The tour of CT by Roger

This past weekend was the first stage race for most of us amatures> the tour of Coneticut! I am late as usual , trying to pack everything in the car 5.00 am and then pick up John Landino in Ridgewood >it was not happening , too much stuff since we were staying over night . TT bike , wheels and bags and my kitchen . Key thing when you are on the road . If you want to eat what you like > bring it !! Saves a lot of time and money , but also no surprises! We get on the road almost 45 min late > John wants coffee from Duncan D's , but the first one we hit has a mile long line , so we decide to keep going ! We see a sign for Ducan D's on 684 and we get off> well we really get off course > after driving 10 mile in the wrong direction we finally find it > long line > great!!
We find our way back to the highway and next thing>you guessed it right > bathroom stop> this was quick , but now we are really late ! We get to Winstead, CT and now we just have to find the race ! Eneas from Targetraining pulls up and he thinks it should be down the road> he was right !! So much for the GPS my wife gave to me for my birthday a few days ago!
John has less than one hour to get ready > I start later , so I got plenty of time !
I brought the trainer , but desided not to use it> there was a nice road to warm up , which I always prefer if I have the option > I absolutly hate the trainer ! This is only the 3rd time I am riding the Ridley Dean TT bike , first race , it should be interesting ! Mark & Allan @ Westwood Cycle went out of their way as usual to get this bike finished and ready for this weekend > Like I said before , without them > I probably would not be racing at all! It feels fast and everything seems to work , so I spend about 30 min for warm up > legs are a little heavy , but nothing I am worried about .
Before the warm up I usually do my whole preparation ritual > Sports Balm start oil on my legs , drink some Amp (Mountain Dew) some other sports drink , eat some cliffbar , put all the gear on, the super sonic skinsuit ( litte wird in my opinion ,but suposely fast as hell) shoe covers ( do the really work ?? that is the question) drink some more Amp and then last the Uvex areo helmet , very cool and super light > I always wonder what this thing would do if I crashed ?? Some more Amp and then ride to the line > wirrrrrred!! One more gel and about to puke , but now it is go time !
The first mile of a TT is always hell, but once you get going >it is all good !! Took almost to the turn around intil the legs finaly opened up > Boy does this Bike feel fast when you get up to speed!! On the way back I catch 3 guys > I do not know if this means anything> I am going fast or they are just slow > do not know them ! Good second half and the fit on the new bike was pretty good > a couple tweeks here and there as expected > but a nice "Rocket Ship" >3rd place , 14 sec off the lead > not too bad! I am happy , but not my best TT of my life ( can not remeber if I ever had one)
Circuit ( or circus ) race is next! It is shorth, but when it is just me, myself and my Giant ( no team mates) you have to be on your toes! I did think this was a pretty hard race > the funny thing is that guys that you do not really see in the road race and probably a few minutes down on GC now all of a sudden mixing it up . I hate to say it but it makes it more dangerous and little enoying . I do not feel that sparky in this race at all , since there is no time bonuses > let's keep it together! I stretched out a few times , but nothing to talk about > Will Dugan wins, perfect timing of his attack > congrats!
Now it is pretty late ( almost past my bed time , remember I am old ) We meet up with Troy , Rob L , Andreas and Monica at a pretty nice outside Italian place call Baci. Food is good and a glas of wine was a nice reward for the days efforts!!
Back to Quality Inn (the only quality about this place is the price OR NOT> too expencive ) and some Cake and Ice bath before bed is on tap! The ice bath really helps recover , but painful if the water is cold enough . Pull your compression socks on and lights out> it will be a long day tomorrow for everybody!
I brought my laptop with me , I figured I would catch up on some work , but it never fails! Not much extra time and the only thing I really had time for was check who won that days stage in the Giro > Gilbert! When you are on the road , my wife always asks me what I am going to do with all that free time I have in between races. What free time ?? I always tell her I will go to the Mall or the Movies or just chill at the Pool! Yeah right , there is just about enough time to eat and sleep , besides running around lugging your bike and bags in and out of the hotel!

Road race , what should be the plan here?? Well , we roll out and Robbie King asks me if I am "the Roger" > I guess I am !! I do not know anybody else that would be?? Maybe Hammond?? Anyway he as a brother racing the Giro and he has the same cool wheels as me >Mavic Ultimate Carbon . Super expensive , but stiff and light that accelerate like nothing else! 10 miles into the race a few guys surge over a climb and I follow because the race leader Eneas is there as well> Tuns out it is Robbie, Will D , Dan Bowman from Kelly, Dan Vallancourt, so basicly the 6 stongest guys in the race only Josh Dillon and Hoag missed it !
Looks good we are going so fast I can barely breath and we gain some time quickly ! Nobody misses a pull and we are gone . I knew it is only Bikereg/Cannondale that would chase ( maybe CCNS ) , so basicly I am in 2nd now on the road . The course was by no means flat > it was up and down going mach speed! I start feeling better as we go , thank God!! Everything is going smooth and we are going down a long decent and Robbie tells me Eneas is gone <> Eneas is back , just a wheel change ! We get to about 20 miles to go and the pace car is telling us a small group is bridgeing > who can that be ? a 3 min gap! Yes it is Dillon and Hoag , now the top six is all at the front of the race ! 10 K to go the attacks starts <> I am still tired and today is Friday.Tomorrow I have to do an other 85 mile race with the same animals ! It was a cool race and I am very satisfied the way it went >a nice build up to bigger things!
This week was pretty uneventfull> Mon Recovery ride on TT bike ( make some adjustments ) Tues Recovery ride on Power Carnks , Wed sandbagged the groupride (still very tired legs) Thurs > ride the Wed group ride loop , felt a little better> then go watch the Thursday night World at Rockleigh ( felt much better watching than riding) Today rain > hoping to get a short ride in at some point !!
I am picking up my FinKraft Adidas rain jackets from the printer, so I might have to try them out ! If nothing else good happend this week I got to spend some fun time with my daughter and I worked on my office as well > new desk ( well used , on a budget) and my new Lenova computer set up > this thing is just so fast and cool( almost like the Dean) . Monica , thanks for the IBM hook up!!! So the business is moving along slowly , but in a good direction > I always try to remind myself how lucky I am to be able to do what I really like ! Just taking it slow> step by step!!

Thanks for reading this extreamly long blog and until next time > race Hard!!!