FinBlog

It's not heaven, it's Iowa!

2009-12-10T02:13:00.005-05:00

I hate two things in the world. Actually four, but that is a subject for another blog. These two are easy: Pennsylvania and Nebraska. Let me tell you why:

I am driving across the country this week for the Cyclocross National Championships. With the Finkraft mini-trailer filled beyond reasonable capacity, me and one of our athletes left the final Verge race in Rhode Island on Sunday night headed for Bend, Oregon. After quick sprints through RI, CT, NY and NJ, the long haul through the Keystone State begins.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate the importance the Eastern part played on our Independence. Lancaster with its roots in religious Freedom is great. The industry of the West is critical to the health of our nation. My Dad hunts in the Northern parts and things it is keen.

But when you are just trying to drive through the damn thing, Pennsylvania stinks. Seriously, it takes about 75 hours to get across and after whipping though all of those tiny states so quickly, the State is a huge buzz kill. I hate you Pennsylvania.

Next let’s vent a bit about Nebraska. Previous to this trip, I had no real opinion about the Cornhusker state. Then I drove through it on Tuesday. For those who watch the TV news, they had a little weather. A lot of weather. It snowed really hard and there was a constant North to South wind that tried to blow me, my bike racer laden car, and the Finkraft mini-trailer (mentioned above) all the way down to Texas. I have been to Texas, I did not want to go back.

So, Nebraska took a really long time too. Almost twice as long. Very disappointing. I now hate corn and if I ever see another advertisement for “beef, it’s what for dinner” again, I will puke.

Whew. I actually feel much better now. So tonight I will make it to Bend. Greeting me there will be the Finster, Ralf, Kevin, and several of our New England friends and fellow bike racers. Wish them all speed and skill. Luck is for those who didn’t train.

Did I mention how it was negative five degrees this morning in Wyoming? I will, don’t worry!

Youth and the young

2009-11-03T17:34:00.003-05:00

I received a telephone call this morning from the director of a fairly famous cycling team about one of the riders we help out here at Finkraft. I can't name any names, but the team is sponsored by that thing on most of your handlebars, and the guy wears funny glasses.

We are trying to get the young lad a job on his team. It was a good conversation and some good steps were taken. It was amazing how the director knew specific results from specific races and events. These were races where this young lad kicked some serious butt, and he was noticed. Success all around. I was very impressed as to how the director was such a gentleman and professional on the phone. No beating around the bush: this is the deal and this is how it works.

I was also pretty darn excited that he already knew who I was before the call; that was almost as cool as him knowing the rider. With rare exception, my racing days are over, nowadays it is all about the athletes and the racers.

It reminded me of the importance of setting goals when working with your coaches. These goals could be an USAC upgrade, finishing a triathlon within a certain time, or scoring well in an important race so that a Protour team winds up calling your coach a few weeks later.

Remember that these goals can be lofty or lowly; they are your dreams and you need to try to live them the best you can! Talk to your coach about 2010 during the next few weeks and follow his or her directions so that you can work towards completing the goals.

Imagine how it feels: reaching what you want after months of hard work. Good stuff all around.

We look forward to hearing from some of you soon. Tell your friends, we can help them too.

Racin' and rubbin'

2009-10-27T10:23:00.015-04:00

It has been a while; I think GMSR was the last time I wrote anything on my blog. I raced the Bear Mountain RR and Tour of Catskills and 10 crosses since then. Not to mention I driven about 5000 miles and stayed 15-20 nights in hotels and eaten good and bad food in a dozen different restaurants.

I am the 5th week into cross right now, I am finally starting to get things together and get the hang of things. A lot of new stuff this year. Thanks to Mark at Westwood Cycle, the Zipp 303 wheels + Griffo Challenge tires even though I have not gotten to use these things due to extream mud conditions every weekend and the Dugast Rhinos are getting the full use. A pair of 2010 Ridley X-Nights courtesy of John at QBP, the best ride you can only imagine in cross. Mark is the main source behind a lot of things like building the bikes and servicing the equipment in my racing both on the road and in cross with Allan’s help of course. I do not know how many tires Allan has glued or bikes he has built this year. Bike racing is a very demanding sport of all levels and I would not achieve these results without Mark and Allan, I like to remind others and myself this fact every time I get on the bike.

Kurt at Verge came thru with the amazing looking stars and stripes skin suit, that are pretty much destroyed by now, it is like throwing your stuff into a pig pen and let the “hawgs” go wild ( great movie by the way) . You all know how I feel about the whole National thing, but it has all the sponsors on it and it looks cool as hell. Wore it for the first time at the Verge Series CX in RI, the skin suit even matches the bikes, I guess looks goes a long way after all! Last but not least, if you are looking to get a new pair of cross shoe, Shimano M310S moldable to your foot, light, firm and stiff like a road shoe – there is no power loss with this babies. Oh I forgot – Sports Balm , I am going threw the hot balm like almond butter ( my favorite food , as you know if you been around me long enough) .

First back to road racing. In one month 3 stage wins and overall at the GMSR, but also 3 second place , that is also fine with me , but there is one that still bugs me every day; Chris Thater Memorial crit! Probably the worst 2nd place I ever got in my bike-racing career. I lost $ 100.00 and a pair of Mavic wheels in a sprint that I should have won with my eyes closed. Totally my mistake and nobody else to blame, just waited to long and F…up big time! Then there is those 2nd places that I do not mind at all; Bear and a stage at the Tour of Catskills.

At the end of Sept, it felt like I just a 4 week training camp and could not been any more ready for CX, but the week before Green Mtn CX I got a stomach bug and even while up there my stomach was killing me, except on the bike, won both races and took the leaders Jersey for the first time ever in the New England World Cup.
Since then it has been ups and downs in that series, lost it in Gloucester and regained it in Rhode Island, lost it again to day in Maine and guess what regained it again the 2nd day in Maine and I still have it. The first day in Maine I almost got hypothermia from the pouring rain and upper 30’s temps. I love CX, but sometimes there is a fine line “is it really a cross course or is it mountain biking? “ I think that was the case on day one in New Gloucester, ME. The course was the same on Day 2 , but in reverse. This suited me better because the down hill became an up hill. The mud was even worse than the day before , but 60 degrees under blue skies was ideal and I managed to power away from the competition and take the win . This meant that the leaders jersey was mine again, so a good weekend after all.

The best part of CX , when it is over!

The Mac series is not my priority this year, but I love those races as well and they are a little closer to home. The competition is not as deep either as Verge, but there is no guarantee that I will win the races there either. I love when you win a race that goes down to the wire all the way to the finish and that was the case last week in Wissahikon with Matt Krause. Better yet it was filmed by http://www.cyclingdirt.com plus an interview after, how pro is that?
I have been training pretty hard lately (maybe too hard?) something I like to do . The more I ride the better I usually race. When the engine is running hot during the week, the level of performance is much higher as well on the weekend. The problem is; do I get the proper recovery from the intense CX races and all the driving? My goal is to be good again in Dec and maybe in Jan, I know I can still lift my game from where I am riding right now and that is a good feeling. Winning as much as possible and of course the New England series would be great, but winning a big one at the end it was counts the most..

Bridging From One Season to Another

2009-10-05T21:44:00.000-04:00

As I stare out of my window into the New England woods, I become all too familiar with the impending autumn. The days are growing shorter and the evening air much crisper. Despite all the beauty of the changing leaves, I can only think of one thing: cyclocross season is almost here!

When the road racing season draws to a close many riders simply hang up their bikes for a few months, resigning themselves to indoor gym classes and the occasional weekend group ride, if the weather is nice. But for a growing group of racers, the fall season brings out the cyclocross bikes: machines akin to standard road bikes but with no water bottles, nobby tires and cantilever brakes.

The sport started about a century ago in Europe when road racers looking to continue their racing and training during the winter were forced across fields and over fences to avoid the snow covered roads. This new cycling discipline steadily grew into the very popular sport we now have today. When people ask me for a description, I tell them to imagine Steeplechase events, but on bicycles. The sport is a mass start bike race on a course loop that takes about seven or eight minutes to complete, with less than half on pavement and low hurdles and other obstacles like sand pits or dirt hills that often force a rider off of his bike to carry it and run. The races are held over a time length of 45 or 60 minutes, rather than a number of laps or a preset distance. The sport is a fantastic spectator event, as they are often held in parks or fields where one can watch most of the race lap from one location.

What makes this sport both fun and demanding is how it requires the athlete to not only be a strong cyclist, but also to be good at bike handing skills, a solid runner and have upper body strength to lift or carry the bicycle when needed. As such, the training for this sport is very different from normal cycling and sometimes can even favors triathletes.

The training for this sport often starts well before the season begins (usually in mid September), which can be tricky. Although the running distances can be short in cyclocross, their intensity and ability to change a race require that the racers be good at it. However, your average cyclist does not run much during the season. Often in August they will try to get out once a week for a short run, and then step it up much more once Labor Day arrives. The type of running required in a race usually means some track workouts for short intense speed, a few trail runs to help with the balance and high step exercises like stadium stairs and grass drills.

The intense pace and power required to go as fast as possible for under an hour also requires very strong core muscle strength. Cycling specific workouts including abdominal and lower back building exercises like crunches and planks are good and should be worked into the weekly routine as soon as possible, and then throughout the cyclocross season to prevent injury and muscle exhaustion.

Upper body workouts are also needed to help condition the arms, hands and shoulders for the lifting and carrying of the bike. Monkey lifts, wrist curls and box or ball pushups are a great way to help with this part.

And on the bike itself, most workouts are shorter and more explosive; taking advantage of the yearlong fitness level that most cyclists and multisport athletes have built. The need to be able to push the bike at high levels through the grass and mud requires that the racers can handle high intensity levels almost all the time.

Of course, the most important thing is to practice the sport itself when you train. Although you might look a little silly running around your local town park carrying your bicycle, getting use to doing all the different things associated with cyclocross is absolutely crucial.

Cyclocross is great for all levels of athletes as the bicycles are comparatively inexpensive and an entry level ride will get you through a whole season of beginner races. It is also a great way to continue your season a bit longer and stay fit in the process. The next year is always a lot easier to start when you come off of a three month racing season of fitness and power. Cyclocross racing also helps prevent burnout as you are doing a whole new sport that continues to benefit your summertime goals.

Waking Up Is Hard to Do

2009-10-05T21:41:00.001-04:00

At a recent regional Olympic distance triathlon, open water currents and course issues made the swim portion of the race take much longer than is normally expected. When one of our clients came out of the water, she looked at her watch and we could instantly see that she was dejected. Her time was over six minutes longer than she had hoped even though she was one of the first women out of the water. In a very well attended and “important” event such as this, being at the pointy end of the race was very impressive, no matter what the time.

When what she thought was becoming a bad race was combined with the cold temperatures and driving rain, the fire in her eyes quickly faded. This could have been a difficult day for all involved but she was able to regain her wits and save her podium position.

One of the most difficult things to coach is self motivation. Defined as “the initiative to continue a task or activity without another’s prodding or supervision” it would be easy to think that athletes can only be born with such inner drive. Taking anyone off of the streets and helping them to reach those high standards or complete such a difficult accomplishment as a triathlon would itself be difficult otherwise.

Every day we ask our clients or ourselves to get out of bed before dawn for those long runs or swim classes, to join the local group bike ride in the afternoons and make it to the gym during lunch. When preparing for a long season or long distance endurance event, these personal sacrifices are almost mandatory. Something has to help athletes gain that motivation.

Narcissistic words such as self-confidence and self-awareness are important parts of becoming motivated. If the athlete has the knowledge that they can achieve a certain effort or distance, it instantly gives them that confidence and awareness and that helps get them through the rough spots and bad weather. No longer are they whispering “I think I can;” they are screaming “I know I will!”

Without sounding too preferential, TrainingPeaks is a fantastic tool to help with this process. The structure of a schedule or plan given by the coach is a great way to build a client’s fitness level and preparation towards an event or goal. Then, the ability that the client has to provide feedback about those workouts and track and gauge their fitness and abilities also helps. When the athlete downloads their workouts, fills in such information as sleep habits, body composition and time worked out, they can see tangible proof that they are finishing their workouts and that they are truly getting fitter.

Now that the seasons of most traditional endurance sports are drawing to a close, using a structure training plan is even more important to help fight the doldrums of winter and the potential monotony of indoor training exercises.

Almost everyone responds well to structure, no matter what their core beliefs about the subject. Utilizing the experience and knowledge of a coach to help reach a goal combined with the organizational help of TrainingPeaks makes those goals and races all the more attainable.

Sign up for a TrainingPeaks account today: get motivated to stay on track with your fitness!

The Last of the MohiFins

2009-09-22T18:20:00.006-04:00

This past weekend, in that part of New York State where once the Delaware, Mohawk and Mohicans all raced their bicycles, an elder from a far away land came to claim "coup" on them all. Young men like Uncas and Magua were to compete against this man who had come to be called "The Flying Fin".

Soaring through the air is an important medicine to posess, but alas, it was the local standout, Chingackgook who would eventually rule the weekend. The man from a far away place surely tried to shoot straight like an arrow towards the sun - and to that sun he asked for speed as he was Roger, the Last of the MohiFins.

Not even the great James Fenimore Cooper could have scripted a better tribute to the great people who gave their souls to this beautiful part of New York State. The Tour of Catskills was a three stage event with an opening uphill-ish time trial, and two days of road races that would break the mind and spirit of even the strongest warrior.

There were Finkfrafters galore: Roger, Reggie, James, David, Todd, Death Row John, Jerry and lots of others. The elite race was a small field but with some very strong riders. Bruyneel Academy rider Peter Horn, cat2 strongman Cameron, Colavita pro and local boy Andy Gumpthill (straight off of Missouri), and the Bikereg duo of Alister Ratclif and local boy Justin Lindine. Now it is no secret and Justin and Alister used to race for me for several years, and I hold a special place in my blackened shriveled up heart for them, but when the road tips uphill: look out fo the Flying Fin.

Well, the time trial was pretty fast and everyone was within a few seconds of each other going into the first 80 mile road race. Incredibly, the finish came down to a sprint amongst the predicted strong men (the rest dropped like 4th period French class) and the Colavita pro beat the Fin by a hair. The resulting chaos put the Euro based Horn into the leaders jersey.

The next day was a 71 mile road race which included an almost 5 mile climb just 6 miles from the finish. It was no big secret that Roger would put the hurt into everyone on this climb and go for the win. However, a wrench was thrown in when Alister attacked early in the stage hunting the KOM and that forced the leader and others to chase. When Roger did finally go on the climb, he bought back the remants of the break, and although the attack was described as brutal, the tactics of the day allowed others to not work as hard and the group was still six going into town.

As Justin's teammate was out all day, he was able to conserve and bounce back after Roger at the finale and win the stage. While we all sat around afterwards, a quick math count also saw that Justin's bonus time netted him the overall win as well. Great. Roger took third for the day and 4th overall. Not too shabby considering the others in front of him were half his age and pretty darn quick.

All of the Finkrafters finished in style with James scoring a top ten. This race was very hard and difficult to complete after such a long season. It should be noted that I did not even kid myself into racing this year: no thank you!!!! Congrats to all of them for pressing on, now it is time to prepare for next year!

The Green Monster Stage race by Roger

2009-09-11T19:15:00.013-04:00

After tossing a coin to decide if I should do the Pro 1 or the master beater race , well after all considered I signed up for the 40+ race . It is an expensive race , long trip and many days away from home , so we made it an family trip or a vacation race like my daughter called it.

Prior to this race we had a very tragic event happen in our Westwood Cycling Community . The son of our friend and teammate Gregg Cossgrove was lost in a swimming accedent and taken by the sea. About 15 of us at the GMSR all wore black "Livestrong bands" in memory of Chance.

Since I told Andreas to see if we could get the black bands I thought about winning the road race stage and dedicating the win on the highest point of the race to Chance. It seemed like that was the only thing ,besides wearing the bands and giving our prayers to Gregg and his family, that had any meaning still racing our bikes after something like this happened.

We were staying with Andreas, Monica, Joe, Trish , Eric and Bernadette in a ski condo on top of Sugarbush. Cool to just hang out and cook up a storm every night and not have to go out to some restaurant that you do not know what you will get. The weather was incredible this time , this was the 8th time I did the GMSR and probably the warmest it has ever been. I missed it one year when my daughter was born and that year it rained and was really cold. Lucky me!!

The TT is the first stage and the Master race does not go off until about 5.00 pm , so I had all day to chill and even go for an easy spin.It was easy until I had to ride back up the Sugarbush Access Rd , the gearing was a little off , a 46 is good on the TT , but not on this hill! Legs felt good , much better than the night before on our pre ride , I could barely keep up with Allan and Andreas . I knew a longer warm up was key on this TT , so I rode a good 45 -50 min on the road ( RT 100 ) and things started to fall in place . I knew I went too hard on the first part up the hill last year , so I held back a little and it worked out well . By the time I got over the top I felt nice and was able to really get on top of the 55 chain ring. The last K is brutal with the infamous "ditch" and a slight uphill the last 500 meters. I posted a 14.43 which was good enough for the win ! My good buddy Jon B took second this time ,21 sec back . In a TT you just go as hard as you can , try to gage your effort over the course to the max. No tactics , it is what it is , no matter what category you ride! Got the Yellow Jersey and dinner cooked by the girls. Yummy!!

Day 2 , the Circuit race is on the old course with the King of the Mountain and Sprint points at stake. We ride to the course and meet the girls there, quick wheel change , it is time for the Mavic Ultimates. Bling!! Troy wants the sprinters Jersey and Joe the KOM . I figure I probaly just help these guys and stay in Yellow. We do the lead out for the first sprint , no other team helps , but when we see the line everybody wants the points and go crazy. We missed that one ! KOM is next and we just keep it together and I let Joe take a stab at it , but I noticed he was getting swarmed by a bunch of guys , so I attacked them pretty hard 300 meters to go and got a hugh gap , so that was it , 5 points in the bag. Next sprint Troy got a few and I decided that KOM and a set of Edge wheels would become mine . 5 more points , exact same attack . It is all togther and Rob Lattenzi rolls up next to me , I told him to attack late in the race so we would not have to lead out or chase right away . Off he goes and two guys jumps on his wheel , shortly there after Max L takes himself out by overlapping Rob's wheel at the same time George Opria attacks and since he is in 3rd place in the GC I cover him . A couple more joins us Fred Thomas is one of them . There is a gap instantly and we have a break of 6. It is a head wind and we open the gap up quickly. I can see these guys are on the rivet , but it looks good . I have a teammate (Rob) so 1 K I attack them , but they are still clawing them self back , so I sit up and position myself behind the OA guys . I knew the headwind would be a factor and I waited . Mersee jumps and I get up to his wheel and now I knew I could win or at least lead out Rob . Win # 2 , 10 sprint points , 10 KOM points which means all 3 Jerseys, that is a good day! Ice bath and dinner, can not wait!!

Day 3 , I have only race about 5 masters races this year for a lot of reasons. I knew when we rolled down the neural hill onto RT 100 that this would be a painful ride either way how you looked at it. I rode on the front pretty much the entire race , if I would have not, someone would just rolled off and nobody would have cared , because they were to busy following the Yellow Jersey. I decided if someone was going to ride away they would have to earn it. I chased everything , kept it together on the Brandon Gap and got 10 more KOM points , so that was it for the KOM , since there was only 15 more left. Got in a few small breaks , but everything got chased down as quickly as it got away. Fast thru the dirt section , I do not know why ?? Right after we crawled up the Baby Gap, perfect place to attack , but nothing ! We get to the bottom of the App Gap. They should have just started our race there and skipped the first 73 miles , it was "who can beat Roger up the hill" . This where you get the time in this race and if nobody goes on the front and drills it , how is this possible?? You can race ( or hold hands) for 3 days and then loose it all in the Crit the next day with 45 sec time bonuses on the line. I also knew if we climb this 3k steady a lot more guys will hang on . Since 95% of the guys had sat in , somebody had to be fresh you would think. I surged on and off and by 2 K I was alone, now I just had to seal the deal ! I was too lazy to change my cassette out the night before , so 23 was the gear of choice! It was fine until the final 300 meter, 18% you know what I mean. Win # 3 ; This one was for Chance !

Day 4, The Burlington Crit.

We had to move out of our lovely bunk beds and once again pack up everything . It is a 45 min drive North to Burlington from Sugarbush. A really cool course in a really cool town overlooking Lake Champlaine. This is what most guys here just wait for all weekend , a 15 mile crit! I figured everybody was thinking if I would win the 4th stage and go after the Spinters Jersey as well. I acctually it crossed my mind , but Rob needed a few sec to get on the podium and Troy really wanted to win the stage, so just sat back a little to see what would happen. Man, if these guys would have raced like this all weekend it could have been interesting, it was fast! Rob got the seconds and one to go Mark Gunsales attacks and all the New Englanders was probably letting him go, I would have liked to as well ( Mark is a cool guy and a good friend of mine ) , but I have to ride for the team and help Troy try win the stage , so I got on the front at the first turn and let Troy loose at the last turn ( #6) , we would have needed Rob to take Troy a little closer, so Max L was on Troy's wheel (where Troy needed to be) and stole the show both from Mark and Troy. Oh well, it was close and good racing . There is always a bike race next week again, Bear Moutain!!!

Finley in the "Feed Zone " , no wonder I did not get a bottle!!!

The over all podium was actually really cool. The OA guys had brought a bottle of Champange ( I do not know if they had plans to win the thing or they just had a bottle on hand ??) Anyway I got to spary it around like the real deal and it was a nice touch !! Thanks Team OA!!

Now we just had to get that burger and fries at our favorite sidewalk cafe and watch the 2's got at it! This last day is such a nice race and town to hang out in , caps the great weekend off and you just do not want to get in the car and drive home for 6 hours! Oh well we will be back here again in 3 weeks for some CROSS, can not wait!!

Thanks for reading, more racing to come!!

I felt like running By Fore....Roger

2009-08-18T19:01:00.013-04:00

A couple of weeks has gone by, time flies when your are having fun. Well , it seems like it all came to a screeching halt on Sunday , I decided to do my annual duathlon without any running in my legs since last Dec and now I can not barely walk. I have run some marathons in the past, 12-15 years ago and the next 3 days was just like this after the race. Every single inch of my legs hurts like hell. To add some insult to the injury, I got a cold as well !

The duathlon went OK , it was an friendly event with my wife, Eric, Burny and Trish. Joe and Monica were our fanclub , taking pictures and cheering us on . I knew what the consequences would be , so I really tried to hold back on the run . It was 3 miles then 16 miles on the bike and another painful 3 miles run to finish of my legs! We got to sport the new FinKraft/Westwood Cycle multisport suits , the cyling farmers tan goes really well with these sleeveless things.

I love the bike part of any duathlon. Particularly this one , since I have probably ridden this Harriman race course about 300 times . Duathletes and triathltes are a different breed and my only goal is to kill them all on the bike . No different this time . There was one pro triathlte though that tried to hunt me down on the second run , but fell short and I crossed the finish line first and my legs were instantly destroyed.

The day before we did the Capitol Region Road Race , which is also the NY State Champion ships.
Three of my friends and people I ride with quite often took home the Gold. Great job Maria, Shane and Allan.
I had good legs , but bad tactics. I and the 3-4 other favorites just watched each other and next thing you know there was a bunch of guys up the road and we were 4 mins back chasing the rest of the day . There are guys that have nobody in the break and thinks it is cool to just sit on on soft pedal their way thru , so a frustrating situation . I won last weeks Tokeneke, Peter Hurst 2nd and Jamie Discroll 3rd . Well, we are all in this group with in addition of Matt Mainer who has two guys up the road, so he was allowed to sit on, no problem there . I am 41 and has no ambitions to turn pro or anything so I race hard until I blow up , if not I win a few. I like to test myself against these younger guys and it is fun for me if the race is hard. I am happy the way I felt and I made some good efforts in the race, even we were racing for 5th , not a bad day!

The week before that was a great week. I got some really quality hours of training , actually the second part of a pretty big block . It is very rare that you can do a perfect 10 mile point to point TT , almost flat and no wind. Well the Kingwood or "the Kingpin "( like I call this race) TT is just like that and an perfect opportunity to test yourself on the road. The power were up there and watts per kg what I wanted to see, 5.5 watts /kg. Besides missing my start time by a min 20 or so, this was a perfect run!
The next day was an other cool road race , yes with hills! Tokeneke road race , little short for a pro 1 2 race only 63 miles , but the field was nice and stacked with some top notch North East riders. The race was really fast the first lap and I was not feeling so sparky, but nothing went away and the next lap was slow as hell. Sure enough a few guys start rolling of the front and once again nobody seems to care . The climbs are a little longer in this race , so the break never really gained too much time and on the 3rd lap I contributed a little to the chase with two Indyfab guys , Peter Hurst and this tall Spanish guy ( pretty strong). About 30 guys were just sitting on , including 4-5 Bikereg/Cannondale guys since they had Eric S in the break. We got it close enough so they pulled the Scram car out in between the group and the break. That was my plan anyway , to get them close and maybe do a bridge attempt on the climb after the dam. Well , I just had to sit on Jamie Discroll's wheel for a mile or two at 500+ watts and the job was done, only 4-5 guys were able to hang on and we caught the break in no time , so now we are about 10 guys at the front ! I liked this situation much better, because I knew 4-5 of those guys were tired . We all came together at the bottom of the finishing climb , my plan was just to follow wheels and be at striking distance once it mattered . For some reason I felt really good now . Jamie, Peter and Alistar kept surging and that pretty much narrowed things down to 4 of us . I was the most patience I ever been in a race and once their tanks started to show signs of E (empty) , right about 200 meters to go , it was time to go ! I actually never timed a finishing sprint this well and it seem like I had several bike lenghts at the line . I personally think this was one of my better wins in a while , it is not so easy to win a pro 12 race to begin with . Last year I won Unionvale and Tour of Catskills which was big too, but this one felt good ! I got to wear a nice Foam hat on the podium and $ 250.00 , after paying my babysitter that day ,I was still ahead of the game !

The week before that we had out Westwood Velo Long Meadow TT champion ships , it was the CRCA club TT champion ships as well, but I consider this to be the Westwood Velo Worlds as well! A beautiful morning on the most beautiful TT course there is . In addition the organisation of this event is flawless with Steve Goldman behind the wheel. I had ridden the course about 3-4 times that week with various clients , besides a ton of other hours of riding , so not exactly tapered and fresh . I felt good on my warm up and down the course before the start. I do not like warming up on the trainer so I almost always choose the road ! This course is well suited to me , long gradual false flats and hills , could you ask for anything else ? A hard TT course for sure. My goal is always to win , but if you can finish on a different min than anyone else that is a bonus!

Then right after we were stupid enough to ride the TTT , same course with my buddies; Andreas, Glen and Joe. TTT is a lot of fun and I whish they had more of those , well maybe not the same day as the individiual one though , it is not that much fun! We took a respectable 3rd , beaten by the CRCA boys! Loosing sucks!!

Now this is a long time a go , I am really surprised I remembered what happened. Usually I do not remember what I had for breakfast , I am not someone who lives in the past , it is all about what can I accomplish today. Maybe win The Finally Of the Rockleigh Series , that is where I am going now.

Thanks for reading again.

Alien autopsy provides startling results

2009-08-18T20:56:00.006-04:00

Dateline: Haworth, NJ. The Finkfraft Press has dug up exciting news about the sole survivor of what was thought to be an UFO that landed in this area in 1992. This Unidentified Finnish Object's pilot had apparently integrated himself with our population and began to take up our sports with what was thought to be his plot of evil world domination.

Well, breaking news from Harriman NY came this weekend when it was discovered that the UFO was actually human! Oh, my gosh is right. Despite his winning the NY Biathlon #2 with very fast runs and a bike split that would have gotten a car driver several tickets (true); this reporter was on hand to see Roger Aspholm tired and sore. It turns out that even he can regret not doing any run training prior to the 3-16-3 event. Yes, it's true, his legs hurt going down stairs on the next day just like the rest of us. Very exciting news indeed.

Also in the biathlon were the UFO's mind-melted wife Kim, who score in her age group bested only by friend Lan Huynh. Finkrafter Eric Carlson was there too with solid times and efforts.

The event also had a triathlon at the same time with a 1/2 mile swim proceeding the bike and run held on the classic Bear Mtn/Harriman course. Competing in the triathlon were Finkrafter Lyn McCabe, taking her age group with ease and 6th overall. Finkraft coach Kyle Wolfe woke up to take 9th overall and the silver in his age group. Not too shabby.

It should be noted that the UFO did not compete in the previously day's triathlon at the same location (with reverse bike loop, cool) further proving his now obvious humaness. However, Finkrafter Lyn McCabe was there, winning her age group again and 5th overall, as well as Matt Scott with a solid time and David Marcus taking the age group bronze. Not too shabby for an old guy!!

Special mention goes to friend Stephen Katz for competing in both days and doing darn good in both of them. Awesome!

This reporter is relieved that the UFO was not from another planet, but now is even more suspect of what is obviously a government conspiracy regarding human mutant gene experiments that produced the athlete rumored to be called "The Flying Fin". We can only imagine the destruction that might be rained down on our peaceful earth with this news. One thing is for certain: We Are Not Alone.

Ready for a cruise....?

2009-08-13T14:32:00.004-04:00

Another weekend went by and Tokeneke had not the expected outcome for me.
The same was true for Tour of Hillstown and Unionvale for that matter.
I questioned the reasons for the poor results and came to following conclusions. Besides the fact that my legs did not feel super in either of the two last races (Unionvale was a mechanical) compare to like mid-season, I noticed that my head was not 100% in them. The will to fight and suffer was somewhat not there.
Now, I love the bike, love riding it, thinking about it, even at work, etc. but something had changed - faded over the past couple of weeks - THE DESIRE TO RACE.
Now, most would call it a burn-out situation, but frankly I am already thinking of Capital Region so that alone is likely not the case. I truly believe that I just need to re-set, re-fresh my mind and things will once more fall in place, because the fitness is there and the coach seems to believe that also.
The other day I was on a short luncheon ride and rode up the Westside and noticed a herd of people coming off a cruise.
Weird thing about it is, that I almost never took interest in them on any level since I had a cliche picture of them - feasting on huge overgrown buffets and then just lay in some chair by a pool with a mixed drink, etc.
As that picture popped into my mind I realized that I for once would not mind being one of those "cruisers". This conclusion bundled with a stressful morning really did not make the ride itself more enjoyable.
What is the morale of this write-up? Actually, no idea - but if there is one it would be that we all may have a little slump throughout the season and unless we subcome to the "temptation of a week's cruise" we will overcome it and be stronger, or another morale could be "go on the cruise" and transform your body in one week to a dimension that will surely make you more "powerful".
Either way, I will continue to train hard and look forward to Green Mountain - a race that I really LOVE.

Practicing what I preach

2009-08-04T20:43:00.007-04:00

I could never lie to you, my faithful readers, everything hurts. Let me tell you why. The Fin has asked me to race in the upcoming NYC Triathlon at Bear Mountain on August 16th. It's a short sprint course: 0.5m swim, 16m bike and 3m run. Piece of cake I tell him. Heck, I won it twice back in the early 90's I tell him. I did that course first when I was in High School, I tell him. What I neglect to tell him is that it has been some time since I have ran or swim. Ugh.

Let me continue to be honest here...I am feeling a little pressure. I am one of the multisport coaches at Finkraft. And we know his Finship is going to go fast, that is just what he does. And Mrs. Fin won the duathlon event last year. Yikes. I better get cracking.

I have been running a bit. That first day was ugly. My legs have been very comfortable on that saddle, not having to support any actual weight. After my first run, I was sore for a week. Then lets talk about swimming. I am primarily a bike racer. That means I have skinny arms; not ideal for upper body sports. They too are tired.

So, I hit the pool. It has been a long time since my multisport glory days. Long gone are the 90 second interval sessions. Long gone is the knowledge of being alpha male at the YMCA. Long gone is the lack of fear of drowning. I might need assistance. Well, this doesn't get any better. My girlfriend is also doing the event, plus several others. She is a former NCAA Div I swimmer. She is very fast. She is not riding her bike when in the pool, which means she can rub my face in the fact that she is finally faster than me in sports. It has been a few long drives home from the pool. I better get cracking.

It is coming back fast. I remember my strokes, I remember my drills. I ride the time trial bike a lot anyhow, so that part is easy. And running is just natural, anyone can run! I look to find my other equipment. The tri-suits have changed styles a bit; might need to get something a little less revealing. And there will definitely be more shaving involved in the coming weeks.

I am excited about it. I am looking forward to showing the Finkraft clients that they are invested in a qualified company with qualified coaches. I am looking forward to just surviving! Yikes! Really though, check out all of our resources for tips and ideals for race day for triathlons and duathlons. Thanks for reading and if you don't race, wish me luck!!!!

2nd part of the season

2009-07-26T10:57:00.013-04:00

Bikes make good clothing racks as well!!

It has been 3 weeks since Fitchburg and I have been sleeping in my own bed now for a few weeks. Yesterday was my first race back , Tour of Hilltown. I like to ease back into it , yeah right. Tour of Hilltowns are one of the hardest and most painful races around here due to the distance( 97 mile) and hills! A tall order for a 40+ guy.

Rewind a little , after Fitchburg which went Ok , raced the 35+ , I was maybe not as hungry to win as previous years, but by Saturday starting to feel back to normal . I managed to get 2nd overall and win the road race stage after the the National tabacle , so not all that bad ! In addition team Westwood Velo won the crit stage with Troy Kimball , now also coached by Finkraft!

Just a lots of ice baths and all the other trick you have to pull out of the bag to keep going!

I still did a few more days of training after the 6 days of racing and then pulled the plug. 4 days off the bike for some family time , wedding and chilling out in pool was a nice time and a big mental recovery. The body just does not like it all that much , it really does some wired things and even it is very good for healing , 4 days not doing anything makes you feel awful!

No comments!!!

Back to work and training , low intensity , just volume, 28 hours ( first day short and easy on the Power Cranks) and 7th day the Rocket ride to introduce some intensity back to the system. Felt surprisingly good and motivated again . More Power Cranks the second week , but recovery as well and only two longer rides one little faster one up to Bear Mountain with Andreas, Evan and Allan . Come Saturday recovered just in time for the Tour of Hilltown.

Powercranks , coke and BearMountain ..........life is good , but painful!!

A little race report , very fast as usual right from the gun and 10 miles into the 97 mile race a split in the field happens and I was not going to miss that!! Who ever did miss that one would be chasing a looong time ! About 20 riders with most team represented and the pace remained high. We built up a lead pretty quickly. The real race always starts on the second lap when we get to the BIG climb, a 5 mile wall . Dan Vallencourt, Mike Barton, Mike Margarite, William Goodfellow and myself separated ourselves from the rest and this was the race !! Funny 2 years ago , it was almost the identical break. Dan, Mike B and myself. Just 2 new guys . There was definitely a few spots of bother, like Phil Liggets says . This race is very hard at times and the suffering is unbelievable if you want to be there in the end. You always have good moments and next thing you know you almost get dropped. That is the time to pull yourself inside out and hope to come back. It happened a few times and I think that is when the experience comes to play. I think a probably felt the best 1K to go ( go figure) It was a tad to late because Dan attacked and got away 2K to go , he was no doubt the strongest in the break and I new he was the guy to beat. It was a 3 man sprint for second , I just got past on the line , but held on for 3rd . Not too bad for an old fart like Lance refers himself amongst the 20 year old fast men!

Now a day rest and spend some time with my daughter then an other big training block . I do not race that much in August because it is in September when it all starts , CycloCross!! Every weekend Saturday and Sunday until pretty much Christmas! This puts a lot of stress on everything that involves me , family, work, my body and even on my car! I am pretty excited , two new X-Nights are on order I am prepared more than ever! Before that still 2 more months of hard road races, this is the halfway mark !!

In training mode , this bike weighs at least 45 lbs , should meet the USA cycling standards!!

Thanks for reading again

Roger

Taking the lads to the Tour de Quebec

2009-07-15T11:57:00.003-04:00

This past weekend I had the extreme fortune and pleasure to act as directeur sportif for the Bikereg.com/Cannondale amateur team in their trip up north to race in the Tour of Quebec. They are an excellent group of lads whose goal is to be the number one ranked amateur team in the United States. They are well on their way.

Some of you may remember that before I came to Finkraft I had been the manager and director of a local U-25 team for a few years. This was the best experience of my life. Being able to teach developing riders about racing and how to handle all aspects of life on the road, both literally and figuratively. Well, I was equally excited to be asked to help out for this four day, five stage event in and around the City of Quebec.

With only five riders (the sixth was home nursing injury) on board, we made the long drive on Wednesday to the race hotel at Mount Ste Anne; famous for its mountain bike races. The first stage was the next day on the Il d'Orleans, a windswept farming community in the middle of the Lawrence River. The race was a major success with the lads taking 2nd and 4th along with the climbers jersey. The raced very "heads up" always initiating or following attacks so that the pressure was on the other teams to respond.

Friday morning saw a tail wind driven 5.1 km time trial with speeds over 60kph. Crazy fast. The team took 4th and 5th, but only by 0.2 seconds to the GC leader, a Canadian strong man. That afternoon was a very hard and fast criterium. Now this was fun. Justin Lindine made the race an absolute horror show for everyone else. Literally constantly on the attack, Justin put so much pressure on the GC leader that he completely burned up the other team one by one! Only 20 riders finished on the lead lap from an original 115, and all five of them were Bikereg. Very nice.

On Saturday, the rain came. With the course around the old Garneau RR loop, the pressure was on the local riders to score, but no such luck. Things were getting edgy all around including with the team staff. They were trying to sabotage us, and several pushing matches and umbrella fights started in the feed zone. Not to worry, I am a professional. Cold, wet and windy, Josh bridged up to a faltering breakaway about mid way through the race. He did this by having two riders constantly attack again to tire out the favorites and other strong riders. Once a low placed break got up the road, he then used two other teammates to make a finish sprint type leadout going into a steep hill. He launched off that lead to attack and bridge up to the break; attacked the break solo, and hold off for the stage win and snatch the overall lead. Very nice indeed.

Sundays final stage was no joke. It was 17 turns of a 5.7 km loop with a 800 meter long 21% hill each loop. Yes, you read that correctly. Ouch. One of the riders, Thom, had been so active in attacking and covering all week that he was in third place for the Maillot Noir, or the black jersey for the most combative rider. It was on the shoulders of a rider from a French team, and they looked pretty serious. We discuss it and how there were sprints early on the first and third lap into the race. He scored on both times and then settled into sitting on a small breakaway until the next sprint on the 11th lap. He easily took that and secured the jersey. Amazing. Meanwhile, back in the field, the race was down to about 15 riders when Justin covered an attack at about 80kph with 2 to go. This blew up the rest of the riders and only 5 were left with Josh sitting pretty. He basically led the finale and sat on the back of the small sprint to take the overall win. It was really great.

With such a small team, I had multiple duties as cook, soigneur, directeur, manager, mechanic and chief bottle washer. But watching them race so well and take the overall win was worth every sleepless moment. There were lots of strong riders there that weekend, and it took smart racing to take the win. Congrats to the lads for a great showing.

One final note: it was the first time I had ever been to Quebec. What a beautiful place with a real European feel. The people were nice and the weather and scenery just awesome. We do suspect however, that polar bears roam the streets come winter, but with a passport, we can just cross back down to safety!

Still keeping it together! by Roger

2009-07-10T16:36:00.007-04:00

It is a long road to nowhere! The picture above is the TT course at the Masters Nationals. One of the nicest roads in America !!

Me and Mark Pohndorf made the drive to Louisville , yet an other National Championship Race . I did the race there in 2003 and got 2nd in the road race that year in the 35-39 , so I knew the course and since I won the CX Nationals last Dec a lot of good things has happened . I was willing to drive 12 hours each way and spend my money on 3 nights in a hotel , food and everything that goes along with it. If you pay $ 80.00 bucks to race each event and there is no price money the only way this trip would pay off was to win the Jersey! Long story short , I did WIN!! The Jersey went to the guy that would have truthfully finished 5th though .

The road race was held in a park on a 4.8 mile course , a 10 lap roller coaster with 100 guys . Is that really a road race ? circuit race ? or just a freak show that was poorly organized and the easy way out to hold this race. Look at the TT course what does that tell you . I have travelled and raced all over America and there are really nice places and roads in this country, but why use them when we can make a lot of money on entry fees and just have the race in a park.

There was a 4 man break including myself towards the end of the race , we come around NO BELL, so we are racing and trying to stick it. Half way thru that lap I asked the Moto Ref " how many more to go ?" He put one finger up and says one ! I attack the break and it splits , me and David Henderson are the 2 leaders . We are going into what we think should be the last lap , Moto says 15 sec to the 2 chasers . We make it , David is really drilling it up the finishing climb( just a hill) he pretty much went 500 meters out . I was just waiting for him to fade , which he almost did not , I got by him right at the line and won the National Championship by a couple inches! Mission accomplished , now the rest of the week just race for fun.....wrong!!!

Later we find out that the other guys finished on the lap before , the 2 chaser turned around and as they were going into the finishing shoot 3 guys caught them and beat them to the line ! The field was a minute behind.

This is what happened in the race , I was in it and everyone else knows what happened as well , but the Officials made so many mistakes and did not really know the facts of the race . No bell, the Moto ref can not use his radio or count for the matter to 10 , lapped riders not pulled ( because they would get pissed ), not closing off the course to direct us towards the finish and not knowing what lap we were on . The whole race just turned into a total disaster. It could have been corrected and the winner could have been awarded with the Jersey, but instead the officials just lied and covered up their incompetence and over ruled the protest and the finishing order was the order we crossed the line ! I finished 54th and David 55th, so that means we lapped half the field . The guy or typical " I do not know what happened " I guess I won , even there was 4 guys ahead of me , felt good about it and is going to wear the Jersey as a proud National Champion!

I lost every bit of respect for the Jersey or any official that had anything to do with organizing this event! The US National Champion Ship does not mean anything to me anymore. I will probably never take part the Nationals again . If it was not for the sponsorship deals from the CX win , I would mail that Jersey and medal back to USA Cycling for sure . I feel embarrassed wearing that after the disrespect in Louisville. In the past I thought that was the race to win and a very proud thing to wear if you were able to pull it off. No more, now it feels like being the Clown of the circus ! This even feels hard to write about , as of today I would enjoy winning our local "Thursday night Worlds "( Rockleigh) a lot more than wearing the stars and stripes , not a thing for me anymore!!!! All the support I get from Mark @ Westwoodcycle , it means a lot to deliver and win big races . That is my way of saying "thanks" and this sort of thing (stupidy)takes a lot away from the sport and makes it hard to feel good about a lot of things! Hey it is only a bike race at the end of the day!

The freak show did not end on Tuesday . The next day was the National TT . I was not really into this at all , but Mark was here for this event and if there was a slim chance of beating Feldman , I would be up for that. In addition , if I was to win the TT , I could have stuck it to the USA Cycling and not accepted the Jersey , that was the plan , but ....it did not happened ! There was a 2 hour delay for all starts due to POOR organization once again , no marshals to close of the exits ramps to our Interstate TT course, what a surprise! I did not bother to warm up, a waist of energy at this point . Some guys warmed up 3 times due the delays , I rolled up to the start , with my now UCI legal TT bike after hacking my nose of the saddle to get the 5 cm behind the bottom bracket! I felt fine , no fire though to race !! Just kind of rode a fast pace and finished 10th , I guess better than 54th , but did not really care! Mark got 13th and within 1/2 an hour we were out of there!!!! On the road again!! Racing to make it to the start of our next TT , the first stage of Fitchburg! My starting time was 11.07 , a mere 23 hours late!

Cracker Barrel, one of the best pancake stops on this trip, a first for Mark. When you spend 30 something hours in a car and you do not see anything but chain food crap , you have to pick one to survive !

This race and trip was a serious mental challenge and a test if you really like racing and riding your bike . Thanks for reading !

My biggest fan....

2009-07-10T15:44:00.009-04:00

What do we need to perform well each week in the races?
For once it helps to train smart, eat wholesome food and get enough rest.
Another factor that surely helps is avoiding too much stress whenever possible.
Often overlooked is the support of your spouse/partner in this equation.
I celebrate my 14th wedding anniversary today and I dedicate this brief write up to my wonderful wife Monica.
As cyclists we tend to become one-dimensional and often overlook the needs of those around us. "Got to go for a ride now!", "have to take a nap", "this weekend will not work well (neither will the next one, or the following one for that matter)" are some of the standard answers to our spouses at times when they try to get some quality time in with us.
It is no different for Monica and I, and I have often looked at myself in dissappointment for this type of neglect after a filled weekend of driving and racing.
I am fully aware of it and truly make the effort to balance things, but is it enough? Hardly!
Monica on the other hand is the kindest most generous person one can wish for as a wife and supports my cyclist life and racing with an attitude that is absolutely wonderful.
Not only does she understand how much I enjoy this sport but she tries to be involved by going to races with me, waiting in feed zones handing water bottles to me and my team mates, taking photos during and afterwards, giving me moral support when needed and ground me when necessary.

So, this blog is to you darling! Thank you for everything.

P.S. and sorry to those of you who are absolutely not interested in my private stuff....

Keeping it real, staying humble

2009-06-26T15:33:00.012-04:00

This has been a good week. Training went well. It is now Friday and I already put 11 hours of quality rides into my legs before the weekend and feel good.

After some time trial workouts, a really good endurance ride on Wednesday and the Rockleigh Race yesterday, I went for an easy TT spin today. I am more tired today because I only got 4 hours of sleep, but other than that things are great.

To top things off, I learned that my Cat. 2 upgrade was approved yesterday; so I am excited. That said, I am aware that I am on the bottom of my learning curve in this sport and at age 38 I am more like a kid that is eager to learn and improve. I try to learn from the best and clearly I am being coached by one of them, so I have that going for myself.

What always impresses me about Roger is that he is truly humble. It is a quality that I particularly appreciate in him and others who have that (my wife), since it makes their accomplishments appear in an even greater dimension. I remember one particular scenario a few weeks ago when a fellow racer from a different race asked Roger how his race went. Roger answered: "Went ok, I finished". He could have said that he had won, but he kept it on the low. That impressed me.

Webster dictionary defines humble in the following way:

1: not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive

2: reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission

3: ranking low in a hierarchy or scale, insignificant, unpretentious

Let's look for a moment how that can relate to cycling and teach us something:

Clearly it helps not to be arrogant no matter what, but even the terms "spirit of derence or submission" are interesting as they relate directly to the team aspect in cycling and the quality of "fitting in" and "making a difference" within a group with the same interest and one goal - to win as a TEAM.

I am generally impressed by this concept since cycling at its best is a team succeeding with ALL players contributing to lift their strongest member to the podium/win. The individual "insignificance" in terms of personal result may reflect itself in definite "significance" in terms of the overall achieved goal - a win/podium for the team.

I have to still learn a lot in term of tactics and working within a pre-given strategy and I am willing and eager to do so.

I am therefore looking foward to entering the Masters race in Fitchburg and focusing on these key aspects within a proven team, rather than competing in the Cat. 2's (alone).

Reaching out to Roger earlier today, I asked him specifically to guide me through that concept and his response was: "you will be working like a dog".

I expected nothing else and it sounds great as I am sitting in my office and reflect about next week and all the blessings that I am receiving every day.

Life is good, it represents a humble gift by our creator - honor it every day. "STAY HUMBLE" and good things shall happen!

(Name of photo on top: "the humble gift")

An impressive name (Giro) , but a circus by Roger

2009-06-20T07:54:00.009-04:00

I was pretty sick on Monday still, fever and the shakes! I decided to go see the doctor on Tuesday to make sure I was not having the "Swine " or something , like always the doctor said I will be OK , just ride (I do not think he meant ride my bicycle though) it out! It is a virus , no medicine just rest ! Well, the Giro di New Jersey starts on Wednesday , so I guess that is not an option! I am still dizzy and now every muscle in between my ribcage and lungs hurts like hell. Like when you went to the gym after not going for years and you did this crazy boot camp class . Next day you could not move , because you were so sore . I could barely breath , even laying down was really hard !!

I ride a little on Wednesday afternoon , feels OK riding easy , so I pack up and drive to Flemington , NJ where the crit is that night( stage 1) . It is a 800 meter course with four corners, 100 guys basically riding 30 mph around a building, great!! As soon as the gun went of I had a hard time breathing , I was hoping it would slow down a little , but it did not , so I kind of let myself get dropped and then just rode around , got lapped a few times until they finally pulled 1/2 the field , it was super dangerous with all these lapped riders on the course anyway. Right then I kind of looked at this race as a joke !! I got a finishing time and was able to start tomorrow, that is all I wanted .

It was rain in the forecast for Thursday, they were right !! I now have a GPS, but still could not find the start, I get there 20 min before the start, it is mayhem , you can not park anywhere and there is no sign in sheet . There is this long outdrawn instructions speech by one of the super officials. Then a State Trooper gets a flat on his car , so that is an other 30 min standing around in the rain. We finally roll out and the first 15 miles or so are neutral , we ride out to this wooded area where the loop is that we are supposed to ride 7 times around . It is a about a 3 feet wide road and slick as an hockey rink!! We we go down this down hill and half the field hits the deck , just super slick , nobodies fault! I took the B- line to the grass, so no crash for me ! We get back up and to be honest the speed we were going neutral would probably be the speed you would be able to race on this course ( about 7 mph) . A bunch of riders started to complain and we stopped and decided it is too dangerous . The Officials claimed it was the rain , but that course would have been crazy dry as well. Nice place to train or ride a recreational ride with your wife , but 100 guys going 40 mph , what are these guys thinking???? We rode back to our cars ( they were still there , even they threatened to tow them) Day 2 of the circus was done , just the drive home again . 220 dollars plus driving, food and a lot time starting feel ,not worth it!! I wanted to race this race as training , but being sick and this poorly organised , it is not really working out at all!!

One more day for me and I am done with this ! The TT is on Friday and I could almost bet money something is going to go wrong!! Feeling the best out of these 3 days , but not 100% , so I am not going to go crazy today . Just check out the TT bike , make sure everything works and goes smoothly. I warm up a little on the course , I hate the trainer , since this is not a big deal I just ride on the rode. Every things seems fine! I start , immediately the brake caliber starts rubbing against the inner chain ring , it is loud, having this super aero bike with a almost riding with the brakes on really makes sense ! About 100 meters into the race the SRM goes out , just speed noting else . This is the first time I am doing a TT with power OR not, no power , no file , what a waste!!!! I am feeling OK and I pass 3 guys , the 1 1/2 min guy!! I come to 4 way intersection , I kind of have the feeling that should be the turn around , but there is nobody there !! I keep going , kind of coasting to see what the other guys will do, there is no official to ask , so I finally turn around I say to myself I had enough, I am going back no matter what !! So I wasted probably a couple of minutes there !! The ride back goes well, not pushing 100% , but pretty fast ! After the race everybody who started in the beginning says the same thing, they had no clue where the turnaround was , some guy rode 32K instead of 20 K , great race !!

I looked at the results and they gave a bunch of guys a 2.00 min penalty , including myself ! I do not know if they added or sub tracked from our time ?? I do not really care , if it was legit I would have finished in the top 5-10 , but it does not matter, I am not starting tomorrow!!

Saturday was actually nice to stay at home instead of commuting to "Ringos" everyday . I originally entered the Gyro to get some good training in , but I was sick , so 3 days of recovery riding I guess was OK , otherwise I think I would have lost fitness on this deal! I did one of my favorite loops "the Orchard loop" with my neighbour, triathlte, buddy and client Matt Scott. Nice ride even litte rain the last hour it was better than any race that day! Legs felt good , but still a lot of tightness around the chest and the breathing was not great if I went a little harder.

Sunday is Fathers day and my favorite race around here, I never really miss this one , Housatonic Hills! I had entered the 35+ cat , there were some pretty good names on the list , so I figure since I am not 100% it would be a good race for me . It is a hilly nice long loop . The master beaters had to go around it twice . My team mate Rob L went up the road with a good friend and rival Jonny Bold , so I just sat in to see what would happen.(nothing happened) I have never missed the KOM in this race , but this year there was no Pasta goodie bag , so maybe I will wait and see maybe Rob can get it !!

We got to the KOM and I see Rob is a little off Jonny's wheel , so it was time time to bridge and start racing , it is a race after all! 4-5 of us catch the two after the KOM , Rob is doing a great job on the flats helping establishing the break and I think this will work ( only if any of the other guys would work) Sean Groom is riding well and does not miss a pull, at least he is racing! We get to the Constitution hill and at this point it does matter if you sit on or not , so just hard tempo to be able to maintain or open the gap ! We get over the top , I figure some one else would like this break to work , but it is just coasting by David T, and the other two. Bold and Groom still tries hard. It almost seems like these guys never been in a break and did not know what to do ! You do not stay away by coasting !! I do not know , since I have not really raced any masters races for a while , I guess the level is so different. I attacked them , might as well if they are just going to sit on .Then I just pulled for a few miles to see what they would do . Then we came to the stair stepper climb and I just rode my own pace and I guess that was the answer , they all got dropped . One older guy ( I forget his name Klipper?? Klapper??) was sort of in between , so I let him on . The other Wheelsuckers were gone , I felt bad for Sean , he deserved to be here! No price this time around on the KOM , so we just rode tempo up and then headed towards the finish! We rotated , not a crazy pace , but we were going . I flick my arm and nobody comes ??? what happened ?? My only buddy left is gone on a flat road?? By now I just figure it is nicer just to win this thing alone , so I actually rode pretty fast the last bit and felt pretty good again. Richard Freez was talking up a storm at the finish , I had not seen him since the CX nationals , great commentator! That was that , I think the 6th time I won this race . A couple of cookies and it was time to go ! I hung out a little with Bold and Kevin Hines , we got our price , like my daughter calls it and we will meet again!!!!

When I get home Finley wants to go swiming or fishing in the pool, she got a fishing pole , so off to the pool. As soon as we get there it starts raining again , so a short visit! Watched Fabian a little killing the TT in Tour de Swiss on Versus and then dinner&movie with the wife. A nice day after a very frustrating week of being sick and dealing with the BS Gyro Race !! Live and Learn , only do what you know is good for you!!

Dinner was gooooooood!!!!

Thanks for reading again!

killing it the whole week by Roger

2009-06-15T19:47:00.009-04:00

In my last post I promised to write about what is going on during the week. Well the plan was to get a short simi recovery from the Balloon and Highbridge and then train some more and finally a good recovery before the Giro ( NJ ) . Monday was a recovery ride and meet with a new client, nice ride perfect weather about 2 hours nice easy pace , not too hilly. Jocelyn rode well and I got a pretty good idea were she stands . To ride with someone make it much easier to build their training program , a big piece of the puzzle! Juan tagged along , he was in need of an easier ride as well and it is nice for a new client to get some input from an other client while riding as well.

Tuesday early start , 6 am TT workout with Evan and Andreas. We had 2 hours to spare and I happen to know a perfect loop for TT's that is exactly 2 hours. Love the Ridley Dean , perfect fit and so cool , worth getting up at 5.30 am !Easy start , still a little sleepy , but the ride picks up and we are starting to feel pretty good .The skies are really dark and it is just matter of time when we are going to get soaked !! The last 20 min it is pretty much pouring! Evan hits a pothole covered with water and hits the deck . Luckily just a few scratches ! Then rush to the Gym to train 3 guys , that is a thing I did since I started my coaching business, nice connection to the gym and little side income . I am now established with do coaching and really pressed on time , so I would not really need to do any PT anymore , but to leave these guys hanging is hard for me !

If you think my days are just riding and then watching Versus and Universal Sports, think again! From about 6.30 am to sometimes 10 pm I answer e-mails, phone calls ,analyse files and build training programs . In addition to the coaching I am constantly helping build a web site , sales and sponsor product development. Thank God I have my wife doing the books and Andreas handling a lot of promotional and sales stuff! Most recently I have hired an assistant coach , Kyle Wolfe. He will take on some new clients from now on and also does some other computer work taking the load of me a little and making this operation work more smoothly! The last thing I would want is take the personal attention away from each client, no matter how busy it is , that always comes first in this business, that is way they hired a coach in the first place anyway ! Besides all this I am a dad and husband > you all know what that means!

Wednesday is the standard Group ride from Westwood Cycle. This week we decided to step it up a little and ride to Perkins Dr (Bear Mountain) I told them we would go hard on the climb, so I guess everybody figured the best thing was to sit in all the way up to the base of the climb, so I just stayed on the front for about 2 hours or so, good pace for me and fit my plan perfectly. Believe it or not I have a training plan as well, not the most sophisticated one, but a plan!

Rode the big ring to the gate, pretty nice speed , still fast to the top, but could have gone faster if I had to . The price on top is the Coke , that makes the whole ride!! Shatt a little about how epic this ride is and put the rain jacket on and down we go! The ride back was fast as well and now everybody shipped in , the last 30 min was almost like a race and very good tactical training for the guys. Even a sprint finish! A great performance from everybody , some of the best numbers for some of the guys during training. Did I mention that it rained almost the whole time. Epic !!!!

Thursday same ride a little different route and I hope a different pace as well! It was slower and more civilized than the day before, but Evan was still throwing it down on Perkins, very impressive riding for the kid , 19 and 130 lbs . He certainly have the ambitions to make it ! Still felt good and even I had the NJ Masters RR on Sat ( that would be the end of this living on the edge training block) I rode pretty hard not too worried about being spent on Sat!

Friday , easy ride with my older client Bill. We ride together every week , a nice loop and nice pace for both of us , Bill enjoys it and it is an important thing to me as well. We stop at the bike store to pick up a wiring harness for an SRM I was installing for the State 40+ TT Champ, Mark P. The ride went smooth , besides almost getting killed when Bill run a red light in a four lane intersection, a weekly thing with Bill , makes things exciting , I call it the Russian Rulett!!

After this ride I had promised to ride with one of my Juniors Eli M. Anthony D came along as well. Met them at the new Strictly shop in Fort Lee. Nice easy ride on River Rd , then up on 9 W to Piermont and turn around . On he way back we did 2 leg openers ( like I needed that ) , but it was good for them since they were racing the next day like me. Done for the week , nice dinner with my wife and daughter and to bed !

4.00 am wake up call , why do they have to have 40 mile race start @ 7.00 am in the middle of nowhere???? I won this race 4 times in past years, so what was my objective today, I do not really know !! I sat in , a break went , sat in some more . Then I attacked on the same place I have attacked the last 4 years , bridge to he break . Troy and Mike R from Northeast Hardware got there too. The wind was immediately lost out of break aways guy's sails, and there was a big panic in the break. What do you do then ? Get caught by the field or attack again ! I chose the later option , split the break to 5 guys with my team mate Troy in it , great this is it, lets commit!! We rotate a few times , I pull thru and Mike does the same , who is next , there is nobody there, what happened?? Mike seems like he wants to go , so we went and the other guys just faded, I was very surprised!

Me and Mike rode around the two remaining laps , I am noticing that Mike is spinning an easier and easier gear and is taking shorter and shorter pulls , so we get to the famous climb and I flick my arm , Mike does not come thru , it is go time , seal the deal!! I would have attacked him there anyway , it would just have been much cooler to attack from behind , but oh well I accelerated off the front and there was a gap and I hit it again , good enough. Little tail wind towards the finish and one more hill, just in case ! Mike chased , that I thought he would. He is a very experienced rider and someone like him does not give up.

I made it over the finish line for the 5th time in first place. Since this race means a lot to Westwood Velo , for some reason , I was very happy to pull it off! Congrats to everybody on the team as well!

Sunday morning I had planned to go and watch my wife race the Harriman duathlon. I got her bike ready the night before and she got the really cool new Westwood/Finkraft trisuit , she was pretty excited . It was her day and I was not racing ! Me and Finley were ready to support, I thought my daughter a few slogans to yell out , like slowpoke, pass somebody , go faster, put it in the big ring and etc.

Nice race, I have done it a few times in the past and there was a lot of people I knew , some of my clients were there too, so it was fun to watch ! My wife was killing it on the first run and almost stayed with the boys, the bike is her weaker link, she only really rides her bike when she does these races, maybe that is what I should do too, seems to work for her! She looses a spot on the bike leg, but makes it up on the second run and wins the overall women's duathlon !! Impressive , now if she only rode her bike a little more she would be unbeatable !

Then we were so excited to get her on the podium , but after all this , I guess the scoring company pressed the wrong button and messed up big time!! No awards and nobody got to know what their placing was! If this was a bike race , someone would have gotten killed, but not this crowd , they just quietly went home , after all it was only $ 60.00 to enter or more?? so no big deal! We got some stale bagels and a banana . It was fun, but a wooden plack would really have made our day !

I get home , my back is hurting in a wired way and I have the chills. I am getting sick!! Today is Tuesday , I have not ridden my bike since Saturday and the Giro starts tomorrow , does not look good!!

Thanks for reading again

Louden Swain and Ray Kinsella

2009-06-15T13:28:00.004-04:00

There are several things that you need to bring with you on race day: your kit, your bicycle and your desire to succeed.

This may sound kinda silly, but most racers just want to finish without getting dropped or have their names not appear too far down on the results page when their friends look them up on Monday morning. However, if you go into the race with the concentrated thought towards an actual goal, that is more likely to happen. A simple mantra of "I want to win this race" or "this time I will beat my PR by 5 minutes" is sometimes all it takes.

This past weekend was the Nutmeg Criterium in New Britain, CT. The race also served as the CT State Criterium Championships. Although not necessarily a sporting powerhouse, CT is important because to succeed in cycling in New England is no easy feat. My goal of the race was to win the masters gold medal and to the start line I headed.

With attitude being everything, I backed into the first row on the start line. No sense in starting last I thought. This course was neither difficult nor easy, but field finishes can be tricky as the course is fast and rarely is there a selection. The finish straight also comes off of a weird off-camber corner downhill thing that can sometimes be dangerous and more likely VERY tricky to read correctly. I knew in order to score I had to be off the front.

At just three laps into the race the prime bell rung for $10. A few guys went off the front for it and I had my plan. I sat in the field waiting for them to get a gap that would not be caught before the lap line; and then went after them hard. It took a half lap, but I caught them with two others in tow. The first two exploded and we were gone. A few laps later 4 other guys came up from the field in a hard bridge. They were definitely going to catch us so I sat up from the attack to catch my breath for a few seconds, get a sip of water and then got onto the chase group that quickly caught the front. Same result, less effort.

We put a solid gain into the field despite a concentrated chase from the teams that missed the move over the next 16 laps. Nice. There were a few scary attacks in the last two laps, but I was able to get on them and make a sprint move at the finale. I got beat by 3 riders, but they were from NH and NY, so the State Champ was mine. Nice.

I had simply envisioned my result before the race and achieved it. Maybe if I had wanted the race win I could have scored better, but that was not the goal.

Have a Vision Quest. Build It and He Will Come. Whatever it takes, get that goal, get that score.

Wednesday - time to ride up to Perkins

2009-06-12T09:59:00.007-04:00

Wednesday morning is when I get up at 4.30 AM. I hastely prepare my favorite Country Choice Oatmeal. The quick cooking one works best, the steel cut version would be better for a long ride since it "burns" slower, but weighing the option of getting up at 3.30AM to be at the stove babying this precious cereal for an hour +++ and getting in an extra hour of sleep, I go for the quick fix. A quick double espresso should bring me safely to the shop (or so I think - 30 minutes later I would be buying a second cup on the road).

As always I prepare all my stuff including water bottles the night before, since I got to be quick in the morning. 40 minutes to the Westwood shop requires efficiency and I have a job in the city so that requires me to time things before and after.

Roger said 6AM sharp. That means we will likely leave the shop at around 6.20AM. Fin-time. My compulsion concerning punctuality and the severe punishment I would receive from my conservative parents when I grew up in Italy (I am now 38 but still plenty of trauma left over) make my 5.50AM arrival at the shop possible. Oh well...nobody is here.

The ride was announced to be somewhat of a test....now I understand the word "somewhat" only served the purpose of "cutifying" the magnitude of this ride. TEST. I asked myself how I am feeling today - answer - not so bad. I am happy about that. I had the one or the other ride on Wednesdays were my poor sleep pattern has left me tired. Today was not one of those.

"Chatterbox" Evan, his collegiate friend Alex (climber build all the way), Jumbo Raheb, Al Blanchard and Mark (one other WV whose name escaped me) are off into the morning fog. We generate a nice pace up to Bear Mountain. A mix of "saving yourself" for the TEST and "starting to work" early develops in the group.

Roger looks at me and says at one point that he noticed himself pulling the group the entire time. That was certainly true and so I decided to go to the front and do some work as well, still keeping in mind that soon we will be in the TEST ZONE. As we arrive on the bottom, Evan, Alex and I pick up the pace and we look back briefly only to notice that we already have a small gap. I look for a second back again and Roger was there (I realize that his legs feel good, as they always seem to do...). So we ride a nice tempo for the first 4-5 minutes. I am feeling very good and looking at my heart rate I don't appear to be overly labored for the watts the SRM is showing me. Happy. Maybe too happy...

I decide to accelerade and see what would occur. I open up a gap. Now I feel even happier and the gap is slightly opening up, wow. I am pushing harder and harder at this point and I look down and see that I am pushing pretty unrealistic numbers (for me - every day stuff for Roger) for the climb to this point. Doubt briefly settles in, Roger is back there and my heart rate is now pretty high, my happiness played a joke on me! I noticed the attack position as I look back and I can see Roger's silhouette getting bigger and bigger. Damn, this would not work.

The guys catch me as we get closer to the gate. I manage to hang on but I need a bit of recovery now. Lifting the bike accross the gate should do just that, happy again. I try to slow this process, but would not show that to the guys :-)jump on and up the steeper part we go. I look down and see my HR still pretty high, I am working now....we go up and everyone's breathing becomes more audible (not Roger's - cannot hear a thing...)

He and Evan finally, half way up Perkins, open a little gap and Alex and I are left to climb at our own pace. I hear Alex commenting behind me, &#%^$&* and I feel the same way...I felt so good and now...

Oh well no biggie, the numbers were good and I knew that if I had not been overly excited further down the hill, I could have done even better towards the top.

A quick snack and a coke on top and back to the shop we roll. The ride gets quite fast and I do nothing to slow it down either since I need to time my way back to NYC - the job is waiting.

We arrive in WV - a great 3.5 hour ride. So good to be alive, so good to be celebrating the passion of cycling with friends.

Somerset TT and Bear Mountain

2009-05-19T08:16:00.007-04:00

I have not done any TT’s this year yet and that is something I always think is cool, “the funny bikes”( can not wait to get the new Giant TT machine once available) just makes you feel fast !! I ride my TT bike once a week, but no crazy TT workouts to talk about! I am a break away guy in road races, so that is my TT training! I could probably improve quite a bit on this department, but I try not get too obsessive about TT’s!! Mark @ Westwood Cycle hooked me up with some new cool carbon Dura ace brake levers and a Syntace carbon wing this year on my TT rig, I also switched from an 808 Zipp front wheel to an Hed Tri spoke front wheel > looks very cool <>it is all mental!!! Then the icing on the cake, I am sponsored by UVEX this year and they hooked me up with their super cool aero helmet FP 2 TT!!!
Mark has been my biggest sponsor for the past 10-12 years of my racing career and still is the most instrumental guy behind all the cool bikes and equipment I am so lucky to be able to ride and test out > with out Mark and Allan @ Westwood Cycle I would not have had the success I have had in bike racing for sure > bike racing is such an equipment sport and if you do not keep up with the technology your are beaten before the start!! Any little thing helps, but the help I get from these guys is no comparison to others!!

I checked out the TT course forehand with my clients/buddies <> that helped all of us , it was a lot of turns and up and downs!! Liked it!!
The race ; I had Mike Rosenhaus in front of me , so a good carrot!! I never had time to put my SRM on the TT bike (which is a plan for the future) so I just went by feel, speed and cadence, which was not a bad thing on this course!! I felt pretty good and I did not really hold back anywhere, but also did not really fade either> the hardest part was the Readington course, a slight down hill roll> go figure!!
21.20 a thigh with the TT master Will O!! 3 sec off the course record!! I know where those 4 secs went!! Readington course!! Bummer, but it was fun hanging out and a good leg opener for the next day Bear Mountain race!

Bear mountain is always somewhat an important race to all of us, it is right in our back yard and we ride there all the time > I was telling Evan Cooper while pre riding the course during the week that I have probably done over 200 laps there over the years > so I guess you can say I know the course> no excuses there!! The race is hard to read, you kind of have to be on top of things at all times > it is hard to bridge late in the race if you missed the move!! There was a couple of bigger teams and also a lot of young guys that I do not see that often, but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary <> it happens a lot of times to me in the masters races > it makes the race very negative and a lot of times there will be guys up the road that are not even that strong. This year it was little of this going on the first 3 laps > I just waited!! I wanted to make sure every major team had some guy up the road, it really did not matter who at this point> on the 4th lap there was a few attacks on Tiorati Brook rd, but nothing got away, after that a few guys start trickling away and next thing you know , my plan started to look good <> flat and easy <> we drill it pretty hard and in 2 miles we catch the rest and we have a good gap on the field, so now it is time to commit!! I look at the guys in the break > two bigger guys, I was think maybe not the greatest group to be in!! Not very impressive!! Gavi was by far the strongest and he was willing to work and so was I! I always race hard <> you are in a Pro 1 2 race, there should not be any sitting on or soft pedaling if we have a chance to stay away!! So Gavi and Myself keep the pace up on the hills and the other guys sit on!! We try to get them to work on the flats > kind of half hearthed efforts > helmet straps are white from salt and a lot of drooling going on!! Does not look good!! I make the first attack on top of Tiorati and we drop 2 out of 6 > the come back and are pissed!! I tell them to work or I will do it again!! Next attack was by Gavi and 2 get dropped again!!
Now it looks good, but Pojo and the Empire guy (Clayton) still does not contribute much!! Last time up the Tiorati (the 7th time) we are going kind a of slow again and there a few new guys bridging. We were never that far ahead of the peleton, with all this conserving bull going on !! So next thing you know there are about 10 guys in this break and nobody still not wanting to work!! Some attacks, I am just following and not doing anything> we come past the feed zone and about 1 K or less to go <> I get caught right on the line !!! Oh well I tried > No Nature Valley spot <> then a little R&R (my friend Mike Calderone’s wedding). I am looking forward to the next couple of months of racing > made it thru the spring races with some good results! Not sick or injured > still a lot of room to improve on the race fitness!!

Thanks for reading and from now on you can follow my life as a racer and coach, I will try to keep it interesting!!

Until next time!

Hill of Somerset> what hills??? by Roger

2009-05-26T18:53:00.008-04:00

Memorial weekend is always a big race weekend > there used to be a nice stage race in Lake Placid > Cloudspliter> nowadays if you are not a crit guy , the Hills of Somerset is the only major road race around here. I have done it a few times before and kind of know the course , but this year they shortened it a little and took a couple of hills out ! So the first 50 miles were petty much flat, with some small rollers.

I did not start this race with any big expectations , but you newer know if with little luck and good legs, you could get in a good move and place > oh well not today!! I had good legs > a break went very early ( 10 miles in to the race ) two Empire guys , Creed and King . I thought that was a little early and there was still a lot of good guys in the field , so I figure I would wait until we got to the actual hills . Nobody was that strong and a no big separation accured on any of the hills. I had great legs in the last 20 miles , but after about covering 10 attacks and attacking about 5 times myself , we were at 1K to go!!

I did not think at 41 I would be such a marked man in a pretty strong field with some domestic pro's and top amatures, but every little break I was in, seeemed like everyone was chasing down eventhough there was 6-7 guys up the road. I did not mind , I felt great and it was very fast, a stretched out field and only about 30-40 guys left , being at the front then is a good sign !!

I race to win every race I start, but I also know racing is the best training I can get , specially in the pro 12 races !

Then after the race off to Chris Facas 40th birthday party with my wife and daughter!! Chris is a great guy, very well conected to the bike industry. He used to work for Accelerade and I still get swag from them thru him. Training and riding as much as I do , I go thru a lot of Gels and Drinks , if I had to pay for all that I think I would be drinking water and be broke by now!! Chris now works for Specialized and has the whole basement full of all kind of cool toys!!

The jumping castle was the highlite of the party besides the cake !! Love cake!!

Speaking of cake Sunday is a traditional Nyack group ride for me on Memorial day weekend and no different this year. I brought a few clients with me and next thing you know we are all apart of the crazyness!! Yes crazy ride , in my opinion ! These guys do not value their lives much at all it seems, red lights, crashes and poor bike handling skills> I think I will stick to racing for now!!

Ride was fast and good training. Riding with a few clients in a group setting was very beneficial for all of us > so a good day!! The day was just getting better after the ride > my wife Kim had planned a little birthday party that afternoon and that means "more cake " . My good friend & business partner Andreas and his wife Monica came over and we fired up the grill!! Andreas is a classy guy and the birthday gift was of the same caliber and Monica baked this killer cake , unbeliveble !! I finally got my Garmin GPS from my wife and daughter> no more getting lost and barely making it to the start of a race !! Thank you , best gift I ever got other than my daughter being born!

Mon ( Memorial Day ) ride with Team FGX. I brought a few other clients with me as well, so a pretty big group . The Orchard was the destination ! When you have this many guys riding together , there is always a little competition going on . No different today , the final miles are uphill to the Orchard, one of my favorite roads around here. Evan Cooper and Alvin both weigh about a 100 lbs and they were throwing it down on this stair stepper. Everybody were scramling to hold on >a nice friendly competition and great training after riding 2 hour endurance pace .

Everybody was winners and the Orchard made some good business on water, Gatorade and cookies> yummy!!

Ride back we took some roads these guy probably never seen , a nice route!! Somewhere along the way a bearded , "earthylooking"guy tags along > nice guy ! All of a sudden somebody is yelling "Crash" sure enough this guy hits something on the road and head first into a bed of multch > definitly got a mouthful there, lucky >nothing broken and only minor scratches just a beard full of dirt!! After getting the dirt out of his teeth we get going again and a couple of miles down the road "Bang" the multch guy's tire explodes !! It is getting late , I am paying for a baby sitter > I was pretty close to my house so it was time to bail > Juan A and Evan C shepared the FGX boys back to the GW bridge > Nice ride , eventfull for sure, but I think all of the guys enjoyed the ride!

I picked up my daughter and we are off to my friend John L and Amy's house for a swim and some food and maybe cake! John and Amy are super nice people and live in super nice house with a pool in Ridgewood , my daughter loves their kids and it is fun time for her > the hardest part is to get her to leave and go home !

A few glasses of wine and some great food . Dip my legs in the cool pool water that is a nice recovery from a nice training block and now ready for a few days easy and then get ready for the next weekend > Tour of Connneticut!!

Read about my new TT machine in the next blog and see how fast it goes on Saturday's TT!

Until next time !

Thursday ride. Everything hurts.

2009-06-11T17:49:00.006-04:00

Today was the weekly Thursday training ride from Westwood Velo for various Finkrafters. Ordinarily, that would be enough of a description, but then how would I spend the rest of my evening?

It started poorly for me. I overslept. There was traffic on the highway on the way down. I didn't really sleep all that well. I was whiney. I was going to try to keep the whineyness to myself, but in the event the ride went poorly for me, I had to start the spin right away.

I pulled up to the Flying Fin's house, and Chatty young Evan and his Fin-ness were standing outside in the rain. Did I remember to say it was raining? More whine. I kitted up and we took off towards the store. I could only find one glove. Whine. Meeting us there was 12T Mark, some guy named Mike and "I am a mountain biker, do you have a problem with that" Jim. Fun all around. I resisted the urge to whine.

We headed up towards Bear Mountain. The rain had stopped but I was still whining as now I could complain about being overdressed. Aren't I fun? We were doing okay until the 130# kid decided to show his climbing prowess on 9W. Darn kids. I whined.

We made it into the park and started our speedy ascent of the Perkins Memorial Drive. It was actually kinda neat as a fog had rolled in and we were almost riding blind. The Fin mentioned that the summit was snowed in. I assumed he was kidding. I was doing great until I started to get a bit overheated and my head was hot and I was sweating. I was only wearing a thin cap under my helmet. I was soon dropped by my ride mates. I was too tired to whine this time.

At the top I stopped and took off my helmet to cool off and found the other glove trapped inside the cap. Explains why it didnt fit right and why I was so hot. It was soaked with sweat. Not pretty.

We turned around and headed home through the thriving metropolis of Haverstraw. We did speed work. The rain returned. The kid went uphill fast. Finally, that Mike guy says: are we there yet? Almost. At the end, 4:22. Good stuff. Pretty steady and a great workout. You should have been there. I was happy with my ride. The whining stopped.

BTW: my hands hurt from not wearing gloves. Whine.

After a few close ones - a win at Highbridge by Roger

2009-06-09T20:33:00.007-04:00

Tour of Highbridge is probably my favorit New Jersey race now , since they do not have the Park Ridge one anymore!! A legbreaking hill , short but steap, when you have to go up it 11 times it becomes long and steap . A 3 mile loop with almost a "pave patch job" section and a screaming down hill into an s-turn , you would not think , you would see a sprint finish ! All the years I have done it it has always been a break , but almost never a solo break > I have always been there at the end, but always got beaten too > 2nd ( a couple of times ) 3rd (a couple of times ) ,4th ,5th ......

I raced the Ballon festival race the day before > I saw a balloon truck , but never seen any balloons there??? It is the same place as the Battenkill race was held this spring , but this one is a different loop , this year a shorter version due to constraction , so that meant 6 times up the feed zoone climb , lot of eating and drinking! I overslept this morning and 5.15 Evan was banging on my door! It takes 3 hours to get to Cambridge , NY and the Pro 12 starts at 9.25 > so now we need to hustle > I even managed to cook up some Country Choice oatmeal , take it to go of course with some green tea. Pick up Landino and further up the the road Andreas. My new GPS says we should arrive at 8.48 am , so that would leave us 30 min to get ready , not bad . I do not belive that thing anyway , so no sweat!! We get there at 8.49 am , I guess I was driving a little slow!

There is a few fast guys > Will Dugan and Josh Dillon with his team mate Justin Lindine and about 12 Spooky/Kenda guys. Well, the hill was the race !! Will and Josh drilled it up that thing every lap and I was the only guy that could hang . Race came together a few times after the hill , but on the 5th time up that was it for the rest of the pack , one guy amased me from Spooky , he managed to hold on!( young kid forgot his name , but nice ride) The last lap was no different and now the Spooky got dropped ( that hurt , if I only was 21) little cat and mouse game on the way into the finish , but nothing happend ! I figured if I get a jump on them two before the last turn I might have a shot, NO Will gets me before the turn and NO , Josh beats me on the line ! 3rd place > I am Ok with that, it was not that hard of a race , besides the hill , so I might feel simi good tomorrow ,I was thinking!! I found a 1966 bolwing throuphy on the side of the road , rolling back to the car > the guys thought that was the 3rd place price > pretty funny ! What was not funny was that I actually got a flat during the race > the wheel van would not give me a wheel , ( supposily I did not put a wheel in , go figure ! Luckily about 80 psi remained in my tire ,thank good for the sealant!! I finished the race and even sprinted !!

3 hours back and legs in the ice barrel , feeling pretty good ! At least I get to sleep tomorrow , race does not start until 1-2 o'clock!! Jehaaa!!

My wife and daughter comes to Highbridge . They have a play ground there and it is a nice mellow park to hang out in and watch the race . If your are not fit or like to go uphill , this a race would most likely be the one to skip though!!

Empire, Kelly Pro Team, Champion System, Jittery Joe U-23 team, Van Dessel and North eastern Hardwear had 4-5 guys , all pretty fast ! Then there are a bounch of other guys from smalller teams and it is just me , myself and my Giant again !! The first part of the race is hectic, as it should be , but for me not to miss the break that will form sooner or later I have to cover everything !! First lap 50.00 ShopRite prime !! I get in break right away , so why not go for it , I take it , now we can finaly get something to eat!!

Attack , attack , attack and one more and 3 guys gets away ! Next time up the hill Gavi attacks and me , Nick Bax and a Jittery Joe guy gets on , we bridge to the other 3 and now we are 6 > every important team is there> perfect , that is the move !!! Everyone knows that and does not really miss a pull > we drop Gabe from Van Dessel and we are 5 left! Every guy in the break is under 25 years old > I do not want to bring them to the line , so I wait until 2 to go and it is all or nothing up the hill> I drop everybody except Mike Margarite from Empire> we know each other and I do not think his wants a sprint finish either , so we work pretty good together > no more attacks . I time my last pull pretty close to the finish and get Mike on the front! There is a head wind ( I noticed that 9 laps ago ) so wait!! Mike seems to believe that he can beat me 250 meters out and goes very early , I wait as long as possible and gets by him , scooooore!!

Perfect tactics and my wife and daughter got to see me win !! The only dissapointment was the price money> $ 100.00 for the win , after all that > I have gotten $ 250.00 for second there before> oh well , enough for pizza and beer!!

I finished yet an other race on a soft tire , two flats in two days > still won the race I always wanted to win as a Pro 12 !!

This post is about racing, yeah bla,bla, bla> I will try to write a litte about what is going on during the week > working and training > eating and sleeping next time , sound more exciting right!!

Tube tops are in again !!! Even I had a bike lenght at the end it was not enough time to zipp up!

Thanks again for reading !!

Another CT Stage race write up....

2009-06-09T19:36:00.000-04:00

A good week it has been
After searching for something like a "peak" for some time, I now feel that I am getting closer. Like most things in live you only understand peaks as you look at before and after, and after is the unknown, so there is a chance that I am in peak form right now and things may not evolve further from here, but I do not think and hope so.Roger suggested after a few dissappointments (Jiminy Peak, Bear Mountain) to go back and create another mini-base with riding longer rides at lower intensity. Since Memorial Day weekend and the week leading up to it were relatively slow for me, I managed to get in a few extra long rides and that was very beneficial as I am finding out. Roger really knows his stuff and reads "situations" perfectly.Long story short, I felt great throughout the CT Stage race, the time trial, although also not my best (I had to open up my position twice to adjust my speed sensor, which in contrast to the purists of this discipline I mounted on the fork, slipped and got into my front wheel) was a good one and resulted in me just being out some 20 seconds form the lead. As it turned out the TT was the whole race if you did not get into any trouble later.The Circuit Race (Roger calls it Circus Race) was another feel good experience. My legs felt good but since I did not trust all that "positive feeling" I decided to stick with the plan and conserve energy for the next day.The next day was a serious task, 91 miles, few of us train let alone race this distance, but without going into a turn by turn description, I felt great once again and was able to both respond to breaks and initiate them at times.Although the field stayed for the most part together, I felt like I could have raced all day. My legs felt super. I thought I might give it a shot at the end, but chose a bad line into the finish - 12th place. 5th overall in the GC. Happy!Another good week is just coming to the weekend. I had two recovery rides Monday and Tuesday a longer one on Wednesday, Thursday Rockleigh (10th place) and now the Balloon is waiting as well as Bear Mountain TT.I hope my progression curve keeps steepening.More later!