What the heck...

... happened at the Early Bird Road Race last Saturday? I've been scouring all of cyber space trying to find out who did what, especially in the junior ranks and have come up with very little. Who raced, who placed, blah, blah, blah? If you know, don't keep us all in the dark... speak up!

I did find an interesting little tidbit today, though it has nothing to do with the EB RR except that it seems like Le Tour de Cali will use the same road. That Switters kid has made Rock's long list for a ToC start. I'd love to see the young'n touring Cali. It's fun to watch the used-to-be kidlets growing up.

Did you hear?

It was windy in Qatar today, and Tornado Tom and his boys ripped some legs off... fun stuff. But, even more fun was reading the riders comments...

Slipstream's Backstedt:

"It was fast out of the block. You couldn't sit back because it was almost harder then because you would get pushed off the road and into echelons."

-or-

"It was almost easier to stay at the front and take your pulls and then float back."

Hmm... this from a former Roubaix winner? Sounds more like a cat-4 after racing Snelling or Merco for the first time and just starting to figure out how to ride in the wind.

BMC's Sayers:

"My God!"

-or-

"The first hour was 57kph and it never came down from that. It was totally frustrating trying to stay with the front group. I was on my limit. I'm a pretty good wind rider in the United States, but this is another level."

I know you've been a pro since the Mesozoic Era, but, welcome to the big leagues, Mike!

Drapac Porsche's Dean Windsor:

"QuickStep went to front... and pushed the speed to 70kph for about five kilometers. That just pushed out everyone except seven riders."

Hey! Do you think they guttered it on purpose? I'm telling!

What a clinic on racing in the wind. Check out the results. As I read thru them I was reminded of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. If you've ever been to the battlefield you know about the grave markers placed where Custer's soldiers fell. You can literally and physically follow the battle up the gullies and draws to the knoll where the 7th Cavalry made its last stand.

Qatar's stage two results read like those markers. Only seven riders come to the line together... and not out of some snuck-away-and-nobody-cared break. A few hangers-on that didn't have quite enough grip to stick with the front group. Then eighteen at 45 seconds that must have been the second echelon. A third echelon at 3:32. A few more hangers on with not enough grip. A fourth echelon at 8:12. And a fifth echelon at 12:42... and this wasn't a bus. This was a flat stage. Are you kidding me? 12:42 on a flat stage?

I've read somewhere that bicycle racing is Chess, Nascar, and Boxing all rolled into one scratching, biting, gnashing, smashing sufferfest. If it indeed is, then Quickstep opened stage 2 of Qatar with the King's Gambit, countered black's defense by putting most of the competition into the wall ala Tony Stewart, and finished with a flurry of body blows followed by the haymaker. My kinda racing... I love it.

I also love that Slipstream put a rider into the select final seven... two from Quickstep, two from Silence Lotto, one from Bouyges Telecom, one from Lampre, and Christopher Sutton from Slipstream. If you look real close, you'll see that all those teams except that of young Mr. Sutton are Pro Tour teams. Maybe Slipstream is gonna be able to play with the big dawgs this year!!!

The Great Debate

Checked the weather late last night but couldn't come to a decision. Checked the weather early this morning and couldn't make a decision. Got an email from Larry and still couldn't make a decision...

The forecast on Yahoo weather for Fremont early this morning showed a little sun peeking from behind a cloud, but the devil is in the details. With an early afternoon start for the p/1/2/3 race an early morning sun didn't mean much, especially when one read the detailed forecast... aah, the devil is in the details... increasing showers and wind as the afternoon progresses. An hour and forty-five minutes is a long ways to drive to race with maybe 20 or 30 guys in sideways rain... first decision made.

Now what... the Jesse ride goes off at 10:00. But Yahoo weather calls for half an inch of rain in Auburn and a high near fifty. Jesse is a hardman and I'm sure that as I write this he is out grinding up some riverbed of a road all bundled up in a plastic rain slicker and a set of fenders, but the boys made decision number two... no reason to set the teeth a'chatterin' for five hours of bedraggled sufferfest. I concurred...

As I sit all warm and dry on the couch, the kidlets are out puddle jumping in the extended neighborhood. They opted to squeeze in what they could before the weather closes down and make up for what they couldn't get done in the out-of-doors on the trainer. Yesterday El Gigante had to remove tire from wheel after he got back from his ride... flooded roads seem to fill the things up. Not good for rotational weight. Hopefully the floods have receded and the boyz can navigate for a few hours without any major stream crossings.

I'm ready for the rain to go away. I know we need it to fill up Folsom Lake and all, but a week straight of trainers and soggy legwarmers grates a little... not to mention a week straight of rainy day recesses.

Jackson Stewart?

You tell me... I'm just the messenger!

Earlybird #3--P/1/2/3

DBCJRT Veterans from left to right... El Gigante, AWfoSho, TK, Tapinator, and Staz... finally getting to race after a long off-season. El Gigante tapped AWfoSho on the shoulder shortly after clipping in on the first lap to remind him, "Hey Alex, we're racing our bikes!"

AWfoSho leading an early break after the first lap. This move effectively shattered the field, closing the door on most of the racers chances.

TK and AWfoSho drive another early move... This was the beginning of the winning move. Later, several AMD Masters would come across to swell the group to about 20 riders.

while Staz sits comfortable in the group... Staz stayed with the group on a day where many riders were lapped or pulled out.

and El Gigante covers a bridge attempt. El Gigante was very active in between the break and the main field. He covered several moves before ultimately ending up in the main field.

BMC's Jackson Stewart comes across to the winning move. Stewart was the last piece to insure that the move would stick. With Hipp, Kilun, Holloway, and Stewart in the break all the big names were present. A final bridge by several AMD Masters gave them numbers and solidified the move. DBCJRT was represented by AWfoSho and TK.

TK covers Healthnet's Roman Kilun. This move looked good but was ultimately doomed because AMD had no fewer than four riders in the chase group. Regardless, TK and Roman spent four laps out in the wind before succumbing to the chase.

TK drags Larry Nolan into the headwind with one to go... Larry rode his wheel for the whole lap and came around him with 100 meters to go. Nolan launched his move with four to go. TK covered it with three to go and did the majority of the work. Nolan caught TK off guard with his bluffing... feigning exhaustion. Lesson learned.

AWfoSho gets pipped at the line by one of the AMD Masters after a 350 meter sprint into a headwind out of the first chase to take 4th on the day. AWfoSho had glued himself to Holloway's wheel with three to go, using elbow, hip, and, yes, even his head at one point to defend the wheel. DHolla was blown from chasing TK and Nolan and aborted his sprint at 350 meters leaving AWfoSho to go long into a stiff headwind.

and El Gigante claims the third spot in the field sprint... probably somewhere around 15th overall. Riggs led the sprint out with El Gigante not quite getting his wheel. Still, the Stanford rider was the only one to come around El Gigante.

Not a bad day at the races!

Earlybird #3--The J-Crew Catalog

Wanna-Be-Hoody --$49.99

Available in Bubblegum, Mauve, Fuscia, and Burgundy (pictured)

Sizes: sm, md, lg, xl

100% Cotton

Machine wash with similar colors

Earlybird #3--The Beginner 5's

Just for kicks...

All over the front early... maybe too early

Brian F in the lead pack

The Tapinator looking comfy...

And not so comfy!

Zach S doing battle with the wind

Torey P gettin' in a little group work

Brian on the front late in the race

Robby H and the Tapinator keeping the pace high

A little encouragement...

To be continued...

Fun in Fremont

It's always fun when nobody touches pavement...

It's always fun to watch four budding bike racer (Torey, Zach S, Brian, & Robby) cut their teeth. Heck, Brian was even top ten if we counted accurately...

It's always fun to see the Tapinator's face light up with a top ten finish...

Or, to hear that PtothArker finished with the group despite a recently broken wrist...

It's always fun to see El Gigante and Staz finish with the first chase of a wind-shattered P/1/2/3 race...

And, to see TK and AWfoSho slide into the second and third spot of a P/1/2/3 race that featured the likes of Healthnet's Roman Kilun-it, BMC's Jackson Stewart, VMG/Felts DHolla, Labor Power's Chris Hipp, Berry Boy Briggs, and a nearly-full AMD/Specialized Masters Squad with LaBerge and Nolan present. Can't wait to see how fast the kidlets are gonna be when we take the training load off them... they pulled this one off despite being on the back end of a third week in a phase three build period... hardest week of the season.

Photo Essay to follow, as soon as AWfoSho downloads all the pics...

Random Thoughts on a Saturday

The Tapinator tapped out six repeats on Cardiac today... got a chance to work with him on a couple-o-things--recruiting power from the hip flexors, relaxing the shoulders, losing the bob. We'll break those bad habits he's picked up somewhere, and the boy will be even faster going uphill. It's all about energy conservation and management. Not to mention, we got to work on body position while descending six times too...

Can you believe this kid... unfreaken' believable. He's made a believer out of me. I'm excited to watch him develop. Seems like the only thing that can stop him from taking it to the top is himself... kid gloves to keep the kid's head in the game. Hopefully his coaches don't push him too hard.

The Pro Tour starts in Kangaroo Land tomorrow and less than 24 hours 'til race season starts for my clan... the kidlets are counting down...

It's Coming...

Like the tide, it's an irresistable force... building, growing, intensifying... unstoppable.

For months it has laid dormant, growing in strength, sharpening to a razor's edge. And I am powerless to stop it. I've worked to delay it, to squelch the starving flame, but, of recent, fuel has been heaped upon the fire. The spark has been oxygenized, growing ever hotter, ever brighter.

This Sunday it will burst forth in full fury...

Race season has arrived and the kidlets are keen to turn the pedals in anger. Finally the training plan says RACE. No Jesse ride, no ME work, no seated 110+ rpm's... AWfoSho and El Gigante have got the itch again, and I can't stop them from scratching any longer. Even TK, who is luke warm on crits at best can't resist.

We'll be in Fremont on Sunday.

The kidlets, specifically my kidlets, haven't turned the pedals at race pace since July at Nats... even then both were injured, AWfoSho with a separated shoulder, El Gigante with patellar tendinitis. But, both are healthy now and champing at the bit... Oh the testosterone, the savagery, the primal urge...

Should be fun! Even I can't wait...

A Few Secrets

DBCJRT is gonna be fast in 08... I'm about to divulge a few secrets that probably shouldn't be made available to the competition, let alone the media or the general public.

First, to improve our climbing and increase our ability to spend long training hours in the saddle...

Next, to reduce rotational weight and increase efficiency...

Finally, to enhance performance... *these may or may not be WADA approved so shhhh

And just in case none of the above are enough, we will be the only finishers...

Oops...

Went to pay for the new Cervelos today (that's right... they are en route and should arrive in 5-7 days) and found out that there was a $10,000 charge posted to my credit card today... hmm, I'm thinking, what did AWfoSho and El Gigante get into this time... 'til I found out that the merchant was our clothing sponsor.

Seems they used the card that I paid for the the new DBCJRT rags with to pay for the adult team kits as well when they should have charged a card belonging to somebody else... all well and good, except that charging nearly 5k on the Visa for jr clothing, another K or two for Valley of the Sun expenses for the elite team and accompanying juniors all piled on top of helmet orders, optics, socks, and tubes means that there isn't much room for 10k in adult team clothing and another 10k in bikes... can you say maxed out credit card... and its all DBC expenses!

tis ok... I'm sure the adult team expense will be rectified shortly and the reimbursement check will arrive from DBC soon after that...

Bet you didn't realize that running a little old bike racing team is such big business... but, think of the airline miles I'm racking up!

Heard...

We sent off four kidlets to race in Fremont this morning. For a few of them it would be a first time; for the rest of them, one of the first. I've heard from them that they pedalled lots of circles, AJ touched pavement, and a good time was had by all.

Glad to hear that AJ is none the less for wear and that all the kidlets are interested in racing again despite the Beginner 5 crash fest.

WTG Torey, AJ, Robby, and Brian!

I'm Bettin'...

...that this is a view that a lot of the 13/14 year old peloton will be seeing this year.

Bumped into Dishes and his clan while riding today. Gotta tell you, the kid is going uphill like I haven't seen from him before. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and make a prediction... So long as there is a Junior Points Series this year, and so long as this kid chooses to pursue it, he will stand on the top step when all is said and done. Not only did I watch him spin easy when the road turned up, but I watched him make all the right moves. He knew where to be in the group, and he knew when to go around the rider in front of him. When mind and body come together good things happen...

Living in 357 Square Feet

Found myself wanderin' 'bout Ikea in West Sac the other day. If you've never been there, it's kinda cool. Upstairs they have all these displays, downstairs is where you pick up all the goodies... anyway, they have this one display called Living in 357 Square Feet. Honest, they have everything including the bathroom crammed into that little box. And, I think I could do it. I've gotten pretty good at crammin' stuff into small spaces...

So, the storm the other day left all kinds of neighbors with water damage and what not that they have to deal with. I was one of the lucky ones but got to thinkin'. Maybe it's time to go around the apartment taking pictures again, for insurance purposes you know...

lotsa stuff crammed into little spaces, but no space more important than this one... if you look close, you can see the pegboard underneath all the tools... that is where I went all Martha Stewart and glued the kidlets old race numbers onto the pegboard-- watered down Elmers glue and a paintbrush. I think I read about it in one of my mom's magazines while passing time in her guest bathroom a few weeks back.

The artwork on the wall is the first bike that AWfoSho ever raced... got the frame from Kimo, of Innerlight fame, for a song... the tune went down something like a bottle of wine and a gift certificate to a local restaraunt.

I think if you look around on the ground floor at Ikea you can find something called bike shop in a box. When you get it home and open it up it looks something like you've seen here.

TaDa!!!

SuhWeet!!!

Ouch

If you missed the meeting last night you missed seeing PtotheArker all wrapped up in a cast. I guess the snow in France is hard enough to break bones if you fall on it just so... I knew I should have had the kidelts sign contracts saying that they wouldn't partake in any dangerous activities during the off-season...

Bummer because the boy had plans for the early season including a trip to Valley of the Sun. Guess we'll shelve those plans and start making new ones for later in the season. Perhaps San Dimas...

Rain

The kidlets came home this afternoon looking like this...

If I'da been quicker I'da had the video camera runnin' to catch their teeth a'chatterin'.

Gonna try and time the showers tomorrow... but it's hard to squeeze in five hours between storms when those storms are all stacked up out in the Pacific like they are tonight...

For those of you that haven't seen it yet...

Mt San Bruno...

of note: Laundry was 2nd jr (danged blasted DT...) while the Tapinator finished 7th and Dishes 9th. Staz raced in the threes, but I think he left his climbing legs at home.

pics can be found here, here, and here. A few more can be found here.