Florida State Time Trial Championships 5/30/09

I am not usually a big fan of time trials, but this race is the state championships and it was fairly close. This was going to be my first 40km time trial. It was located just West of Jacksonville. I met Dave and David and we headed out around 7:30.
We arrived to find the main parking lot full, but we double parked and registered before finding the overflow lot. The overflow lot turned out to be a muddy field. With the beautiful Florida sun already hitting the wet ground I think the humidity was 99%. No warming up on the trainer luckily their was a paved trail to warm up on. Ben arrived just after us and we all headed to the trail to warm up.
David was first to hit the course at 9:55, Dave was up at 10:14, Ben was off at 10:27 and I was the last of the Cat 4s from our team at 10:28. None of us had any fancy time trial bikes or disc wheels, so it was a bit intimidating watching people roll around on really fast looking bikes.
All I can say about time trials is when it hurts you have to go harder. My goal for the race was to finish in the top 10 and hopefully post a time under 1 hour for the 40 km (24.85 mile) course. I caught Ben about 5 miles out and could see the next guy ahead. He was wearing a bright yellow skin suit so was kind of hard to miss. Maybe I could catch him by the turn around. My legs burned and I pushed a little harder slowly reeling him in. I managed to catch him just before the turn around. The best part about catching this guys is he was rolling on a Cervelo P3 with Zipp 404 front wheel and a Zipp disc wheel in the rear. I bet the whole set up cost him upwards of $10K.
Unfortunately as I made the turn I could not see anyone to chase down ahead of me. This return trip was going to be tough with nothing to take my mind off my burning quads. I got the speed back up and the finish line came into sight faster than I expected. You could see the finish from probably 3 miles out and this helped the morale. Shift down let the pain come I knew I was almost done.
I finished in 9th place with a time of 59:45. David finished in 14th and Dave in 20th. Ben was in the Cat 5 group and finished in 17th. Our other team mates who raced in the Cat 3 race also finished well Andrea took 1st and Eric was in the top 15. Amy represented the women and finished in 8th. I am really happy with my results and am looking forward to the Ocala stage race in a couple of weeks.

Florida State Championship Crit 5/17/09

I woke up after a decent nights sleep in the hotel Eric found us in Lakeland. I was definitely happy I did not have to drive back after the race the night before. I was pretty dead, and I don't think the gut bomb pizza for dinner helped much.

My race was not until almost 3:00, but we headed to the course to watch Amy and Eric race in the morning. Unfortunately the coffee shop didn't open until 11:00, so I had to survive on Accelerade and Clif Bars until they opened.

They ended up using the same location as the twilight crit the day before and just ran the race in the opposite direction. This was a little disappointing because the other course looked more challenging with a short hill each lap coming up off the lake. I heard there was some sort of issue with the promoters insurance, and I guess we were lucky to even have a race.

I got on the trainer to warm up and it was pretty hot and humid after yesterdays rain, but at lease the skies were still clear. I was having a hard time getting my heart rate up. Usually a sign on not being completely recovered. Not unexpected after the hard efforts yesterday.

Remember those clear skies, well I spoke too soon and just as we were lining up for the race the rain came again. It was even harder than the day before and there were quickly puddles in the corners. David and I had both already paid, so we decided to race despite the conditions. If we felt unsafe we could always pull out. Our teammate Keith decided it was too risky and didn't line up.

The race started and everyone was taking it really easy around the corners the first few laps and then sprinting down the straights. I got gaped with a small group that did not really want to work and had to time trial to catch back on to the lead group. I managed to catch the end of the group, but I knew I had used up most of my reserves just doing this. I tried to move up the last few laps, but the legs did not want to cooperate. I didn't challenge the sprint and rolled across the finish in 13th place. Even with the heavier rain the race seemed safer than yesterday. I was still happy to finish and keep the rubber side down.

No races next weekend, but I am looking forward the State Championship Time Trial in a couple weeks. It should be painful.

Lakeland Twilight Crit 5/16/09

This was going to be my first race after almost a month off of racing. Lots of training on the legs, so I was excited to see how I would stack up against the competition. I picked my teammate, David up at 11:30 and we were on our way to Lakeland. My goal for the race was to finish in the top 20 so I would qualify for the Amateur Finals race in the evening. David said he was feeling good and wanted to get the win today, so I offered to lead him out for the sprint. Our plan was in place now all we had to do is execute.

I got my usual poor starting position on the line and was going to have to work hard to move up and avoid getting gaped off the back. As expected the first few laps were fast and I had to work hard to move up and close gaps as people started to drop off. As I moved up into the top 15 places I started looking around for David. He was not there, so it was time to figure out what the new plan of attack was. I was feeling good so I opted to make people suffer and moved to the front and pushed the pace for a couple laps before dropping back into the group to recover for the sprint.

About half way through the race the heavens opened up. I usually avoid racing crits in the rain as I like to keep my skin and bones in one piece, but I really wanted to make the finals, so I stayed in. It was a very weird feeling to have the cold rain hitting you from above and warm water splashing up off the pavement. I was sitting in the top 10 to 15 guys, and was glad I was there. The last five laps were insane and I heard guys going down in the corners behind me. I came around the last corner in about 15th and hit the gas and was able to pass a few guys to finish in 8th. I was not in the money, but was still happy with the result considering the conditions.


The rain was letting up as I got back to the car and changed into dry clothes. I had a few hours to relax before the amateur finals at 8:00. We watched the Cat 3 race were my team mate Eric qualified for the finals as well finishing in the top 15.

I was nervous about the finals race and my whole goal for the race was to finish with the main group and if possible give Eric a lead out in the sprint. The field was made up of the top 20 Cat 4, top 5 women, top 15 masters 45+, top 20 masters 35+ and top 25 Cat 3. Most of the masters were Cat 1 and 2. I knew this was going to be hard, but at least the road had dried out.


After a weird neutral lap the pace was quickly pushed and we averaged 26+ mph for the whole 40 minutes. I hung in and made a move to the front with 3 laps to go, but could not hold my position and dropped through the pack to finish just off the back. Eric finished in the top 15 again with a good sprint out of the last corner.

It was a fun day of racing and I definitely gained some confidence racing in the rain. This was also my first twilight crit which was fun. We stayed to watch the Pro race which started after the amateur finals. I am always amazed at how fast these guys can go.

To Blog or Not To Blog

Theresa made fun of me for deciding to blog. Apparently she said she wanted to start a blog and I made some comments about people who blog. "What makes them so important that they think everyone will want to read about their life." I don't remember this, or maybe I just think I am that important now.

Anyway, I intend to write about what we are up to here in Florida and any other fun and exciting things we do. This will mostly include my bicycle racing, hiking, camping and other outdoor activities we do together. I also intend to write about any other trips we take.

I hope you enjoy it and won't be offended if you don't read it. Not everyone realizes how important I am.