TN State Champs

Yesterday was a 143km (88mile) road race in the countryside outside of Franklin, TN. It was also the TN state championships and some big names turned out to play. Michael Olheiser, current World Masters Time Trial Champ, who would win attacking 8 miles in and soloing. The other big name was Dirk Pohlman (i think that is how it is spelled), he is a multiple national champion and is the current national champ. I hid at the back of the field while Krystal chased down Olheiser. The gap stayed at 30-60 seconds for the first 30 miles. Then the heat started taking affect as the helpers started to go out the back of the field. The gap to Olheiser shot up to 4mins and we would never see him again. With 60 miles to go on the 8th out of 10 climbs, Dirk made a move and 5 riders including myself, Matt Winstead, 2 Nashville Cyclists, and a guy with a go-tee (he was strong). We established a strong gap. Then I felt my strength sap from me. I sat on along with the 2 Nashivlle Cyclists. On the 9th climb, the go-tee dude attacked. Immediatley, the 2 Nasvhille Cyclists went off the back. I got around them and then on the descent one of the Nasvhille Cyclists bridged back up. On the 10th and final climb everybody sorta went at their own pace. Then it was 10km gradually downhill. I decided to lead Matt out for the sprint since (1. i suck at sprinting (2. he is a good sprinter (3. he has a 11 and i have a 14  (4.  did i mention i suck at sprinting? The cat and mouse tactics started and the last 1.6km I lead out Matt. That was brutal for me. I had to take it at a dead stand still and worked our way up to 30mph and I somehow, by the powers of the cycling gods, managed to hold that speed until 250 to go where Matt went for it and he got 2nd. I got 6th and last of the break. But I got an added bonus: the Tennessse State Championship jersey for cat 2!

David

Finally!

Okay, I got some of the crash photos up.

Look if you dare….

That is the only position I was able to sleep in for the next 48 hours…

You think that’s bad? You should see the kid’s wheels my back tore up

Im drugged up on morphine in case it was hard to tell 😉 Pudding cups are good too! Look my dad, he has the Captain in him…

That’s all…

David

Riding outdoors

Today I did my last (knock on wood) ride on the trainer for awhile. I did 1.5hrs, then did the last climb of the tour today in zone 3. But tomorrow I will be outside riding. It wont be long before I return now…

Update and a fellow blogger

I rode the trainer for a little over an hour watching the time-trial. Legs felt pretty good actually. Tomorrow I will go for longer and may be outdoors! The Tour is certainly interesting. I hope Vino destroys all! Hopefully Evans will kick the Chicken off the top spot. Anyway my boy AJ Meyer is off in Europe tearing it up (hopefully not himself like I recently did but the competition) Here is his blog I am sure he will enjoy your support.

http://www.andrewjosephmeyer.blogspot.com/

David

Getting back into it

Today I spun around on the trainer for 45 minutes following the Tour. I felt a bit stiff but I guess that is expected 😉 Tomorrow I will iincrease the time a bit and see how I feel. Sunday I will be cleared to ride outdoors as it will be over a week since my crash. So may be I will ride outside if everything goes according to plan. I will keep you updated. Here are some photos, none of them are of my crash. I will post those later…

Look at Phinney…

Thanks Dad! Sorry I couldnt get the result 😉

I want to thank everybody for their support especially my mom and dad who have taken care of me this week (not to mention the past 17 years).

David

Im home

I am back in Chatt-town after my wreck. It was terrible. It looked like a bomb went off in the field. I remember the crash vividly. I was sitting about 3rd wheel at the front down the descent when a rider came flying past us on a sweeper he over shot it bounced off into the gravel then back into the road on the right hand side. I was easing the brakes at 45mph and moving over to the left. The other riders had no idea what had happened and they shot around me and a couple locked bars and went down right in front of me on the right. I moved over to the left and just as I was passing the mayhem when a rider hits me from behind I go straight down and immediatley. I could tell my day was over. The worst road rash for sure for me. I have a tire mark all the from my lower back up to my neck, a tire mark across my right though, and road rash from my feet (my shoe came off in the wreck) up to my ear. But considering it could have been a lot worse I am grateful. 2 had broken femurs, 7 broken collar-bones, 24 total admitted to the hospital. 4 were overnighted including me. I had to stay overnight because of my concusssion. No chances after what happened with Saul. Good thing though is I got to eat all the pudding cups and jello I wanted 🙂

I will upload some pics later. I am now gonna take some pain killers then go to bed. Thank you again for your support. It truly means a lot! I am healing up fast and I will be back!
David

Getting ready…

Hello all,

Currently I am getting prepped for nationals (13 & 14). Then the next day (15th) I grab my things and board a plane to Canada. Yes my friends…Canada. I make a connection in Tronto then to Montreal then take a beater plane (the ones that are smaller than a chewing gum box) to Val D’Or Airport then drive to the race venue for…drumroll please…Tour de l’Abitibi for a week long stage race. 200 riders…tons of national teams, regional teams from all Canadain proveinces, USA National Team, Polish team, Belgian, Japanese, South Africa, US regional teams: Midwest, Inner Mountain, Southeast, Northeast, West Coast, and may be some others that I dont know about. The team I will be racing for is the US National Team with Carter Jones, Grant Van Horn, Danny Summerhill, Taylor Phinney, and Ben King. A-bit-a-bee is a world cup stage race so that means a couple of things: 1. we send our best squad to collect points so we can send more riders to the world championships 2. more riders = more crashes = more fun 3. more money? – not that part matters anyway because all cyclists make the big bucks.

Nationals looks like a good course for myself too. The TT is 20km long on a rolling course. Nobody can preview it by bike so I am sure we will be one of the 100 riders previewing it in our rental cars (may be we can have a bumper car race later? – ofcourse if you got the crash insurance covered). The road race is a little less hilly…bad news for a lightweight like me but it climbs back up to the finish so hopefully I can play my cards right.

Training is going very well. I seem to be recovered from Ohio and already I am putting out some of the best numbers I have seen so hopefully that trend will continue. I would upload some photos of my crash and from Ohio but I cant because my camera is in Minnesota with my mom and sister…I think. (if your reading this plz send it back). Until next time…

David

I salute you Mom!

This event happened awhile ago, and much to mom’s suprise (she will read this and she might get a little upset)….but since it is summer, all my volunteer hours are done for now, nothing to do but ride my bike, yadda yadda, I must post this story because I think it is funny. It happened while I was in Europe…

That is the groundhog that has been terrorizing our backyard since we have moved here. See there would be no problems between us except for the fact that our lawn was dug up then fresh new gress was laid down and the groundhog tore it up. We used sticks of dynamite among other weapons to try to get rid of the varmon but it is invincible. We thought we got rid of it but the next morning while we are trying to get the coffee pot running we see its head poke out of the ground, glance around, then hobble on out then waddle around for a bit then go back into the hole. These events, I knew, were going to keep building and building. My mom had enough but sadly it was time for me to go to Europe. A few days later, I recieve an e-mail from my dad with the title: “We got ’em” and an attached picture.

Priceless…

No animals were harmed during the groundhog capture and realease or the making of this post. The groundhog is now living comfortably in someone else’s yard in Sequatchie County along with 3 other raccoons.

Thanks  mom!

David

Ohio wrap up….MPI

Sorry for the long delay. I have been resting up. Anywho, stages 4,5,6 where a complete blur for me. Stage 4 was a 1.2 mile circuit. I managed to actually have good legs but a couple laps in I broke a spoke and pulled out to grab our team’s wheels. However, they were not there finally a rider who was spectating said I got a 9 speed 11×23. Sure…Ill take it. Will two laps later I found myself finishing 3rd in a intermediate sprint behind the eventual Ohio winner: Heckman and the points winner: Marco Aledia. So that is the type of restriction us juniors have. Eddy dragged me up for a sprint to set up Winstead. However, I got caught behind another crash with a lap to go. Stage 5 I do not really remember or Stage 6 for that matter. But I did not crash and I was active that is about it. But I have a good story to substitute for those two stages. The day of Stage 4 we arrived to our hotel early about 230 or so the Days Inn. Since our race was at 7 we decided to drop our bags off and then go to the race 10 minutes down the road. We strolled into the hotel and went up to the desk and asked if we could check in early. The manager, an Indian fellow, told us he would check us in at 300pm. I glance at my cell phone : 235pm. Wow…no wonder this place is deserted. Our team sat arond the lobby just waiting watching soaps (please dont ask). As soon as 300pm hit the manager came up to us and said we can check us in now. Carp got up there with our reservation. But the manager refused it saying we have to pay him in cash or by credit card. However, our team is non-profit organization so we register through Orbitz which gives us a considerable discount. We tried to explain we are paying him but just through Orbitz still he refuses. We decided to find another hotel. All of us bust out our computers and cell phones to find a hotel in Springfield. No luck as all the hotels are all booked up due to the race and a baptist convention. Finally, Winstead gets a hotel: The Executive Inn. Sweet…so we go to the race…bla bla bla…race ends…we get into the car and follow Matt who has a GPS. Swecker and I are in my car….Morris, Carp in the van, Matt and Sam in matt’s car. As we are driving, Swecker points out that we are in a very scuzzy neighborhood. A “ghetto” as we call it. We pull up to the red light. I glance to my right, and I see a couple of “thugs” swapping “items” with a person inside a busted up old caddy (no not the golf term). I then look away from the event and see an elderly fellow with a brown bag frantically searching the streets for something. Next, I hear a horn from across the street honk 3 times and the BP station is scattered. The caddy peals out of the parking lot. The old man starts walking. Sure enough a police car goes rolling by. By then the light has changed green. I call Matt and ask him how far away is this hotel. He hesitates checking the GPS….right around the corner. Oh…How bad can it be? Well the first thing I noticed was a momma nursing a baby right outside the Executive Inn. Next the place is enlocked in barbed wire and a gate. There is a man in the middle of the parking lot with a blanket over his head standing there. I could imagine what the reaction would be if a bunch of bikers with shaved legs would pull up to the place. Yeah we are put of a gang 😉 It’s called: MPI! (morepartnerincome.com).  I see Matt’s car hesitate then he keeps going. We managed to finally find a hotel: the Super 8. That is my story.

Stage 2 and 3

50 miles on back country roads with steep little rollers was hard enough but with the rain soaked course made it a mad house. The first 8 mile circuit was brutal the field was split up not due to the pace but due to all the crashes and flats. With 2 laps to go, Matt (our leader) and I thought it was the last lap so I set up a hard run in to the base of the final climb. I swung off and Matt attacked. I got to the top of the climb and saw the official ringing the bell lap for one to go. Ahh too bad, the last lap was very fast.  I tried to move up for the last 5km for the final climb but I was spun out on junior gears and had to come back after 2 crashes. I hit the hill dead last in about 60th place and crested it 21st.

Stage 3 was the longest and hardest stage. We had 4 steep climbs all about a 1/2 mile to 1.5miles long. Our team was active in the early moves. Finally, Eddy found himself in the early break. About 30 miles later I found myself following a move up a  steep climb. I brdged to the second group on the road and sat on because Eddy was still up the road. However the second group was reabsorbed. I was recovering at the back and swapping bottles in about 80th place when some dude comes up and tries to fit in between me and another rider and hits me from behind. I hit the ground. Smacking my hip and elbow on the pavement. I got up and took the short cut home and took a time penalty. I wasnt the only one with bad luck today. Matt flatted early on and managed after 20 miles of chasing got back on. Then with 4 miles to go he broke his shifting cable so he had to run up one of the climbs. So yesterday was a complete disaster for the team but that is part of the sport.

David