Austin Weekend

Another weekend of racing in the ATX area where you can ride to the start (Belterra) and we house some out-of-town folks (Lalla, Collin, Francis) while attending The Willis' Baby Shower Saturday evening.

Belterra went kind of how I expected it: a field sprint of 40guys with me getting 37th ;-) Oh well, I tried together with Tristan Uhl and the above mentioned Willis but after 2 laps our break-away was doomed to fail as Andrew's chain popped off. :-( At least I got a nice day of riding and high-speed racing in my legs.

Sunday's Ronde von Manda was a totally different story: A bit of rain and some much anticipated wind made it actually a hard race - just how I like it. I found myself in the right move at the right time (mile 1) and at the end of the day Dille, TravisB. and I rode the last 8miles together to the finish. Well, TB attacked and after a "long day at the office" I didn't feel like doing more work and Mr. Dille didn't feel like chasing him down either so we end up 2nd and 3rd respectively.

cool prizes thanks to Velossssssimmmmooooo!

Random

When I ride the "Free Spirit" in the morning to the office (9miles) I observe several things along the way:

• Guy getting arrested on Manchaca Rd
• Truck running red light, almost hitting cross-traffic on Manchaca/HW 290
• 2 turtles minding their business in Barton Creek
• me trying to avoid squirrels in Zilker Park
• 43x17 does hurt going up Stratford Drive :-)
  

A Cyclist's Favorite Breakfast

After multiple inquiries regarding our homemade cereal I finally got the recipe from the mother-in-law. Enjoy!

7 cups old-fashion oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup wheat germ (and/or ground flax seeds)
½ cup sunflower kernels
½ cup honey
½ cup canola or vegetable oil
¼ cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon of salt
½ cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ to 2 cups dried fruit, such as raisins, cranberries, cherries, blueberries or any combination

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Ina large bow, mix oats, almonds, wheat germ and sunflower seeds.
3. In a separate bowl, add the honey, oil, brown sugar and salt. Carefully add boiling water and stir. Add the vanilla and stir.
4. Pour the liquid ingredients over the oat mixture and mix until evenly coated. Spread into the prepared baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Carefully remove the hot pan from oven and stir mixture. Return to the oven and bake another 30 minutes, or until lightly toasted.
5. Allow granola to cool slightly, and then pour into a large mixing bowl. When completely cool stir in the dried fruit. Granola stays fresh for several weeks when stored in an airtight container or plastic storage bags.

The Driveway

So I have done numerous weekly night crits before - Dallas, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Charlotte. But the most fun and competition is still here in my new hometown: The Driveway. Last night we had 80(!) guys entering the Open Race. Wow! For one night I had the honor to wear the black, red and gold jersey but now Will Ross (THSJ) is the KOD (King of Driveway). Good Times!

Fayetteville Stage Race

photo by Nicki Ellis

• Stage 1: did a little solo, got the 7second KOM bonus, waited for the field for 2minutes going 39x21, chilled in the pack, NOBODY took responsibility for chasing Mr. Boyd down, we (Mercy) did what we needed to earlier, ened up 11th
• Stage 2: lots of sleep, no lunch, just healthy/recovery snacks, 20min warm-up and went hard for 14:20min which landed me in 2nd, 4 sec. behind Travis B., secrets? None! Training, training, training! Rode the new TT rig the day before the first time and got fitted by Dave Wenger. Tire Pressure? Didn't matter! Fancy Zipp Wheels? I don't need them! TT specific saddle? Not for me! Light, TT specific tires? Nope!
• Stage 3: one minute was too much to ask to overcome Mr. Boyd. In Fayetteville, you don't need a strong team to win, you need to have one of the strongest pairs of legs. Boyd rode smart and had the legs. I chilled for 55miles, then went for it and bridged w/ Boyd up to the break, we dropped the guys there, and just TT'd to the finish. I won the stage, Mr. Boyd the race. Fair enough.
• People who deserve recognition: Mat & Mat, Chad, Kolt, Bill, and Bam-Bam for riding hard to make things happen. Mr. Chang and Mr. Mahlmann of TOKEN Products for their continuous support.
  

For Dinner today I got to eat some pizza for each placing:

• Stage 1 - 11th place - 11 slices (?)
• Stage 2 - 2nd - two slices
• Stage 3 - 1st - one slice
• GC - 2nd - Unlimited Ice Tea

The Riccò Show

So in Tirreno-Adriatico's Stage 2 Young Boy Riccò made a big show at the finish:

"I was raising the speed and taking off for the sprint when Gerdemann (High Road) touched me from behind. He did not do it on purpose, because he was tired and could no longer see. But I would have won on my legs alone. The thing that bothers me the most is throwing away a guaranteed win." The altercation – the left side of Riccò's rear touched with Gerdemann's front wheel – caused a few broken spokes and forced 'The Cobra' to walk across the line for fifth place. Riccò immediately tossed his Scott bike in the air and let it crash down while pointing ahead to Gerdemann.

# 1 - he gets a flat earlier in the Stage...

# 2 -running to the finish for 5th place...

# 3 - getting ready for "airborne" action...

# 4 - The Addict on the fly...

# 5 - still flying...

# 6 - a pilot-less Scott Addict...

# 7 - going "solo" across the line...

# 8 - complaining starts...

# 9 - "Linus, WTF?"...

# 10 - (whining) "he started it, I'm hurt, Scott Addicts actually fly really well"

The "Roubaix - Double"

Saturday, 7am: Meet with Adam G. + Chris Trickey at Austin Java
7:20am: drive to College Station
10am: Start of 10th annual Tunis-Roubaix Road Race
10:02am: hit the first 'pave' and getting dirty
11:00am: Mat Stephens and I try to overcome the THSJ domination (7 out of 25 starters in the P123 race)
12pm: off the front with Willis and Vargas
12:30pm: another attempt to overcome THSJ numbers...
12:40pm: chasing down Vargas who has a minute on our chase group
12:50pm all togther again 12:51pm: chasing down Dan Opdyke
12:58pm: 4th place in the uphill sprint behind Uhl, Fawley + Willis
1:30pm: hit up Freebirds for a monster w/ Adam + Mat (extra guacemole)
2pm: head towards St. Francisville for Rouge-Roubaix race
3pm: 'pitstop' in southeast TX to clean dirty bikes + truck at car wash. 5pm: Brownie "Earthquakes" and "MoccaLattes" at DQ in Dayton, TX
9pm: change watches forward to 10pm
10:30pm arrival at hotel in st. Francisville
10:45pm: Breakfast Burritos at SONIC w/ a junior burger + cheese
12pm: bedtime
Sunday, 6:30am: get out of bed, look at frozen car windows, go back to bed
6:35am: get muffins, bagels + bananas in hotel lobby 7am: get ready for 100mile road race with 25miles of 'dirt' (check on the Specialized Armadillos)
7:40am: direct THSJ to race which are a bit late for 8am start ;-)
8:05am: roll out neutral onto the course with 107 other riders + a guy on a disc wheel (!) 9:30am: hit the first dirt section, felt good
10am: entire field stops for pee-break
10:02am: resume racing 11am: more dirt and this time while going uphill, missed out on 100 dollar prime by one spot ;-(
11:20am: in a break of 15guys, unorganized though
11:30am: all together again 11:45am: last dirt section coming on and I make the 'cut' by avoiding nasty holes in the road but can't match eventual winner's pace
11:55am: in 12man chase-group racing for 2nd place due to 'politics' in the group 12pm: race a bit more 'defensive' as I know the sprint is fast and downhillish 12:23pm: see the 1K-to-go sign and get ready for some fast-twitch-fiber action 12:25pm: Carlos Vargas takes the sprint for 2nd, Herring Gas 3rd, and I get 4th but due the Master in the Top3 I'm officially scored 3rd in the P/1/2 race
8:30pm: in the car with aNut, UT Peter + Jenny back to ATX
What a weekend!!! Great times with The Gaubert + Stephens

The "Tank"

(Shimano R-550 Wheels, 23mm Specialized Armadillos, Ultegra 10 Speed w/ Ceramic VCRC BB, 19lbs ???)

La Primavera @ Lago Vista - Dia No. 2

Teammate Mat Ankney and myself swapped places today and I got the "V" while he finished in 8th place. Our pre-race plan was executed perfectly by everyone on the team and I was the lucky guy to be "in charge" in the final laps (they finally let me...). Wheeler, two-time winner Sheedy, '07 Collegiate Champ Boyd, and Tilford came with me and so we went lap for lap but only Alex, Tilford and myself would actually pull through. Riding in that group, I had a "Déjà vu" about last year and so I decided to go hard on the backside and only a never-weakening Tilford came with me ;-) Once we got rid of the rest, it was just him and me pulling hard and I felt confident going into the finish hill sprint vs. Steve. Thanks Bam-Bam, Mat, Mat, Kolt, Marshall, Brooks!

To get a "Veggieburger-View" of the happenings at Lago Vista today, feel free to take a look at his blog here.

photo by Nicki Ellis


teammate Marshall (who did the early work) shows some joy and so does friend + co-worker Joseph LaFico ;-)

La Primavera @ Lago Vista - Dia No. 1

What a DAY! After some team-breakfast at my house I drove out w/ our newly acquired free agent MARSHALL to the race course, got the cooler where it needed to be, checked the radios and off we were! 13 or 14 (?) laps saddle time were ahead of us. I chilled for the first 6 laps until a quality group of riders (Tilford, Wenger, Velossimo etc.) got away and we had MAT & MAT in there...Well, I knew I needed to be there if I wanted to have an impact on the outcome of the race - so THANKS to the sacrificing way of riding of KOLT BATES and BAM-BAM I got a "Shake'n-Bake" slingshot and bridged to the big group, only towing SURFER NICK with me. Once there, I got to sit in a little longer and just counting down the laps. MAT S. rode superb today, chasing down things 24/7 and keeping the whole thing together. After a brief talk w/ MAT A. I rode 95% max. up the backside hill on lap 4, 3, and 2 to go. The group got down to maybe 12 guys because of that but unfortunately stayed together. In the lull of the moment MAT A. took a hard pull and was GONE w/ one lap to go. Sweet! I knew he had it when I saw him solo way off the front at the "roller-coaster". I let Tilford go knowing that he could bridge up to MAT A. w/ out taking guys with him. With 3/4 lap to go I got the radio out of my jersey pocket (the wires were all over my backside) and encouraged MAT + Tilly to keep it up...telling them to ... Go! In my 245th attempt to do well in a "Texas-Uphill-Finish" I finished 5th from our little chase group, ending up 8th overall, snapping a spoke in the sprint and failing in my quest to beat a Phil Wikoff in a sprint ;-)