busy time of year

sorry for the lack of posts, its been pretty busy. slacked off on riding completely this weekend and wont be riding much the next week either with christmas and our usual trip to minnesota. hoping to do a good review including more on the team after new years.

How to Win a Time Trial

Out with the (barely) old in with the NEW

FOR SALE:

With a new team comes a new bike... well ok i still have to buy it and money is tight. I'm graduating from school on Saturday and still don't have a job Soooooo unfortunately it means I have to sell the old bike. Its an excellent bike with many new parts (listed below). If you're interested give me a call 847-533-3993 or email blaforce@nmu.edu. Asking price $1,350.

It's a 2007 Giant TCR Composite (carbon fiber) 2 bike. Its in great condition, replaced nearly the entire drive train in the summer including chianrings, chain, and cassette also replaced bottom bracket, cables, bar tape and bottle cages. It was purchased new for $2,300 asking $1,350. Its a size medium by giant sizing, I'm 5' 11" and it fit me perfect but could probably fit well for someone a few inches on either side.

Components:

Frame and Fork - FormulaOne Full Composite
Handlebar - Easton EA50
Stem - Easton EA50
Seatpost - FormulaOne Full Composite
Saddle - Fi'zi:k Aliante Delta w/Ti-rails
Derailleurs (both) - Shimano Ultegra
Brakes - Shimano 105
Cassette - Shimano 105 12-25T, 10 speed (new)
Chain - SRAM PC1090 hollow pin (new)
Crank - Race Face Cadence 39/ 53 T
Bottom Bracket - Race Face X Type external (new)
Wheels - Mavic Aksium
Tires - Michelin Pro2 Race, 700x23c

turkey time

My definition of break insinuates breaking from school or terminating the constant daily grind. Im pretty sure for the past 5 days I managed to fit in twice the amount of stuff as I would in a normal 5 day span at school.

I ate lots of course, biked lots (almost 8 hours in all), went out a couple nights, bowled, played monopoly and scrabble and topped it all off with Sunday morning football (which left my legs and ass pretty sore) before making the arduous drive back to school in blizzard conditions almost the entire way.

The ride started with libby annie and myself and we picked up one connor fox along the way after he lost a fight with the green bay bridge at 60mph. On the biking side of things it was nice to get some solid outdoor rides in however I did manage to bend the axel on my powertap so its completely unridable and had to leave it at get a grip until they can replace the axel.

Only 2 more weeks of school until im graduated and back in Illinois… man it went fast.

snow

just got back from a tiring weekend in minneapolis

this week = baseline testing on the trainer to see where i stand


this thing is sweet, it would be pretty badass to be out in a blizzard riding on a snowbike

New Team for '09

Get-a-Grip... would ya?

Got hooked up with a team officially yesterday. I was pursuing other backup options just in case this fell through but this was my number 1 choice so I'm pretty pumped about that. The team is about 14 people with solid talent in cats 1-4 and is well supported by the shop Get-a-Grip as well as the other sponsors including Cannondale, Sram, Subaru, Sidi and On Your Mark Training.

Ok been off for 10 days now guess its time time to start training again...

end of an era

what were you thinking about the election, how history will be made today either way?? ...pshh no im talking about cyclocross, the season is over.

Saturday was the final yooper cyclocross race. I went in down 1 point on Tyler for 3rd place overall and we both knew it. Whoever came out ahead of the two of us would take third and the other forth. Well after an incredibly hard race he got me by about 10 seconds. Its nice to be done with the series but the weather is still so nice out its hard not to have anything to train for.

but really... today, November 4th is election day and i just got back from the Y to cast my ballet. It feels good to live in a country where the common people have a say.

Dave Wiens is nuts

I know its old news but came across this cool video of the race from Wiens point of view. Video is half way down on the left.

video

Tourist Park

Raced this weekend at tourist park. all the usual suspects + my dad. it was a great 1.5 mile course with grass, sand, singletrack, pavement, barriers, everything you could want. 5th place this week, i rode most of the race with jesse and he put a hurtin on me the last couple of laps. For the 2 of you that selected Juntti in the last poll as this weeks winner you chose right, and in doing so earned yourself a chocolate chip cookie!!! ill have another poll up when i think of something good.





^^ pics from dennis loy

breakski this weekend!

here are some pictures posted on various msg boards:

Dennis Loy's pics
Langlois' pics
Chris' pics

K cup 2 race mini-series

Saturday:
A 9 lap course with two different faces. The first half was grass roots and tight turns and halfway out the course did a 180 and hopped into single track for the way back. I got a good start into the 2nd group consisting of wes, me, joey, jesse, and sisu guy. We rode together for 4 or 5 laps till me and joey were popped. The course killed me, every lap I thought the barriers were getting taller and the hills steeper. I finished in 7th I think.
Sunday:
A much different course, built more for a roadie with a lot of grass ski trails and only little single track. Oh yeah and a pile of snow at the s/f line every lap. I got into a good group with blu juntti and sam kilpela. Blu and juntti pulled away but stayed in our sights. Halfway thru blu went down and we passed him. We cought juntti and the group slowed for a couple minutes to wait for blu. Then juntti went down hard on single track dislocating his shoulder. Blu sam and myself were the remaining 3. With 2 laps left blu pulled away and sam and myself were left together. Coming to the start/finish with 1 lap left I tripped after the barriers and sam opened up a good gap that stuck. I finished in 3rd for the day and 4th for the weekend!

2 more races in the season.

lots of good photos on the redjacket team forum click "photo gallery" then "k cup"

heres a great one they got of blu

Choco X

Well the weekend didn't quite go as planned. I felt really good going into the race but sometimes luck isn't on your side. half lap in i took a sharp left onto the gravel driveway and went down, cutting my hand pretty good. i got back up bleeding all down my hand and 30 seconds later my chain snapped on a short steep uphill section. this one wasn't meant to be. Juntti won (shocking), after doing an insane race with something like 30 miles of biking and 20 miles of running the day before!!!

this weekend is in houghton on saturday AND copper harbor on sunday. hopefully i have some better news to write about. until then...

Race 2 - Fit Strip

7 of 20 mens Eh’s

Ever seen that Seinfeld with bizzaro jerry? Left is right, up is down bad is good. Well this was bizzaro cyclocross. Finally a race with no problems... ok a bad start but hardly an issue. So I entered the woods in about 12th but everyone was moving pretty quick at the beginning so it didn’t really slow things down. I passed a couple guys later in the lap and was probably 10th, about 2 laps in a group of 4 or 5 guys formed including dg, langlois, tony, tim s, myself and occasionally a sisu guy a red jackets guy (I forget their names). We worked well together taking turns and keeping the pace high, there were a couple times I didn’t think I’d be able to hang on but just managed. as this was happening I didn’t realize but the group widdled down to only me and dave. With 1.5 laps to go the two of us were alone in the 7/8 spot I was back a good 3 seconds or so and coming into the last hard right turn dave took it wide a bit off the course allowing me to get in front and hold it to the end by 2 seconds. The bike held up well. Overall a great race, I got my top 10 I was hoping for! Next Sunday is at Chocolay de Mahaney.

tons of awesome pictures here mens As are last 50 or so.

eric

garrett and i just before entering the woods

garrett

ace train

cyclocross kicked off sunday

13 of 24 for Eh's.

Everybody was there and it went smoothly. I felt pretty good for it being my first time on that bike since last years final cx race. The races started off fast I got a bad start and entered the first tight spot in about 10th. From there all kinds of craziness occurred. My skewer wouldn't stay tight for more than a couple laps so I replaced that for this weekend. Around lap 8 I pass tom because i see his chain comes off and he stops to fix it, he quickly gets back and is right behind me, as I'm taking a left i go down and with great bike handling tom avoided me and i was right back up. This weekend: fit strip lots of hills, single track and lactic acid... hoping for a top 10, is that too much to ask?

1st cx race

porn star joey

belic

eric, me, belic, garrett waiting for the start

giving it everything

garrett sizing up the competition

stolen bike

So I finally picked up my mountain bike from lakeshore the other day after working on it for 4 hours, putting on new cables and a shifter. I ride it to the pief and forgot a lock, so I bring it inside figuring it will be ok if its in there. nope, 30 minutes later im back and its snatched. kind of sucks, i called the police but based on the conversation i had with them it could be in front of their face and they would have no idea.

me: "hi i'd like to report a stolen bike"
cop: "what color is it?"
me: "blue"
cop: "ooook ill write a report and we'll let you know if anything comes up."

im embarrased to say i have 0 pictures of it. its a blue giant xtc mountain bike with specialized tires and duke rock shox so if you see someone riding it you have my permission to use any necessary force to get it back. heres a stock photo...

He's back............

check it

Cyclocross

Getting back into the regular routine of riding. Have been doing about 10 hours a week for a couple weeks on the road bike. The first races is only about 2.5 weeks away at Al Quall in Ishpeming.

NObama

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps, "My friend is dead! What can I do?". The operator says "Calm down. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says "OK, now what?


is it ok to admire another mans calfs?

Good People

Decided to go for a little ride today out to the base partly to get some miles in and partly to check out the new “shop” out there that I hadnt seen since weeks before its opening. I took off around 2 or 3 not sure of the exact time but that’s not really important. I have no computer on my bike but sometimes that’s a good thing… like when you don’t want to have to tell anybody that you only averaged 16mph, which of course is no problem at all when you’re going by yourself. So I rode up the mountain, past the crossroads, and into the first entrance of the base, with a monster headwind. There was no way around it, it was directly in my face the entire time. I felt ok, but like I said, im not sure how fast I was really going.

Then I get to Trailhead Bikes… I can’t possibly sum this place up in a couple of words so I’ll sum that place up in another post. After 10 minutes or so there, I headed home still feeling pretty good and anxious to get my much deserved tail wind for a speedy ride home. So I’m cruising down the road and leave again through the first entrance when I see the one and only… DA. He yells something like “tailwind… must be nice” It was. And this next decision haunts me… I turn around to ride with him… adding atleast 10 more miles into the wind. We ride to 94 and then to 41. At this point with 20 miles left to Marquette I’m feeling pretty gassed but I push on, theres not much else you can do when you’re riding with someone else.

Anyways we are cruising down 41 and I’m feeling especially slow… even for me. So I look down and see that I’ve got a flat, with no stuff DA threw me his (he’s good people), but in a time crunch had to take off. Ok cool so now I could take my change my tube and take my time on the way back. While I was changing the tire a cop pulls up and asks me if I’ve got everything (again good people), telling me hes a fellow rider. As I change my flat he tells me how his wife, who doesn’t ride, won a bike but it’s a 40lb downhill bike and wants to know what to do with it, swap frames, maybe a shop will take it for money, sell it on ebay… not much criminal activity happening in marquette I guess these days.

I get on my way but am feeling really slow and pathetic. I look down, the tire is fine and realize its just me. The last 10 miles (mostly downhill) took me close to an hour. I bonked, nothing more to it, simply didn’t have the groceries to finish the ride. PATHETIC!! If a nice old lady on a beach cruiser was coming by she would have passed me. As soon as I get back I chug an ensure shake and head to hardees (in my car of course) for more food. You know how you get the drink first and then a the food? I was so in need of sugar I chugged my coke and got a refill before my food even got to me. Then I took a 3 hour nap. Ahh the things we do to ourselves.

ya

my patheticness amazes even me sometimes.

ah yes back to the bicycle

Friday I'll be flying back to Chicago and getting there around midnight. Samir's going to be picking me up... lucky guy. There are races both days this weekend and next so I've decided to waste my money a few times. I'll be racing Glencoe on Sunday and Downers grove the next weekend. I don't expect to last more than maybe 5 or 10 minutes... but its the effort that counts right? So now we know I won't last long, there has to be another reason for humiliating myself... ah yes the motivation (and humiliation) to get me training again. I haven't felt this pathetic about my shape in a few years. Technically the race is 50 minutes +2 laps... we'll see. I could just get a group ride in that day for free but thats a lot earlier in the day and I have to listen to a bunch of old rich guys whine about how their porche is in the shop for the weekend and they have to drive their BMW instead.

Maggie's Buns

Finally had time to get a good ride in this morning. About 30 showed up. The route started off about 15 miles of flat until we hit some hills in forest grove. For not riding much this summer I felt pretty good. We played around in the hills for the next 20 miles or so until we got to Maggie's Buns. I've never seen such a cool little shop. Most places have discounts for Senior citizens, maybe discounts for veterans, this place has discounts for bikers, and it really draws them in. We arrived about 5 minutes after another club so the place was packed. i was pretty hungry, got a bagel and cream cheese and a huge m&m brownie... with discount $2.97. Oh yeah and everyone that worked there (other than maggie) was a girl 18-25. Oh yea one more plus, the shop was 200 yards from the optometry school. Made it back with no problems and with travel to and from the ride ended with about 65 miles. Probably will be my last good ride in Portland but I may be able to slip something in on wednesday or thursday. Then I'll be flying home on Friday.

not much riding going on here

Ya... I don't really ride anymore since my classes take up more time than I have in a day. and since im no longer a biker i don't have much to write here. i guess in the mean time ill have to live vicariously through other people.

Words to live by...

new theme...

Trying out a new theme, it still needs some work linking to results, other blogs that i forgot the address of and the race sked.

Frank Lloyd Wright's attitude: "Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose honest arrogance and have seen no occasion to change."

america's team

Chicago native Christian Vande Velde


Garmin-Chipotle got accepted to the tour with only a couple of openings for non pro-tour teams and they are kicking ass. America's new team is winning the overall team competition AND have two guys in the top 10. and YES the tour dominates my month of July!

august IS the best month for chicagoland biking afterall

classes are over a few days into august then its back to the mighty midwest... here are some possibilities for august.

8/09 grayslake crit
8/10 glencoe grand prix
8/16 downers grove
8/17 downers grove

-----------
here is my route I'm riding from the Beav (home) to PSU (school)

no versus

dont have versus?... check out this site http://www.justin.tv/giac2007 for live coverage. i thought not having the prologue might stink, going away from tradition and all but todays stage finish was amazing.

no bike yet

School started Monday. Everything is going great except I still don't have my bike >:|

my new home

I flew in yesterday evening and am in Oregon now! Dave and Laura are moving Saturday so the place I'm in now is only for a few days. This morning i took the train, the "max", into Portland so I could check out the school and get my books and learn my way around. The town is amazing, there may be more bikers than drivers, the weather is 75 degrees and sunny, and everybody I've met is extremely nice. i asked one girl where the off campus bookstore was and she walked me there. i was able to get used books for 152 instead of the new ones at the school bookstore for 220. i think ive seen more coffee shops today than in my entire life leading up to this point combined. this morning i bought a brew from a retarded mute guy on a motorized scooter with a sign listing the prices and it was all on your honor...crazy! On campus there are tons of trees i kinda feel like im in a forest. there were even these guys chiseling concrete to make a gazebo with tree trunks as the support. then i went and checked out what i heard called one of the best bike shops in the world, river city cycles, and that was a really cool place. cool town, cant wait for my bike to arrive, until then ive got the "max" which is free.




guy jaming out with no arm! vvv

tuesday ride

I tried a new ride this week... the barrington tuesday night ride. I met Eric at the church along with roughly 30 other people. The ride started off easy, which was nice since i drove to the start and allowed for a decent warm-up. We rode in a huge pack to an 8 mile loop which we rode 3 times... really hard. I didnt have a computer on my bike but the loops were all at race pace. I caught myself in a couple of breaks giving it everything I had. These guys were strong but there was also this girl who was the fastest id ever seen. I couldnt drop her on our breakaway and she did lots of pulling and was strong on the hills too, incredible. finally on lap 3 phil showed up and we got about a half lap in together. overall a great ride and i wish i had found out about it earlier in the summer.

i might be doing a crit in chicago sunday

10 days until Porty

June 18th is the big day I leave for Portland to be adopted by newlyweds Dave and Laura. Classes start the Monday after I arrive and go until early August. I'm excited to live somewhere new and be on my own for a while... takin a break from the home scene.

I'm riding a couple times per week nothing too serious but not enough time for racing at this point. I think I'll get one last one in this weekend, if i get a couple rides in during the week. I'm sad that I won't be at bikefest but I know ACE will kick some ass keeping the win in the yoop.

Does anyone else not mind the gas prices? I swear thats all the news networks talk about. "Chicago has the highest gas prices in the country with an average of $4.09 this week". I dont drive more than 20 miles a week so it doesnt bother me... maybe people will not buy the biggest cars they can find that get 12 mpg anymore. Maybe people will think before driving everywhere when they can easily take a bike, smaller car, or public transportation... or maybe if things are tight they'll just work harder.

EDIT: (more PICTURES of duluth)
personal photos from duluth
link from duluth classic website

Easy ride

I took the past couple of days off and went out for an easy 25 miler today. Racing is getting pretty expensive with gas these days so I think I'll be taking some time off until maybe the weekend before I leave for Portland. Here are some pics from last weekend...

some of the gang
tt start
tom in a daring breakaway on stage 3
sprint finish... (not for 1st)

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend we drove up to the Duluth Classic stage race for 4 days of racing goodness. Friday evening was stage 1, a 16.2 mile time trial loop. It was my first chance to race the new time trial bike and felt pretty good about my performance. Juntti rocked out with the best time for ACE putting him in the top 10.
Day 2 was a 54 mile fairly flat road race. Everyone’s legs were fresh but the wind kept things together and the race ended in a bunch sprint with no one moving directions in GC.
Day 3, the legs started feeling a little tired and the stage was the longest and most demanding at 62 miles. The race had a monster climb, which I climbed in my 39-23. Nothing serious went away until 5 broke away with one more lap to go, and I was in it! We worked together hard and stayed away until 2 miles left where the peloton caught us. Again the race ended up together.
Day 4 was a 45 minute crit. 2 guys got away and stayed away all race. There were a bunch of little attempts to reel them back in but the break stuck. I finished 11th on the day. Overall the timed stage race thing is pretty cool, and I’ve learned if I ever want to be competitive I’ve got some work to do on the time trials.

The weekend was great hanging with the units, the grand parents and all the Ace guys. Time for some resting up and getting ready for Portland!!

wisconsin cup races

Big weekend for ACE as it was the team debut. Saturday was a 46 mile road race in Denzer, Wisconsin about an hour north of Madison. I drove up that morning to meet them and get ready for some fun. The loop was 11.5 miles and included a 1.5 mile steep hill really early in the lap. Saturday was really windy and we started with 19 so there wasnt much room to hide. Lap 1, no problem... I hung in there and got a pretty good idea of what this cat 3 race was going to be like. If I could manage the hills, hanging on for the rest of the lap wouldnt be a problem. Lap 2, up the hill things were getting tough and I crested the hill 75 meters behind the lead 6 guys. With help from 2 other guys we caught them in a couple of miles. Lap 3, otb again on the hill... with the same guys again this time we didnt catch the leaders. I finished 10th overall. That night we crashed at Tom's brothers place which couldnt have worked out any better. The masters cooked for everybody and we had an awesome chicken pasta dinner!
Sunday was Wheels on Willy, great 1km course that I will definitely be coming back to. The day wasn't quite as nice as saturday but the atmosphere was 100x better. The fields were full, the crowds were great and it just felt like a fun bike race. We even had an Ace Hardware right on corner 1 to make us feel a little more at home. This time the other 3's decided to race masters and skip the 3 race so I was at it alone. We started going and the pace was quick but manageable. I stayed in the top half to keep out of trouble, but there was never any to be had. 2 laps to go and I moved up to top 15, I stayed there as we came around for the bell lap. After coming around the last corner of the final lap I got out of my saddle to sprint and broke the master link on my chain, I just looked down and there was nothing there so I coasted across the line in the middle of the pack. I was a little upset but it was a great day and a great weekend so I wasnt going to let that ruin the fun. Not sure how the masters finished up but they all raced well. Wes and Toph finished strong in the 4s and Ty did the same in the P/1/2 field. Way to go guys! Pictures to follow if I can get some.

New Bike!

I got my first tt bike this week, I haven't had time to take a picture yet so heres a stock pic. Its a felt s32 and I found it on slowtwitch from a guy from Tennessee. He took really good care of it and upgraded the deraillers to dura ace and the tires to mich prorace2. First race on it will be the duluth time trial. I'll be sure to give a ride report after I get a solid ride on it.



Big racing next couple of weekends.
Next up: a couple of races with the wisconsin cup (road race and crit)
followed by: duluth stage race

lots happening

lots of good stuff about to happen, ill be sure to take lots of pictures...
or steal them from other people...

80 miler

I stuck it out for 80 miles... I was happy to be able to do just that, but I actually felt strong too. It was my 2nd ride of that distance for the year. The next morning was the TTT, def felt a little tired from the prior days race during this so I didnt do the crit. Garrett and Eric were both very strong in the ttt, we could have been a little bit stronger if I had more gas at the end. Great weather and an awesome last collegiate racing weekend!!

sweet commercial

i dont know how to insert these into the blog... check this out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHANpOlL6bc


weekend report to come...

so much to do so little time

i havent been able to write much because i've been so damn busy!
heres my plan for the next little while, oh ya and expect a good report from regionals this weekend...

- off to madison this weekend for some bIcycle racin'
- 1 more week of school... then finals
- working LOTS in may to make some mullah
- racing duluth at the end of may
- off to colorado in 6 weeks for the summer!

busy busy

Marian / Purdue

Where to start...?
The Sheboygan race was canceled due to ice and snow on the crit course. Big bummer I was ready for the first Ace race. Plans changed quick and 2 hours later I was on my way down to Indiana for some collegiate bike racing. On the way we saw a person in a car, not sure if they were drunk or sleeping, almost run into a cadilac on the freeway then ram into the concrete median wall at 80mph get all 4 tires into the air, somehow stay upright and drive off even faster. eric called 911, maybe they got him, maybe the guy died, who knows. Friday night we crammed 11 bikes and 9 people into one hotel room (no thats not a typo), I was lucky enough to get a bed.
Saturday was Marian's crit, I raced B's and it was 45 minutes long. First race in over 6 months so I had to get back into the swing of things. I raced along side Garrett, Eric, and Chad. I took 7th, Garrett was right next to me and Chad and Eric a little behind. That night we all split up to whatever contacts we had in the area and crashed all over town so we wouldnt be jammed into that hotel room again. Eric and I stayed at Samir's, he was so happy to see us... not.
Sunday morning started with a team time trial. I finally got to try out my helmet on the 6.2 mile course and we won the B's (garrett, eric, chad, and myself). we dropped chad halfway thru, which turned out to be perfect and the rest of us hammed out the second half in perfect harmony. Ok now it was time to step it up with the big boys. I signed up for the mens A road race, 30 miles - 9 times up the wall. My goal was to finish in the pack, every lap I think my time up the hill got slower and slower. ok race over now immediatly back to marquette, right? nope, first i had to get the van stuck in a grass field, have AAA come tow us out, nearly run out of gas, then we finally made it back to marquette at almost 3am.







not sure if these videos will work... stole them from facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=589050625798
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=523357879857

Iron Mountain ride

Juntti, DA, Lackey, Wes, yours truly, toph, Langer (photo by: d sportif)

Finally was able to get that really good outdoor ride in. Yesterday 8 of the Ace guys met at Toms early and we headed down to Iron Mountain for an epic ride. It was mid 40s and sunny all day. We went hard right from the start, literally attacking hills in the first 5 miles. Yes hills... IM has lots of them, I didnt realize this but trust me I'll never forget. Derek and Juntti came to play breaking away whenever possible even doing an extra 4 miles because they liked one hill so much that they felt like riding it twice. I got into a couple breakaways as well, including the last one with Andy and Tom and that one hurt bad... I was doing everything I could to push the pedals and keep trading off pulls at mile 82. A great March ride!

Ride Stats:
Time - 4:56
Distance - 87mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1128 174 watts
Cadence: 29 141 84 rpm
Speed: 2.2 39.8 17.7 mph
Pace 1:30 26:49 3:23

weather suckssssssss

Well the UP weather is at it again keeping me on the trainer. I know I know... get a cross bike and ride outside! I like to ride the good stuff (Giants) so if I would have bought a crappy bike like a trek then I probably could have afforded one. So next year i guess. Here are some pics of the new ACE kit!!

Practicing for what I can hopefully do at least once this year!! \/ \/

getting back

Here was a good threshold (276w) workout



tom gave me a pros power workout for the build period, its 4 hours... but what the hell maybe i'll try it soon.