it is now 11-6

I'm almost a month in the off season And will try to update my blog as frequently as possible.

I will update those 2 track races eventually

10-11 Track racing Endurance night

Long racing mean easy money. Or so I thought.

The promoters cancelled the Jrs and and the masters and combined them with the 123s. which to me is awesome. any ways the first race was a 30 lap scratch. after a couple laps me Lawson and Alex got off the front and started working. I was soon dropped from the break and finished from the pack.

The next race was the 60 lap points race. I went off the front with on other person and I got the first two sprints and then was caught by Lawson and Alex so the four of us worked of a bit before Alex and Lawson dropped me. I was then caught by the field and was with them for the next couple laps before we were lapped by the leaders After the race finished I figured out that I actually got 3rd place in that race.so I'm still exited from that

The final race was a 75 lap scratch. I sat in and got dropped and lapped by Alex and Lawson. Anyways I attacked with 22 laps to go to try to get a lap back. at one point I brought back 3/4s a lap but I was soon caught with 6 laps to go. I then sprinted for 6th

Recap- all I can say is I love the track and every body should atleast try it once

10-10 track racing

Today was the first time I raced the track since July and couldn't wait. Track is one of the funnest things about bike racing. When I went to the track I saw that all my track friends where there and that there was a small group of racers. As the races stared I did 10 lap scratch race that I got slapped in against Lawson and Danial Walker. Then I did a 3 lap handicap that I totally just got shredded. I then had a very good 12 lap points race with sprints every 3 laps. I took 1 lap flyers in the 1st and last sprint points and got those. the next race was a miss n out where the last person from every lap is pulled. I got pulled first in an attempt to help a teammate ;). I then did an 18 lap tempo in the JRs that I had to pull my self out of due to my wheel coming loose and becoming a safety hazard Then in the final race of the day me and Dan did the 50 lapper. Our goal was to attack Lawson till we dropped him. unfortunately Lawson dropped both of us in the last 10 laps and won.

Recap

I'm starting to find the weaknesses of a few of the riders at the track and I'm going to win next time

New sponsorship

I'd like to thank the All smiles dentistry for helping me with my bike-racing and helping me achieve my goals in becoming pro one day. Thank you very much

Chapple hill states road race

Ok I can finally blog.

After waking up at around 4 am me and my teammate Rich drive out to Chapple Hill for the Road Race state Championships. On the drive up I was Mostly in my own world going back and forth between my consciouses and sub-conscious. Once me and Rich got to the race we registered and got our numbers and got our selfs pinned up. We then met up with Dan and started warming up. Our plan was a simple one, don't do anything till the last hour of the race.

Well the race started and me and my Team started at the front of the race. The race stared slow and Dan rolled off the front with a few other people from the group. Now me and Rich had to start blocking. After the first couple laps we were cruising at a fair pace around the course. Nothing too fast or too slow and I sat near the front and received Bottles from my Teammate Stephanie who was working the feed zone for the team. After 64 miles of blocking the break was finally caught and the entire group was back together with around 10 miles till the finish. around now I was pretty tired from all the blocking I was doing and could tell the energy was draining from my legs for the last couple miles no-one did anything and when the sprint finally came down I was going backwards. I pushed my self as hard as I could in the sprint and I managed to hold onto an 18 place finish.

Recap

Never block. Just kidding. well I don't regret anything i enjoyed the entire race and enjoyed all 3.5 hours of it. I just wasn't properly prepared for a 76 miler after Ike. Well Race season is finally over

First day of school since ike went by.

Let's see how this goes

quick write up

today was the first time I rode my bike in one week after a much needed off week and I'm still off of school. anyways I'm now in the process if getting back into shape so I can head out and do good at states.

Hurricane Ike

19:48

9-12-08

Ok. Ike is coming in and me my dad and Teammate Rich were able to nail plywood on all the major windows and doors. It looks like Ike is going to hit us as a strong CAT2 (not bike terms) Any way I'm pissed that they cancelled state Road race but I can handle it. Just a little UPRS (unnecessary Pre Race Stress)

well this blog is going to be about what I do during this event.

well since "plywooding" my house yesterday I just been enjoying the weather. NOT. well Thursday I took the dogs out on a walk and since then I have been Face Booking. well I'll update this blog for as long as I can.

20:50

9-12-08

Power goes out. as the winds are picking up speed. I move about the house and light  few candles. The storm is only going to get worst. me and my Dad go out side one last time to let the dogs use the restroom for the last time. after we let the dogs out we put the last peice of ply wood over the back door. The house is pitch black.

21:30

9-12-08

I'm in my bed and trying to go to sleep. I figured if the house was going to fall I couldn't do any thing about it, I'm the first to fall asleep that night in my house.

5:30

9-13-08

Me and my mom wake up to the sound of dripping water on the inside of the house. We both get up a vault out the door on damage control. Once we were in the living room we looked to our left and saw water not dripping, but pouring out the AC vent in the middle of the hall way. I quickly get a large bucket and put it under to prevent to water from spreading. Me and my mom then looked all over the house and found that the water was going down the walls on the inside of the house, causing big bubbles to appear everywhere.

7:30

9-13-08

The sun finally rises enough so I can actually see all of the damage. It looked like everything west of the house had some sort of water damage. Most of it was water coming through the AC vents. The worst of the storm was over and the winds were <30>

10:30

9-13-08

Ya... The majority of the storm has past and we are eating all of the food that is going to spoil.

21:01

9-13-08

I'm trying to go to bed but I was having a hard time with all the fact we had now AC still.

6:00

9-14-08

I woke up to the rain from the cold front that just came by and I lost 4 lbs of sweat last night. well We still have no power. Me and my Dad go out on a 50 mile bike ride and saw that in other neighborhoods that there was total destruction. as well as pole after pole of downed power lines.

13:01

9-15-08

Me and my dad go roofing and put tarps on the roof. and we GOT POWER

10:00

9-16-08

I play out side all day

9-17-08

Here I am finishing my blog.

My 15th birthday and still here

so far this has been the best school year ever. I love my freshman year at dawson and look forward for every day. I love all my classes except spanish 2, which is in spanish :p. and I know everybody doesn't like spanish. Any way I have less than a week till state and is in taper mode and enjoying my easy 1 hour rides. well I have to go, I got an English essay to type

O ya i almost for got...........

Today is my 15th birthday Ya!!!

School started

Well school finally started 2 weeks ago and I'm finally enjoying it and having fun

well now I'm in serous training for states at chapel hill well I'll try to update my blog more often now that school started

Junior National RR 08

Road race started out really fast. after 2 laps of the circuit I quickly found my self on the back, then off the back. I came in the chase group of 10 behind the leaders

Recap

Course Sucked. is all I can say

SPecial thanks

 to Pearland Cycling club for helping me even get to where I am. I don't know where'd I'd be with out all of you

Jr NationaL crit 08

The Crit at nationals was a simple course with very few turns. But it was going to be my first ever parking-lot crit. After I got all my stuff I started to head toward the start-line. Once I got to the start I got into the second row and close to the front.

The race started out really fast to no surprise and I was comfortable in the middle of the pack. after one lap I decided to start moving up towards the front. as I was moving up however I slide out around the 180  and ate dirt. I got up and was fine along with the 2 others that hit my bike and headed towards the pit for bike repairs. Using my free lap I was able to get back in the pack. but I was never able to get to the front again. I then sat in the back of the pack and got whipped around the course. I was able to finish just behind the pack and in the top 50

Recap

This course was even worst than the TT course. any way I shouldn't crash next year

Jr National Time trial 08

Well after getting packet pick up and getting pinned the day before I was finally heading to the start of the TT course. As me and my dad got into the parking lot I saw a bunch of my cycling friends and my dad met Tim (the guy that got me into Idaho). After a few minuets socializing I started to get ready. once I got ready I had an hour to kill before my 11:48 start time. after an Hour I finally got ready and was in the start gate waiting to go.

After the final countdown I was finally let out of the start gate. I started out harder than I normally would a TT because the course started out at a grade. Any way I had no Idea how steep the beginning of the course was. I quickly found my self doing a very slow start. after I got out off the hills I finally got a fast rhythm going and stareded to pass several riders. I finished strong and thought I did a very fast time, but I soon realized I was out of the top ten and just left to get ready for the crit

Recap

This course sucked. It reminded me of the mountain Time trial I did in Idaho then my flat 20k I did at state. The course was also extremely dangerous for example the entire flat fast part of the course was on a highway with cars zinging by at 70+. any way I'm going to use one of my favorite quotes right now.

"there's always next year"

-George Hincapie 2008 Paris Roubaix

CAT 3 Texas state championship TTT

This will be my first year in the Pearland Team time trial. This is the TEAMS BIGGEST EVENT OF THE YEAR. It was hard enough to make the team now I had to prove that I belong on the team.

After getting signed in and getting pinned the whole team and I start to warm up. After the warm up we headed over to the start. at the start of the race we where flying for the first 20k at over 30 mph. at this time I took my pulls but a little shorter than everybody else due to my Jr gear restrictions. at the turn around I started taking extra long pulls and started to make up for my shorter pulls on the first half of the race. unfortunately my dad had a flat 10 mins from the finish and that just left the 3 of us. however we finished the TT in a fast 52:58. this was fast enough for 1st.

recap

All I can say is that this was the coolest TT experience I've ever had in my life

State Jr ITT

I woke up at 5 and got my mom to drive me to Patterson. once we got there I got my number and decided to talk to all my friends. I then got ready and headed towards the start. as I started I made sure I didn't go out too hard. this paid off and I was able to hold the same speed the entire race. once the race was over I was happy with my performance but I didn't realize what place I had gotten. after around an 1 hour the results came in and I had realized I had came out in first place. with my friend Patric Davis in second. and Hank in third.

Recap.

i'm the 08 state jr champion. I now have to get ready for nationals and hope to do well there

Tour Of Idaho

First and foremost I'd like to thank The Pearland Cycling Club for all there support that helped make this trip possible

Getting to Idaho

Well first I left the house at around 4 and had to get all my stuff to the airport. once I got to the airport we dropped off my luggage and I made my way to my terminal. On the plane I just read my book. the plane landed in Utah 2.5 hours later. I then found my next flight to Boise Idaho, This flight was only 45 mins. as the plane landed I was on time and I called Andreas (coach/race team director) to find out where to meet him to get my luggage. any way I found him at baggage claim along with Aubrey (teammate). we then waited a couple mins till the luggage started coming down the carousel. I quickly found my suitcase with all my clothes but my bike box was nowhere to be found. So we waited another 20 mins before we went to the lost luggage counter. apparently my bike was ether in Salt lake city or Houston but no one knew where. So after realizing Delta lost my bike we headed to the house where we would be living for the next week. once we made it to the house I did a mental roll count to see if every body was there and every one was there already: Ben, Aubrey, Chris, Bo, Royce, me. along with Andreas and Rob Strange (Royce's Dad). Once we got everything situated I went to my room and unpacked everything and sat by the phone awaiting Delta to call to tell me where my bike was.

Prologue (1.4 miles)

Well my bike is still somewhere were I can't get it. We are now at the start of the Prologue and got all our packet pick up stuff. My # for the week was 518 and I learned that the race was going to be monitored by chips for a more accurate race. After telling the officials about my bike they promised to launch Aubrey first and me last so That I could quickly switch out pedals and adjust Aubrey bike so I could use it for the stage.

As the stage started I waited at the finish line and waited with 2 alans and a pedal wrench. as Aubrey came flying by I cheered him on and got ready to get the bike once he hits the turn around and comes back. As Aubrey finished I took his bike and changed out all of the stuff and sprinted to roll out. once I was rolled out I got into my spot behind my 30 second guy and I waited there till It was my turn in the start house. Once I was off I sprinted really hard and got into a very hard pace I then took the only corner at 28 and kept on going. Once I took the turn around I was almost out of breath but I kept going I then caught my 30 second guy with 200m to go. I then sprinted as hard as I could and threw my bike at the finish. After I finished I went back to the team car and gave Aubrey back his bike. I then changed out of my skin suite and sat next to my teammates and waited for the final results. Once the results came I found out that Ben had won the Prologue and I got 4th with only 3 secs off of yellow. the rest of the team all filled in in the top 15.

Stage 1 (40-45 miles)

Today is the road race. I got my back at midnight from the airport, put it together and was ready to race.

 My teammate was in the yellow jersey, after the prologue last night. It was really cool, they actually had a yellow jersey. Our teams plan today was to put time on the guys in second and third in the GC. We were going to do this by putting me in a break and having one or two teammate try to bridge up at the right time. 

We started w/ 3 major teams consisting of 26 total riders. The teams were BYRDS, OBERETO (Beef Jerky), and TEAM TEXAS. Once the race started  with a 2 mile neutral roll out before the actual race started. After the neutral section, our team went to the front and started pushing the pace. After 15 minutes of controlling the pace, I attacked and started a solo break. I quickly got over 2 minutes on the field, and was holding a high steady tempo. After an hour or so off the front, I saw the field start to close the gap. Once the gap was down to twenty seconds, Ben bridged up to me. We began working together and were pulling away from a very tired field. We caught and passed the 17/18 year old field that stated 10 minutes in front of us. This helped motivate us to hammer. We were going into a left hand turn at over 26mph, when the the lead police motorcycle stopped short. Ben rammed into the cop,and hit Ben very hard. We both crashed and quickly got up. Ben broke a spoke and steer tube, and my bike was tangled in barbwire fence about 10 feet away. By the time I got my bike out of the barb wire and started going the field had past us. Ben got up quicker and was already back w/ the pelaton. I was about 10 seconds back when I began to chase covered in blood. I was closing quickly, then two guys attacked. I was not able to follow the attack due to tired legs from the break, so I started to TT back at my own pace. The field was soon out of site after the feedzone hill. I figured my race was over. Keeping my own tempo going I eventually found a dropped teammate 20 minutes up the road. We were able to work together to get within site of the field. Once we got site, we raised the pace and made contact about 15K before the big mountain finish. Once we caught the field, I surveyed who was left. It was basically our team plus 6 others.  After sitting in for 10 minutes recovering.  About 2K from the base one of my teammates attacked. This attack only left the strongest of riders. On the climb two riders countered my teammate and got about 5 seconds. Realizing the attacker was one of the GC contenders, I immediately went to the front and led Aubry and Ben towards the leaders. I closed the gap as much as I could, but could not hold that pace and pulled out. I wound up finishing 11 seconds behind the leaders. My job was done, Ben kept the Yellow jersey and took second on the stage.

STAGE 2 (CIRCUIT RACE - 50 MINUTES)

The plan for this stage was to try to put time between us and the other GC contenders. 

As the race started one of the other teams chased and nobody chased. This put a lot of pressure on the field as he was gaining time in a hurry. Once the guy got over a minute we moved to the front and started chasing. I tried to attack, but I was a marked man. They were on my wheel instantly. The attack did allow Ben to bridge up to the leader as well as the guy second in GC. This was not good since Ben was outnumbered in the lead group 2 on 1. I launched an attack to help get Aubrey up to lead group. At this point we had 2 on 2 in the break. I sat in the pack and did zero work since I had teammates up the road. With about 10 minutes to go a guy behind me in GC tried to bridge. I did not go, because I figured people would chase. I was wrong and had to run him down on my own. Ben won the stage, but we were unable to put time on the others. I came in 11 seconds behind the leaders.

Stage 3 (IMTT 4 miles)

Heading into the TT the plan was to go FAST.

I started the time trail at a good pace not wanting to blow my engine early w/ the plan to ramp up gradually depending on how I felt. Before this the wee-mart bridge is what I called a climb. I kept a very high pace the entire time and took 4th overall in the TT. I believe this point was about 1 minute off the GC lead and 4 seconds from the podium.

Stage 4 (CRIT 50 MINS)

Our plan today was to try to gain the lead back we lost in the IMTT. We would do this by launching countless attacks.

The moment the race started Chris attacked off the front, we caught him in about 1 lap, then Bo attacked, we as caught in 1/2 a lap, then Ben attacked. Three laps later Ben was reeled in. A good sign the field was weakening. I took off and stayed out for about 4 laps before getting caught. The Aubry took off. the field was too tired to chase, and he was down far enough in the GC. For the next 30 minutes we sat in the pack and rested. Once Aubry got over a minute, BYRDS started chasing. They caught Aubry w/ 1 1/2 laps to go. Ben countered,  but was not able to open any time gaps, and we ended up in a field sprint. Ben won the stage, and I took 4th.

RECAP

At the end of the race, Ben took second in the GC, I got 4th, and Aubrey got 6th. The rest of our team was in the top half of the field. Very strong showing by Team TEXAS. Again, thanks for all the support from my sponsors and Pearland Cycling Club.

Memorial park crit 123 7-16-08

Pack finish

Alkek Friday night race 123/Jrs 7-11-08

After another hour drive to the alkek velodrome I was exited to be able to use my teammates aero wheels for the night of the race. I was able to borrow his rear disk along with a front tri-spoke, so I figured that I'll be going pretty fast today. That all changed however, as I was getting registered for my races I heard the organizers say that they were unable to get power to the track. That means that they can't get the lights working which also means that they're going to cut the night in half >:(. What that meant was that there was only going to be 2 races per category and 4 races for me. my first race of the night was a short 10 lap scratch in the Jrs. As all the juniors lined up at the wall I noticed Alan Ting was going to race with the Jrs today. This was good because it was going to make for a very fast race. any way as the race started I was on the attack (what's new?) however I couldn't get away on any of my attacks and I got ether 3 or fourth in the sprint. The next race was the most un-race like race there. it was a 3 lap handicap in the 123s. Any way once everybody got there distances I was 30 meters in front of the un handicapped rider which by the way was Alan Ting. as the race started I sprinted as hard as I could to get on big Eric's wheel but couldn't close the gap. after one lap Ting caught me and got on my wheel thinking that I could close the gap in front of me. Soon the gap started to get bigger and Alan saw this so he sprinted around me to close the gap by himself. I was now by my self when teammate Dan passed me and I just pulled my self out on the last lap. It was a pretty pathetic effort on my half knowing I couldn't close 10 meters. The next and also the final race for the Jr category was a 12 lap points race with sprints on every 3rd lap. As the race started I decided to race this race a little smarter and sit in for the majority of the race. any way, in most of the sprints it was all Rasche and Ting with me getting an occasional second in the sprints. it was the very last lap that I was able to get first in the sprint and get second overall in terms of points. The next race I did was also the final race of the night. it was a 30 lap scratch race in the 123s (ya I know, they cut my favorite race in half). any way... the race started and I did a few attacks from the back of the pack to try to set Dan up for an even stronger counter attack. but to no success nothing was able to stick. The field was letting nothing go off of the front. with 1 and a half laps  to go tilson put in a strong attack and the field wasn't strong enough to go, except Alan Ting who jumped right on the guys wheel. as the final 200m came I was in the center of the field sprint and got ether 4th or 6th place. and Alan won the sprint in his 2 man break.

Recap

practice sprinting on the track because I suck at it... also make better team tactics in the longer races besided attack/counter attack.

special thanks to Dan for taking me to yet another race and to James Smith for letting me borrow his aero wheels

Memorial park crit 123 7-9-08

My second race in the memorial park crit seriesThis is going to be my first race with Kevin Kremke woo hoo.

well as the race stared the organizers made the woman go off first so they can get their prime uncontested which was good with me because it made the men take 2 neutral laps and less then 20mph however after 2 laps the speed went straight up with bike barn doing their attacks over and over and over again. any way kremke only did a few attacks that seemed more like he was testing the field then trying to stay away. After the first 30 mins of the race I did my first attack on a 123 field as I attacked I only got around 4-6 seconds so nothing spectacular happened till bike barn caught then countered me. luckily this counter wasn't that bad and I sat in the pack again. after another 15 mins I did another really hard attack and got a pretty good size gap and I noticed that teammate Dan was on the front blocking for me for around a 1/4 of a  lap. then I looked back and noticed that there was 3 bike barn guys in a line chasing me down after 3/4s a full lap. I then reintegrated back into the heart of the what was left of the pack I then sat there till 4 laps to go when I started to move to the front of the pack and with 1 lap to go I was in an ideal spot around 8 positions back for the sprint and on Dans wheel but with 400 meters from the line at the 90 degree turn the pack slowed way down and I went from 8th wheel to around 14th and was in no contention 4 the sprint.

 recap

attack if it does more then wear out the pack. start my sprint a little earlier 

special thanks to Dan for taking me to yet another race

Fourth of July alkek 123/Jrs

I already forgot some of the races so I'll do my best...

as I get to the race I noticed that my friend from camp Madison had came all the way from Austin for her first track race. also at the track was Alan Ting and a bunch of the really fast trackies. any way, my first race was a Kerrin in the 123s the organizer divided the 123s into 3 separate heats to keep the races more fun and possibly safer. I was picked for heat one which is normally ok for me, then I realized Daniel Walker and Ron the "Dutchmen" where in my race. so once we got our slots I slipped into the 4th slot on Walker's wheel and as we did the first couple laps I was wondering how I was going to get around these speed demons. as the final lap came Ron was leading the train with Walker on his wheel and in the sprint I got 3rd and couldn't get around those two. so to boost my self-esteem the organizers put me in the alienate bracket AKA losers bracket. well In my slow persons race I placed second and just out of the cash. My next race was a Jr race which was I think a 10-15 lap points race. any way I just attacked and attacked and attacked till the Jrs let me go and I crossed the line on a solo break.  Now the next race was a miss and out in the 123s. all I can say is I suck at this :)  any way I got boxed in and was pulled out.......... I forgot what the next jr race I think was a 12 lap points race that I again kept attacking on but the Jrs wouldn't let me go and I placed 3rd in this race. now the next race was another Jr race and it was an 8 lap point-a-lap. well I remember this race. Trent went at the very start of the race and collected the first 4 points solo and on the 5 lap he sprinted from the pack to lock up the victory. after that Eric went for 2 point and I got 1. the final race was my favorite, it was the longer 50 lap scratch race in the 123s as the race started me and Dan where on the front pushing the pace till a prime came and Dan went for it. but after this his muscles cramped and he was no longer in. But after that lap all the really big guns went. next thing I realized me, Ting, the Dutchmen, and another bike barn guy where in a break with me. And as we where in the break we all did even work till about 30 laps to go when I realized that I wanted to drop the bike barn guy. so I attacked after every pull he did to weaken him, but to no avail he stayed in the break and started to counter me. with 4 laps to go The bike barn guy attacked me and I couldn't jump on, so I did a very high tempo to try to get back and with two laps to go I just pulled up thinking I was screwed. but The Dutchmen came flying through and started to pull back the leaders and I just got on his wheel and we closed the entire gap by the final lap and I was able to get second in the group sprint and just edge out one of the other break members

Recap

don't get boxed in in the miss and out, also attack a little less but harder

special thanks to James Smith and his father in law for driving me up there and back

Memorial Park crit 123 7-2-08

My first memorial park crit.

as the race started I noticed that there was over 10 bike barn guys there making it the biggest team there by far. but quickly One bike barn guy attacked and 4 more guys bridged up to him and there was soon a 5 man break up the road. I, being the new kid didn't realize that the break wasn't going to stick so after 5 laps of chasing I decided to bridge up to the leaders. once I did this I got in there rotation for a couple laps before I see My teammate Dan on the front bringing the pack to me. (great pearland teammate ;) ) any way once we got caught there was another bike barn attack but the field eventually caught him. then there was another attack by bike barn and soon another. SO the entire race bike barn was attacking and using there numbers to there fullest advantage. eventually some of the stronger riders started to attack such as Ronnie and Brian. So I just sat in the pack till the last 4 laps where I started to move around to get in a good position and with 2 laps to go I lost my position as other riders where moving to the front and I finished in the pack finish. But this would mark my first pack finish in a 123 race.

Recap

Don't be dumb and chase down the really early attacks. learn who the 123 riders are and learn the new pack dynamics

Special Thanks to Dan Morgan for dragging me up to the race in the first place

E stigma crit 123

short and to the point

yippee. Today is going to be my first 123 race off of the track. as I got ready I watched Stefan win the pro race against Tyler Hamilton by winning a sprint in a 4 man break.

I got my # and pinned my jersey and started to get ready for my race.

at the start of the race I was at the back and tried to move up to the front and the first thing I noticed was the speed was substantially faster then any other race I've done. for the part of the race that I was in it took 20 mins to get to the front of the pack and I was able to hold position there for another 10 mins before I figured I was going to accelerate out of a tough corner and after I did this I was countered by none other then Stefan Rothe. after this attack my legs were shot and I dropped off the back and watched my dads race which he did good in. but he should go into detail on his blog

recap

don't attack the 123. don't race with Stefan

special thanks to Dad again for taking me to another race

At&t 3/4

Short and to the point

We got to Austin and the weather was overcast. after the first race started, Jrs/womans. it started to sprinkle lightly but it was just enough to cause the roads to become extremely slick and this caused several crashes.

any way... my race was next and it was still raining. I lined up on the front like I normally do and got ready to go. As the race went I got to the front and attacked on the second lap. I really like these wet and slick conditions and thought I could use it to my advantage  As it turns out, I was able to get out in front and stay away for a good portion of the race. The road began to dry and it proved harder to stay away, as the pack was able to take the turns at speed. I was caught with about 10 laps to go.  Just before I got caught, I looked over my shoulder to see none other than my friend Blake from THSJ leading the pack.I reintegrated myself to the pack and got ready for the sprint. I placed what I think was 12-16th place. after the race I found some friends from camp and then went back to the hotel and got cleaned. I then came back and watched the rest of the races with friends then watched the pros race with an open jaw.

recap

pros are fast, I mean really fast. I raced the race to the best of my ability and believe I can't improve what I did.

special thanks to my dad 4 taking me to race and to the south central developmental camp for exposing me to all the Jrs I hung out with that day.  I love the rain

Drive way

After a long drive with my dad, we finally made it to the start of the drive way. I was exited because this would have been my first 123 race. But I soon realized they cancelled the 123 and made it just P12 because the pros where too good to race with us little 3s. any ways I registered myself to do the 3/4s with my teammates Tom and my Dad. as I was getting ready I saw familiar faces from the Lubbock camp I did a few weeks earlier. I saw Blake, Zach, Madison, and Kart (my coach). This was the first time my dad met my coach and they exchanged a few words before my Dad and I had to get ready. As we where getting ready my Dad lost his # and was going into panic so I gave him my other number 4 him to use for the race. After e got ready we did a few warm up laps to get familiar with the course. the way the course was set up was that all the turns were simple sweepers and that there was a steep but short climb 500m before the finish line.

As the race started I moved my way to the front of the pack where I normally am and just sat there for a couple laps to just see how the pack moves around the sweepers. eventually I realized that the local team of Velossimo started to control the pack with their team of 5 riders at the front, each one of the team members where taking turns attacking, chasing, and even blocking for each other (something that is rare in easier categories). Throughout the race I was in optimal positioning till I started to De-hydrate and cook out i the boiling heat. Eventually after several laps of staying near the front some Kamikaze rider from GS Tenzing started putting his wheel where it shouldn't have been and he started yelling at me for riding a little close for him. @ around 6 laps to go it got bad enough where he actually pushed me off of the road and into the grass. this sent me to the back of the pack. while I was back here I noticed that my Teammates had dropped off and I had no one to help my back to the front. so I sat just to the left of the pack when suddenly some guy started an attack. So I just parked my self on his wheel and as I moved past the front I just pulled my self off his wheel and reintegrated my self to the front where I stayed for a few more laps. I eventually pulled my self off early because of extreme water loss. what I didn't know was I pulled my self off right before the last lap. :( So I then finished my lap of shame coming in one lap down

Recap

Get a watch. get insulated bottles. get my Cat 3 teammates to do some crits.

Camp

Do to the amount of stuff that went on at camp I'm going to make an outline of what I remembered

Sunday the 8th of June

• Got there
• had introduction
• made friends
• went to bed

Monday the 9th of june

• woke up at 5:50 and took shower
• ate breakfast
• got ready to do the first ride
• the first time we rode we went to a parking lot and did bike handling drills. then we got partners and did bumping drills. this is how I learned to shoulder/ headbutt and pick a water bottle off of the ground.  I also crashed twice in the grass and dented my frame for the first time.
• came back took and another shower then ate lunch
• rested for an hour then got ready for a 30 mile group ride
• came back showered again (wow) then ate dinner
• had a two hour class
• whet to bed

Tuesday the 10th of June, This was the most important days because we where doing to testing to figure out our potential

• Woke up @ 7 ate break fast and got ready for the first computrainer test. we where doing two tests, a 1.5 mile TT and a 5 mile TT each at a 5% grade to find our Watts/Kg
• Did my first test and did really good, set new 5 min power I did mine in around 5 min 20 seconds.
• went back and rested then after 1.5 hours did the 5 miler. Did really well and had the fastest time for my heat of 5 riders
• came back rested
• when to two hour class.
• went to bed

Wednesday the 11th of June, we did out door timetrials and a group ride. these TTs determined who made the Labitibi and the Idaho teams.

• Woke up, ate
• got ready to ride then went on 20 mile ride to the start of the TT course
• first and second TT did good
• third did extremely good
• rode to picnic
• did 40 miles back. I pissed off alot of people in that cross wind :)
• came back, cleaned up. at dinner
• when to two hour class. bed

thursday the 12th of June

• Woke up
• ate breakfast
• did bike handling tests and had fun
• ate lunch
• did another group ride
• ate dinner
• when to two hour class and people where told if the made the teams. I made the Idaho team
• stayed up for an extra hour helping people pack up bikes for plane

Friday the 13th of June

• woke up, ate
• when on group ride and did sprint drills came back got ready to go. said goodbye to all the friends I made then took a plane home.

Special thanks to all the coaches at the camp that helped with all us kids

Driving to camp

Staying at Blake's house was me, Blake, Zach, kart, Ricky, and now Lawson and we where all going to carpool to Lubbock. another 5.5 hour drive we took three cars with 3 people per car. I when with the old guys while the "kids rode together" any ways. I found Karts bike porn stash and kept by self occupied while munched on a total of 350g of carbs from pretzels. any way. we stopped 3 times for food and gas and I just sat and sat and sat. with an occasional yawn. but after 5.25 hours we made it to Texas tech and I got my dorm # and keys and met some of the campers then when to our first introduction meeting then went to bed

Age based RR at Cove

after a 5 hour drive with just me and my mom, we finally made it to Blake's house where I will be spending the night. I don't want to go into what I did because I'll be typing all night. well I got to Blake's and unpacked my stuff then fell asleep.

Next day...

I woke up and ate a breakfast of fruity pebbles before I started to get ready for the race. but as I was getting ready Ricky (mechanic) and James Karthauser (my new coach) pulled in. so we finished breakfast and went for packet pick up. we then came back and got pinned and put our stuff on and rode to the start of the race.

I rolled out and looked at my competition of around 15, 15-18 year olds. As the race started I instantly attacked to see what the field would do. actually just Lawson. and they did nothing so I got a 20 second gap before they reeled me in. once they caught me we made the left hand turn into the 25-30 mph crosswind. At this point I got to the front and put down a considerably hard tempo peeling the field from 15 -7. after The 10-15 min pull I did the field was cooked and Lawson attacked. I got on his wheel and we eventually broke away but I didn't have the energy to pull through so the field caught back on. Then Hank countered Lawson un effectively and the pack was back together. at this point We are going <15.>:-(  after around 30 mins of baking in the heat lawson broke away with 2 others in the cross wind and took a flyer for the win.

Recap

don't race in cove when the weather is >100 ;) also bring 4 insulated bottles +feed zone bottles

and congrats to Lawson for winner the 08 15-18 state champ title

Racing Rapids Omnium CAT 4

Today was the day I was going to be crammed in a car with 4 bikes and my dad for the next 4.5 hours till we got to Alexandria Louisiana. Well after the drive me and my dad got packet pick up and went to bed. Easy Day.

The first race of the Omnium was a very short three mile ITT. usually the TT is my strength and I usually Rock it that event but as I rolled up to the Start house in my usually TT gear I realized I was the first in my Category to go which meant no bunnies for me to chase. And I was the 30 second man of the Texas CAT 5 state Time trial champion, AKA Dad. Well as I started I when out pretty hard and kept up a harder pace for the first minute. but after this I realized my legs felt "flat". on the course I eventually hit a long down hill and had to coast down due to my handicap of Junior gears. once I crossed the finish line I wasn't caught so I was happy in that way. After the race I met up with my dad and we rushed back to the hotel to switch our TT gear for our Road gear.

Once we got our junk we came came back to the start of the RR and decided to chill till the time to start getting ready. With <30>

The final event was A technical crit in down town Alexandria. when I lined up my Dad finally had his stuff and was ready for his first technical crit. As the race started out my Dad immediately got to the front and started hammering (a very familiar pearland move). after half a lap Alex (dad) eased up and moved back to 3rd wheel next to me and we exchanged a few words but got back to the action. around lap 3 Eric Spina attacked and I told my dad to watch this racer. Spina got a small gap and Alex was nowhere to be seen, when all of a sudden a flash flew by on the left it was Alex, and I got on his wheel and was dragged back to Spina's wheel at 30+. This was a very smart maneuver because when Alex and I chased down Spina we could here people's bikes screeching around some of the corners. after we caught Spina, but Alex kept hammering realizing it was a prime lap with Sugar up for grabs. Spina sprinted around Alex and got it however. After this prime my Dad started getting sighs of de-hydration and when to the back of what was left of the pack. with 3 laps to go I was 20 back when I realized we where almost done with the race. So by 2 laps to go I was 2nd wheel and chasing a 5 man break. With half a lap to go we caught the break and going around the last corner I sat 4th wheel. this was around the 300m mark and the guy I was on started his sprint. He was giving every thing he had and he brought the speed to around 36 mph. and with 100m to go I started to go around him and with 50m to go I had a wheel on him and all I could here was him yelling Noooooo!!! for the last meters. I got first in this race and kept my GC lead.

Recap.

I'm rich!!! :0. I was able to get away with 125$ per win, so I came out with 375 yeeha. Also Dan Morgan did a smiler performace in the 35+ by doing ok in the TT but winning the RR and Crit. Alex Pincus did a very good performance in the ITT but got second by 1 second. Has for performance I did every thing perfect and got a great result and I sent in my upgrade request to be a three after this to

Special thanks

I'd Like to thank my Dad for everything, to much to type. And I'll like to thank the rest of the Pearland team And LAMBRA

Houston grand CAT 4s/ Jr open

Finally a race that was close. I woke up this mourning and loaded up all my equipment and my nutrition. On the drive up to the race we past Corey on the highway. Well we pulled our car in front and took the exit on the left while Corey took the one on the right, oh shoot. We already screwed up. We then got lost following the horrible directions from TXBRA. We eventually got there in time to watch the 35+ 4/5. Pearland had two guys in this race. We had James Smith and Paul Wallen. As the race was going on me and my dad found the rest of the team and put our stuff down. as the ended James and Paul finished with the pack and never put themselves in danger. The next race was the 35+ 1/2/3s. In this race Pearland had Dan Morgan and Rich Schmidt. As this race was underway I went back to the car to get ready for my first race of the day, The CAT 4s. When I got my stuff ready I went back to the start finish where Dan was set up and I got on his trainer. As I was warming up Darrel came holding a Fossil on a single legged tri pod thing. At least we had one photographer for the team there. Eventually I got bored of warming up so I took off my helmet and sat on my bike's top tube to watch the rest of the race progress. I noticed as the Sun came out from behind the trees that it suddenly got alot hotter. So I put on some sunblock and grabbed Dan's favorite Houston Astros hat and put it on under my helmet. I thought this was funny because I knew this would so something to to mentality, and I was right. After a 2-3 laps of me wearing his hat Dan came around and chunked his water bottle at me. This bottle hit me across both my knees and caused sharp pains, Thanks Dan : ). As the race finished Dan got pinched in the final corner but still got and got a top ten. As for rich he stayed upright and got 11th.

The next race was mine and I was ready for it. at the start line I looked and noticed that we had almost a full field of 50. The race started out slow and I moved my self to the very front of the pack and sat there waiting for something interesting to happen. But nothing happened so I decided I was going to be in the mid pack and chill. While I was sitting here I did almost no work and stayed up right till the final 2 laps. With two laps to go I was in between two big guys and was bouncing off both of them till I got pushed to the back of the pack. With one lap to go I was riding mid pack and I decided to move up on the inside. SO the whole time I was riding to the turn around I was taking wind. and on the way back in the tail wind I got in the middle of the pack around 20 deep. as we hit the two left turns I moved up around five positions through both the turns and started my sprint from 15 back. I was able to move up to 11th and got 11th for the race. My next race was in 1 hour so instead of stopping I got pinned and rode around with my of my Jr friends for the next hour.

The Jr open and the woman open where both combined to make one big field of 30. This was even better for me because I'll have more pack handling skills and inflict pain on a bigger group of people. As the race started I waited till the field was moving at a consistent pace till I attacked. When I attacked the whole Jr Field was on me like Bees on honey. Well after the field caught me I was reintegrated into the field and got ready to attack again. And I did. This time I got in a four man break with Me, Cody, Trent, and a woman racer. This got the rest of the field in a panic because we would have towed that Woman to victory. one we got caught I sat in the pack again and got ready to do some more damage. As the field went around the corner the two VW woman attacked the field. this strong out the field. this is when Amy Counted the VW woman. But then I countered the counter and got both me and Cody off the front. This is when we had a two man break and had a small 5 second gap on the field. This is when Cody kept saying "c'mon man lets work!" But I just smiled and said that I wanted to go back to the pack and attack again. He didn't like this response so I did a little rotation with him till I dubbed the speed down enough to be caught by the rest of the field. I then sat in again till 2 laps later when I attacked again, This time it was for the win. Me and Cody both got off the front a second time but this time we where working well together and slowly started to get a big gap on the field actually with 3 laps to go we had a 38 second gap on the main field. but when we got to 2 laps to go I directly attacked Cody. He caught on and he did a second counter attack. Looks like the cat and mouse tactics began. With one lap to go the pace really slowed down. I attacked one more time and he did a quick counter. after this maneuver we where both hesitant to pull and really slowed down. Heading into the last two turns I was on the front and he wouldn't pull through (this always happens with me in Jr races). Well with 400 meters from the line I moved to the right hand side of the road and blocked the good part of the draft. with 300 meters to go I unleashed a full sprint effort. harder then I thought I could push my self. But I had to go extra hard, I was sprinting from the front. I got first in this race by around one bike length. After the race I was heading to the podium for my prizes. It was awesome to be the #1 guy on the podium again it's been awhile. While I was on the podium I got lost of pictures and I won a S-works D2 helmet.

The next race was the CAT 3s. In this race we had both Dan and Rich in the threes. early in the race, around the first 4 laps there was a crash from someone touching wheels. this made Trey Copeland crash ("Tacod" his zipp 404) along with teammate Rich. Rich wasn't hurt but he now crashed more in a week then I have in the past year. At-leased he didn't get hurt. As the race went on Dan got Pinched out in the sprint and just made it into the top ten.

Recap

Pearland was noticed in the races today and got several top ten finishes so it was another god day team wise. As for me I still need to practice a Field sprint to become a better bike race. there's always next time.

Bear Creek Crit CAT 4

This will be the first race of the season that should end up in a field sprint and this made me exited. This race was in Katy Texas and was a very close race to get to. This was also a very close race for my teammates and almost the whole team came here to race. When me and my dad arrived we got to see our teammates in the 3s race, Dan and Rich. what I saw from this race is that Dan and Rich where enjoying the pack life. This was the first time I never saw Dan off the front. 

Well when I got there, there was a long time till my race so I decided to watch my Dad's very first crit. All I can say is that he rode well for a newbie. and coming into the last turn my dad was put in the ditch. well, at-least he did his first crit and didn't get dropped. Well after this race I talked to Eric about our race. We realized that we won't be able to animate this race

as the race started I was near the front for the first couple laps till I saw James attack. After the attack I moved to the front and I started to do some pretty bad blocking. Once James was caught I did a hard counter and got a few seconds on the Field. well I was quickly caught and was back in the pack getting ready for any more counters. There where non. soon Bryon from bike sport attacked. we caught him after 3 laps. well I don't remember every thing but on the second prime I tried to go on this but I was half a wheel off >:(. well after that I decided to sit in the pack till the sprint. going into the final lap I was in a good position, but after I took my pull I pulled off to the outside. At this moment I was overtaken by the rest of the pack meat and went all the way to the mid area. at the hair pin I stared my last effort to win. as I moved up one of the bigger guys ran through the cones scaring the other racers in front of me and opening a hole. I shot through this hole as fast as I could and went from 20th back to around 12 back. I got around twelve in this race. there way no way I could have gone to the front of the pack after I pulled off.

The next race was the 5s with Tom and Paul. as I was watching this race I noticed that there was very little attacks but I noticed that Tom was 3rd wheel for almost the whole race with Paul only a few wheel lengths behind. with one lap to go Paul started his lead out for tom. With 100 meters to go for the 5s tom was in a 1 on 1 sprint with a lone-star rider that he just beat by less then a foot getting him a first place.

The next race we had two woman racers in the field.  BillyeJo Sanders and Christine Callander. As the race started they where both doing well. Long story short- BillyeJo got fourth in the sprint and Christine finished in the pack.

Recap

Pearland rocked today!!! Ok... we did good in the 5s well today was an awesome race in terms of pack skills and breaking the barrier (for Alex, he did his first crit today.) well now I'm getting ready for the Houston grand and hopefully a good result there. Till tomorrow 

Memorable ride with Pop to the middle of nowhere

Me and my dad slept in on Sunday instead of going out for a group ride at 8 in the mourning this usually means we would ride easy for anywhere from 2.5-4 hours in an easy zone. Boy was I wrong about that. style. A few hours before we rode me and my Dad/Teammate looked on Google maps to decide on what to do. What we decided to do was ride to the Bear creek crit course and back to see what the course will be like. The estimated time of the ride was less then 3.5. As the ride started I made my mind that I'll be riding tempo for a while and a also decided to hit it from the gun with. we where going at an average speed of 20 into the wind when somehow we took a wrong turn and got lost. We eventually made it to Sugarland and I decided to show my Dad the crit course instead of going to bear creek.

Recap
Don't try anything new with Dad

Alkek Friday night 5-9

Today was going to be my very first track race of the new season and I was pretty excited about it.  This was going my first time racing as a three on the track and my first time riding my brand new Fuji track bike (that's right I catted up from a 4 to a 3 on a rental).

Well me and my teammate James left Pearland at around 4:30 and we had an hour drive to Katy in order to race the track. Today was also Dan's and Riche's first time racing the track ever. After traffic the whole team is at the track which consisted of me, James, Rich, Dan. Once we got there we had to go through the registration process and get pinned up. After that I started to warm up on the little warm up circle when the announcer says that there will be no Jr race. This pisses me off (I want my money back), this will make it so I only do 3 races, instead of the normal 6 that I'd normally do. So I go to look at the schedule to see what's going on with the races. My first race of the night is the P123 Kerrin. Then i looked at the race before me which is the 4s. So as I warm up I watch my teammates race their first race on the track. I believe Dan doesn't realize the term of NEUTRAL lap. well Dan and Rich where living up to Pearland's rep (chase down teammates in break ) well Dan and Rich eventually made the Lonestar rider Eric chase everything down. This is the maneuver they pulled for the rest of the night letting Dan win 3/3 races along with the omnium. So pearland ROCKETED in the 4s.   GO Pearland!!

 Well in the 123 I was chosen for heat 2 in the Kerrin. Well as the race started I was last in position and just somehow rode up to get second in my heat. Bike was OK. Well in the final heat I did the first lap and pulled out due to a chain mechanical. It sounded horrible. I thought the whole bike was falling apart that time. Well my second race was a 15 lap scratch race, long story short, I pulled out again because of a chain mechanical- This however the official looked at my bike and said that I had a tight link or a twisted chain, unfixable w/o the special link tool. Now I asked teammate James Smith to burrow his bike for the final 48 lapper and he said yes (thanks again James). Well me and James had 20 laps of races to change everything on the bike. First we changed the pedals, then we changed the wheels, then we changed the seatpost. I lined up just in time for the race.

So all the 123s except 3 or 4 where in this race, so we did the free lap and then we where off. at first we at a steady slow pace till the first prime lap when the two strongest Jrs went off the front in a two man break, Alan Ting and Daniel walker. So I moved to the front to start the chase when I realized no-one was on my wheel, so I started a solo bridge to the leaders. After a few laps I finally got to the leaders where I was greeted by awkward stares from both the riders. I then was attacked from above going into a turn. I was quickly gaped and in no mans land once again. I started to do another solo Bridge across the gap. I eventually made it across again. This however I never exposed my self to be attacked from above again. I then raced very conservatively for the rest of the race. I got 3rd in the 3 man sprint in the 3 man break, all I can say is I'm just happy to be here. Well I did 1/3 races their that night and still got 4th in the Omnium getting 25$ and making up for my 25$ entry fee.

The recap

I believe the only I could have done better was get a bike that works. But besides that I believe I still need more experience in just riding the track. Well in the 4s Pearland Dominated the field so it was a very good day for the team, well There's always next time

Sugarland Crit CAT 3/4s and Jrs

 This would be the hardest crit this season and the most technical one too. This crit is in the center square of the Sugarland shopping center. I came in to this race expecting it to be the hardest crit I've ever done and boy was I right. Well this was the first race I was going to do with the 3s of my team, meaning I was going to race with Rich and Dan both on the Pearland Racing Team. once me and Rich got there we heard that Dan had another one of his crazy plans, start hard and fast right from the gun. this meant we had to get a good warm up to be ready to hammer from the gun. As Dan warmed up on his trainer me and Rich both went into a parking garage and did circles for ten minutes. After this we strolled to the start line, however me and Rich got there a little late and was separated from Dan, not good. Well as the announcer said "go" Dan was at it before I could clip in, owe. Instantly the whole field was thinned out into a long single file line. And both me and Rich had to use both alot of strength to get to the front of the pack but once we did it was time for Pearland to put the hurt on. Basically the three of us had some rotation going waiting to get on the attacks of other riders and that is what we did for almost the whole race. However toward the ending half of the race it was the Pearlanders who started to get a little more crafty. A little too crafty. I crashed at about ten laps left in the race and shredded my skin suit, but not just any Skin suit. It was my favorite! My personal sponsor TRIALTIR USA got me this sweet Santini Skin suit, which is now shredded beyond repair. I got a little bit of road rash on my elbow but got a crater in the side of my hip. However the officials where able to get my # and give me the free lap rule, so I was able to get back onto the lead group of the pack and race as if nothing happened. First I started to get back in the rhythm of things, and with six laps to go Travis Troxtell, a San Jose guy attacked, so I started to close the gap and all I heard Dan say was "bridge it" so I did. Little did I know that the field was getting blocked by Pearland and San Jose (thank god for teammates) and my and Travis got a 10 second gap with 5 laps to go, as we where going the pack was making very little ground which was good for us. On the final lap me and the Travis held onto the break till the end of the crit. I was able to get second thanks to Rich and Dan.

Go Pearland Cycles Racing

The Jrs

Long story short,

I blocked for Blake giving him the win and I rolled in for third

The recap

This was another good day for me and a good day for the team we even did good with Tom in the 4/5s. I now have enough points to cat up to cat up to the 3s, but I'm going to wait till after the Racing Rapids Omnium in Alexandria Louisiana to do that.