me with a touch of pride and a bit of willingness to suffer just a bit more for the good of the team and sponsors.

The team that I joined is Farestart powered by Colbalt Mortgage (Thumbprintracing.org,) a team that is all about charitable work and actually helping out the community. One of the teams title sponsors, Farestart: is a catering company that hires recovering homeless people and trains them to be chefs. It feels great to represent a non-profit like this. I have a lot of pride wearing this jersey; which means a lot to me since I want to represent people and companies that I feel have the same philosophies and ideas as I do. Why would I want to represent a group that I don't like?

The fact that I am representing a great group of people (both the sponsors and teammates) just pushing me on even more motivating me in my riding and training. Track season is coming up very quickly and I am pumped to get back on the track again. My training has been going very well and I am feeling stronger than at any point during last season. I've worked hard to get rid of my weaknesses and make sure that Ill achieve all my goals for next season. I'm in good shape and Ive gotten my bike more dialed in. I'm ready --- now can it be May already?

The bike

When I attended the FSA Grand Prix (if you've never heard of it http://www.fsagrandprix.com/) this year and walked away with a new bike.

The bike is stiff and light (which is what I want in a bike) with some added aerodynamics. The bike that I was racing on before weighed out to be about six pounds heavier; the Omnium being 15.5 pounds. The bike is so stiff and light that I had to up my gearing because I would spin out during races. As an example with the Giant while putting my foot on the pedal, (as is customary) I had to use a good amount of force to get the bottom bracket to flex . Even then I'm too sure that it wasn't just the wheels that were flexing and not the bottom bracket. On my old bike I put my foot on the bottom bracket it self and not putting too much pressure on it was able to get it to move. This means that the whole time that I was racing Cat 5 and Cat 4 I had a bike that required a ton more effort to go fast.

The bike has and will be a fantastic racing bike. All I need now is to get some better wheels then Ill be flying. New wheels will allow for a stiffer ride with more power going to the wheels and on to the track.

The setup:

Giant Omnium (probably 2007 or 2008)

Crank: Dura Ace 165mm

Bottom Bracket: Dura Ace

Bars: Cinelli Pista

Hubs, rims and spokes:

Dura Ace low flange 32 hole.

Mavic Open Pro

DT Swiss

Saddle: Specialized Toupe

Note: I have since cut the steer tube and taken the name Jeremy off the bike. That is the previous owner and as some of you may know, not my name.

Life in the fast lane with no brakes.

It sure has been a very long time since I last posted here. A lot has changed and I guess now is a good time to sit back and collect my thoughts and reflect on all that happened this past spring and summer.

For starters I took up racing. More specifically I took up track

racing. There is a velodrome about 5 miles away from my house (Marymoor Velodrome WWW.Velodrome.org.) Being so close I would normally pass by and look at the track on my daily commute (Note: while of my fixed gear bike.) I decided (with a lot of encouragement from the owner of the local bike shop) to race. I figure that I already had the basic bike and all I needed were some new pedals, tires and a race license from USA cycling.

After racing a couple of races I was hooked and was doing well. I wanted more and was racing on a weekly basis; and twice a week once I got to Category 4. I quickly got an idea as to what I thought that I could do and established some goals.

Goal #1: Keep an eye out for teams that were performing and looked like a good match for me. I noticed three good teams that seemed like a good match for me and were interested in me. It is pretty easy to talk to potential teams and teammates when you are in the infield at the track and races are going on (there is no crossing the track during races.) I found my match in Thumbprint racing and am now on their roster for 2011.

Goal#2: Go from Category 5 to Category 3 in my first season as a racer. I knew that this was going to be a real challenge for me and this kind of feat was normally reserved for the special kind of racer. I think that I needed that kind of challenge and motivation to race. I would only gain more motivation when people would tell me things like "you can't do that," and I would respond by saying "just watch." I didn't make this decision just because I could; I knew that I had the power and mental ability to do this. As it turns out; I was right, and made it to Cat 3 just a little past half way into the season. This was an incredible feat and I knew that I had just done something special. I had just gone from no race experience to racing with the big guys on Friday nights in "The Show."

I had an amazing first season made possible by will and determination and a ton of help from friends, family and the great racing community. I am now actually training (yeah I didn't do much of that) this winter and will see what I can do with more strength and structure.