Archive for February 2012
Pine what?
Pine Flat.......the race in the middle of no-where with a start time of 7:30 am. Its cold, fields are small, rattlesnake warnings are posted on the outhouses, and I want to run for cover when the Velo-Promo guy with the big white beard bellows like a hill-jack at 6:45 am " EVERYONE! remember to sign the appropriate waiver. Last but not least, the neutral start is up a 14% miniature Alp Duez, and yes it does have switch backs. Great for warming up.
The down an dirty, sorry I don't have any pictures.
Pine flat was pretty chill during the first hour, just a steady and solid tempo. I sat in but the boredom got to me eventually and I thrashed everyone on the descent out of the reservoir.. Vince's teammates sat on my wheel and neutralized me. I knew that was going to happen.
Bunch of attacks followed on the flats..........had to reel a few of them in and bridged a few solo but it all kept coming back........knew that was going to happen as well.
Not many teams represented, just a lot of strong little climbers and solo guys.
At some point, 3 guys slipped away and nobody even flinched........they stayed away until the bottom of the days major climb, a 14 min steep grind, all were eventually caught except some guy I've never heard of who ended up winning solo.
Visibility was less than 1 meter, (dense fog and mist), on the climb and I could not tell who was who, or where. All I knew was, I was last, not cool....and got dropped doing 500 watts at the bottom. Since that effort is just too hard to sustain, everyone blew-up and I managed to catch everyone but Chris Phipps at the top. Vince, myself and two others proceeded to chase our asses off towards the last cimb, with Phipps charging about 20 seconds on a solo mission to catch the leader.
The finishing climb is about 5 min long with the final 200 meters pitching up to a percentage higher than I can count on all my digits and I just did not have it. Punch yourself in the face.....I was pedaling 45 rpm and going backwards..........Got 6th, right behind Vinny. It was funny though, as we were all cracked on the last climb.......each of us would attack, die, attack, die, and repeat........it felt pretty pathetic, and I think I could have walked faster............kinda like a 3 legged elephant tripping on its snout.........chasing a monkey up a hill.
IT was fun.........I think I am missing some top end from being sick.........Really wanted to win.........but just missing a gear.
Looking forward to Merco.
Pine Flat.......the race in the middle of no-where with a start time of 7:30 am. Its cold, fields are small, rattlesnake warnings are posted on the outhouses, and I want to run for cover when the Velo-Promo guy with the big white beard bellows like a hill-jack at 6:45 am " EVERYONE! remember to sign the appropriate waiver. Last but not least, the neutral start is up a 14% miniature Alp Duez, and yes it does have switch backs. Great for warming up.
The down an dirty, sorry I don't have any pictures.
Pine flat was pretty chill during the first hour, just a steady and solid tempo. I sat in but the boredom got to me eventually and I thrashed everyone on the descent out of the reservoir.. Vince's teammates sat on my wheel and neutralized me. I knew that was going to happen.
Bunch of attacks followed on the flats..........had to reel a few of them in and bridged a few solo but it all kept coming back........knew that was going to happen as well.
Not many teams represented, just a lot of strong little climbers and solo guys.
At some point, 3 guys slipped away and nobody even flinched........they stayed away until the bottom of the days major climb, a 14 min steep grind, all were eventually caught except some guy I've never heard of who ended up winning solo.
Visibility was less than 1 meter, (dense fog and mist), on the climb and I could not tell who was who, or where. All I knew was, I was last, not cool....and got dropped doing 500 watts at the bottom. Since that effort is just too hard to sustain, everyone blew-up and I managed to catch everyone but Chris Phipps at the top. Vince, myself and two others proceeded to chase our asses off towards the last cimb, with Phipps charging about 20 seconds on a solo mission to catch the leader.
The finishing climb is about 5 min long with the final 200 meters pitching up to a percentage higher than I can count on all my digits and I just did not have it. Punch yourself in the face.....I was pedaling 45 rpm and going backwards..........Got 6th, right behind Vinny. It was funny though, as we were all cracked on the last climb.......each of us would attack, die, attack, die, and repeat........it felt pretty pathetic, and I think I could have walked faster............kinda like a 3 legged elephant tripping on its snout.........chasing a monkey up a hill.
IT was fun.........I think I am missing some top end from being sick.........Really wanted to win.........but just missing a gear.
Looking forward to Merco.
1st Levi Leipheimer @ 3:48
13th Keith Hillier @ 4:06
35th Nate Freed @ 4:21
DNF John Teeter
Grasshopper Adventure Series Website
Next one is on March 10th - "Super Sweetwater" Cross/Road ~75miles
This year I had the pleasure of hosting the Marc Pro-Strava winter training camp on my home roads around Santa Cruz, California. I was looking forward to the opportunity to show off the place which I have become very fond of, both for it's amazing diversity of places to ride a bike but also the atmosphere and culture. Our team landed at the Seascape Resort in Aptos which offered amazing views and easy access to all the training rides.
On friday we set out for a short 2 hour opener which consisted of a quick loop around Pajaro Valley. After the usual pizza feast and sponsor talk we talked racing plans and welcomed new teammates.
Saturday consisted of a string of all of my favorite climbs in the Santa Cruz mountains starting with Bonny Doon. This ride included an amazing descent down Felton Empire road, a stop at the White Raven in Felton, and my favorite climb East Zayante Rd.
It was surreal riding all my usual training roads with my full team. I'm normally out here by myself, or with one friend or another but attacking all the grades with MPS was awesome. After a day of fun on the bike we headed to a local organic mexican restaurant in my neck of the woods. Good times and food comas ensued.
On the third day, I planned an enormous route. I wanted everyone to experience as much as possible and leave a good healthy tiredness in the legs. We started up Eureka Canyon, a Santa Cruz classic.
This ride was incredible. With a little bit of something for everyone, and a lot of hill climbing. I was stoked to show everyone Big Basin (Hwy 236) which is probably one of the most fun descents in the area. We were very lucky with the weather being dry as many of these roads can be pretty messy during the winter but were perfectly clear for us. After some more talk of tactics and messing about we parted ways in Aptos.
Overall I was very happy with how the camp went, and that everyone had fun on the training rides with minimal complaining. One thing is for sure, we have plenty of strength in our squad and the Nor-Cal and National peloton should watch out. Thanks for reading.
On friday we set out for a short 2 hour opener which consisted of a quick loop around Pajaro Valley. After the usual pizza feast and sponsor talk we talked racing plans and welcomed new teammates.
Saturday consisted of a string of all of my favorite climbs in the Santa Cruz mountains starting with Bonny Doon. This ride included an amazing descent down Felton Empire road, a stop at the White Raven in Felton, and my favorite climb East Zayante Rd.
It was surreal riding all my usual training roads with my full team. I'm normally out here by myself, or with one friend or another but attacking all the grades with MPS was awesome. After a day of fun on the bike we headed to a local organic mexican restaurant in my neck of the woods. Good times and food comas ensued.
On the third day, I planned an enormous route. I wanted everyone to experience as much as possible and leave a good healthy tiredness in the legs. We started up Eureka Canyon, a Santa Cruz classic.
This ride was incredible. With a little bit of something for everyone, and a lot of hill climbing. I was stoked to show everyone Big Basin (Hwy 236) which is probably one of the most fun descents in the area. We were very lucky with the weather being dry as many of these roads can be pretty messy during the winter but were perfectly clear for us. After some more talk of tactics and messing about we parted ways in Aptos.
Overall I was very happy with how the camp went, and that everyone had fun on the training rides with minimal complaining. One thing is for sure, we have plenty of strength in our squad and the Nor-Cal and National peloton should watch out. Thanks for reading.
