Horse Country Time Trial

I awoke this morning feeling pretty good. A great breakfast and off to the Horse Country TT. This is a great event, it promotes youth and colligate racing, and donates proceeds to the food bank. Kevin did a terrific job this year with the event. The race was a wind blown 20k TT with some small rollers mixed in. The wind was a little concern. I was trying out a new front wheel, the Easton TT 90, and the maiden voyage was today. I must say the wheel is blistering fast into the head wind and the cross winds were handled just fine. My first TT of the season and I set a personal best 27:07. Oh wait, 27:34. Ok, I missed my start time and was added 27 sec to my time. I still beat my best time by over a minute. No I'm not going to explain how I missed it. I will say that it made little difference. I still managed to beat some very good riders.

What did make a big difference was sliding into my DNA speedsuit. This is a great team, with great guys. 3rd place great ride!

From Inside Hell's Kitchen

Well, the race started under cloudy skys with about 40 guys in the field. A few teams were well represented but mostly 2-3 guys from a team was the standard. The first of three laps were where all the fireworks went off. The Hell's Kitchen climb, which is a 1.25 mile climb that pitches to 15% the last 200m is where the explosion occured. Normally, the race doesn't split apart until the 2nd lap, but the guys had another plan in mind. I did my normal thing which includes bleeding from the eyeballs and still going backwards. The break includes four guys which two were OKC Velo, represented by Paul and Brady. The rest of the race got confusing because we chased the orginal four but eventually got mixed in with the 1/2's. Then the whole neutralizing thing (they neutralized the 1/2's, not us) came into play. Then the 1/2' s got mad and passed us on the hill,and a couple of 3's slipped away and got a free ride. So, they finished 5th and 6th, even after the protest by the group of chasing 3's. I got outsprinted by the same guy as last week(which will be the last time I let him beat me,Lord willing) and finished 9th but then they bumped me to 8th. Who knows how I will show up on the results, which is the only thing that will matter anyway.

Morals from this race:
1) Just because the rules say you can't work with another cat, doesn't mean the refs will absolutly enforce this;(thanks Joey,cat 2, for helping me get back on after getting dropped the second time up the hill.
2)Pay attention to the guy that beat you the week before in a sprint and sling shot off his wheel instead of trying to drag race him on his home turf.
3)Most importantly, sometimes the trip to the race and home from the race talking to a friend about life is unmeasurably more important than the race or the results or any thing else inbetween. A special thanks to Cory.

Until next race report by yours truely Erin,
May we all be Blessed with fast legs but more importantly a knowledge that when we depart this earth it won't matter how fast you are or were. But it will matter what is inside your heart.

Cowskin Classic Road race, Rivet Style

The Cowskin Road Race marked my 5th race as a category 4, and my 6th race ever. I'm still very new to this sport, and each race presents a barrage of new lessons to be learned. I'm lucky to have good friends and a team full of experienced guys who have taught me a lot in my short time of racing.



My first two races in Austin a couple weeks back had not gone according to plan. In all honesty, I had planned to dominate the 4's down in Texas. However, I had recently run a 50 mile ultra marathon, leaving it all out and PR-ing which had left me very tired and my recovery was moving along slower than I had expected. The Walburg and Pace Bend races in Austin had kicked my butt, and scoring a 15th in both of them was far from acceptable for me. So I rested quite a bit in the days coming up to the Cowskin.
I headed out early on Saturday morning for Keystone Lake, as the 4 race blasted off around 9 am. Coming down the road to the parking area I observed that the finishing 3/4 mile of the race was downhill. Score for us big boys, and immediately I felt good about winning a field sprint in the end.
The race itself was fairly low key most of the way, not too fast. 4 races are much less organized by nature, however there were some big teams that showed up and they were trying to get some things going early on. There were quite a few attacks, most of which were solo and reeled back in quickly. No one was willing to let anyone get off the front for a long amount of time. I chomped at the bit most of the race, sitting in the middle of the pack hanging out. I had been talking to Dustin Sallee from Team Undiscovered, trying to talk him into a break together but his recovery week hadn't gone well and he wasn't feeling it.
My initial plan was to win a field sprint with it being conducive to my body type and abilities, however I thought that if I could get a couple guys off the front with me I could attack them at the end for a win. So I conserved. There were attacks, and they would get brought back in. I sat in.
This was a circuit style race in which we did 7 laps on a 5.2 mile loop. 2 hills. One a long easy slog for approximately 3/4 of a mile. One a shorter steep incline on the backside of the course (in a cross wind) that gets the heart rate pumping. At about the 28 mile mark, we hit that hill on the backside of the course. About that time Dustin leans into me and says "go dude". I figure what the heck, if I get caught I'll still have time to set in, recover, and maybe win a field sprint finish.
So I positioned myself at the back of the back, get to the crest of the hill, shift two gears, and drop the hammer. By the time I reach the front of the pack I'm over 40 mph and no one has a chance to immediately bridge. So I'm off the front solo. My first time ever. The next 8 or so miles are a blur of sorts, but I remember looking back frequently to check the scene.

...I see a solo rider trying to bridge. Then I look back again and he's been swallowed by the pack. Then 5-6 guys trying to bridge. I crest the long hill on the last lap, look back, and they are 20 seconds back. A mile later I look back, they are 45-50 seconds back. I hit that last short steep hill in the cross wind. Look back. 20 seconds back. I make the last turn for the finish line 3/4 mile away. The chase group sits at least 40 seconds off me, and I let out a primal growl at the top of my lungs!! They have no chance of catching me......

I've always been a sucker for adrenaline. Exhilarating experiences are addicting to me. I thrive on excitement in my life. Always have. If you do too, jump off the front of a bicycle race and let a pack of 60 hungry dogs try to chase you down. Be the hunted. Even if they catch you, the experience is highly worth it.

Salt Creek Crit, P12

Ok Ive been feeling a little under the weather this week and decided if I felt ok this morning when I awoke I would race today. Well I felt just fine, so I loaded up the truck and off to the races.

During the drive I contemplated what the plan would be. The plan is to do the P12's and try to get 3 to 4 real hard efforts in. Use the race as fitness. The race was an hour thirty crit up near Tulsa.

I arrived at the race site registered, pinned number, warmed up, and off we go. The first three laps were at cruise speed so I decided to put in my first effort solo off the front, not too long 8 mins. perfect time to sit in. We race, we race, off I go, this time I have company there are six of us in the break and it's a good one. The four biggest teams are represented, and the fire power is there, Chad Cagle (now with Park Place), Steve Tillford (former world champion), and Brad Huff (Jelly Belly). I finish my pull and we started rotating. I realize that I have pulled through twice and Lord I am about to die. There is an hour left in the race and I am praying we get caught. My prayers were answered, and I only had to pull two more times. Man, that had me re-thinking this go off the front and get some work in. WE race. I want to quit. We race. I think I can bridge to that solo move up the road. Off I go. I get about a 100 yds from the catch so I give a quick check under the arm and a solo rider is closing like a bullet. I get caught about 25 yards away from the rider I was chasing. This could be good, we got a good gap. I grab the wheel of the rider who caught me and we blew by the original rider up the road. This guy is killing it! No wonder, I'm on, Jelly Belly, Brad Huffs wheel again. Shezzz why me. The field's chasing and he is not planning to get caught. We go 3/4 of a lap and Im doing all I can to just stay on his wheel and then, the elbow. I'm thinking, What! I'm old. You want me to pull? Well, I gave it a go and realized very quickly that I can't pull threw at 36 mph. That's correct 36. Not much more I can do. Right about after that, I BLEW. I licked my wounds back in the field for 18th. These guys were at a different level, but it's fun.

I hope all is well,

Phillip

Cowskin Classic Road Race

First of all today was fun.

At the start of the race I was aware of the talent that was lining up with us. The guys I had earlier marked were not even on my mind. The whole pack was marked as far as I was concerned. Early in the race I felt froggy, but hey its my first race this year and the first few laps feel NOTHING like the last 3. Nevertheless I did know that some guys here were in better form than myself and with that in mind I knew that I really needed to be efficient, but with efficiency you still have to be willing to blow up to the point of DNF covering counters and that is where I burned my matches. Fortunately, I was able to dig deep enough in the end to finish, not just finish but keep it within the top 20. Twice in the final 3 laps I fell off the back of what remained of the pack only to fight through the cramping of my legs and find myself with the group again. One thing about cramps, there are stages and the initial ones are just pain, you can fight through these, but when you get to the final stage it's over, legs won't operate. Fortunately, I didn't get to that point until the end, which with a downhill finish and a good pace I was able to remain in decent position while crossing the line.

My turn to be the fit one will be here soon enough.

RACE,

Zach

The Bicycle Belt

After a quick workout Tuesday night, I found myself at the Quail Springs United Methodist Church explaining to some very young minds the importance of bike safety. These Cub Scouts were working on achieving their Bicycling Belt Loop and part of the requirements were to have an open discussion pertaining to safety while on the bicycle. Questions ranged from, “What do you do if you ride into a tree?” to “Can I mount an umbrella on my bike to block the sun?” and my favorite of the night, “Do you drink water if it is 200 degrees outside, like in Texas?”

You can never start too early with children in regards to proper safety. Too many adults are out there oblivious to the example they are setting when they are breaking the laws/rules of safe cycling and the bad part is that their children are watching & learning. DNA Racing has made a commitment to inform and educate our community at the youngest levels to ensure a better, more respectable, two wheel lifestyle.

See you on the road,
Zach

Lago Vista Baby!

Another nice, scenic trip down near Austin, TX is how Erin and I spent our Friday. We were headed down to our second weekend in a row of Texas racing at Lago Vista.

GOOOOD Saturday morning! It's time to go racing. Erin and I were both registered in the CAT 2/3 race along with about 88 other racers. Lago Vista Day #1 saw two guys go off the front and hold their gap to beat the field by 33 seconds. From 3rd place to 58th place there was a time gap of only 15 seconds and it was a crazy finish. I led Erin out on the last half lap or tried to and was sitting 3rd wheel coming into the final hill when I mis-geared. Erin was able to go right by, which was great. He got 7th and I got 30th. We were seperated by 1.5 seconds. It was great to race with Erin and I feel like we raced good as a team. Erin unleashed his monster sprint up the final hill.

Lago Vista Day #2 - I was able to get in a break with ten guys including the top two from yesterday. We were able put a gap of around 5 minutes on the peleton and I was able to roll across the line with a 9th place finish. With 3 laps to go I was cramping so bad I thought I was going to have to quit. This race was filled with attack after attack and what seemed like never a dull moment. Erin, again, had another great finish coming in at 13th.

Another great weekend of racing for DNA!

See ya' next weekend,

Marky Mark