Lago weekend. cat 2/3s two 60 mile races

Lago vista weekend, this was going to be the second year in a row that I completed the Lago course. Lago vista is a unique course because it is a very long climb followed by a very long and fast decent. Last year I hit a new speed record of almost 56 miles per hour. I headed up with Ronnie strange a little before noon on Friday to get to the races, which are about 30 miles west of A-TX

After getting to stay at Mellow Johnnie’s for the Gary Fisher presentation I headed to Lago at around 22:00. Once I made it there I found my team and the cabin we where staying at and started to unpack and get ready for the races in the morning.

Having a race that starts at 12:50 is one of the few joys I have in my life. Me, Ian, and Will all got to sleep in and get a good breakfast before we even thought about getting ready for the race.

Saturday road race 11 laps

After oiling up the legs the team and I headed out for a warm up before the Saturday road race that would be about 11 laps around the course. The race started out like a lot of road races and there were no big accelerations. In this leisurely period time I moved up the pack to get towards the front that way if I needed to do something I’d be in the right spot to respond. Going up the back section there were a few attacks but nothing got much distance until about 3 laps in where a few strong cat 2s attacked including Eric Benz and got some separation on the field. Now there was a group of about 4 riders off the front and we were still within an hour of the race start. I figured that there was no way the field was going to let such a strong group of riders go off the front like they did but I was wrong, and before I knew it I was trying to find a way to try to get someone from my team up to the break. Some teams tried to send a few riders to the front to try to bring it back, but the course wasn't smooth enough to get one single chase going, every time we got moving a hill would break up the pace. At one point the break was getting closer and was about 30 seconds up the road. Once it was this close Ian, Will, and I where alternating attacks to try to bridge up to the leaders. Will was the first to try to get across but he couldn't make it and floated back. I then launched a counter to try to get across and I was getting really close but I they looked back and saw me coming then upped the pace once they got to one of the flat sections of the course I then lost all the time I made on the uphill from coming across and floated back to the pack. Shortly after that Ian launched what would be the last hard effort from our team to try to get someone across but again we got close but the break was working too good to try to get there solo. After Ian came back Will and I were toasted and I had to sit in the pack for a couple laps to try to catch my breath and think of what I could do to try to get the next best result. It wasn't until with 2 laps to go Ian floated back and scolded at me to get back to the front, and he was right it was getting too close to the finish to sit back so I started to move up. By that point the pack had lost all interest in chasing down the break and obviously was content with sprinting for 5th place. Heading into the final lap Ian and me were riding strong near the front and where preparing for the field sprint. After the down hill at 51 mph we where 1 k from the line and things where getting heated. I tried my best to stay on Ian’s wheel to get some sort of boost in the sprint but before I knew it I lost contact with Ian's wheel and moved to the outside to prepare for the sprint. Once we got past the tree that marked about 500 m to go I moved all the way over to the far left side of the road and started drilling it, I started my sprint right before the base of the hill and was able to pass a few riders to snag 10th place.

After the race Ian, Will, and me had a long discussion over what we did wrong and how we can change it on Sundays race

Sunday road race 14 laps

Another race in the late afternoon means I got to sleep in and get as much rest as I needed. This morning I ate myself some eggs and bagels and me and the team proceeded to watch Zombie-Land with some of the GS Tenzing Jrs who we were sharing the house with. The race today was on a slightly shorter loop but the biggest difference was that there where some very strong winds blowing which favors me and the team a lot better than the windless race the day earlier. This race started off a lot harder than the day before with people attacking from the gun trying to get in an early break since the days conditions suited this  a lot more. It was gutter fest the entire way up the climb. This helped me and the team move to the front of the pack. From the front we were all over every attack. We switched who covered the moves to make sure there was always a fresh set of legs in the break. At one point Will was in a 4-man break that got a small gap on the field. They were working pretty well together from what I saw. While Will was off the front, I positioned my self on third wheel and covered any bridge attempts. After the feed zone, it was obvious that the break was getting pulled back so I moved up to second wheel. The break was a mere 2 seconds off the front when we hit the steepest part of the climb. I shot out of the pack to put in my counter move. I was drilling it up the steepest part of the hill and looked back after I made it to the crosswind section and saw that my teammate Will Rader was on as well as Eric Benz (Team Brain and Spine Cycling), Colton Jarisch (GCCA) and Mario Arroyave (Velossimo) had made the split. These were same three guys from the break the day before. There where also a handful of other riders that made the break including Danny Parks (GS Tenzing) and Christopher Tricky (Wooly Mammoth). With this combination of riders, we had most of the teams represented. The remaining teams left in the field couldn't get organized to chase us in the crosswind. We quickly started to build a gap on the field and knew that we made the winning move. Once in the break got into a rhythm Will Rader was policing me to assure I didn't use too much energy at the beginning of the break and he took several hard pulls so I can sit in a little more. After several hard laps, Will pulled out of the break and fell back to the pack to block with Ian. By this time we only had 7 or 8 laps left. It was apparent that several riders in the break were feeling the fatigue of a long early break and the rotation that we had was falling apart on the hilly section. Me, Benz and Colton attacked the break a few times to try to get rid of the extra baggage, but nothing worked and we were just wasting matches. After a lap of no attacks Mario attacked and no one followed him. He got a small gap on us and it was slowly getting bigger as people in the break were hesitant to chase. We tried to rotate hoping that to bring him back, but were not successful.  About a lap later Benz attacked on the flat section of the course, while I was sitting on second wheel, but no one responded. I believe everyone was looking at me to chase, but there was no way i was going to waste the rest of my strength chasing the cat 2 state TT champ. As Mario and Eric where going up the road, it became apparent that the best place I can hope for would be 3rd. With 2 laps to go I sat at the back of the break to try to save energy and figure out what I could try to do to make the last spot on the podium. Colton tried a few attacks to try to get the third place slot on this lap, but the break wasn't about to let a 3rd rider just ride away. That was until the start of the final lap, where I rolled off the front on the downhill after the feed zone. I was quickly attacked when the break made reconnection to my wheel but followed through with a hard counter. I opened a large gap and one solo rider came with me. The two of us worked pretty equally up the hill until we got through he descent. Once we were in the final 500 meters, he was sitting on my wheel hoping to pimp me at the line. I was prepared for this and moved as far right as I could to leave him in the gutter as I was speeding towards the finish. I started my sprint at the base of the hill. He was slowly starting to make ground on me but once we got into the final 20 meters he blew up and I was able to get third place by a Bike length.

This race played out perfectly for our team. Being on the top of the podium would have been nice, but me and my team are very happy with our podium placing. I have to give a special thanks to my VW teammates Will Rader and Ian Sewalt for their selfless teamwork and team tactics, which allowed us to get a podium slot for the race. I'm proud to be surrounded by such teammates. I’m confident we're going to do some great things as the season progresses.

I'd also like to thank Ronnie Strange and Kevin Kremke for giving me a ride to the race (Ronnie) and back to Houston (Kremke). I'd also like to thank Danny and his dad for letting me and the team stay at one of the cabins on the course.

Pace bend cat 3s 60 miles

Pace bend cat 3s 60 miles
After spending the night with Eric Benz at his house along with fellow
houstonian Jason Bently. We headed to the start of pacebend in the
early afternoon at around 10:30. The weather was perfect, 70 degrees
pluse and very sunny. I gotto the race and got my numbers and got
everything pinned, even wore my new shorts that came with the kit. I'm
pretty sure that metro v dub has the sexiest kit on the txbra cuircuit
right now, sorry patty and Zach.
The start of the race was very slow and leisurly which always makes me
happy. The race was 10 Laps long. There were severall attacks and such
but nothing got more than 20 seconds on the field. Me, Will, and Ian
used this race as a great oppurtunity to practice our teamwork and
communication in the pack. At the start the team decieded to make me
the leader and expend their energy to try to get me the win. There
were a few times I called on Will, Ian, or Todd (one of the club
riders) to move up to the front to bring back a break that had
potential to be a threat. At one point I we had every Volkswagen guy
rotating at the front to bring back a break that had alot of teams
represented. For alot of the race nothing super interesting happened
there were no big crashes and such for the first nine laps. Heading
into the final lap the field had a completly diffrent mentality than
the begining. The entire race I was fuiling perfectly. Drank all three
my bottles and ate all my GUs. The entire race leading up to the final
lap me and my team were taking about how we where going to set up a
good leadout to try to get me up the hill first. But Ian was cramping
bad on the final lap and when crunch time was approaching we couldn't
find eachother right away and the finish was approaching really fast.
Will had made it to the front and was trying to raise the speed to try
to catch the lone rider still off the front but the pack let him go
and he was between a solo leader and a dangerous cat 3 field with less
than a kilometer to go. Back in the pack things were getting pretty
physical. I had to even had to headbut a rider to protect my position
and stay safe. We then hit the bottom of the finishing hill at 30+
miles per hour and I was holding the white line on the far left of the
road. I then started revving up my sprint and was making up enourmous
ground on everyone. That is when disaster struck and the rider.
Directly infront if me crashed with 200m to go and I ran into him
(didn't crash though) causing me to lose all my speed and momentum.
All I can do now was watch as the guy I was about to pass get third
place and Will
Get caught with 100 meters to go A for sure podium postiton loss in a
fraction of a second after spending over 3 hours getting ready for
that final charge up the hill.
Race was very fun, I love this course good job by San Jose for
hosting. Got to give a very special thanks to my teamates for all the
work they put in for me, so close yet so far. Also have to give thanks
to Eric Benz for letting me sleep at his place Saturday night and
Jason Bently for driving me to the race and all the way back to P-
land. Next race might be Lago.

Walburg cat 3s 72 miles

Walburg cat 3s 72 miles
Walburg , one of the most miserable courses in the state of Texas,
this was my first race in 2010 and I've been looking forward for it
for several months. I left for the race after school friday with my
old teammate Rich. We headed up our hotel and slept pretty good
considering we were watching figure skating. The morning of the race
we packed up and drove off to a burger king for some breakfast yatta
yatta yatta. ...... We got to the parking lot and everything was dry,
a change from the normal walburg experiance. I found my Volkswagen
guys and was able to get the new kit to open my season in. I was
unable to warm up the way I'd like to from the fact it took me a
little longer to get ready
The start of the race was very slow and leisurly which I liked,
72 miles is a pretty long race. From what I saw about halfway through
the first lap a break of around 6 had formed and the pack didn't seem
that interested in chasing. The break by the end of the first lap had
built up a lead of around 90 seconds or so. Teammate Will Rader took a
few really hard pulls to try to get an effective chase to go on, and
it worked temporaraly becuase the break was well in sight with a small
30 second gap with about 10 miles to go in the second of three laps.
The pack then decieded to sit up even though the break was very close
and the leaders then slowley started to pull away and by the end of
the second lap they were back to a 90 second gap. I attacked the
finishng hill to see if the pack was gong to do anything and they let
me go for a couple mins untill they decieded to chase me and a few
others that came with me down. I was starting to get really frustrated
with the fields inability to keep the pace up. In the final 15 miles
or so there where some attacks to try to get away but the field wasn't
letting anything go too easily, with about 9 miles or so I attacked
after the field went pretty hard up a hill and started to build a gap
from the field, I quickly caught one rider that was off the front and
joined by two other riders that bridged to me. The four of us then
went into overdrive and started pulling away from the field very
quicky and before I knew it we were 30 seconds up the road. Have to
give credit to Will, Rich, and Todd for good blocking. By the time we
reached the final kilometer the lead break was within 20 seconds of us
and almost touchable. Half way up the hill one rider jumped a little
early and I sprinted after him and claimed 5th place. Really pleased
with this result, great way to start the year.
Got to give another thanks to Rich for the ride up and some blocking
as well as Will for blocking and trying to bring the break back. Great
race up on by all the officials, going to race Pace bend tomorrow
afternoon.

Sent from my iPhone

Metro Volkswagon Teambuilding camp

Metro Volkswagen team building camp

The final weekend of January I was privileged enough to get to fly up to Dallas to meet my new team for 2010. I have been waiting to go to this camp for a long time for it would give me an oppurtunity to meet my jr teammates Will, Ian, and Kyle. As well as the elite men.

Of course the weekend I decided to come to Dallas a cold front had came through and brought the weather below freezing for the majority of the weekend. For the weekend i stayed at the Rader's were they gave me a place to sleep as well as some very good food to eat. The first thing that we did as a team at the camp was that we watched the Dallas Stars hockey game inside one of the VIP booths. The game was really cool And I got to meet all the jrs and alot of the elite guys. After the game i went back to Will's house (it was snowing) and rest up for the long rides we where planning on doing in the morning.

The next day we had planned two long rides with the team, the only problem is that is was way too cold to ride. 28 degrees. After the ride had started I was frozen, it was a goodthing Will had some extra clothes to keep me warm cause my Houston winter gear wasn't cutting it. About thirty mins into the first ride my bottles had actually frozen for the first time. After the first part of the ride we rode for around 90 mins or so just ridng in a double paceline the place. After this ride we went back to the shop and sat around for a little while. once everybody got warm again we headed out for the second part of the ride. For the second part of the ride we rode for around 4 hours around a diffrent loop, this second ride had a bit a drama. It had tears, blood, crying, a bunch of really miserable looking faces, and one car wreck. (no one was hurt, just bad truck driver hitting a car) between a moving truck and some old people. At the very end of the ride I got to strech my legs a little and do some chasing with the elite guys and even after 100 miles (omgwtfbbq) still got to power through.
After this ride me and Will drove home ate some of his mom's ravioli and got cleaned up for the team presentations that night. At the team presentations I met everyone and got to see what the bikes are going to look like for next year as well as get a team polo :).



The next morning was another long ride, but was more of a hard group ride were you can just let it hang. This was another very cold moring but I was prepared for once and was nice and warm, I even wore my state champion jersey for the ride ;) I had alot of fun ridding through dallas This day. the weather felt alot warmer and we were going alot faster so warm blood was pumping keeping me alot warmer then yesterday.. At the end of this ride some of the elite guys went for a sprint about a mile or two out and i tagged along for the sprint. after the sprint the ride was over and we just cruised into the start of the.


After the ride me and the Radar's grabbed some chinese food and went to the house to pack for my flight back to Pearland.


All in all I can say is that im really happy to be part of the Metro Volkswagen team for the next season and look forward to a very fun 2010 racing season.

1-9-10 cold ride

Just on blogger while i recover from my ride.

after some really cold cold front came through the weather was a lot colder than it normally is. the weather was almost 20 degrees colder than what it normally is which is pretty cold considering it has been in the 50s for the last couple weeks. On this ride we delayed the ride a couple hours to hopefully have some warmer weather to ride in. at 9:50 i headed to the start of the group ride and the weather was right at freezing. The goal of the ride was to do the normal wee mart route which is usually around 3 hours and around 65 miles or so. when I arrived at the start of the ride the only people there where Darrell, Rich , and Evan. we started the ride and the cold wasn't too bad. I was just worried about my feet because i have a problem with my feet and the cold. After the first thirty mins of the ride my feet where starting to feel cold. this was good because at least i can still feel them, around this time darrell turned home. After the first hour of the ride was done my feet went from cold to burning from the cold, not a good sign since it still isn't the halfway point and there is a head wind all the way back. We made it to wee mart (halfway point) in around 1.5 hours which was good. I felt pretty good on the way down and won the two sprint zones. After a quick stop and some food at wee mart we started to our way home. by now it hasn't even been two hours and my feet where gone I couldn't feel couldn't feel anything below my ankles. On the way home we all took good long pulls to fight the head wind and get home to warm up as fast as we could. On the way home we did two more sprints. Me,Rich, and Evan finished the ride in about 3 hours and had no casualties.

well now i can say that i finished my coldest ride of my life. Sunday should be a little warmer.

Start of 2010

Hello, I know I haven't blogged in a while but one of my new years
resolutions is to keep all my blog followers more updated as I get
faster and better on the bike. For those who haven't been part of my
Twitter tweets and don't know what I've been doing since the off
season has started. Well since my off season started way back in
October I've taken part in my schools cross country and had a little
success, even made the regional team as an alternate.
After the cross country season ended I turned back to cycling. And
here i am right now training and getting faster so that i can continue
my success from the past and get better and better.

Age Based Texas State Championship Criterium.

Going to this race I wanted to win. I didn't want anything less than first. This was my first time racing against the Jr Texas field this year so I saw some old friends along with some new kids I have never seen before.

My race didn't start till after 1pm so it was going to be a very hot race when I got there the temp was already over 95. warming up I just rode around for 15 mins I was scared to overheat just from peddling around slowly.

At the start of the race I all the Jrs rolled out as usual. The race started off really slow as any Jr race does. After about 2 or 3 laps a big Metro Volkswagen Jr got to the front and put in a hard 3 laps to hopefully weaken to field.  Just as he pulled  off I attacked and soloed off  the front. I then got a 20 second gap on the field and after 20 mins of a hard solo effort some the Bigger stronger Jrs brought me back. this included Cody Foster who is a strong Cat 2 Jr. Once I was caught I quickly countered myself  and was on another solo break. After being off the front for another 10 mins Cody Bridged up to me from the Jr pack and the 2 of us started to work really well together. going into the final lap me and Cody had a very large gap and we knew one of us was going to win. heading into the final 200m I was in optimal position and started my sprint with 150m and was able to win my half a bike length then my friend Zach was able to get third from the Pack sprint