Tradition

Rest Vacation

The first half of the season is now over. I had good sensations, and I felt that the form was there, but the results don't quite match up. That's racing. There was some bad luck along the way, but luckily I never crashed or became ill. Now, I retire to a quaint chateau in the mountains of the American Northwest with Alejandro Valverde to rest and prepare for the closing races of the season.

Culture Shock

Today at work a lovely American girl who was walking by asked me, "Wanna give me a pump back to my office?" and motioned toward my beautiful Italian bicycle. I thought she was being serious, and I asked her to...how you say...become my wife. She laughed and smiled and broke my heart. I was being serious.

The Hammer Falls - Part I

Apologies for the delay in this update. Immediately following the racing in Fort Davis, I retired to a super-secret location somewhere in the rugged mountains along the Mexican border to receive emergency blood transfusions from hyper-oxygenated Himalayan sherpas. After a week of hot oil massages and rest, I can now say I am fully recovered from the savage festivities of the Fort Davis Hammerfest.

Before the first race day even arrived, my team, the might Wooly Mammoths began to take casualties. One of our hardiest racers, Giuseppe von Slatesonvald (who, in order to prepare for racing in the thin air of the West Texas mountains, had planned to camp at elevation with nothing but a pocket knife, a couple of matches, and a long-sleeve wool jersey for warmth) succumbed to a common viral infection. This was but a sign of things to come...

Update 2: Spring Classic

It's a bit unusual for a seasoned Euro-pro to take on an unsanctioned race, but the annual Austin Spring Classic benefits a worthy cause (YBP) and is possessed of its own unique quaintness and charm. The course was fast and treacherous, criss-crossing central Austin and challenging the combatants with an array of tasks to be completed. My favorite stop was the tea-chugging at Ruta Maya, followed by push-ups. Rolling in a solid fourth behind two of Austin's most experienced pro cyclists and a young up-and-comer, I am quite pleased. Plus, I won a nifty shirt and hat and wallet and $10.

This weekend is Belterra and Manda. I will, as always, be on the offensive.

Lago Vista/Spring Classic/News

Many apologies for the late arrival of this update. I have been very busy training for the upcoming Fort Davis Hammerfest and following Lance Armstrong's Twitter posts.

Lago Vista (2/28) was the most enjoyable race of the year so far. The lumpy, five-mile circuit offered many opportunities for attacks in the always nervous Cat 4 peleton. The first half of the course was mostly a long false flat with a couple of uphill punches until we reached the lago vista (lake view) and came roller-coastering down to the start-finish line. The cross-winds on the descents were always tense.

We let a Texas Tech rider go solo off the front on the second of eight laps. It was a pretty windy day, so nobody was really worried about him staying away as long as he was in sight. Still, after about three laps, he didn't seem to be getting tired, so I tried a little solo move of my own on one of the uphills to stretch out the legs and see if I might bridge up. No luck, though, as the group reacted quickly and swallowed me back up after a few hundred meters.

So I sat back and chatted with my teammates about embrocation and the discotheques we'd be attending to commemorate our inevitable victory.

After another couple of laps, it became obvious that the lone breakaway artist was being aided by a couple of teammates in the field who would block the group whenever it began to speed up in pursuit. Once again, I moved to the front of the pack and called for the others to come around the two stubborn blockers. When I looked back and saw nothing but scared, questioning eyes, I jumped again.

This time I put a little more sting into my efforts and quickly built a decent gap. The peleton tried to react, but I had timed my move to coincide with a couple of quick 90 degree turns, which I was able to take much faster than the clumsy group, and further increased my advantage. As we entered the down slopes, I was gaining on the leader but not fast enough. I started spinning out my 53x12 gearing and would have killed for an 11 in back. Still, I was having a good time off the front and was not eager to return to the boredom of pack riding, so I decided to burn all my matches and either finish bridging or hurt myself trying.

By the start-finish I had closed the gap to about 20 meters, but the chase was gaining fast. Accepting that we'd soon be caught, I sat up again and focused on recovering. I led out the last lap until pace kicked up and I couldn't follow Griswoldo as he streaked toward victory. Had he not been cut off by a jealous rival, he surely would have taken a podium spot. As it is, he somehow managed to stay upright despite breaking a spoke on the disrespectful offender's skewer and coasted to 7th.

Great racing, and the form is coming along nicely. More updates soon.

Walburg/Pace Bend

Another weekend of racing is in the books, and what a wild and rewarding weekend it was. Personal highlights include:

-Excellent wheel change practice after experiencing my first race flat
-First time racing in the rain (a little moisture to refresh the legs)
-Learning to ride at a constant ~30 degree angle due to difficult cross winds
-Finally nailing down a feeding system that works
-ATTACK!
-Receiving a highly illegal and much appreciated "nudge" up the start/finish hill from an adoring fan on the second to last lap
-ATTACK!
-At one point on Sunday, I heard a slight screeching sound and looked to my left just in time to see a rider swallowed up by a very hungry patch of bushes alongside the road.

Saturday was Walburg, a very open and exposed course, notorious for brutal gale-force winds. I got my flat about 10 miles in, just as the rain was tapering off. I put my head down and started to dig hard to chase back on, but I missed a turn, and that was the end of that. The rest of the race was a solo time trial; fortunately, the wind provided me with plenty of rabbits to chase down as it continued to pop riders off the lead group. Two of my teammates, Adam and Griz, got into the lead break and dragged their thankful breakmates around the course before placing very well.

Sunday was Pace Bend, a very rolly 6 mile circuit course w/a stinging uphill finish. I put in several pulls and a short-lived attack. The legs were accelerating and recovering very well on the flats, which was very encouraging, but the previous day's efforts had left me with little power for the hills, and I had to settle for a pack finish. Once again, though, I ended the day with a great feeling of pride as I had two teammates, Tino and Griz (again), place very high. They probably would have taken 1-2 if they had simply stopped waving at the remarkably voluptuous podium girls long enough to put their hands back on their handlebars for the finishing sprint.

Next week is Lago Vista. Next week we podium.