Marymoor Grand Prix

The last set of races was an Omnium up in Seattle at the Marymoor Grand Prix. Many talented riders showed up, but not quite at the caliber of TTown or Colorado Springs. I was excited about this one. The track mirrors Northbrook pretty well, I was feeling well rested and trained after those long stints, and most of all – we were at sea level, I could breathe. If anyone’s not familiar with the format of a UCI omnium, it’s a series of six events over two days (Scratch, Individual Pursuit, Elimination, Kilo, Flying Lap, Points Race) where you’re awarded points based on how you finish (1^st – 40, 2^nd – 38, etc). The last race of the sequence is a 40k Points Race where you simply add (or subtract) to your point total based on the points race itself. The Scratch Race went off and I missed the move late but ended up fine for points placing 6^th and same with the Elimination as I placed 5^th not losing hardly any ground to the leaders. What shocked me most were the individual events as I broke out a bit and finished really well in each - Individual Pursuit (3^rd), Kilo (4^th), and the Flying Lap (2^nd). I positioned myself in 4^th heading into the Points Race not too far off a podium spot. Even though the caliber of racers ahead of me was really impressive, I figured I’d try to go for it and see if I couldn’t get on the podium rather than consolidate and hold onto a Top 5 position. As the race went on, me and the other podium riders (who couldn’t catch the guy in first) all were marking each other hard to stay on the podium. The only catch was we couldn’t mark everyone and the guys sitting in 5^th and 6^th ended up having phenomenal races and leapfrogged all of us in the standings. Had I not let the guys in 5^th or 6^th go, I would have certainly finished Top 5 rather than sixth, but I’d have probably kicked myself for not going for the podium. Also, simply being ‘racey’ against guys of that caliber is a learning experience in and of itself. Mixed emotions on the finish but a race that I had an outstanding time at and will definitely look to do again. Lessons learned 1) strategy is huge in omniums and since so many points are out there in the points race, it’s never over for anyone 2) success at this level is sort of possible, and 3) maybe I should just be a sprinter, riding 2 to 6 laps at a time seems a whole lot easier.

Katie and I also got to enjoy a few days in and around Seattle. We hiked around a nice park near where we stayed at the track. We went out one night to an awesome cocktail bar called Canon and also checked out the Pikes Place Market for a few hours. The Pacific Northwest is nice. I think we’re going to put this one on the calendar again next year.

What's Up Next? 7/19 Edition

The meat of the season is upon us! Only a few more weeks of racing this year and its all over.

7/19 - Illinois State Road Race Championships (Chicago, IL)

7/24-25 - Marymoor Grand Prix (Redmond, WA)

I'm approaching the road race today as simply a good workout to get ready for the rest of the season as I've taken a nice mental week & weekend that hasn't set me up well for it. Looking forward to the Omnium at Marymoor and seeing if I can't improve upon how I did at CO Springs.

The specific schedule for next weekend's omnium is: 

Friday Morning: Scratch Race, Individual Pursuit

Friday Evening: Elimination Race

Saturday Morning: Kilo, Flying Lap

Saturday Evening: Points Race

UCI Racing in Colorado Springs

Well that was one heck of a trip and probably the toughest full week of racing I've ever done. We drove out on Wednesday morning and made it straight through to our hotel which was ended up being a decent spot for a week as it had a little kitchen in it where Katie cooked some really nice meals for us. The velodrome was roughly a 15 minute drive from where we were with a nice view of the mountains the entire way. The weather would prove to be dicey all week causing delays and reschedules which made it tough to prep for warm-up, cool-down, etc but they did a nice job of getting revised schedules out quickly to everyone. Besides the racing, Katie and I were able to go on a few nice gravel rides on the Sante Fe trail which was a lot of fun. We also rode up and around the Garden of the Gods and also spent one afternoon hiking around it which was a nice reprieve from the racing. We also ate at a pretty good barbeque spot for lunch one day and then went out to a place called Phantom Brewing to celebrate the week on Friday night. On Saturday night we stayed at Jason and Carol Porter's place and enjoyed a fantastic meal on their gorgeous patio which was a great cap to the week before driving home on Sunday. Anyways, the racing proved to be brutally hard. It seemed to be a who's who of track cycling in the Americas as there were Olympians, World Champions, National Champions, guys that finished the Giro this year all in a fairly international field (I think 7 countries were represented). The week would prove to have a lot of up and downs but I've come home faster and better for it.

Independence Day GP
The Independence Day GP was simply a Madison and a 90 lap Points race for us. The Madison was rained out on Friday and rescheduled for Saturday morning. Nikos and I weren't super ready for this and got beat up pretty bad in the event. We started off slow and weren't super comfortable thorughout the first part of the race. By the end of the event we both got significantly better and probably would have done better in the event had we been that consistent throughout. Oh well, we finished 8th of 10 and got the most technical of the races out of the way. I felt absolutely disasterous throughout the effort as the altitude was clearly getting to me.

At night was the UCI 30k Points Race (90 Laps). This race ended up being the hardest thing I've ever done given my state of non-acclimation. At 75 laps I looked up and thought there was no way I was finishing this thing. I just kept hanging in lap after lap and somehow managed to get across the line which was better than much of the field could say as I finished 19th of 33. The best part of the day though was relaxing and watching the Colorado Springs fireworks show with the Hesserts after the race which was literally in the park adjacent to the velodrome. The mountain top backdrop was spectacular and we just enjoyed a few bites and a few drinks. I was rather satisfied with having simply finished and this was an incredible and unique way to end the day. It reminded me of doing the Soldier Field Crits on Wednesdays in the city years ago as you'd finish, feel crushed, and then ride home as the firework show went off. That kind of surreal feeling of having done something crazy hard and then watching fireworks with the rest of the world was nice to recapture.

U.S. Grand Prix of Colorado Springs
The midweek races consisteted of a UCI omnium which included (in order) a scratch race, individual pursuit, elimination race, kilo, flying lap, and then a points race where riders accumlate points by finishing order up until the points race where they can earn or lose points in the same manner as any points race. I had an awful scratch race, an even worse pursuit (5:11), and a rather poor elimination race which really kicked this event off on the wrong foot. The next day I feel like something turned. I didn't feel quite as awful and lined up for the Kilo. I felt rather decent throughout the event and turned in the 12th fastest time. The flying lap was next and I got 13th. The Points Race due to weather got pushed back until the next day. I was petrified of it given that it was 120 laps and the 90 lap event was so hard on me. I raced it super conservatively and felt outstanding. With about 30 laps to go, feeling pretty good, I just soaked up the situation. The guy in front of me was our Olympic representative the last 2 times, the guy to my right was in the Giro d'Italia this year, the guy to my left was a National Champion last year, the guy behind me is leading the National Track Calendar...and I felt great. With about 10 to go I uncorked it a bit and just started driving pace when I had the opportunity. I ended up finishing the omnium in 15th place which was a decent salvage. It certainly made me hungrier for Marymoor's omnium coming up in a week and a half. After Thursday's race we had dinner over at the Hessert's which was excellent as they cooked up a nice meal for us.

U.S. Vic Williams Memorial Grand Prix
The final races of the week were an Individual Pursuit and 90 Lap Points race on Friday and a 45 Lap Scratch Race on Saturday night. I started warming up trying to figure out pacing for the IP as my pacing was just horrendous for my earlier one in the week. Katie timed me and I was throwing down 24's-26's trying to dial in an effort that wasn't too hard too quick (my first pursuit went something like 22, 22, 24, 25, 25, 26, 26, 26, etc. which was a substantial blow up. I put it in a bigger gear and went off just trying to turn it over consistently. First full lap goes by and I hear '2.2' meaning I just went through in 22.2 seconds, another super hot start. The next lap went by and I heard about the same thing. I decided to just keep the pedal down since it felt consistent instead of going off the pace and then trying to turn something over that didn't feel as natural. Luckily the next few laps were in the 23's and I really didn't start creeping up into the 24's and 25's until the end. I crossed the line in 4:55 which was a PR for me, super thrilled about it as it confirmed that my 5:11 was a fluke. The Points Race was just super hard again. I ended up 14th this time, but just didn't quite have it. The Scratch Race on Saturday night was fun. I made the select group but got gapped off with 3 to go when the rider in front of me couldn't hold pace. I ended up 7th in the race and felt great at the end - a good sign for the rest of the year - especially nationals when most of these guys can't come as they're from other countries.

It was a good trip for experience. Glad to have TTown and CO Springs behind us as I'm really looking forward to Marymoor and Nationals. Yay for rest weeks - the amount I've already accomplished since being home is so nice.

Until next time.

Downer Ave & Tomasz Pac 100 Lap Race

The Tomasz Pac 100 Lap race was last Thursday which is a race I won last year and helped Randy win two years ago, so needless to say our team's done very well here. Nikos and Johnny got off the front real early and were able to hover at the back of the field for the majority of the race. As they got off the front, I went to the front of the peloton and set false tempo and just watched the gap grow from a quarter lap to three quarters of a lap incredibly quickly. I tried to get off the front probably a dozen times during the race after that but no one was going to let me go. Johnny ended up winning which is a great first big win for him and the third year in a row our team has won that event. It's nice to have won it once because I don't feel like I 'need' to win it anymore.

I went up to Milwaukee on Saturday for the Downer Ave Criterium which is part of the Tour of the America's Dairyland Series, one of the major racing series held throughout the summer in United States. The field was incredible. Daniel Holloway, probably the best criterium racer in the county was there with his team, Rashaan Bahati was there, a former national criterium champion, Jack Bobridge was there - a stage winner of the Tour Down Under earlier this year, as well as a lot of local pro teams and high caliber guys. The crowd seemed lined 2 deep the entire course, it was the most electric atmosphere I've raced in in awhile, such a cool experience. I felt great the whole race, never under pressure at all. With 2 to go I was in a great spot, with several of the who's who in the race right in front of me but entering the first turn of the last lap someone directly in front of me had to get on there brakes which caused me to have to as well and I lost a dozen spots. From there it was just a matter of hanging on which was good enough for 30th. Really cool race and I'll definitely do it again next year.

Tomorrow we're driving out to Colorado Springs for the week of UCI/NTC racing. Looks to be about a race a day so hopefully it'll be a fairly relaxing trip otherwise.

Festival of Speed & the Red Robin Finals

The two UCI & NTC races over the weekend were at Trexlertown (Festival of Speed on Friday, Red Robin Finals on Saturday) and drew an incredibly talented field to the velodrome. It seemed like looking around half the field had olympic, world championship, world cup, national championship palmares to their resumes. The major race on Friday was a 72 lap points race with sprints every 6 laps. I was able to steal a few points early when I was positioned well. Unfortunately, after I grabbed some points a serious move attacked which I was in no position to follow after having given a good effort and that move ended up lapping the field. Its a tough game to try to figure out what to do - if you don't take points anywhere you won't place well, but if you go after points and a big move goes, you will miss out on a great result. The race ended up being what I'd consider the hardest race I've ever done. With about 30 laps to go I was just trying to hang on and find points where I could relax. I ended up 12th in the event of about 30 guys and I believe the 6th American. Good experience.

With a big rainstorm quickly approaching the race organizers decided to move the important races to earlier in the day, starting them at 4:00pm instead of 7:30pm. This was incredibly good news for Katie and I as we cancelled our hotel in TTown and figured we'd just drive as far as we could after the races ended - we just had to hope we actually got them in otherwise they'd be rescheduled for tomorrow. Anyways I felt really tired for these races and just didn't have a whole lot of gusto for them. I finished 13th in the UCI scratch race which wasn't terrible, I just probably could have done better if I was 'on it'. Great experience racing in that caliber of field and glad to have gotten the races in. We were able to make it to Cleveland on Saturday night and were home midday Sunday. Looking forward to being home a little while!

Midweek Racing out East

Two track cycling events were held midweek - a Pro-Am at Trexlertown and the Summer Solstice track event held at the Wall Velodrome in New Jersey not terribly far from where I was staying. The Pro-Am had just about the same level of competition as the weekend races as many riders who flew in internationally for the week (who had probably nothing else to do during the week in TTown) showed up for a little track racing on Tuesday night. The night went relatively well as I placed 4th, 5th, and 7th in the three races I did. But the most fun I had was on the last race of the night which was a 50 lap Madison. I was able to find a partner and had a blast using the banking to get up to speed quickly and sling him in and out. We didn't do super well, but it was good experience.

On Wednesday I traveled down to the Wall Velodrome to check out another track. It's short-track auto racing track that certainly has its drawbacks for cyclists, but is otherwise a fine venue for a spot race here or there. I won all the races during the evening and had a good time sitting in the stands watching the other races with Katie and Rick (her Uncle). It was nice to also remember that you're not terrible at this sport after the challenges that racing with some of the best guys internationally pose. Fun time and they even gave me some martini glasses for winning! Worth it.

Fastest Man on Wheels

Tonight was another big Class 2 UCI event in Trexlertown called the "Fastest Man on Wheels". Katie and I made the drive out from Chicago on Thursday, stayed in Penn State in a surprisingly nice hotel from hotwire, and finished the drive out Friday morning.

It was blazing hot during the day and just before the race the heavens opened and a nice lightning storm hit. The track in TTown, unlike the track in Northbrook, dries up in about 30 minutes which was incredible. Racing started only a few minutes behind schedule.

The main event for the night was the 24km (72 lap) UCI Points Race with sprints every 6 laps. I put on a 49x13 and it was butter for the event (thanks to Marcus at YoJimbos for letting me borrow). I tried to conserve energy and I think it was for the best as I was fairly cross-eyed by the end of the race. However, I made the breakaway move of about 9 riders that stayed away until the end. I sprinted when I was in good position and let the points go when I was out of position. I finished the race good enough for 9th which means I scored a few UCI and NTC points. I also grabbed a 6th and 7th in the Super Sprint Elimination and the 5km Scratch Race at the end of the night.

Good night of racing and looking forward to spending the day in Philadelphia today with Katie walking around and sweating it out in the 90 degree heat.

What's Up Next? 6/7 Edition

The next week of racing takes me back out east for a series of UCI and Non-UCI races. Katie and I are driving out on Thursday and coming back that next Sunday. Anyways, here's the schedule:

6/12 - Fastest Man on Wheels (Trexlertown, PA) - UCI Points Race / Scratch Race

6/16 - Fuji Bicycles Pro-Am (Trexlertown, PA)

6/17 - Summer Solstice Track Omnium (Wall Township, NJ)

6/19 - Festival of Speed (Trexlertown, PA) - UCI Points Race / Scratch Race / Madison (Day One)

6/20 - Festival of Speed (Trexlertown, PA) - UCI Points Race / Scratch Race / Madison (Day Two)

US Sprint Grand Prix

Made my way out to TTown for the first of a series of UCI races over the next couple of weeks held there. The field was exceptional headlined by Bobby Lea as well as many international riders (Italy, New Zealand, Canada off the top of my head). The UCI Scratch race was intense but a great learning experience. First, 95 gear inches isn't enough - plain and simple. Second, which is something I should have played better, but, conserve your energy more - there are a lot of guys in that race that get paid to do what they do - it's on them to bring the race back when a move goes up the road. Several times I put in decent digs to inject pace to bring back little moves that I had a bit of panic about. There was a 4 lap sequence in the middle of the race where I legitimitely was spinning out of my 51x14 (180 avg hr, 113 avg cadence, 34.0mph during that stretch). I'm fairly certain thats the longest time I've been above 180 this year and to put that gear in perspective, usually it has to be a super fast race at northbrook for me to put that kind of gear on...it simply wasn't enough yesterday. I ended up finishing in the 2nd group as 11 guys got up the road. Although it sucks that I came home empty handed points-wise, it was such a cool experience and I'll come into next week more prepared (as well as hopefully less under-the-weather).

There were two more races during the night with the same field - A devil's scratch (MNO until 12 riders left, then 5 lap scratch) and a 3km scratch race. I ended up surviving the MNO portion and finishing 9th in the Devil's Scratch. Doing MNO's on a track like that is so much nicer than Northbrook - I feel like if nothing else you know they're going to call out the right person. The last race of the night was a 3k scratch race. I tried to maintain position and move my way up as much as possible (which isn't really possible). I followed what wheels futilely tried to move up on the outside until they died and the next came around. I swear the sprint started at about the 1.5 to go mark and whoever could just power through the long effort survived it. I ended up finishing 5th which I was pretty pleased about. Expectations change quickly when you know what you're up against.

Looking forward to coming back out next week!

What's Up Next? 6/2 Edition

So the road season unfortunately is coming to a close for me as track season gets fully underway. This was easily the most fun I've had racing my road bike in years. I think a lot of it was the success I had, but probably moreso the teammates I had racing with throughout the last few months. It's really got me thinking about my goals for next year and whether or not attacking the road heavier would be a higher priority. Regardless...that's a tale for another time. Hopefully I'll be able to spot race a bit here and there but to recap the season: 1st's at Glencoe and East Dundee, a 2nd in the Fox River Omnium, a 5th at Elgin, 2nd in the field sprint at Monsters for 8th, and 3 Top 25 finishes at Joe Martin with a loss of only 2:03 to the leader rounds out roughly the last month of racing. I would have taken that 20 times out of 10 if you took me back 6 weeks trying to figure out how I'd not get time cut in the 110 mile road race in Fayettesville on the drive down.

My main objectives for the year kick off Friday as I'll be flying out to TTown Friday morning for a 15km Scratch Race later in the evening. Hopefully I can score some NTC points there and get a jumpstart on the competition for the remainder of the year. Details on the races will be posted here.

Schedule
6/4 - Northbrook Velodrome - The Madison
6/5 - TTown - 15km Scratch Race (UCI / NTC)

Now off to kick this cold I got while racing in the rain at Glencoe. Worth it.

Glencoe / Cobb Park Weekend

Well it was another good weekend of racing albeit the weather put a damper on the festivities on Saturday. Maybe next year it will be gorgeous like it usually is and we can enjoy the night time activities in Glencoe.

Anyways, I won the Glencoe GP 2/3 race on Saturday. I stayed up front the whole race. On the last lap Ben LaForce came around me with about two thirds of a lap to go and got me in perfect position. On the final hill a Sammy's rider jumped and I followed assuming that was the train. I stayed there until the last corner and jumped and got the W. Here's the video of the finish.

Cobb Park was on Sunday and the field was incredibly stacked. There were several domestic elite teams there along with many of the top criterium riders in the country. I did a pretty good job of staying nearer the front as I figured splits in the pack would happen. With about 12 to go a big move got away with most of the riders teams represented. I jumped hard and bridged to it in what I'll call the hardest single effort I've ever physically done. I rested for a few minutes and it looked like the move was away. I was getting pretty excited about sprinting against some of the best guys around but alas somehow the group got brought back. On the last lap I went down and my race was over - just some minor abrasions and stiffness, so all good. Really good experience today in any event.

Northbrook - 10 Mile Record Night

Another fun night at Northbrook. Really good to see so many people coming out to the races. We had so many people that they split the 3's out into their own 5 mile record race instead of traditionally being with the P/1/2's for the 10 mile.

Anyways, I took the Omnium behind winning the Tempo and Belgian Win & Out races and placing 2nd in the 10 Mile Record race. My team did so much work for me in the 10 Mile Record somehow I came away feeling ever so slightly disappointed despite it being probably my most complete night as a track cyclist. Super happy with where I'm at though - 2 weeks ago I had only one Top 10 finish this year and now I've won 4 races, so I'm continuing to come around for sure.

Regardless, I just got some very good news that I'm officially good to go for the National Calendar Track races out in Trexlertown, PA. First race is a scratch race one week from today, so I'll know a whole lot more about what I'm up against after that.

Off to a great start this year, but now the season really begins.

What's Up Next? 5/27 Edition

This weekend is the Illinois State Criterium Championships down in Kankakee Illinois. xXx should be bringing a good squad down to it, so hopefully we can get a result. Also the Glencoe Grand Prix, a National Criterium Calendar event, is on Saturday. I'm going to be racing the Cat 2/3 race in hopes of earning upgrade points on the road. I'd have loved to do the P/1/2 race as well, but just can't justify the additional $65 for getting shelled at the back.

Anyways.

5/28: 10 Mile Record Race @ Northbrook Velodrome (Track)
5/30: Glencoe Grand Prix (Road)
5/31: Cobb Park Criterium - Illinois State Championships (Road)

Here's to another good weekend of racing on tap!

Opening Night (Part 2) at Northbrook

Won the first race of the year (Devil's Scratch) while Nikos took won the other two (Points, Scratch)! Good start to the season for us! 1 - 2 in the Omnium as well.

Fox River Grove Omnium

The Fox River Omnium is a race consisting of three stages - all with their own character - hosted by local Chicago staple and owner of Psimet Wheels, Rob Curtis. I had very little hopes or ambitions entering the race, ideally, if I could score a top 5 in a stage or support my teammates, I'd have been pretty happy.

East Dundee Cycling Shootout
This course was fairly simple with the only real note being a sharp 120 degree turn very shortly after the start/finish line. Austin was super active per usual early trying to find the move. Several went off (most with Austin in them) but none gained a significant enough amount of time to stick. With about 10 laps to go I pretty much assumed it would come down to a sprint and started moving up to just get in a better position. Two local teams: Sammy's and Intellegentsia were two of the most active teams throughout the day and with about 8 laps to go a rider from each went up the road. I was third wheel behind two Intellegentsia riders who started to spread across the road to block. A small hole opened up that I knew if I shot through no one else would be able to follow. I launched to make sure we had representation in that move. After about a 20 second bridge I was connected and we were off. It took a small while to gain full cooperation and effort within the break, but eventually everyone was working pretty well. I heard time gaps of 10, 12, 13 and then 8 at which point I put in a serious dig and heard the gap jump right back up on the next lap. With about 2 to go I had a good feeling we were going to stay away. On the final lap at the 120 degree turn the Intelligentsia rider closed a small gap up to the Sammy's rider. As soon as the catch happened I attack with about 1/2 lap to go, got a gap, and held it to the finish line for the win. This also meant that I'd be wearing the leaders jersey during the next stage and would have a good team around me to try and defend it - which would be the heavy goal. Funny how quickly things change.

Elgin Cycling Classic
The course is simple with the exception of one off-camber chicane 200m from the finish line which is tricky. Luckily, the forecasted rain stayed away for our race which made for a safer event. There were two intermediate sprints during the day which I'd have to go for and the Top 5 places in the race would all receive 13 points, so ideally, I needed to score points at the intermediate sprints and finish in the top five of the race to retain the jersey. The first sprint came, I was in decent position and ended up second to my main rival on Sammy's which left us tied currently on points. The second sprint came and I was way out of position. Luckily there was a lull in the pack and I was able to move up significantly on the backstretch and kicked after the chicane good enough for 2nd in the sprint while my rival failed to score points, giving me a two point lead virtually on the road. So as long as I finished Top 5, I'd be in the leaders jersey entering the final stage. With three laps to go I was in great position...until the riders in front of me slowed on the backstretch and it felt like the entire field swarmed around me pushing me all the way to the back at the most vital moment in the race. I needed to move up fast without blowing myself up. Luckily, I found my teammate Ben LaForce on the backstretch with two to go and he shot me through half of the field. On the last lap I positioned myself as well as I could. Two riders got off the front late which means I'd need to finish Top 3 in the field sprint to take max points. My rival on Sammy's shot up the road after the chicane and there was no way I was catching him. I kicked as hard as I could and could feel the entire pack behind me. I crossed the line...good for 3rd in the field sprint and 5th overall - maximum points. Winning East Dundee was awesome, but getting through today still in the leaders jersey behind a full team effort felt just as good.

Fox River Grove Criterium
This course is just not my cup of tea. A short little circuit with a serious climb each lap meant that it was likely that I wasn't going to finish in the Top 10 of the race and score points at the finish (Top 10 score points). There were however two hilltop omnium sprints during the race. I decided that it would be more prudent to go all out after those points and see where it took me. I was 2 points up on second and several points up on the rest. The first sprint came and I was locked into a serious position battle with my rival from Sammy's. We hit the climb I and was terribly in the wrong gear. Regardless I stood and just hit it as hard as I could. I looked behind and it was clear I was going to beat the rider from Sammy's to the mark, but a young local pro from Jamis overtook me at the line. I was good for 2nd, the Sammy's rider 3rd - giving me a 3 point lead. We crested the top and I was completely fried. By the start of the next climb I was moving back hard. Everyone on my team did what they could for me, but I just couldn't make it over in contact. Nikos, a teammate of mine, was there and tried to pace me back for a few laps, but it was to no avail. So at this point, I'd need my rival to not take points on the 2nd hilltop sprint or finish no better than 9th to remain ahead of him. At the final hilltop sprint with two riders off the front and my rival looking to score a point in the hill climb, Ryan O'Boyle, another teammate of mine shot up the climb and took the remaining point available, just ahead of the Sammy's rider. This meant that my rival needed 8th or better to overtake me in the Omnium at which point 8 riders where up the road, so I was likely safe. My rival hit the line 9th meaning I was ahead of him, but the Jamis rider overtook us both in the standings by winning both intermediate sprints and soloing to victory. I finished the omnium good for 2nd. A huge weekend for me and the team.

Our Elite road 1/2 team has been outstanding this year, but at this race Austin, LaForce, Fay, O'Boyle, and Nikos were incredible and without a doubt put me on that podium. Such a fun time racing with these guys - my only regret is that I won't be able to do it a whole lot more this year. Regardless, what we've accomplished this spring has been awesome and I'm looking forward to the few opportunities I have left doing it this year.

Monsters of the Midway

Monsters of the Midway was today and is the most classic four corner crit you can imagine. It's down on the University of Chicago campus and being actually nearby the city, it ends up drawing out a who's who of the local racing scene.

The race was pretty simple. A few guys early tried to get into a break, not a whole lot came of them. Finally, I got into a move with about 8 guys. It seemed like the right move but it didn't have enough gusto for whatever reason. As soon as we were willfully reeled in, a counter-attack happened which ended up sticking to the finish. Austin, my teammate, was in the move, so blocking and establishing the move was a priority. Once we realized it was gone, there was nothing more to do than setup for the field sprint. I decided to try to be rather active in this and see how it'd end up. I got near the front with about 2 to go and held position. On the backstretch of the last lap, the Intellegentsia train of 2 got setup and given the cross/head wind through that section and the impetus of the group behind, I had a good feeling that wasn't going to last long as there was still a ways to go. I just kept my head on a swivel looking for the next train to fly by and sure enough it did. I managed to jump in at about 8th wheel. We made the final two corners and the long sprint was on. I wheel hopped the whole sprint and ended up finishing 2nd in the field sprint - good enough for 8th overall. Austin ended up 5th and Ryan 12th giving us 3 top 12 finishes in an 81 person race, we'd have liked to win obviously, but that's not too bad! The Fox River Omnium is next weekend, but just as importantly track starts up on Thursday! Looking forward to breaking in the new rig!

JMSR Sunday Criterium

We got to the Crit course and I was a little stunned by how hard the course looked. The first thing you notice is the climb. A good 25 second steep uphill kicker right before the start/finish line loomed - to make it harder it was sandwiched in-between two false flat sections that would end up taking their toll on the field. However, at the time I was much more concerned that what goes up, must come down - and on a 2.5 minute course, the descent/speed/corning combination on the backside of the course would have to be intense. I wasn't able to preview the course, so I was a little timid entering the 'recovery' part of the crit.

Anyways, it was clear that positioning on this course was going to be hard to come by. The pro race was immediately in front of our race and so everyone lined up on both sides of the fencing ready to pounce towards the start/finish line as soon as the race was over. The main pack of the pro race finished up and everyone was getting twitchy to line up. After a few seconds someone was ballsy enough to pull the trigger causing everyone to pull the trigger on racing up to line-up. A few straglers of the pro-race came through complaining (rightfully so) and the chief judge told everyone to take a lap. I rolled through the line and immediatley got off the course and rolled back right before the start/finish line until the officials actually called us up. This gave me decent positioning for the start.

The race went off and my timidness on the backside of the course showed a little as I let a few people go by through the turns while I gained comfort moving through them (which came quickly). The hill came and was tough - I think by the 2nd or 3rd lap I was already thinking about how long I'd be able to solo off the back without getting pulled, but I ended up doing a really good job of finding recovery points throughout the course - especially mentally - whenever I felt like I wasn't going all out, I was reassuring myself that I was relaxing and recovering. The first time I looked down at my Garmin was the 25 minute mark (halfway). This was signficant because 1) it meant half the race had already gone by and 2) it meant that I had officially not been time-cut from the race as you would be scored even if you didn't finish. My main goal for the week had be complete, however, I knew that if I could somehow stay with the pack and score the leaders time, I'd likely move up onto the first page on General Classification. The officials finally gave the call - '7 laps to go'. The next 5 laps or so were fast. At one point a split in the field about 4 guys ahead of me occured - luckily I felt ok enough at this point to but in a big turn of speed and leapfrog him back onto the main pack, but I'm pretty sure a split in the field occurred at that point. Soon enough we were on the last lap and it was all bonus at this point. I kicked as hard as I could up the hill and ended up 20th on the day. Taylor finished well again securing his top 10 in GC. O'Boyle finished the day after a tough wreck yesterday in the lead pack. Only 35 of the 100 starters would finish with the lead group. Flashing back to Schlitz Park (similair hill type crit) or the Tour of Galena (tough but not as well represented stage race), I figured it'd be tough to actually finish this thing - if not impossible. Not only did I finish the race, but I only lost 2:03 to first place and made my way up onto the first page of GC results (33rd). Had I lost half of what I did on the TT I would have finished in the Top 15 of the race. Couldn't be happier with how it went and again, a really nice affirmation of the hard work I've been putting in. Looking forward to where this helps put me for the rest of the year. I'll certainly be going back to Joe Martin in the future as it was an incredibly well put on event and the caliber of racing was outstanding.

Until next time...

JMSR Saturday Road Race

The Saturday road race was a three lap circuit that totaled 86 miles and contained a good short climb each time. The route had more elevation gain than the 110 mile road race and certainly proved to be a more difficult course - as one of my teammates put it 'it's a course that feels like you're always going up'. Climbing is not something I generally have done well.

After yesterday, my hopes were a little higher that I could potentially hold on, but I still was going to approach it with the same mindset - don't get time cut and hold on as long as possible. The group hit the first climb together and it was certainly tough, but doable. We hit the feedzone at the top of the first peak of the climb (the climb was a good steep climb, crest w/ feed zone, slight descent, and then longer steadier climb for a little while until it crested) and everyone, per usual, seemed to start ramping the pace up making getting a feed chaotic. After my experience yesterday and at Boulder-Roubaix at feeds, I was done getting caught out at this point and made a point to make sure I was moving up through the feeds. I heard a lot of people had to do some chasing to catch back on, so yeah...

The 2nd lap climb came and all of the sudden it seemed like people were hurting (as was I). One of my former teammates who was there (and is really strong) was moving up the left side. I quickly sprung on his wheel and just tried to relax while ascending it - mentally, I was just trying to act like it's just me and him on a group ride (not in a 1-2 national level race going up a hill - a place I don't have much business being). He cruised up the hill, and with me in tow, we ended up passing dozens of people which certainly gave me some confidence. This was a point where many people ended up getting popped and where even a few riders who I expected to be far stronger than me actually pulled out of the race. I made it to the top again and focused on trying to recover for the next 15 miles.

The 3rd lap climb came and it seemed a little neutral at the beginning and then the attacks came. Even with a slow start we ended up ascending the climb much faster than the other laps. Uneventfully, I made it to the top.

There was a break that went off earlier in the day that was a minute forty up the road. This would have shattered our GC man's (Taylor's) hopes of a good overall finish. Although gassed after the climbs, we needed to organize a chase and inject a little pace into the race in hopes of bringing the group back. O'Boyle came by me yelling that we organize a chase. We found Austin as well and moved our way up front for some digs. After a few rotations, the Hincapie team were lined up on our wheels putting in some good pulls and helping bring back the chase. Eventually we had the breakaway in sight and reeled them in with 10 miles or so to go.

With 6 to go there was a big wreck, I hadn't seen O'Boyle much after that so I assumed he got collected.

I was trying to figure out where the finish was, but was mostly happy to know that I was going to certainly finish with the leaders time again today as there was nothing else challenging about the route towards the finish. We made a right hand turn and low-and-behold, the finish line was 200 meters away. Completely unaware that the finish was so close I launched a sprint and ended up finishing 18th on the day. Another complete shocker of a result. We ended up with 3 top 20 finishes on the day as a team which was incredible. Just as shocking was how hard the course was on the field. Many riders who I expected to make it through the day had a lot of time put into them. It still seems like I shouldn't have been in that group, but it's nice to know the massive amount of training is certainly paying off. O'Boyle ended up being in the wreck and rolled through the line 5 minutes after the leaders did, ruining his chances of a good GC finish - at this point we were just hoping he and his bike were okay for the next day.

Anyways, it was another good day on the bike that moved me from the 60's into the 40's on GC, still 2:03 back of the leader.

JMSR Friday Road Race

Well - that went a bit better than expected. The first two pre Mount Gaylor climbs ended up being certainly effort-inducing but not fatal. The only hiccup was dropping my chain on the second one early in the climb when shifting from my big to small ring causing me to fall off the back, fix it, and chase back on - not the worst effort in the world, but an effort nonetheless. The miles went by quickly and soon enough we were at the base of Mount Gaylor which was a seven to nineish mile climb which I assumed I'd get popped on. My race was a success at that point given that I knew I wouldn't be time cut as I'd have roughly 40 miles to not lose a full hour to the lead group - which would be pretty easy. So my only objective at that point was to see how long I'd stay on. The climb wasn't straight up but instead it rather rolled up, so it'd go up and then flatten out a bit, and repeat like that all the way to the top. The draft was rather immense through this section with nice wide and paved roads, so sitting midpack really helped mitigate its difficulty. Mile by mile rolled by and I was still within my limits and I started having the thought that I could make it over this thing intact - which would be huge, because the remaining 30 miles would be all slightly downhill, which would almost be a full recovery ride to the finish line. Some of the front guys kept trying to get away, but the pack seemed fresh enough and attentive enough to not let anything go, which effectively made the back half of the climb a little easier than it probably should have been with some of the stronger guys beaten up and/or discouraged from trying to get away. Finally I saw the feed zone which indicated the top of the climb and it was all downhill from there. I was a little amped at this point and started being a little overly active at the front, trying to pull back the breakaway group and even momentarily seeing if I could get into a chase move. Eventually, I pumped the brakes and tried to save what I had left for the finish. The finish ended up being a bit more technical given the rain (which it was doing for half the ride), than expected. It also had several decent kickers in it, which were also a bit unexpected. I positioned myself relatively well entering the technical section with roughly 1k to go. Immediately the rider in front of me dumped it, which put me into a full brake mode as I was able to cut to the inside of him and carry on. The final corner approached, I thought I baby'd it a bit too much in the turn but saw the rider's wheel in front of me slip out (he saved it) - which caused me to feather the brakes again as a few guys whipped by me for the sprint. I kicked as hard as I could just trying to see how far up I could place. I hit the line - and just found out the result - 22nd. Blew my expectations out of the water. Moved me from 97th to 67th in the standings, a little over 2 minutes behind the leader. Really fun day.

Tomorrow is a hillier 86 mile circuit race. My expectations are low again, but we'll just take it a mile at a time like today and see what happens. Until then...

JMSR TT

TT went fine. An uphill time trial is far from a strong suit of mine - ended up 97th of 123 guys. It's something I can work on in the future if it ever becomes a goal to get good at these things, but its not on the radar currently. My foot didn't act up at all during it which was great and a good sign for tomorrow - which is the real test. The plan is to try to make it to the base of Gaylor Mtn with the group (70 miles in), hold on as long as possible and then try to organize a 40 mile team time trial with whoever is around me at the top to make sure we don't get time cut. That's all. Helping out our two GC guys would be outstanding and my primary responsibility, but it'd also be nice to be able to race into the weekend.

JMSR Pre-Race

Here at Joe Martin! Our hotel room smells like smoke and feels like a sweaty sauna room, but I suppose that's 'pro'. A 2.7 mile uphill time trial on tap for tomorrow. Any nerves I possibly could have had have been nullified by a foot cramp that hasn't gone away in three days - really hoping it works itself out or it could be a quick trip. There's a loose rumor going around that Chris Horner, a recent Vuelta winner, is here which would be neat - it'd be fun to see if I can stay within...2 minutes of his time tomorrow. Drive wasn't too terrible - especially for those few who were unconscious for half the trip. 

Until tomorrow...

Joe Martin Stage Race Looming...

The final week of a nice three week training block is here, and included in that is a nice trip down to Fayetteville, Arkansas to race the Joe Martin Stage Race. Weather's looking like rain and thunderstorms for the long Friday Road Race which could make for a rather interesting day. The Men's 1-2 race consists of a short uphill time trial on Thursday, a 110 mile road race on Friday, an 86 mile road race on Saturday, and a 50 minute crit with a little hill on Sunday. Certainly not things in my wheelhouse, but should provide a nice fitness boost. We leave tomorrow morning early with a team of seven of us looking to work for one or two guys that have a chance of doing something big in the overall.

The past two weeks have provided some nice training. Boulder ended up being a 380 mile week with significant elevation, and last week ended up right around 350 miles - all my rides are generally listed here on Strava. So, Joe Martin Thursday-Sunday and then back to Chicago for a rest week I'm very much looking forward to. Should be a nice time to relax, get everything in order, and book up the rest of my racing trips this year. But yeah, first up is focusing up on not getting time cut at Joe Martin and if I'm successful there, helping out our team leaders throughout as much of the race as I can. I'd be lying if I said I was looking forward to the challenge, but I'm really looking forward to having the experience and what it should do for the rest of my season.

Boulder-Roubaix

Saturday was the Boulder-Roubaix which is a 75 mile half gravel, half pavement road race where road bikes are still the weapon of choice. Given the week of training and the altitude adjustment on my end, I was happy with how I felt during it, but unfortunately got a puncture at almost the halfway point of the race which ended my hopes of finishing with the group. I just decided to finish up the last few laps and get a good workout in for the day as it was my last opportunity to ride in Boulder.

The race had a decent pace throughout, certainly fast, but not insane. Guys in the back had a bit of tailwhip issues through the corners and as well through the long gravel sections as several times some of the pro CX'ers in the field hit those sections hard. Splits seemed to be occurring, but nothing that wasn't impossible to close back up. Early on there were a few classic water bottle mine-fields caused by some bumpy sections and riders not having there bottles secure-enough in their cages and there were about three significant wrecks nearby that I was more than happy to avoid.

Anyways, great experience racing with those guys. Here's my full race below.

Boulder - Days 4 & 5

Yesterday we did the 'Gateway' loop which ended up being roughly 80 miles roundtrip and had a few nice climbs that were shorter (5-20mins). Had some odd twitching near my IT band near my knee on my left leg which was concerning but rode through it and starting feeling fine. Definitely feel better than I did a few days ago, but my legs are still completely tender to the touch - it'll be a nice change to actually have them feel good next week. Liam and Will hit some climbs hard and it was nice to pace around them as they're both great to ride with and rather quick uphill.

This morning we did a nice climb up to Jamestown. The town was apparently destroyed in the flooding last year and this week is the first week the road was open. Very pleasent and gradual climb to the top. The descent consisted of 4 dudes trying to battle a headwind in freezing temperatures with no sun - glad to be done with that.

Anyways, here's some video from the Bus Stop ride on Tuesday and some pics from the last few days.

Boulder Bus Stop Ride Video

Trains...

The worst mental part of my trip after getting lost on the ride...only got better from here!

Nice peaceful solo ride back to Boulder

Chicago!

Will & Jeff before heading up the climb to Jamestown...

In Jamestown at the top of the climb.

And Jeff absolutely freezing even before the descent...

Boulder - Day 3

A nice double day on tap today. Boulder-Roubaix course recon in the morning (followed by a long nap) and then the Boulder Bus Stop ride. Went a little too hard at the wrong point, made a wrong turn, and that was that. Fun time though. Looks like a long ride tomorrow with a good group. I'm not sure if my legs will work or not, definitely having issues recovering out here, but oh well - this is training (as is everything I'll do this month), nothing more. Earlier this week we ripped down a long descent into Lyons and got it all on video.

Boulder - Days 1 & 2

Boulder's been outstanding. Felt disastrous yesterday during a 90 mile / 7500ft gain day, but felt much better today's ride (55 at 6500ft of gain). Tomorrow's a recovery morning ride, massage, and evening group ride which should be interesting. Anyways, a few photos from today's ride up Flagstaff and towards Nederland.

Lincoln Park Criterium

Our team’s true annual road kickoff was yesterday at Lincoln Park. The elite squad was almost completely represented with several guys looking to have some success, notably Austin Venhuizen and Ryan O’Boyle.

The Lincoln Park P/1/2/3 race is pretty simple at its core, but generally has a few consistent aspects each year. 1) The wind. Half the field generally DNF’s as they find themselves out of position or just not strong enough to hold the pace, particularly on the backside of the course going over the bridge and 2) generally a strong-man break wins the day.

Let’s start with the wind. Navigating this course can be a whole lot easier if you play it right through the corners. As the crosswind the past two years has come directly from the west (towards the lake) positioning yourself throughout the course is critical to saving some precious race-saving watts. Anyways, the way I navigate the course (to each their own) is I try to enter the first long swooping turn with no one on my left side. Once I hit the midpoint of the sharper left-hander I try to carve it off a bit, which keeps me on the leftside throughout the backstretch shielded from the wind. At this point, after cresting the hill, I start thinking about setting myself up for the frontstretch. As I make my way towards the 90 degree righthand turn that leads up towards the 180, generally (if the race is at speed) it will be hit single file or nearly single file and upon the exit of the turn I push myself right towards the gutter. As I hit the 180, this allows me to stay on the outside…thus allowing me to exit on the right which guarantees that I’ll be shielded from the wind down the front stretch as well. If I failed to stay outside upon the exit of the hairpin, generally I’d let the guy on my outside go past on the exit which makes way for me to squeeze in behind in a single file manner heading towards the finish - such that again, I’m positioned directly behind or just to the right of the rider in front of me, shielded from the wind. Repeat. (Also, staying up front helps significantly as it allows me to have more flexibility in where I want to go and it of course allows me to avoid the constant whiplash throughout the day which can quickly kill a race, especially once riders start peeling off in front of you).

Also, as an aside, the wind today actually made the race significantly less technical than it could have been. The day before, Austin and I previewed the course with the wind direction coming directly from the North. While doing a jump and hitting the right hand turn heading up towards the 180 we hit nearly 40mph which might have caused a few people to run into the fencing throughout the day had it stayed strong in that direction. But instead, it compacted the race at that point and naturally mitigated the speed through the 180. Anyways on to the race…

A few thoughts entering the day included trying to get one of our strong guys in the move (O’Boyle, Austin, etc) and trying to mitigate Sammy’s from launching people up towards the break - as they successfully did last year. Whenever several Sammy’s riders hit the front near the 180, our goal was to have a rider near them such that they could either disrupt the move or get in the launch themselves. So, back to that strong-man aspect of the course: Ryan O’Boyle. The guy has a serious knack for finding the right move and not surprisingly found the right move about a third of the way into the race. Austin had attacked several times early but eventually got off the front after the O’Boyle move was established with one other guy that went to the finish ahead of that pack but behind O’Boyle’s break-of-the-day. Given that Sammy’s had a rider in the break-of-the-day that was almost sure to be outsprinted by several guys with a solid kick, they stacked the front and slowed the peloton down (particularly around the 180) in hopes of allowing the O’Boyle break to lap the field. If it did, I’d assume they’d try to create a long leadout train for him as that might be the only way to take the W. It worked and the move lapped the field with about 2 to go. O’Boyle made his way through the field to the front with 1 to go. I asked him if he was looking to launch a move early or field sprint: field sprint was the answer which sent me on one-man one-lap-to-go leadout mission for him. As we crossed the start/finish I hit the front hard and looked back to make sure he was on my wheel. As we hit the riser over the bridge, I made sure to flush far enough left to leave a clean line for O’Boyle but no one else (as anyone who wanted to go over the top of me would have had to come through the wind on the right). Still on the front through the right hand turn and up towards the hairpin I started to feel it. We hit the 180 1-2 and I started giving it just about everything I had upon the exit. I heard Ryan say “1 More Tyler” which made me pause for a second thinking…wait, was this NOT the last lap??? At that point my effort slightly decreased and the sprint went off…and I quickly was reassured that yes, this was in fact the last lap…thank god…and I coasted through the line. Anyways, Ryan ended up sprinting for 4th which is a solid result. Had I given it slightly more for a bit longer heading towards the finish line maybe he gets 3rd, but oh well. Austin also attacked his man late grabbing a 6th place finish. Can’t be too disappointed putting two guys in the top six. A nice start to the season and hopefully a platform for many more results ahead!

…oh…and here’s the last lap…enjoy.

...And Looking Forward to the 2015 Season (April Edition)

Needless to say, while I've got the opportunity, I'm going all-in on 2015. I've hired a well renowned coach that I've been working with since the start of the year and although I don't feel fast yet (and it'd be a mistake if I did), I feel much more well rounded at this point than I ever have.  In addition, I've got an incredible new track bike heading my way shortly that should add some 'free' watts to my efforts during the year. If I'm giving it one all-out shot, I want to make sure I'm doing it right.

My primary goals for 2015 surround competing as well as possible at National Track Calendar events throughout the summer and the National Track Championships in August. But I don't want to get too ahead of myself, so I'll take it one month at a time here. The month of April will consist of local and regional road racing in an effort to get faster for the track season. In addition, I'm heading out to Boulder for a team training camp for a week next week to ride with some really fast guys which should be a great experience, especially since I've never ridden in Boulder. I've ridden several times out in the middle mountains of Colorado and anticipate the climbs to be similar in design, but riding them at the intensity with which this group will hit them will make this a completely new experience - plus I'm not a great ascender for whatever reason, so there's that...

So my April looks like:

• April 4: Lincoln Park Criterium (Chicago, IL)
• April 4-11: WIDC Team Training Camp (Boulder, CO)
• April 12: Boulder-Roubaix (Boulder, CO)
• April 23-26: Joe Martin Stage Race (Fayettesville, AR)

Hopefully our team can find some success at our home race at Lincoln Park this weekend. We'll have a ton of guys in the field and a few pretty strong guys that could get a result. At the end of the training camp in Boulder, we'll race Boulder-Roubaix as a team, so that should be fun seeing my average heart rate for that race above my non-altitude max. And at the end of the month I'll be using the Joe Martin Stage race as a really good training block while working for my teammates that have a shot of doing well while trying my best not to get time cut.

Had a nice active recovery (AR) ride yesterday on a divvy bike along the lakefront path in 60 degree weather - the best kind of training, even picked up Katie from work and divvy'd home together. 

So yeah, hooray for good weather ahead, the rest week I'm currently on, and the exciting month of training and racing ahead.

 

Recapping the 2014 Season

So I haven't really recapped last season yet. It was certainly the busiest season I've had with a full spring road schedule, a full calendar of local track racing, and the entire ChiCrossCup Calendar resulting in 89 races over 47 race days. Just to recap and have closure on last year - my major track highlights included:

• Illinois State Individual Pursuit Champion (P/1/2)
• Illinois State Madison Champion (P/1/2)
• Illinois State Team Pursuit Champion (P/1/2/3)
• 1st - Tomasz Pac 100 Lap Memorial Points Race (P/1/2/3)
• 2nd - Illinois State Points Championships (P/1/2/3)
• 3rd - Northbrook Rider of the Year (P/1/2)
• 3rd - Illinois State Kilo Championships (P/1/2/3)
• 4th - Illinois State Scratch Championships (Roger DeLanghe Trophy Race) (P/1/2/3)
• 4th - Illinois State Keirin Championships (P/1/2/3)

In addition, I had a decent year on the cross bike resulting in six Top 5 finishes, including 3rd''s in both the ChiCrossCup Standings and State Champoinships in the 3's earning my upgrade to a 2 at season's end. I also had a sandbaggers 2nd in the 36 mile Barry-Roubaix open category early on in the year (the same race that I just mechanical'd out of last weekend). On the road, I had a handful of Top 15's on the early season crit calendar, but mostly was happy with how active and good I felt throughout each race.

I counted 14 wins and 29 podium finishes during 2014 over a variety of disciplines without having burned out mentally or physically at all - which is as much a win as anything else. So yeah, close the books on 2014! Time to look completely forward as we build on that this year!

CRUNCH

My annual trip to Barry-Roubaix ended in another mechanical DNF (also happened 2 years ago). Riding near the front over the first climb the chain over shifted into the wheel causing the derailleur hanger to bend in towards the wheel (no bike damage). Not a big deal - just mostly annoying to have to come home and log some hours on the trainer tonight to make up for the lost time. Much much bigger fish to fry this year. The focus shifts to an upcoming rest week and then the Lincoln Park Criterium on Saturday which I assume should bring out a field of 30 or so with good representation from my team, so hopefully we can find some success there.

Anyways, this is what it looks like...

To an Unwritten Future

I’m going to write a lot this year and I promise you, this is as deep as I’ll get.

Six months ago, after a little over a week where I was pegged to my office desk longer than I was home, filled with what I’d like to believe was a more than usual amount of ‘asap’ projects, impossible-to-satisfy requests, and an unusually high amount of the same corporate stress that many of us experience in our daily grind – the seed became planted to do something else. Over the last decade, I’ve been racing my bike. On the road. On the track. In the dirt. Wherever. I’ve come to be not half-bad at it and in recent years I’ve really refound my love for the sport. Last year, I experienced my largest performance-jump ever giving way to hope that I could have success at a slightly larger stage, especially given that I’m entering the prime years of my cycling lifespan. Which leads me to...

…today...which is the last day at my job.

I’d never thought about the difficulty of simply deciding to quit. There’s a laundry list of reasons why I shouldn’t, many of which likely may have already come to your mind – I’m aware – and I’m absolutely not 100% certain this is the right thing I should be doing, but I am. Whether its struggling to decide if I’m being fair to my wife (who’s more than encouraged me to do this), coming to feel okay with the certain derailment of my career path, or the obvious loss of income that we’ll feel (not that it was a lot). These things made it difficult to have a clarity of vision right up until the final day of this decision.

Right around the time the seed had been planted in my head about doing this, I learned that an acquaintance I had briefly known passed away in a car accident near the holidays. This shouldn’t have impacted me much given that we’d only had a dozen or so brief conversations in passing just under a decade ago, but it somehow, combined with the state I was in, timed up to awaken me to my existence a bit – likely akin to some level of mid-life crisis I’m sure. It brought to the surface those questions that seem to most strongly occur in times of tragedy or extreme emotion and helped reinforce that the true downside of doing something like this, really isn’t all that bad. I’d like to think that kind of thinking is more pure than insane.

Anyways, I’m going to rewrite my life path right here just a bit. My life as written progresses on a smooth corporate path towards a seemingly forever away retirement age at which point I'll sit in my rocking chair and rock as I do now, satisfied that my work was done, that’d I’d paid my dues and provided for my family. I’ll tell my grandkids that I used to race my bike just like them and I was halfway decent. I’ll tell them I maybe even could have accomplished something worthwhile had I not been prudent and stayed the proper course of a working career. But alas, today I pivot to answer that question. I move towards a future slightly unwritten, towards an answer I don’t quite have. In my mind - certain failure of accomplishing anything sustainable awaits, but with a tremendous amount of hard work, I’ll have complete success in creating an adventure that sees to it that I gave my absolute all in seeing how far I could take a life passion. For that I see little downside.

A lot of things here are working in my favor as well that it’d be unfair not to mention. Financially my wife and I have put ourselves in a fine position to be able to pull this off relatively unscathed for which I am extremely grateful. And from a responsibility standpoint, I have very few true things relative to many others in my position that would hold me back - making now a very good time to try something like this. I’m very aware of these things and realize this opportunity has been easier to take on for me than it would be for many others in my shoes. I am nothing but grateful for the position I’m in. In addition to going all-in on the cycling front, I’ve failed to mention that I’ll be pursuing many other things over the coming months non-cycling related, but given that this is my cycling specific news/thought outlet spot, I’m going to contain my scope to only things bike-related. But in any event, I’m looking forward to attacking the coming months as hard as I can. My focus is completely forward on what I need to do to be where I want to be. Looking forward to the adventure that awaits.

Until then, I’ll leave on a lighter note. A turkey attacking our team ride. Enjoy.