TNW KC

Good group for both races again tonight. The dynamics were changed once again when the Adam and Joe from Source Endurance came to race and brought primes and prizes. Kind of a shame that I was riding so bad, I heard Chris calling out the primes but was never near the front to help the team get the primes. I don't think Shadd and Joe needed my help and got a few with the help of the rest of the team. During the race we got guys off on the break but just like last week the field wasn't going to let them go and brought them back with 10 minutes to go. At the call of 5 laps to go Walt took a flyer and got a gap but we had the whole team was at the front starting the lead out and brought him back. Unfortunately, that was about the end of my race, with 3 laps to go I could feel cramps coming on and it wasn't going to be long before total leg lock. So I pulled the plug, and stopped off to help Chris score the finish. So it was a good night at the races, got to say thanks to Chris and Kerry for putting on the races, and of course, Stacie T for the photos.
















It was Source Endurance night at the TNW race tonight. In case you were wondering, those are all athletes coached Adam and his crew of coaches. Pretty quick group of athletes, and every body's getting faster.
















Pretty quick race again tonight, an average around 26 mph or so. It would of been faster but there were a few slow laps here and there.
















Got hooked up with some new Bontrager RXL MTB shoes today. They feel really good when I tried them on, can't wait to slap some cleats on them and try them out. I'll give you a product review in a few week and let you know how they work out.

Tomorrow, back to the doc for a few tests.......I really like to eat, tomorrow is going to be a bummer.

TNW KC Results:

1. Shadd Smith
2. Mark Cole
3. Andy Chocha
4. Joe Houston
5. Doug Obershaw

Overall Points:

Shadd Smith 21
Mark Cole 11
Joe Schmalz 6
Nick Coil 5
Andy Chocha 5
Brian Bradley 4
Bill Marshall 4
Matt Ankeny 4
Brian Jensen 3
Jason Knight 2
Josh Crow 2
Bill Stolte 2
Joe Houston 2
John Pahlman 1
Phil Gronniger 1
David Hedjuk 1
Doug Obershaw 1

Rainy day blues

It's funny that you can go back a year from now and you would find a post about making a cake for a Cub Scout function. Last year our situation was much more dramatic but pretty amusing just the same, something about Mathgeek yelling"I'm not making a F#@**$ cake!" But, we pulled off a spaceship if I remember correctly. Last night we found out that we needed a cake for today's Scout meeting. Above you see the result of 30 minutes of frosting, a fitting tribute to our trip to Mexico. Not too shabby but something you might see on Cakewrecks.

















No matter what I think about the cake Curley was happy and that's all that really matters. We did claim the Most Creative cake award, of course all the cakes got an award of some type.

















Yea, that's Curly's Cub Scout Pack, just a group of sweet innocent boys,
never get into too much trouble...........really.

I was checking out Facebook the other night and saw some pictures and videos from the Tue Crit. I've been trying to take some pictures but have not had much luck, but thanks to Gina P. we have both. Check out this video of the Tue KC Crit. It's 2 to go and the leadout begins!

Hoping the rain stops so I don't have to clean the bike, if not I'm heading out anyway. At least coach has me on a rest week my riding schedule is pretty light. Wondering if I should race this weekend.......I'll see my coach tomorrow morning and find out how a road race fits in with my rest week.

Better late than never, Crit Points

KC Crit Points 3/30/10 thru 4/20/10

Shadd Smith 16
Mark Cole 7
Joe Schmalz 6
Nick Coil 5
Brian Bradley 4
Bill Marshall 4
Matt Ankeny 4
Brian Jensen 3
Jason Knight 2
Josh Crow 2
Bill Stolte 2
Andy Chocha 2
John Pahlman 1
Phil Gronniger 1
David Hedjuk 1

Tue KC Crit and a few other things

This is what I get when I try to take pictures on the fly. Better to click and move before the B field plows into me. We left after a few laps but people were all ready attacking and it looked like it was going to be a quick one. I'd be interested to find out what the average speed was for the B race so we could compare it to the A race.

Pretty quick A race tonight, 27.5 mph average with non-stop attacking. We had guys off all most constantly and were riding up front but nobody let the breaks get too far off and in the end it all came back together for a field sprint. This week the lead out got a little bit better, the whole team got in place but really didn't have the pace to control the group. In the end we were just a bit off and left Joe a long lead out for Shadd, but he did a stellar job and Shadd got the win with Joe still getting 3rd. After the race we had a quick meeting and figured out a few things that should help next week.

TUE CRIT RESULTS:

1. Shadd Smith
2. Brian Bradley
3. Joe Schmalz
4. Andy Chocha
5. John Pahlman

This is what I did on my rest day Monday. A quick ride followed by 3 hours manning the rototiller. My arms hurt so bad after the first hour I doubted I could brush my teeth when I was done, but by the end of 3 hours I was so numb it didn't matter. Ouch, it's going to take a few days to get over this one.

Over the weekend the TREK/Fisher Demo truck was in town at SMP. A perfect place to ride on the road or the trail. Hung out at the trailer a bit and got in a bunch of laps checking to make sure our riders were happy and the bikes were working well. Good times!

So here we have an example of true Lance mania. This guy made his own Livestrong bike out of an old TREK road bike, painted it black, and made his own handmade stickers. Gotta give him credit, he found a way to support Livestrong on a budget.

Tour of Battenkill: Looked like it was pretty epic, cold, wet, and windy. Steve was there and you can read about it right from the man here. I had heard that Floyd Landis needed harder races than the standard US crit to show his strength, guess it was true this time.

Tue KC Cit

Tonight was the first real test of the categorized races. That is the old A race has now become the 1,2,3 race and the B race is now the 4,5 race. From what I could see it worked out pretty well. There were less riders in the 123 race and from what I could see it went pretty smooth. The 4,5 race started with the biggest field of the year by far and trace was looking pretty good half way through. Lots of attacks, and regrouping, just what the lower categories need to get ready to make the move up. I'm a firm believer that you have to learn to race and win before you make the jump to the next category. It goes without saying that we need to keep track of the people who figure it out, win some races, and when they show that they are ready, move em' up.
















Andy and Steve checking out the 4,5 race. Saw a Jr rider drop out about half way and head to the car looking all depressed. We need to make sure that people know that they can go to the top of the hill and jump back in when they are ready. This is a training race after all, just remember once you miss a lap you DO NOT Sprint.



KC Crit Results 4/13/10

1. Shadd Smith


2. Mark Cole


3. Joe Schmalz


4. Jason Knight


5. Phil Gronniger

For me the crit went a little better this week. Worked for the team helping Joe chase down a early break that led to another break that eventually lapped the field. Mercy had 3 guys of the 6 rider break so Adam and I had to do some work to get them away and then wait for our guys to lap the field. Our lead out was a little shaky but better than last week and our guys were 1st, 3rd, and 4th. Not too shabby!

It was Ti bike morning for me at the shop today. A Merlin and a Roark. Both nice bikes and both were a bit messed up. Sometimes I miss my old GT Ti bikes....but not for very long.

Choch checking out his new bike. Too bad you can't see the broken top tube on the old bike up close, it's completely broken all the way through. Check out the new American Classic wheels rolling on Challenge tubies. It's crazy light in race form, can't wait to see Choch and his new ride does at Sea Otter this weekend. Good Luck Choch!

Man, it is so fun to play with new bikes. Building bikes from scratch is the best, everything is clean and works perfectly.

Oh yea....... no overall points for the Tue Crit yet, Meathgeek is off playing Bunko with the neighborhood PTA moms. She says its a card came but I think it's really more of a drinking game. Maybe tomorrow.......

Lot's of racing this weekend

It was a good weekend for the Tradewind/Trek Stores team out east with Brian taking the win in the Tour of Battenkill. From the report it sound like Steve was in the break all day and when they got caught Brian was there to take the win. Pretty big win for a two man team!





















The Mercy boys ventured off to do the Hillsboro-Roubaix weekend in Il/St.Louis. It's a pretty big race with full fields on narrow roads that included a few gravel sections. I haven't heard any stories from the race but it looks like Joe and Shadd were top 10 with Nick (Tradewind) rolling in with a top 10 as well. No word yet on Sunday's crit results other than to hear that Choch crashed and destroyed a frame. Good thing I'm going to get his new bike ready tomorrow, he leaves for Sea Otter Tuesday!




























I'll admit it.......I'm a Chris Horner Fan. I'm not sure why, I guess it's just that he seems like a working class guy that keeps plugging along no matter what happens. Through the years he's bounced from team to team, Europe to the States, just finding a way to keep racing. Today he won the TT in the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco with enough of a cushion to take the overall. It would be nice to see him stay uninjured and get to ride the tour this year.

As for me.... did the River Trails MTB race on Saturday. Figured it was going to be a challenge, it had been a while since I rode a mountain bike and the course was going to be flat and fast. Kind of weird at sign up, the person put me in the Cat 1, 50+ race! Hmmm, 50+.............definitely been at this a while. No matter, the Cat 1 race usually goes off as 1 big group, but I freaked when they sent off the younger group and held the 40+/50+ group for a minute before we started. It's really not that big of a deal but I really wanted to start with Aaron, Bill, Mark, Doug, and the rest of the guys. Not that the 40+/50+ crew were slouches, far from it, it's just that I know I'll go harder when the whole group is together.

So off we go and I got the holeshot and was 1st in to the woods. The first lap was my best lap, fast and flowing, it was good.......and kind of bad. My legs had that weird feeling right away, that feeling that you get when you know you are going to cramp eventually. About a month ago I had a total leg(s) lockup and had to be pushed up the hills to get home. I told myself that was not going to happen today. The race was 5 laps and as the race went on I was catching people but also feeling worse. I caught Doug and Mark, and actually caught the guy that was running in 3rd place overall. Unfortunately........just as he moved over to let me by I got caught up in the loamy soil on the edge of the course and crashed. For a second I thought my race was over, both thighs cramp as I'm trying to get out of my pedals. Yikes, 3/4 of a lap to go, time to go into survival mode and try to finish. Luckily for me my legs recovered a bit and when mark caught me near the end of the race I had enough to gas it again and hold onto 4th overall and 1st in the 50+.

Pretty good day, beautifull weather, great course conditions, and had fun hanging out after the race. Actually got some good trail time in, did 3 laps before the race, the 5 lap race, and a 3/4 lap to cool down after the race. I felt ok after the race but later I was completely waisted, too bad I had to go home and mow the yard!

and now, it's Sunday night, Boo Monday!!!!!!

Flanders, Roubaix, Monsoons, and the first sighting of the year!

I watched the last 10K of Flanders on the net and it was awesome so I went ahead and taped the coverage on Versus to watch at a later date. Cancellara's attack was something to see but the whole race was really fun to watch. Next up, Paris-Roubaix..... from the pictures that I've seen it looks like it's a little wet right now, wonder if there is going to be more rain? I think they're due for some epic conditions one of these years.

















Last weekend I went on the PV Starbucks ride where we rolled out east and did tanker hill, headed back west and finished off the ride on the hard 9. Nice ride and a really quick pace. Riding in a big group that fast makes it feel like motorpacing at times. Rode with the Boss and the Bosses boss. Both Scott and JT were sporting the Trek KC kits on the ride. Pretty sweet looking stuff. There's grey or white versions or you can mix and match as modeled above.

















Lots of cleaning after Tuesday nights monsoon. I didn't have to ride home since I had to drive to the crit from work so my bike was pretty clean. Some of the others......not so much. At least the frame doesn't hold water and it was all gone by the next morning.

















Here it is, in all it's glory..........I present the 1st backward fork of the season! People either bring these in shortly after they bought them or after they hated the bike, hung it in the garage for a while, and now want to fix it so they can sell it. So they come to us and say that it handles funny and my feet hit the tire when I turn. The bummer here is that big box retailers continue to churn out bike that look like this and turn off people to bikes. Usually we can change their attitude by just loosening the stem, flipping the wheel, and giving the bike a quick tune. Amazing how easy it is to make people happy and show them how much fun it is to ride a bike!


















This one is for Grampa, the boys getting ready to head off to Easter church services. There getting bigger everyday!


So what are you going to do this weekend? Quite a few people are heading off to Hillsboro-roubaix weekend near St.Louis. I'll be heading to Lawrence to give the MTB race a try at River Trails. Last time I rode my MTB it was 8 degrees, snowy, and I'm pretty sure I fractured my kneecap. This one should be interesting.....

KC Crit in the Rain

Got to the Crit early tonight and it was looking like this. Not good but if you looked at the radar it looked like the storm might just miss. Yea, wish full thinking.........

















Just about race time and it's getting darker. I'm back at the van getting arm warmers because while I was standing there with the crew a gust of wind came in and dropped the temp at least 5 degrees. Race time came and so good so far, no rain! It only took about half the race before the rain started, at first a teaser sprinkle with giant raindrops, and then the skies opened up and it came down in buckets. At one point it was really hard to see but the rain relented and on we went. After a ton of attacks Bill rolled off and Luke and I covered the attacks saving Shadd for a later. After a few laps Shadd jumped and got across to Bill and and again Luke and I had to cover every attack to keep them away. Overall the team did a much better job working together. This week the rider count was down and the Tailwind guys weren't here so we'll just have to keep working on it. In the end I blew the field sprint with a number of errors, duh, should of waited to go and the grabbed the wheel that got 3rd. Maybe next week! By the way, I heard that about half of the field dropped out once the rain started falling, what's up with that? If it rains when you travel to a race do you keep the bike in the car? Training races are the perfect place to get comfortable on a wet course.

Anyway, places and points...........

Tue KC Crit:

1. Shadd Smith
2. Bill Marshall
3. Mark Cole
4. Josh
5. David Hejduk

Points:

I'll get them up tomorrow, I want to make some changes but I need to go to bed.