Well its been just over a week i've been back in Tucson. It feels good to be out on the bike and not having to worry about weather. I'm back with the coach starting to build some base. Im excited to get going with the team again. My first races this year will start at the end of Jan.
I promise to keep this thing better updated now that I'm doing something again.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
been awhile
when i last wrote an entry i was on my way home from tucson. Well things have it as i was unexpectadly put on the IR with a busted collar bone. i recieved this while racing in my first race back in the midwest. As the hellish month passed on the trainer so did the nice weather. After i recieved the green light from the doc the weather seemed to turn to crap as the rain rolled in and never seemed to leave.
Now the shoulder is feeling pretty good and can do much more then what i have been able to do in the pass 2 months. With being able to ride outside again my fitness has started to come back. With the itch to race again and the ore to shore was coming i decided the night of registration to race. as i was walking out of the venue thinking i was racing a ss. the owner of sports rak hooked me up with his bike an EX 8. This bike was a blast while riding. With stacking it up 3x in the last 2 miles. I felt good the whole race and never really hurt at all with pushing a decent time. Perhaps ill be seeing you all in TC!!!!!
Now the shoulder is feeling pretty good and can do much more then what i have been able to do in the pass 2 months. With being able to ride outside again my fitness has started to come back. With the itch to race again and the ore to shore was coming i decided the night of registration to race. as i was walking out of the venue thinking i was racing a ss. the owner of sports rak hooked me up with his bike an EX 8. This bike was a blast while riding. With stacking it up 3x in the last 2 miles. I felt good the whole race and never really hurt at all with pushing a decent time. Perhaps ill be seeing you all in TC!!!!!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
din din
I had the pleasure of talking to the SBF co-director and he wanted me to pass on this for all you racers...
Beginning at 9:00PM at the Upfront and Company banquet hall$10 for pasta and bread, cash bar.Tickets will be available for purchase at registration in The Commons on Friday!!See you this weekend!!
just to let you know most restaurants are closed after the race, so fill up !!!
I'll be updating the blog to inform you what has happened lately...NO SBF for me!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
double bogey, bogey, par
This is how I would describe my performance this weekend at the iron horse classic up in durango to a golfer. I went up a little early so i could get a lil bit used to time and climate. I met up with DG and family. Things were going good until the infamous food poisioning that happend on thursday night. This reaked havoc for most of the night on thursday and all day friday when i was finally able to eat dinner.
Sat morn came along and i was still nervous to eat and drink coffee like usual before the race went out. I managed to get a half of a bagel down for the race. the race rolled out and we were steady through town til we got to the first "little" incline when the attacks started to launch. With the first attack i knew i was in trouble due to the food poisioning i had nothing in the legs. From the first attack on it was a mental game as i just tried to set a pace to get me over the mtns.
Sunday was better during the crit felt strong and the field dwindled down quickly. I was in top 2 or 3 for the last 2 laps. i knew the attacks were gonna come and had to follow the right wheel. well an attack came from a velonews rider and i jumped with him he seemed to be strong during the race then boom....he blew up and i was in no mans land with a head wind..while matt from taser launched another attack and i just couldnt grab his wheel or my breath with altitude sucking it out of me.
TT was monday. legs were feeling good from the previous 2 days of efforts and i was able to eat food for a good 2 days now and felt like i had the ability to throw a decent tt together. the course was a tough course with lots of gradual climbing and then a wall at the end that made ur lungs bleed. came in just under 3 mins down from the winner who is a complete stud...remember the names of the Eckmann brothers. The word on the street are these brothers one 15 and one 16 and they are said to be jonathan vaughters protages.
Sat morn came along and i was still nervous to eat and drink coffee like usual before the race went out. I managed to get a half of a bagel down for the race. the race rolled out and we were steady through town til we got to the first "little" incline when the attacks started to launch. With the first attack i knew i was in trouble due to the food poisioning i had nothing in the legs. From the first attack on it was a mental game as i just tried to set a pace to get me over the mtns.
Sunday was better during the crit felt strong and the field dwindled down quickly. I was in top 2 or 3 for the last 2 laps. i knew the attacks were gonna come and had to follow the right wheel. well an attack came from a velonews rider and i jumped with him he seemed to be strong during the race then boom....he blew up and i was in no mans land with a head wind..while matt from taser launched another attack and i just couldnt grab his wheel or my breath with altitude sucking it out of me.
TT was monday. legs were feeling good from the previous 2 days of efforts and i was able to eat food for a good 2 days now and felt like i had the ability to throw a decent tt together. the course was a tough course with lots of gradual climbing and then a wall at the end that made ur lungs bleed. came in just under 3 mins down from the winner who is a complete stud...remember the names of the Eckmann brothers. The word on the street are these brothers one 15 and one 16 and they are said to be jonathan vaughters protages.
TT profile
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
rolling in scottsdale
These great pics come from Eric Marcotte on one of his rides a few days ago....as he states only in scottsdale you would see this!!!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Last weekend
checking out this amazing pink helmet and bike set up...My teammate Austin was out shooting photos at the Scottsdale GP....heres a few
coming in hott!!! took a flyer but this guy didnt wanna pull thru
team pulling me back up
bridging up to the break that looked dangerous...the taser guys are tuff
chilling in the tent with the team talking game plan
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The Boss
Some of you have asked whos been coaching me...well heres a recent write up featuring mr. Barney King.
and a video of our race on sat
Pics are coming
this weekend i took a 10th, 12th both in fast crits avging over 25.
learned alot about racing in heat and having stamped brick on the turns...100 psi
next up for me is the iron horse up in durango!
and a video of our race on sat
Pics are coming
this weekend i took a 10th, 12th both in fast crits avging over 25.
learned alot about racing in heat and having stamped brick on the turns...100 psi
next up for me is the iron horse up in durango!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Dont Forget
To sign up for Superior Bike Fest. Prices are cheaper then they were last year. Well worth the drive for three days of fun!!!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
When in Globe....
do as the Belgians?
The day started for me at 3:20 am when i woke to my alarm clock to get up and get going to my race up in globe. I knew it was gonna be a rough day on the bike so i made sure to have some nutella and a whole lot of go go juice. I got to Globe at 7 and it was pouring and 42 degrees. I geared up pure yooper summer gear(knee warmers, arm warmers, vest and rain coat) i also rigged up the ol plastic bags over the feet with some shoe covers over them. These kept my feet dry for 35 miles.
The course was full of rolling hills on the way out with a slight tail wind the group split with the first good climb of 2 miles. In the break we had 2 WM riders and a southwest hand racer and some other guy. we kept it rolling not to put out to much energy knowing that when we turned around to come back we had a 6 mile climb. This climb turned out to be the deciding factor of the race. The group came together and the pace was high up this 7% grade. After i got done putting some nice tempo and was about to go back to watch the southwest hand rider he jumped i tried to counter but couldnt match his acceleration. two teammates bridged to me and we blew the group apart. We worked well together and i rolled in 2nd place. Team WM was strong today and i most deff wouldnt have been able to pull that off with out the team.
ill try to post some pics soon
The day started for me at 3:20 am when i woke to my alarm clock to get up and get going to my race up in globe. I knew it was gonna be a rough day on the bike so i made sure to have some nutella and a whole lot of go go juice. I got to Globe at 7 and it was pouring and 42 degrees. I geared up pure yooper summer gear(knee warmers, arm warmers, vest and rain coat) i also rigged up the ol plastic bags over the feet with some shoe covers over them. These kept my feet dry for 35 miles.
The course was full of rolling hills on the way out with a slight tail wind the group split with the first good climb of 2 miles. In the break we had 2 WM riders and a southwest hand racer and some other guy. we kept it rolling not to put out to much energy knowing that when we turned around to come back we had a 6 mile climb. This climb turned out to be the deciding factor of the race. The group came together and the pace was high up this 7% grade. After i got done putting some nice tempo and was about to go back to watch the southwest hand rider he jumped i tried to counter but couldnt match his acceleration. two teammates bridged to me and we blew the group apart. We worked well together and i rolled in 2nd place. Team WM was strong today and i most deff wouldnt have been able to pull that off with out the team.
ill try to post some pics soon
Monday, April 6, 2009
Welcome to the Mtns.
Well the second weekend of racing is over. It had some ups and some downs. The last weekend consisted of a crit around U of A and on sunday a road race just outside the boarder.
The crit was a blast. it was a 6 corner crit with a false flat and a little uphill. The crit got exciting on the 4th or so lap when the sprinkler system from the U of A softball stadium decided to go off and excess water to run into a corner. With this excess water came a small lake that covered the corner. with the water on the course your tires were still wet going into the next corner. if you came into this corner to hott your tires for sure would be sliding on through. I kept it up right and fought to stay in it as gaps would go after the water. The pace seemed decent at an avg of 25 mph for 50 mins for my early season legs. i came in 10th on the day.
The next day was suppose to be the hardest one day road race in Arizona. Im learning to believe the promoters down here. This was easiest the hardest race i have done. With a climb that was 18% for a good while. Then after this climb it was continuous rabbit hills that just killed the legs. With no where to recover during the race it was one continuous effort the whole time. I found it amazing how these guys could just fly up this hill like nothing was there. I got popped off on the second lap and continued to chase and rejoined the group going into the 4th lap. When i caught them i got to sit in for just a few mins before the attacks started to fly again going up the climb. i hung in with the guys for the next to laps then got popped hard. This race was a great learning experience. Not only to learn to race better but to learn more about what kind of shape your in and ones weakness.
This coming weekend there is suppose to be an 8 mile climb....hope my climbing legs are there due to no crit the day before!
The crit was a blast. it was a 6 corner crit with a false flat and a little uphill. The crit got exciting on the 4th or so lap when the sprinkler system from the U of A softball stadium decided to go off and excess water to run into a corner. With this excess water came a small lake that covered the corner. with the water on the course your tires were still wet going into the next corner. if you came into this corner to hott your tires for sure would be sliding on through. I kept it up right and fought to stay in it as gaps would go after the water. The pace seemed decent at an avg of 25 mph for 50 mins for my early season legs. i came in 10th on the day.
The next day was suppose to be the hardest one day road race in Arizona. Im learning to believe the promoters down here. This was easiest the hardest race i have done. With a climb that was 18% for a good while. Then after this climb it was continuous rabbit hills that just killed the legs. With no where to recover during the race it was one continuous effort the whole time. I found it amazing how these guys could just fly up this hill like nothing was there. I got popped off on the second lap and continued to chase and rejoined the group going into the 4th lap. When i caught them i got to sit in for just a few mins before the attacks started to fly again going up the climb. i hung in with the guys for the next to laps then got popped hard. This race was a great learning experience. Not only to learn to race better but to learn more about what kind of shape your in and ones weakness.
This coming weekend there is suppose to be an 8 mile climb....hope my climbing legs are there due to no crit the day before!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
its begun
well the 2009 season is here. My first race was last weekend. The race was a 3 stage race during two days. The race started off early on sat morning with a 3 mile tt. The tt had a slight downhill and was super fast i rocked a 53 x 11 in a time of 4:58, the legs felt pretty good. after the tt i went home to take a little cat nap and get ready for the afternoon race. the after noon race was redic. it was on a go cart with 13 turns in .79 mile of acourse. the course was super slick and not my style at all. coming in to the very first turn my rear wheel slide out and completely f'ed me mentally. i was even rocking the psi at 105 to make sure i wouldn't slip. after this slip i very quickly fell to the back and then seemed to not be able to turn my bike at all. i did stay up right and finished the race(a success in dominic's book).
The next day was a 63 mile road race. I made it over the hill with the lead group and stuck with them. the field shattered during this hill and there was 8 of us in the lead group. i hung tough and a teammate went off the front me and another teammate began to block and do our team duties. then my teammate in the break got a flat on the fourth of seven laps. i was the first one to him so i helped with the flat i was in mid wheel change with him when the wheel car pulled up we got him situated and i began to bridge him back up we got on to the wheel car and this guy was flying up hill going high 20's to 30s with my legs already blown up pulling him for a lil bit they were screaming next thing i knew boom off the back and i finished the race by keeping tempo and catching and then spitting out people. my teammate that i helped ended up getting second in the stage and wining the overall!! when it was said and done i came in 11th overall.
i sure could go for some Oberon and a pasty!!
The next day was a 63 mile road race. I made it over the hill with the lead group and stuck with them. the field shattered during this hill and there was 8 of us in the lead group. i hung tough and a teammate went off the front me and another teammate began to block and do our team duties. then my teammate in the break got a flat on the fourth of seven laps. i was the first one to him so i helped with the flat i was in mid wheel change with him when the wheel car pulled up we got him situated and i began to bridge him back up we got on to the wheel car and this guy was flying up hill going high 20's to 30s with my legs already blown up pulling him for a lil bit they were screaming next thing i knew boom off the back and i finished the race by keeping tempo and catching and then spitting out people. my teammate that i helped ended up getting second in the stage and wining the overall!! when it was said and done i came in 11th overall.
i sure could go for some Oberon and a pasty!!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
parte dos
Yup thats part two for my english speaking friends out there. This of course is refering to the shootout. Today i woke up at the god awful time of 5:30 am. I dont think I have ever been awake at this time not even for attempting to shoot bambi. I woke and had my bagel and nanner with a side of monster and out the door i was to head over to the university to meet up for the shootout ride. Its freeking freezing at that time of the morn as i rode by a bank it read 43. Luckly i was bundled up. As i waited around and watched some of the hitters show up my legs were shivering from the cold. When we rolled out i quickly moved to the front thinking it was a smarter idea then trying to work my way up through some sketch mofos. As we rolled out i started to recognize some of the hitters as Ted King, Troy Wells, a colvita rider and some guys rocking an LAF team. I stayed with the big boys today it felt good. The last climb made the ol legs cry a little. Id say this last climb reminds me of magnum road hill but at a much more painful pace going up it.
The legs are starting to feel good....with 2383.55 miles in them
The legs are starting to feel good....with 2383.55 miles in them
Friday, March 13, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
SHOOT OUT!!!
On the schedule for this last Saturday it said "shoot Out". This ride is a local ride but you never know who is going to show up to this all out ride. As i got to the Starbucks it leaves from you watch all the big hitters roll up. The big hitters this week included todd wells, sam shultz, team type 1, and a bunch of local hitters. As we left i got to meet a bunch of guys from my team WM. The guys were very cool and down to earth. while riding i accidentally got into the pack with the big boys and hung for about 30 miles or so. I knew it was gonna hurt when i looked around and saw type 1 and todd wells. all of a sudden TW went backwards and i thought to myself o shit here we go...then boom right back with TW. For the next few miles TW and I started to work together and began to pick off people left and right and was able to see the lead group of about 40 guys still flying up ahead. All of a sudden TW jacket flew out of his pocket and right into my chain drive, luckily i didnt eat. He was very apologetic and cool. I gave him his jacket and told him sorry for the grease on it. he laughed and said sorry again. TW and i then tried to bridge our way back up to the group we were just in but he turned to go do a longer work out and i kept chasing eventually got up to a group and rode the last 15 in with them. it was a great experience and a fun ride!!!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Bike Mecca
Some times I get bummed out. I'm not riding enough, I'm too busy with work. Then I have to slap myself, hard, in the face, multiple times. Because I am lucky. I live in Tucson. In the past month I have done centuries, pedaled my bike up mountains, done multiple races, climbed more than 7000 feet, gone hiking in national parks, see pros (Garmin, OUCH, Bissel, BMC, Team Type-1, Fisher-Subaru, and on and on) on a daily basis on my regular routes. I eat a high quantity of burritos and have a hot tub in the back yard where I can stare at palm trees. I am lucky.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
SSAZ
Where to begin....? I guess its always best to start at the beginning. I have been wanting a single speed MTB for quite some time now. I have been putting it off because I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy a complete vs. build one. The decision was recently easily made for me. There were two races I had on my radar to do. The first on the radar was the 24 hours in the Old Pueblo in mid Feb. My residency has been fielding a team for 4 years now and I was recruited for this years endeavor. The other was SSAZ put on by the one and only Deejay Birtch.
With SSAZ fast approaching and no time to build I pulled the trigger on a new GF Rig 4 days before SSAZ. This was just enough time to put in some hot laps at Fantasy Island and figure out that there was not enough chain to run a 34/21 for the 7,000 feet of climbing that was ahead of me.
With SSAZ fast approaching and no time to build I pulled the trigger on a new GF Rig 4 days before SSAZ. This was just enough time to put in some hot laps at Fantasy Island and figure out that there was not enough chain to run a 34/21 for the 7,000 feet of climbing that was ahead of me.
Now for the race. This was quite possibly the most fun possible on two wheels. The festivities started the night before the race at the Bayhorse Bar. This is a high quality establishment in central Tucson that brought back memories of the Lumber Jack in Big Bay or Remmie's in Downtown Marquette. You had to show up the night before at the bar to find out the actual details of the race; where to start, finish, what time to show up etc. After killing a few longnecks I returned to the homestead for a few short hours of shut eye before heading out Saturday morning. We showed up to Agua Caliente park at 7 am for the roll out. It was a motly scene. All types of folk half hung over from the night before or shot gunning PBR in the parking lot. I knew it was going to be a good day. We roll out and head down the end of tanque verde road to my favorite road sign ever (I'll have to post a photo some time).
Before we end the neutral roll out the lead car pulls along side the crew and starts handing out the champagne of beers to the thristy racers. From there the road turns to dirt and starts to climb. I was feeling good on the 14 miles of climbing but as soon as we hit the trail thats where I suck.
The trails were super fun but the 34/19 on the 29er made the rest of the steep climbs super tough. The trails had every thing sweet single track, steep drops, and we actually road through a river for a while. After the first trail section we dump back out on the dirt road and climb again. From there its a sharp left and hit some sweet sections of the Arizona Trail before finishing up on the Milagrosa trail (Intense!). After the last killer section of the Milagrosa you could here all the finishers hoot and hollering down at the river. You roll down to the river and there it is.......a bunch of other single speed folks, a keg keeping cool in the river (hauled down by chase brother the younger), and a pile of pizza. A great way to spend your saturday; 48 single speed miles, 7000 feet of climbing, delicious brew and great weather.
Monday, February 2, 2009
This was taken on the way to the top of Mt. Lemmon to get some delicous Pie.
There will be more blog material coming soon. The oldest brother chase will be puttin in his 2 cents on his first Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
kinda like that mcdonalds song
da da da im lovin it......Since I have arrived here in tucson the weather has been unbelievable compared to back in the YOOP. It has only rained here once and that was day i arrived. Due to this great weather there has been some great base mile building. Mt. lemmon has been hit up 2x(not the whole thing yet but up to the 15 mile marker). New roads for the madone have been riden. I plan on building up tons of great miles here in the next few months. here are some pictures.
erics view for the day
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