tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29633575852895372922024-03-13T21:50:56.442-05:00Time to ride!All things bikesStefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.comBlogger295125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-74324608934326128602018-05-21T12:42:00.000-05:002018-05-22T12:02:16.582-05:002018 Texas State Time Trial Championships<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After not having competed in the TX State Time Trial Championships for 5 years I decided early last week to give it a shot and join my teammate (and defending champion) Justin Stanley in trying to keep the Time Trial title within the team. The last time I did the TT Champs was back in 2013 when now-retired Kiwi pro & ex-teammate Logan Hutchings <a href="https://legacy.usacycling.org/results/?permit=2013-2329" target="_blank">beat me pretty handily</a> for the title in Lytle, TX on a similar course like this past weekend in Hempstead, TX.<br />
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With stage & TT-only races races becoming extinct in Texas and most bigger US races only having short TT's these day's it been a while since I had spent 50+minutes "in the hurtlocker" - as I would describe a all-out time trial effort in flat, windy, and humid Central Texas in the middle of May. I've been riding my TT bike on a somewhat regular basis but mainly for general training purposes and staying "sharp" with frequent (weekly) 20min Threshold/+10% efforts on both road and TT bike.<br />
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The 10:20am start time and a stiff 10-15mph headwind going out (South) and a cross/tailwind back (North) pacing yourself was crucial. At the same time, it is harder to make up/gain time in the tailwind vs. in the headwind so going out "easy" wasn't an option. So, besides pure power & speed (physical ability) I realized some experience should come in handy for this TT and I'm glad I've done a few of these 40K in my past racing.<br />
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We only had 5 guys racing the P1 and I was first up to go from our "field" with Matthew Davis aka "Bolthrower" 30seconds behind me. But I avoided looking back in order to focus on the task ahead and just kept my head down, focused on the course, my cadence and trying to hold 25-26mph for most part of the headwind section. My power/wattage was secondary and I blackened it out (old school, with electrical tape) in order to avoid letting the #'s distract my "internal" pacing and race strategy. At the turn-around (mile 12.5) I realized I had put in a good sized gap into Matt but both Brady Reed (who ended up in 3rd) and Justin were in the position I expected them in (close to my time based on their 1min and 2min later start time compared to me). On the way back I spent most the time rolling the 54x11 and 12 on my SRAM Red eTap 1x11 setup I had built up myself recently with a little bit of "MacGyvering". After having passed the P12 ladies and a few Cat 2's who started a few minutes ahead I knew I was on a good run but was unsure I can beat my own teammate Justin who's been dominating the Time Trials in Texas lately. I would be a close call and it WAS close: <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1582924935/overview" target="_blank">52:21</a>. I went only 16seconds faster but enough to win again after my 2009 and 2010 from way back when. Not the fastest 40K I've ever done but I take it on a windy course.<br />
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This fun <a href="https://labs.strava.com/flyby/viewer/#1582924935" target="_blank">Strava Labs</a> video gives you an insight how Brady, Justin and I paced and raced each other just to finish all within 25 seconds from each other:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzhUfb_2xmvJtpKumkD4Mw2dQewB_wZSBrBHjkNEtasgW7GtRALVMVysCMcBZJd5Tp7TdUG4Odjv3GFopSfqg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">And for all the bike geeks among you here are some bike tech stats for you:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYV7RlIAe7OKZ92IpaNBQgl6eTnm5OfRXD86aM1pZHkEfy5XgqABq5c2XL3hHChm0stqPI9eLaVJf-qeKAgyMqNCJHvuKurChnOC4KxgnPrUZo_foS8Dkit0JOJWzWp_qabj7TEoh5dAb/s1600/20180519_111747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYV7RlIAe7OKZ92IpaNBQgl6eTnm5OfRXD86aM1pZHkEfy5XgqABq5c2XL3hHChm0stqPI9eLaVJf-qeKAgyMqNCJHvuKurChnOC4KxgnPrUZo_foS8Dkit0JOJWzWp_qabj7TEoh5dAb/s400/20180519_111747.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Frame & Fork</div>
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Specialized Shiv, Small (51cm)</div>
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Stem</div>
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Specialized Shiv, integrated</div>
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Aerobars</div>
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Specialized Shiv, 3T Alloy Bar extensions (Ski-Bend)</div>
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Brake Levers</div>
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Specialized Shiv-specific with SRAM Red eTap Blips</div>
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Rear Derailleur</div>
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SRAM Red eTap with Digirit OS cage & ceramic pulleys</div>
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Bar-End Shifters</div>
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SRAM Red eTap Clics</div>
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Cassette</div>
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SRAM Red XG-1190, 11-28, 11-Speed</div>
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Chain</div>
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SRAM Red, PC Red22</div>
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Crankset & Chainring</div>
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SRAM S900, Quarq, 172.5mm, X-Sync 54t, 130bcd</div>
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Rear Wheel/Disc</div>
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HED Jet Disc Plus, Clincher</div>
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Front Wheel</div>
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HED Jet 9, Tubular</div>
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Front Tire</div>
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Vittoria Crono CS, 24mm, Tubular</div>
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Rear Tire</div>
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Specialized S-Works Turbo Cotton, 26mm with Vittoria Latex inner tube</div>
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Saddle</div>
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FIZIK Tritone 5.5, Kium Rails</div>
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Seatpost</div>
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Specialized Shiv Carbon<br />
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Pedals<br />
TIME RXS Ti Carbon</div>
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Bottle Cage & Bottle</div>
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ARUNDEL Crono<br />
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Computer Mount:<br />
SRAM TT<br />
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Bike Computer<br />
Garmin 520</div>
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Weight</div>
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~7.8kg<br />
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Thanks to Specialized & HED Cycling <a href="http://www.velonews.com/2016/10/bikes-and-tech/no-tubulars-needed-martin-wins-worlds-with-clincher-tires_422800" target="_blank">(who would have thought 10 years ago that a clincher disc with regular tire and inner tube is faster than a Tubular?)</a>, and Hyperthreads for the fast & aero gear. And last but not least, thanks to Ino Sofjan and the <a href="http://nwcc.bike/" target="_blank">North West Cycling Club</a> for putting on this race since 2014 and keeping Time Trialing in Texas alive! I hope there will be more people back in 2019 and a higher attendance for time trialing in general. It's a tough but yet beautiful discipline of our sport!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1jA6BSsXbcDdNQiXgfqja5A5B-_t4atfpBMKR9tYI22su1xJgvKXUJYJpm-o08OKEEfFEoOhmBX85ADOIwDSvWGVtJsyBWv7HXfJtu2YAUHXQSaFUFr0ngY808rTypQWeype5Nzzbjlwa/s1600/32886000_2180104868672064_2637436586366599168_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="960" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1jA6BSsXbcDdNQiXgfqja5A5B-_t4atfpBMKR9tYI22su1xJgvKXUJYJpm-o08OKEEfFEoOhmBX85ADOIwDSvWGVtJsyBWv7HXfJtu2YAUHXQSaFUFr0ngY808rTypQWeype5Nzzbjlwa/s320/32886000_2180104868672064_2637436586366599168_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brodium<br />
(by Corvin Alstot)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Tz2YSMDc3qMnyqAL2Cq_-bCa8gG0gY92EsUpZkotg_o9Ykat4Qm5saiBblT3IgtktCoN4HONcVTZ1wrvbjRLDmnGak6uTiOfQX7Jq8skICcYIVKeQ3f5ITn6nS8DZA8JhUfsZ2E8QDdR/s1600/32976195_2180104478672103_3562963873575206912_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="960" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Tz2YSMDc3qMnyqAL2Cq_-bCa8gG0gY92EsUpZkotg_o9Ykat4Qm5saiBblT3IgtktCoN4HONcVTZ1wrvbjRLDmnGak6uTiOfQX7Jq8skICcYIVKeQ3f5ITn6nS8DZA8JhUfsZ2E8QDdR/s320/32976195_2180104478672103_3562963873575206912_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(by Corvin Alstot)</td></tr>
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Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-72815073180641190942016-11-01T10:43:00.005-05:002017-10-05T11:16:36.360-05:00Red Bull Last Stand - Battle around The Alamo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I’m
fortunate to have been able to race many downtown Criterium races in awesome
cities in North America: Chicago, Vancouver (CAN), Charlotte, Athens,
Minneapolis, St. Louis, Dallas or Austin to just name a few. But none of these
Crits have such a historic backdrop like the Red Bull Last Stand races on
October 15 in San Antonio as we literally got to race around The Alamo and the
site of the famous “Battle of the Alamo” - fought almost exactly 180 years
earlier back in 1836.</div>
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The
new event combined the more and more popular fixie-on-road (‘Fixed’) racing
with traditional road bike races (Geared) for men and women and a total purse
of $20,000 thanks to Red Bull and their efforts to bring something new and
exciting to downtown San Antonio.</div>
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The
week of the race I decided to just focus on the Geared race since it has been a
while that I’ve ridden my track bike (especially on the open road) and I
figured my best chances would be doing a Twilight Crit on a short, technical
course in the late evening. Just like the ‘Fixed’ races all “roadies” had to do
qualifying heats in the afternoon in order to advance to the Final. That was
basically doing one or two “hot laps” on the race course while a timing chip
determined your placing in the starting grid for the evening’s main event if
you made it in the Top50 in qualifying. I came in 9<sup>th</sup> or so but that
really didn’t matter so much as races like these are not pure speed alone. The
races were all held in an Elimination format just like on the velodrome where
the last rider crossing the finish line was pulled by the officials on every
lap. This made the race itself actually a bit more exciting and interesting and
maybe for some spectators confusing.</div>
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I
believe we had 48 riders in the Geared Final which meant we would set out for 48
laps on the barely 900m long course with 5 or 6 turns and a wide but 180 degree
final turn over some somewhat smooth “Texas bricks” every lap. After a short
solo-flyer by Davis Dombroswki (RBM) for a prime - and everyone gotten to know
the course and lines at race-speed in the pack - we still had 38 laps or so to
go. At that point I pinned it hard through one of the tight spots on the course
just before Turn #3. It was just out of pure instinct since we weren’t going super-fast
and I wanted to draw out some other contenders instead of only racing in a big
group and having to sprint every lap making sure you’re not last wheel and get
eliminated. To my surprise, I was able to establish a decent gap, first 5, then
10, then 15 seconds. I knew I had decent legs when warming up earlier on the
rollers but I sure thought that eventually a few other guys would join me up
front. But not so quick, first I had built a solid 25-30 second gap or so with 20
or 25 laps to go riding at TT pace when – BAM! – I found myself on the ground
after sliding out in that wide but 180 degree final turn (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLm7jQdDDfA/" target="_blank">VIDEO here!</a>). While I fell and slid
on my right side on the bricks (to the “Aww” and “Ohh” of the people watching)
I realized this is going to be bad, real bad but knew I needed to get up ASAP! So I grabbed my
bike and got right back up, jumped on and kept pushing on (to my luck, my bike & body was okay besides some scuffs and "road rash" all over my right side). By the time I came
back to Turn #1 after the S/F line I didn’t see the field yet so I knew I had only lost maybe 10seconds of
my lead. With the help of the extra added adrenaline I kept riding hard while
telling myself: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“That was really dumb:
you’re off the front solo, nobody else around you and you cause the only crash of the
entire race yourself - in front of all the people”</i>. The nature of course (twisty and some dark spots)
kept being my best aid as I made sure to try enter a turn before the field gets
to the previous turn - “out of sight, out of mind”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
Towards
the end of the race I definitely started to get a bit nervous as the group (or
what was left from the field) was closing in more and more and at one point the
gap was only 7 seconds. But the fact that it was still an Elimination format
and guys were worried of who’s going to get which Top 10 place rather than
focusing on chasing me down kept motivating me to keep riding a hard pace and that
sure helped me to stay away until the end. In the last 2 laps I realized I had
won as the gap opened up again to 12 or 15 seconds and I could enjoy the crowd
and seeing some of my friends along the course.</div>
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This
was my last big race of the year and I’m very happy to be able to close it out
with a win for our small, yet very successful<a href="http://elbowzracing.com/" target="_blank"> Elbowz</a> squad in attendance that
night: Teammate Colin Strickland dominated the Fixed race (Solo Win) earlier
that night and my other “elbro” Tony Baca helped me tremendously to seal the
win by “guarding” the peloton while I was off the front solo and finishing 8<sup>th</sup>
place himself. Gracias amigo!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
I
was told the next day that about 15,000 people came out to watch the races that
night and there’s talk of a similar race like this in 2017 and 2018 which is great news for Texas cycling. So big thanks to Red
Bull, promoter Ravi Rajcoomar, and City Council Roberto Treviño for making this
happen and bringing exciting bike racing to downtown San Antonio!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
And
for the number geeks, here's my SRM data: 52:30min, 345W NP, 328W avg. P, IF: 1.04, TSS: 94.6, avg. HR 182bpm,
avg. 98rpm, 1036KJ, avg. 26mph. Link to power file <a href="http://tpks.ws/EgK1d" target="_blank">here</a>)<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
last lap shenanigans</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM8UJcgOLgZNPXcC83y3iSCyzywkDSlDfPyz7ZCjX9uoC4qfWeLPhPeJ3S0es-T3li4uAxa38rZlbgK-bqfdm2o_pyrixpHQr-pNk-WaAyfPpUsp_UCwEch6d7qhvcMi0-1Q8It8X3609w/s1600/Podium_Men_Holloway_Rothe_McCabe_by_Official_REDBULL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM8UJcgOLgZNPXcC83y3iSCyzywkDSlDfPyz7ZCjX9uoC4qfWeLPhPeJ3S0es-T3li4uAxa38rZlbgK-bqfdm2o_pyrixpHQr-pNk-WaAyfPpUsp_UCwEch6d7qhvcMi0-1Q8It8X3609w/s400/Podium_Men_Holloway_Rothe_McCabe_by_Official_REDBULL.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Red Bull Last Stand Geared Race podium with Daniel Holloway (l) and Travis McCabe (r)<br />(photo: Red Bull Events)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeo7-WOrdd427OvUTmKHepZv3oZq9N27mUgkzPduAPmTcGpE3Z1u5ieu3A9DfhvPeIiRVTAphh8n8KsL3yWVipal9_62Qg3-INfzOrYo2dCYZElcvlxRW-WPQ9ajoK5LLuZIj76BZjA-Tv/s1600/0663574_IMG_1403.jpg.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeo7-WOrdd427OvUTmKHepZv3oZq9N27mUgkzPduAPmTcGpE3Z1u5ieu3A9DfhvPeIiRVTAphh8n8KsL3yWVipal9_62Qg3-INfzOrYo2dCYZElcvlxRW-WPQ9ajoK5LLuZIj76BZjA-Tv/s320/0663574_IMG_1403.jpg.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">with teammate Colin (and sponsor-correct drinks) at the Red Bull after-party </span></td></tr>
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Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-55499990452180715692015-09-01T11:38:00.003-05:002015-11-12T01:00:27.431-06:00North Star Grand Prix - St. Paul Criterium<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The first time I did the <a href="http://northstarbicyclefestival.com/" target="_blank">North Star Grand Prix</a> (then called Nature Valley) I was a 24 old 'kid' and new to NRC stage racing here in the US. Back then, while racing for Mercy Cycling, I attacked often, raced aggressive and did my best to help my teammates in their GC ambitions. Now this Summer, almost 10 years after first trip up to green and bike-friendly Minnesota, coming back with my <a href="http://elbowzracing.com/" target="_blank">Elbowz</a> team not much had changed really. Except that I'm a little older, and maybe learned a few things on how to race a NRC race successfully.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My teammate Michael Sheehan had gotten on the podium in the short, morning prologue TT Stage 1, we had two more guys (Kevin & Colin) in the Top10, and had two classification jerseys in the team. It was a great start for the US and gave me definitely some motivation for the evening Stage 2 Criterium in downtown St. Paul.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The crits during NRC stage races are usually following the same script: The defending team (yellow jersey) rides the front, let's an early break go for a bit, the GC riders just want to get through it with spending as little as possible energy, and a few amateurs are shooting for glory and go broke in a most likely unsuccessfull break-away. With that in mind, and the fact that I'm most likely not standing on the GC podium at the end of the race come Sunday I had a bit of a "free role" for this Crit. I liked that idea since - even at age 33 - I still like to "race" and be part of the race and make things happen for our "Elbros".</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">With a short, 1km, and technical course through downtown St. Paul and only 40 laps on the board I knew this was going to be a short but hard Crit. Riding in the front would make this technical Crit so much easier. From the start I moved up and rode along side Michael who had the KOM jersey and was going to be our man for the finish. Our guest rider <a href="http://carmen-small.com/" target="_blank">Carmen Small</a> (!) was at the front of he race, too and I felt pretty comfortable with the course and noticed we weren't really going all that fast. After the first time bonus sprint I sensed a lull moment where the GC team (<a href="http://optumprocycling.com/" target="_blank">Optum</a>) was getting ready to "settle down" so a Colombian <a href="http://www.csnotubes.com/" target="_blank">ChampSys-NoTubes</a> rider (Bryan Gomez) and I attacked and together with my fellow Texas friend Andrew Dahlheim we suddenly were 3 guys off the front by just a couple of seconds. I told them now or never and we kicked it hard for a couple of laps before settling in for smooth rotations and riding fast but yet still within my limits. Too often, too many times did I blew up in the last 5 laps of a "what-looked-to-be-a-successful-breakaway" so I kept that in mind while listening to our team boss Ben Spies who stood past the finish line with our crew and gave me splits: 15seconds...20sec, 25sec, 35sec, almost 45sec at one point.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">It looked promising: I was able to get two time bonus sprints while the ChampSys rider took the Sprint points and I got 2nd both times. We didn't fight for it really, I just knew that I can't have everything and needed to keep the focus on the time and the finish. The finish came up really soon since we only did 1:15min laps on the 1K course. The ChampSys rider and I did the most share of the work and he could corner very well and sure looked like he's got a good sprint in him. Same for Andrew, 9 out of 10 times he'd smoke me in a sprint. So, what to do?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The time gaps got smaller and smaller and the words of my boss Ben louder and louder: "15 SECONDS". Optum was chasing now full on; besides Zirbel (their guy in yellow) they had two fast sprinters here, too and their sponsor is based in Minneapolis / St. Paul. So the gap was coming down and I noticed we needed to go faster in order to make it. It's a cat & mouse play... You try to save your matches for the last few laps so you can put out the high Watts at the end, when it counts while attempting to "fool" the chase a little bit. Both Andrew and ChampSys rider didn't seem to be able to go much faster and once I heard the screams of "8 SECONDS" I knew I needed to make a decision: do I keep riding with them, <i>maybe</i> stay away and get and NRC podium (my first) with the possibility to get caught. OR, do I try to get away solo and do a lap or two at full throttle/all-out and have the chance at winning... again, with the possibility of getting caught. Well, I chose the latter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Two laps to go and we had looked back and saw the orange train of Optum chasing hard. Out of instinct, with a lap and a quarter to go I went for it and sprinted from the back of Andrew & Bryan as hard as I can to the other side of the road, then diving into the slight uphill Start/Finish straight and went for it. To my surprise, neither of my two break away companions were on my wheel. I don't remember much, my legs were going well and any kind of pain was suppressed by the adrenaline/rush I felt riding off the front now. I was just hoping I wouldn't clip a pedal on some of that bumpy downtown tarmac going now full speed through the turns. Before the final right turn to the finish I checked to see if I'm gonna make it and saw I still had 50 meters or so. As I sprinted out of the last turn I had enough time to look back making sure I could actually raise my hands and not <a href="http://images.cyclingtips.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/CORVOS_00001245-083.jpg" target="_blank">"pull a Zabel"</a>...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcWV6uUjJYpmAE_aSusTOhnHLmhVK_v3UIxbt_89tK-aW5HcBAVcGTBm_tovHEd9SJTmRak_Xg9P8KH5A3k-nMHox2DnXrwMLQ46bRNoOHFDmDAF9ivFjVeF_KNls1sTCvRBOM5WVCkkF/s1600/NSGP_stage2_MatthewMoses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcWV6uUjJYpmAE_aSusTOhnHLmhVK_v3UIxbt_89tK-aW5HcBAVcGTBm_tovHEd9SJTmRak_Xg9P8KH5A3k-nMHox2DnXrwMLQ46bRNoOHFDmDAF9ivFjVeF_KNls1sTCvRBOM5WVCkkF/s400/NSGP_stage2_MatthewMoses.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>photo: Matthew Moses / Moses Images</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Crossing the line, just one or two bike length ahead of the two cagy Optum sprinters (Guillaume Boivin and Ryan Anderson) was exciting to say the least. My teammate Michael was first to come up behind me (after a great 7th place for himself) and riding that cool-down lap together with my teammates and sharing this win with them meant so much to me. Yes, I've won a few races in the past 15-20 years and been on the podium several times but this one sure was special since I've been trying at the NRC level for a while and finally: it all came together. These days, I find myself often racing for my teammates simply because they're often in a better position to win - they won't even let me win a <a href="http://www.drivewayseries.com/" target="_blank">Driveway</a> anymore ;-)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The one person who I like to thank most is Ben Spies, owner and founder of our team. Not only is he giving me the opportunity to race bikes at this level and support me 100% but having a former World Superbike Champ and MotoGP race winner on the sidelines of a bicycle race and encourage you is a incredible motivation when trying to succeed. His competitive spirit is definitely transferring to all of us riders and makes us work even harder as a team.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Elbowz Out,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Stefan</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">PS: Find my NSGP St. Paul Criterium power2max power file <a href="http://t.co/VUDy4g0DJn" target="_blank">here on TrainingPeaks</a></span></div>
</div>
Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-22652110001448754812015-04-08T13:27:00.001-05:002015-05-21T02:01:14.930-05:00Maui, Hawaii on a budget<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We decided back in February to do a "late Spring Break" our own and head to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maui" target="_blank">Maui, HI </a>for some vacation but also to bring and ride our <a href="http://specialized.com/" target="_blank">bikes</a>!
Most of us think about Hawaii and imagine a tropical island, beaches,
the ocean & scuba diving, fresh fruit with the cost of expensive
resorts, expensive dining and a hefty airfare.<br />
<br />
Well,
you sure can book your flights "as usual" (~$900 round trip/person),
bike transport fees (~$300 round trip/person) get a double bedroom in a
3 star hotel for ~$200/night, rent a car for a week (~$400) and all of
the sudden you're looking at $4500+ for two people for a week -
excluding food expenses! But there are other ways, too and you can save
yourself some serious $$$ by planning ahead and take advantage of some
deals which are available to everyone - you just have to find them.<br />
<br />
Here are a few ways to save yourself some money and still have a great vacation:<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Flights:</b> get yourself a Travel Awards Credit Card (CC). Most CC companies
offer huge mileage bonuses (30-50K) by signing up for their card. A Round Trip with <a href="http://aa.com/" target="_blank">American Airlines</a>
(AA) from AUS > OGG (Maui) runs at around 35K miles and you can get
your flight for free that way. Most of their CC comes with zero baggage fees
(save $25) and priority boarding, too.</li>
<li><b>Bike transport:</b> pack your bike in a box/bag which meets airline requirements and you
won't get hit with excessive bike fees. AA charges $150 one-way for a
bike for domestic travel. We used a <a href="http://gavilanbff.com/" target="_blank">Gavilan BFF</a>
(or Pika Packworks) padded bag (for my 56cm Tarmac) and a large 34"x26"
suitcase (for a 51cm Allez) and never paid any bike bag fees. That saved us $600 (!) total.</li>
<li><b>getting around:</b> you want to have a rental car while on that island to see some of the neat places around or drive up to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haleakal%C4%81" target="_blank">Haleakala Crater</a>
to take your time and enjoy the scenery and take photos. BUT, no need
to have it all the time if you got your bike. We had a car for only 4
out of the 9 days there and thanks to Priceline and "Name your Own
Price" you can get a mid-size care for less than $40/day. <a href="https://www.uber.com/cities/maui" target="_blank">Uber</a> is a good alternative, too as they just started to operate in Maui a few month ago. And of course, ride your bike! If you're staying central (Kihei, Kahului) you can ride your road bike to a lot of places like snorkeling in Kihei, Makela or to the Ocean Center/Whale Watching in Maalaea, or to the Sugar Cane Museum just South of Kahului.</li>
<li><b>Housing:</b> The normal condo rate on Maui in season is around
$150-175/night. A 3 or 4-star resort costs you anywhere from $200 to
$400/night and you won't find a basic hotel for less than $120 on that
island. BUT, there are options like <a href="http://airbnb.com/" target="_blank">AirBNB </a>where
you can get a room, entire apartment or studio for less than $90/night
and you have a full kitchen, space for your bikes and access to do
laundry etc.</li>
<li><b>Dining: </b>Maui has some of the best seafood in the world. Hands down. There are a large number of restaurants who offer a wide range of lunch, dinner options. From "normal" priced (i.e. Paia Fish Market) to "Maui expensive" in some of the resort towns/places. But hey, you're on a Pacific island and fresh fish will cost you some. By saving money on the previous items I mentioned it's okay to spend a little extra on fresh food where you know the fish has been caught fresh from the surrounding ocean. Mulligans south of Kihei has some good American/Irish menu, too and with a nice outdoor/bar/patio setting the prices are very manageable. Most places have a Happy Hour (fro food & drinks), too. If you have your own condo or kitchen in an apartment/AirBNB another option is to go to your local grocery store and buy some fresh <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poke_%28fish_salad%29" target="_blank">Poke</a> from the Deli. It's basically a fish dish made/spiced already and goes from $5-10/lb. With a loaf of french bread you can have yourself a really good, healthy, fresh and affordable dinner. And no preparation/cooking needed!</li>
</ul>
So, with a bit of planning and time spent on finding the right
deals that week-long trip to an exotic island in the middle of the
Pacific Ocean is much more realistic and affordable. It also helps to
have a "local" on hand who can give you some first-hand tips and
suggestions on what to do, what to see, where to eat etc. besides
browsing <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g29220-Activities-Maui_Hawaii.html#photos" target="_blank">TripAdvisor</a>. Thanks to Spanish/Texan "ExPat" David Arteaga who was our go-to guy while on Maui!<br />
<br />
Below are a handful of photos from our trip:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGIvhsQa2SD1WfGUoWr6tgllz7Ej7436oIo5dLyeCQc1ps6WGNqRplO1njZUbWF2CLNGX2qUvVD7C1rQYsgd5ngC_Fb1IgNzRT6MLgM82BItqt9-csmf0GkccxCNXVWl_1QrkXtPi6JZ_u/s1600/20150320_133549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGIvhsQa2SD1WfGUoWr6tgllz7Ej7436oIo5dLyeCQc1ps6WGNqRplO1njZUbWF2CLNGX2qUvVD7C1rQYsgd5ngC_Fb1IgNzRT6MLgM82BItqt9-csmf0GkccxCNXVWl_1QrkXtPi6JZ_u/s1600/20150320_133549.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aloah Maui</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOroBewGDraIMV8ZUFrk8RkOLZ9xKkQzpCjomQAPVx44OzOfW1eR_tgBozicINEUgfE4yL6F5_Zqg7HxyCZ1I-Gxcfd2Byqw2qQTTlLrrw_xSUCNP_f8HZyO7HTCM2NWQy5uDyX30dH4x/s1600/20150321_073631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOroBewGDraIMV8ZUFrk8RkOLZ9xKkQzpCjomQAPVx44OzOfW1eR_tgBozicINEUgfE4yL6F5_Zqg7HxyCZ1I-Gxcfd2Byqw2qQTTlLrrw_xSUCNP_f8HZyO7HTCM2NWQy5uDyX30dH4x/s1600/20150321_073631.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West Loop with David & friends</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwu_MKmbaxx7qvh-mGUfqyKQPQvrehSJcP1ZfAHBguMBo12_QxRB2PVG9oVSBk431NEavHkNNYxfOqUSKMzp9vtHtlAtsrSd4g2Ju20yHXKUyuUyTN4Xx9paLechaG8FTwvrnNYYpdMcdg/s1600/20150321_094425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwu_MKmbaxx7qvh-mGUfqyKQPQvrehSJcP1ZfAHBguMBo12_QxRB2PVG9oVSBk431NEavHkNNYxfOqUSKMzp9vtHtlAtsrSd4g2Ju20yHXKUyuUyTN4Xx9paLechaG8FTwvrnNYYpdMcdg/s1600/20150321_094425.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David riding and taking pics</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ZNeUb4g69lc73qG1gZVJijRGnsYH5SNV6Gjh-Y_xNLblbMvZZ4P4K7JjY1D-lOVazBv04IWrLvD3zm5J03VN1lB-lEQgAJ9zliA12EJ_aavZyfUwPRdKQbKaadpAwen0vq5jp_OHYVTf/s1600/20150321_103214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ZNeUb4g69lc73qG1gZVJijRGnsYH5SNV6Gjh-Y_xNLblbMvZZ4P4K7JjY1D-lOVazBv04IWrLvD3zm5J03VN1lB-lEQgAJ9zliA12EJ_aavZyfUwPRdKQbKaadpAwen0vq5jp_OHYVTf/s1600/20150321_103214.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West Loop with David & friends</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZW0XM2K6uBtHjoAYHSn363epx4ogGj9votSAINDVUhC6mDeYfBdM8YnUAoQqkyj4X_x5t7dp7-c_odxr6czlTuo95Eu8al13Ap4JkxhxJ1pi2WAPD5__r-VXd3KN9DbNdE7wCcIM8rS4/s1600/20150321_141414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZW0XM2K6uBtHjoAYHSn363epx4ogGj9votSAINDVUhC6mDeYfBdM8YnUAoQqkyj4X_x5t7dp7-c_odxr6czlTuo95Eu8al13Ap4JkxhxJ1pi2WAPD5__r-VXd3KN9DbNdE7wCcIM8rS4/s1600/20150321_141414.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of Haleakala</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ncjPsAISMM1EAfeaq_drA57_TmRAx228tgCgCfjHRJnfQamuPa1rb7An84jZZYHRpX6HmDGUsy1LWNZz5FhOrWGAH1v11fk-D6SsiuKxgGHZ6-FU78SyGKPoo4ux0fwmGVYUX3dJaoMN/s1600/20150322_074703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ncjPsAISMM1EAfeaq_drA57_TmRAx228tgCgCfjHRJnfQamuPa1rb7An84jZZYHRpX6HmDGUsy1LWNZz5FhOrWGAH1v11fk-D6SsiuKxgGHZ6-FU78SyGKPoo4ux0fwmGVYUX3dJaoMN/s1600/20150322_074703.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">early morning on Road to Hana</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVKCCY_Ik1X1jtLUkTgDOd7ea-uqZ180iNJxyS57QyF3Gr43Ta54wmh3i_jzzoZiTRCwBHO1TxeofJLdgzAYfWDkjwAe2nWCP4XVGEfW3Jj9S00q5K492NSXgX07UUNtR22CEWRL4RhJ_D/s1600/20150322_095448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVKCCY_Ik1X1jtLUkTgDOd7ea-uqZ180iNJxyS57QyF3Gr43Ta54wmh3i_jzzoZiTRCwBHO1TxeofJLdgzAYfWDkjwAe2nWCP4XVGEfW3Jj9S00q5K492NSXgX07UUNtR22CEWRL4RhJ_D/s1600/20150322_095448.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">just riding - Road to Hana</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxYecSgN3pyBA9X7JCUsCLIqdiENQwKjctzr1TZgyB39-wUb8zhRwikqYDweOXxnqyWXsIrKc1xOkYfeEbQdXx7rR4t5YJM6yaBFrU6QG6RAMTPL_eMJoh9ThwFnPl_BRRe_njSE9Z_UVO/s1600/20150322_095643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxYecSgN3pyBA9X7JCUsCLIqdiENQwKjctzr1TZgyB39-wUb8zhRwikqYDweOXxnqyWXsIrKc1xOkYfeEbQdXx7rR4t5YJM6yaBFrU6QG6RAMTPL_eMJoh9ThwFnPl_BRRe_njSE9Z_UVO/s1600/20150322_095643.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mid-ride snack time</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3-gRouQ_bQUeHVBwbYQRJfx3w3dhSDT9zPGukI2uMFwAzq6EGH8vBYE-GlNdHCEBW26ZSWd7wA3JyIrASnDVsXmN7Z4AX6jJBmz7PyFesKl0P-fU3sG-9KjJoXQ75l_IVMmCqnU6HmSo/s1600/20150323_071116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3-gRouQ_bQUeHVBwbYQRJfx3w3dhSDT9zPGukI2uMFwAzq6EGH8vBYE-GlNdHCEBW26ZSWd7wA3JyIrASnDVsXmN7Z4AX6jJBmz7PyFesKl0P-fU3sG-9KjJoXQ75l_IVMmCqnU6HmSo/s1600/20150323_071116.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bikes secured thanks to Specialized Wedlocks</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNr81u0spSm39IlblzeDTMMZJdrrnKx0p8Wz9q72UrghaVBX9zMhyphenhyphenggl5JI5zpugRPFqjto902dFIv4bQWCuWUPqoAv5eNGtmAekeBSSp9T6xOMN_bKC-0GqUWfZL_KWjbnsrf9jbw-yfA/s1600/20150323_150323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNr81u0spSm39IlblzeDTMMZJdrrnKx0p8Wz9q72UrghaVBX9zMhyphenhyphenggl5JI5zpugRPFqjto902dFIv4bQWCuWUPqoAv5eNGtmAekeBSSp9T6xOMN_bKC-0GqUWfZL_KWjbnsrf9jbw-yfA/s1600/20150323_150323.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road to Maleka</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6NP9j6s6ngsf3zKlP6koFE6iJ34_qX_FgPi7_arhaTg3sIaJmoctAgpDe0TiJvuPUfQJVkFwD9YryNwFbQq042-eolovPanW1-p5uVFfN09X_pHBzUIlQundnN_UaMxUqYIqkefiEIzz/s1600/20150325_172246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6NP9j6s6ngsf3zKlP6koFE6iJ34_qX_FgPi7_arhaTg3sIaJmoctAgpDe0TiJvuPUfQJVkFwD9YryNwFbQq042-eolovPanW1-p5uVFfN09X_pHBzUIlQundnN_UaMxUqYIqkefiEIzz/s1600/20150325_172246.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner Time</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn0h4hLTVNzjEwIsEW44NAzKUBtk_Z2MYgkHrfzcqqcqVwxYFc67_nRXMlYr9K-dnyDbgCxtWmtTBqwuGf_57dGruc7NP3ghciyql0r8MTLk93bUnoEC5_3x81Yc-h_46Ko57c3m8Oandu/s1600/20150327_095450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn0h4hLTVNzjEwIsEW44NAzKUBtk_Z2MYgkHrfzcqqcqVwxYFc67_nRXMlYr9K-dnyDbgCxtWmtTBqwuGf_57dGruc7NP3ghciyql0r8MTLk93bUnoEC5_3x81Yc-h_46Ko57c3m8Oandu/s1600/20150327_095450.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maui Sugar Cane Factory <span class="st">- Alexander & Baldwin Museum</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cGK4UlUUO_Q9KEiqZp_NJm6cByMqZej4OGaUPKcZjhHKi6bW9L-7Ey0g8FO2NIfkmDKCFZCRW3HZWzvsy9Zhse6Nlp50_rFfnJ33OBBnwVI-YUtWfGr9oARFKsAglZuAXdUwbjN9mCPE/s1600/20150327_111804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cGK4UlUUO_Q9KEiqZp_NJm6cByMqZej4OGaUPKcZjhHKi6bW9L-7Ey0g8FO2NIfkmDKCFZCRW3HZWzvsy9Zhse6Nlp50_rFfnJ33OBBnwVI-YUtWfGr9oARFKsAglZuAXdUwbjN9mCPE/s1600/20150327_111804.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mango cutting time</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSo_6wnWNdQM0DVRipSFCNYVu8AAmKsVEhmjgK78h7NsTSoksphfIj9bwc_WZbQIfrRG4a9jWMtbS2PxfQh4kyFPRELlyC4awL8-bywUOXBo_OZhQLMPOcQwGLBWztYSVAsqtjRH_mYnh8/s1600/20150327_122536_LLS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSo_6wnWNdQM0DVRipSFCNYVu8AAmKsVEhmjgK78h7NsTSoksphfIj9bwc_WZbQIfrRG4a9jWMtbS2PxfQh4kyFPRELlyC4awL8-bywUOXBo_OZhQLMPOcQwGLBWztYSVAsqtjRH_mYnh8/s1600/20150327_122536_LLS.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maui Ocean Center </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15JioP7wIJIEZrX57-esfKHnBCXTNPmIxTmvj-ORfCBt0IUuSxJKfZxICUkaoweV8rPWsJtfBjBs4IzDSiyZWbBnxsGaw8cH0wWkq1j9yJuz-2Sv4FqpLiaC_edLPhBucx84RWYrxzTyl/s1600/20150327_131209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15JioP7wIJIEZrX57-esfKHnBCXTNPmIxTmvj-ORfCBt0IUuSxJKfZxICUkaoweV8rPWsJtfBjBs4IzDSiyZWbBnxsGaw8cH0wWkq1j9yJuz-2Sv4FqpLiaC_edLPhBucx84RWYrxzTyl/s1600/20150327_131209.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seahorse @ Maui Ocean Center </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJWeh_HxygESaUk58sKWlT4_sHmW-e4PdjgZ43ySNJ0TiLE2adY7MqOPPIeAJV87MigUB194VSfCEqrHn4wtqwMgV7sf_G8q86r95WdEUmJdfuLC82bVWTHciA_7xG2vbQ9Fgb-eyB7q4/s1600/20150327_133012_LLS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJWeh_HxygESaUk58sKWlT4_sHmW-e4PdjgZ43ySNJ0TiLE2adY7MqOPPIeAJV87MigUB194VSfCEqrHn4wtqwMgV7sf_G8q86r95WdEUmJdfuLC82bVWTHciA_7xG2vbQ9Fgb-eyB7q4/s1600/20150327_133012_LLS.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeding time for Octopus @ Maui Ocean Center </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSe33STz0Li8QdbkEDyWinZCphOM4Aw31iph_FkpYgR_2TqC4X9SWtW6E143TvgFZrv5fMakr5g6JckfeJvOTSYUfjDrwlxYYR-8SyWCw8FgDf0nQUWsBOO28akZmNHRKAtkiARE2yo5yr/s1600/20150327_134934_LLS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSe33STz0Li8QdbkEDyWinZCphOM4Aw31iph_FkpYgR_2TqC4X9SWtW6E143TvgFZrv5fMakr5g6JckfeJvOTSYUfjDrwlxYYR-8SyWCw8FgDf0nQUWsBOO28akZmNHRKAtkiARE2yo5yr/s1600/20150327_134934_LLS.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shark @ Maui Ocean Center </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1CIdx7xDC40Hv7IXLgtTSZBgcojW9S-1UIwbgjME3Mf7hWPVxz0_eeiA0ftn4oFI1zmasGnucReKzMSdeM-ysHNt98C513ee3_3ngSKTZKw9-VHVjCGhIvfnylqyCZJReDRa0HKGK7b1y/s1600/20150327_140253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1CIdx7xDC40Hv7IXLgtTSZBgcojW9S-1UIwbgjME3Mf7hWPVxz0_eeiA0ftn4oFI1zmasGnucReKzMSdeM-ysHNt98C513ee3_3ngSKTZKw9-VHVjCGhIvfnylqyCZJReDRa0HKGK7b1y/s1600/20150327_140253.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maui Ocean Center </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6xWylXmU0fPjAEWA7tpgHvfd84fTj4yzNLbe52TbAI8ujwi_Xt8EVPlcvlXXVZhdxgQPbmxDK9yKz8m6A1Y-SsK0TBYn3nGxC_WxZtxprV1xYZI2ROkOF4uTWsOVONYDx0czlKlSGYUh/s1600/20150327_150441_LLS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6xWylXmU0fPjAEWA7tpgHvfd84fTj4yzNLbe52TbAI8ujwi_Xt8EVPlcvlXXVZhdxgQPbmxDK9yKz8m6A1Y-SsK0TBYn3nGxC_WxZtxprV1xYZI2ROkOF4uTWsOVONYDx0czlKlSGYUh/s1600/20150327_150441_LLS.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maui Ocean Center divers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5FQCgS6HqKwcOAQgjzqvWmeDJiJnbg6FwO95EFI5RukguDMug9B3nWMTZUVIYqvBH9bcYQsPXN8c_K8HM947n7t1lDJu3jooWGbNYxPsVt9d5JwCYYpxXVjP-6yr6dJiUQamijCMlX504/s1600/_20150321_094323.jpg.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5FQCgS6HqKwcOAQgjzqvWmeDJiJnbg6FwO95EFI5RukguDMug9B3nWMTZUVIYqvBH9bcYQsPXN8c_K8HM947n7t1lDJu3jooWGbNYxPsVt9d5JwCYYpxXVjP-6yr6dJiUQamijCMlX504/s1600/_20150321_094323.jpg.jpeg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David on the West Loop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvoMtu-6AfvM20NRuCAECzFLh4qfQ1HexeoYfqd3xYI7wqSR1pzXePd0D7H5ZGZo62EZx0rAkezxSaP2n1YpLEZ9XXBQy07sxeQsWKvrGYLiBOXy27tYhytG7-m4eAwEkUdSOBuCoZ9y0/s1600/IMG_3061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvoMtu-6AfvM20NRuCAECzFLh4qfQ1HexeoYfqd3xYI7wqSR1pzXePd0D7H5ZGZo62EZx0rAkezxSaP2n1YpLEZ9XXBQy07sxeQsWKvrGYLiBOXy27tYhytG7-m4eAwEkUdSOBuCoZ9y0/s1600/IMG_3061.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view from top of Haleakala</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSbbZL3J9_WPrPZzfycwC49CN2eWWj93IU-FZSFA6wnKSIGUvDJ-iLDVOtJVeeC6QoU9jrSFWfM6t8icecF9X2dZYWPb9ilYY9rLIqWnVQmHROU9Eyaf7T1VXiReWRt8y33ByB1QMolAPs/s1600/IMG_3069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSbbZL3J9_WPrPZzfycwC49CN2eWWj93IU-FZSFA6wnKSIGUvDJ-iLDVOtJVeeC6QoU9jrSFWfM6t8icecF9X2dZYWPb9ilYY9rLIqWnVQmHROU9Eyaf7T1VXiReWRt8y33ByB1QMolAPs/s1600/IMG_3069.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view from top of Haleakala</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgSeCFWZs8EceeRjXgLAKrRsuOBpxiPU8ISZ4Ajpcll4jBjiTQQGUgOkftqkUJD8dwwVrFHlh3NOzQEZwdLwyjcQSEUFoKl3X1kmSXoaPGzmEnhB9DzZ3tnBk7ini7VgIVR1-pvvg-NKs/s1600/IMG_3098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgSeCFWZs8EceeRjXgLAKrRsuOBpxiPU8ISZ4Ajpcll4jBjiTQQGUgOkftqkUJD8dwwVrFHlh3NOzQEZwdLwyjcQSEUFoKl3X1kmSXoaPGzmEnhB9DzZ3tnBk7ini7VgIVR1-pvvg-NKs/s1600/IMG_3098.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lahaina</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNXsvpezFcgxidUnyorWDLPSJadVTscjubi2-U7xEF0aClYgKMvoZpMmTfCAXlRAFabGn_ELOweRqS8gz4xKCiiDGokqnNDl4T8BEqcqRfkxAYwleEswtRM17yS-iCtELhjmgFraxt8h21/s1600/IMG_3123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNXsvpezFcgxidUnyorWDLPSJadVTscjubi2-U7xEF0aClYgKMvoZpMmTfCAXlRAFabGn_ELOweRqS8gz4xKCiiDGokqnNDl4T8BEqcqRfkxAYwleEswtRM17yS-iCtELhjmgFraxt8h21/s1600/IMG_3123.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I see a whale!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeorYIb90JhjC22ezHzGWZxmnHXctrQK8J4u4nJ1kUim_XW8UtsydwKtjWPTVKmwD7fvzgKgpLzgYOu-hjFtXakYRyYdAs3XvLpMD8DyJ18JVADTYSJsvGi6ymFGJ4Hc6t279cTkhIyjnx/s1600/IMG_3135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeorYIb90JhjC22ezHzGWZxmnHXctrQK8J4u4nJ1kUim_XW8UtsydwKtjWPTVKmwD7fvzgKgpLzgYOu-hjFtXakYRyYdAs3XvLpMD8DyJ18JVADTYSJsvGi6ymFGJ4Hc6t279cTkhIyjnx/s1600/IMG_3135.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view towards West part of Maui with "wind mills"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBkSdoe0qxZnkjq5MXzzPXmlW9XLUgIbrgCvihyphenhyphenH6Hk4PFrFTCI83cP-XVA8IYXjUuDmDpb5RgvADwGb-dNBNR-4M-zHuPaUqiuS4ARNn5o_qI8etziYYkmo5bd3zHqxlkJ0LwzujPg7t/s1600/IMG_3143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBkSdoe0qxZnkjq5MXzzPXmlW9XLUgIbrgCvihyphenhyphenH6Hk4PFrFTCI83cP-XVA8IYXjUuDmDpb5RgvADwGb-dNBNR-4M-zHuPaUqiuS4ARNn5o_qI8etziYYkmo5bd3zHqxlkJ0LwzujPg7t/s1600/IMG_3143.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Humpback whale</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMuJWF_uVzYNULijLmik2bifLpLQrbp-Nej88ast2cH5vx9hz4k49FVPwCpli8RTAIxw-O-QNkyS_FV8231bhWE57tiX96fYa9Zt-LJhCm3W4CRg7jknTrXCPgBOR1OZsNPb5HxAenL_d/s1600/IMG_3144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMuJWF_uVzYNULijLmik2bifLpLQrbp-Nej88ast2cH5vx9hz4k49FVPwCpli8RTAIxw-O-QNkyS_FV8231bhWE57tiX96fYa9Zt-LJhCm3W4CRg7jknTrXCPgBOR1OZsNPb5HxAenL_d/s1600/IMG_3144.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Humpback whale baby</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1rGV15pnVEPDQ_Z1zl6VkchKtLbd661udQHn7VNmvvnI_7u7wzRRq6xNhyphenhyphen3b7xWWM0B2pXjyzbgfdKWfVLH5L1nOdO578BKwyOjiSnp4zldpsJm_kTxhWJphcZv_EmD92q19LW9kuZBI/s1600/IMG_3167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1rGV15pnVEPDQ_Z1zl6VkchKtLbd661udQHn7VNmvvnI_7u7wzRRq6xNhyphenhyphen3b7xWWM0B2pXjyzbgfdKWfVLH5L1nOdO578BKwyOjiSnp4zldpsJm_kTxhWJphcZv_EmD92q19LW9kuZBI/s1600/IMG_3167.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bamboo!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDwyjqacpPx6-9rR4I0GHpfc393zA7YkBiEXrEK7Icz_7uQ9B-4xp3ofFVi7ELo6M0uNQGGzlmVq6qVrMB-HJ4whae92cFLSIncf3_ojrwdZXN9l9ldydjM3wT9c4Z9QOZoBdJ71VoSvnu/s1600/IMG_3171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDwyjqacpPx6-9rR4I0GHpfc393zA7YkBiEXrEK7Icz_7uQ9B-4xp3ofFVi7ELo6M0uNQGGzlmVq6qVrMB-HJ4whae92cFLSIncf3_ojrwdZXN9l9ldydjM3wT9c4Z9QOZoBdJ71VoSvnu/s1600/IMG_3171.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow Tree</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiyG_7vwo7W_3l-FMesegEzobD_f1Uq7uSfFfuuc5MZakt_mDvJ6lzgbAwXlQOLR0OTIHXhoL58VzmgbQQYnP1N7p6DC7-VHYMA5iKfyLJlHh3BHfWPar5fTN_BTk9Wr3ryhNlblPttL3/s1600/IMG_3175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiyG_7vwo7W_3l-FMesegEzobD_f1Uq7uSfFfuuc5MZakt_mDvJ6lzgbAwXlQOLR0OTIHXhoL58VzmgbQQYnP1N7p6DC7-VHYMA5iKfyLJlHh3BHfWPar5fTN_BTk9Wr3ryhNlblPttL3/s1600/IMG_3175.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Cardinal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEVDfF5fCjqRc7SUZrjw1vBbLCT1PrWe2uWaO8GcddJTxpcNECWeIGxaRojsXX8MiqJDfdg_qtnSPtlr2EMcT3OOr2jcwoJ-WpkSe4M5jxk0jN7PSucEU3LJqVWgw1FlMXprZFjkTOEWI/s1600/IMG_3184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEVDfF5fCjqRc7SUZrjw1vBbLCT1PrWe2uWaO8GcddJTxpcNECWeIGxaRojsXX8MiqJDfdg_qtnSPtlr2EMcT3OOr2jcwoJ-WpkSe4M5jxk0jN7PSucEU3LJqVWgw1FlMXprZFjkTOEWI/s1600/IMG_3184.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road to Hana</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAt5VBnXdm8Dr65hmANs9EqGQzVGnP93WfEUYcbAwVvTQVyMi154iALbotxqCUiswhdljZAW2NMUnE8NbjwJhq0J9g7o0cZepEYaUs4iTQcjdcWioYpG_emAKZfm28Nw92Kgsx8yzhvBDn/s1600/IMG_3188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAt5VBnXdm8Dr65hmANs9EqGQzVGnP93WfEUYcbAwVvTQVyMi154iALbotxqCUiswhdljZAW2NMUnE8NbjwJhq0J9g7o0cZepEYaUs4iTQcjdcWioYpG_emAKZfm28Nw92Kgsx8yzhvBDn/s1600/IMG_3188.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road to Hana</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLgoO28tFjgOPk_iEVPBBk2BSSsFdVsBV-jfdQZIkYe7cIi1LuiuBU_imn4j_D-WSt5GJAu15_AwQSpzNM0c-IsMyuTEre7ehWip5l4x0g0rnvR6y_PoRkPjHLQY-xwgraVpXb_TlzvSW/s1600/IMG_3191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLgoO28tFjgOPk_iEVPBBk2BSSsFdVsBV-jfdQZIkYe7cIi1LuiuBU_imn4j_D-WSt5GJAu15_AwQSpzNM0c-IsMyuTEre7ehWip5l4x0g0rnvR6y_PoRkPjHLQY-xwgraVpXb_TlzvSW/s1600/IMG_3191.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road to Hana - water hole</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GiUW0iz6Fqj7rGf21p1YTsfe2xhu_xlO6p-ydpn2wK9YmuRmggoKHW5aguYBykS4L_vuHxGdsgHLDT9eh_h1wICpE8Bh6S70P59C1nuljq9-AXfeFmfCnJLJu8GoeVwg7_XCdYcnpr2f/s1600/IMG_3213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GiUW0iz6Fqj7rGf21p1YTsfe2xhu_xlO6p-ydpn2wK9YmuRmggoKHW5aguYBykS4L_vuHxGdsgHLDT9eh_h1wICpE8Bh6S70P59C1nuljq9-AXfeFmfCnJLJu8GoeVwg7_XCdYcnpr2f/s1600/IMG_3213.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road to Hana - David's "secret" water hole</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBtUWp7QVpooKd95SK_2V_jIUnxLZXNbBWoXgKRgLtaitfuis6sF-rv-0LfFc09dl2KE9oP0GwmCgq35dVzSNE8eUpmSgCvTlUnGPmvET9ZxrT1pCxlYzCU3SocEV__Yr9Z5LUWD_WVKm/s1600/IMG_3224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBtUWp7QVpooKd95SK_2V_jIUnxLZXNbBWoXgKRgLtaitfuis6sF-rv-0LfFc09dl2KE9oP0GwmCgq35dVzSNE8eUpmSgCvTlUnGPmvET9ZxrT1pCxlYzCU3SocEV__Yr9Z5LUWD_WVKm/s1600/IMG_3224.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Sand Beach - Hana</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU4F_9RYwP9Kms7rYQVDeS8sPXuwLY2w2s_N3UuV0w5_PdvgEF2xhyLEi3JWJs66jQmh3hFfOP7a4_5QZNrMwpjeHcfHNGh9r5Nxz-ZtZBQQS49dFopKQx7maWQ93KfcuewiF6QqH0_aTA/s1600/IMG_3225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU4F_9RYwP9Kms7rYQVDeS8sPXuwLY2w2s_N3UuV0w5_PdvgEF2xhyLEi3JWJs66jQmh3hFfOP7a4_5QZNrMwpjeHcfHNGh9r5Nxz-ZtZBQQS49dFopKQx7maWQ93KfcuewiF6QqH0_aTA/s1600/IMG_3225.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piilani Hwy, South East Maui</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DRX9BbNEq7-WNtZqYBMyQ_Ep1RFFddwz6N4KMfCysrDh0yzafdBqP5F0EVgXajTy49H3KowTmRx-FbO4EH4HtvkIHzE0eCqyj07UIHt4YB4PXh-PUfpl35-d93rIW0d3ZWzoyp_Dhp16/s1600/IMG_3237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DRX9BbNEq7-WNtZqYBMyQ_Ep1RFFddwz6N4KMfCysrDh0yzafdBqP5F0EVgXajTy49H3KowTmRx-FbO4EH4HtvkIHzE0eCqyj07UIHt4YB4PXh-PUfpl35-d93rIW0d3ZWzoyp_Dhp16/s1600/IMG_3237.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piilani Hwy, South East Maui</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjNO1IH3R7mcqLr0AfChxedViVfOHiBOCYyfhDPSg3NFmPUgZfRM8Dv8LIskk6f70VduNX_McsHsMACA35R_u1JxPC4_-KbyWd2cQ_ExEBq9S-z3QqbB8dcnC8EPIcpPt178HUAO9B8Lds/s1600/IMG_3253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjNO1IH3R7mcqLr0AfChxedViVfOHiBOCYyfhDPSg3NFmPUgZfRM8Dv8LIskk6f70VduNX_McsHsMACA35R_u1JxPC4_-KbyWd2cQ_ExEBq9S-z3QqbB8dcnC8EPIcpPt178HUAO9B8Lds/s1600/IMG_3253.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piilani Hwy, South East Maui</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5MLfDYFJRJ4_MQRZQvk2vCx7GBQTxM-tzZKiOsW-5YmQXVAetzDQKBp-7kCUpI-supUpH5HOp5nXjzSemS2osHnqCMVlUbQNMyJpMEcqdHPJE8O77ec0JZrERmAXBFX6siVQmhlB4xZ0A/s1600/IMG_3295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5MLfDYFJRJ4_MQRZQvk2vCx7GBQTxM-tzZKiOsW-5YmQXVAetzDQKBp-7kCUpI-supUpH5HOp5nXjzSemS2osHnqCMVlUbQNMyJpMEcqdHPJE8O77ec0JZrERmAXBFX6siVQmhlB4xZ0A/s1600/IMG_3295.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waimoku Falls Hike</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuXWd1aM7StZxFBFyEzDj9g3PJdRNhNDH6-heirUvlift08mCe2K9h63kfCG73GYvOjFqBs7ro2hQQNyDjB9IMLO1f43ULBaBmQ9FWWDyRcR9HuPIr_A5mVGT9XZP3jNEbznD4rWXCXsP/s1600/IMG_3309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuXWd1aM7StZxFBFyEzDj9g3PJdRNhNDH6-heirUvlift08mCe2K9h63kfCG73GYvOjFqBs7ro2hQQNyDjB9IMLO1f43ULBaBmQ9FWWDyRcR9HuPIr_A5mVGT9XZP3jNEbznD4rWXCXsP/s1600/IMG_3309.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waimoku Falls Hike</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1gwEoxlaGXSxayP04s_LSutU6gjEPzvQADriesUiQEwfaQa3bFrF4-zoBervR8dMGh7B8gVKueakwMIfky_p2MNCgSDpBpref3WgPCJavCQbUhdMb-HIbalBOdTmA5AoVKMSNcbLmKoig/s1600/IMG_3312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1gwEoxlaGXSxayP04s_LSutU6gjEPzvQADriesUiQEwfaQa3bFrF4-zoBervR8dMGh7B8gVKueakwMIfky_p2MNCgSDpBpref3WgPCJavCQbUhdMb-HIbalBOdTmA5AoVKMSNcbLmKoig/s1600/IMG_3312.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waimoku Falls Hike</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKpAnIBFVySSFGott-9kXLGawqnToHir1Xu8qNyrP8-nlzgGmTVVRgwKnkhnqCcYYGIDXYsXvP3TAO7rDN37liwrxWFNfWtHAReXo0ysif2zoqucYkzQqrDr2MNVbrugkow-TOBNkEGZsG/s1600/IMG_3327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKpAnIBFVySSFGott-9kXLGawqnToHir1Xu8qNyrP8-nlzgGmTVVRgwKnkhnqCcYYGIDXYsXvP3TAO7rDN37liwrxWFNfWtHAReXo0ysif2zoqucYkzQqrDr2MNVbrugkow-TOBNkEGZsG/s1600/IMG_3327.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh fruit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEiMePwiaVxrA2r0epBhnVQi5B8-HZrcrKy3-QfHquT959FAIofUz_urSM6JCMprCVp6SabNVFO91cRslg0SawgTvb6dRnS3ZfG2LZ11HbZqSKVWcwWGBTF8wPu0x2QjVtDp8YFhFMhyL/s1600/IMG_3329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEiMePwiaVxrA2r0epBhnVQi5B8-HZrcrKy3-QfHquT959FAIofUz_urSM6JCMprCVp6SabNVFO91cRslg0SawgTvb6dRnS3ZfG2LZ11HbZqSKVWcwWGBTF8wPu0x2QjVtDp8YFhFMhyL/s1600/IMG_3329.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh Papaya</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinp5L3zPV0Uytl5LUXYDj46wDVvXLuS-pJsNYeP-lNFms7CrLnopk9XAWrXP60iAQQwIRDejxNouuX_DrudulC5oyo8L3iw_GQPSjam2ZUaBu4wdeR41ZQKVI5PIMVq8nb2B8eyRKP_zVe/s1600/IMG_3338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinp5L3zPV0Uytl5LUXYDj46wDVvXLuS-pJsNYeP-lNFms7CrLnopk9XAWrXP60iAQQwIRDejxNouuX_DrudulC5oyo8L3iw_GQPSjam2ZUaBu4wdeR41ZQKVI5PIMVq8nb2B8eyRKP_zVe/s1600/IMG_3338.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pools at Ohe'o</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhViPsoZ2iYJFraul1IeMu3vHsKEP_yjVjOSlr8SNJQxljAeM19h8Sj_mWEm9RUmycVsRfRQARJDqVKUYo57mI6kBaxi-RcmxLH_dN7KI_EPIYfE31-MrUe0xUwzhe-WT7F16NcAeqveqc3/s1600/IMG_3343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhViPsoZ2iYJFraul1IeMu3vHsKEP_yjVjOSlr8SNJQxljAeM19h8Sj_mWEm9RUmycVsRfRQARJDqVKUYo57mI6kBaxi-RcmxLH_dN7KI_EPIYfE31-MrUe0xUwzhe-WT7F16NcAeqveqc3/s1600/IMG_3343.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pools at Ohe'o</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLXQx5umqvRLATJGrTAFAGDB5awvhsZO8OIDejHxCSjST0aFiw4BGZ6PRjjgS1GEdfKvS3u-Rme2GrxptK32KJ3ukttOQ11a-9t4_M8S4rXl7DSJDqC9JuKzGIpW1HTuKrBN5xgwVhnW5/s1600/IMG_3365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLXQx5umqvRLATJGrTAFAGDB5awvhsZO8OIDejHxCSjST0aFiw4BGZ6PRjjgS1GEdfKvS3u-Rme2GrxptK32KJ3ukttOQ11a-9t4_M8S4rXl7DSJDqC9JuKzGIpW1HTuKrBN5xgwVhnW5/s1600/IMG_3365.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piilani Hwy home</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFsDbghHNQZNorz_szA3IhKvoab8wCVVLqQNRj_HdwaxGSZeOllZ5233WAUkICrNrT69SsrR6lcCJG4WqE13YopUHHSIpce2jFsOMR1igN4dJiIm5FHS9P_gpue_DAMLfZm9yYuxB8yvn/s1600/IMG_20150321_094323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFsDbghHNQZNorz_szA3IhKvoab8wCVVLqQNRj_HdwaxGSZeOllZ5233WAUkICrNrT69SsrR6lcCJG4WqE13YopUHHSIpce2jFsOMR1igN4dJiIm5FHS9P_gpue_DAMLfZm9yYuxB8yvn/s1600/IMG_20150321_094323.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West Loop riding</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkxL6FnvfT5zywg7nENf8Z2gd1corZ-Rnoc1ZxHu0vOUN80fskZhcB7mWMj9YBQdk3uq5XK4o1FgYVAS1uTX59vVYkby5hudB2I7w1MrIfsAJPdCIQEZL0ydaRV3lkQesQwdNEgIyFgIT/s1600/IMG_20150324_112504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkxL6FnvfT5zywg7nENf8Z2gd1corZ-Rnoc1ZxHu0vOUN80fskZhcB7mWMj9YBQdk3uq5XK4o1FgYVAS1uTX59vVYkby5hudB2I7w1MrIfsAJPdCIQEZL0ydaRV3lkQesQwdNEgIyFgIT/s1600/IMG_20150324_112504.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of Haleakala (technically 10,0023 ft)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYhlWQzGxMs6DgzLyM-EiI0gGs2eE4f9PNCvElHcG_-ydGmCUBUCoRb03zVb54TuSMBGv5MXtWafdQMhR9nLPwYDLERhspZpPKeDPY1SWNsB4KIcuFHUuiQqm00fg-eyxs5LfX0jTXA-Y/s1600/IMG_20150324_113930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYhlWQzGxMs6DgzLyM-EiI0gGs2eE4f9PNCvElHcG_-ydGmCUBUCoRb03zVb54TuSMBGv5MXtWafdQMhR9nLPwYDLERhspZpPKeDPY1SWNsB4KIcuFHUuiQqm00fg-eyxs5LfX0jTXA-Y/s1600/IMG_20150324_113930.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of Haleakala</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIDggfFXX5hmyhIfQOAC8dQtkn2sxtkhV6wN_uL4tqI-47c5HzJ18K5nuBTqEB310ZJ87yKT9XIlNGg9Kua6k5fju16sbVKLfqvXeyMDAk5GzAdkIggmf25O767YzKil2nD9yn1aQa17v/s1600/IMG_20150324_125353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIDggfFXX5hmyhIfQOAC8dQtkn2sxtkhV6wN_uL4tqI-47c5HzJ18K5nuBTqEB310ZJ87yKT9XIlNGg9Kua6k5fju16sbVKLfqvXeyMDAk5GzAdkIggmf25O767YzKil2nD9yn1aQa17v/s1600/IMG_20150324_125353.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">recovery food/drink from Maui's oldest (?) convenience store "Komoda Store and Bakery" in Makawao!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKsn0PAYN8M8ejOBxHGtsPcrwsTJ84G5OLidsNoR90Z94-E5uqEpJr-YiLY6XUDT4BePkHeBfvd-hnZff_WZ5HCtUOfldbiZ-04id4Lq2mlWtmZZWBm-eSttbX3WggcvcPwUSZEcoco-x/s1600/IMG_20150325_090307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKsn0PAYN8M8ejOBxHGtsPcrwsTJ84G5OLidsNoR90Z94-E5uqEpJr-YiLY6XUDT4BePkHeBfvd-hnZff_WZ5HCtUOfldbiZ-04id4Lq2mlWtmZZWBm-eSttbX3WggcvcPwUSZEcoco-x/s1600/IMG_20150325_090307.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">climbing on <a href="http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/oprah-winfreys-secret-road-1509684327" target="_blank">Oprah Winfrey Road</a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXnV0CqK80e8tzysvS7j14dPmo3svJudV5c1Vw6fz-HF2IIt6c0Q8cCWWEGUtr1rcVfwNOrUtj2ol_IlMKYnnrjEPOI-_Kzzaq2OyIARJr78pTyTxloO6Skf3vjRvZyA_NeJ5O_tluRCb/s1600/IMG_20150325_182020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXnV0CqK80e8tzysvS7j14dPmo3svJudV5c1Vw6fz-HF2IIt6c0Q8cCWWEGUtr1rcVfwNOrUtj2ol_IlMKYnnrjEPOI-_Kzzaq2OyIARJr78pTyTxloO6Skf3vjRvZyA_NeJ5O_tluRCb/s1600/IMG_20150325_182020.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piilani Hwy</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlK6uIyk_-EqJ_S_bKhyv6kqu18BOauOMr8uPAW50p1y-e0-CUlc-BYPqw7H-TBgbdEHxxO6lm-FmxpRxpWbHxAB4iR4kzu-hCTsdzU4o08CSRwhns42yTTGWDTX58QxA2lzM4_YuCTgRm/s1600/IMG_20150328_073843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlK6uIyk_-EqJ_S_bKhyv6kqu18BOauOMr8uPAW50p1y-e0-CUlc-BYPqw7H-TBgbdEHxxO6lm-FmxpRxpWbHxAB4iR4kzu-hCTsdzU4o08CSRwhns42yTTGWDTX58QxA2lzM4_YuCTgRm/s1600/IMG_20150328_073843.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piilani Hwy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmoObbeJTMnOqq4mht9qnm2Dd4ozdeZohZbFj49p1g6OE2YdgeYMWgrX9997lTU1JcwN7VGpDlNA49dJgSWZ-arlzh-VMcNlp6UmnMAPfc1APapNOFS3cEqgJJ68544sddof3Pe6ApP74_/s1600/IMG_20150328_122934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmoObbeJTMnOqq4mht9qnm2Dd4ozdeZohZbFj49p1g6OE2YdgeYMWgrX9997lTU1JcwN7VGpDlNA49dJgSWZ-arlzh-VMcNlp6UmnMAPfc1APapNOFS3cEqgJJ68544sddof3Pe6ApP74_/s1600/IMG_20150328_122934.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cacao Plant and Coffee</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w69Dd7InN772b1pnvYTYIQefZdQsqBu1RURbPhRg6WgG6HRiq0qoXmYuTVqJMTFlNEC0VtOMWwl5Ji6_LKhWf7peH6hxNitz-3SBLOTg9xhiyr2N4zo7XQXAi6AOiSFFf5bmDOwlNjZh/s1600/IMG_20150328_124008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w69Dd7InN772b1pnvYTYIQefZdQsqBu1RURbPhRg6WgG6HRiq0qoXmYuTVqJMTFlNEC0VtOMWwl5Ji6_LKhWf7peH6hxNitz-3SBLOTg9xhiyr2N4zo7XQXAi6AOiSFFf5bmDOwlNjZh/s1600/IMG_20150328_124008.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(not yet ripe) Coffee beans!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgRtV3EN3WK3EOLSCBSp_u-8pZLz4iqpcZW9JdTm2pGHjZSM_WxOJiTJ5ukAXGJzWDmwUPWnDYla-Jc9D9ad7bsZqQpwG1HHdKt_M9tTa6wVLtdgiq39pqO_uw5_GrDzSBwRhWjkXSxjdf/s1600/IMG_20150328_131844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgRtV3EN3WK3EOLSCBSp_u-8pZLz4iqpcZW9JdTm2pGHjZSM_WxOJiTJ5ukAXGJzWDmwUPWnDYla-Jc9D9ad7bsZqQpwG1HHdKt_M9tTa6wVLtdgiq39pqO_uw5_GrDzSBwRhWjkXSxjdf/s1600/IMG_20150328_131844.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piilani Hwy to Hana</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBpoiiU5LkoW-_vS0OZzUxxayaoxlv0lPi0zX34grOv_6DCRX27yj704Fih15BwBTzPDsmWfMQR173Wirwnk1Aq0c5RpeVubyhbIWDLZE1vTds_2O6qGsC8ITChu0vH0dxplosCcShZ0Y/s1600/IMG_20150328_144134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBpoiiU5LkoW-_vS0OZzUxxayaoxlv0lPi0zX34grOv_6DCRX27yj704Fih15BwBTzPDsmWfMQR173Wirwnk1Aq0c5RpeVubyhbIWDLZE1vTds_2O6qGsC8ITChu0vH0dxplosCcShZ0Y/s1600/IMG_20150328_144134.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">at Coconut Glen's - Road to Hana</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wf0n0hyphenhyphenRZjcV_cCSPWRELpPl6mlF2suoY8DBl2QVPFNWsx3ENV_226cIMEDIpshfE0D9wKdHvGOeEYk8H8fhfd2z1g1-KmVBipxbd1JelezZQMXpDBEtJcwIgu5fe5P6dHraqZi8e4OB/s1600/STA_3269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wf0n0hyphenhyphenRZjcV_cCSPWRELpPl6mlF2suoY8DBl2QVPFNWsx3ENV_226cIMEDIpshfE0D9wKdHvGOeEYk8H8fhfd2z1g1-KmVBipxbd1JelezZQMXpDBEtJcwIgu5fe5P6dHraqZi8e4OB/s1600/STA_3269.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piilani Hwy to Hana</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOG-Doz4Zf5jTHBuLqlji9-lxRCGDsmYipwT2MB6vGLx4Vah2nQ7TvdG4uO9XkSB_0nmNPx4KfIjIB0driWIZv6v-h1ygJ774LVuwginpF7DG_rOpoOWbk4USLEbFx7whovc72pD4RfjGm/s1600/20150324_122331.mp4" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOG-Doz4Zf5jTHBuLqlji9-lxRCGDsmYipwT2MB6vGLx4Vah2nQ7TvdG4uO9XkSB_0nmNPx4KfIjIB0driWIZv6v-h1ygJ774LVuwginpF7DG_rOpoOWbk4USLEbFx7whovc72pD4RfjGm/s1600/20150324_122331.mp4" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">descending Haleakala between 7000 and 5000 ft</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipoCpxhNjWOY9Atc5g7X6xsO1apFif9IrNbeKJS5ygmAe6BuaCEFQztPa6456V0Pq9SZ6RPlW-3HxTAVuFTiEPSMsVYbdBg2rc9oczD0eLUcF7eUGwmFy_bl5s8l16Hg-_NOdIItquP1VS/s1600/IMG_3367.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipoCpxhNjWOY9Atc5g7X6xsO1apFif9IrNbeKJS5ygmAe6BuaCEFQztPa6456V0Pq9SZ6RPlW-3HxTAVuFTiEPSMsVYbdBg2rc9oczD0eLUcF7eUGwmFy_bl5s8l16Hg-_NOdIItquP1VS/s1600/IMG_3367.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEf_mKeKcqKn7x-A1-42Rrsxd3CuV2q1uTh7yIGQYNuvpbjdCEE7Ifrq8gX9SnQsnSsCtnhmODSbYYdd5OBzSxoGbVyPYKuLP2DzoASIYdL-iTn7n3H4djrGKo33qskkblZex682kj3ZxZ/s1600/IMG_3366.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">packing bikes</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_7ViHl0v6wnN0EBkp0dE1ivdnJVTX6_CllWNZJZr9uHu49TCepKc61YBXvpnXJZ4Zq4-6Jlx9NY9VXgOlrjTdqtMVsG7OtxZDmXbG4Oa8owmWWNwQx3lnZfnccYbl21fA_XRKdDq7eo7/s1600/IMG_3371.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_7ViHl0v6wnN0EBkp0dE1ivdnJVTX6_CllWNZJZr9uHu49TCepKc61YBXvpnXJZ4Zq4-6Jlx9NY9VXgOlrjTdqtMVsG7OtxZDmXbG4Oa8owmWWNwQx3lnZfnccYbl21fA_XRKdDq7eo7/s1600/IMG_3371.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQrzkmi5WebuN0FXpxdP7x5cjskE4HDb0YZRBeteFHotj18uqID90D39SFKRL-wNalwl0zuomoPoxgr4XrDXLc3_FV4k3f_J3zLFjD0i_Gf2lz6RvrWrZ_ILf-jr-K7VAucjn_us_d-RR/s1600/IMG_3369.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQrzkmi5WebuN0FXpxdP7x5cjskE4HDb0YZRBeteFHotj18uqID90D39SFKRL-wNalwl0zuomoPoxgr4XrDXLc3_FV4k3f_J3zLFjD0i_Gf2lz6RvrWrZ_ILf-jr-K7VAucjn_us_d-RR/s1600/IMG_3369.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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After our <a href="http://stefan-rothe.blogspot.com/2014/04/joe-martin-stage-race-day-1-2-3.html" target="_blank">Saturday morning cruise with coffee & sticky Buns</a> we took on Stage 3 of Joe Martin. Another 110miles but comparing to Stage 2 I knew it was going to be much harder. The Hogeye course is painful when really "being raced" and the constant winds (20-30mph) were an indicator of a hard 4+hr race.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">At first, I pinned my number just like teammate & 'Ze Boss <a href="http://www.benspies.com/" target="_blank">Ben Spies</a> would have done ;-) These cloth numbers are awesome by the way. Austin promoter Andrew Willis had them last year for <a href="http://tourdeaustin.com/" target="_blank">Tour of Austin</a> already. I hope other promoters catch on and we'll more of these throughout the season.</span></td></tr>
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As planned, Adam took the initiative early and started the early break. 5miles in and he was up the road with 3 other guys with almost 2minutes to the field. JAMIS set Tempo and Tony and I tried to stay cool for the end. With these long 100+mile races, it's clear that the last hour of the race will be the hardest if the first 3hrs are slow/tempo-only. The break (w/ Adam) got caught after just one lap and the next 2 laps not much happened. Finally, with 1 lap to go on the Hogeye Loop it got harder & the attacks from other teams put the leader's team a bit under pressure as we raced full on that last lap. Going over the steep feed zone climb, a group of 5 or 6 was off the front and the field blew to pieces as the GC race was officially on with 30miles to go. Over the top of the climb Tony and I found ourselves in the front split with ~18 other riders and the yellow jersey. We did what we could and rolled through but it wasn't really our duty to chase the break down as the Yellow Jersey was defending all kind of attacks from Kenda & SmartStop & Optum. The rest of the pack was out of sight for 30minutes or so and at one point it looked like this was it. But, it's bike racing so a 2nd, larger group (what was left from the broken up field) got back on with us and now a group of 45-50 guys rolled FAST to the finish line. It came down to a sprint and Tony and I finished in the group, just happy to make it and be done for the day. Jacob & Justin Stanley got caught up in an early crash on lap #1 w/ Jacob flatting and not being able to finish. Stanley crashed hard on his (2013 collarbone-broken) shoulder and finished but probably can't race tomorrow. To give you an idea about the difference of speed/power. 1st lap: 51min, 23.9mph & 200W avg 4th (final) lap: 57min, 26.7mph, 265W avg. MVP was Adam today who was aggressive early on, made the break, got some sprint points, got us water just before the final time up the hill. Great teammate!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">last
lap & the field was slim. Adam (far left) still there helping us to
position for the final time up the hill! JAMIS did an incredible job all 3days riding on the front. photo: Dean Warren</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">What hydration should look like during a NRC stage race: pan y agua! Had beers AFTER the crit on Sunday.</span></td></tr>
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The final day, Sunday & Stage 4, was the Crit. Besides the Stillwater Crit at Nature Valley & Cry Baby Hill @ Tulsa Tough I think this is the hardest one day race/Crit I do all year in the US. A very selective, technical course and if you want to make it in a break you're usually paying for it later. Very hard to be off the front, and just hard jockeying for position in the 85minute Crit. Tony was still close to Top 25 GC and I was somewhere around 30th. Instead of just sitting in and waiting for a sprint - and not having a true sprinter here for the Crit - we wanted to at least race. I sat in and felt decent but not great. With 10 laps (25min) to go they rang the bell for the final bonus sprint and a small group was up the road. I figured, now it's time to do at least something so jumped across on the S/F hill and got the prime the next lap. The race was so controlled (as most every year I've done that since 2006?), though that I knew a break is not going to make it. I just sat up and was back in the field while the "break" was caught 1/2 lap later. A new race started with 6 or 7 laps to go went it started to rain. I slowly felt the lactic acid in my legs and drifted further back. Tony & Adam held their own while I tail-gunned it for a bit and just rode the last few laps with a few other guys. Adam did a solid job getting 15th in what was left of the shattered field while Tony lost a few seconds on the day but still rounded out the whole weekend in 31st GC (me in 41st & Adam 57th). Great weekend all in all, though and I am looking forward to more racing with my 'broz at the end of May.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">on the front before the rain hits</span></td></tr>
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Full results from last weekend here: <a href="http://www.joemartinstagerace.com/results_main/index.html">http://www.joemartinstagerace.com/results_main/index.html</a></div>
Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-10550738570530864202014-04-26T12:32:00.001-05:002014-04-28T20:17:20.148-05:00Joe Martin Stage Race, Stage 1 & 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Back in Arkansas for <a href="http://www.joemartinstagerace.com/index.html" target="_blank">Joe Martin Stage Race</a>. Done that race now 6, 7 or 8 times? This year with <a href="http://elbowzracing.com/" target="_blank">ELBOWZ</a> and it's pretty as usual up here. A few impressions from the last 3 days below:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">arrived!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">beautiful day to be at Devil's Den State Park</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">added some extra weights to meet the 6.8kg UCI weight limit</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">party in the back, business up front. Ended up with a 9:01 for the TT</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR4KnmHw5CJuNQLI_Nnv1FzRDWedbs97ppIN4shhIi-qWEtYdhIKwXQNQfR2JWv2aj-se-rbj-AX7vZLj78bWGN8P3jdveoetaliknXVSBnBIidPSKETlzajt7DHDZ1OmEKFMbA671Qa5K/s1600/BmE6AjjCAAApFsx.jpg+large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR4KnmHw5CJuNQLI_Nnv1FzRDWedbs97ppIN4shhIi-qWEtYdhIKwXQNQfR2JWv2aj-se-rbj-AX7vZLj78bWGN8P3jdveoetaliknXVSBnBIidPSKETlzajt7DHDZ1OmEKFMbA671Qa5K/s1600/BmE6AjjCAAApFsx.jpg+large.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Day 2, easy pre-race spin: the Frisco Trail through Fayetteville is as good as it gets. No race photos today. Ended up 23rd after 100miles of somewhat easy riding and 10miles hard racing up Mt. Gaylor. Tony & I were safe in the bunch.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kdqGm5DKxn7vqxMSH_23B-H-BqPcscNj3OSbTa4gdtZZcMv3xR9kr7trPqDKrOSFU7PZriFEJONFusj72qnvaUrmGXhHWlo42TMP0IFp5CNywVkP_wxb20dbu1LzhgdI69XO3ZyAN6SH/s1600/20140426_100710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kdqGm5DKxn7vqxMSH_23B-H-BqPcscNj3OSbTa4gdtZZcMv3xR9kr7trPqDKrOSFU7PZriFEJONFusj72qnvaUrmGXhHWlo42TMP0IFp5CNywVkP_wxb20dbu1LzhgdI69XO3ZyAN6SH/s1600/20140426_100710.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Day 3: easy spin w/ Adam & Stanley. We're in Razorback Country!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6SQkuAj4V36ezXXAa0OjUl3cks4R2uho5YgSm_Ei8qAxqBrUn9B-CxD5TFRvZ9unnO8rNQ0nDpfIzZOOynhZujBxsuDUCeA_kn02bUuYdyHZr76wAVryUzPm6SG8zMxDTj6j55zhAyHRG/s1600/20140426_100804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6SQkuAj4V36ezXXAa0OjUl3cks4R2uho5YgSm_Ei8qAxqBrUn9B-CxD5TFRvZ9unnO8rNQ0nDpfIzZOOynhZujBxsuDUCeA_kn02bUuYdyHZr76wAVryUzPm6SG8zMxDTj6j55zhAyHRG/s1600/20140426_100804.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">They take their Tailgating seriously. Go Hogs!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqt880S6P4_tW_amnpCgJE2VSgoCiLx_ZrNeADUoVoQIYQpv9lbW0l_L2e1xqOCuALIBXmOLGp3KFrmlf-pFfrTTaRu8k8USwKfQOGOKWPVYEmeGFVt6nWi7MhfoulIKRbNtI6XSu0I910/s1600/20140426_101905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqt880S6P4_tW_amnpCgJE2VSgoCiLx_ZrNeADUoVoQIYQpv9lbW0l_L2e1xqOCuALIBXmOLGp3KFrmlf-pFfrTTaRu8k8USwKfQOGOKWPVYEmeGFVt6nWi7MhfoulIKRbNtI6XSu0I910/s1600/20140426_101905.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Old VW on the Square</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Dm78pp-vGeV5_lmvieHPl8vzfsuIYWBj1BZRBjGYkkXTO4FxVpfKpDPtn_zZDTt69Cr_0zJf8MY4IKZyKGHcKO_dQw3j_gpmL-YUOUCchIsSYy67quoItv9Geb3iLEQ8KI0s3UKY29l_/s1600/20140426_101912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Dm78pp-vGeV5_lmvieHPl8vzfsuIYWBj1BZRBjGYkkXTO4FxVpfKpDPtn_zZDTt69Cr_0zJf8MY4IKZyKGHcKO_dQw3j_gpmL-YUOUCchIsSYy67quoItv9Geb3iLEQ8KI0s3UKY29l_/s1600/20140426_101912.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Farmers Market, sans Adam's face.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAljxI0MxyGfxqxPtaZTzlqxKi6JeP-g-uDddOUvjGOy_GIGJS7xxGRW92xyuWsVObqJDt1AFiWd1cJ2_7qcBNL1qi2JUve7NcWB81JHEriSw6Fiau0QsWgpNIAX1zGzlBF7IernrgAJ3G/s1600/20140426_101930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAljxI0MxyGfxqxPtaZTzlqxKi6JeP-g-uDddOUvjGOy_GIGJS7xxGRW92xyuWsVObqJDt1AFiWd1cJ2_7qcBNL1qi2JUve7NcWB81JHEriSw6Fiau0QsWgpNIAX1zGzlBF7IernrgAJ3G/s1600/20140426_101930.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Farmers Market, with Adam's face. He's enjoying the scenery</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlv2XD8awc_OmBSArxmrbHU6-zqnItxUCQ8SjB3eok58UnnOWeQvTeZqikCXUOeZ0JE-RD5xuJSr1-vct3uUYc2VqsqccogLdi46HFoGsHD7oKOcgHLO34wbK00kHE-1frgGp3iHVOalrG/s1600/20140426_104922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlv2XD8awc_OmBSArxmrbHU6-zqnItxUCQ8SjB3eok58UnnOWeQvTeZqikCXUOeZ0JE-RD5xuJSr1-vct3uUYc2VqsqccogLdi46HFoGsHD7oKOcgHLO34wbK00kHE-1frgGp3iHVOalrG/s1600/20140426_104922.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you're in Fayetteville, go to Little Bread Company and check out their Pecan Sticky Buns and Rolls. Funny crowd there, too. Mix of old and young, hip and not-so hip. This morning, kids playing guitars and singing....and dancing ("Flower Child Dance" by the guy on the left)</span></td></tr>
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More updates from Stage 3 coming soon!</div>
Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-27136255053345045192014-02-06T12:09:00.000-06:002014-02-06T21:41:30.143-06:00From Within: Tour of New Braunfels RR<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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February 2nd, it's early in the year, it's cold (40F), you haven't raced a road race for 4+ month and yet still - it's time to pin on that number and get that first race of the season out of the way and into your legs.</div>
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After a good "winter" with a good mix of Cyclocross, strength training, and road riding I took a little (forced) break right after <a href="http://texascx.com/2014/01/28/cx-shenanigans-no-27/#more-1909" target="_blank">TX State CX Champs</a>. The annual "cold/sinus infection/cedar-fever" hit me the first week of January and gave me a solid 7-10days off the bike. Once I was ready to train again I started getting in some good miles solo and with some of my new <a href="http://elbowzracing.com/" target="_blank">teammates</a> on my new <a href="http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/road/tarmac" target="_blank">Specialized Tarmac SL4</a> bike and felt better from week to week. By the time January 31st came around I had 1000miles in my legs which is good for me that time of the year, especially given the week off in early January.</div>
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My goals for the year are not until late March/early April and the summer so I know that the first few races will always hurt, no matter what (the highest Watts / highest HR I reached in the last month were caused by angry dogs chasing me in Caldwell or Hays County and I had to sprint to get away!) Tour of New Braunfels was no different. I chose to skip the 90min circuit race on Saturday in favor of riding at home and avoiding all the usual-early-season-race-jitters which turns out DID happen "en masse"...</div>
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For the 81mile road race we had a small trio of <a href="http://instagram.com/colinatx#" target="_blank">Colin</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/justindstanley#" target="_blank">Justin </a>and myself. It was a decent P12 field with 70+ guys I believe at the start. Besides the Texas "regulars" there were a few heavy hitters from out of town with Joe Schmalz and part-time Texas-training-resident and 2012 Canadian Road Champion Ryan Roth (who won the "Omloop" the day before). The new course (used by race promoter Tobin Behling & crew since last year) - 3x27mile laps - is one of the best in Texas in my opinion. Also used for a Texas tradition - the <a href="http://www.tourdegruene.com/" target="_blank">Tour de Gruene</a> - held in November each year. Riding down River Rd along the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalupe_River_%28Texas%29" target="_blank">Guadalupe River</a> and back up the rollers of FM2722 make for a scenic "ride" if you open your eyes while racing.</div>
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The race started off with the usual early attacks and lots of shuffling. I spent the first 20-30minutes in the last third of the pack catching up with a few friends I haven't seen or talked to for a while. It was good. I think the 1/2 espresso I had right before the start got me all "chatty"....and I was just waiting until something "promising/real" goes up the road. There was one move up on FM2722 (25mph head/cross winds) but 787 brought it back as far as I remember. Coming into Sattler we went single file starting to go down River Rd. It was fun & fast. Somewhere after bridge crossing #4 there was a lull moment in the front after a attack was just brought back. Colin & Justin were in the front 1/3 of the pack being attentive. I "smelled" something needs to go NOW. So I went. Not real hard, 1150W kinda hard up one of the tiny ascent on the mainly flat/descending River Road. I drilled it for 20-30seconds and looked around to not really see a reaction. I was solo and we were barely 20miles into the race. I thought: <i>"okay, someone join me so I don't have to be out here solo and be brought back in 3minutes and waste my matches since I only have so many right now."</i> After 5minutes or so I saw Ruarri (787) and Justin (!?) coming from behind, chasing hard. I thought <i>"mhh, okay why not.</i>" Sure enough they won't let two guys from same team and 787 get away, though and once Justin and Ruarri made contact I could see Boneshaker and a yellow helmet ride up from behind. It was Heath (who won ToNB 2011 & 2012) and Carlo Villarreal, a kid I used to coach back when he was 14years old and crushed grown-man in the Cat 4's (now riding for Volharden/Williams Racing Academy). We went fast down to the end of River Road and the gap was growing.</div>
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We worked well together for the next lap. The gap was at 1:30 but I didn't think this was it; for sure someone else/the teams who missed out on the break would be chasing hard and bring us back or at least we could get company. But no, nobody in sight. I told Carlo to skip some of the downhill/tailwind pulls/turns since he was on junior gears. Amazing that he bridged up w/ Heath on the false-flat of River Road in the first place! He told me he's getting a bit cold towards the end of lap 2 (no leg warmers, it was 40F and 25mph North winds!) and unfortunately flatted right after we finished our 2nd lap. We had a decent gap still at 1:30-2min at that point but no follow-vehicle. So Carlo called it a day. Tough luck.</div>
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Going up FM2722 for the last time we checked in with moto-ref-extraordinaire Mike Gladu on the gap: he just signaled us to look back and <i>'Damn'</i>, the field was split and strung out chasing hard maybe 45seconds or so down. I thought<i>, 'yeah, too good to be true I guess'</i>. We were going steady, somewhat hard but not "pinning" it the whole time. Apparently Roth, Pincus and Tristan Uhl (787) were chasing hard (TUhl didn't know his teammate Ruarri was in the break until AFTER the race). I figured we need to up it a notch in order to stay way. I think everyone realized that, too and even though we were in the small ring most of time on the rollers on FM2722 we went a bit harder. I think that gave a blow to the chase as we started to gain time again and by the time we got on River Rd the final time we had a solid 3min gap to the chase/what was left of the field. I started to think about how (edit: we) can win this race. I know I don't have the legs to just ride away. 80miles steady at ~300W is no problem but "kicking it" hard at the end was going to be a bit of problem. Rolling down River Road, ~5miles from the finish I told Justin to attack soon. Well, Heath is smart and he did attack first just before the 2nd bridge/water crossing. I had my "standard" 1100W again but that wasn't enough when Heath went (he's on incredible form right now already and just a level above everyone else; he won Copperas Cove 2 weeks ago solo, too). Justin, Ruarri and I did damage control and we rotated but I knew we were just racing for 2nd place. I put in a small dig in to make sure we get the rest of the two podium spots; Justin came in 3rd, Ruarri 4th.</div>
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Well, you might look at the results and think "why didn't they win? they were 2:1 in that break". Well, that's easy said if you were not IN the break. Going ball$ out to the wall in early February is not everybody's game, certainly not mine. And while Justin is riding really well this early season, and my form is coming along Heath is a bloody smart racer and super strong. No matter what part of the year. So credit to him. 2nd and 3rd in the first race of the year is a solid start for our "new" team. I was proud of how the three of us raced.</div>
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<u>A few random stats you might be interested in: </u></div>
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<li>4 out of 4 riders in the winning break on clincher wheels/tires</li>
<li>the top 3 were Specialized Tarmac SL4's bikes (54, 56, 58cm - in that order)</li>
<li>4 out of 4 guys in the break rode with a Power Meter (one SRM, two Quarq's, one Vector).</li>
<li>Numbers: 81m / 3:32hr / 3500kJs / 315W NP / 280W Avg / HR avg. 162 / TSS: 304 / 3900ft climbing / Temp avg: 41F</li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbY1URx_L98Q1J0oc0atOJqOEFj9pkYPFboHF2EtvbO6A7tD_pgwUq5UMtvmaiXLU3YW0MEWDLytLCk4yaVs7f8sCQ5sEsuJ249yzbsJrHQULoRPHynF8O8Ju8vWzq9ndaK6xRAecL6tDc/s1600/75954_10202348036195339_937074370_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbY1URx_L98Q1J0oc0atOJqOEFj9pkYPFboHF2EtvbO6A7tD_pgwUq5UMtvmaiXLU3YW0MEWDLytLCk4yaVs7f8sCQ5sEsuJ249yzbsJrHQULoRPHynF8O8Ju8vWzq9ndaK6xRAecL6tDc/s1600/75954_10202348036195339_937074370_n.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1 lap to go (photo credit: Philip Shama, Shama Cycles)</td></tr>
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Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-3719920891906101692013-10-02T12:55:00.000-05:002013-10-13T21:55:21.681-05:00Riding in Amsterdam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I've ridden bicycles for most of my life since I was a kid. On four different continents and through all kinds of terrain, weather, etc. But last month, visiting Netherlands for two days I found the most bicycle-friendly city I've seen: Amsterdam!</div>
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The infrastructure of most of the city is laid out for #1) bicyclists #2) trams #3) buses #4) pedestrians and well, #5) cars, too. You have from right to left: sidewalk, bike path, car park lane, car/bus lane, tram rails. Traffic lights are often available/in place for cyclists, too. So, since the Dutch have that infrastructure in place it makes it really convenient/easy to use the bicycle as a from of transportation, for commute etc. It also helps that there's close to zero elevation changes throughout the City of Amsterdam.</div>
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Here are a few impressions from riding around on town bikes while visiting Amsterdam:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvVMeEPn3_chcc-HgryVm8x4o9VrE7yaGD5QW3UW5OtWcjd-DwGzYXHVQQzYrvp0nFrCZibahQ53q7hHI1fdzpVKj3KHPyPJwxNvTLRFj4wX97HyQNstTn2_vOq7m9LsUp6PX2Pz6SEWI/s1600/20130821_175338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvVMeEPn3_chcc-HgryVm8x4o9VrE7yaGD5QW3UW5OtWcjd-DwGzYXHVQQzYrvp0nFrCZibahQ53q7hHI1fdzpVKj3KHPyPJwxNvTLRFj4wX97HyQNstTn2_vOq7m9LsUp6PX2Pz6SEWI/s400/20130821_175338.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">first time I've sat in a bicycle traffic jam!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVuTyuZaWXAvxtaN7XOJ6vkhyaISMmImJDK8bznFNS2L-URfaISBuzHMGS0ydjwW6WDKhdosulxmd2-Nnv7RVPQdeTXAtDoU__ttkuU_Gq_oR6_x_r_fHwMJArtIyX5Q_eQ-krmYvCY49/s1600/20130821_160811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVuTyuZaWXAvxtaN7XOJ6vkhyaISMmImJDK8bznFNS2L-URfaISBuzHMGS0ydjwW6WDKhdosulxmd2-Nnv7RVPQdeTXAtDoU__ttkuU_Gq_oR6_x_r_fHwMJArtIyX5Q_eQ-krmYvCY49/s400/20130821_160811.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">riding through Vondelpark</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNYWtwZ7m1ekumoSr-cypWsHRcYGiW5h_RvYSEbqURwF_OAHjViZdXNi8lX6SX1g-QWFSY8XlZ57B0FC3MjKJNaAx36Imz8NcO55MGzHmP_NSXlKhrqKeTCjD-CG9ZNioAZK2RLtPsxrio/s1600/20130821_181804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNYWtwZ7m1ekumoSr-cypWsHRcYGiW5h_RvYSEbqURwF_OAHjViZdXNi8lX6SX1g-QWFSY8XlZ57B0FC3MjKJNaAx36Imz8NcO55MGzHmP_NSXlKhrqKeTCjD-CG9ZNioAZK2RLtPsxrio/s400/20130821_181804.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">one way street with bike path!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbEUGBnAFoOHjZZundD7lD4r358B-Dv6-twCZ4SEvFpsh1ETxpdzrU_MNyBUKexnJ2L3Dkr-320yh5iewO6Pm8ScJiluMCWReLOjuQGrpH9vPulIS_n4r-zGBmg_6JCWrS0z-DFu3vkcR/s1600/IMG_6194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbEUGBnAFoOHjZZundD7lD4r358B-Dv6-twCZ4SEvFpsh1ETxpdzrU_MNyBUKexnJ2L3Dkr-320yh5iewO6Pm8ScJiluMCWReLOjuQGrpH9vPulIS_n4r-zGBmg_6JCWrS0z-DFu3vkcR/s400/IMG_6194.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">You need some heavy locks for your bike in Amsterdam. There are a good amount of bike thieves here.</span></td></tr>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxGGpOuN2jdE6YjOIpvclR49OrhWUwQotdhoMFpA5m6a53Ikc5_K3RC1OIY_QXaqwcSqYSJS0M1zvbNy7GhSA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">just another stop light</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">the morning after: next to </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oude_Kerk_%28Amsterdam%29" target="_blank">Oude Kerk</a></span> - bikes, beer, party<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oude_Kerk_%28Amsterdam%29" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bDeMjj1F-aNYtj2OBNaOn5z0o5gYGCcYmMkQi3jgKfxQT04bRqwNXzhuOuqEvzJgdWQt2mMF1vlS0xcbYj0JBYxHldYjn5yK4UmC0Ev837m1btnGXjDFs8XTBKhxULxFKyIob9dr0ICw/s1600/IMG_6210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bDeMjj1F-aNYtj2OBNaOn5z0o5gYGCcYmMkQi3jgKfxQT04bRqwNXzhuOuqEvzJgdWQt2mMF1vlS0xcbYj0JBYxHldYjn5yK4UmC0Ev837m1btnGXjDFs8XTBKhxULxFKyIob9dr0ICw/s400/IMG_6210.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">commuting along (one of the many) canals</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1-ohnEEai-weCZ03Qpiykts0pmV_v8ZTVuiKiRk9sirmgIpyHGlV911SYIQBqkIHngATVH5uGJzGOZB1B_pDurxun6F7eSSQvfPIafR4Cxw-mFUW4jAqaLBPX_y1Iib-i1lCY5sb5GuQ/s1600/IMG_6212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1-ohnEEai-weCZ03Qpiykts0pmV_v8ZTVuiKiRk9sirmgIpyHGlV911SYIQBqkIHngATVH5uGJzGOZB1B_pDurxun6F7eSSQvfPIafR4Cxw-mFUW4jAqaLBPX_y1Iib-i1lCY5sb5GuQ/s400/IMG_6212.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">restaurant, shopping, & bar? you do it by bicycle in AMS</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlVPP5umUuvDiXD5eupLlxNUYZhLPg4hZQOhzoGJN3CtvNpgMminfOwnA4VMkwTM1gLZ9I6WhqRrYlEo7U86NFCHioSAUhPnM4SWu7C4X-LIjFXdloXvEph4aJX7vQa-yBdmkwaOVxvVl/s1600/IMG_6237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlVPP5umUuvDiXD5eupLlxNUYZhLPg4hZQOhzoGJN3CtvNpgMminfOwnA4VMkwTM1gLZ9I6WhqRrYlEo7U86NFCHioSAUhPnM4SWu7C4X-LIjFXdloXvEph4aJX7vQa-yBdmkwaOVxvVl/s400/IMG_6237.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">bike lane in front of the always popular Van Gogh Museum</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfW42ZMHTzxm04HgqVv_TFmbzSevPPHGStu1nRt3-GyaXHFiOnI13bcAqDHcr8Mb7x6yBzYxM2pd6uEXF8sylXuz9941SyaH2toFalQo2bsU_unBT7N9Kt-YFABRgraSFceYFIH-zGP5h/s1600/IMG_6246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfW42ZMHTzxm04HgqVv_TFmbzSevPPHGStu1nRt3-GyaXHFiOnI13bcAqDHcr8Mb7x6yBzYxM2pd6uEXF8sylXuz9941SyaH2toFalQo2bsU_unBT7N9Kt-YFABRgraSFceYFIH-zGP5h/s400/IMG_6246.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">more riding on the trail South of "Boosban" (a rowing "race" canal)</span></td></tr>
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good video showing the development of bike paths in The Netherlands:</div>
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As they say in The Netherlands: "You call it exercise, we call it a way of life."</div>
Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-76482548971587963072013-08-31T14:20:00.002-05:002013-09-02T00:02:30.125-05:00Back to California! Elite Track Nationals, Carson, CA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After my first ever Omnium Track Nationals at <a href="http://riderockhill.com/track/" target="_blank">Rock Hill, SC</a> and later on the Elite Track Nats at the <a href="http://www.stubhubcenter.com/velo" target="_blank">Velo Sports Center</a> last year I was looking forward to compete again this year on the boards of the only indoor velodrome in the US - the 250m track in Carson, CA just a few miles South of Los Angeles.* </div>
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Leading up to Track Nationals I had about 4 weeks of solid training time. Not a whole lot but plenty enough to get yourself into shape and work on "track legs". Things are a bit more tricky when you live in a town without a track but you have to improvise, and just make the best out of it. That means: 1) specific rides/training on the road bike with power meter 2) travel to Superdrome in Frisco for some moto-pacing on the track and specific workouts 3) off-the-bike workouts to work on overall strength, agility, speed, flexibility etc. 3) and of course competing in some crits like the <a href="http://www.drivewayseries.com/" target="_blank">Driveway</a> here in Austin. And finally, ride my <a href="http://www.cervelo.com/en/bikes/t-series.html" target="_blank">Cervelo T3</a> track bike on <a href="http://app.strava.com/segments/675688" target="_blank">South Mopac</a> and "simulate" a pursuit in almost same gearing as I would race on the track a few weeks later. All that went into the built-up for Track Nationals. And I can say I was prepared as best as I could have been.</div>
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<b>Day 1: Pursuit Quali, Omnium (Flying Lap, Points, Elimination)</b></div>
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The goal was clear: be on the podium again. After last year's 3rd behind <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BobbyLeaTwoTimeUSOlympian">Bobby Lea</a> and <a href="http://mailbackwards.wordpress.com/">Liam Donoghue</a> I knew I wanted to be at least in the same spot if not a tad better. Bobby is riding in another league so I knew Silver is the only realistic chance. But Liam has been racing the track quite a bit and he's usually a few seconds faster. And he brought a front disc, too! I was joking with him he would need to be a lot faster now with no spokes! In qualification, I was seeded in last heat vs. Bobby and - realistically - my goal was to not get caught. Almost made it until the last 250meters. Ended up with 4:41 and Bobby rode a 4:34 or something. I was 3rd in qualification as Liam rode a 3:39 (?) to make the final vs. Bobby. I had to ride the next morning vs. a guy from Arizona I have not raced against on the track .</div>
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Before racing, I had my bike (with drop bars) checked and sure enough the Cervelo T3 came out 250grams too light (6.55kg, needed 6.8kg). Shoot. What to do? a) Swapped front wheel for the more sturdy ROL 80C. Still not enough! b) Took extra chain link and stuffed it into my stem. c) Borrowed some (heavy) washers from neutral mechanic and put underneath bar tape. d) Took chainring bolts and put them into the bar end plugs. e) Taped one flat wrench under saddle. Okay, 6.81kg. Bingo! I was sweating more from "making weight" rather than exercising I thought!</div>
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The evening Session consisted of 3 of the 6 Omnium events we were going to do over two days. </div>
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My Flying lap is my weak spot but I was still hoping I can get a decent run. But it wasn't meant to be and I ended up coming in only 13th and 1/10th of a second slower than last year at Omnium Track Nats in Rock Hill. Bummer. Next up was the Points Race and usually something I can do well in. With Bobby L., Jacob Duehring, we had a bit stiffer competition this year vs. last year's Omnium but I knew anything can happened in a 120lap race. I got a few points early but was only sitting 5 or 6th halfway through. At one point, I joined a two man move (Hillier/Jacks) off the front nobody really paid attention to and about 20laps later the three of us had lapped the field. I took some points on the way and ended up winning the points race ahead of Patrick Jacks and Bobby Lea. My Omnium felt like a roller coaster from here on ;-) I guess I was a bit exhausted from the Points race because the Elimination race didn't go so well and I only came in 8th. A few mistakes mid-way through and there I went whereas last year I scored 3rd in same event. Oh well.</div>
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<b>Day 2: IP Final, more Omnium (Scratch, Kilo)</b></div>
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Since there were three of us (Bobby, Liam, and me) who rode the IP Finals AND the Omnium USA Cycling gave us a break and were going to count our IP final time as our IP Final time for Omnium IP event #4 time. Otherwise, we theoretically would have done another Pursuit just for the Omnium! Anyhow, like last year, I had to ride the "little" final against another ride to get my Bronze medal. Opponent was David Swanson from Arizona which I had not raced before. Everything went well: Warm-up, bike-check, all good and I was chilling on deck with Mike Baranoski (Matt B.'s dad) who volunteered to time me for the pursuit events. 3min to go. USAC official comes running towards me and tells us I can't have bar tape on my aerobars for my race. I'm like "What"? My bike went through bike-check probably 3 times already and it's being hanging on the rack there for anyone to see and NOW you come and ask me to modify stuff? He hands us a knife and Mike and I scramble to remove some bar tape I had wrapped around my aero base bar for comfort. It actually made my aerobars less aero...and now USAC wanted me to remove it. Sure enough I cut my finger w/ the officials sharp knife. I'm bleeding pretty good. We found some duck tape and I tape my fingers. I have my bronze-medal ride in 1minute and this sh%$t goes on. Oh well, I still brought it home... barely, though but I won my ride by 2 seconds thanks to some 17'ish splits and Mike's great pacing/split calling. Whew. That wasn't easy but happy with third. That meant 3rd in the Omnium event # 4, too. The little bar tape thing didn't effect my ride luckily or otherwise I'd been "a bit upset".</div>
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In the evening session I was hoping to make up a bit for my not so pretty Omnium position (7th or 8th?) but was realistic enough to know it's going to be hard, especially with a -anything-can-happen Scratch race and a the Kilo, an event I don't really focus on. I ended up 7th in the Scratch race and came in 10th in the Kilo. That meant 6th Overall. Nothing to write home about but I was happy I could win that Points race at least and my roller-coaster Omnium was officially over ;-) Podiums are now 3-deep only at all Nationals (since no other country besides US did a 5-man podium and apparently some other Nations kind of joked about it) so I wasn't too upset to finish just one point down on Liam who got 5th.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAyam6AKUu8fH0VXBkg6MYhIPaEEiizSZjgv8q0V-Yxbalb8BuUczdAajmw9MjPt9bmIwnnUgh7dD76B4r7SF5sUPOlQEJ1j_yprpdX1EXK8OZKeDkWtSwpHpO1puYYyyPRloVOa-oRqyx/s320/9521678470_240a569138_k.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">IP Quali</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSzLGdmFevtCdjROGiIS_Z86ZrGgXudIBWja7-mXd7rPD7VY0f2ZXZKU3yxkDcB5dyt1O806QKmeQS57W_EE5PsGO9kPtfXNtEm5COb1CSCHgxGS7zNvhuGU5Psnr25yR5N9aIJeLGOTx/s1600/20130810_194004.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSzLGdmFevtCdjROGiIS_Z86ZrGgXudIBWja7-mXd7rPD7VY0f2ZXZKU3yxkDcB5dyt1O806QKmeQS57W_EE5PsGO9kPtfXNtEm5COb1CSCHgxGS7zNvhuGU5Psnr25yR5N9aIJeLGOTx/s320/20130810_194004.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">my T3 and T4 (Bobby Lea) just hanging out</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuj9qm0n7-vMKeo11U464enXShlhWTnDfzCyR2k21FiJtKKfmR0Awx5Zcb7GVQw6mNol1DWCk3I32XbSdyLZeutStNBZlQUG9m5dVF1ykd_X2bdmxqjN9GzMTDKXYs6IzaEwzMzrqxjzj/s1600/1399_10151585330846334_2119489406_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuj9qm0n7-vMKeo11U464enXShlhWTnDfzCyR2k21FiJtKKfmR0Awx5Zcb7GVQw6mNol1DWCk3I32XbSdyLZeutStNBZlQUG9m5dVF1ykd_X2bdmxqjN9GzMTDKXYs6IzaEwzMzrqxjzj/s320/1399_10151585330846334_2119489406_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Individual Pursuit Podium with Bobby & Liam (photo: Brian Hodes)</span></td></tr>
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<b>Day 3: Team Pursuit</b></div>
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With <a href="http://twitter.com/liam_donoghue">Liam Donoghue</a> (2nd IP), <a href="https://twitter.com/jduehring">Jacob Duehring</a> (5th IP & 4th in Kilo in the Omnium), <a href="https://twitter.com/mikezagorski">Mike Zagorski</a> from Boulder, CO and myself we had a solid team for my first ever Team Pursuit Nationals. I've done team pursuits back in Junior Days in Germany on the tracks of <a href="http://www.rsc-cottbus.de/verein/radrennbahn/" target="_blank">Cottbus</a> and <a href="http://www.rsg-augsburg.de/radrennbahn/" target="_blank">Augsburg</a> (200m, wooden indoor track) and some small stuff here in Texas but this track was fast, we had a great team, and just needed to finish it off. Our quali went good, we executed our "Australian" plan and had Mike ride lap 2, 3, 4 (?) all-out before we took over and rode mid 16's to finish in 4:30. Thanks again to Mike Baranoski again for calling our splits.</div>
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The final ride vs. the Oregon/WA team needed to be faster in order to finish ahead. We knew that and so we went with the same plan as in qualification...Jacob and then Mike got us off to a good start. After that, it was a real race and I could tell we were pretty damn close. None of the two teams seemed to get tired/slowed down and there was maybe a second between us two teams. I knew Liam, Jake, and I could go a bit faster and so we went up a notch in the last 1000m and by the time the clock stopped we rode a 4:27 and almost 3sec faster than Team #2. Whew! Winning as a team makes it even more special and I was happy to get that over with and be done!</div>
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The next few hours were a bit of a rush. Liam actually had a flight to catch in 2hrs and rode straight back to the booth (no cool-down) and started taking his bike apart and pack his stuff. My flight left 5pm so I had a bit more buffer but not too much. USADA must have not known about our time crunch and picked me & Mike for testing. The sweet USADA lady stood by my side the whole time and she even took pictures of the podium with my phone for me. Nice staff all around! Luckily the podium ceremony was ready & done pretty quickly and I was done at anti-doping in 10-15minutes thanks to "very proper hydration" ( I think I drank like 1.5gal water throughout the 3hrs hanging out at the track). Then it was time to pack my bike in parking lot, take all the stuff to FedEx, ship bike, wheels, rollers back to Austin, return the rental car, take shuttle to airport and catch my flight to DFW. Finally made it back to my aunt & uncle's place in Southlake around 11pm and got some good sleep before heading to Germany the next day for some vacation with the wife. </div>
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Big thanks to the following sponsors/friends/people for their generous help & support: my wife for here moto-pacing skills, Joe Morgan for driving his scooter for uncountable laps in front of me at the Frisco Superdrome, <a href="http://www.austintricyclist.com/" target="_blank">Austin Tri-Cyclist</a>, <a href="http://wwjdttu.wix.com/acu-tissue-bodycare" target="_blank">Team Tulsa Tough</a>, <a href="http://www.rolwheels.com/" target="_blank">ROL Wheels</a>, <a href="http://www.maxbookman.com/" target="_blank">MAX Training</a>, <a href="http://wheelbuilder.com/">Wheelbuilder.com</a>, <a href="http://sommervillesports.com/">Sommerville Sports</a>, and <a href="http://wwjdttu.wix.com/acu-tissue-bodycare" target="_blank">Acu-Tissue.</a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZOLvXbQkmXCkT5dbGMVjDOjGdKl9Ezo62Vuv6n6b_dK1z-uQyuMY9t6ux4xFk4aOMH98cRg-uwNX10LH6xt5G-Rm1TUkZ4sJdD4aTpeeAJS02I_AXXsgiPApJUzmilLOKKsTFh0jnR3k/s1600/TeamTP_FELT_Foto.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZOLvXbQkmXCkT5dbGMVjDOjGdKl9Ezo62Vuv6n6b_dK1z-uQyuMY9t6ux4xFk4aOMH98cRg-uwNX10LH6xt5G-Rm1TUkZ4sJdD4aTpeeAJS02I_AXXsgiPApJUzmilLOKKsTFh0jnR3k/s320/TeamTP_FELT_Foto.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">On the way to winning the TP Final (photo: FELT)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiFHZEctYYvgUIKj6j3T2t1ACLg1fJSseLPmmpJSH1cyyTJSHpPFshqfaOPyh45IrWAM-Zlv-fkEOO0iyBiFWjwXfMAEyTh2kM87nhLuca8He9AdWgAidpypAIvjISwFmCOrKASoWESQcC/s1600/1003537_764309635780_1194228068_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiFHZEctYYvgUIKj6j3T2t1ACLg1fJSseLPmmpJSH1cyyTJSHpPFshqfaOPyh45IrWAM-Zlv-fkEOO0iyBiFWjwXfMAEyTh2kM87nhLuca8He9AdWgAidpypAIvjISwFmCOrKASoWESQcC/s320/1003537_764309635780_1194228068_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Team Pursuit podium with Mike, Jacob, and Liam (l to r)</span><br />
photo: Brian Hodes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigy6Tbnie3DgVHAorFpNe0J9CYjctSy8ahClItQxuHYBbe28b3LBwqEfNV4-5vUfXdDySrAWvTdtk-nflikZzhEfX3NPHTXiwjrR9JpgyFLVj8gVLy539xmcX_pqLb0WPDwSqdsQM6xCV3/s1600/9518874049_85ec3aea2d_k.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigy6Tbnie3DgVHAorFpNe0J9CYjctSy8ahClItQxuHYBbe28b3LBwqEfNV4-5vUfXdDySrAWvTdtk-nflikZzhEfX3NPHTXiwjrR9JpgyFLVj8gVLy539xmcX_pqLb0WPDwSqdsQM6xCV3/s320/9518874049_85ec3aea2d_k.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Team Three plus One</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Only had 5minutes to soak in the beach & sunshine of Redondo Beach</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazgld-KO4xN43r4xdpmK5n8Yo0vVQ2Nr0qGg8m6_al8DiR4UTKx0fxk_n__VidOs_DoNrSkOG_ubvg600qhkjdaLIWiC0kfJXyoIVcpmTYQUqtkSFnWzC9M8OTaVfDvR9SX4l0Pk-oaJI/s1600/20130811_154905.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazgld-KO4xN43r4xdpmK5n8Yo0vVQ2Nr0qGg8m6_al8DiR4UTKx0fxk_n__VidOs_DoNrSkOG_ubvg600qhkjdaLIWiC0kfJXyoIVcpmTYQUqtkSFnWzC9M8OTaVfDvR9SX4l0Pk-oaJI/s320/20130811_154905.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">FedEx is your friend when it comes to getting bikes & gear home<br />for 1/4 of the cost what an airline would charge you!</span></td></tr>
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*Note: USA Cycling changed the format of Track Nationals this
year (again) and the timed races (pursuit, team sprints) and Omnium were
held in L.A. whereas the mass start races (points, madison, sprints,
keirin etc.) were raced in Rock Hill, SC two weeks later at the Giordana Velodrome. For
an athlete (no matter if you're a sprinter or endurance rider) that
means two big trips to two different locations within 2 weeks. Very
cost-intensive, and logistically a bit of a challenge. Everyone I talked
to (riders, and even some track racing promoters) thinks the decision to split Nationals like that is total nonsense and not athlete-friendly at all. There was even a (online) petition floating around the www when they first announced it but obviously nothing changed. Will see what happens next year but I heard the "rotating" schedule of giving the mass-start Nationals to a different venue every year will continue.</div>
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Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-48825752817975501292013-07-02T10:08:00.004-05:002013-07-02T15:07:05.650-05:00Road Nationals Course preview, Blue Mound State Park, WI<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After a very early Saturday morning in San Antonio for the Texas State TT Championships (another <a href="http://elbowzracing.com/" target="_blank">"Elbowz</a> sandwich" with Logan Hutchings first by 10seconds, me 2nd, and Heath Blackgrove 3rd) I headed straight North on I-35 on what would be a long but fun road trip! Quick stop in OKC at Waddell's house for some much needed rest and sleep. Then onto to Lawrence, KS to catch the final race (Crit) of the <a href="http://www.touroflawrence.com/" target="_blank">Tour of Lawrence</a> and get in a last hard effort into the legs before <a href="http://www.usacycling.org/2013/amateur-road-para-nationals" target="_blank">Road Nationals</a> this week here in Madison, WI.</div>
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We (teammate Jacob White and I) made it to <a href="http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/bluemound/" target="_blank">Blue Mound State Park</a> yesterday mid-afternoon after driving through Iowa most of the day. It's a big change from Texas scenery and I was reminded how nice it is up here in Wisconsin during the summer. 79 degrees, blue skies, and just a little breeze in your face.</div>
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Quick facts of the lap: 14.1 mile loop, 1280ft climbing/lap, 2 smaller but shorter pitches/climbs w/ up to 15% grade, a "Loose Gravel" section of 1/2 mile length, some more climbing in last mile of the lap with about 450ft of climbing and ~7-8% average grade. The start/finish is inside the park and you go out and do your 6 laps (U23 and Elite Cat 1) and then come back into the park. There's a nice, 300ft climb of .8miles w/ 8% grade in the run-in (or better: run-UP) to the finish and it will hurt after 80+ miles of racing.</div>
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The roads are mostly in good condition, starting out small and shaded with all the trees around the State Park. There's a lot of descending early on and it will be interesting in a 200 man field come Friday. We were going 40-44mph without much pedaling just cruising down the hill. After a few little turns and a quick run on a bigger County Road it's back onto smaller farm roads and the first two little "bumps" with 15% grade. This takes less than a minute, though and shouldn't make a big difference (for the top guys at least). After a few turns and winding road you suddenly turn left and I thought they're kidding when I saw the "Loose Gravel" sign but no, there's 1/2mile of loose gravel coming of a fast section. This will be interesting. Not sure how they found one of the few gravel roads out here and decided to use it in the US National Championships???</div>
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Shortly after comes another, longer and more gradual, 200ft climbing, over .7miles. This should make a little selection for some. And back onto County Road K before heading back on the Blue Mound Rd back to the State Park. That's where the final fun and fireworks will happen. 8% average grade over approx. 1.2miles and 460ft of climbing to the end of the lap and the feed zone. The road is wide-open at least and this should separate the contenders from the rest. Especially doing this 6 times (U23/Cat 1's). Once you're done doing your laps there's that nice surprise waiting for you with the run-in to the State Park and the final kicker to the finish with up to 10% grade, and another 280-300ft of climbing to the finish line.</div>
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A very similar course (22mile lap, using most of the same roads) to this has been used in the <a href="http://www.tourofamericasdairyland.com/" target="_blank">Tour of America's Dairyland</a> a few years back. I remember <a href="http://stevetilford.com/" target="_blank">Steve Tilford</a> writing a <a href="http://stevetilford.com/2009/06/18/tour-of-americas-dairyland-stage-1/" target="_blank">blog post</a> about it. No other than then-amateur, Matthew Busche, won that race solo back then. The field shattered completely back then.</div>
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A few pictures below and you can see the ride <a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/64129700" target="_blank">w/ course profile, elevation, etc. here on Strava.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijv0gJX7WrpHmx6B5tgoL1JBW6y8jAoMLdUEJshPiFp950WcNbkkf29Y8RMiQ9dLYDc0WSohqQxSiMYG_vGkqwDzzLF6tks633QDy2g3UeKhFXBNSk57dwPd30nyb7yHC_ACZ1eQTYu6Ra/s1600/20130701_151134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijv0gJX7WrpHmx6B5tgoL1JBW6y8jAoMLdUEJshPiFp950WcNbkkf29Y8RMiQ9dLYDc0WSohqQxSiMYG_vGkqwDzzLF6tks633QDy2g3UeKhFXBNSk57dwPd30nyb7yHC_ACZ1eQTYu6Ra/s320/20130701_151134.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM40iCKckPMldDoj-55vlp9ZPTx9-g9SLlA1977XqPLDyChd1RscIVm2GfgiUmrHpM1HUDpHZNCX9qa2gB09Ajej27tu8hb06vP2B23_RlOzhanziqMxZWzZBAsgvAxjdYIusNPB5Tk43N/s1600/20130701_153009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM40iCKckPMldDoj-55vlp9ZPTx9-g9SLlA1977XqPLDyChd1RscIVm2GfgiUmrHpM1HUDpHZNCX9qa2gB09Ajej27tu8hb06vP2B23_RlOzhanziqMxZWzZBAsgvAxjdYIusNPB5Tk43N/s320/20130701_153009.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacob can ride w/ "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8MOs54vIU8" target="_blank">No handlebars, no handlebars</a>"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgspHcBbK2FWh-Jrf9ybEQWcXPNoSEom3rui7rwURyBCPXEcf-i5_R86gZFz0XCSDidUHqcpo3u7aaUWT6YHckusX3CVKgf8xaMyS3sm-L0l5Q8eGVjZoLT7qW8jNfMVN_DJBATwjX1zI4H/s1600/20130701_154810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgspHcBbK2FWh-Jrf9ybEQWcXPNoSEom3rui7rwURyBCPXEcf-i5_R86gZFz0XCSDidUHqcpo3u7aaUWT6YHckusX3CVKgf8xaMyS3sm-L0l5Q8eGVjZoLT7qW8jNfMVN_DJBATwjX1zI4H/s320/20130701_154810.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Loose Gravel"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">false flat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jv56Ok-aI9hsR5OmOpWkIN-5afiByUMq2ct6dv7cjWXtKZQDXSKqwJuQqrrXLyRO7sHO4ZnzYzIIFeTC3WdWlZtMn-kscK_99UNZd4wYkr7F9tnjC2iEw7U-7ZkZR0bD1siBNLpQk_Lt/s1600/20130701_160503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jv56Ok-aI9hsR5OmOpWkIN-5afiByUMq2ct6dv7cjWXtKZQDXSKqwJuQqrrXLyRO7sHO4ZnzYzIIFeTC3WdWlZtMn-kscK_99UNZd4wYkr7F9tnjC2iEw7U-7ZkZR0bD1siBNLpQk_Lt/s320/20130701_160503.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">look forward on final climb</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzT-EiwAcu8u3w356rEMLoY9k6IPOTA4vcnR4_JUtlbJh7jvGOqFmjo2NVGqehGZTSkPAaq5KW-_rTaICUMJYFIExArzMdL9ExqtATd02qeXsnwhPXwmEo_kKUcAYH4reQoTJvYuqaouu/s1600/20130701_160832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzT-EiwAcu8u3w356rEMLoY9k6IPOTA4vcnR4_JUtlbJh7jvGOqFmjo2NVGqehGZTSkPAaq5KW-_rTaICUMJYFIExArzMdL9ExqtATd02qeXsnwhPXwmEo_kKUcAYH4reQoTJvYuqaouu/s320/20130701_160832.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">look "back" on the final climb to end of lap</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXO_T557CnI8weshbSQpUZ633zoP_b0vYoXf1QluH_9AF4y6PJ7NvEbToKamg9yi9HrZFm7b8n5wNeGSOT3L25eekGiB-q66u-9fO6oPbBafzmOfyS58Cz3o4C7p4y8L-YnR023fPXa4d/s1600/IMG951036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXO_T557CnI8weshbSQpUZ633zoP_b0vYoXf1QluH_9AF4y6PJ7NvEbToKamg9yi9HrZFm7b8n5wNeGSOT3L25eekGiB-q66u-9fO6oPbBafzmOfyS58Cz3o4C7p4y8L-YnR023fPXa4d/s320/IMG951036.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">entrance to State Park, run-in to the finish</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strava profile<br />
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Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-60902651603826966842013-05-15T13:50:00.000-05:002013-05-15T15:30:59.060-05:00Mathematics in Corsicana<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Back in Corsicana! After a not so stellar Joe Martin (crash & DNF) it took a little while to rebound but nonetheless I knew Corsicana Stage Race was going to be fun and a good event. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=594323357254177&set=a.593272944025885.1073741836.100000295534609" target="_blank">Zac Lytle</a> puts on good races and finds us great courses to race on.</div>
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Having won the TT there last year I definitely wanted to repeat that this time around. We had a better field than last year, too. Almost twice as many with 40 or so P12's. Nothing stellar, but not bad for May in Texas. The morning TT was a nice treat to the usual RR in the morning, TT in the late evening. You could actually focus on it, warm-up and don't feel overly tired from the RR earlier in the day.</div>
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The TT went well. While racing, I didn't feel super awesome and nobody had results until 4hours or so later but I ended up <a href="http://app.strava.com/segments/4076633" target="_blank">having the fastest time of the day</a>, if also only by a second ahead of DaveW and two seconds away from Colin. It was fast with a cross/tail-wind all the way and I was glad to have chosen the 1080/Super9 - combo. After a 3rd (Fayetteville), a 2nd (Tyler Stage Race) it was good to finally win a race this year.</div>
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The "Beatdown on Beaton" Crit in Downtown Corsicana later that evening was definietly the most exciting Crit this year so far in terms of course. Actualy bricks and I forgot how many turns on the 0.8 mile loop through downtown made for some good racing. The Overall was based on points so I needed to make sure to a) not let any of the "heavy hitters" go up the road and b) gain/score as much points as possible in a potential field sprint. Halfway through the race <a href="http://elbowzracing.com/" target="_blank">Mat Stephens</a> and Tristan Uhl got off the front and had a good 20seconds and I had to make an effort to chase that down. Since I didn't want to let it come down to a sprint and risk loosing the lead, I was hoping to stick with a break myself. Somehow, I forget how, I ended up off the front with Stephens again with 6 to go. We had a few bike lengths after I closes some gaps and we instantly put our heads down and gave it 100%. The gap opened up, more and more, and it was clear we're staying away. Me being 1st Overall, and him wanting to win the race and being 8th or so on GC was a good combination. I was content and didn't care about the first or second in the Crit. So I kept driving it and came around the final turn first but I knew there's not much to do against a sprinting Mat. We did the last 6 laps at a NP of 375W - pretty alright after a long day.</div>
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Racing in the evening always kind of messes with your body since you're still all wiry from racing or some pre-race coffee. So getting some rest ASAP before the next day's 7:30 90mile road race was crucial.</div>
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After a 5:45am wake-up call I quickly added the GC standings to my math/clue-sheet. Stage racing based on time is somewhat straight forward, based on points gives it a bit different approach as you need to know who's where in the standing and how many points they have....or have not. I've lost a few places in this road race last year being 2nd Overall (?) so I surely didn't want to do that today. I had a decent 7 point lead over Mat Stephens but there were a few other guys in contention. The early break went and that was fine with me: Break's gone, points are gone. But these guys obviously know how to race and want to win, too. So after Crozzy attacked a couple times (and me and occasionally a few other GC guys chasing it down) he finally got away at the end of the first of 4 laps with a group of 5 or so 6 to make a front split of 10 or so guys. That was bad for me and my GC but I kept cool. I figured this is a LONG race and guys are going to get tired. There was some crosswind, it was getting hot and we still had 66miles of racing left. With ~10 guys up the road our field was down to just 30 guys and it got smaller and smaller as time went on. On the 2nd lap I literally hit "a little bump in the road" when I broke a spoke and my rear wheel was dragging on the frame. Luckily the wheel truck was right there, I got my <a href="http://www.rolwheels.com/rol_race_slr_wheels.php" target="_blank">ROL spare wheel</a> and joined the field just 3-4minutes later. We were riding tempo in a pace-line at that point at that time but the guys quickly slowed down, too to let me catch back one. Pure class!</div>
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The race got a bit harder thanks to <a href="http://supersquadra.net/" target="_blank">Super Squadra</a> who had a guy (Wheeler) in the break but still wanted to race their bikes so they rode a nice rotation in the crosswinds. This helped to make the race hard and whittle out some guys who just sat on. There were a few attacks going off from our group but nothing got away really. Mat threw down some serious punches in that last lap to get away but I was able to respond to all of them....barely! It was "mano-a-mano" at it's best. So finally, the last time into the cross/headwind Mat threw down another 1100Watt surge and I was barely able to respond. Wenger and Arteaga joined us. Somehow everyone was wanting to gain time/points on the guys behind us. The break was still way up the road but we were putting time into 4th and 5th GC. I was thinking that I needed to make sure to finish just with Mat and still get 2nd Overall since I kind of thought Crozzy won the Overall by now. But by that time, a few guys had either dropped, quit or flatted out of the
break and we were actually racing for 6th place (which I didn't know
until after we crossed the line). I was able to get away from our little group of 4 just a mile from the finish but Mat caught me right on the line for 6th, with me getting 7th. With the way the points work I didn't know until 20minutes after the finish that I was able to hold on to the GC lead by a mere of two points ahead of Crozzy (who won the stage) and Mat.</div>
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So happy all the addition of points in my head during the plus 3 1/2hrs, 3000KJ's, and NP of 285W of racing was over!<br />
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too tired to hold my head up in the TT (photo: Lee McDaniel)</div>
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Yep, digging deep doesn't always look pretty. (Thanks Jim Hicks for capturing the moment)</div>
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Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-56791204199629010242013-04-15T11:16:00.000-05:002013-05-17T13:18:35.582-05:00Austin Rattler 100<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I don't own a MTB but if there's a endurance MTB race around the area I definitely wanted to be part of it. First and foremost the idea of 60miles at Rocky Hill Ranch looked like to be tons of fun and second, it's great training for the road.</div>
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Last year the <a href="http://www.leadvilleraceseries.com/page/show/431649-austin-rattler-100k" target="_blank">Austin Rattler 100</a> (Leadville Qualifier) conflicted with some Crits but this year that weekend was "free" so I asked Robby Ketterhagen to let me borrow his slick Flash 29'er Hardtail. Perfect rig for that course in my opinion. The original Rocky Hill loop consists out of lots of fast singletrack and only a handful of very tricky sections. For this race, they modified the loop a bit to simulate Leadville a bit more and added bunch of jeep road and more open/riding through the field stuff. Still, we did about 2-3miles of pure singletrack on the new, modified 15mile loop put together by no other than Paul Uhl - the man in charge at Rocky Hill and father of local MTB badass Tristan Uhl.</div>
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Together with the <a href="http://787racing.org/" target="_blank">787</a> teammates Robert & Shiva I showed up EARLY (it was still dark) at the Ranch only to discover that a) my race number blew off my bike while driving out there and b) that I forgotten my wallet. Duh. I remember they were pretty picky about having ID for number pick-up but all was cool and I actually got a even nicer start # at registration.</div>
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It was good to see some fellow "roadies" come out for this, as I ran into <a href="http://www.tradewindenergy.com/" target="_blank">Brian Jensen</a> from Kansas who was coming down to train (and aiming at Leadville this year) and wanting to escape the chilly Midwest weather.</div>
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After staging and a rather "interesting" (electrical) national anthem 500-600 guys and girls set off all at once for 4 laps totaling 60miles on the "new" course. It was a rather mellow roll-out and I was riding in the Top 15 staying out of trouble. First time up FatChuck's Revenge there was a slight separation and we suddenly had a front group of ~15guys riding solid Tempo. The same guy (Orbea) from Colorado was setting a solid pace, I was wondering how long he can ride like that. Through the first single track the Best separated from the rest...Tristan Uhl, JT Cody, Brian Jensen and the Orbea rider got a gap and I was for 10minutes or so in "nomansland"....Until a strong group including Robert (787), Robbie R. (BicycleSportShop), Chris P. (RBM), <a href="http://www.topeak-ergon-racing.com/de/en/wiens" target="_blank">Dave Wiens</a> (who was down in TX to promote the Series) etc. caught up to me. We rode a steady pace and swapped pulls but the 4 guys in front were getting out of sight and we were racing for 4th place with 2 laps to go.</div>
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The group whittled down more and more until it was just Robbie, Dave, Chris and I. I think Mr. Wiens flatted once and also hasn't been able to ride/train as much as we are here in spoiled, Texas weather so with a lap or so to go it was just me & Robbie racing for 4th now (the Orbea guy had and untimely flat and ran a spoke through his rim/tube). Obviously, Robbie can kick my a$$ on the single track and so he did on the 2nd to las<u>t</u> section just before "The Wall" and I lost him through the woods. It was fun, though and I was happy to roll in 5th place...10 or so minutes behind 2012 and 2013 champ Tristan.</div>
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2 laps to go: me, Dave & Robbie R.</div>
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Top 25 Overall, Austin Rattler 100</div>
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Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-3268754433909111962013-01-30T10:07:00.000-06:002013-01-30T10:46:20.654-06:00in Louisville for Master 30+ Cyclocross Worlds <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After s short break of Cyclocross in Texas I flew to Louisville, KY yesterday for the UCI Master Worlds which are held a few days before <a href="http://www.louisville2013.com/" target="_blank">Elite Worlds</a> this weekend here in the town of Bourbon, Kentucky Derby, Muhammad Ali, and Cardinals Basketball (well, not sure about the last one...).<br />
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Seems like the last week of January is always a bad weather deal in that part of the country! <a href="http://stefan-rothe.blogspot.com/2012/01/master-cross-worlds-wrap.html" target="_blank">Last year </a>we first had mud and then on race day 18F and frozen ground/ruts for my 30-34 race. Looks like it will be VERY similar this year. I got in and went for a ride over to the course and checked it out. Pretty flat and lots of grass (which is turning to slushy, mud stuff as I type) so less of a "true" CX course like the USGP Bandman Park Course which is used for Elite Worlds. There are some nice bike trails here in Louisville and traffic ain't to bad riding to/from the venue.<br />
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I got up at 7:30 today to check out the course for our race at 11:30. Well, actually the tornado sirens woke us up at 4am but even though there was a tornado warning most people slept through it/didn't care. I remember hearing the sirens a few times when I lived in Wichita Falls aka "Tornado Alley" so I wasn't too surprised. The rain did some damage to the course, though and it's getting heavier/slower as the day goes on. Start times have been pushed 2hrs up and our "Seeding Heat" to determine start/staging order for Friday's Final is at 2pm. It's more or less a "warm-up" and just 3 laps (18-20min) long.<br />
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Forecast for Thursday is pretty cold right now. Freezing tonight and 30's tomorrow with chance of snow. An Teens on Thursday night. If this holds up Friday's race course will be a similar <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9Cb2MY7oTAXq3r7gYmWfoB8lAssviBD_qqDJqt4i-s07QkC4jCrZb43PdEz7LjqycYG95rhD5Tq2ssLANtWLMwbY1kKtymWDLVhdA6R843Z-6BrCo9VkB8mYMu6csgE59Z1ykpj4hj9r/s1600/by-timharris_com.jpg" target="_blank">ice-rink like last year</a>.<br />
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Either way, this next few days will be interesting. Will update more tomorrow.<br />
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Cheers from Louisville,<br />
Stefan<br />
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Note: Course pictures are courtesy of fellow Texan & teammate Paul Gerhardt, who was lucky to race in dry 68F yesterday afternoon.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0BsKcKbdgJIgDi2sECX8dc1OdyyXRiHi0Kp_z1CF0TlO4SNcMZiOgjnDYdCvBY74b6HGxvlIm2nPor60oUuZ6Vsj7HD64pj4_Wmv1387k0r5AcIW-grzVf0WUqf7IbeRg_q6HjR-ye-Yv/s1600/IMG-20130129-00115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0BsKcKbdgJIgDi2sECX8dc1OdyyXRiHi0Kp_z1CF0TlO4SNcMZiOgjnDYdCvBY74b6HGxvlIm2nPor60oUuZ6Vsj7HD64pj4_Wmv1387k0r5AcIW-grzVf0WUqf7IbeRg_q6HjR-ye-Yv/s320/IMG-20130129-00115.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bike trail close to I-64 in Louisville</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-NwSqQE4_jzEsK4mKuGqXEJ0CikTe_TMG9hNigGCulvu-Mq-BoYrELGMiEFIzMwwk48PlCD-AhXOgOX_tJ_ImlLqnErVv9jsV_kw-S4VI6e9OJmlWbOCPeYzhcDvwYMTpcCHOsPsWndy/s1600/IMG-20130130-00118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-NwSqQE4_jzEsK4mKuGqXEJ0CikTe_TMG9hNigGCulvu-Mq-BoYrELGMiEFIzMwwk48PlCD-AhXOgOX_tJ_ImlLqnErVv9jsV_kw-S4VI6e9OJmlWbOCPeYzhcDvwYMTpcCHOsPsWndy/s320/IMG-20130130-00118.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Good morning. Yes, we got a system moving in."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-474759689895740832012-10-26T21:35:00.000-05:002012-10-27T11:23:23.348-05:00Product Review: ROL Wheels<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Intro</b></div>
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Since 2 years I’ve been
training and competing using wheels made by <a href="http://www.rolwheels.com/">ROL Wheels</a>, a local Austin-based company. I’ve raced
on many, many wheels in the past – alloy, carbon, clincher, aero, deep-dish,
low-profile, tubular – you name it. Having lived and raced bicycles in Texas
and the region it is good to have the support of a local company. Not only do
they provide me with their latest products but I feel like they actually care
about my feedback and want to know how their wheels endure under my daily
training and weekly racing. I don’t have to call the customer service of some wheel
company; I can just go straight do Sean Lambert, the CEO of ROL, check into the office,
chat with the wheel builders, “talk shop”, and built a good athlete-business
relationship. It’s awesome and I’m very thankful for their support and help in
the last 2 years.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ROL 58 Carbon Tubular</b></div>
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The ROL 58 Tubies are my standard
“go-to” wheel when I do road races or fast, technical crits. At 58mm they’re
aerodynamic but still not too deep for the Texas wind. Mine have a set of in-house 3D forged ROL alloy hubs, Sapim spokes, and a basic 58mm carbon rim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Japanese steel bearings are super smooth
and don’t require much maintenance. Those wheels weigh in at 1465grams and I’ve
ridden them to race wins on the road and even in Cyclocross. The 21mm
wide carbon rim usually meets with a <i>Vittoria</i> EVO SC 23mm tubular tire as my preferred wheel/tire combination. When
used in Cross, I put on 32 or 33mm <i>Challenge</i> Grifo tubies (with the “Belgian
tape” method for added support). Even with bumpy Crits (think bricks) or
Cross (think dirt, logs, sandpits, roots) I’ve never been able to get them out of true or break a
spoke on these wheels!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFO9Lf9_7RfoY4x1DzACD047jhzZvE2rzXGlFGgpVGL9mWbkbkUEFhOlXaORVNwUry_ll5QVYtg7V9ulEYyRmXbKSHb9Y-OoLNg22R4Da5go0AsyXXIYMRR6EhqYbc_xTnGKpHrX-zOyI/s1600/IMG-20121020-00039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFO9Lf9_7RfoY4x1DzACD047jhzZvE2rzXGlFGgpVGL9mWbkbkUEFhOlXaORVNwUry_ll5QVYtg7V9ulEYyRmXbKSHb9Y-OoLNg22R4Da5go0AsyXXIYMRR6EhqYbc_xTnGKpHrX-zOyI/s320/IMG-20121020-00039.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Carbon 58 all blacked out. Only shows it's true decals with flash at night!</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbbqrYIY7C4J42MkvUHt1BF9Ha3tolee7Lw_G5YNoPUyOFELotm8xtrAw-eZGh0ligeaTTQyiEsaPQDk2fqBCJxcDb32amQkfu1FQPcClbf7AUeFxUygxoNR7N1fyrV9VuzaB0peAdqSQP/s1600/382145_10150389199732772_146527372771_8585235_186922828_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbbqrYIY7C4J42MkvUHt1BF9Ha3tolee7Lw_G5YNoPUyOFELotm8xtrAw-eZGh0ligeaTTQyiEsaPQDk2fqBCJxcDb32amQkfu1FQPcClbf7AUeFxUygxoNR7N1fyrV9VuzaB0peAdqSQP/s320/382145_10150389199732772_146527372771_8585235_186922828_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sporting the 58 Tubular Rear and 38 Tubular up front at 2011 Ruts 'N Guts</b> <b>in Oklahoma</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Jpjjpe6cCsh0tNw8MBYAjhDvDSx3TtJ4gao6HKiv6avPuKOOm7syqTwpiN7zfPBKXdAP9HaO9AMJZ7yAYSvSJ1P9qI1oTwI4YyYc1BCaffaKeZkpcqDmn9mbZNiRMW4dIuz26D9pa4Tb/s1600/IMG-20121017-00027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Jpjjpe6cCsh0tNw8MBYAjhDvDSx3TtJ4gao6HKiv6avPuKOOm7syqTwpiN7zfPBKXdAP9HaO9AMJZ7yAYSvSJ1P9qI1oTwI4YyYc1BCaffaKeZkpcqDmn9mbZNiRMW4dIuz26D9pa4Tb/s320/IMG-20121017-00027.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The new ROL logo becomes visible with flash</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ROL C58 Carbon Clincher</b></div>
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If you’re looking for a nice,
lightweight, stiff carbon Crit wheel yet don’t want to mess with gluing tires then
this is what I' would recommend. Why spent $2700 on a set of <i>ZIPP</i> 404 Carbon Clinchers
when you can get these for half the price? I use a set with <i>DT Swiss</i> 240 Hubs
and I race pretty much every local Thursday Night Driveway Crit on it. I’ve never owned a pair of carbon
clinchers until Sean gave me those to try and I love ‘em! They are very
durable, stiff, with 20 spokes up front, and 24 in the rear. The Driveway is a
race course where you can see some of the highest power numbers all year long,
given the nature of the race course and the competition. Lots and lots of force
being pushed onto the pedals but these wheels never failed on me. No
hassle in case you flat riding out to the Driveway, you can change your tube
like a regular clincher yet you have a nice carbon race wheel. I also raced a
pair of these in a 7-day stage race in the Dominican Republic, where we
encountered many potholes and some rough roads....But except one flat these wheels
held up on Central American roads (and off-roads!). I usually run <i>Michelin</i> Pro 4’s
(23mm) on these rims; again they’re 21mm wide.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJUZ9d0npW65YjP7o9a1h6RGuIiKaMqspI4FOJAARdnwIzfL7mXRHvma_n8lCeGMwy_m846MnXfCpgRfLWLnaWUkJklRE3usicYDGZbppK0kXDjO6dEFz5n6R-0abHBirN34Xh09sPGbz/s1600/IMG_0558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJUZ9d0npW65YjP7o9a1h6RGuIiKaMqspI4FOJAARdnwIzfL7mXRHvma_n8lCeGMwy_m846MnXfCpgRfLWLnaWUkJklRE3usicYDGZbppK0kXDjO6dEFz5n6R-0abHBirN34Xh09sPGbz/s320/IMG_0558.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>C58 - Crit wheel!</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8b6Ym4QjKJLrJ26N0oa9PhkknANljBxG3yHotiluqM4oxBR1yfXyJ9qQNXSPM391qmgwPmDeyHDDhqk2kBn4Ki0S8V9sY3J5YpPfte154X3JAMipzYlfN8JGQUhs79SZ151SZPtMtQfkN/s1600/UOaks_April3_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8b6Ym4QjKJLrJ26N0oa9PhkknANljBxG3yHotiluqM4oxBR1yfXyJ9qQNXSPM391qmgwPmDeyHDDhqk2kBn4Ki0S8V9sY3J5YpPfte154X3JAMipzYlfN8JGQUhs79SZ151SZPtMtQfkN/s320/UOaks_April3_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The C58 Carbon Clincher is a great every day crit wheel, aero yet light and quick to respond</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ROL 38 Carbon Tubulars</b></div>
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Just like the ROL 58 Tubies,
the C38 wheels are made for road racing, with the slight difference that they’re a bit
lighter, more low-profile at 38mm and good for hilly road and circuit races with climbing. I
raced a set of these wheels - with <i>Vittoria</i> EVO SC 23mm tubular tires mounted -
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>all year in 2011 and won a few P12 races
with them (road and cyclocross).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
have crossed the Continental Divide at 7080ft. in the Gila National Forest at the Tour of
the Gila in New Mexico and were my wheel of choice at the Tour de Depot in Salt
Lake City, UT. In Utah, I put them to a test in freezing temperatures and sleet
& snow. The perfect wheel if you’re looking to save some extra weight and
aerodynamics don’t play a huge role. Weighing in at an amazing 1225grams!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsl6kLsytr4cDD7mZXXlA8JbkHG2m5LgTU67tyk4MOSi7sFgKg1VvbgzKDlXbqZm5s3Qyyb0JplQ5lbL0gAJW5PNXKS8W91kP4eWRlGCHtvavBiTqsqsVq6vOxw0PT1IgoJcn8rLxJa86Z/s1600/P4100024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsl6kLsytr4cDD7mZXXlA8JbkHG2m5LgTU67tyk4MOSi7sFgKg1VvbgzKDlXbqZm5s3Qyyb0JplQ5lbL0gAJW5PNXKS8W91kP4eWRlGCHtvavBiTqsqsVq6vOxw0PT1IgoJcn8rLxJa86Z/s320/P4100024.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The C38 carbon tubulars are a great mix of aerodynamics and lightweight. Here after winning Tour de Depot Stage Race in Utah</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpKYxURaj5QiluJxAuOOwyfWH3jPgeYWlUZBTRsJrUODST9my_7FCkIJ6trm-2aykKZKC4NCZpzs3U3MMH8Zxk2a086V7fhoZvEs_ltp1AkJ7CdD9_5FMHgOGhrvSu9xWSQSqsE0dnEtx/s1600/Unnamed2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpKYxURaj5QiluJxAuOOwyfWH3jPgeYWlUZBTRsJrUODST9my_7FCkIJ6trm-2aykKZKC4NCZpzs3U3MMH8Zxk2a086V7fhoZvEs_ltp1AkJ7CdD9_5FMHgOGhrvSu9xWSQSqsE0dnEtx/s320/Unnamed2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>1210grams for the C38's!</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ROL C25 Tubulars</b></div>
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Best climbing wheel I’ve ever
ridden. No question, period! They feature the already mentioned <i>DT Swiss</i> 240 hubs, a
23mm wide and 25mm high full-carbon rim. Similar to a pair of <i>Corima's. </i>Weighing in at just 1100grams, too!
You put a 23 or 24mm tubular tire on these bad boys and they’re a great wheelset to have when it goes uphill. I raced those at UCI Tour of the Gila for all
stages (except the TT), including the downtown Criterium. Also ridden at the Joe
Martin Stage Race's final hilly & 13-turn Crit – and no problem on these! Super stiff, supple and
perfect in the corners. With the wider, 23mm rim you can run lower pressure and
I usually would air them up to ~100psi combined with a 23mm Vittoria EVO SC
tubular tire. These are still prototype and not in full production. But you
might be able to score a pair to test-ride if you ask Sean nicely…!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITYy8O6R2ADJZAn1UgBAYsKToLIlDYM0o4KN7xI1nMljA9d5JddswphPEYDipjST6RJA1FRCjRRo2GKFEpqnJgsHtN_mj_GlJQBypsHDMnZb-eTMtNx3dn04MkdpsbrfkwXtwVJsvLE6p/s1600/227450_10150184531106764_804986763_6874414_5952898_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITYy8O6R2ADJZAn1UgBAYsKToLIlDYM0o4KN7xI1nMljA9d5JddswphPEYDipjST6RJA1FRCjRRo2GKFEpqnJgsHtN_mj_GlJQBypsHDMnZb-eTMtNx3dn04MkdpsbrfkwXtwVJsvLE6p/s320/227450_10150184531106764_804986763_6874414_5952898_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The C25 Carbon Tubulars are great for hilly, technical Crits like Joe Martin Crit or Stillwater at Nature Valley</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ROL Race SL Clincher</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
When it comes to every day
riding, this is my wheel. Durable, durable, durable! A alloy clincher with a fat
23mm wide and 30mm high rim makes for a super comfy ride on asphalt, chip ‘n
seal or even on a dirt or gravel road when you’re way out in the country. Weighing
in at just 1520grams it’s the perfect training wheel. They’re very stiff (spoke
count: 24R, 20F), corner really well and I feel very safe going down a fast,
steep descent at 45+mph. For a rainy Crit I choose these wheels, too because I
know they’re indestructible in any weather conditions, the brake surface is very robust and my SwissPads have good grip in rain and sunshine. I’m running some 23mm
wider Continental Gatorskins with these wheels and combined with the wide rim I
can run a comfortable 95-100psi for a normal day’s ride. They tire itself is actually 2-3mm wider once put onto a wide rim (see pic below). It’s pretty much
impossible to pinch-flat these if you put a thick, heavy-duty tire on the rim.
Note: these are tubeless compatible, too!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0oExONcmKCfY2IxDUCApo5Sui3W71ZjcQwrvcX1NntBtyi0hCHu9C0N-tTiU-7PoDwXV4A5XHS9bJJvVhU0B0DIeTKJGbfqupNMERuymTzBN-j6rpPwQ2Af4kFaPHjX1doXCUV9uswCE/s1600/IMG_0560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0oExONcmKCfY2IxDUCApo5Sui3W71ZjcQwrvcX1NntBtyi0hCHu9C0N-tTiU-7PoDwXV4A5XHS9bJJvVhU0B0DIeTKJGbfqupNMERuymTzBN-j6rpPwQ2Af4kFaPHjX1doXCUV9uswCE/s320/IMG_0560.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Race SL's</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYCqpKHlyLQ4Zjh-QNdRcJxZjMUKerpX1dOFIIeDKu7QT3tZhqENJsRl_yTWQ7gcfe4laLzZ8zhc2l53yGCsRmDLchRQ-xyZtmGxpQqxWVyXAD5Y_whia6pTl9Nc9jMyQ4a4EJwZZ-jeJ/s1600/322381_2860468907040_1276849406_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYCqpKHlyLQ4Zjh-QNdRcJxZjMUKerpX1dOFIIeDKu7QT3tZhqENJsRl_yTWQ7gcfe4laLzZ8zhc2l53yGCsRmDLchRQ-xyZtmGxpQqxWVyXAD5Y_whia6pTl9Nc9jMyQ4a4EJwZZ-jeJ/s320/322381_2860468907040_1276849406_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Race SL's are great for dirt riding, as shown here at the <i>2012 Wooly Mammoth <span class="st">Ultra Provocatorio <i>Invitational</i></span></i></b>e</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhufT6pDbkc6sb2IBt08k2dF4rlPKMzxlV_oyre0n6v9PF5AjhiJ_R9SCHK3Q4kvxyEXvo06-d_4La7S7-FD3nhJDfu2Kcrn_HRRc0poFK4BhrHbjG5cChr9G6FEcGZLJMp61oOoRAaOgpk/s1600/IMG_0561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhufT6pDbkc6sb2IBt08k2dF4rlPKMzxlV_oyre0n6v9PF5AjhiJ_R9SCHK3Q4kvxyEXvo06-d_4La7S7-FD3nhJDfu2Kcrn_HRRc0poFK4BhrHbjG5cChr9G6FEcGZLJMp61oOoRAaOgpk/s320/IMG_0561.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Put a 23mm Gatorskin on a 23mm rim and get a 25mm tire!</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ROL Race SLR Clincher</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Just like the Race SL, this wheel
set features a 23mm wide rim and is tubeless-ready, too. Key difference here is
the spoke count: SLR has 24 up front and 28 in the rear. In my case, they’re
both double-laced in the front and rear as these are my Cyclocross wheels for
every day riding. Super stiff and the double-laced spokes in the front make the
wheel great for Cross where you tend to hit some objects pretty hard
sometimes when out on trail. I’m running these as tubeless, with a 32mm wide
<i>KENDA</i> Slant-Six tire and some <i>Stan’s No Tubes</i> sealant. The wide rim with the
32mm tires make for a great combination when I go out on some rough trails
which usually feature roots, some rocks and other obstacles. I can ride over
them at speed and keep up with my buddies on Mountain Bikes because I know I
won’t flat on these bad boys. They’re my spare wheels for Cyclocross and on my
pit bike. So in case I flat my ROL 58 Carbon Tubulars I know I got a set of the
Race SLR tubeless wheels in the pit waiting for me :-)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjraxEreSGqz1EE223Xw_NMIxEb6F350QVTUghBm_j4sFLs61yIH6WLE0-SKqIX-DxVx7iYwccV8TPM23Cm2jicpFUkIEwRIuvNgZac8ppmcVABkGUm_EiC9uxgHgMLk0r8YVI_sdEZmTFL/s1600/IMG-20121017-00028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjraxEreSGqz1EE223Xw_NMIxEb6F350QVTUghBm_j4sFLs61yIH6WLE0-SKqIX-DxVx7iYwccV8TPM23Cm2jicpFUkIEwRIuvNgZac8ppmcVABkGUm_EiC9uxgHgMLk0r8YVI_sdEZmTFL/s320/IMG-20121017-00028.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>My new favorite: The Race SLR with double-laced spokes front and back (24F/28R) and KENDA tubeless tires. Awesome wheel for every day riding on the trails, grass, sand, gravel, dirt etc.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And there’s more exciting stuff to come from ROL Wheels soon. For example, a new <b>alloy tubular wheel</b> is being tested right now and soon out for public release. Check them out at <a href="http://www.rolwheels.com/">www.rolwheels.com</a> or call the office at 512-219-1145</div>
</div>
Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-28845853250760801772012-10-16T23:09:00.001-05:002012-10-22T23:00:17.585-05:00US Elite Track National Championships<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This year, the end of my cycling season looked a little bit different: Instead of 3-4hr road races I focused exclusively on the track. Yes, correct...track! People ask me: "I didn't know you raced track". And also "There's no velodrome in Austin, or"? True, there's no velodrome in Austin (not yet) but I grew up racing left-turn only and fixed gear. My <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWMbfO9nEVk"> hometown track was in Heidenau</a> and I spent a TON of time there training and racing when I was a Junior and U23 racer. I remember doing 160lap Points races pretty much every Wednesday during the summer when I was a Youth(15/16) and Junior(17/18) rider. As a junior rider in Germany it's pretty much standard that you race on the velodrome so I did Nationals a few times but never with outstanding results. It was more to work on speed, learn how to race in large fields w/ out brakes and become a better rider overall.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Fast forward 12-15years and I'm in Carson, CA for my first US Elite Track National Championships. Well, I already did the <a href="http://icedotathletes.com/2012/08/elite-track-omnium-nationals/">Omnium Elite Track Nats in August</a> (which USA Cycling separated from the regular Nats for the first time this year) and came away with the Silver there. But racing in L.A. at the <a href="http://homedepotcenter.com/venues/velo/the-home-depot-center-velodrome">Velo Sports Center</a> at the "regular" Nationals was a bit different. Olympian Bobby Lea, who raced the <a href="http://www.london2012.com/cycling-track/event=cycling-track-men-omnium/">Omnium in London 2012</a>, was in attendance and several other heavy hitters (mainly road pro's) so the competition was a bit stiffer in L.A. But I was confident and knew I trainer hard for my 2nd National Championships as an US Citizen - finally, at age 31!</div>
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<b>Individual Pursuit #1:</b> Go as hard as you can for 4 1/2 to 5min and don't blow up or go out too fast. That's the rule of thumb. You can prepare pretty simple for it, on the track and off the track. I did a bunch of 5min intervals (see the screenshot of a training ride below), over and over, back-to-back with some short breaks. At Nationals you race a qualifying round first, and if you make it into the Top 4, you go on into the finals. I thought Top 5 (American Podium as I call it) was possible. I've done 4:55 in Houston on a bumpy track 2 weeks before and with the power numbers I was hitting in the intervals I knew I can go faster. I ended up 3rd into the qualifying around after I rode high 17's and low 18's for the 4K. I got a bit too excited and caught the other rider just 1K into my pursuit but I was able to pretty much hold the speed and didn't blow up. 4:43. 1.5seconds away from the 1-2 final, which Bobby Lea and Donoghue (guy who won Pursuit at Omnium Nationals) were going to contest. </div>
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<b>Scratch Race #1</b>: For the Scratch we had qualifying heats not much after my pursuit. Change bars, gears and get going again. For those of you who never done a Scratch race, it's basically a Crit on the track. First rider across the line wins. So if it comes down to a sprint you gotta be in the Top 12 if you wanted to qualify for the Final in the evening. Halloway lapped the field solo early on after everyone in my heat let him just ride away. I figured I don't want to risk anything and wait until the final sprint and try to get Top 12. With 8 or 10 laps to go I went for it, attacked hard from top and just solo'd in for 2nd in my heat and ahead of the bunch. Morning session complete, back for more in the evening! </div>
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<b>Individual Pursuit #2:</b> Back to the track for the "Little Final", where I raced Ian Burnett (Competitive Cycling). Basically you're trying to go as fast as possible again, just have to dig deeper. It's been a while (10+ years?) that i've done two 4K pursuit races in one day but I knew I had to go a bit faster than 4:43 (my morning time) to make sure to get that Bronze medal. Both of us rode very equally and made it a race. It was pretty awesome actually. For the first 2000m I looked over and saw Ian hitting the s/f line at back-stretch the same time like I did on the home-stretch. Since I started a bit more conservative and only rode a 1:11 for the first 1000m I knew I had something left in the tank. With 8 laps to go I dug deep and I came in w/ 4:41 and a new PR and secured 3rd behind Lea and Donoghue. </div>
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<b>Scratch Race #2: </b>15 minutes after my IP little final we already race the Scratch race final. I could tell I had a long day already. I didn't really have time to change gears so I raced a bigger gear than usual for that race and combined with some heavy legs that made for only a mediocre Scratch and a 9th place. Kind of disappointing but besides Lea (who placed 5th) all the other guys who raced the IP finals didn't do so well.
Friday: off-day! Sleep-in, Ride to the beach and checking out the $$$$$$$ homes along Torrance Beach etc. Relax.</div>
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<b>Points Race #1:</b> As for the Scratch race, there were two qualifying heats for the Points Race. With Lea and Dan Holt (two-time Elite National Points Race Champion) in my heat I knew I had to pay attention and go with those guys to make sure I roll through easy. That's exactly what happened. 30 laps or so in 5 of us, including Lea & Holt) got off the front and ended up taking a lap to secure our spot in the Final in the evening; I ended up 4th.</div>
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<b>Points Race #2:</b> Saturday Night was pretty crowded, a lot more spectators, live-video coverage on the internet, and some big finals (Men's Keirin, Women's Sprint etc.). The Points Race was pretty much the last event of the evening so it was a long time before we actually got to race. warm-up, staying hydrated, eat some but not too much, keep mentally focused until 8:30 or so for 160 laps of Points Race fun. Again, I was confident I can pull of a podium, but it was going to be a bit tougher than just racing 4000m all out like in the Pursuit. Nothing would go far for the 1st 3rd of the race and I stayed conservatively. I rode in a bit smaller gear then the Scratch, too which allowed my a higher cadence and being able to jump/react quicker. At one point, Lea and 4 or 5 others got 1/3rd lap, then a 1/2 lap and looked like to lap the field. I wasn't there and not happy. Lea was the only rider who managed to gain a lap on the field, the rest came back. So we were racing for 2nd. I managed to win 5 points going off the front once. I sat out one sprint, relaxed, and went after another rider solo, caught up, got the sprint/points and was back in the field. With 10-point I sat 5th or 6th with maybe 30 laps to go. To be on the podium for sure, I need to get some more so I went off the front with another ride and we timed it just ride and I got the full 5 pts again, getting me to 15 pts, tied for 3rd before the last and final sprint. 3rd, 4th, and 5th was all at the same points and 6th wasn't far down, 1 point. I figured I won't be out-sprinting Halloway, Lea & Co. in the final sprint so w/ 2 laps to go I went after Moir who was off the front since 4 or 5 laps to go. I caught him with a lap to go but there were too many guys still trying to get onto the podium and I was caught with less than 1/2 lap to go and got no points. Still, 5th at the end of the day behind Lea, Halloway, Donoghue, and Holt.</div>
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<b>The Madison:</b> For the final day I teamed up with my main "rival" from Omnium Nationals earlier in August: Zak Kovalcik. He's got a sprint/acceleration I don't have on the track so we knew we could be in the hunt for a Podium spot. Only thing is: we never raced a Madison together! Last time for me was at Texas Cup at the <a href="http://www.superdrome.com/">Superdrome</a> in Frisco a few years back and before that as a Junior back in Germany. So we just had a little bit of time to "sync" our throws and make sure our technique is good enough to give each other enough momentum. And we knew we had to make up our lack of never having raced together before by just pedaling harder! The Madison field was not too big, 9 or 10 teams; pretty normal for Nationals actually. Still, it was fast from the start and we it took us a while to make things smooth. Once or twice I ended up having to sprint whereas we had planned to have Zak for it. That cost us a bit but Zak did win the points when he was in position and we were sitting 5th or 6th for most of the 200 lap/50 km race. Several teams tried to take a lap but just came up short by less than 30 meters or so. That evened the way for Lea/Simes to take the win by 5points. We were doing okay, nothing stellar but had to fight hard for 5th. Zak scored another 2 points when he was "on duty" and we ended up 5th, just 2pts ahead of TeamTyper1's Holt & Eldrigde in 6th. Whew. Overall, not bad considering it was our "first rodeo" together. But yeah, we both know that with a bit more specific training and a few Madison's together we can compete for the Top3 rather than fighting for 5th place.</div>
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All in all a successful first trip to L.A. for Elite Track Nationals. <b>Special thanks</b> to my team, <a href="http://www.tulsatough.com/">Tulsa Tough</a> pb<a href="https://icedot.org/"> ICEdot</a>, for their year-long support; the<a href="http://www.superdrome.com/"> Superdrome</a> and <a href="http://www.houstoncycling.org/">Alkek</a> crowd for helping me at the local track/races etc., <a href="https://twitter.com/SDendurance">Shawn</a> from <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.lagunabeachcyclery.com/">Laguna Beach Cyclery</a> for letting me use one of their Colnago road bikes while in L.A.; Todd Minehardt for donating some of his track gear to me; Max Bookman of <a href="http://www.maxbookman.com/">MAX Training</a> for helping me with some core/strength conditioning to get ready for Nats; and last but not least <a href="https://twitter.com/wesjerman">Wes</a> for letting me use his super slick Speedsuit for the Individual Pursuit!<br />
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Now it's time to take some time off, and get back to some basic strength, conditioning training and a bit of Cyclocross here and there!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU5ROmFMH1crGdub1ewVujmVn_GPWylM5iPKd-FNTLdFR8u-UcOKluzfFO9khDxuhZ723D6t0qJPE5m0DmIA3nOo_BwU4waHgEKQOs0u4-vRKO2nNB9JiF700MXcHJDMh3Ld2JxZujYQI5/s1600/ScreenHunter_12+Oct.+16+20.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU5ROmFMH1crGdub1ewVujmVn_GPWylM5iPKd-FNTLdFR8u-UcOKluzfFO9khDxuhZ723D6t0qJPE5m0DmIA3nOo_BwU4waHgEKQOs0u4-vRKO2nNB9JiF700MXcHJDMh3Ld2JxZujYQI5/s320/ScreenHunter_12+Oct.+16+20.19.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">interval training example leading up to Nats. Goal: 375-380W for 4:45, and repeat!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUU4IM9zRm5htA0urXA0vFeMQ6Wrr9T7ASXNmtOldlsv9o8XdLIi8ezyASp9o5C1k9zULv5atm9z6wcycCb_Rg-rhalw6Iob-neGBUMUuUcFfZERWI3Y6WNz3AjuLpjzy9v7-8Pj6gyx5Z/s1600/621420_10100468961669108_982796459_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUU4IM9zRm5htA0urXA0vFeMQ6Wrr9T7ASXNmtOldlsv9o8XdLIi8ezyASp9o5C1k9zULv5atm9z6wcycCb_Rg-rhalw6Iob-neGBUMUuUcFfZERWI3Y6WNz3AjuLpjzy9v7-8Pj6gyx5Z/s320/621420_10100468961669108_982796459_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IP Qualifying (photo: Erika Fulk)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjliTWz8pC9BwbONbDWBX5D86roWubSDX8OiMAyWesEVYp67ddmQ1DqFPHMi2U2gJGAE5CYFZ7vL7hnWjho0fqfKFB8LQXIqOHKKll6-xJiBbGMl6qSNqJBISSWhfUEhkOA7LEekQWAfrZO/s1600/242246_244964368958962_479527236_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjliTWz8pC9BwbONbDWBX5D86roWubSDX8OiMAyWesEVYp67ddmQ1DqFPHMi2U2gJGAE5CYFZ7vL7hnWjho0fqfKFB8LQXIqOHKKll6-xJiBbGMl6qSNqJBISSWhfUEhkOA7LEekQWAfrZO/s320/242246_244964368958962_479527236_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IP Podium</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpqG2N1sa8He88mKSKKHAd6WNbpvLzJzy2qqH6QXV_rfJfZlNB1t_ZEtSFF9SWR-NcFypwI3Ew8x-if3i9YY9szCn4OoPd8ZD88AAlzI73p_oxIg0FI1nrB4gBQ-o8BWn2b6S2p_2DEIx6/s1600/289472_10151074287185838_443012350_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpqG2N1sa8He88mKSKKHAd6WNbpvLzJzy2qqH6QXV_rfJfZlNB1t_ZEtSFF9SWR-NcFypwI3Ew8x-if3i9YY9szCn4OoPd8ZD88AAlzI73p_oxIg0FI1nrB4gBQ-o8BWn2b6S2p_2DEIx6/s320/289472_10151074287185838_443012350_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Points Race Action (photo: VeloImages)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-Tcxe11-9qPrxrb5eveJSZUZj2XvBmhPKrZ0StaJ1rAvOyWhIkL6G4nMP7ToI3SN_R_KqXKVHkn5SCqoKA8ewrRGSAt3r7RIlll9Wfo5jicUaYKaozQw3KQ_6TzOXU36wtZqNIyohbnx/s1600/548770_373831786026677_486383134_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-Tcxe11-9qPrxrb5eveJSZUZj2XvBmhPKrZ0StaJ1rAvOyWhIkL6G4nMP7ToI3SN_R_KqXKVHkn5SCqoKA8ewrRGSAt3r7RIlll9Wfo5jicUaYKaozQw3KQ_6TzOXU36wtZqNIyohbnx/s320/548770_373831786026677_486383134_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Felt, time to sponsor someone ;-)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL8mzAt8Xkh2PHTF3nGS8B00KfkvZmmkISzyN3cqngWy11ArG0oP5YRVhy4xEnmhGwgQ-Jf3YnrKsOFbJTOw1Pm_QPVvaKp3oPYadbIILi50fAJaMWvljqA_UX7BCiJUsKNYPkNECMGzCu/s1600/Bobby+Lea+on+top+of+the+points+race+podium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL8mzAt8Xkh2PHTF3nGS8B00KfkvZmmkISzyN3cqngWy11ArG0oP5YRVhy4xEnmhGwgQ-Jf3YnrKsOFbJTOw1Pm_QPVvaKp3oPYadbIILi50fAJaMWvljqA_UX7BCiJUsKNYPkNECMGzCu/s320/Bobby+Lea+on+top+of+the+points+race+podium.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Points Race Podium</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0-9LIQasVGmS47y89LXB6CBDpAo01hSJMoVB9VnA9BJEzCaOENZhyphenhyphenMf-hu9NG_7VFd1vj7zBbIDMRqlx-LTXSR8avh4cRuSvVXHhKMsCgCT7IOBEt8AMEYbzJNd4k7ovLS2UxzOiCwIC/s1600/IMG_0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0-9LIQasVGmS47y89LXB6CBDpAo01hSJMoVB9VnA9BJEzCaOENZhyphenhyphenMf-hu9NG_7VFd1vj7zBbIDMRqlx-LTXSR8avh4cRuSvVXHhKMsCgCT7IOBEt8AMEYbzJNd4k7ovLS2UxzOiCwIC/s320/IMG_0021.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My "cubicle" for the weekend</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvG-NLoLXPHbpFf8u1mWzt5gk2zjdz5JHG-RAJrI4tam8LacZS0-rtQ6ZCloeIonZlCkIaAZbX4cPYiS2GesEqE8eIF56-agUcB7ANfScGVKoK98wFnWfFjcJ7a-rEkQ_Qi4OV2Hv_Ei-/s1600/IMG_0040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvG-NLoLXPHbpFf8u1mWzt5gk2zjdz5JHG-RAJrI4tam8LacZS0-rtQ6ZCloeIonZlCkIaAZbX4cPYiS2GesEqE8eIF56-agUcB7ANfScGVKoK98wFnWfFjcJ7a-rEkQ_Qi4OV2Hv_Ei-/s320/IMG_0040.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Torrance Beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmVP4QvA_lu_d2kkL2Hn99_wor4v-LGRNxQcWJjZ8YQRHiARKg-6dsueUHWfKO69JzVtsE7KZvj2Rmer6748IoINHI4XByqTSbtVvN43tXNi0Nwh7KHDkLVFCNWe6VBEPGwc5qo_iFHap/s1600/IMG_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmVP4QvA_lu_d2kkL2Hn99_wor4v-LGRNxQcWJjZ8YQRHiARKg-6dsueUHWfKO69JzVtsE7KZvj2Rmer6748IoINHI4XByqTSbtVvN43tXNi0Nwh7KHDkLVFCNWe6VBEPGwc5qo_iFHap/s320/IMG_0045.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Was looking for "The Hoff"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvvfFGhTh0rau-4p7KEuzoWjmWz4p_WydyyOYaTGrCGw0bBYGpXxJIouRd4XZPJUVQucQmyPSIeo4UmKdEUTegNG3QTDRbTJhIKm1zt208O89KdPPoGIH_0KI0YXayK0S0txNsdsf9-bn/s1600/IMG_0047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvvfFGhTh0rau-4p7KEuzoWjmWz4p_WydyyOYaTGrCGw0bBYGpXxJIouRd4XZPJUVQucQmyPSIeo4UmKdEUTegNG3QTDRbTJhIKm1zt208O89KdPPoGIH_0KI0YXayK0S0txNsdsf9-bn/s320/IMG_0047.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Torrance Beach</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTr7sVdfXhMt1gdkCnn1KRb12F45-0R5kiwS7let-dei-Xi2CVBklRAKw6oMWffmdZVMsjZTceUQse-gdiXbiOWwZrsGV9DceSODmOZ0__3zXHX73hzRCbmS3e_k11vRfE5KPgot0b1kJ-/s1600/579687_374440242632498_1615544701_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTr7sVdfXhMt1gdkCnn1KRb12F45-0R5kiwS7let-dei-Xi2CVBklRAKw6oMWffmdZVMsjZTceUQse-gdiXbiOWwZrsGV9DceSODmOZ0__3zXHX73hzRCbmS3e_k11vRfE5KPgot0b1kJ-/s320/579687_374440242632498_1615544701_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Madison</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5XPbWQQvIR2YVPPIPOQt-__ouB8SLRHyk6TGJnHK2T-kXdQaslhBf-wZuXKc84c14Hj7dA_F9OTOiOjrCm7KCSP35mSBRNrdH8T7onTReyf70x1OpxBHSZ91kLhFD6wkUqY2bfUjyMzL/s1600/IMG_00762.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5XPbWQQvIR2YVPPIPOQt-__ouB8SLRHyk6TGJnHK2T-kXdQaslhBf-wZuXKc84c14Hj7dA_F9OTOiOjrCm7KCSP35mSBRNrdH8T7onTReyf70x1OpxBHSZ91kLhFD6wkUqY2bfUjyMzL/s320/IMG_00762.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madison Podium with Zak</td></tr>
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Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-86694741731057514942012-10-11T14:08:00.003-05:002012-10-11T14:08:48.049-05:00Tuesday Nighter Road Clean-Up, Saturday, October 13, 9am<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yep, you heard it right: Fall Clean-Up for the "Nighter"! We're planning on giving the traditional "Tuesday Nighter" a little face lift.<br />
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City of Austin/Travis County recently cut & trimmed a bunch of trees & bushes along our favorite Tuesday Night course. Only problem is: there's tons of trash left and right along Thaxton Rd, Old Lockhart Rd, and Nuckols Crossing Rd. on the 9mile loop.<br />
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If you care about riding in South East Austin, and like to ride along "green roads" please come out or share this with your friends. This coming weekend is no CycloCross Race, no MTB Race, and no Road Race happening in Texas - and it's off-season! (Okay, it's ACL weekend but you can go later).<br />
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<b>When: Saturday, October 13, 9am (plan on 2hrs or so)</b><br />
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<b>Where: traditional Tuesday Nighter starting point on Thaxton Rd and Alum Rock Dr, Austin, TX (Map here: <a href="http://bit.ly/UMY3qV">http://bit.ly/UMY3qV</a>)</b><br />
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What to bring: some solid shoes and good attitude! If you drive out, carpool and bring your pick-up truck.<br />
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We'll provide some heavy duty trash bags and gloves. Some refreshments, too. You can ride your bike out, too but make sure to bring a lock or even better, take your commuter bike.<br />
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Any questions? Email me stefanrothe81 at gmail dot com<br />
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See you Saturday morning!<br />
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Note: in the case of rain, we'll postpone for another weekend in the Fall/Winter and post something on the www in advance.<br />
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Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-7901774176637945072012-08-29T13:18:00.012-05:002012-08-29T14:47:24.316-05:00Elite Track Omnium NationalsWhenever <a href="http://www.usacycling.org">USA Cycling</a> announced last Fall to hold the Omnium Nationals separate from the regular US Track Nationals and at the brand new, 250m <a href="http://www.giordanavelodrome.com/">Giordana Velodrome</a> in Rock Hill I knew I'm going! At least I was planning on. I just had to take care of one thing: get that blue passport in time. And it came; 3 weeks before I rode for the first time on the smooth concrete of Rock Hill's newest cycling track I was standing in San Antonio giving the oath and getting my US citizenship. Just in time.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsU1QTFkoz3DzJbTrs9Vb8aKzYE2d_6vD88eTJGDsKyg8J-ftDbwsL17vdc4nYKbeeE0-Ra96b2iXmOxyZFKw_i_QU0UjU6ewQjMhuidY2JbGEkkn9i0IbIwV27QSAqOoBdlX70cSfP4Bm/s1600/Bahn_Rock_Hill_South_Carolina.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsU1QTFkoz3DzJbTrs9Vb8aKzYE2d_6vD88eTJGDsKyg8J-ftDbwsL17vdc4nYKbeeE0-Ra96b2iXmOxyZFKw_i_QU0UjU6ewQjMhuidY2JbGEkkn9i0IbIwV27QSAqOoBdlX70cSfP4Bm/s320/Bahn_Rock_Hill_South_Carolina.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5782181179385745362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Giordana Velodrome, Rock Hill, SC</span><br /><br /></div>It's been a while that I raced track so I knew I had to put in some work to get my form just right in time for the two-day, 6-event race. You never forget riding fixed gear and turning left, but the leg speed, high cadence, and accelerations is something you need to train if you want to get on that podium. And I did. Quite a bit. I went out many times doing multiple 4:40-5min efforts on S. Mopac here in Austin, trying to hold 400W on the road bike in a 92-96inch gear. Followed by a all-out flying Kilo. Couple that with a few moto-pacing sessions behind the car driven by <a href="http://jenniferpurcell.blogspot.com/">Jen P.</a> The local Thursday Crit, the <a href="http://www.drivewayseries.com/">Driveway</a>, was another key component of my preparation. Lots of hard crit racing stuffed in 50-60minutes attempting to just go hard and setting new 20min wattage and TSS records. But most importantly, it was hitting the boards at the <a href="http://superdrome.com/">Superdrome</a> in Frisco a few times, doing the local Friday night race, and some specific Flying Lap and Pursuit practice. Tim Goodwin gave me some sprint advice, whereas Suzie Tignor Goodwin made me chase her on her moto on the track. I also ventured to Houston to the <a href="http://www.houstoncycling.org/">Alkek Velodrome</a> twice, never haven't raced there before all those years I lived in Texas. It's a a bit of a rough track but great for practicing and it sure helped doing some timed events there.<br /><br />Omnium started with the 250m Flying Lap, a combination of skill and leg speed. I'm not a sprinter but with a good enough, fast lead-out I can sprint pretty okay. Riding on the track the day before and finding the line helped for sure. I ended up 5th w/ a 14.7 which I was happy with since I expected this to be my hardest challenge. Kovalcik, a former bike messenger from Protland, OR won easily with a 14.2.<br /><br />In the evening we started with the Points Race and I was looking forward to it. 120laps is 40laps shorter from the format they do at Nationals or what I used to do back home but still, 30K is a good fit for an endurance guy like me. I was conservative early on and stayed busy keeping track of what's going on in the race. There was a time board but no intermediate results or standings were displayed. So you try to pay attention to the announcer and keep an eye on who's off the front and who's got a lap or not. That's the great thing about the mass start events, besides the physical strength and fitness you need to be on top of things in terms of tactics and knowing what's happening in your race. A guy from Chicago (Liam) ended up taking 2laps and I went with him once about half-way through. We were sitting 1st (him) and 2nd (me) after that. He had 17 or so more points. I was good with 2nd and just made sure nobody is trying to leap-frog me. After the Points, I was sitting 2nd to Kovalcik. The Elimination race was going to be a fast drag-race to the line, with 1 rider being pulled every other lap. I was sitting by the blue line, just making sure to make it to the last 2 or 3 riders. Everything went according to plan until it got down to Kovalcik and Dan Holt (Type 1). Both have a good kick, which I couldn't answer and I ended up 3rd. Still 2nd Overall, a few points behind Kovalcik. Day 1 was in the books.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHFV9XT7lkwORS7gFo7O-YaAsEdUeIJ7OWZUyCMLdHKjdERhStwSKfWVRC4FPS43QWO7f9K9qSxmVhyJmWNr9Aj4COYjGp58odcvwSuX9bKLyNVhiXnIV28oQ5kWLDShxwp3aEXNQKIdq/s1600/539533_10100431559288778_1301231163_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHFV9XT7lkwORS7gFo7O-YaAsEdUeIJ7OWZUyCMLdHKjdERhStwSKfWVRC4FPS43QWO7f9K9qSxmVhyJmWNr9Aj4COYjGp58odcvwSuX9bKLyNVhiXnIV28oQ5kWLDShxwp3aEXNQKIdq/s320/539533_10100431559288778_1301231163_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5782180286837011234" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Scratch Final</span> <span style="font-size:85%;">(That's Wes Jerman's Speedsuit!)</span><br /><br /></div>Having teammates in the Omnium does not help too much but it was good to have some Texas folks around. Andrew Armstrong and Jake Boone (both of RBM, Dallas) were racing, too and we had some fun in our stall and it was great having someone around to give you splits for the Pursuit which started Day 2, the final day of Nationals. I knew this was going to be a event where I could make up some points on the current leader, Kovalcik, who's a much better sprinter than me. Since we were leading 1-2, we were seeded in the last IP heat. Liam of XXX Racing from Chicago had set a fastest time so far, a 4:46, pretty quick on that outside track. It's been a while that I did a true 4K effort on the track (besides the training on the road bike w/ the power meter) but I found my legs pretty quick and mainly 18's to come in 2nd with a 4:51, 7sec quicker than Kovalcik. 6seconds faster would have given me one less point in the Omnium and tie for first but that wasn't in the bag. It came down to the Scratch and Kilo later that evening. Fun Fact: Both Liam and I rode FELT TK2 alloy bikes to 1st and 2nd in the Individual Pursuit. Same goes for the Points race the night before, the FELT alloy bikes went 1-2, too. It is or is not about the bike I guess!?!<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ6NOKMmJMiVaclb4CXDcfapchYupqh6vJYE4SH8e0krQo5Duelrh9pOuvJ0hEGCTmNX-tfUWV1bZYFiErAG8Og_oyg9BlPRDf3gW4sL18Db6Z1KGfBMh6NirbXMfXUtHouABIfzsALgod/s1600/Stefan_Rothe_Einerverfolgung_Omnuim_Foto+Weldon_Weaver.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ6NOKMmJMiVaclb4CXDcfapchYupqh6vJYE4SH8e0krQo5Duelrh9pOuvJ0hEGCTmNX-tfUWV1bZYFiErAG8Og_oyg9BlPRDf3gW4sL18Db6Z1KGfBMh6NirbXMfXUtHouABIfzsALgod/s320/Stefan_Rothe_Einerverfolgung_Omnuim_Foto+Weldon_Weaver.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5782181637423898898" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Pursuit. Thanks to Greg Saxon for the Assos Speedsuit :-)</span><br /></div><br />The 60 (?)-lap Scratch is kind of a hit or miss - especially when it's an Omnium. If you mess up and finish 15th then you're Overall hopes are gone pretty quick. If you do well, you can stay at the very top. It was a fast race with lot of attacks but the race got tactical very quick. Holt was 3rd Overall and Kovalcik's teammate was not far behind. So we all chased each other down a few times and also Liam (the guy who won the Pursuit & Points) tried to get away; so did Holt who looked like to win w/ 10 laps to go but he got brought back. I did what I could and rolled in 8th in the field sprint won by Andy Crater. Still 2nd, a good cushion to 3rd, but the Overall was pretty much gone by now where Kovalcik had a 4 or 5pt lead now. Having the Kilo TT last, takes away a bit of pressure because you don't have a mass-start race to worry about for the last event. You just have to be motivated to do one last HARD effort against the clock and be done with it. I never went quicker than 1:13 on wood or concrete in the past and I saw some quick sub 1:10 times while warming-up. I thought I'd really have to dig deep to make sure I stay "on track" for Silver and not get leap-frogged by someone because of a messy Kilo. The Kilo was done in heats again and Kovalcik and I did the last heat again. I went as fast as I could and it was a painful minute and change but I surprised myself with a 1:10 which was good enough for 5th, secured 2nd place and a 3sec PR for this endurance guy.<br /><br />There was no way I could have beaten a on-form Zach Kovalcik. So very happy with 2nd place in my first Elite Nationals. USADA intentionally picked the Top3 from the Kilo and I was happy to save some time and get out of there. But then they realized they made a mistake and needed the Top3 Overall so I had no time to pack my stuff together. My chaperon was like: "Let's go upstairs." Okay. Upon arrival, USAC guy said, "No, let's do podium first." Okay, down again in the elevator. Yes, you take the elevator down to the tunnel. Pretty cool with some tired legs. Finally, after the podium it was back upstairs and let USADA do it's thing. It was a short night, with packing all my stuff together, and we got up really early to drop off some wheels etc. at 24hr FedEx, return rental car at the airport, and get to the Terminal for flying back to Dallas. My Accelerade powder almost got confiscated by TSA, but they finally figured it wasn't 'coca' after they did some testing right there in front of me.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFb0dyYxwaqGSd_esUUMF4o1ZrrV3prW6eFmX3ewD9Fb4Kj0KKMN4dClFw1w3Y7AlKoMOl4hJmsQYLJa73BLCrHUK2c-fDpsxffHR58dA8lyjSSyCf54VR5xPKEqUrItfIv8IR_2stj-_J/s1600/40089252-2012USAC.Omnium.WVR-8974.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFb0dyYxwaqGSd_esUUMF4o1ZrrV3prW6eFmX3ewD9Fb4Kj0KKMN4dClFw1w3Y7AlKoMOl4hJmsQYLJa73BLCrHUK2c-fDpsxffHR58dA8lyjSSyCf54VR5xPKEqUrItfIv8IR_2stj-_J/s320/40089252-2012USAC.Omnium.WVR-8974.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5782180128696050706" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">final podium (Holt, Urbanski, Kovalcik, me, Donoghue)</span><br /></div><br />Special thanks to Thad Fischer, a good friend of and former DS of mine for making the Giordana Velodrome a reality and hosting a great Omnium Elite Track Nationals there.<br />Stefanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07476064265928823510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-50552728826068746252012-06-11T23:34:00.003-05:002012-08-29T13:21:10.433-05:00Tulsa Tough #7<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQMLTqSbZLwifL7DZT-L9nDNtoCsWHjhlLtjTrc1jrXesaPusGoxR8tOOqBoAAlcYEVQMqjTlnBq4sA2wPEkW7WlM56IwvZvCqGBuYXAigvN-xiuEUcZEcBPl_9qvkHGvSMV_Fr0mdd4-/s1600/IMG-20120608-00424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQMLTqSbZLwifL7DZT-L9nDNtoCsWHjhlLtjTrc1jrXesaPusGoxR8tOOqBoAAlcYEVQMqjTlnBq4sA2wPEkW7WlM56IwvZvCqGBuYXAigvN-xiuEUcZEcBPl_9qvkHGvSMV_Fr0mdd4-/s320/IMG-20120608-00424.jpg" border="0" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:small;">An "original Okie" - teamate & superman/dad Chad Cagle is kinda big here in Tulsa</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Another <a href="http://www.tulsatough.com/" target="_blank">Tulsa Tough</a> in the books! Since the first time <a href="https://icedot.org/site/" target="_blank">Chris</a> and the guys in Tulsa put on that race in 2006 I've been coming back every year. The 7th time now for me. And it gets better every year. The competition, the crowd, the support/involvement of the local community, and - of course - the payout.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/TulsaToughEliteTeam" target="_blank">Team Tulsa Tough</a>) had an "Tulsa alumni" racing with us - Alex Welch - for some extra horsepower to support Chad and Jason in their quest for results in the sprints. Both those two did well all weekend, never finishing outside the Top 15 each day, and Chad getting 6th in the P/1 Omnium with Jason in 9th.<br /><br /><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbUYAitYR1KRHnJdgyskn93Q3Wa6M5B0x3Gvm37PQ1T4v0VhVLyOl76hKDDdBbvl68H7TZ1AWlmV0NVEBZwIFaqL5nvKW3_rZ6w0pMNr8xP26fGALYVg7wFDGVhvTKsrjPMNyb6J6kMhh/s1600/photos2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbUYAitYR1KRHnJdgyskn93Q3Wa6M5B0x3Gvm37PQ1T4v0VhVLyOl76hKDDdBbvl68H7TZ1AWlmV0NVEBZwIFaqL5nvKW3_rZ6w0pMNr8xP26fGALYVg7wFDGVhvTKsrjPMNyb6J6kMhh/s320/photos2.jpeg" border="0" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:small;">Mat during the "fireworks" on Friday Night At Blue Dome District </span><span class="st"><span style="font-size:small;">© Cycling Illustrated</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My task was to help out where I can and especially Saturday evening Mat & I were needed to help bring back a late break. For Chad and Jason but also because our ex-teammate Brad Huff was "a bit alone" at that point and I like see him doing well. We could do a bit of damage control and rotated for a few short laps before Jelly Belly & Optum took over. Chad got Top 10 again (9th I think) and Jason 15th. It ended up being a longer night again with a visit at the Brady Tavern for post-race dinner and a visit to the <a href="http://thesoundpony.com/" target="_blank">Soundpony</a> - a must on a Saturday night in Tulsa if you're a cyclist and a Tulsa Tough is happening!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjczGca7st3p_dyR69vuRqDPgX7yy20gc2VKeIZKHZVq1ItduTvaiZuMx7jCLTXNOl7PBjmmlM7AtD3HdIMlej8gSecrnxmHFXSnD2ibbUUf7YmJalpMRoslVbSOJ7iXE97OwTkvBBVGljJ/s1600/img_6227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjczGca7st3p_dyR69vuRqDPgX7yy20gc2VKeIZKHZVq1ItduTvaiZuMx7jCLTXNOl7PBjmmlM7AtD3HdIMlej8gSecrnxmHFXSnD2ibbUUf7YmJalpMRoslVbSOJ7iXE97OwTkvBBVGljJ/s320/img_6227.jpg" border="0" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:small;">Brady Village Crit, with Huff in tow - </span><span class="st">© </span><span style="font-size:small;">Cycling Illustrated</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJ_tKUVgpVv8K25Alm6W3dLbEjFRO3JbYfKBj1z4Jr5p1lDFpP669sM-o7MALxeGAJhXGksA-bJDVfiLsGUmy8ZsXakC4afkQQSSu05MsrZSQhcf0Qv5sTSgeW9X-ml_S-lPdbQhAQDPR/s1600/IMG-20120610-00426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJ_tKUVgpVv8K25Alm6W3dLbEjFRO3JbYfKBj1z4Jr5p1lDFpP669sM-o7MALxeGAJhXGksA-bJDVfiLsGUmy8ZsXakC4afkQQSSu05MsrZSQhcf0Qv5sTSgeW9X-ml_S-lPdbQhAQDPR/s320/IMG-20120610-00426.jpg" border="0" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:small;">Soundpony - packed as always during Tulsa Tough</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Sunday's race is the last and the hardest day of racing of the weekend. Besides the Stillwater Crit at Nature Valley GP probably the hardest Crit you can do on the NRC circuit. On that course, it's maybe 90% about fitness and 10% of getting in the right break at the right time. I usually go well, or really bad. 2010 I got 4th and my best NRC result to that point. Last year I was out long solo & chasing primes and such but ultimately called it a day on top of "Cry Baby Hill" before the race was over. This year was nothing special in performance...I waited 5 or 6 laps before I moved up to the front and found a good break-away partner in Eric Marcotte. We started riding well together for 3 or 4 laps and quickly established a 10, 15second gap. But I had to dig pretty deep going up "the hill" while he seemed to be smiling. Not sure what was going on but I realized I can't stand that pace on the hill much longer without "overheating". I had a okay Diesel that day, just no "Turbo". Eric seemed to have both as he ended up winning the race after getting caught by the field on the last lap and still won the sprint easily ahead of Ken Hanson and Brad Huff.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chad and Jason both finished in the Top 15 again and Mat & I rolled in together with what was left from the "field". 75minutes equals 37(!) times going up Cry Baby Hill. It was hard. But you didn't really feel the pain because the thousand (?) people on the hill make so much noise that you kind of riding through there in "trance". It was getting out of control. Riding in the middle of the pack gives you some "safety" in terms of riding straight and not having to dodge 45year-old fathers in speedos, with blonde fake curly hair holding baby dolls. Or other grown man in cheerleader's outfit. Or Wonder Woman. It was good fun, though and I never felt "endangered" by the crowds. Most of them are cyclists or know about cycling and are aware of the fact that we're trying to ride a straight line up a hill and need some space to do so. The water hand-ups', water hoses, etc. were very welcomed for sure. I lost out on any big primes this time around BUT the folks are getting creative and while there's no more cash KOM on the hill anymore I was able to snag a dozen dollar bills from a number of "fans" who offered them in a "variety of places"...hand, mouth (?), back pockets, and others...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All in all, a great party again and I think I'm safe to say that a crowd like this on Cry Baby Hill is something I haven't seen anywhere else in the World before. I might have seen more people standing on the roadside or watching a Crit. But the way those fans get behind the race and into is amazing. There was some planning on going beforehand, even a stage was built days before on top of the hill to accommodate a live band. And the creativity of the crowd when it comes to outfits is great, too. Check out some of the best action shots <a href="http://cyclingillustrated.com/2012/06/13/exclusive-images-of-the-people-of-the-tulsa-tough-cry-baby-hill/?nggpage=2" target="_blank">here</a> and in the below video by Keith Walberg (husband of Catherine Walberg, who races for the Tulsa Tough Women's Team).<br /><br /><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7JDGJukcKmBcvVdCakB4oQ32iD-Y8t954TpEPW-_FaxA-_0vWZQIUUXdUP9iweUc-FKnxvi_N8qQ_-RKGNBtZd8Jaak0O-v70jfs3uUrsIoWv9sFjaTPnhr8Uony3Xq26YYkjArDwMsm9/s1600/470400_10150909654628778_863195525_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7JDGJukcKmBcvVdCakB4oQ32iD-Y8t954TpEPW-_FaxA-_0vWZQIUUXdUP9iweUc-FKnxvi_N8qQ_-RKGNBtZd8Jaak0O-v70jfs3uUrsIoWv9sFjaTPnhr8Uony3Xq26YYkjArDwMsm9/s320/470400_10150909654628778_863195525_o.jpg" border="0" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:small;">Crowds on Cry Baby Hill</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzD07r5SQUi8RR6WUwdLkUZSMuryBUvbjZVkANRPgD4rDMZGvEV_TfkRErbsztq2bgMVN4Mn4lFRQNpFZvWYPvmWszGmlFYp2zjprNkgT1j-FfxXkCQdnIl6fG7-2AhfwATncog_sDjW-Q/s1600/179137_315835128502308_1933393851_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzD07r5SQUi8RR6WUwdLkUZSMuryBUvbjZVkANRPgD4rDMZGvEV_TfkRErbsztq2bgMVN4Mn4lFRQNpFZvWYPvmWszGmlFYp2zjprNkgT1j-FfxXkCQdnIl6fG7-2AhfwATncog_sDjW-Q/s320/179137_315835128502308_1933393851_n.jpg" border="0" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:small;">"Go Random Stranger! Go!"</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27hTPVpic0jjwTA3TGjFKgeJT5CYgNDbBpZKsAlkZioN3LkQQ6Q-cpnVQ05umlwCFUp9wHmCXMHbGLspB-luP_2KDcT2E9SeLmfQSshZI61Y34jJ7LNY-jePQIU8t9pShFGJf-Jzbb7nY/s1600/crybabyhill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27hTPVpic0jjwTA3TGjFKgeJT5CYgNDbBpZKsAlkZioN3LkQQ6Q-cpnVQ05umlwCFUp9wHmCXMHbGLspB-luP_2KDcT2E9SeLmfQSshZI61Y34jJ7LNY-jePQIU8t9pShFGJf-Jzbb7nY/s320/crybabyhill.jpg" border="0" height="172" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:small;">And I thought it "stung a bit"... "smiling is his game face" I was told. </span><span style="font-size:small;">Congrats to Marcotte on a stellar ride on Cry Baby Hill.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><iframe class="mp4downloader_embedButtonInitialized mp4downloader_tagChecked " allowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/43947788" webkitallowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" width="500"></iframe><div style="width: 500px; text-align: center;"><button class="mp4downloader_btnForIFrame " type="button">Download Video as MP4</button></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1Tulsa, OK, USA36.1539816 -95.99277535.9488471 -96.308631999999989 36.3591161 -95.676918tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-81683951017272827082012-06-04T22:34:00.002-05:002012-08-28T20:22:13.064-05:00Back in Wichita Falls & OKC Crits<table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr align="center"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPV9x3j38VwOtZNrcJSeQdGTsC1Qd4-tsRFBaHfMmdwC-u3hyphenhyphen5WoMjsjpLnvnGQtMWYJ_-E4iXApzOGe_u6gJbuPDrryKsigWNKCEfL9a5f4cputyIgcL1T1vq4aukOmVa1TQdr75zjm5/s1600/pops.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPV9x3j38VwOtZNrcJSeQdGTsC1Qd4-tsRFBaHfMmdwC-u3hyphenhyphen5WoMjsjpLnvnGQtMWYJ_-E4iXApzOGe_u6gJbuPDrryKsigWNKCEfL9a5f4cputyIgcL1T1vq4aukOmVa1TQdr75zjm5/s320/pops.jpg" border="0" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:small;">with "Pops" and Sheri before the ride at TCC<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr align="center"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgI8OT3dK9UHb6LYIOFp5LZeHoOHY9v686M7xxzm6AQoPO911xwepNKB_jUVjbKTlNihJUuSYBu_GcnVwsLrA_McSh_SkAxX98pSey_LWB7MGFHJIlkX_38LA8diwvtR8Y-bwIZtUnmda/s1600/250673_657276940160_1690390565_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgI8OT3dK9UHb6LYIOFp5LZeHoOHY9v686M7xxzm6AQoPO911xwepNKB_jUVjbKTlNihJUuSYBu_GcnVwsLrA_McSh_SkAxX98pSey_LWB7MGFHJIlkX_38LA8diwvtR8Y-bwIZtUnmda/s320/250673_657276940160_1690390565_n.jpg" border="0" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:small;">Thursday TCC Ride in WF<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-SN2PnTul1XT82dCp15UfS2O9a7vMGoIw0joi3AtTnYd4J1YxhX0LNsdixVtcEyDn7zBTHrI8twCcbmd74ZDONDwLyIReGknCNqgS6N1AHMgtfT0kiONRuQ5ZawKHWuSSXyrE_2Dntk9b/s1600/IMG_1295.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-SN2PnTul1XT82dCp15UfS2O9a7vMGoIw0joi3AtTnYd4J1YxhX0LNsdixVtcEyDn7zBTHrI8twCcbmd74ZDONDwLyIReGknCNqgS6N1AHMgtfT0kiONRuQ5ZawKHWuSSXyrE_2Dntk9b/s320/IMG_1295.JPG" border="0" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:small;">at the MSU Cycling statue just outside the Admin building on campus. Good memories leaving here for some punishing group rides with Mark Ernsting and the boys (and girls).<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnc4kJjHaxNUMGPVGqdDH4QzCHepbeQOd2rofHlPVDdOFh16I6cGxBCUOnlfPgfQ1KO3S3aBMe65y9OavBXMQbzRRXL-6Xbl3N6BonniNWxe9MjXAXUilmVZEA3_cJmOzDKKVgXkgylcwx/s1600/IMG_1303.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnc4kJjHaxNUMGPVGqdDH4QzCHepbeQOd2rofHlPVDdOFh16I6cGxBCUOnlfPgfQ1KO3S3aBMe65y9OavBXMQbzRRXL-6Xbl3N6BonniNWxe9MjXAXUilmVZEA3_cJmOzDKKVgXkgylcwx/s320/IMG_1303.JPG" border="0" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:small;">Mt. Scott in Wichita Mountains is always worth a stop.<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOt3sEy0KofFKvQ8W50yOk73e2Nuv9rf7nqaO4MfhPOWMQ-LgaPz1iCgWtjcOhwuFH2zor9zDqyS-ddEEwLlo_hM6HU9ODyQHAZdTjf3TctKwc2GkuDugxLeubmfrHA8c86KRIspG0Hic/s1600/479224_423687100984800_715158888_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiOt3sEy0KofFKvQ8W50yOk73e2Nuv9rf7nqaO4MfhPOWMQ-LgaPz1iCgWtjcOhwuFH2zor9zDqyS-ddEEwLlo_hM6HU9ODyQHAZdTjf3TctKwc2GkuDugxLeubmfrHA8c86KRIspG0Hic/s320/479224_423687100984800_715158888_o.jpg" border="0" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:small;">Blurry finish at OKC ProAm Classic. 4th place, again :-(<br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/43622787" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" width="500"></iframe><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-2093257414221178272012-05-29T22:15:00.000-05:002012-06-18T22:16:25.605-05:00My first Relay - CapTexTri in Austin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz17Urd4HXfEUoi96jVX7xekaNLulOcBJl2Y49sHSstOwnyJkKUg86gExxK8Ga2EaM7TMvlVCd9tXQ2y-BuqDAVA7dsqpghcgHPOnxOTzyyT_hM1HLBGQnIq07HbSFZLy3-dMcvLQqWc-T/s1600/podium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz17Urd4HXfEUoi96jVX7xekaNLulOcBJl2Y49sHSstOwnyJkKUg86gExxK8Ga2EaM7TMvlVCd9tXQ2y-BuqDAVA7dsqpghcgHPOnxOTzyyT_hM1HLBGQnIq07HbSFZLy3-dMcvLQqWc-T/s400/podium.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olympic Relay - Overall Win with Scott Dill (l) and Jeff Shelton (r)</td></tr>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-13109102183444711412012-05-27T22:39:00.000-05:002012-06-18T22:40:53.795-05:00Monster Energy vs. Red Bull 1:0<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-78mLKVx03ZFX8W4AVKrlQoveX3x-zdStvsIEsKI9B5eOTXa_baf8Q2BwufJq5s_-Bdg2IveBdDuowqt3r2LOuw91JBIw2o31dGq_CUXHA4xX0Enc-ybypt0vqvTHU2l3TWAQDvZqunjj/s1600/Rothe-RedBull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-78mLKVx03ZFX8W4AVKrlQoveX3x-zdStvsIEsKI9B5eOTXa_baf8Q2BwufJq5s_-Bdg2IveBdDuowqt3r2LOuw91JBIw2o31dGq_CUXHA4xX0Enc-ybypt0vqvTHU2l3TWAQDvZqunjj/s400/Rothe-RedBull.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Heath "Heathy" Blackgrove fueled by Monster Energy got the better of me at the end of a hot & hard Glickman Crit on Saturday. The (sugar free) Red Bull lost this battle by a few inches... Thanks to <a href="http://www.danapgar.com/" target="_blank">Dan Apgar</a> for the picture, though :-)</span></td></tr>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Richardson, TX, USA32.9481789 -96.729720532.8948799 -96.8086845 33.001477900000005 -96.6507565tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-81757059718889007482012-05-01T11:09:00.003-05:002012-05-01T16:11:20.215-05:00Back in Ft. Davis and riding in El Paso<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After skipping the "Hammerfest" last year to go to Utah's Tour of the Depot (and having to deal with snow!) we went back down to South West Texas for another edition of the 'highest' TXBRA race of the year - held at 5000-6800ft.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-70pv7ouKW6oZYY-X6EE2wuVoFIbFdf9_D2FN7yyI2IC82Klz4Q4tudC5qUSpXBRySj5FvTj0TDxV3XI_8eoZ3I_gw5gRgQVwks3dYqkf0nvoG-WOybrtBhpFGSiqnZD1gevSm94kuPzi/s1600/IMG-20120427-00312.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-70pv7ouKW6oZYY-X6EE2wuVoFIbFdf9_D2FN7yyI2IC82Klz4Q4tudC5qUSpXBRySj5FvTj0TDxV3XI_8eoZ3I_gw5gRgQVwks3dYqkf0nvoG-WOybrtBhpFGSiqnZD1gevSm94kuPzi/s320/IMG-20120427-00312.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friday evening spin with Bicycles Outback ;-)</td></tr>
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Long-time promoter David Ham handed the race over to Holland Racing recently and Andrew changed the format up a bit, making it a 11mile TT up to the Observatory, a afternoon road race and another road race Sunday (that was the plan at least).</div>
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The P/1/2 race was a bit slim with only 19 guys, but still it hurt enough going up to McDonald Observatory in the TT. Pacing yourself was the key here, as it was just man/woman vs. time. I was lucky to have some guys in front of me to keep me motivated in ~40min of uphill-tt-mode. It was enough to win but just by 5seconds as Kiwi Ryan Wills (THSJ) rode a perfect TT, too and Kiwi Logan Hutchings (THSJ) took 3rd 1:30 back.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNwGZyBY6yj9dmZRVmAM_XF7QI5BVLobWJbUgeLRophq5994DY3jwMZR5TPyOYQRq50PTUsKgH6BmxGmTnQDFp7a5aWPBXeXNRHlozKoU_gwQdjCoMIhwHvx6z_Z4ZZnYe1k0sLmQhObO/s1600/ftdavis_hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNwGZyBY6yj9dmZRVmAM_XF7QI5BVLobWJbUgeLRophq5994DY3jwMZR5TPyOYQRq50PTUsKgH6BmxGmTnQDFp7a5aWPBXeXNRHlozKoU_gwQdjCoMIhwHvx6z_Z4ZZnYe1k0sLmQhObO/s320/ftdavis_hill.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TrainingPeaks File <a href="http://www.trainingpeaks.com/sw/UFRIIXBTZW3EYTU7XTSRYHH4CE" target="_blank">here</a></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
This made for a fun road race in the afternoon since it was basically me vs. 4 THSJ boys but all I had to do was just to follow Wills and watch out who's going and who's not. Phil (SS) took off early with another THSJ guy and Troy Dunton so that worked perfect. Everyone just rode steady Tempo up the hill and it didn't really shake up much. We were maybe 10-15guys coming over the first pass. From there it was pretty negative racing since nobody would ride and the only time I had to jump was when Logs or Ryan went. Once we made the turn-around to go back towards Ft. Davis the air got a bit "sticky" and you could feel the smoke actually. Phil still had 3minutes or so but was no GC threat. A few other guys were dangling in between. There was one major climb, maybe 1.5-2K long and I went all-out up it and only Wills and Mario Arroyave were on my wheel. We started riding, but Wills wouldn't pull through. Just Mario and me. I didn't had to ride since I was leading but what should I do? Sit up and wait so the group re-groups and Wills has 2 teammates to work me over and let Phil get gain more and more time and take over GC? OR ride it with Mario and Wills and make sure we stay in sight of the leaders on the road but risk getting jumped by Wills and if he just gains 5seconds on me I shuffle down to 2nd GC. I decided for the latter, rode hard with Mario and Wills was sitting on for the majority. He tried jumping me probably 3-5times on the flats / rollers and Mario got dropped. I was able to respond every time, though. Once we got some guys who were in no-man's land he still refused to work (don't blame him, though) and that gave Logan and a few others time to catch us on the descent. THSJ attacked left and right - even on the downhills but I felt good and was able to respond. "Heartbreak Hill" - our finish line - was close so we all just sprinted for 3rd place and I just made sure I finish ahead of Wills, which I did. So all good for the day.</div>
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Unfortunately the wildfires in the area got worse as the weekend went on and the officials had to call the final stage on Sunday (73miles) which was a major bummer. The smoke was just too dangerous and all Emergency vehicles/sherriff's in the area where busy dealing with evacuating the Davis Mountain Resort etc. With the race canceled, there was no stage 3 and I ended up winning. Never had that happen before to walk away with a GC without racing the last day/stage. Kind of weird. I sure wish we could have raced and get in another 3 1/2hrs of hard work on the bike in before heading further West to New Mexico.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5LYtoU1zKtX6tGnsQWEAxkzuFnv-jkz0d7B9ldn5lmI6zfgY3nrU0smPyuyOmRhiA3EaA2SvMGBrQxK6Xm1UZl7b1gSFlX6MiWGn0ZCUT1ID1Eln0cMS9nEdt_qgb6ga25mtBFb4prx3/s1600/IMG-20120427-00314.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5LYtoU1zKtX6tGnsQWEAxkzuFnv-jkz0d7B9ldn5lmI6zfgY3nrU0smPyuyOmRhiA3EaA2SvMGBrQxK6Xm1UZl7b1gSFlX6MiWGn0ZCUT1ID1Eln0cMS9nEdt_qgb6ga25mtBFb4prx3/s320/IMG-20120427-00314.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fires in the distance</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsl9NFX3k1YAxJTICJFqTsvV8OxQ5xyQOqyOZ_tUmjDFgxOy5xJEUxz1jGJ8xXGAFMl5mDHRbn2nYNB8_V63l-VUHJ0aoV3cRnMnUmXWBE7GmmWCke4xYKj12S5wgrrCT0uxowp61mVpQ/s1600/IMG-20120427-00307.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsl9NFX3k1YAxJTICJFqTsvV8OxQ5xyQOqyOZ_tUmjDFgxOy5xJEUxz1jGJ8xXGAFMl5mDHRbn2nYNB8_V63l-VUHJ0aoV3cRnMnUmXWBE7GmmWCke4xYKj12S5wgrrCT0uxowp61mVpQ/s320/IMG-20120427-00307.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friday evening fire/smoke looking from Prude Ranch West</td></tr>
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I drove to El Paso in the morning to get out of the already thin smoky air and ended up riding there for a few hours there. It's been a while (6years) that I rode a bike in ELP but it was actually not too bad at all. TransMountain Rd into the Franklin Mountain State Park is the place to go for some climbing and I did a loop from the East to the West over the 5280ft Pass back down towards I-10 (10-13min of descending at 30-40mph!) and the Valley and then back to town via HW85/Paisano Dr along the Rio Grande. That was actually quite interesting. You can throw a rock to Mexico from the sidewalk. There's some high fencing everywhere and every 1/2mile a border patrol car. People (on the other side) are hanging out at the river, listening to music (loud) and kids are playing in the Rio Grande river. There's a small road (Anapra Rd) which actually crosses the Rio Grande and you can ride your bike over and you're pretty much in Mexico. I stopped by the <a href="http://www.caminorealheritage.org/camino/camino.htm" target="_blank">"Camino Real"</a> - a historic site/point which settlers/travelers used back in the 16-19th century to cross from the Gulf of Mexico towards the Pacific or just to settle in the (now) New Mexico area since it was the lowest (elevation) of crossing the Rockies to go West.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSuVLoterEHE1cbdVaV_7ozogkk0Jfls4czXTIGMNfz1EOeLOwKhlzAGhGl9QSA_OoGtFs63qiFzdWKbE-lvCSrXFUL9on7Tfr1I1yM16wo3nYqxzwesySYQen_oKgC0Y4LNzi3p54X0hn/s1600/IMG-20120429-00319.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSuVLoterEHE1cbdVaV_7ozogkk0Jfls4czXTIGMNfz1EOeLOwKhlzAGhGl9QSA_OoGtFs63qiFzdWKbE-lvCSrXFUL9on7Tfr1I1yM16wo3nYqxzwesySYQen_oKgC0Y4LNzi3p54X0hn/s320/IMG-20120429-00319.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">riding up Transmountain Rd East to West</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNuJOBxlZZSqDvUSHcbqbYQufUTcXSNpFnfPSh1FAllekhyBOTnEZYkrfT00sjy_q7yYXVaaimIpPiG28S_hX1YA7PGUH_LOvXUpAM_-guZcHTII-eLvSrp5WpRbtrL3IEH6ZsemWuRFu/s1600/IMG_1048.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNuJOBxlZZSqDvUSHcbqbYQufUTcXSNpFnfPSh1FAllekhyBOTnEZYkrfT00sjy_q7yYXVaaimIpPiG28S_hX1YA7PGUH_LOvXUpAM_-guZcHTII-eLvSrp5WpRbtrL3IEH6ZsemWuRFu/s320/IMG_1048.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view from above, looking South</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMeMBui0TFNMld_INeKy5vNWUA0YPT0q0ss5-rwTaHsz7KaCdBR_1pD-lsPhVsMQZTX4wc4e-YzDW31RTIAF5bAmXzxuzlP27ZYrp4y_tbCNpXrn16GHmt-8v-1OKM_Q7luhT0Wki-ux4R/s1600/IMG-20120430-00330.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMeMBui0TFNMld_INeKy5vNWUA0YPT0q0ss5-rwTaHsz7KaCdBR_1pD-lsPhVsMQZTX4wc4e-YzDW31RTIAF5bAmXzxuzlP27ZYrp4y_tbCNpXrn16GHmt-8v-1OKM_Q7luhT0Wki-ux4R/s320/IMG-20120430-00330.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view for the 10minute descent heading down to I-10</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9bdE7XsCqZFU4aopLQDgivcrfLyhRHTXjPELwKE477hpsaUQZAxs-l4fD62R8u3X89kqhtkp12W6Y6GpfXHqt4POxAgPZpgcDXV3qOzozr6xLV1iIW2U4hHUPCSP5eFzh7_gcwa9CIw_/s1600/IMG-20120429-00321.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9bdE7XsCqZFU4aopLQDgivcrfLyhRHTXjPELwKE477hpsaUQZAxs-l4fD62R8u3X89kqhtkp12W6Y6GpfXHqt4POxAgPZpgcDXV3qOzozr6xLV1iIW2U4hHUPCSP5eFzh7_gcwa9CIw_/s320/IMG-20120429-00321.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rio Grande looking from Tejas to Mexico<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtr5Q5J06En9_HeDwbCfPLx9kCIz_EnNbyLmXnd89W7PYNMBydlh4CH9lvjXh9vsTSCjPEe0BCQ3dgSOMGDSuOUabmbHn-MkyqzPZ811AREYyzG9S46l7zvdaj0g4nT5XmwA3kM1nUrhn0/s1600/fence.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtr5Q5J06En9_HeDwbCfPLx9kCIz_EnNbyLmXnd89W7PYNMBydlh4CH9lvjXh9vsTSCjPEe0BCQ3dgSOMGDSuOUabmbHn-MkyqzPZ811AREYyzG9S46l7zvdaj0g4nT5XmwA3kM1nUrhn0/s320/fence.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">view to Mexico right from HW 85</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-38732187072254503572012-04-20T11:56:00.001-05:002012-04-20T14:48:54.929-05:00Active Recovery Day - Installing Garage Door Openers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I found two long afternoons over the last weekend to do some project around the house I had on my to-do-list for a long time: installing a garage door opener. The house didn't come with one but to my luck the majority of the wiring was already in place behind the drywall and over the ceiling. So the only thing missing was the actual opener, some brackets to install it, and a few switches/buttons to hook it up. I felt like I did a 6hr ride after being on my feet for hours. It was worth it, though. The wife sure likes it. Just pushing buttons now!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJml8gIDLWoXQp0Cnnb8551FvLud4HN6ectl0Yv2FM2Q4GdltAO2fZt-JM3HekRQ1tf4o9j34LTd9KinDMqc2Q5AWtViFq_mdZfBE4tiW_wb_5SjiufB_P3d-rajcMmf2cgsq6ZkHe0IvI/s320/1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 1: Chamberlain Belt Drive which was on sale at LOWE's</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvZwotk5kLfJa7PRFf3YKBovCdo-9SDvEL9d0rG5QQgdlDta2ITZUrMjmLiz2ehKOA_ftQKF5hyphenhyphend5saZAYnlOXyyeJCJ5ENSSL0JbukrxD5bKJH0ZiLgTTfylcWBURUdiQiQKXK4sWba9/s1600/2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvZwotk5kLfJa7PRFf3YKBovCdo-9SDvEL9d0rG5QQgdlDta2ITZUrMjmLiz2ehKOA_ftQKF5hyphenhyphend5saZAYnlOXyyeJCJ5ENSSL0JbukrxD5bKJH0ZiLgTTfylcWBURUdiQiQKXK4sWba9/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 2: garage pre-install, aluminum door with standard spring for manual opening/closing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_T0WTwrbGaATlmG1ZwlxokPB1Rw9lJjXeRdyGSWH0I47_GdoWgTX5EjgsqobfTA2r_fCSfUTe7YqOsyygBMvxK4O-GhvwuYdz9EsA3ZinM1rG6wrm_i-YQI6-GJDa41ZYN7SiUgzgbK3E/s320/3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 3: lots of assembling to do!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXMvFkTElyPNXR_kZyMjq5w7DudBmsblgzKughe7tUyVI7j9SXNidr4P0THbVCxf_ueg1rEScC7CfWUodu1SWFYyNbLd4Y7V2DQW4ACkbOB-4XNAodSGmydL_CK6s6GtolyZ2kMLbebxgi/s1600/6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXMvFkTElyPNXR_kZyMjq5w7DudBmsblgzKughe7tUyVI7j9SXNidr4P0THbVCxf_ueg1rEScC7CfWUodu1SWFYyNbLd4Y7V2DQW4ACkbOB-4XNAodSGmydL_CK6s6GtolyZ2kMLbebxgi/s320/6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 4: Chamberlain uses a standard 1/8" track chain lock to hold the belt drive together. Who would have thought?</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvZwotk5kLfJa7PRFf3YKBovCdo-9SDvEL9d0rG5QQgdlDta2ITZUrMjmLiz2ehKOA_ftQKF5hyphenhyphend5saZAYnlOXyyeJCJ5ENSSL0JbukrxD5bKJH0ZiLgTTfylcWBURUdiQiQKXK4sWba9/s1600/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjU3D1yjCQRdaIzwIsq5G18RusakM0axVmrWDpb5vgZWQVy-Aq1AW9dFc9AIcxKiphvoFUH90JTL3hj10OixA7ZWNg0ZwNdy-OhY85ec6d7wIG0sMdGIO3i_ikWBq-tSCnMM3lveAxcm_j/s1600/4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjU3D1yjCQRdaIzwIsq5G18RusakM0axVmrWDpb5vgZWQVy-Aq1AW9dFc9AIcxKiphvoFUH90JTL3hj10OixA7ZWNg0ZwNdy-OhY85ec6d7wIG0sMdGIO3i_ikWBq-tSCnMM3lveAxcm_j/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 5: install wall bracket for front end of belt guide</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJLhlV7qZsfN8qnbJotcSNiwKFNrPGVcj8AftNMBa95k2dtXKGKqgWu27_nmcJ5zQ71gRXeOEEKVVnVr8b-OgmjNiu1D8ZUH6wPjiIC3Lvr0kuGphWyleOUYl_INk2qxje9_XRfwewAxJ8/s320/5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 6: support for door bracket</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCywIKzivblpmDjz1uagg6H3TCES6nEHi_eKc_4Ym8X9dAuwtuXdO8tIqM0VhpnfKqUU8UhQ0DQ8QDQYELis2IlcuUrJoaLgrJEnN4Iw0d0_SuahhueG0wm-sLWlKMx861tHk9frCNhMv/s1600/IMG-20120418-00266.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCywIKzivblpmDjz1uagg6H3TCES6nEHi_eKc_4Ym8X9dAuwtuXdO8tIqM0VhpnfKqUU8UhQ0DQ8QDQYELis2IlcuUrJoaLgrJEnN4Iw0d0_SuahhueG0wm-sLWlKMx861tHk9frCNhMv/s320/IMG-20120418-00266.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 7: door bracket installed</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjazEIh5mTsRHW2-pFnLC93c0iw003A2aORBeTsDWC2UAFPJpzDyQbvGiq4nkDnBC5KLvcu9CIaxgbx4mDTqAdnROaiAthm3zPpGGJBE5XlMp1kU-qTXKitDNgZUAzAXTpy6376niOLR99/s1600/7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjazEIh5mTsRHW2-pFnLC93c0iw003A2aORBeTsDWC2UAFPJpzDyQbvGiq4nkDnBC5KLvcu9CIaxgbx4mDTqAdnROaiAthm3zPpGGJBE5XlMp1kU-qTXKitDNgZUAzAXTpy6376niOLR99/s320/7.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 8: You can have a helper...or just use the ladder + cooler to position the opener!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjhBSQ9fFvMMCOTD5L8BB3rrY0wMMGpTNhUMXAA6IDTyjO3zegwMkAwsKyRXazCyc5gE4mZWVacMSrITecjIPbItwMkZo14rWTf5LlK0mvj232kkKW5oMTjFDGPi5luetDtszQ3qQhabO/s1600/9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjhBSQ9fFvMMCOTD5L8BB3rrY0wMMGpTNhUMXAA6IDTyjO3zegwMkAwsKyRXazCyc5gE4mZWVacMSrITecjIPbItwMkZo14rWTf5LlK0mvj232kkKW5oMTjFDGPi5luetDtszQ3qQhabO/s320/9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 9: ceiling mounts installed, angled/custom metal brackets added, opener hangs!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BJuV9EYsb8wT3VxJMGqgjxAYGm5bVR2BKiOiguPjtpWLv-aSpJeg9sEiW9I-rSh1_bbT1Qxxh7EpKDyeRpZzFW_Hw665jnErxYNvPxd-zna8r2qJfgigcu5KtqwDJZF8rxKTdalC_GOg/s1600/8.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BJuV9EYsb8wT3VxJMGqgjxAYGm5bVR2BKiOiguPjtpWLv-aSpJeg9sEiW9I-rSh1_bbT1Qxxh7EpKDyeRpZzFW_Hw665jnErxYNvPxd-zna8r2qJfgigcu5KtqwDJZF8rxKTdalC_GOg/s320/8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 10: just he wiring left now</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBim2N-zt51ez9N9sPsiVPzzEHmOjuMijVAKm3bXM5QeIzh829oJ7OGG21GZ0imSXopFsjmhC2mnzb6m-youfe-E9Jd4dS-3rTiZNr4jvTsQWwJEJtjruAw9ynUTC1qwF3AfKm4VeLp77D/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBim2N-zt51ez9N9sPsiVPzzEHmOjuMijVAKm3bXM5QeIzh829oJ7OGG21GZ0imSXopFsjmhC2mnzb6m-youfe-E9Jd4dS-3rTiZNr4jvTsQWwJEJtjruAw9ynUTC1qwF3AfKm4VeLp77D/s320/10.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 11: installing wall mount for opener /light switch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvw5IlifZhi1nT6G5TpiBZpAVxo4hp9YgRiNDJrJq-xkuMWfbPUwmsRV1rGeM6JQICLAInHI8UJX2dfiNv_75CZxCQgXEE3QDl2B06BB-fAYtpnbfYEj7BRkHxUHzBA6RGK_xaqvVN_O8r/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvw5IlifZhi1nT6G5TpiBZpAVxo4hp9YgRiNDJrJq-xkuMWfbPUwmsRV1rGeM6JQICLAInHI8UJX2dfiNv_75CZxCQgXEE3QDl2B06BB-fAYtpnbfYEj7BRkHxUHzBA6RGK_xaqvVN_O8r/s320/11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 12: safety sensors need wiring + installation on door tracks</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEkWgc8WMH6f6j3s-KuDwreLaS1mOBWVsjb4ayvuJzNc11Oy4vzKVP0OttcXUxji5P1KSfb6OuEHEBT8xWL9bIWy-80iSI-HtigjvxwLTHeztzWYwOtnq_AyClnYrFR9TVmpw3RtVxB4or/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEkWgc8WMH6f6j3s-KuDwreLaS1mOBWVsjb4ayvuJzNc11Oy4vzKVP0OttcXUxji5P1KSfb6OuEHEBT8xWL9bIWy-80iSI-HtigjvxwLTHeztzWYwOtnq_AyClnYrFR9TVmpw3RtVxB4or/s320/12.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 13: installed and connected, just need to hide the wires and for "cleaner" look</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMuwaMSa0ae4eri191Cg1onGfD-ufEBSEc_NoxbHz3TpyQ4TDM53eHwq0rjX1zf7qwsMpz-3OVIbgU2U-pG0R3HASjj0DO2x8GLnzYlns-ah8vfXpLn1OFPFBAhzHxTpxO85nQVRJgedV/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMuwaMSa0ae4eri191Cg1onGfD-ufEBSEc_NoxbHz3TpyQ4TDM53eHwq0rjX1zf7qwsMpz-3OVIbgU2U-pG0R3HASjj0DO2x8GLnzYlns-ah8vfXpLn1OFPFBAhzHxTpxO85nQVRJgedV/s320/13.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 14: angled L-shaped extension installed, this will give the "lift" to the door </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BJuV9EYsb8wT3VxJMGqgjxAYGm5bVR2BKiOiguPjtpWLv-aSpJeg9sEiW9I-rSh1_bbT1Qxxh7EpKDyeRpZzFW_Hw665jnErxYNvPxd-zna8r2qJfgigcu5KtqwDJZF8rxKTdalC_GOg/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 15: that was the easiest part...outside door keypad for remote entry</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 16: The American Dream! push-to-open</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 17: done!</td></tr>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-45716696260590069882012-03-08T10:36:00.005-06:002012-03-08T23:05:53.771-06:00yet another Walburg Classic & Pace Bend Road Race<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">Historically, the Walburg Classic and <a href="http://www.co.travis.tx.us/tnr/parks/pace_bend.asp">Pace Bend</a> Road Race in the Austin area have been the season opener for road racing in Texas. Deep fields in the Pro/1 race with a good bunch of riders from Texas and out-of-state make for a challenging weekend in late February. Besides a smaller “training” race in Dallas the other weekend, it’s also the first time we get to race together as a team in the new season.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Walburg, a small rural town just 45 min North of Austin, has some unique characteristics when it comes to bike racing. The town supports the event year after year and the race is held on open farm land where the winds are usually 20+mph and make for a very hard race – in the P/1′s as well as the Cat 5 race. Riders getting dropped in the “gutter” or simply lose contact to the peloton because of the strong cross winds. None of the this year, though as the big American flag was not moving an inch when I rolled into town at 7am (why do we have to race so early?). It would make for a fast race I thought, and more tactical than usual as the wind usually made a natural selection of its own by the time the P/1 peloton completed 3 laps of a rolling 24 mile circuit.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The plan was simple: get into any break which looks promising and in case it really comes down to a field sprint – rather unlikely on this course – be ready to lead out Chad and Jason who can do well in that long false flat uphill drag to the finish line. Besides those two sprinters, we had Mat, Jay, and myself in the race. Before I got serious about moving up and seeing the front of the race I had a little “moment” where I looked down and saw that my rear wheel was not sitting 100% straight in the frame. Almost rubbing my tubular on the chainstay. I thought: “No, not now!”. I had Mat check it while he rode behind me and he just said, “yeah, it’s close.” Not wanting to risk any mechanical failure down the road, I decided to use a lull moment in the peloton (we were only going 17-18mph) to ride to the front of the field, just to abruptly stop on the right side in a driveway. I checked my rear wheel, aligned quickly straight, hopped back on my steed and carried on…chasing the field for 30-45 seconds but they weren’t going fast and Jay was sitting at the back of the field “watching” me, making sure someone is there to help in case I need it. That got my heart rate up a bit and I put in a nice effort. I was warmed-up now. Sure enough, a bit after the last right turn towards the S/F line (about 8 miles out) some of the “serious” attacks came and the 2nd one I jumped with ended up being “the move” of the day. <a href="http://www.elbowzracing.com/">Elbowz Racing</a>, who seemed to have a dozen (ok, only 10) guys in the race were there with 2004 Olympian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_Blackgrove">Heath Blackgrove</a> and Joseph Schmalz, then Austin’s <a href="http://supersquadra.net/">Dave Wenger</a>, <a href="http://www.velossimoracing.org/">David Arteaga</a> from Dallas, and myself. And we just started rotating. Everyone. Pushing down the pedals, not saying much, trying to stay away from a field which was slowly, slowly disappearing in our rear. We were going fast. No wind meant we were able to take longer pulls, maintaining 27 mph for most of the ride. It sure felt fast. I knew I had to pace myself if I wanted to stay where I was, since I know my form is not nowhere near to my top that time of the year. 80 mile road races are rough on me in mid-February. I started to be more conservative and just rolled through rather than really pull. Heath and Joseph were riding super strong, so did Wenger. I thought that my teammates might push a bit in the field because for a while we were hovering at just 40 seconds ahead of the peloton and I knew that we had a better chance of winning with our two sprinters Chad & Jason in the field. It was a tough call..you want to have 1 out of 5 or roll the dice and have the whole field sprint for it and hope your sprinters “take care” of it. Turns out we kept gaining and gaining on the field and – as I expected – Heath + Joseph took matters in their own hand and simply rode away from Dave Wenger, me & David. I couldn’t jump, that “snap” wasn’t there – yet. I rode the last 3 miles together with David all the way to the finish while Dave was able to sneak away and rolled in 3rd. I was next over the line for 4th place and the field came in just a minute later. Jason & Chad went a little bit early in the sprint for the lower places and probably were not as motivated sprinting for a 6th place rather than a win and finished in the main field. Overall, we came away with a hard-fought 4th place and I sure was tired after that one. From the years I’ve done Walburg (6 or 7 times) this was one of the harder ones – maybe not in the field, but being in the break for 50 miles sure was a “rough day at the office”. But it was enjoyable at the same time and our race time was the fastest I remember – 2hrs 46min for the 72 miles. Note: Youngster Jacob White ended up 6th after winning the field sprint in the Cat 2 race.</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://icedotathletes.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/01-feb-29-18-56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://icedotathletes.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/01-feb-29-18-56.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walburg P/1 break-away (photo: Michael Harris)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunday’s Pace Bend Road Race has been traditionally a “sprinters paradise”: a rolling, 6 mile loop on super smooth roads in a beautiful Park just off Lake Travis West of Austin. The “climbs” are more hills and don’t last more than 10-15 seconds when you go up them in your big ring. So, unless you’re totally out of shape (which Cat 1 racers usually are not) it’s hard to get dropped on that course. That makes for some interesting race dynamics as the teams with sprinters (i.e. Elbowz: <a href="http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?compid=212698">Marcotte</a>, Super Squadra: Wikoff, our Tulsa Tough: Chad & Jason, and others) are hoping for a field sprint and the rest of the peloton is trying to “shake things up”. Mat and Jay took turns early in the race to “animate” things a bit and Mat made it into the most promising break of the day while Jason, Chad, and myself rode within our limits in the field, conserving energy and waiting for the last two laps which were going to be faster/harder than the previous 13. Team Elbowz was throwing everything for a field sprint so they rode their race, on the front, controlling things and slowly reeling in the break of 3 or 4 guys. Mat came back from that move with 3 laps to go and I could sense this is going to be nail biter…the remaining break of 3 had 50 seconds with 1 lap/6 miles to go but Elbowz was riding solid tempo on the front, stringing out the field single-file. Chad and Jason were siting 20-25th wheel while I “surfed” behind the blue & white train of Elbowz right next to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chann_McRae">Chann McRae</a> who decided it was time to do a bike race again. With 3 miles to go we could see the remains of the break. I was working a bit harder but was still in control of things. The little “stinger” hill with 1 mile to go was going to be a decisive place I thought and I figured I’ll give it a try because A) I could derail the blue & white lead-out train and B) maybe draw out a few strong <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-WbfVPGURM">“finisseurs”</a> for the last kilometer or so. When I looked back 10 seconds later I saw Chann was on my wheel but we had no real gap and Marcotte still had two guys left “to burn” before we entered the final right turn to the finish. As I had hoped, Jason & Chad made the small split, too and while I was slowly going backwards both of them came around me and Chad settled into 3rd or 4th wheel. That’s all I saw. Nobody behind me but a dozen guys ahead of me in the last 200 meters. Chad came close, but not close enough and ended up 3rd. After 80 miles of racing and a few hard laps at the end we got on the podium…just two steps short. Jason Waddell rolled in 10th and me 13th. Still, we raced our bikes today and everyone did their share of the work and we can’t complain to walk away with a 3rd and 4th place in the first big race weekend here in Texas. 8 month of racing yet to come!</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://icedotathletes.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/419376_2414656184907_1806398054_1526168_1425892560_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://icedotathletes.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/419376_2414656184907_1806398054_1526168_1425892560_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mat Ankney Pace Bend break-away (photo: J.A. Hicks)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://icedotathletes.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/419433_367063379980177_599850895_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://icedotathletes.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/419433_367063379980177_599850895_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chad Cagle (center) finishing 3rd in tight Pace Bend sprint finish (photo: Lee McDaniel)</td></tr>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963357585289537292.post-91683136313530170392012-03-01T12:49:00.001-06:002012-03-01T12:50:51.699-06:00Frost Yer Fanny Du at Texas Motor Speedway<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Coming off a solid off-season which also included a bit of running I decided to take<a href="http://www.ironheadrp.com/" target="_blank"> Jack Weiss</a> invitation to do the Frost Yer Fanny Duathlon February 19th. Like the name implies, it was a chilly 40 something degrees on race day but - comparing to the conditions back in November when I won the <a href="http://mychiptime.com/searchevent.php?id=6152" target="_blank">Duathlon</a> hosted at <a href="http://www.texasmotorspeedway.com/" target="_blank">Texas Motor Speedway</a> - there was almost zero wind on Sunday morning.<br />
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The race was also the <a href="http://www.smwtriathlon.org/index.htm" target="_blank">USAT SWM Region's Championship</a> so the entry list featured a few more heavy hitters (obviously, great runners!) and I knew it would be tough to try to "repeat" on that course. Run #1 (2miles) was painful as usual and I just tried to pace myself and follow a good "draft" around the inner track of Texas Motor Speedway. I thought I was about a minute behind entering T1 and felt somewhat comfortable getting on the bike, which was going to be my 2nd ride on it. Big thanks to <a href="http://www.austintricyclist.com/" target="_blank">Austin Tri-Cyclist</a> which is my bike sponsor for this year with some sweet Cervelo gear. Since there was barely any wind I felt fast and kept catching and passing guys who started ahead of me, including the 40+ wave athletes who started 2min ahead my age group (30+). The only thing I "kind of forgot" was the fact that the young guns (29 and under) started 2min behind us. So coming first into T2 I was just a little bit worried about a strong runner, Patrick Schuster, who came into T2 just 30seconds later than me. Little did I know that he actually started 2minutes ahead of me and was no threat for the Overall. SO I thought: "Oh sh#%, that guy is going to run me down"! My legs felt jello and my feet were cold & numb I could barely feel them hitting the tarmac with every step. It was painful. Somehow I managed to hold him off and came in at 1:00:45 which was more than 2minutes faster than back in November at Brenda's Du. Turns out, it wasn't enough to actually win the Overall as two guys (<a href="http://www.williamhuffman.com/results.html" target="_blank">William Huffman</a> and <a href="http://www.athlinks.com/racer/43803279/Michael-Wilkinson.aspx" target="_blank">Michael Wilkinson</a>) who started 2minutes behind me did MUCH faster runs (10:03 vs. my two equal 11:52 splits). Pretty amazing. While I still got my AG win it was a bit of a bummer to miss out on the USAT Regional Championships by less than 40seconds in an hour event.<br />
<br />
Again, special thanks to Jack Weiss of <a href="http://www.ironheadrp.com/" target="_blank">Iron Head Productions</a> for a great race and <a href="http://www.austintricyclist.com/" target="_blank">Austin Tri-Cyclist</a> for equipping this roadie with the fastest TT rig out there - Cervelo's P4!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3hjRz-TCW9TME8hl_Kz-JwiRrqZ1ZSQyLluWm-M7uwZnm7it6X5wAWCMbzemPn_zdV6lupd_2hjzfqV7et2RL73GMlM0-MWZy0grT-h6iHrdJbv4ZI-_58ju4WRno4IOvvryAdW3d8Ng/s1600/0057_crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3hjRz-TCW9TME8hl_Kz-JwiRrqZ1ZSQyLluWm-M7uwZnm7it6X5wAWCMbzemPn_zdV6lupd_2hjzfqV7et2RL73GMlM0-MWZy0grT-h6iHrdJbv4ZI-_58ju4WRno4IOvvryAdW3d8Ng/s640/0057_crop.jpg" width="398" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> The P4 claims fastest bike of the day! weird number placement, I know. I make fun of it, too...</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdmykUitgSfVhXciBS3AFfflngb-sxY2SNs4CFzWSS3EfNaXde8Tk39Fjr-IBb7AE-kQLn3J45sxbeII7l3I4fZinV5nkp_sNnlBeFdCHH3T5oI2TUhJ7uUmZl0uG68nIrxgRghYOLlqh/s1600/0095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdmykUitgSfVhXciBS3AFfflngb-sxY2SNs4CFzWSS3EfNaXde8Tk39Fjr-IBb7AE-kQLn3J45sxbeII7l3I4fZinV5nkp_sNnlBeFdCHH3T5oI2TUhJ7uUmZl0uG68nIrxgRghYOLlqh/s400/0095.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">a bit pre-mature celebration here, since the "young guns" who started 2min behind me got me by 40seconds in the Overall. Lesson learned.</span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0