LaForce the Pace

Burnham crit (circuit)

2010-03-28T10:05:00.004-04:00

Ahh the first chance at a uscf race of 2010. The day was great with lots of sunshine, it was about 50 degrees out and there were plenty of racers making the haul to South Beloit for a chance to see where they were at after the always long off season we endure in Chicago. For me as a 3 I had the rare opportunity to race twice first a 50(?) minute cat 3 race and then a 75 minute cat 1/2/3.
The first race was pretty simple tactically. I'm not in great shape but hey its March neither are most other people so I said to myself be extremely aggressive. There were 2 big teams represented and for anyone that knows the scene you probably dont even need me to tell you, XxX and Burnham. My plan was go with every single move that was represented by these two teams and dont chase if any other combination presented itself. This worked well. I got a little tired because nothing stuck so all race long there were a lot of attempts and then we got to 4 laps left with a burnham guy up the road and i said to myself what the heck ive been sitting in for a lap or so and now is as good of time as any to go for it. So I did, and reached the burnham guy pretty quick... he was pretty spent. I asked him "do you want to work?" he said "no man im toast". i didnt take that as an answer and said "come on its only a few laps we can do it". We worked together and the next time accross the line I saw 3 laps to go. Every so often I looked back and saw the pack to see the gap and it was encouraging at one point there were two chasers. These guys would have been perfect because more firepower in the break with less pulling time meant more rest for the sprint. They never caught us but all of the sudden I look back and see my friend Liam from XxX whom I had just spent 5 days in georgia with last month. Within no time he was up to the two of us just a little before we cross the s/f line with one to go. I take a pull and move off, the burnham guy is next up and he pretty much stops (turns out he thought the race was over a lap earlier than it was) and so Liam goes for it leaving me in the dust trying with every ounce of energy and adreniline and everything else I've got to just grab his wheel... no dice. Liam held the ensuing pack to take the beautiful solo victory while I, about 300 meters behind him on the finishing straight was swallowed up by the pack, watching what could have been a first or even a second turn into nothing close. Oh well, it was fun seeing the race from a different point of view. Sitting in to take 5 isnt very rewarding anymore.
In the 1/2/3 race i lined up exhausted. Goal numero uno, stick it out, the whole way, dont do any work... it didnt matter that wouldnt be an option. I did end up sticking it out just fine somehow and with just under one lap to go my rear tire flatted and i usually wouldnt do this but what the hell, i decided to keep going so at 13 miles an hour i rolled around the rest of the lap with a flat and finished the race. March racing in my eyes are for two things, training and to gauge fitness. These races did both quite well.

2010 is here!

2010-01-31T20:37:00.004-05:00

VeloNews interviewed me... it will be in the upcoming issue, but as always i've got you guys covered, heres a sneak peak:

VN: so i heard you have a new team?
BL: yes, the recycling team. im pretty excited.
VN: can you tell us a little about the team?
BL: sure... its a first year team with guys coming from all different places. We have James who used to ride for Health Net and Seth who is the current state p/1/2 champion along with some other very strong talent. here check it out for yourself www.recyclingprodevelopment.com
VN: that sounds exciting, how is your training going?
BL: actually not so well. i had a tough time getting on the bike in december with the weather and i have some type of mental block where i can no longer ride in my basement on the trainer.
VN: rough combo for living in illinois.
BL: yeah, but i think things are slowly getting back on track. the first race still isnt for a couple of months so we'll see.
VN: good to hear, anything else on the horizon?
BL: yes actually, in less than two weeks ill be going to georgia with newt and a bunch of xxx guys for some training... i hope i dont hold everyone up. and then the following weekend my own team is having our own camp in kentucky so i will be going there.
VN: very exciting, well thats all i have best of luck to you.
BL: ok. thanks.

killing the blog

2009-09-17T13:57:00.001-04:00

too much to keep up with these days so im killing the blog... at least for a while.

Cherry-Roubaix '09

2009-09-01T23:55:00.001-04:00

6 of the Chicago boys raced the Cherry-Roubaix races in Traverse city this weekend. Brian and I from get a grip and Newt, Luke, William and Liam from xXx racing. Newt hooked us up with a condo/lodge type place a few miles out of town. The weekend forecast promised lots of showers. Brian and I drove early friday to check out the road race course, of course it was hurricane outside but we gave it a go anyways.
Saturdays race was a 6 corner downtown criterium with a large section of pave. The day was horrible, rain all day long. By the time our race came things were completely soaked, and the day separated the men from boys... the boys stood on the side and watched the men race. The race starts and people get used to taking corners at speed, not brian. Brian comes from a mtb background so hes got the technical skills and made an early break with york and another guy. They held it to the line and Brian took 2nd in the sprint, I got 8th. Chicago took 2nd, 4th, 7th and 8th on the day. Not bad for a field of 35.
Day 2, an epic 5 lap 60 mile course with as much climbing as any sane person could ask for. A break of 4 got up the road after 3 laps containing brian and luke. another lap later a bridge came from a shattered field up the s/f climb and 5 more joined on including myself. This group made it to the finish together (losing brian due to cramping). this was a really disappointing race because the course suited me well but was a little longer than what ive been training for. i havent been putting any long rides in this year especially the last couple months and i could feel it on the final lap. lap 4 i felt as strong as anyone in the break and confident i had a good chance at winning but lap 5 i began really struggling on the climbs and killing myself to stay with the group. By the time we got to the final climb I had nothing left, I told luke he was our only shot... i had nothing. i made it up the climb in 7th a good 15 seconds or so behind the rest of the group.

and thats the season... half ironman under 2 weeks away !!

since last time...

2009-08-16T23:31:00.002-04:00

Elk grove was very very hard. I had a 300 watt average for the race after tried many breaks... nothing had a chance. The sprinters owned this race from the start with all the primes offered. I finished by coasting in with the pack. After this one Brian Tim and I watched the domostic pros including flandis and mr. horner duke it out for their 98 mile race as we hung at the tent with beers in hand. I wish somebody told me how much more enjoyable this was than actual racing.

The Downers Grove course suits me fairly well as its not a pancake like so many other crits in the area. I tried for a prime about 15 minutes in and got nipped by inches then after another 15 minutes tried to get into a break but this race was owned by the sprinters too and i coasted across the line in the pack after a sketchy final corner i took it easy up the finish just happy to be upright.

Time to take it easy for a bit and get some swimming and running in so I don't embarrass myself too much for the half ironman and of course so cousin jeff doesn't beat me.

Upgrade pending...

Superweek and Chicago Crit

2009-07-27T10:30:00.005-04:00

Last Thursday I tried my hand at another superweek race after the success of the lakefront road race. Athletes can be pretty superstitious, and what the heck I wasn't going to mess with success so I tried to mimic my morning from the lakefront race as much as possible. Breakfast at wildberry, no socks, no sleep, etc... The course was about a 1 mile crit which we did 30 miles of. The series leader (Marc) was at the race and I knew he was one of the key guys to watch if I was going to do well.

The race started and a few laps in Marc took off and I was the only one who went with him. We were away for 10 or 15 seconds only, the field would never let him get away. After about 8 laps a group of 8 got up the road and I saw it was a well represented break so the next lap I took off on the hill dragging a couple guys and we made the bridge. Geoff from leadout took control of the group and got us into a good rotation and gaining time on the peloton (which marc was in). Most of the group worked while some guys sat, we ended up gaining a lot of time on the pack and after dropping a few went to the line with 7. I managed to get myself in the 4th spot coming toward the winding finish line and sprinted first, with no one able to catch on soon enough!

Fast forward to yesterday and we have one of the biggest races of the year, the chicago criterium. This was its 2nd year being run, and my first crack at it. We had 7 get a grippers in a field of over 100. The race was very fast, about 27 mph and with no hard sections to really break up the group. There were a bunch of prime opportunities and even some that rewarded the 2nd guy across the line. I went for a couple and got one of them for $50. No breakaway really had a chance with the field pushing so hard until padfield snuck away with 3 laps to go. Get a grip got to the front in an effort to block and nobody in the field knew what to do or wanted to waste energy doing it.

Eventually burnham and team leadout with some help from others did a hard chase and closed the gap with under a lap to go. Right before the last corner things got tight while I was sitting in 8th or 9th place and a team leadout rider went down, I was immediately behind him slammed on my brakes and rode over his bike and flipped over my handlebars at close to 30mph. Somehow there was no serious damage and even the road rash was pretty minimal. The bike however got smashed hard and the handlebars jackknifed into the top tube on the fall and put a good ding in there. No finish for me, oh well but I got to do the whole race so overall a good experience.

heres an epic photo from ed white http://www.flickr.com/photos/ewwhite/3761347148/sizes/o/

Oh and one more thing, when racing in the city, park somewhere where you can ride to the race because $25 parking garages for a couple hours are no fun.

Unprepared to win

2009-07-16T23:55:00.008-04:00

pic by John Wilke

Today I raced the Lakefront Road Race, superweek's 7th race. Usually I'm a little unorganized going into races but today was really over the top. I left my house and 9 and got to the race in plenty of time... so far so good. When I got there I realized I didn't have cash so I had to pay by check, extra fee = $46 to race. I forgot socks so I raced without any (gross), I had a flat front tire so I went to the neutral start to be told like a 5 year old to bring a tube until they finally felt bad enough for me and helped me out. I thought it was a crit so I brought only 2 gels and a skinsuit, and to top it all off I had only 3 hours of sleep. Not too condusive to having a good race... but somehow it worked.

The course was a 2.2 mile lap which we did 23 times totaling 50 miles. It started with a 30 second winding climb then at the top it took a near 180 and was fairly flat with a slight rise to the downhill which was snaking and technical to a 90 at the bottom where the wind hit you in the face for the long finishing straight. The race started off fairly easy with a lot of people attempting to break away but nothing stuck. With 18 laps to go 3 guys got up the road and got themselves a 35 second lead. I knew the break had a chance as nobody was chasing it so the next time on the climb I attacked hoping to get a couple guys to come with to bridge up... nothing. I was in no mans land 10 seconds ahead of the break and still too far to bridge solo. I didn't care anymore so I just went for the break. After 2 laps of chasing, slowly but surely I caught one guy from the break who was just dropped and we worked together for a few pulls. As the 2 leaders were only 10 seconds away on the hill I gave it a good push leaving the guy behind and I soon caught them. After a short rest I jumped in the rotation and the 3 of us worked really well together.

For the 17 remaining laps it was probably as close to sharing an equal workload as you could have asked for. We all knew our strengths and pulled hard on different spots on the course to keep our gap. The peleton got close at one point and after that effort the gap started growing again up to almost 2 minutes. There were attempts off the front but nobody caught us so we went to the line together. I knew I had a decent sprint as long as there wasnt a pure sprinter in the group so I took off at about 150 meters and when I looked up I was the first one accross the line!

2nd half of the year

2009-07-10T22:43:00.003-04:00

every once in a while i go to the velodrome for intervals, today was as perfect as a day could be.

I've been able to get an awesome first half of the year in (arizona, california, new team) but there's still plenty left. no great results yet to speak of (a couple 4th's) so im hoping that with all the crits coming there will be some good news around the corner. After taking a look at the next few months I've selected some key races and will fill in others as time comes closer. I'm always excited about the august illinois crits but am really looking forward to the 2 tri's planned after that. September is a half ironman in minnesota with my cousin jeff. i still don't swim but as soon as downers grove is over i swear im gonna practice. the other tri im really looking forward to as well, it's the kickapoo dam triathlon which is done by paddling the first leg with a teammate (my dad), then breaking off and riding 14 miles followed by running a 5k. they should provide a good mental break from riding the pizza cutters every day.

taking it easy

2009-07-08T12:00:00.002-04:00

and sometimes you just need to go for an easy ride...

Recap sunday

2009-07-02T01:21:00.002-04:00

After Saturdays road race Chris and I both knew we had 2 fun days of racing in and realized we had one more in the morning. The thing was it was only going to last about 20 minutes... and it did. The circuit race was 4 laps around presque isle which is exactly 2 miles around. With such a small race in the morning we decided to have a few drinks which led to quite a few more and before you knew it we were both drinking all night long. When morning came we did our regular prep of oatmeal (no coffee this time) and headed over to the race. One of the best things about this whole series was that we could ride to every race in 5 minutes from Garrett's.

Anyways the course consisted a small flat section a big hill and gradual downhill and a couple sharp fast turns into the finish. Going up the hill I attacked and got into a break of 5 which was looking strong for a lap but at that point people stopped rotating and crossing the line for lap 2 we were reabsorbed with the pack. At that point Chris made a brilliant move and attacked, with one other guy he stayed away from the pack for the remaining 2 laps and out muscled his break partner for first. This put an awesome cap on a really fun weekend!!

BikeFest thru saturday

2009-06-27T18:46:00.002-04:00

Fridays crit was, as expected, another awesome event. The cat 3 race fielded between 35 and 40 racers from Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. The race was pretty hard and we lost about half of the field before the end. My goal from the start was to get into anything that looked threatening and if the race came to the line together to hit the base of the hill in first and try to hold it to the end. I ended up hitting the hill in 3rd and finishing in 4th after getting passed by 1 half way up.

Saturdays race was the State Championship road race and was the typical sbf 55 mile race which starts by climbing the mountain. The race stayed together for the first 20 miles on the way out and once we turned at gwinn the attacks started coming. A bunch of attempts were sucked back in and eventually a decent one of 3 started drifting up the road. The break sat anywhere from 15 seconds to a minute ahead of the peleton and was well represented by the 3 largest teams. The break managed to hold it to the end, big props for that, and took 1,2,3 leaving the field to vie for 4th place. I took 6th in the sprint for a 9th overall.

Tomorrow is the circuit race, 4 laps around presque isle's hilly loop. I have no idea where i stand overall... 5th maybe? Tomorrows race update to follow.

Holding off the rain

2009-06-06T22:47:00.001-04:00

Saturday after work I quickly drove an hour south to a small town called Winfield. I was going to try the ABD directed Winfield Twilight criterium. The atmosphere right away was better than most races. The course was nothing like a monsters or vernon hills but included a nice gradual climb of maybe 5% followed by many tight 90's decending into a left hand turn to the finishing straight. I think this course is what my body was built for: a crit, technical and with a repetitive annoying hill thrown in for good measure. The catagories were split up a bit different than usual and the field was 2/3 combined.

We had 5 get a grip guys in all, chip, chris k, chad, dave and myself. to spare the boring race details, i missed a prime by a couple of feet because i race wayyyy too conservative. and i was alone for 2 laps, with about 7 to go and couldnt hold as fruend and janowiak came by when i was drifting back towards the pack. i coasted across in 11th of a field of 46 and considering the field i wasnt too upset.

afterwards at the top of the hill a bunch of houses were grilling out with food for the racers, i had a couple hot dogs, pasta salad, a cupcake it was pretty neat and made the $35 entry fee well worth it. after doing this race and experiencing the course and atmosphere i would definitely put this race into my top ten... that list coming soon.

heres a shot of the p/1/2 field and the tents at the top of the hill

it never ends with our state

2009-06-03T19:31:00.001-04:00

here is the new plate, available in july:

Duluth Classic 2009

2009-05-26T20:42:00.005-04:00

Thursday night, Padfield, Brian and I met at steak and shake where Brian (the guy who doesn’t eat fast food) had just finished off a double bacon cheeseburger and a vanilla milkshake. We loaded up, I feel like we had enough bikes to be a small pro team, 3 of us X 2 bikes each, a roadie and a tt. We drove up to Madison to get a couple hours out of the way before the long drive in the morning.

Friday morning we enjoyed the continental breakfast offered at the econo lodge and went on our way up north. We arrived in Wrenshall, Wisconsin, the site of the time trial, at about 2:30… we didn’t go off until almost 7. We went inside the unmarked building I remembered from last year and saw a couple people from the race stunned to see racers there so early. There were a few others ready to sign in too since they went off at 5:30. They told us to come back later so we went and drove the course to check out what would be dishing the pain for the next 30 some odd minutes. Eventually we got checked in and we chose our camping spot for the next 5 hours. We picked a luxurious parking spot which offered an adjacent grassy area with both sun and shade. I got out the stand and started setting up my tt bike with the power cable and a few other odds and ends I needed to do to get the bike ready as it pretty much hadn’t been ridden since the same race last year. Chris and Brian, much more prepared with their equipment all set to go, laid out and took naps in the sun. As our start times neared we changed and began warming up. Brian was first up, he was on Kevin Corsello’s (G-a-G owner) tt rig, a custom carbon and ti Serotta with 808s and a zip cockpit... lets just say it wasn’t a piece of crap. I was a few minutes later with Tony being my 30 second man I knew it would be a hard challenge to catch anybody. Last of the team was Mr. timetrial himself chris padfield. As expected he lit up the field with the only time sub 37 minutes. Brian was a bit of a wildcard being a mtb’er and came in an incredible 2nd only ~10 seconds behind padfield. I didn’t touch their times but put in a solid effort for just under 39 minutes for 17th place. After the race we drove to our host house, where we stayed with some college girls for free… not a bad deal.

Saturday morning the results were posted from from the tt and it was confirmed we were going to be the target of the others teams attacks as we were holding the 2 top spots. Saturdays race wasn’t a really exciting one. It was 3 laps of 17 miles on a course that didn’t have anything to help separate the field. We patrolled the race really well and let a couple of guys lower on GC sneak away to snag some bonus seconds toward the end. We questioned other teams tactics when we saw numerous downhill attacks which quickly got swallowed up by the field. A racer not far behind padfield put in a good effort and unfortunately took the field sprint and the 10 bonus seconds that came with it, moving him to a dangerously close 7 seconds from Chris. The worst part of the race which we didn’t find out until the results were posted was the 30 second time penalty given to Brian for crossing the center line, we tried to talk to the lady official who posted it but she wasn’t having it, its ok Padfield walked in on her changing. With a big boy stage the next day we went to our favorite burrito union for the 2nd time in two days to refuel. That night we did our usual of compression tights (padfield), elevated legs (brian and I) mixed with lots of relaxing and drinking water.

Sunday was the 2nd most crucial stage of the race (after the time trial of course). It was 5 laps of a 12 mile loop with a 1km leg burner 10% climb that lead to the s/f and rollers throughout most of the rest of the loop.
After the first lap, a break of 3 (lower gc guys) went away on the hill and gained up to 3:30 on the field. The entire race Brian was putting in monster pulls to keep the peloton moving along. The gap slowly decreased with attacks from the group and then the serious work took place when two Brone (2nd on gc) domestiques and both get a grip domestiques (brian and i) worked together to real the group back. Another high gc guy took off as the 3 were down to less than a minute but the 4 at the front quickly shut the group down with 1 lap to go. I turned around for the first time just after the start finish with 1 to go and realized the group that started with over 40 racers was down to about 25. A few other attempts were made on the final lap, 1 of which stuck and worked in our favor as he ate some of the available bonus seconds. The main field crossed in little groups with chris and I in the pack 4 seconds behind the solo guy. Brian, content after all his work, took it easy on the last hill and came in with the next group at 13 seconds. All in all a good stage as some people were finishing 10+ minutes back and Chris retained the jersey to fight another day. For dinner we were looking to carb up. We tried to support the local economy but I guess the local economy took a break as the restaurant was closed. Instead we drove a bit out of town and hit up an olive garden where each waitress was required to wear a topsie turvy with a 4inch hair lift.

The final morning began at 6:30, we left some biciclete wine and a card for our gracious host, Juliana and left with a full car to the criterium in Cloquet, Minnesota. The stage was new from last year. The course had 1 fast and technical turn right after the s/f line and 1 short kicker roughly 150 meters long with a hard right turn at the top that lead into the finish line. The race was so close that there were two guys in contention of the gc that by taking bonus seconds for a top 5 in the crit would win the overall. We let a break go with about 18 laps to go that didn’t consist of one of these guys. With 3 laps to go brian lead up the hill and then chris took off at the top making a run for the stage. The brones team domstiques immediately chased as their guy was close in gc and could win it all with a top 5 finish. Chris was caught with 2 and a half laps to go and immediately the brones leader attacked. While Chris was getting caught Brian and I both yelled to him to hop on the attack but it came from behind and he missed it. I jumped on brones’ wheel as he broke and followed him around for a lap. Immediately brian then went to the front of the pack and gave it everything to close the gap. He did with 1 and a half to go and brones was sufficiently tired. The solo break stayed away and the rest of the group (that didn’t get dropped) came into the line hard and together but neither of the two important gc guys took a spot in the top 5 meaning padfield held on to his gc victory by an incredible 1 second!!

The race could not have been any closer and the last stage was a tough effort that showcased a lot of teamwork. We received a lot of complements for our racing for the 4 days. I was really proud to wear the Get a Grip jersey.

LaRue Denzer LaRue

2009-05-20T23:57:00.003-04:00

This past saturdays race was an epic course for sure. 7500 feet of climbing in 48 miles was on tap for the cat 3 race. Unfortunately bikers are pretty big sissies so this awesome/ brutal race only fielded 19. The race was a half lap followed by 2 full laps. I hit a new 5 minute wattage on the half lap then soon after the s/f line had trouble shifting. I couldnt figure it out, eventually my bike skidded me to a stop. I hopped off to check it out and noticed my wheel was out of the drops. My skewer came undone. I tightened it and chased back... but to no avail. I kept the field in my sights nearly to the start/finish line again (20 miles) but could never close the gap. As I crossed the line I looked right and saw tom and derek wathing the race. I was mentally done so I stopped and went and caught up with them. I worked on my bike today. Its ready to rock for duluth.

update on a few things

2009-05-14T21:35:00.002-04:00

I'm looking forward to the Denzer race this weekend. The course has been switched up some since last year but it still showcases the monster -leg breaking- climb and a good amount of ups and downs throughout the rest of the lap. Last year I was just happy to finish the race, it was one of my first cat 3 races. There was a small field of maybe only 15 or 17 guys which made for a tough race. This year I've been training much "better" and these past two weeks have been good too, i'm feeling strong, so I think with a little luck and smarts I have a decent chance of getting my first cat 3 podium. Also and this is the best part I can't wait to see all of the marquette guys coming down for the race. Haven't seen them since I left in December so it will be a fun time.

In the "non-bike" related part of my life I got a job as the head of the electrical department at Lowe's. Its a full time position and after not really working for the last 6 months and with the way the economy has been I'm just happy to have a place to go for 40 hrs a week. It should add some structure to things but allow me more freedom too to be able to travel to races easier and soon move into my own place!! ya ya we'll see.

Duluth is only a week away. I got my schedule from Lowe's today and being memorial day weekend of course I'm scheduled. I don't know what to do about this one. I don't want to jeopardize the job but I've paid over $100 for the race. I'm bringing it up tomorrow so I'll know one way or the other by then.

Winona Lake and Vernon Hills

2009-05-03T23:09:00.009-04:00

saturday: winona lake road race, great time, nice update HERE by aspen.

sunday: vernon hills, sprint finish. a lot of well represented teams. we raced aggressively but nothing was really given a chance. pack finish.

Iowa City

2009-04-27T20:09:00.006-04:00

Just got back from a really fun weekend of racing (rr and crit) in Iowa City with Chris and Aspen. The road race was ~15 miles outside the city in a Mennonite town with horses and carriages. The cat 3 field raced 4 - 13 mile laps on a windy and rolling hills type course. None of the hills proved severe enough to cause a break in the field and it turned out be a rather boring race due to that fact. When the sprint came guys were all over the place and way across the yellow line even though the rule was in effect, Padfield was the only one on our team who could get decent positioning and came across in a respectable 8th place (without cheating his way to good positioning i might add!). aspen and i were caught back in the middle of the pack.

Day 2 was a .8 mile crit with a steep downhill with a somewhat technical 90 degree turn at the bottom followed by a steep big ring climb. The day was pretty windy but the wind was only really felt on a couple short stretches after the climb. A breakaway took place at a smart point just after a prime when most of the field was gassed and no one responded. This was about lap 5 of our total 25 laps and the guy stuck it out to the end with a 30 second gap on the field. Aspen put in a really hard effort for about half a lap trying to break away with one other guy but the field wasnt gonna let anyone else get away and we went to the line together. The team had talked about the finish trying to figure out where best to be and we managed the field sprint pretty well. Aspen pushed really hard the last time after the hill and i couldnt catch his wheel. he rounded the final corner in 2nd and won the field sprint while i rounded it in 4th and took 3rd in the field sprint giving us 2nd and 4th on the day. padfield raced strong all race and had bad luck with a mechanical with only a couple laps to go.

overall im really happy with how the weekend went. we raced hard and are learning each others strengths and weaknesses and learning to race better as a team. the weather was great too, couldnt ask for more! next up winona lake rr and vernon hills gp

knee/ iowa

2009-04-21T13:55:00.003-04:00

I haven't ridden in 3 days due to a pain on my inner right knee. I have been icing and stretching it though in hopes to be able to race this weekend in Iowa. Padfield, Aspen and I will be driving there friday and racing a 52 mile RR on saturday followed by a 25 lap crit on sunday. A report to follow...

hillsboro roubaix 2009

2009-04-06T21:42:00.006-04:00

The one time a year when the midwesterner gets to try their hand at a spring classic of their own. This was my first crack at Hillsboro Roubaix and the race didn't disappoint. With massive fields (100+), a great course and weather, and organized race directing there was nothing more i could have asked for... except for maybe 1 thing, but i'll get to that in a minute. The cat 3 race was three 22 mile laps on a mostly open, flat and narrow course until the last mile or two of each lap which consisted of 2 hills and brick pavement.

My plan was to stay up because I had heard it was a hard course to move up in the field and with the winds you didnt want to be "stuck" when the field split. I don't remember exactly when but roughly half way through the first lap a break was attempted with about 10 guys, unfortunately no get a grip representation. As the group was riding, up the road stood an official with his palm up telling the field to stop. "This is your last warning" he said, "no one over the yellow line." There was no yellow line and the road was 10 feet ride so this made the rule hard to enforce. The important thing is that with the officials decision he essentially solidified the break that was a few seconds up the road to one that was now 30 seconds or more ahead. This happened two more times for two different reasons, passing the masters field and a truck and trailer sitting at a stop sign on our side of the road.

I got into two failed break attempts and wore myself out pretty good. On the third lap Aspen got away with Luke (XxX)and another guy (???) and managed to put a lot of time into the leaders in a short time even catching some stragglers from the break but nonetheless coming up about a half of minute behind at the finish line, he took 9th. So yeah the thing i could have asked for is if just one of those "official stops" had not occured with the break still rolling at full speed maybe Aspen would have had a chance at the overall, oh well what can you do. Padfield spent 15 minutes on lap 2 (the fastest lap) catching back on after a mechanical... absolutely insane! Even after all that work he put in some hard digs on the final lap. Uwe also finished the race, something that judging by the results was hard enough on its own. Coming into the final hills I stayed on the left to move up the hill fast and stay with the front group. Going over the cobbles and on the finishing straight I got lucky and picked some good wheels and took the field sprint for 12th place. Even though we had only 1 top 10, overall I would call the race a success as it was our first time racing together.

oh one more thing, caad frames are crazy stiff. my ass still hurts from that thing (no jokes... its too easy)

Arizona

2009-03-21T18:35:00.004-04:00

Well, AZ is almost over and I'm not totally sure I'm ready to come back. I've had the chance to ride lots, hang out with a bunch of my cousins who came down for spring break, and meet some pretty cool people at work.

The training is coming along quite well and I got a good test this morning at the Superior race, a 62 mile out and back road race with lots of rollers and one long hill that we hit on the way out and again on the way back. The first half was really slow but the 2nd half the pace picked up and people started getting dropped. When the group was down to about 10 guys we were part way up the big climb on the way back. It was a pretty hard pace but I felt ok, then... I dropped my chain.

I didnt blink and got off to put it back on and try to chase back. I managed to catch a few stragglers who were falling off the pace but never caught back with that front group. Three of us crested together and worked to catch those guys but we didnt make it. Another joined and four went into the line, I took 2nd of that group but wasnt happy with that since I had more sprint but wasnt clear on where the line was.

Anyways it was a training race and was really happy that my fitness was not a limiter in my performance and I managed to learn a couple of things. One, make sure my bike shifts better, dropping that chain probably cost me a couple spots and also know where the finish line is, going for it when you dont even know where 'it' is, isnt a good move.
The town of Superior was so beautiful I wish I had my camera. There were HUUUUGE mountain cliffs surrounding the entire town.
Wednesday, I start the journey back to Chi and friday (hopefuly I'm there by then) I get my Cannondale built up!!

a new world...

2009-03-16T23:21:00.002-04:00

twitter! subscribe to me so i can tell you more than you wanted to know http://twitter.com/benlaforce

this means you: g-force, topher, the real mccoy, langer, blu, and anyone else who reads this!

Hors Category - Mt. Palomar

2009-02-24T21:17:00.004-05:00

Some shots from watching the final stage of the tour 200 meters from the KOM summit on Mount Palomar...

elk man leading the peloton

hamilton sittin in the pack

LA

Me on the climb and Nacho Libre running up Palomar

AZ straight thru

2009-02-15T12:04:00.002-05:00

Drove to AZ straight through with the pops, including fill up time it took 28 hours and lots of red bull.

Judson and more

2009-02-10T11:47:00.002-05:00

This about sums up my ride saturday:

I knew having a long drive to arizona the next couple of days meant I had to get a good ride in. It started with a drive down to winnetka for the Judson ride. They start off quick so I planned on going early to get a warm up in. I got there at 7:50 and still wasnt dressed... damn no warmup. The day was beautiful. Weather was mid 50s and the sun was out, the ride turnout was upwards of 40 people... wait let me correct that 40 fast people. It did rain the day before and there was plenty of standing water on the roads. So the ride gets off and I get caught in one of the front groups off the main pack... on my cyclocross bike! It was totally nuts and I wanted to cry for most of the ride. Fearing my masculinity would be questioned I held in the tears and kept riding. After about 45 minutes of all out drilling it I couldnt hold it anymore and got dropped. Damn, I didn't know the route and didnt see any of the other riders behind. About 5 minutes later I see my dad riding to his group ride which started at 9. Perfect, I joined on that for another 45 miles. This was gonna be easy... a bunch of old guys. Nope, more pain starting the 2nd half of this ride. By the time we finally made it back to the park I was shot. Unfortunately I had another 10+ miles south to winnetka. Those were awfully slow. I got the big ride in I wanted... off to az!
.

New Year New Fit

2009-01-13T23:19:00.004-05:00

First post of 2009 and the weather couldn't be any more depressing. BUT... there is good news. I went in to the Get-a-Grip fit studio downtown today to get my race fit from Adam. First time checking out the studio and it was pretty sweet, the fit took about 2 hours and included lots of measuring of from the waist down, checking flexion, cleat movement, fit on a really movable serotta fit bike, and spin scan analysis. I ended up getting new cleats because those needed to be replaced about 6 months ago and Adam told me it was time. My seat was raised about 1.5 cm, I purchased a 120mm stem before I had a 100mm one, and another thing I'm supposed to do is get some 40cm bars as im using 42's now.

busy time of year

2008-12-22T13:07:00.000-05:00

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

2008-12-11T00:54:00.001-05:00

Out with the (barely) old in with the NEW

2008-12-08T23:09:00.007-05:00

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

2008-12-01T12:39:00.001-05:00

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

2008-11-16T22:47:00.007-05:00

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

2008-11-11T11:20:00.012-05:00

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

2008-11-04T11:00:00.001-05:00

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

2008-10-22T23:14:00.002-04:00

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

2008-10-21T10:00:00.008-04:00

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

2008-10-13T15:25:00.006-04:00

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

2008-10-07T14:24:00.002-04:00

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

2008-09-29T18:41:00.005-04:00

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

2008-09-23T21:38:00.007-04:00

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

2008-09-10T20:11:00.006-04:00

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............

2008-09-08T20:12:00.000-04:00

check it

Cyclocross

2008-09-03T10:43:00.002-04:00

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

2008-08-29T12:31:00.002-04:00

2008-08-26T13:47:00.001-04:00

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

2008-08-23T09:34:00.000-04:00

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

2008-08-21T10:39:00.000-04:00

my patheticness amazes even me sometimes.

ah yes back to the bicycle

2008-08-04T18:27:00.005-04:00

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

2008-08-02T19:58:00.003-04:00

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

2008-07-23T02:23:00.004-04:00

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...

2008-07-19T21:26:00.001-04:00

new theme...

2008-07-16T20:04:00.003-04:00

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

2008-07-11T21:54:00.004-04:00

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

2008-07-07T13:58:00.004-04:00

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

2008-07-05T11:23:00.003-04:00

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

2008-06-25T22:21:00.002-04:00

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

my new home

2008-06-19T15:47:00.005-04:00

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

2008-06-12T19:14:00.002-04:00

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

2008-06-08T23:06:00.005-04:00

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

2008-05-29T23:18:00.006-04:00

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

2008-05-27T23:56:00.001-04:00

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

2008-05-19T21:17:00.007-04:00

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!

2008-05-15T22:38:00.002-04:00

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

2008-05-08T23:29:00.002-04:00

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

80 miler

2008-04-26T22:45:00.003-04:00

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

2008-04-21T17:46:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-18T14:45:00.004-04:00

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

2008-04-08T16:07:00.009-04:00

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

2008-03-30T08:22:00.008-04:00

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

2008-03-23T19:03:00.011-04:00

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

2008-03-19T10:21:00.005-04:00

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.

Easy week

2008-03-17T15:30:00.006-04:00

Took it really really easy this week. I think AZ wore me out a bit. Time for some real bike training now!

bad timing...

Ahh yes, and I'm playing with the look ala Chase Deez, this isnt quite it though.

video

2008-03-13T22:28:00.001-04:00

cool video check it out!

http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

last day az

2008-03-09T22:50:00.006-04:00

Thursday was the last day. We finally made it over to the south mountain, a 5 mile climb to the top. Only a few pics but here they are:

wednesday az

2008-03-06T12:37:00.001-05:00

gave the legs a rest for the south mountain tomorrow. saw illinois gma and did some studying...

tuesday az

2008-03-06T12:10:00.009-05:00

62 mile lung buster at and around lake pleasant arizona. the original epic ride started as a 53 mile loop but after our road turned to gravel 2 miles in we had to make shift a route based on memory of the maps from the night before. it turned out as good as it possibly could have...

monday az

2008-03-06T11:37:00.007-05:00

pictures from monday, real eazy ride with senior citizens (which was amazing btw) then some chillin at the resort with the couz's.

az sunday

2008-03-03T15:02:00.005-05:00

Sunday Ride Report:
Being the first day of our spring break training and with no tour guide, Ben and I were on our own to explore the northwest suburban area of Phoenix. With little more in mind than to at least make it to the base of The White Tank Mountains which were 15 miles away from the Grandparents’ resort, we set out on our two-wheelers. The temps were in the mid 70’s and the winds high with gusts up to 40 miles per hour out of the northwest. We were fighting that wind for most of the way out to the mountains on a ride that ended up being 36 miles.
The “out” of our out-and-back route was driven by the excitement of riding in short sleeves and not having to navigate around patches of ice. We travelled 4 miles south, which was very fast, and the other 14 west, which was not. For most of the westward miles, we averaged less than 15 miles per hour due to the wind.
After only a few miles on the road, we decided to take a look at our map and find the best route to get us to our destination. As we were slowing, I was stampeded by a pack of tumbleweeds. I had to stop to pick the thorns out of my legs, and the branches out of my spokes. After that short disruption, we continued on to the mountains in the distance.
By the time we had finally made it to White Tank Mountain National Park, we had been riding for about an hour. We went in to the park and rode for another 2 miles or so. Not seeing a road that went to the summit, we decided to turn back and save our legs for the days to come.
The ride back was much faster due to the assistance from the wind. In opposition to the less than 15 miles per hour we were doing heading west, we were averaging nearly 25 miles per hour while going east. We made back in just over an hour after a long cool down, 10 minutes faster than the way out. It ended up being a great first day and both of us are very excited to continue exploring the Phoenix area in the days to come. (written by gforce)
Oh ya and we got some good tennis in too, ben beat me 7-5.

pics of the first day:

Post

2008-02-25T20:12:00.000-05:00

No one went down to OSU, saturday race was canceled on friday. 13hrs is a bit too far for one race when the chances of that one being on werent even 100%.

I got some low intensity rides in; saturday 1.5hrs easy with toph then sunday with 5 of aces finest we rounded out 2 hrs 30 mins for my longest ride of the year by almost an hour. It was low intensity but the time started to get to me at the end. Need to get some of those other ACE weenies out that are married to their trainers. Hoping for lots more group rides, no trainer or solo ride beats racking up miles in a peleton. Saturday 55 miles with VCR then off to sunny AZ for lots o biking... and some B-E-A-Utiful tan lines.

first race

2008-02-21T15:29:00.002-05:00

Not mine. But we have 7 racers going down to kick some ass at OSU. The weather has been terrible for biking the last month, very cold and snowing 5 days a week. Spinning has been tough... mentally. I'm ready for Arizona, found a trianing crit for Wednesday when we are down there. Go kick some ass this weekend, NMU!

-38 windchill

2008-02-10T23:05:00.000-05:00

Looked at weather.com today and saw a real temp of 0 with crazy winds a -38 windchill. I'm getting my moneys worth for the trainer. My last build cycle starts tuesday. The intensity picks up to threshold work and im going to try to get some decent time on the bike. Being able to squeeze a longer outside ride a week is nice but this one looks chilly.

First race, still not sure about is OSU on feb 23/24. Then AZ bike vacation for spring break!!! Still don't have any routes planned yet but getting really excited to get lots of miles in. Nothing new on the Ace front, team rides should be starting in a few weeks.

Heres the new Time Trial helmet:

jersey

2008-02-01T21:15:00.000-05:00

its still january

2008-01-30T00:06:00.000-05:00

Sunday 6 of us rode, Garrett, Belic, Eric, Andrew, Chad, and myself, but the snow is back. My workout today was a pyramid (trainer) 230w, 255w, 280w, 255w, 230w. And then a classic picture I found online, it looks like the most fun... I've ever seen.

The new team

2008-01-23T23:55:00.000-05:00

Here's the 2008 team, I super excited as this will be my first non collegiate team.

Sponsors:
Chocolay Ace Hardware
Peninsula Pharmacy
Bontrager
The Sports Rack

The team is split half/half with cat 3 and cat 4 racers. The preliminary schedule is:

Sheboygan - April 6
Tour of Kensington - May 17/18
Memorial Day Stage Race - May 24-26
Superior Bike Fest - June 22-24
SuperWeek - July

january in the yoop

2008-01-21T20:24:00.000-05:00

Its a long winter and I feel slow, wonder if it has anything to do with my new bike?

I just found out I'll be going to Arizona for spring break with Garrett. Of course the bike will be coming along and many miles of fun will be had. Until then adding to the pain bank by way of the trainer, I will be cashing it in come spring.

belic on the break wall

2008-01-08T22:02:00.000-05:00

Before you look at these pictures bear in mind that belic is not a normal human being like the rest of us. We went for a ride saturday and belic wanted to "check out the break wall". I missed a couple of shots when he rode around the vents.

free time

2008-01-05T01:19:00.000-05:00

1 1/2 weeks still till school starts leaves plenty of time for playing. Spinning a few times a week, skiing, and picking up the piano now... i've got a rough life but dont feel bad for me I can handle it. Heres a graph from cyclingpeaks of a good spin I had a week ago, 5 intervals pyramid style.

Tonights ski was nothing short of amazing. Hans and I went out to forestville with headlamps and hit up the noque trail. NOTE TO SELF: Never try out the hilliest course you've ever done in the dark for the first time, especially when you're no good to begin with. I wish I would have brought the camera, we skied over a couple of big wide open lakes which were untouched except for the xc ski track which ran right through the powder.

winter fun

2007-12-23T17:00:00.000-05:00

Ive been skiing 3x since I got my skis and equipment. Hansy and I have been going to the blueberry lighted loop but tried out the fit strip right by my house last time. Its walkable distance and has got a couple K classic loop so I'm in heaven... now if I can just figure a way to attach the loop to my yard.
Now I'm in Chicago and went out for couple rides recently. This pic is of yesterdays VCR ride, we began with 9... this is garrett, my dad, and me. The ride was gross, the more you pulled the less mud you got sprayed in your face, how about that for a training incentive. One more week and its back in marquette.

Discos gone

2007-12-12T10:21:00.000-05:00

Somebody should buy one of these... Im holding off for the team bus. :D

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZtailwindsportscorp

team spinning

2007-12-07T09:54:00.000-05:00

I spun for the first time in over a week. School and work have been keeping my time pretty filled but this time of year I'm not too worried. I'll get back into the groove of it pretty soon. Tom has some xc skis for me so I may be adding another aerobic sport to the menu.
Done with finals thursday then i should be back into the swing of things with plenty of adventure updates.

trainer

2007-11-28T20:19:00.000-05:00

Rode on the trainer for an hour with garrett and eric. It's not boring yet. I did my first little test today with the pt. One 5 minute interval, and I managed 315 watts, goal for may: 400 in aero position.

skool

2007-11-26T21:25:00.000-05:00

i lurn stuf in skool. But seriously, 2 1/2 busy weeks left of school until next years road season officially begins. I've been studying harder this semester than ever before, and its no coincidence that I have my hardest class schedule at the same time. I will be a few classes short of graduating next may so every half a grade makes a big difference right now. Anyways back to what matters... I may have found myself a coach from smartcyclinginc.com. Steve, the owner of the shop has been great to me ever since I met him 3 years ago. We will be meeting over winter break to go over my season goals and come up with a plan for me. YaY!

heres how the yoop partys after one of our cx races courtesy of andy gregg...

VCR ride

2007-11-24T16:39:00.000-05:00

Garrett, Eric, my dad and myself met up with 5 others including koob and kevin from vcr for a solid november road ride. koob was on form as to be expected and kept the pace high. we managed 41 miles in 27 degree weather. this was my second day with the powertap and i got some good info. at the end garrett took off for a sprint eric followed and then me, i got the power a little north of 1000 watts, my only other time doing this i managed 900 so that was cool. It felt great to be outside and ride with a group again. you're lucky because im still figuring out how to get the cyclingpeaks graphs onto the blog so you're spared from the boring data ...for now.

back in action

2007-11-14T09:53:00.000-05:00

I recieved my powertap last week!! I put it onto the bike and it works great... one problem. The guy who I bought it from forgot to sent the usb cord so I can see my power but cant analyze it and post graph and graph for your amazement in the near future. Anyways I've now been on one ride and one spin session with it. I like how true it is, theres no lying. And contrary to a heart rate monitor there is no lag in time so intervals can be much more even now.
The NMU teams first practice was yesterday indoors. There was 7 guys and I think as the word gets out there more will show up. My camera which has been broken for a long time should be back in business by the end of the week so I'll get some good pictures of spin practice and the PT.

youtube vid

2007-11-05T13:22:00.000-05:00

so i was filming a couple friends skateboarding and my grama is coming to talk to me, watch what happens: grama

cx champs

2007-11-04T15:18:00.000-05:00

early in the race

da trying to put time into labar

andy with his boonen legs

is this how you do it?

the heated battle for first (blu eventually wins)

tom thinking about the road season and how much he hates cx

The cyclocross championship yesterday was really tough. The course included lots of trails and lots of braking. My poor technical skillz led to some back and forth action between a couple of riders. I was in front of andy gregg going into the technical section after the finish barrier. i fell off the trail on the steep down sandy section and he passed me. then came an uphill pavement section and i passed andy. we did this back and forth for a couple of laps, this pretty sums up my race. My fitness wasnt bad but my bike handling was. Afterwards was beer, brats, and fire as promised.

Today 6 of the northern crew went out for a 30 miler at an easy pace and did some paceline and sprints, i ride alone a lot so i love getting out there with other people too.

results page

2007-11-02T09:53:00.001-04:00

i've added a results page. the link is on the right, here is how the '07 season has gone. CX state championship race is tomorrow...

2007
10/21	Cyclocross race Tourist Park cat A	8
10/7	Cyclocross race BMX track cat A	6
9/16	NMU tt (mtb) cat A	7
9/15	NMU xc (mtb) cat B	1
9/8	Butler short track (mtb) cat	2
Date	superweek	Result
Date	superweek	Result
6/24	Superior Bike Fest Omnium Overall cat 4/5	2
6/24	Superior Bike Fest cicuit cat 4/5	4
6/23	Superior Bike Fest road race cat 4/5	3
6/22	Superior Bike Fest crit cat 4/5	4
6/9	Race at the Base cat 4/5	2
5/20	Tour of Kennsington road race cat 4	10
5/19	Tour of Kennsington crit cat 4	28
5/19	Tour of Kennsington tt cat 4	28
5/12	Wild adventure race	11
5/6	Vernon Hills grand prix cat 4	6
4/22	UW madison crit - B	12
4/21	UW sheboygan rr - B	6
4/15	Purdue rr - B	4
4/15	Purdue ttt - B	4
4/14	Marian crit - B	18
4/1	WMU circuit - B	3
3/31	WMU rr - B	14
3/25	Michigan crit - B	10
3/24	MSU rr - B	9
2/24	OSU crit - B	3

a wedding and a running race??

2007-10-29T19:11:00.000-04:00

Friday: Class till 1 then immediately left for MN for the rehearsal dinner. We made about 2 hours of mistakes (thanks to no map) and finally got there just before they cleaned up the food. I barely had enough time to say hi Scott and was handed a bag with a black watch in it. Cool, I think I'm going to like this weekend?

Saturday: First the wedding, then took a bus/limo to the party. Plenty o alcohol on board. Party was fun, DJ sucked tho. We got back and it was time to inhale water to be ready for the 10K.

Sunday: I felt pretty good in the morning, drank some more water and got McD's breakfast for pre race fuel. You laugh, I say it works. Anyways the race went surprisingly well. I got around 47 minutes, I just remember it was a 7:35 pace. Garrett and I were together until 4.5 miles where he slowly put time on me then at the 5 mile mark he picked it up and did most of his damage. I wasnt racing him as much as myself and I couldnt be happier considering my condition right now. I had never run that far before so that was cool. The girls are wayyyy hotter in running I may seriously take that up as a 2nd sport, can I do that?

cool costumes

see what i mean

And on the ride home we hit a deer, it was knocked over and managed to get off the highway before the oncoming semi hit it.

Ok time to think Genetics and CycloCross...

tubby

2007-10-25T01:37:00.001-04:00

they say a picture tells a thousand words...the story behind this one must be longer than that.

cx at tourist park

2007-10-23T14:25:00.001-04:00

I raced, took 8th. I'll upload pics when I get them. Felt pretty good for the amount of training, need to get faster for the championship in 2 weeks tho. Scott's wedding is saturday so I'll be in minnesota all weekend without a bike. But...I will be running a 10k sunday after the wedding, that should be a disaster, more to come...

oh and I start shadowing Dr. Stang on thursday which is exciting!

sTumpy and I at tourist park

Rainbows

2007-10-19T19:46:00.000-04:00

Eric and I went for a 30 miler today. It was nice out when we started, then it began to rain, then it rained hard (we didnt see any rainbows but that would have been cool), then eric flatted on rt 480. So the ride didn't go quite as planned but it still felt great to be back out on the road bike. I wish I could find a race in a month to give me a little motivation and direction with my training. I still have yet to make my off season training plan. I probably need to do some more reading before I do this, got any suggestions? I've read "training and racing with a powermeter" and "the cyclists training bible" so far.

The Zipps... ahhh the zipps, well they didnt quite make it to the reserve, so they're relisted. I'll take anything at this point, the powermeter im getting is 770 so if I can break even its all good.