What a fabulous day. The first autumn-like day of the season. Lows this morning in the 40's, highs up around 70 and not a cloud in the sky. I should have snuck in a little ride this afternoon.

Viewpoint: Best road race... Hillsboro-Roubaix

My road races were limited this year to about 4 races so a decision was not very difficult. That is not to say my selection is undeserving. Hillsboro pulls in huge fields and the town seems to really get behind the event. Beyond that, the race has something to offer most riders while still being rather selective. You encounter a very nice mixture of flat, winding farm roads, moderately sized climbs and a dose of rough roads as its Roubaix name implies. Put everything together and you have a race that easy a serious test of early season riding ability.

Spent another hour on the trainer. I left out the intervals tonight in favor of a good moderately hard tempo with no rests. Much like a cross race would be except at a lower intensity. I figure to add in some intervals again next time.

Viewpoint: Best race atmosphere... Lafayette Square.

For many years I think the Giro della Montagna was thought of as having the best, most supportive fields but Lafayette has easily moved ahead. This was not always the case. When it was the Monday, Labor Day race it lacked a certain flair and blended in with all the other races. The change happened when it moved to its Friday spot on the schedule and it seems to get a little bigger each year. The Friday evening race time makes it unique from most races and seems to add to the festive atmosphere. On top of that, huge fields, big crowds of spectators, local vendors selling food and drink, beautiful homes and homeowners sitting their yards watching the race all make this a cut above any other race on the schedule this year.

I popped the Bianchi into the trainer last night for a really rare Monday of training. I wanted to do some harder efforts but wanted to work into the harder stuff in a few days so I was going to keep it in an easier gear. After a warmup, I kicked up the intensity for a five minute effort. The last couple minutes seemed to drag on but the suffering was not awful. Then, after 5 minutes of cooldown, it was back on again. I dropped the rear down one more gear for a little more grunt. The five minutes actually went by a little quicker. The body must have been more properly warmed up. It was then that I looked down and realized I was in the bigger ring when I had no intention of getting out of the small ring. At that point I decided to stay there and do the final effort in the big as well. Afterward, was 30 minutes of tempo riding. Nothing hard except getting the legs going again. Total ride was 1:10.

My trainer distraction turned out to be the stage we raced in L'Etape. I've been trying to catch up and actually watch the tapes I had recorded during the Tour and this stage was next in line. Seeing the pros climb the Aubisque was interesting. Several spots were familiar as the racers passed by. That is one cool thing about having ridden several of the climbs. You flashback occasionally to how you were feeling at the time or what a certain stretch of road was like. I wish OLN had had some coverage of the Marie Blanque so I could be completely disheartened by how well they went up those nasty final 5k. Anyway, I finished my trainer ride as they were descending the Aubisque and will watch the finish in a day or so. I can't remember who won that stage but I think it was Savoldelli. The strange thing is that he has been completely non-existant in the coverage so far. They didn't show him going over the summit or in any of the breakaways. I could look up the results but ot will be more fun to watch the finish.

Viewpoint: I guess I will start my year-end awards with some local stuff before moving on to the pro scene. Any "winners" are based solely on my opinion, participation and observation. Nothing is based on past experience or reputation.

Best Crit Course goes to... Overland Park Grand Prix

My performances are really hit and miss on this course and more often than not it has been miss. A good starting position is not vital but it is REALLY helpful. You have big fields and the course is technical enough to string the fields out. The need for a good spot is the one mark against the course. Otherwise, it has much good to offer. What the OP Grand Prix is not.,, A four-corner crit... A sweeping course with no real turns... A parking lot crit... The course IS a modified figure-8 with seven turns. I say modified because the far end is about a 140 degree turn, while the rest are 90-degree turns. It has a couple small rises about 15 ft high that meet at the intersection of the figure-8. The course is quick, selective, aggression is rewarded and it makes you think tactically about what to do next. Breakaway wins are not rare. If you are strong and smart, you can avoid the big sprint gallop to the finish.

I pulled the CX bike down from the rafters this morning. I never realized the setup was so different from the road bike. Saddle height is similar but I sit much more upright. The top tube must be a cm or two shorter. The stem rises slightly too. Regardless, I went up to school knocked around a little. Nothing serious. There were the usual JV football games going on so I alternated between practicing remounts and riding the parts of the course not obstructed by the game. My remounts went well with only one or two less than stellar performances but nothing really bad and no stutter steps. The actual riding was tough even though I didn't push the efforts too hard. I have some work to do.

I continue my time off the bike as the body gets softer and doughier. Saturday marks three weeks to the start of 'cross season. I figure it might be time to end the comfortable life and start the process of getting back in shape.

News Item of the Day: Michael Rogers won the TT at the World Championships for the third year in a row. Looking at the results I can't help but think that the Worlds need to be moved back to August. The fields always seem to be lacking in names, particularly in the TT. Take Kashechkin and Candellara for example. The finished 6th and 3rd at Worlds. They were 20th and 21st in the Tour's final TT. I guess you could argue that they had nothing to race for at that point. Let's look at the first TT. They were 66th and 7th. I guess you could argue the other way too and say Vino only got 5th at Worlds and finished 3rd at the Tour's first TT. Still, which top 10 is more impressive? Zabriskie, Armstrong, Vinokourov, Hincapie, Bodrogi, Landis, Cancellara, Voigt, Karpets and Gonzalez de Galdeano OR Rogers, Gutierrez, Plaza, Vinokourov, Kashechkin, Wiggins, Lang, Medici and Pena.

Discovery lost two riders to Phonak today. They lost McCarty (young but not a huge loss at this stage of his career) and Hesjedal (still youngish and a serviceable rider in the Giro this year). I wonder who Bruyneel will find to fill those spots. They are not big names so the replacements will probably be similar guys. Guys that can be nurtured a little and be brought along and used in the occasional race to fill some spots.

Wash U has contacted me to be part of a Medical School study. The word of my amazing physical attributes have apparently leaked out to the general populace.

Saturday I made a brief appearance at the MO Track Champs. I can't really say I raced, so 'appearance' seems more appropriate. I could only stay for the Individual Pursuit and got there in plenty of time to test the aerobars, like I had hoped to do. The setup didn't feel so bad but I didn't feel particularly quick either. Once the Match Sprint seeding trials began it was time to hop on the trainer. I rode and rode and rode before we finally got around my Pursuit. I ended up being paired with Aaron. Great, like I needed to be going against someone with quite a bit of track experience. Aaron's quote that his earlier 200m sprint was as long an effort as he could give didn't exactly make me confident in my chances.

Both of us got clipped in and the horn sounded. I was out of the blocks faster than molasses. Getting up to speed from the dead stop was not good. That's the problem with trying a gearing I had never used before. I never did feel like I could get on top of the gear. It was uncomfortable the whole time as my form was all out of whack. I felt less than secure on the aerobars too. Halfway through I went back to my drops and finished that way. Out of the corner of my eye I could tell that Aaron was well ahead at that point so it couldn't get much worse. He caught me with 4 or 5 laps left. My race completely sucked. That race is a painful 4 kilometers

Sunday was our big Ste Gen ride. We had six guys show up. The forecast was rather good with mostly sunny skies and highs in the low to mid 80's and a comfortably cool start. Only a 30% chance of rain later in the day. The day was starting full of clouds however, and by the time we reached Imperial there was a stray raindrop or two. Not to worry! We turned off Hwy M onto the outer road here came the rain. A good, steady rain. Thank you so much Mr. Weather Idiot. We pulled into a gas station on Hwy Z, near Pevely, for a bathroom break and there was the expected moaning and some question as to whether we should go on.

Like good soldiers, we pushed on, battling the rain and headwind. If the temperature had been 10 degrees cooler it would have been pretty bad. As it was, those first moments in the saddle after gas station breaks or a flat tire were pretty chilly. I felt a little bad at the Festus gas station. Six drowned rats walked into the shop, dripping water and leaving little puddles wherever we walked. I'm sure they had to mop up after us. But hey, we spent money there. We didn't just use the bathroom and leave.

It wasn't until Hwy DD that the rain stopped and the skies began to lighten. That is 34 miles after we first rode into wetness. While the rain had stopped, the roads were still wet with plenty of tire spray for another 10 miles. By Ste. Gen the roads were only damp and after crossing the river the roads were dry and the sun finally came out. The return trip was made nice with a blazing sun to dry us out and a tailwind. There was some muttering about the legs feeling a little heavy and I could tell Jose was starting to feel the mileage. He had consistently pushed up the hills harder than the rest of us. The guy is a fighter though and rode well up until the last mile when he completely popped. I looked back as we turned off Bluff Rd and Jose was about a quarter mile back. I was shocked at how far back he was, but when you hit that wall like I did a few weeks back, you have no strength and can lose contact with others at an amazing rate.

Viewpoint: Last night was the Emmy Awards. Did I watch? No. The only reason to watch would be for the eye candy. While at work this morning I saw this photo of Tess Smith.


Who is Tess Smith and why is she at the Emmy's? I could google her but I don't care enough to bother. Now don't get me wrong, I like a sexy woman as much as the next guy but look at that dress. If she were to walk into a room dressed like that I would have a hard time not staring but that dress screams 'I am a talentless, nobody actress. Please, somebody notice me!' Show some taste Tess.

Chilly, overcast day today. Not that it matters since I'm locked in a central office with no windows. What did matter at work was that I had to move a hub that connects our Xerox printer to you HP mainframe. There's not much more fun than moving raised flooring tiles, pulling cables amongst a small cluster of other cables and then routing them to a new location. Somehow I must have tweaked my right knee because I was hobbling all afternoon. The pain seems to have gone away now as quickly as it appeared. Maybe I pinched a nerve or something and it worked itself out.

The pain had me scared enough that I was seriously considering not going to Penrose tomorrow morning. Not to mention Sunday's long ride being in jeopardy. But, since then, the situation seems better so I pulled out the aero bars and threw them on the fixie. They might come in handy for the Individual Pursuit. I will need all the help I can get. It seems wise to get there early and do some practice laps. A fixed gear with aero setup on a bumpy velodrome sounds like a mishap waiting to happen without having a little practice first. If I don't feel comfortable I will take the bars off and go old school. Aero-schmaero. Who needs it. It's the legs, baby..... right? Yeah, sure.

Okay, I'm ticked off enough about the spam comments to try Blogger's solution which will require the poster to type in an additional word before the comment will be accepted. I don't feel like dealing with Haloscan right now. Maybe in the future I will utilize it but not now.

Monday night before the meeting I picked up a 48t chainring and 16t cog and a chain for the fixed gear. They guy who helped me was nice but for whatever reason he looked at the chains and said they were out of 8-speed but that the 9-speed would work. That seemed odd because there were some boxes that looked like the chain I bought last fall He was supposed to be the fixed-gear guy so I took his word.

This morning before going to work, out of curiosity, I pulled out the chain and chainring to see how the meshed together. They didn't work well. The peaks of the chainring are the only thing that were grabbing the chain. The thickness of the chainring was too great of the inner links of the chain.

So, it was back to the bike shop today after work to exchange the chain for a 1/8" chain. Now the chain fits perfectly and I came out of the transaction $11 to the good. A little while I just put the chain on so it will be ready for this Saturday's Track Championships. I can't take part in much of the racing because of a wedding that afternoon but I will at least do the Individual Pursuit. I am going with no expectations but will give it a go and see what happens. Maybe I can get a few pictures, too.

Not racing much on Saturday may be good since Sunday's is the Gran Fondo Ste Genevieve - Fall Edition. The weather looks good although a little warm in the afternoon.

The pro road season is quickly drawing to a close and I think it is time for my first annual end-of-season awards. What should they be called? Will it be clever? boring? stupid? all of the above? Maybe the "Lycra? I Hardly Know Ya Awards". Categories? Hmmm. I have a few in mind but need to firm up ideas. No, I'm not asking for submissions.

Any thoughts of racing this past Saturday were dashed with my the enjoyment derived from taking the whole week off. I was perfectly happy avoiding competition. Instead it seemed like a good time to take a departure from the norm and break out the fixed gear. I rode around the neighborhood 3 times on a route that was designed to stay basically flat. I didn't ride hard but the switch to fixed gear worked muscles that hadn't been used in a while. More so because this was the first time I had ridden on public roads with my brakes stripped off the bike for track usage. Even a smallish downhill where you might have to stop or where there is a cross street makes you start to slow down well ahead of time. Applying reverse force on the pedals to slow is a little awkward but is a definite workout. I only rode an hour but I was slightly sore that evening.

Joe called Saturday night and asked if I was riding Sunday. I was but hadn't made any firm decisions on what I was going to do. We decided to go to Penrose. We warmed up for a while then started taking one lap pulls. We did a 5 lap race. He took the lead and I sat on as best I could since I was out-geared. I took advantage of being in back by trying some slightly different lines and seeing deciding where to make a move. If I could hold his wheel I was going to wait until the last turn, accelerate, and hope his bigger gear couldn't get up to speed in time. Everything worked to perfection and I got him by half a bike. Then we did sprints each lap and he mainly out-gunned me. He fixed a flat and we started taking lap pulls again. We kept swapping and he eventually cracked. I was glad because each lap had my muscles burning a little more. Then I flatted and we called it a day.

Right now the old legs are sore. They got a workout this weekend even without a race.

Poor Tom Danielson. He gets injured going into his first Grand Tour, the Giro, in May and is forced to drop out. He gets another shot in the ongoing Vuelta a Espana. The team went in with no specific leader for the GC. Azevedo, Beltran and Danielson were to lead a multi-pronged attack and see who emerges. Along the way various teammates have abadoned. Hoste, Joachim and Van Heeswijk all went by the wayside. Azevedo had a bad day (accident I think) very early on and did not start today's stage. Then Beltran , suffering from a bad knee, dropped out today while in 7th place. Where's the Discovery powerhouse now? There is a pretty big difference between the 'A' team and the Lance-less 'B' team. Danielson, trying to finish his first 3-weeker, finds himself in a strong 6th place and left with only three teammates to help in along. The three are nice riders but not much better than average in the mountains. The guy has been left to the wolves for the next two difficult days in the mountains and two more moderately difficult mountain days. He keeps losing a little time each mountainous day but he is hanging tough. Congratulations to him if he grabs a top 10 in Madrid.

Jan Ullrich is probably talking to the German government about launching another invasion of France. He had to think his chances of finally capturing a second Tour victory went up dramatically with Armstrong's retirement this year. Then, the French press piss off Armstrong and make him consider yet another TdF so as to stuff a baguette up where the French sun don't shine. An invasion would not be be too expensive. Based on the last 20 years all that is needed is a multi-national force of approximately 190 cyclists and France will roll over in defeat yet again.

I mentioned Thursday that I had purchased a new drink mix and was going to use it during the Cup. I used the drink all four days and was happy enough with the product than I'm willing to give it a mention. I caution, however, that I do not a great deal of experience with other drink mixes and I would still like to test it on a long ride before giving a full endorsement. The product is Gookinaid. The product name is not terribly catchy but the developer was a distance runner named Bill Gookin.

I purchased a few pouches ($1 each) of the citrus flavor. Each pouch makes 1 quart (32 oz). Gookinaid also makes a more economical 80 serving container that I saw online for about $11. The catch is that a serving is 8 oz. So, one container would make about 24 of the larger 24 oz bottles I use. Not cheap, but in the ballpark of other drinks. The one thing that was most noticeable, at least with the citrus flavor, is that it did not have the sweetness that I associate with the other drinks I have tried. It actually had a lemonade-like taste with a LITTLE bit of tartness. Decent stuff.

In Memory
Love you Mom...
1937-2004

We closed out the Gateway Cup today. I went into today wanting to contribute in some small way to the team unlike the last couple days. Like yesterday, I got a pretty good starting spot but this time I was more aggressive. Once we got through the first couple turns I saw that Peder H had gone on an early attack. Normally I wouldn't bother with such a move but if I was going to do some work I might as well do it now. I stayed to the inside and powered past the pack in pursuit of Peder. Another rider hooked onto my wheel. While I couldn't shut Peder down right away I kept him close. The second time up the backstretch, he faded. Just as I caught him others then came around. I rested a bit and then moved up near the front again. After the initial sorting out, a group of seven riders got away and the pack was either unable or unwilling to bring them back. I was a little gassed and didn't quite have the strength to help in the pursuit. One time, I made an effort to get up front but as I got about 2/3 through the pack the lead riders picked up the pace. From then I was hanging on. Five laps to go and the backside caused me to get gapped slightly. The next time, the gap was greater and it was clear I wasn't getting back on. As I came around for three laps to go, the officials pulled me. At first, I couldn't believe it but then remembered the seven breakaway riders. So my Cup ended with a DNF but without the breakaway I think I would have finished. I go away knowing I did some work today even if it wasn't vital to success.

Thus ends the road season... probably. I can't decide whether to race Olney or not. The odd thing about having a race like Gateway Cup end the season is that you are good and tired afterward and ready to end the season. Yet, you are probably in the best condition of the season and you wish you could take better advantage of the shape you are in.

The Giro della Montagna was on tap today. But first was the team picture in Forest Park this morning. The usual stuff went on there. The 9am sharp photo shoot was at 9:10. Turnout was a little disappointing but that is okay. The others are not photogenic enough anyway. They might scare away sponsors. :)

Back to the "racing". I managed to snag a decent start spot in the 3rd row. At the sound of the whistle, I promptly slid to the back of the pack in record time. Not quite, but I lost a lot of places. The schmuck in front of me on the line didn't help. The cleat on the shoe goes in the pedal, fella. I actually did okay during the race but never really made any move to the front. Riders were shot off the back but I consistently maintained spot near back, with the occasional BIG move forward to the middle of the pack. There seemed to be only one crash. The accident was in turn one and had almost no effect on me since I happened to be on the inside as the victims were up on the outside curb. I dangled off the back of the pack for the last two laps. I would close back in at a few of the turns and then get separated again but in the end was off the back again by just a little bit. I'm not pleased with my performance but it went okay and gives me some reason to want to race tomorrow.

I'm whooped. As mentioned in the last post, Greentree doesn't always suit me. Today was one of those days. My weaknesses were fully exposed by the course day. I got a decent start. Much better than last year when I was run off the course at the bottom of Adams. The first of my weaknesses to show up was a lack of speed. I could never make much ground on the hill. Then as the race wore on my lack of strength began to show. The second half of the hill really began to hurt each time. Finally, my stamina was exposed. Four and a half laps to go and my legs gave up. I lost contact with the pack after being at the back for several laps. The pack quickly opened up the gap and my spirit was crushed as I barely (a couple hundred feet) from being lapped in the remaining few laps. I'm disappointed, pissed and left wondering what the rest of the weekend holds if I'm already off the pace. I have to hand it to the Cyclones for having won both races so far. They've done well.

Afterward, it was nice sitting down with Cindi and watching the Women's race. She hasn't been around much this year and while we keep in touch through email it was good to see her today and briefly last night. Reardon stopped by too. I hadn't seen him in a year either. He looked well.

One Cup race under the belt. I got home from work and was apparently nervous. Long ago I lost the pre-race jitters but once in a while it comes back. I was on the throne 4 times between 3pm and 4:30 so I got out of the house about quarter to five. Once at a race, my body seems to settle down. The atmosphere this was great. This race always is good but the vendors were out more than usual, there was a band playing. The venue seemed to take a small step up in quality.

The good thing about leaving a little early was seeing the course and the road conditions. The roads were good but the best part was they got rid of most of the traffic cones that in past years have narrowed Park Ave slightly and gave us only half of Lafayette Ave. This year we could come out of turn three and use all 6 lanes of road. I think the race was made easier because of the open roads.

My starting position was lousy. Right near the back. But, I moved up nicely the first few laps. That was surprising because the first several laps are usually balls to the wall. Moving up that quickly was a relief. After getting up front I spent my being content tucked into the pack, protecting a good position. I did cover one move by a CBC rider but I could tell that he wasn't going to establish anything. His jump wasn't explosive and while a small gap opened it was quickly shut down. After that I got a little too complacent and drifted back more than I should. Bad move because as the race went on all the passing lanes I had used earlier were now clogged with other riders. Moving up became much more difficult. I was plenty strong enough but couldn't find the room to move up fast enough. Last lap and I did move up some. Riders began to fade off the pace in places causing riders dodge and weave. This is when the racing gets dicey. I had good speed through the last turn and continued to pick up some places. About a hundred meters from the line I started to get pinched a little by a couple riders so I skipped a pedal stroke. Then off to my left I hear a rider go down close enough that I flinched. That's when I shut off my engines. There was going to be no money so why risk any silly moves in the sprint. I finished 30th or so. Not bad but for as strong as it is disappointing. Several people after the race how hard the race was I had thought it was easy. Someone mentioned we averaged 28mph.

After the race I ran into a couple of my first teammates with the Rockits and ended up watching the races with them. This was not good as I was standing the whole time. This morning my legs are stiff. I'm sure the race contributed but they felt great right after the race. Oh well, it was good to see the guys.

Today's race is Greentree. A course that, in my mind, suits me with a long, gradual uphill to the finish. While I think the course suits me, my results have been less than stellar over the years. I've dropped out before and been pack fodder the other times. We will see what comes about this year.

It's Gateway Cup Eve. After work I went to Big Shark to pick up my race numbers for the weekend. A few others were there, like Mark H and Dan B. We spoke a little but for the most part it was a dash in and out. From there I went to buy a new Gatorade/Powerade/insertnamehereade-like"energy drink" that I hard heard some good reports on. Everyone says not to try something new on race day. But, what the hell, it's only the biggest weekend of the year. If I like the product I might give it a plug here. If not, well.... it depends on how bad it is.

After dinner I hopped on the trainer for a half hour. Gave a couple short efforts but mainly I just got the legs moving so that they remember what to do tomorrow night. I go into this weekend with modest ambitions. Some days I do things well. Others days are less than stellar. With some luck maybe I can pull something out of the hat. And if nothing else I hope to contribute to some team success.