july 6, 2009

have done 3 races in the past week or so. felt good and the results show it. first was the tour of flanders tt on 6/28. this was a difficult course with a climb in the first 2 miles. grades on the climb got up to 18% which was nice. even though i know i picked up time there i didnt go out hard enough in fear of blowing up. this may have cost me in the end. finished 7th one second behind nick which angered me. did finish in front of 10 or so cat 3 riders. it was great we were both in the top 10 and expecially ahead of a rider alex was in competition with for the tt cup. overall im satisfied and i feel like my tt ability is getting better.

then on wednesday 7/1 did the frenchtown route 29 tt. this was a 10 mile course that was a straight show down 29. is advertised as flat but is much like chatsworth being false flats. after not going out hard enough at flanders i knew i had to make up for it and shot out of the start. barely into the tt i was going crazy. breath was heavy and fast paced and even thought about stopping but i went on. ended up taking my category (even though it was only me and one other rider) but overall finished well. 17th out of 46 riders and in front of some cat 3 riders. this course was great and i felt great knowing i went all out. after the race rode back with alex and toby hanna who is a tt animal. drank from a natural spring which was cool.

then on the 4th was the hearthouse grandprix. this was my first crit being a cat4. the race was a cat4/5 but i still felt it was something new. alex and i did this race and it was great. stayed protected for the most part then moved up about halfway through after realizing i was on the small ring the whole beginning! alex was a madman. he was at the front for the whole race working. with 7 laps to go a 2 man break went and stayed away for a while. alex took the lead and shot out to draw them in. when he went, we rubbed wheels which was a nervous moment but lead to nothing and everyone stayed up. apparently the rider behind me rubbed my wheel but i didnt feel it. with less than 2 laps to go a rider whos team mate was infront in the break tried to block and alex went crazy. i followed his lead and we came around in the final lap. after the last turn i started to churn up and began to make an error by sprinting alone into the wind. but within a second maybe less i tucked back behind another rider and allowed him to lead me out. i shot around him when ready and blasted by 5 or 6 other riders to take second by only half a wheel! i was pumped and felt mad! alex and i were excited since 'the plan' finally worked. we are going to be a force soon.

reconed the freehold tt course after that but felt weak. then did a relaxing 30 miles with alex yesterday so today i have off.

now getting ready for the giro del cielo, a 2 stage race with 3 stages. going out to the tt course tomorrow to recon it. will see how it goes. i feel strong.

june 20, 2009

alot of riding has been happening this month. done some good rides on the trainer too since

IT WILL NEVER BE SUNNY AGAIN AND ALWAYS BE RAINING!!!!!!!

so, a bunch of new guys are now riding with us which is great. nick, oj, mark, rich, and a few more who havent shown their faces yet. we are making a strong showing at almost every event we do and it is become more and more fun each time. cycling now is carrying over more into my personal life which is great.

after the chatsworth tt i knew something had to be done to reverse my bad eating habits and so far its going well. lost weight and feel stronger on the bike and just better overall. started eating more "natural" foods after rides and also going back to the diet i was on a few years ago. fried chicken!! shit makes me go mad when im riding.

already on pace for a 400 mile month which is my goal usually. keeps a good balance of enough riding, but not so much that it drowns me. since not riding to work the bike feels more fun. last year once living in summit riding to work made the bike feel like a chore and not a hobby that is for enjoyment. so i have found a great balance.

after chatsworth there was the watermelon crit which i placed 6th in. last year came in third but the race was not as hard an effort and there were far less riders. this year was great as we had 7 guys in the race. our plan didnt work out in the end but we all rode well and had a good time. i felt great in the race and had a fun time launching attacks trying to set things up for nick.

then there was the 2009 criterium new york. this day began like a mess. i overslept and thankfully alex texted me that woke me up. we got there with not too much time to spare but as luck would have it the event orgnizers were late setting everything up so we all got to warm up. this was a cat 5 race only and we owned the field. we had 5 racers out of like 20. we set a plan up and this time it worked perfectly. halfway through the race the group split with oj and mark in the back group. so ken, nick and myself were in the front and we played it smart letting the other riders do all the work. with 4 laps to go ken attacked and split the field again. he flatted and then another rider attacked. i stayed on his wheel and nick and me were in the final group with maybe 3 more riders. once nick went with 2 laps left a gap formed and it was me nick and one more rider. the other rider pulled us around and then with half a lap left i launched and had a gap which i took to the line winning the race!

that week i upgraded to a cat 4! with 5 first place finishes, and six other finishes in the top ten i knew it was time to move up. i feel more comfortable on the bike and know i will have fun racing with alex until the other guys move up.

so now propeller is a strong team with almost 15 racers. this time last year it was only 3 riders and 1 who didnt live in nj. i have just under 1500 miles in for the year and more miles are being put up so i know i will do well. but this year they are more quality miles instead of last years quantity.

may 31, 2009

have done some good riding the past month and a half. a few time trials and crit. no crashes to report but no flat out wins either. definitely behind the form i was in this time last season. heavier too. i need to kick my ass in gear so the whole season isnt blown. fuck me for eating like shit.

did the state tt today and it was grueling just like last year. though i pushed myself and feel it now the first third of the tt could have been done harder. cost me cause my time was 21 seconds slower than last year at 1:02:30. differences could have been in the bike; on a road bike with tt bars instead of the plasma in the same setup. the weather; rain and cold.

so thats that. am kinda ok with my results today. i was in a different category and though i know i didnt come in last since i passed the guy in front of me dont know how i did overall. we will find out.

april 11, 2009

did the readington time trial today. second race of the year for me which is a great start to the season. was happy with my effort. finished in the middle of the group tied for 21st out of 45 racers. alex won which was a great way to finish a rainy cold day. nick did well too after missing his start by nearly a minute. i was almost late but ran to the line and rushed to get ready which ended up in me not taking a hold. at the turn around point my brakes didnt hold and ended up going almost 20 feet past the cone!

although the rider behind me passed me we ended up sprinting to the finish in which i won out. uphill efforts prove to be something i enjoy and am good at :)

next week is rahway. this is a key race which comes early in the season. a team win would be great since we will have a nice outing. but im looking for another first place.

april 7, 2009

rode in rahway park tonight though i didnt want to. took convincing by ken but eventually i headed over there and was semi miserable for the warm up. once the race started though i felt better. made some good moves and got in a 4 man break that was after the lead chase group. feel out of the group at one point and clawed my way back but just couldnt hang. eventually ended up in the main field and hung out there for the rest of the race. another rider went just before the last turn and i decided to go as well. caught him and pretty much rode in with him for the remainder.

good ride. always glad when i ride hard after not feeling like it to begin with.

april 4, 2009

did my first race of this season today. the sandy hook tt. PUNISHING! was fun though. met alex, ken, nick, and matt down there and we all warmed up on trainers together. did 45 mins on the trainer which felt good. went off 6th with alex right behind me at 7th position!

right off the bat the race was crazy! in the first mile due to the 20+mph head/side wind all the riders were greeted to a face washing with sand coming off the bay side beach. fucking hurt! after the punishment of the first half of the ride the turn around welcomed a tail/side wind that carried me back. finished 25th out of 65. dont know how i did in the "be like eddy" competition (no aero equipment). will find out in the next few days. but had a good ride. after though i think i could have pushed a little harder on the way back in. oh well. still am happy with how i did. and i didnt crash!!

oh and alex passed me in the first 2 miles!

march 29, 2009

did the crca hill climb time trial today. this was a race i wanted to do last year but decided to run into a parked car instead. anyway. i did very well and am happy with how i did. second place by only 4 seconds! long hill rd i was 3 seconds behind. montgomery rd i was 7 seconds behind. if i wanted to blame me coming in second on anything it would have to be the second climb half way up. trying to get into the big ring the chain wouldnt go so i had to switch back to the small ring and go up gears in the back. definitley cost a few seconds. on the last hill though i was first by 6 seconds. awesome. after passing the rider in front of me he stayed on my wheel for 30 seconds or so. after giving him numerous looks i brought the pain. clicked up a few gears and took off!

felt good though. this was a great warm up to the season. a reminder of the wonderful pain of racing.