Long time, no post……

Let's see what's new..........

Got a new shed........

Got a new 29'er kit.......

Totally destroyed a wheel in St. Louis...........

Then this showed up in the shop........ the customer said that they bought it this way, then took it back because it didn't handle right. Came back the same way so they brought it to us. It has now cost them way more than it would of to buy a TREK with a service plan.

It seems like it’s been a long time since my last post. It really hasn’t been that long but I just couldn’t muster up the time to get it done. That and I really wasn’t in the mood for a post. I was taught that if you don’t have anything good to say you should keep your mouth shut. Soooooo, I’ve been a little quiet lately. Funny thing is that there is nothing really wrong. It’s just with any competitive athlete, when the racing and training isn’t going well everything starts falling apart. In my case Jobro still had band after school, business picked up at the shop, my cell phone blew up, the house started falling apart…………and then we got a puppy!

Of course training suffered and in turn the struggles in races started. I really don’t think I’m that out of shape because I was doing the training but doubt is in your head and that lack of confidence really shows in races. I really felt it last weekend at the Tour of St. Louis. There were times that I could of crossed gaps or attacked but I didn’t, that doubt was there, hidden in the back of my head.

So at this point my Coach and I are redefining my workouts and I’m going to be working on making my workouts more of a priority while getting my life under control.

Anyway, last week we went to.........

The Tour of St.Louis!

It had been a few weeks since I raced so 6 of the Mercy crew decided to make the trek to St.Louis. Two days of criterium racing was on tap for the weekend. Before I get into the races I've got to say thanks to the Logan's parents for opening their home to our crew. It's really becoming a home away from home for the whole Mercy crew.

Saturday dawned cold, really cold. I'm really done with the cold and after the cross season and I'm more than ready for some hot weather. So we all get bundled up and the race starts. To make a long story short, groups started going away. In the first split we had 3 guys so I got to the front and started to work. Then a few more guys go up to the break with another Mercy guy, then another guy and another Mercy guy. At this point the field had essentialy split in half and I'm in the wrong half, Bummer! So I pretty much hung out and took a few pulls here and there until the end of the race. I won't go into specifics of the race but the team was definitely off, way off.

Sunday: Better weather helped my mood and I needed all the help I could get. Finally some weather where we could wear short sleeve jerseys! The grand plan was to cover breaks and get a few people off the front if we can. I was feeling pretty good and was covering a attack when I hit a pothole at 30mph! I heard the loudest CRACK I think I've ever heard but kept rolling along. Wondering what was broken I gave the bike a quick shake for fork or frame damage and it was all good. A squeeze of the brakes and the wheels seemed fine.......It was all good until I started going into the next turn and the tire started to go flat. As you can see in the pictures above the wheel was crushed above the braking surface. The rim is severly damaged but it's still true. I would of kept riding it if the tire would of stayed up.

So here is where it get's iinteresting. I roll into the wheel pit and nobody is there......... Huh, as I come to a stop I see the USA cycling official sitting in a chair...........asleep???? Not much movement until I asked if I could get a wheel. It was then that I found out the mechanic working the pit was down the block getting some ice cream. It all worked out, by time we got the mechanic back and a wheel in the bike I ended up getting 2 free laps.

Back in the race I got back to the front pretty quick but in the end we really screwed up the finish. Really, I know better than to get swarmed like we did but again, it's a confidence thing.

So back home this week and the weather has just sucked. Cold and wet has ruled the day.

Tuesday Worlds was amusing this week. Not that many people and just Shadd and I for MERCY. Early in the race Shadd got away and eventually ended up alone. I did what a teammate does and started blocking by riding 2nd wheel. It was working pretty well but one guy was continually trying to rally the troops to chase. Now, I'm pretty sure everybody knows what's going on since we do this about every week but one guy had to make sure everybody knew I was blocking. Imagine this.....as we are riding down the finish straightaway this guy rides next to me screaming,"THIS IS TOM PRICE AND HE IS BLOCKING". Now I could care less what anybody says in a race but that was a little over the top. This guy is usually vocal in races but last weeks race was definitely a topic at shop this week. Pretty amusing to everybody. Bottom line is this, if guys can be that vocal in races you are not going hard enough.

So that brings me to the present wet, cold weather. yuck. At least I have a new Superfly to put together and some new Challenge tubies to glue up on some Velocity Major Tom 29'er wheels! Now if it would just stop raining!