Enjoying the Ride

Sun Worshiping

2012-01-10T08:52:00.003-07:00

No pictures today. Wish I would have brought my camera with me to CA but no. I'll just do my best to paint a picture with my words...uck. I'm in Santa Cruz at the moment doing the ol' "eat, ride, eat, sleep" routine. Boy, my life is boring when I get into these grooves. I started out in Santa Barbara and rode with peeps out there and revisited the infamous Mt. Figueroa climb and did the front side of Gibralter for the first time ever. Very cool climbs. Gibralter starts in Santa Barbara and climbs to the ridge overlooking the city and the ocean on one side and rows of foothills/mountains on the other. Figueroa was done with Teddy King and Stu Bone (my host/transport for this week+ trip). I rode with Creed for a total of 20' for the two days that I was there, but I've been assured that it's not due to lack of love. Also, checked out a killer coffee shop of former teammate Aaron Olson - Handlebar Coffee (try the croissants!). After 2 days of riding, we drove (rather, Stu drove) us up the coast to Santa Cruz with his Tundra and 25 ft Airstream in tow. Here, I'm being shown the local routes by none other than the NorCal legend BJM. We descended this road called Alpine Rd yesterday that took us through an old, ruggedly beautiful Redwood forest. It was stunning. I felt like a hobbit in the land of ents.
Next, we'll visit former teammate and current friend Joao for a couple days in Mill Valley, get some more riding in and then head back to Santa Cruz for training camp with the Junior Devo team that Stu runs.
For me, the fitness is starting to peak its head from around the curtain. I feel okay and I'm loving riding my bike. I'm really excited about the team for next year...which is sort of out of the bag but kinda not still? Anyway, there will be a team launch late this month so the gag order will be lifted soon at any rate. Thanks for following and all of the support.

Steamboat Holiday

2011-09-26T10:58:00.005-06:00

So, I'm officially in my Offseason, though this is the freshest I've felt going into this season in the 5 years I've been a pro cyclist. Hmmm, maybe the key to feeling good in September is starting your season in May? Too bad I don't think that would fly with most team managers. The season ended up well for me. Too few 'W's for my liking but considering this whole year is a bonus for me, I'm very pleased with how things went. Riding with the Jamis/Sutter Home Team for this year was a great experience and so much fun!
Rebecca had a conference in Steamboat Springs, CO last week and so I tagged along to do some mountain biking and spend some time in this beautiful resort town that I've only been to once previously. I had an amazing time on the mountain biking trails there. I don't know if it was the weather (60-70 degrees), the fact that it is their slow season (I encountered only a handful of other bikers/hikers the entire time I was out there), or just because I hadn't been on my mountain bike for ages - but I really enjoyed myself out there! I found the single track challenging but doable for my skill level, meaning I only fell off my bike a couple of times.
Just a taste of the cool Singletrack in the area. Sometimes I wasn't sure if the trail was wide enough for my handlebars!

A nice overlook of Steamboat. We were staying near the base of the ski resort seen in the distance and it was about an hour ride to the overlook.

Things are looking good for 2012. I will be employed to race my bike, which I'm very excited about. And I'm already plotting to take over the (cycling) world. However, I have to remember that offseasons serve a rather important purpose and I need to pump the brakes for a bit. In the meantime, I will sit on my bum more than usual and maybe revisit the hiking trails in our backyard and eventually drop in on my old friend Bear Peak.

Ouch, it stings!

2011-08-26T08:15:00.002-06:00

No, not my 2nd bout of road rash from a crash at the Tour of Utah - I'm referring to staying at home during this big race in my home state. Watching the USPCC Prologue on T.V. Monday while sitting on some pretty decent form (I set my 5' best power at altitude 3 days prior to the race) was difficult to put it mildly. I was sick to stomach for most of the coverage. I mean, a 195 lb TT specialist who lives at altitude is forced to skip a mostly downhill 5 mi TT 2 hrs from his house? Ouch. Why did I even watch it then, you ask? That's something I can't quite explain other than I wanted the bitter disappointment to burn so that it would be something I would remember for the future. I hope the race promoters are happy with the domestic teams whom they chose in place of the Jamis/Sutter Home Cycling Team. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scrutinizing the performances of those teams this week.
On the bright side of things, I'm taking part in some very cool events in place of this OTHER race. I did the Rapha Gentlemen's Race in Portland last weekend. Such a cool event! 6-person teams tackle a brutally challenging course mostly unsupported and must finish all team members in order to get an official time. This year, the course was 130 miles with over 9000ft of climbing...oh, and probably 75% on gravel roads in rough shape. I was recruited for a team of tall guys (average height of 6'4" or so) which also meant we were heavier than the average Jose. I'm not sure but I'm guessing that this contributed to our 8 flat tires throughout the event. That was about the only bummer from the day. Otherwise, we had a great time riding amazing roads in the hilly countryside just west of Portland. I brought a Garmin Edge 500 along for the day so you can see the course profile, speeds, and temp throughout the day. Other highlights included trying to stay in contact with Ryan "Treefarm" Trebon on gravel descents when he was going maybe 80%, and eating chips, candy bars, soda or whatever else I could shove into my mouth at the numerous food stops that we made along the way. 10 hrs of chamois time and 8 hrs of pedal time for the day! Both personal records, I believe.
Next up is an event that's been on my radar for several years now. I'm heading up to Vermont to race in the Green Mountain Stage Race over Labor Day weekend. I've heard great things about this race and am excited to finally be able to take part in it. It is the home turf of teammate Jamey Driscoll so hopefully we can race together and have some fun...if I can convince him that we're still in road season and it will surely help his CX fitness. It should be a fun time and tough racing!

Lesson Learned

2011-07-13T18:55:00.003-06:00

Oooh...2 posts in one week! Exciting times. I was originally going to entitle this post "When It Rains, It Pours" but I decided on "Lesson Learned" because there was a lesson from today and I think upon reflection that I may have grasped it.
Today was the first day since my CL RR that I wasn't feeling crummy about my race performance. This morning, I officially let it go and moved on from my poor showing in my hometown. Today I had short prologue-esque TT intervals scheduled in the morning and a mid-week crit in the evening. As I rolled down the hill from my house this morning and stopped at the first stoplight, there was a person holding a sign on the corner (as there is everyday at that corner). I'm sure you've seen this scene: a person writes some sort of message that is supposed to illicit pity, guilt, or a laugh with the ultimate goal of scoring a few bucks from people stopped at the corner. Today's person had a sign that read "Appreciate what you have and don't take it for granted." I immediately thought, "Ya dude, you should appreciate that you're healthy enough to be out here enjoying this beautiful day and by the looks of it you're not starving or anything." Little to zero empathy or sympathy from this guy (thumbs pointed inward) when I saw this person this morning. And certainly no inward reflection about the message on his sign.
So, I continued on my ride and I could tell right away that it was going to be good day. I wondered not if, but by how much I would smash my 5' TT power records today. I was engulfed in this train of thought when I noticed my turn was coming up and so took a quick glance over my shoulder and then started to make the left turn going a little faster than usual. Well, there was about a foot wide strip of deep gravel on the edge of the left turn lane that I failed to notice in my daydreaming and my tire slid out immediately when I hit it. I slid to a stop in the middle of the road, cursing before I was even finished sliding. I untangled myself from my bike and my next action was to hurl my bottle at the nearest inanimate object. I just kept saying "I can't believe this" in between expletives. I thought I had wrecked my chances at doing well at Cascade. A nice older gentleman named Ken came to my aid and brought me a first aid kit and water from his car, because by this time I was dripping blood from several different locations. I knew I hadn't broken my collarbone so my attention immediately went to my ribs and hips, two of the initial contact points along with my elbow/forearm. I took a deep breath with no shooting pain so I was pretty certain that I hadn't broken ribs again. I was walking around so the hip couldn't be too bad. But I chose not to appreciate this relative good fortune. All that I could think about was the missed workouts and the possibly hindered state that I would be starting in next week. I changed my tube (sliding along the pavement wore through the sidewall and blew the tube as I was coming to a halt), thanked Ken for caring enough to spring into action to help me, and gingerly climbed aboard my wounded TT bike. As I was limping home, trying to avoid touching the handlebars with the open wounds on my hands, I thought again of the message on the sign at the corner "Appreciate what you have..." I thought about how foolish it was for me to be so upset about not winning my hometown race. After having so many friends and family come to support me and see what I love to do, I chose to focus on my failures rather than how blessed I am to have so many great people in my life. In this, the year of racing that wasn't even supposed to exist for me due to a suspension, I chose to feel angry and wronged somehow by the tactics that were played out 'against' me. Really? This whole friggin season is a gift! I have no right to pout about some lack of result when I was never even planning on pinning a number on this year. Yes, I can be disappointed about not winning and about crashing stupidly on a training ride but I better recognize and acknowledge the good fortune with the bad, otherwise I cross the line and enter into "whiny, self-pity" territory. And there's far too much good going on in my life right now to be hanging out over there.
Oh, and just analyzed my power file: 44.7 kph when I hit the deck. Boy, I forgot how much I missed cleaning wounds in the shower! Where's a bottle of percocet (or scotch) when you need it??

Bicycle, Blues, and BBQ Festival

2011-07-12T10:15:00.002-06:00

I had a great time at the Bicycle, Blues & BBQ Festival in Clear Lake, IA this past weekend. Tim Putnam put on two excellent races and the crowd at the criterium on Saturday night was exceptional. The crit had a very professional feel to it and I think the racers really appreciated all of the hard work and effort that was put in to create the event. I had quite a few racers say to me "Wow, you're from here? This is a cool little town!"
I had me some tasty BBQ brisket and listened to a really talented Blues band, Reverend Raven and the Chain Smoking Altar Boys, on Friday night. I got to see tons of friends and family who live in the area and came out to Clear Lake to watch the races.
The Saturday crit went well, we narrowed the field of 50 down to 7 riders containing teammate Nick Frey and myself with a few early attacks. With 10-12 laps to go, I attacked hard and the other 5 riders responded but then Nick counter-attacked and went solo for the win. It was a good day and everything worked well...though I should have worked harder to get on the podium.
In the road race, I was feeling good and very motivated to win. It was a frustrating race because there were a lot of talented, strong riders in the field but they all seemed to be waiting and reacting rather than racing. That's fine, I can totally understand their reasoning but I let myself get frustrated (and a little bored) and so attacked solo with about 45 miles remaining in an 82 mile RR. I really thought that as good as I was feeling that day they would never see me again. First mistake: pride/ego. The field worked well together and kept me within 30" for about an hour. I finally gave up the fight with 15 miles remaining since my back was tightening up badly and I was completely out of water. As soon as the field caught me, there were numerous counter-attacks but the majority of the field was still happy to sit in rather than race for the win. And then I started to feel sorry for myself thinking about how thirsty I was and how I was starting to cramp up and blah, blah, blah. I took it upon myself to keep the breakaways close to give Nick a chance at the sprint but I really didn't fight for the win. In a way, I just gave in to the whiny voices in my head. I'm really not proud of the way that I raced the last 10 miles of that RR. Looking back, I think that if I would have continued to fight and attack, I may have changed the outcome. As it was, Nick sprinted for 3rd and I didn't even contest the sprint due to being boxed in and then having someone pull out of his pedal right next to me. Congratulations to FasCat athlete Gregg Brandt who placed 2nd in the crit and won the road race in an exciting sprint! I'm disappointed in the race but mostly due to the mistakes I made. If I am fortunate enough to come back next year (which I really hope my schedule allows) I will just hope and pray for 30 mph winds in that road race!
Anyway, it was a great weekend of racing and I had a blast. Plus, I was reminded of how hard this sport is at this level and that you have to keep fighting no matter what. A big thank you to Tim Putnam, Monson and Sons and all of the other great sponsors who helped create the event.
Now it's on to the Boise Twilight and the Cascade Cycling Classic. I've never done the Boise Twilight but I've heard it's a fun race with a good atmosphere as well. And of course, I love going back to Cascade for the beautiful courses and to see how big the Sheasby kids have gotten. ;-)

NVGP

2011-06-17T13:12:00.003-06:00

Hanging in the Twin Cities for the Nature Valley Grand Prix this week. Having a lot of fun seeing friends and family in the area who have come out to support Jamis/Sutter Home for the race.

Look at these die hard racing fans braving the rain after the TT on Wednesday! I think they're tougher than me...

We'll keep doing our best to make it an exciting and interesting race but so far it's been pretty one-sided. Gotta keep fighting though!

Okay, now breathe

2011-06-07T09:35:00.003-06:00

Wow, that was quite the ride. I feel like I finally have an opportunity to breathe a little after about a month of craziness. I went from the Tour of the Gila to "Hurry up and get ready for ToC!" mode, to the biggest race on North American soil, to our National Championships to the biggest one-day bike race in the States. All the while trying to be an effective cycling coach to my athletes who I'm already emotionally invested in.
Now that I'm home and able to relax and reflect, it's a bit overwhelming. It's just nuts how much change has occurred in my life over the past 2 months. I'm so, so thankful that Jamis/Sutter Home believed in me and worked so hard to get me on the start line of these races. What a great bunch of people! It really is quite astonishing how much this team accomplishes for how few are working behind the scenes.
So up next for me is Nature Valley Grand Prix and then potentially, probably my hometown race in Clear Lake with my teammate and fellow Iowan Nick Frey. And though I'm really excited and hungry to win a lot of races this year with my new team, I have to believe that everything from this point on will be lower stress than these past 40 days or so. It'll be a cinch! (note: that's entirely false because if there's one thing I've been reminded of since my comeback began, it's that this sport is so friggin hard!)

Jamis - Sutter Home!

2011-05-11T10:27:00.003-06:00

I'm proud to announce that I've signed with the Jamis - Sutter Home Cycling Team for the 2011 season. Yeah, it's not exactly breaking news but as you can imagine, I've been a bit busy these last few weeks. This is very exciting for me. To go from a suspension to racing with one of the best domestic racing teams in the U.S. in a matter of weeks has been a bit of a shock....but a good shock. At least I get to eeeeaaase into things and get my legs under me before I head to any big races. (This is called denial due to the truth being a bit too scary and overwhelming). I will, in fact, be heading to Tahoe tomorrow to line up with some of the best in the world starting on Sunday.
Gila was great for the fitness (and I just love that race) and my training in the past week has gone better than I could have hoped, so I'm actually in a good place both mentally and physically.
Thanks for all of the support I've received regarding my recent fortune in finding a great team to ride with. I'll be writing a daily blog for Cyclingnews.com during the Amgen Tour of Califoria, so please follow along as the Jamis / Sutter Home team tries to make waves racing against those stinky Euros! (just kidding Euros, I'm sure you shower regularly...and use a healthy amount of hair gel and cologne to boot!)

Racing Update

2011-04-09T11:33:00.005-06:00

It's been awhile since my last race update! ;-)
I've gotten some emails and such about posting a race schedule, etc. Not really sure what kind of racing schedule I'm going to have but I list what I've got so far:
Apr. 2, Louisville Crit - 1st place I'll spare you the race report only to say that it wasn't a bunch sprint like the results timing suggests.
Apr. 10, Mead Roubaix
Apr. 16, Haystack ITT & TTT
Apr. 17, Air Force RR
Apr. 23, Deer Trail?
Apr. 27-May 1, Tour of the Gila??

That's what is on the docket for now. I'll try to update the blog as things progress. Thanks for the support!

3 things...

2011-03-31T18:08:00.002-06:00

on the agenda today:
A) Please check out this ESPN interview by Bonnie Ford. She's bright and knowledgeable about cycling and thus asks good questions.

B) Taken directly from the letter from USADA, citing the reasons for my reduction (first 3 reasons are related to the people that I put them in contact with):
"Fourth, the fact that the substance likely at issue in Mr. Zirbel's positive test, DHEA, likely does not continue to provide a performance enhancing benefit and the fact that Mr. Zirbel undertook substantial efforts to identify the source of his positive which may have been caused by a contaminated nutritional supplement."
Holy shit! They really said that I MAY not be a cheater. Yippee!

C) Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the positive and encouraging emails, texts, and phone calls this past week. It means sooo much to me.

Rewrite

2011-03-29T09:38:00.003-06:00

Um well...so I guess I have some good news. Turns out I can race this year due to a string of random events that played out starting last October. Remember when I lamented on this blog a few months back about Di Luca because he got a reduction in sanction for providing details of his doping practices? And then I said something to the effect of "if only I had actually doped or had knowledge of dopers, I too could get a reduction". Well, at some point after that rant I met with a person who had incriminating knowledge of a suspected doper and I eventually helped convince that person to approach USADA with that information. USADA found that information so useful that they decided to reduce my sanction because of it.
The other crucial part to this puzzle is the onset of a new program started at the CU - Boulder Law School by USOC ombudsman John Ruger. It's a program where law students can take on real cases of athletes battling doping violations but who don't have the money to hire legal representation. I was their first case, and under the tutelage of Professor Andy Hartman, they helped me use the information that I could provide USADA for my benefit. Without their help, I'm sure I would have still tried to convince that person to help USADA but my situation would be unchanged. I'm convinced of this because this is the 2nd time that I've done this for USADA since my sanction began and the first time I simply put them in touch with the person who had the information with no discussions about how it should benefit me. This time, my CU team helped convince me to 'play the game'.
Yes, I agree that this has absolutely nothing to do with me and I'm don't really think it merits a reduction in sanction. But I'd like to think that USADA is beginning to realize that I'm not a dirty cheat. I think that they've talked to a lot of people both clean and dirty who all think that mine is a case of unintentional ingestion. I'd like to think that this was their way of getting me a reduction on a technicality. However, I'm probably full of shit. I think that I ultimately just saved them some money and potentially losses and they want to encourage others to do what I've done.
In citing the reasons for my reduction, they said that coming forth with information took 'courage'. I was a little offended by that. Every clean rider that I know of wants nothing more than for all of the cheaters to get caught and the punishment that they deserve. There is nothing courageous about wanting a clean sport. It's actually a selfish endeavor. I don't want anyone who is taking shortcuts to beat me or any of my friends. The reality is that I would have given them the information regardless of whether it directly benefited me or not - the same as any other athlete out there who is doing things the right way would do.
It's a crazy world. I'm going to make the most of this opportunity. The 2011 season was previously taken away from me so now anything positive that happens from this moment on is a gift.

Traction

2011-02-28T08:46:00.002-07:00

I thought this Washington Post piece that was linked from the Velonews site was nice to see. The fact that people are starting to raise questions about the anti-doping system in place is encouraging. Without inadvertent ingestion due to contamination or use of non-performance enhancing recreational drugs, USADA doesn't have much to point to.
I understand the importance of having a deterrent, but Tygart and co. see no need to make the distinction between intentional cheaters and the other 50% of athletes who they sanction.
The reality (and pessimistic view) that I'm beginning to hold is that if you want to cheat, you are going to be able to stay one step ahead of the anti-doping authorities and get away with it unless you screw up or really screw up.
It's not all gloom and doom, I guess. Paper trails seem to be an effective way to catch cheaters after the fact (Operation Puerto, Papp List, etc.). And then there's the cutting edge tests that some of the cheaters may not know about until it's too late (Cera in 2008 and plasticizer test in 2011?).
I guess this is my question: is WADA really an effective deterrent to cheating if the dopers know that they can get away with it if they're careful enough? And how effective of a deterrent does USADA and WADA need to be in order to justify the roughly 50% (if you believe that statistic) sanction rate of inadvertent 'cheaters' that test positive for something that in all likelihood had no effect on their performance?
Maybe we should spend more time and energy into changing the culture of doping in sports being as the current drug testing is seemingly so ineffective. Of course there are always going to be cheaters and D-bags in every profession but if we could minimize that from within, build trust that the guy or gal next to you is clean, we might be able to effectively clean up sport. Maybe I'm naive, but I still believe in people and I think that many athletes who choose the dirty road do so because they think the person next to them is doing the same thing, and they justify it to themselves accordingly.
How could we possibly change the culture and build trust? Start with strong leadership to get the message out. Team leaders sitting down to talk with the young guys/gals on the team. Leaders of the sport saying 'enough is enough' and abolishing the omerta. Communication between athletes, management, and anti-doping authorities. I think that we're starting to see this in cycling, but I hope that it's taken up a notch.
I don't know if this is the answer or even the right path or not. Just seems like we can do better.

Poor Fella

2011-01-28T09:09:00.003-07:00

I couldn't resist posting this story brought to my attention by Betts. Ouch! 10 whole games!?! Granted, he probably will lose more money in 10 games than I will have lost in 2 years...
I could be wrong here but basketball is an Olympic sport and should be held to the WADA Code, right? Let me know your thoughts on the matter.

Oooohray

2011-01-27T11:14:00.011-07:00

Rebecca and I spent a weekend in Ouray, CO recently and there was a lot of "ooooh"ing and "aaaaahh"ing going on. The oohs were for the up close and personal mountains surrounding the tiny town and the aahs were for the time we spent in the natural hot springs in the area.
Really, pictures don't do it justice so if you haven't been and you find yourself in the same timezone, it's worth experiencing. Ouray is primarily known as an ice climber's paradise in the winter but we're not quite that hard core (and don't have the gear) so we just gawked at them for a bit. However, we did experience first hand how much snow the area has received by trudging upward through trails that hadn't been traversed in weeks. Even with snowshoes, it was typically knee deep or greater. It took us over 2 hours of huffing and puffing to make it 2 miles up the trail. At that point, we decided some hot springs action was in order and so flipped it and headed down.
It's called the Switzerland of the U.S. for obvious reasons seen from the pics below. Also, of constant debate during the trip was the correct pronunciation of the town: Is it Yer-ray or maybe Ooh-Ray? I chose Oower-ray because I think it deserves an extra syllable.

Our accommodations for the weekend. Livin Large!

Ouray was originally a mining town so there are several abandoned mine shafts on the surrounding trails.

The Giving Game

2010-12-23T10:19:00.003-07:00

I'm not good at Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I love the pretty lights, the trees, the cookies, the music and the Holiday quaffs. But I'm usually really bad at buying Christmas presents. And it's not that I don't like giving people things, I think it's that I really have a hard time buying for someone something that will rarely or never get used. It's tough. Most people in this country have everything they need and most things that they want (within reason). I suppose I should be 'showing' my love and doing my part to stimulate the economy...but I still have a hard time with this game.
This year, my dad came to visit us in Boulder the week before Christmas and brought me some really nice Christmas gifts. And what did I get him this year? Well, I picked up the tab at dinner one night because I didn't want to play the game. Lame. And now I'm feeling guilty even though I know he doesn't mind one bit. So here is my solution to this dilemma:
Dad, I bought you a bike. You'll never get to ride this bike that I bought for you and probably will never see it either. But know that your bike is going to help a lot of people in Zambia. This 'community' bike in Zambia will help multiple people get to and from work and school much faster and more efficiently. World Bicycle Relief was just named one of the best not-for-profit organizations in terms of amount good done per dollar donated. I really believe it will be an effective gift/donation.
My only regret is that I can't put Z-Man on the down tube of the bike. Merry Christmas!

Hut Trip

2010-12-08T09:21:00.005-07:00

I decided that I needed to post something to replace the negativity and drama from the last post.
Rebecca and I went on a hut trip near Vail with some friends last weekend. We had beautiful weather and a fun time so I wanted to share some photos:
photo taken by Dawn near our hut.

photo by Rebecca

photo by Rebecca from inside the hut.

Justice!

2010-10-24T11:39:00.003-06:00

Well, I have to admit that I've been a little down in the dumps lately. I've known that this WADA Code that rules over cycling and other sports is unfair at times but this latest example is down right ridiculous.
Recently two Arbitration decisions have been ruled on. One was with LaShawn Merritt, a 400m runner that has represented the USA in the Olympics. He was found to have DHEA in his system during his off season in the Fall of 2009. He took his case to arbitration and he proved that he ingested the DHEA unknowingly through the supplement ExtenZe. We've probably all seen the late night annoying commercials for ExtenZe. Haha, right? Well, I'm not laughing. I feel so badly for this guy who made a stupid decision but had no intention of cheating. Of course, Extenze spikes their product with DHEA so it's not on the label. And from what little I understand about dietary supplements - that's perfectly okay! DHEA won't harm anyone (it won't help them either but that's a different issue)...oh, except for elite athletes who are responsible for everything that goes in their bodies. As if we all have mass spectrometers in our basement so we can check compositions of everything we consume. Granted, Extenze isn't exactly a reputable company that anyone in their right mind would trust but no one is denying that he made a stupid decision. To me, this is the key point of the case - excerpt taken from the Arbitration ruling found on the USADA website:
"At his hearing, Mr. Merritt proved two things beyond a reasonable doubt, (i) he tested positive as a result of ingesting the product ExtenZe, he purchased at a 7-Eleven store, and (ii) he did not purchase this product to enhance his sports performance. His evidence was so convincing that after his submission the USADA agreed that Mr. Merritt's positive tests were caused by ExtenZe."
Okay, so USADA admits that he took it accidentally with no intent to cheat. We also know that the scientific evidence of the performance enhancing benefits of DHEA are inconclusive at best. So, in light of these facts what did the panel decide? They decided to reduce his sentence from 24 months to 21 months. A whopping 3 month reduction for a guy who took something that was mis-labeled in his offseason which likely helped him athletically in no way. Wow. I bet USADA feels all warm and fuzzy about that one.
Next up we have the recent CONI deal with the Danilo Di Luca case. Admittedly, I don't know anything about this case than what I read in the headlines. But here is the story in Velonews. So let me recap, Di Luca won a bunch of races and in particular finished 2nd on GC in the Giro in 2008 on CERA, the next generation EPO that didn't have an approved test until about the time he got caught. Well, Di Luca realized he couldn't beat the charges so decided he'd detail to the anti-doping authorities his doping methods. This disclosure was enough to get him a reduction from 24 months to 15 months. An admitted cheater, who won races 'doped to the gills' as they say, gets 15 months. And what did Di Luca have to say about it?
“I gave no names. I did it for (the good of) cycling, not to point the finger at any cyclists. I explained the methods (of doping). My decision to speak was above all to help educate the youth.”
Translation: "I'm not a narc! I didn't roll on anyone, I promise! I did it...I did it for the kids! Yep, it was all for the kids. Oh, and being able to race (and get paid a shit load of money) in 2011 may have played a small part in my admission."
That's our anti-doping system in a nutshell. If only I were an actual doper with knowledge of methods, suppliers, and other dopers - I too, could possibly get a reduction. Bummer, I guess I'll just have to sit out my 2 years.

Summer in Pics

2010-09-06T09:52:00.011-06:00

Labor Day Weekend = official end of summer. ugh. Here are some pics documenting some activities one can enjoy when not racing their bike EVERY weekend! :)
Top of Mt. Audubon (13,000+ft) in May. We hiked in waist deep snow at times!

Randomly ran into college bud Brock and fam in Estes Park when my mom was in town.

Rebecca straddling a rock in Boulder Canyon

CL Class of '97 representin RAGBRAI!

Sally, Rebecca, and I at the summit of Mt. Elbert, 14,400 ft. and the 2nd highest point in the continuous 48 States.

On the way up to the summit of Mt. Elbert

Hydration!

Rebecca finishing her 1st ever Duathlon!

Next Up

2010-07-16T12:48:00.002-06:00

This is a busy weekend with the Grand Opening of the FasCat Performance Center on Saturday and a trail running race that I'm doing on Sunday. The Grand Opening will start (of course) with the showing of the Tour on the bigscreen, but we'll have events all day capping it off with "happy hour" at 4p.
Sunday is the Barr Trail Mountain Race. 12.6 miles total up and down the same narrow trail. It nets over 3600' to the halfway point - Barr Camp situated at 10,200 ft above sea level. Betts has assured me that he doesn't walk any portion of it but I'm skeptical. And then on the way down, it is as fast as you can go without eating s#!t on one of the many switchbacks. Should be fun! Apparently they have a competition after the race awarding medals to the top 3 bloodiest runners from falls on the way down. They're a sick lot.
It should be a fun weekend...if I don't get too carried away with the FasCat 'Happy Hour' on Saturday!

Announcement

2010-07-01T18:15:00.003-06:00

Being as the Tour Day France is upon us and teams are announcing their exciting new sponsors, I thought I should hold my own private press conference to announce my new sponsor (employer): FasCat Coaching. Many of you know that Frank Overton has coached me in the past and helped me achieve the results that landed my first pro contract. Well, over the years Frank and I have spent many hours in intense 'business meetings' discussing all things cycling over the local breweries' finest. And recently, in lieu of racing due to my current unforeseen situation, Frank took me on as an apprentice coach with his business FasCat Coaching. I have been at it for a couple of months now and I am having fun being part of the team. FasCat just opened a new Performance Center in Boulder on N. Broadway so that has been really exciting as well. If you're local make sure you stop in, say hello, and check out the new digs. We have a lot of cools things going on including live coverage of the Tour everyday in HD on the big screen! I plan to be there every morning drinking coffee and screaming at the T.V.
So that's what's new with me. I have been riding quite a bit but still no real 'training'. I have a 13 mile trail running race coming up in 2 weeks so I've been trying to half-heartedly prepare for that. I've been managing to get those competitive outlets in here and there for sanity purposes. But now that I'm a coach, I may just try to live through the athletes I'm working with!

Chamois Time!

2010-06-22T12:10:00.002-06:00

I finished. Woo hoo! I lined up in Bailey, CO at 6 a.m. on Saturday with 150 of my closest Off-roadie friends for my first mountain bike event ever. My furthest mountain bike training ride to that point had been a 24 mile, 3 hour ride with Andy Brannon from Trips for Kids. Unprepared perhaps? Yes. But I had a game plan: I was going to simply 'survive' the singletrack sections all the while consuming so many calories and salty fluids that I could survive double that distance if I had to.
And it was a good plan. But. Turns out my tummy doesn't like to have oatmeal and coffee shoved into it at 4:30a. It was so unhappy, in fact, that I was 3 hours into the race before I could start drinking normally and eat anything at all. At that point, as they say, the damage had been done. I was already behind the 8 ball and trying desperately to make up my fluid and electrolyte deficit. I will also add that the 40 miles of singletrack in the race comes in the first 53 miles. That means that beginner Tommy was so busy death-gripping his handlebars and trying not to die that he probably wouldn't have eaten much anyway. Okay, that's enough 3rd person blogging for today. So, when I exited the last singletrack section at mile 53, I was already starting to get that 'ghoulish' look when all the hours of evaporated sweat on my skin leaves behind a salty residue that just keeps getting thicker and thicker as the hours pass by. But I was so overjoyed to be able to pedal unencumbered on a road that I carried on. However, about midway up the massive 20 mile climb that starts at mile 70, I began to crack hard. I'll try to give you a visual: we're on a one lane gravel road that climbs and climbs and climbs all the while surrounded by burnt out trees (there was a massive fire in the area a few years ago) without a cloud in the sky. Hot, dusty, exposed, searing are a few adjectives that come to mind. At one point I found an evergreen tree that produced a minimal amount of shade and planted myself beneath it for 5-10' while I watched racers go by and tried to force electrolyte drink down my gullet. Okay, get back on the horse - I knew I had 2-3 hours ahead of me still so I might as well get it over with. For the next hour or so I continued to struggle while climbing on and taking a drink every time I felt that my stomach could keep it down. At about 15 miles to go, my body started to rally a little, going from completely worthless to mostly worthless but the improvement was much appreciated.
I finished with little ado but not before the organizer played a nasty trick on us and made us do a 15% hidden gravel track climb just before the finish. Grrrr. I would hate to have gotten an audio recording of the filth that came out of my mouth during that little climb!
So, Frank Overton from FasCat Coaching let me borrow his Garmin Edge 500 for the race so I have an elevation profile and route from the race. I started the Garmin about a half mile late but made up for it by going off course for about the same distance (if you look closely at the map, you can see where I took a right at around mi 38 and then flipped it when I figured out I was off course).
Here's the Garmin info.
Post Race thoughts:
That was the longest (by time) ride of my life at 8:11.
46 psi tire pressure is too high for a mountain bike race.
I had about 2000 calories of food still in my pockets at the finish (bad sign).
I don't know that I've ever been beaten by over 90' in a race before (JHK in 6:37)
Mountain biking is hard. Oh, and I think I finished 25th. And when I start to feel sorry for myself, I think about my friend Sarai who had the determination to still finish 13 hours after starting! Wow, that's a long day. Good job Sarai.
THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to our fundraising efforts. I haven't gotten a final tally but I've heard I was in the running for the highest fundraiser in the whole race! Also, a thank you to all of the volunteers and course marshals for the race. Everyone was so helpful and smiley that it made that death march a little more tolerable.
100 mile mountain bike race: check.

Full Steam Ahead

2010-05-27T09:51:00.003-06:00

Quick Hundo Training Update: 3 rides, 2 crashes.
I am now the proud owner of a 29er mountain bike. I've taken it out on two rides so far and have only crashed once. Not a bad percentage for me. It is a ton of fun and I've been riding the trails with a perma-smile. I can't wait to explore some new trails.
The fundraising for Trips For Kids Denver/Boulder has been going great as well. With the donation of my old mountain bike (est. $200?), I believe nearly $1000 has been raised so far for my Bailey Hundo Charity Ride/Race! In no small part due to General CB Lee's generous donation for the ride. Sir, thank you Sir! If you'd like to help get us into the quadruple digits, please go to the Bailey Hundo website and click on "Donate", then I guess just mention my name in the comment section. Thank you to everyone who has helped out.
And um, regarding my comments on this Landis drama - these are just my beliefs/opinions and you should treat them as such. I've never seen anyone dope in my life and I'm by no means an expert just because I'm serving a suspension. I just believe that doping in cycling was the norm a few years ago but also that it is the exception now. I may be wrong on both accounts for all that I know, but this is what I believe based on all that I've seen and heard over the years. There's my disclaimer.
Thanks for following.

My Thoughts

2010-05-20T10:11:00.002-06:00

It's usually bad policy for me to react to something that I'm passionate about before sitting on it and having a think. But that's what is going to happen now, so you've been warned:
I think Floyd Landis is a good person who f'ed up. I believe the content of those emails is truthful and accurate. I think he's probably doing this out of a combination of guilt and unfairness. Guilt because he brought too many good and honest people along with his lies. And the unfairness is that too many other cheaters are getting away with it while leading happy and successful lives. His happiness and success were taken away from him and while that in itself may be fair, it's completely unfair and arbitrary that others of the same ilk or still being worshiped as heroes. So, how can I see him as a good person? Because I can see how the sequence of events could lead to him making the decision to dope. If he had successful, charismatic people mentoring him and showing him the ropes, it's easy to see how he would follow that path, especially when you consider that it may have been the 'norm' in that era. If everyone you are racing against is doping, is it still cheating? Cheating means getting an unfair advantage - what if you're just trying to level the playing field? These arguments are nothing new and I'm not condoning his actions, but I can understand how it happened and I don't think that every doper is a POS. Most are, though. :) Especially now when it seems as though cycling is making a concerted effort to clean up the sport.
So what are my emotions this morning?
Anger. I'm pissed (like Landis) that people are out there cheating (or have cheated) and racing their bikes and having successes. I'm angry that I am sitting here at home in my athletic prime and not in Italy or California racing though I never knowingly cheated in my life.
Fear. I'm worried about our sport. How is this going to affect sponsorship? How will cycling be viewed by the masses? Will people realize that doping is rampant in EVERY sport where significant money is at stake but that cycling goes further than perhaps any other sport to rid cheaters from the ranks?
Pride. I'm proud of the fact that I have achieved all that I did with a clean body and conscience. Who knows how many people who have beaten me over the years have done so dirty. However, I have thought about the possibility that whatever was found in my system did illegally enhance my performance but then I think about the facts surrounding my test. Tour of Utah TT victory, negative urine test - 8 days later USPro TT I was blown out of the water, pos. urine test. I don't think there was much performance enhancement happening that day.
So there you go. That's my reaction to the latest scandal to hit our wonderful sport. My stomach has been in knots all morning thinking about it and part of me hopes that Landis will be shooed aside as a disgruntled, lying cheater. That way we can go on thinking that the world is just and fair - that those who cheat get caught and those who don't get to go for the glory.

Mental Training

2010-05-19T11:47:00.002-06:00

Hello,
Not much mountain bike training going on here (still lacking a working/fitting bike but that should be taken care of by Fri.) but Sarai Snyder, who will be representing TFK at the Bailey Hundo as well, her friend Johnny and I got some mental toughness training in yesterday. We found ourselves descending on road bikes during an intense hail storm that was passing through the front range at the time. It wasn't too much of a surprise, we saw the black clouds coming but we decided to roll the dice and try our best to avoid them. Nope. We got hit at the worst possible time - descending Lee Hill (a steep and fairly technical descent that leads back into town). However, Sarai gets the gold medal for toughness for not stopping even though she had nothing but a short sleeved kit on. Try to imagine hail hitting your bare skin at 50? mph. Think pins and needles or maybe paintball gun shooting range. We passed lesser men on the side of the road taking cover under trees. It was an experience. We were entertained afterward by showing each other our welts (battle scars). And it was Johnny's first ride in Colorado so I thought it was fitting. By the time we got home, the sun was shining.
The fund raising is going well and continues to exceed my expectations. Again, thank you to everyone who has contributed to Trips For Kids Denver/Boulder. I believe some technical mountain biking is in my future so I will keep you updated and try to take pictures (hopefully not of my resulting injuries).
Thanks for reading!

On Our Way!

2010-05-06T11:55:00.002-06:00

THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed to Trips For Kids for the Bailey Hundo charity event. I am told that donations with the "for Tom Zirbel's Bailey Hundo ride" designation are pouring in. Well maybe not 'pouring' in, but I'm definitely impressed with the level of giving thus far. For each person who has taken the time and money to contribute - a thousand thanks!
The course has been posted for the ride: 40 miles of single track and over 14,000 ft of climbing. And I'm happy to report that my mountain bike training has begun. I bought a cheap front wheel and tuned up my Cannondale Jackyl as best as I could and went out on a technically easy route the other day (Marshall Mesa) and crashed about 10 min. after hitting the trails! Seems my pedal clearance isn't as high as on the CX bike and I clipped a pedal on a rock going about 15 mph. Sprawled out on the ground with a few minor cuts and bruises, I decided that was enough mtn bike training for day 1. One ride, one crash. It can only get better from here!

The Bailey Uh-Oh

2010-04-27T09:41:00.002-06:00

I mean - the Bailey Hundo! I may have bitten off more than I can chew recently when I agreed to ride a 100 mile mountain biking charity event in less than 8 weeks.
A) I have not ridden a mountain bike in 4 years
B) My current mountain bike has a bent deraileur, bad breaks, and is missing a front wheel
C) I should be more worried about paying my mortgage than donating to charities
D) I would have a hard time finishing 100 miles on a road bike these days.
E) Oh, and if I get my mtn bike operational again, it's too small for me anyway.

But here is the good news: this biking event will raise money for Trips For Kids Denver/Boulder. I think TFK is a great organization that uses bikes to provide something positive and productive into which at-risk youth can channel their energy. In addition, it will raise money to build more trails in the Bailey, CO area which will in turn get more people out on their bikes. Also, not to be forgotten, this event will get me out the door to train!
So, here's what I'd like: I'd like each person reading this to take 4 minutes out of their day and go to this website and donate $5-$10 to Trips for Kids. And in the comment section, you can write that it's for "Tom Zirbel's Bailey Hundo ride". I'm making this up as I go, but that sounds reasonable to me. I will be tapping my dwindling savings account for this cause, and I'm hoping for $5 from YOU. And I'll let you in a well-known secret in case this is your first time donating in awhile: In addition to helping out a worthy cause, donating helps the donor. I feel pretty good about myself after donating to charities. Donating is actually a very selfish act for me. So go ahead, indulge yourself today! :)
Thanks for reading. I'll give updates on how this little project is progressing.

Quantifying Form

2010-04-21T14:15:00.001-06:00

I've been watching my body transform over the past few months, and I recently thought of a way that cyclists can finally quantify their "form". Some might point to 20 min. wattage divided by weight or some highly scientific method like that. Well I'm here to tell you that there's a much simpler way to measure your form. All it takes is a tape measure and the ability to divide two numbers. First a little background - I'm actually not as fat as I thought I would be after not training seriously for 6 months...though still eating like I am. But I'm definitely not fit, so weight is not a reliable gauge. However, my body has changed quite dramatically - in different ways than developing love handles. So, I've come up with a simple equation that is bullet-proof: Form = (circumference of thigh) / (circumference of arm)
The larger the number, the better the form. That's all! I'm telling you it's brilliant. These past 6 months my biceps have gotten bigger and my legs have shrunk seemingly before my very eyes. I feel like if I watched them closely enough I could actually see the difference happening - sort of like the hour hand on an analog clock. If you're wondering, my numerical representation of form is 1.82*. I'm sure that 8 months ago it was closer to 3, maybe even 4. Obviously, the goal in racing is to look as lopsided and goofy as possible (i.e. resemble the characters on Triplets of Belleville). Um, I hope no one steals my revolutionary idea on how to quantify form before I can figure out how to make money on it.
In other news on the cycling front - I've been on a mini speaking tour of late. I spoke to the ACA Officials a few weeks ago about the 'grey area' of my situation with regards to anti-doping punishments. And the following week, I spoke to the CU Cycling Club about racing, the benefits of collegiate cycling, and of course doping in sport. No one in either crowd booed or threw rotten tomatoes, so I was encouraged by that. And today I'm riding with the Trips for Kids crew for the 2nd time. I find myself constantly lured back to this sport that I love so much. Breaking up is hard!
Thanks for reading.

* Yes, I did use a tape measure on my thighs and arms for the first time ever (okay, maybe I did it as a teenager?). Not proud of it, but I wanted to test out my theory if I ever get fit again.

Presumption of Guilt

2010-04-13T19:30:00.004-06:00

I thought a good point was raised in a few of the comments in response to my last post. In one, the commenter basically stated “Only you know if you deliberately doped or not.” That is true. Only I truly know if I intentionally cheated or not. Everyone else has to use the evidence at their disposal and they then choose to believe me or not. That evidence could be anything from living with me day in and day out and knowing me for years to having read a few articles about my case and having an opinion on previous doping cases. But, this is no different than in a criminal case in that we usually don't actually know if a person committed a crime or not with 100% certainty. That's why defendants go before a “jury of our peers” to present both sides of the argument and the jury members are given the often difficult task of deciding one way or the other. That is the best we can do. And without a doubt, mistakes are made in this system. Innocent people go to prison and guilty people walk. Even in this advanced technological age, we do not possess the ability to look into the brain and know a person's thoughts.
So I guess my beef with this anti-doping policy is that it does not afford athletes the same rights and presumption of innocence that we afford defendants in a criminal court of law. Athlete's have the option to take their case to an arbitration panel of 3 people who will hear their case, but I encourage you to look at the track record of this. If you come before the arbitration panel with a positive test, you will lose. True, in some instances the suspensions have been reduced due to exceptional circumstances, but what about the people who didn't dope? I'm not even talking about those who've ingested something contaminated unknowingly, I'm talking here about false-positives. I know it's happened. I spoke to someone on the phone last week who was a victim of a false-positive. He spent a fortune defending himself in arbitration to no avail, quit the sport, became successful in his subsequent career, and never looked back. And yes, I am choosing to believe him and I could be wrong but he has some very strong characters vouching for him and that combined with our conversation on the phone was enough to convince me. So why wasn't the 1.2% false-positive rate of the test used to convict him taken into account with this 'impartial' panel? And further, how many people have been falsely convicted just like him, who I/we have no idea about? Is this just the collateral damage of the best system possible?
I guess we have to ask ourselves if we'd rather have innocent people booted out of the sport or have dirty cheaters beat the system. I understand that both are going to happen in any anti-doping code, but the way the code is enforced will determine which of the two is more prevalent. Meaning, maybe our need to catch dopers causes us to rely on analytical instruments and methods that aren't meant to be used as a stand-alone tests but only in conjunction with other confirming tests. Or maybe we lower a particular threshold that makes the rate of false-positives higher. For example, if we believe that many dopers are sophisticated in their cheating, they will manipulate their levels up to the threshold of a banned substance but not go over it (the joke was that a few years ago it was amazing how many European pros had a hematocrit of 49.5). So in response to this we decide to lower the threshold for that substance, and maybe we catch more cheaters but maybe we also catch a few people whose bodies have naturally produced those levels. Is it worth it? I don't think it is. In my opinion, convicting an innocent athlete damages the integrity of the sport more than a cheater getting away with it does. I think that the most sophisticated cheaters are going to get away with it until they are caught in the act or slip up somehow (be it a paper trail or a screwed up dosage). That being said, I really believe that the dopers are in the minority today. The sport is cleaning up. As a fan, I choose to believe that, and I hope you do too.
My point is this: let's stop pretending that there is no such thing as a false-positive in analytical chemistry, be it from an instrumental error or a technician screw up, or even a natural fluctuation in the athlete's body. Why don't we take all of the evidence into consideration: maybe a jump (or not) in performance at the time of the test, character witnesses, motive, and testing history to name a few. Expensive and drawn-out? Probably. Are the athletes' careers and reputations worth the extra effort? I think so.
And just to be clear, I'm talking about the anti-doping system in place and not my particular situation. At this point, I don't think mine is a case of false-positive. I invite any well thought out responses or ideas to my little venting session. Thanks.

Sanctified

2010-03-31T17:15:00.002-06:00

Well, actually I've been sanctioned but it's nearly spelled the same. And why can't I believe that this has all happened for a larger purpose? I have agreed to a 2 year sanction from cycling today. Ouch, that hurt my gut. Even when my friends and family know that I am not a cheat, it still hurts to write this and it really hurt to send that fax today. However, I believe this to be my best course of action and I'll try to explain why. Nothing has really changed: I will still continue to have testing done to try and figure out how this all happened in the first place and I still won't be racing. The only difference is that by accepting this sanction, I may actually gain a little credibility with USADA. I really am trying to work with them so we can make sure this doesn't happen again. And if I can walk away from racing forever, maybe people will be more willing to listen when they know I have nothing to gain personally. I'm not lobbying for change to save my own career, I'm lobbying for change to save the next clean athlete's career. In the meantime, I may actually be able to move on with my life and start this next chapter that I've talked about.
So, I guess there will be some sort of press release from USADA announcing my acceptance of the sanction. Then I can only assume there will be much back-slapping and smiles all around as another doper has been purged from sport. Ugh. This anti-doping system in place is....how can we be diplomatic here?...needing serious reform.
Hang with me here, folks. I'm trying my best. I'm not turning my back on cycling and I'm not giving up. As my new friend Sarai pointed out, "Cycling can save the world!" So I guess I can suck it up and help make it better.

Meet Bear Peak

2010-03-16T11:50:00.005-06:00

This is Bear Peak taken about 20m from my doorstep. Bear Peak and I have a special relationship. Bear Peak has helped me cope through some of this drama that I've experienced these last 4 months. Heading up to the summit (8400 ft above sea level - so about 2800ft gain) is hard enough to purge all the crummy feelings that I may be having and allow me to feel a little closer to nature. And no matter how many times I get to the top, I feel like I accomplished something because there's no easy way up there. Plus, the views on a clear day can't be beat.
This is Longs Peak from the top of Bear Peak. At 14,259 ft above sea level, it's the closest 14,000+ ft peak to Boulder. It's an incredible mountain to hike. It has so much character and is my favorite of the 10 or so 14ers I've climbed.

This is Boulder from the top of Bear. In an attempt to include the CU campus (red brick roofs in the middle-left of the pic), I cut out our house which is just a little bit to the right of lower right quadrant.

This is Green Mountain (also a great hike) from the top of Bear Pk. You can also see where the foothills meet the plains in the background.

Anyway, I just wanted to share one of the many features in this area that have helped keep me happy (and sane). Also, because I need a competitive outlet these days, a couple of months ago I raced myself to the top and down from my house in 1:21:30 (50 min. up, 31 min. down). That was in snowpack so it was a little slower going up but really fast and out of control at times sliding down! I'd like to see how that compares to the fastest times ever done, so if any of you locals know some ascent times of Bear, Green, and/or Sanitas - let me know if you get a chance. Thanks!

No leads on the job front yet, but I've had a couple of chats with Mr. Tygart from USADA since announcing that I was no longer going to play the game. They've been potentially productive chats and I've been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt now. After all, they are the good guys right? I've just been trying to convince them that it's in their best interests to help me find out (or allow me access to find out) how this positive test happened. But it takes a lot of trust on their part, I guess. Can't they just see things my way? :)
Also, in a show of my personal recovery of sorts, I was excited to hear that DirecTV will be adding Vs. again to their channel lineup. That means I'll be able to watch the Classics this spring. I'm pretty excited. I guess I'm still a fan of this cycling thing.

Transitions

2010-03-09T08:35:00.009-07:00

Hello,
things are going well with me. I'm feeling good about my renewed outlook and I've started the job hunt. I appreciated the heartfelt comments regarding my last post. I'm entering a challenging, exciting, and scary new chapter of my life and it's nice to know that I want be doing it alone.
We had a fun party at our house last weekend to mark the transition in our lives. See if you can guess the theme by the pictures.
We had wine...

We had cookies...

We had a nice spread all-around.

And I've been rock climbing quite a bit as well. Joel and Rand took me outdoors for the third time ever yesterday and I had a blast. We climbed Castle Rock up Boulder Canyon and I did my first ever rappel. It was the scariest part of the day for me. Of course my first time rappelling we do a full 60m (2 ropes tied together) in the snow, but even by the end I was feeling much more comfortable.
That's a big rock! See me up there? This was my "oh shit" moment of the day.

I'm not sure if the smile is because of the thrill or because I'm almost at the ground.

JoJo had a Birthday a couple weeks ago!

And because I'm very goal oriented and I always have to be targeting something - I've found something new to train for. This is what Davy Mac and I are shooting for at the 2014 Sochi Games!

Semblance of Control

2010-02-26T12:47:00.002-07:00

I'm tired of having my destiny in someone else's hands. But today is a different day. Today is the day I take back the reins. However, today is not yesterday...yesterday was the day I was to cut all ties completely. Today, I have a slightly cooler head but the idea is the same. You can thank Rebecca for this 'resignation' letter not going out yesterday:

“Done.
I officially received a 2 year sanction notification from USADA today. No big surprise, right? I alluded to this weeks ago. But my reaction is a surprise. Call it the straw that broke the camel's back – I don't know. Whatever the trigger, I've decided to walk away from the sport. I haven't talked to the friends and family or anyone else about this. Call it a rash decision if you like, but I'll try to explain my reasoning so that you can understand where I'm coming from.
I've been watching the Olympics these last few days and it has been really inspiring for me. For the first time, I can see myself standing on the podium, bowing my head to receive my medal. This is a breakthrough for me. It helped me affirm to myself that I need to come back from this ordeal and rise to the top and accomplish greater things in the sport of cycling. Today, I started asking “Why?”. Why do I 'need' to come back? Well, because I've felt this burning in my gut these last two weeks, propelling me to work harder and become faster than I ever have before. Okay, but that doesn't answer the question, I can do that without racing. Maybe it's because I've grown accustomed to the cycling spotlight and people looking up to me. Maybe it's because I want to show all these doubters just how strong I am. Maybe it's because I want to continue to live the 'pro' lifestyle. I think we're getting to the crux of the reason for a comeback now. But what am I truly after in this life? Asking myself this question today the answer was “to be extraordinary”. I want nothing to do with mediocrity. But on top of that (and what I've lost sight of in the last few years), I want to improve the world. Yes, I am a naïve, 30-something dreamer, but I want to help save the world. And I always said that I would use cycling to amass influence and monies and then put myself to good use in helping my causes of choice (like a certain Texan who is a Saint in the cancer community). But the reality is, cycling and racing so consume me that I have little time or energy for anything beyond myself. My first year out of college, I made $28k working at a chemistry lab in Boulder. During that year, I managed to work 40 hrs/week, train between 70-100 miles/week running (which led to a 2:31:40 marathon), buy a new car for my mom, and give around $1000 to various charities. A few years later, when I decided to put everything I had into becoming a pro cyclist, I worked around 25 hrs/week delivering pizzas, trained around 20 hrs/week cycling, and volunteered at the homeless shelter twice a week because I was barely making ends meet and couldn't donate money. For comparison, last year I made more money than I ever have in my life, had no other job than racing my bike 70 or so times during the year, and still only gave maybe $300 to charities over the course of the year and sometimes went months between contacting the teenage boy whom I'm mentoring. What's extraordinary in that? What's more extraordinary – if Greg Mortenson would have made it to the summit of K2 or if Greg Mortenson failed to summit K2 and instead dedicated his life to building hundreds of schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan? I'd say the latter. What's more extraordinary – Eric Heiden the amazing skater and cyclist or Eric Heiden the amazing surgeon? How about Davis Phinney the cyclist or Davis Phinney the Parkinson's crusader? I've come to the realization that I would rather be a David Benke than a Cancellara. I would rather help the boy I'm mentoring graduate from college and break the cycle of poverty in his family than win a Pro Tour TT. To me, the life I'm choosing from this day on is more challenging and potentially rewarding than the life of training to ride in a straight line really fast for 40 minutes. For whatever reason, I haven't been able to do both so it's time to step back and re-prioritize.
And no, I would never have come to this decision without this positive doping test fiasco. So, maybe there's the good out of this situation. Am I giving up? In a way, I'd say I was giving up on my dream while being a pro cyclist. I was so self-absorbed that I did little good with life beyond my self.
And so that's that. It's been fun. I'm taking so many wonderful memories and relationships from the last 6 years with me. And now that I'm done with all of this, I want you to hear the truth once and for all. Come in close so I can whisper.....I didn't dope.”

Today, I laid all my cards on the table for USADA. I told them everything that I know about the positive test, meaning every possible lead as to how it happened, and that I will cooperate in any way that I can. As great as my lawyer has been for me, I told him that I needed to do this on my own from now on. I have no intention of taking this case to a hearing. Now that I've made the determination that I really could and would walk away from the sport forever, it's liberating. USADA, WADA, and the UCI no longer have power over me. But I will continue to jump through a few hoops (if not too high nor on fire) in order to leave the option open for a return in years to come (though I sort of hope I have the courage to begin a completely new career and never look back). I will continue to try and figure out how this happened so that I know for my own sanity and so it won't happen to someone else, but that is a separate issue. I'm ready to turn the page and start living a better, more fulfilling life. Whether or not bicycle racing is in that future is too foggy to tell. I hope you all can understand why I've chosen this road. It feels so good to be out of the holding pattern.
Okay, I gotta go. I have some jobs to apply for!

My First Bicycle Race

2010-02-15T09:10:00.003-07:00

No updates on what's going on with my case so I want to tell a story for diversion and entertainment purposes.
In Feb. 2003, I bought my first road bike. It was a Fuji Roubaix, triple chainring, white, blue and orange - a real beaut. I bought it because I had injured my knee the previous fall while racing a marathon and couldn't run more than 40mi/week without pain. So basically, I bought it to cross train. Truth be told, my co-workers at the chemistry lab never stopped talking about bike racing and it piqued my interest. (I had also watched the '02 Vuelta and got caught up in the drama). I remember my second ride I went up Linden Dr. (a short but fairly steep road in Boulder that leads to the foothills). That was the first time I had to dismount my bike and walk up a hill (remember I had a triple chainring!). Humbling. But I kept riding - 5 miles to work and back each day plus a longer ride on the weekend and maybe an extra ride after work (plus 40mi/week running). It started to grow on me. However, I made it clear to myself that this was temporary while my knee healed and I could get back to 100+ mi/week of running. Buuuut, I decided to enter a race on Memorial Day for "fun". My boss was racing and I had never been to Durango so my friend and I decided to go camp for the weekend. The race was on Sunday so Jen and I drove the 5-6 hours to Durango on Sat., got there just before dark, decided to splurge and rent a KOA site for the amenities (hot water, indoor plumbing), and got up at the crack of dawn on Sun. to go do a bike race.
So there I was on the start line of the 2003 Iron Horse Classic as a cat. IV/V. I knew that the race covered two large passes to Silverton. So that meant two big climbs and two big descents. My ensemble: black chamois with no bibs, a white t-shirt from a running race, and I thought it might be cold so I wrapped a wind jacket around my waist for the descents. Oh, and I put a Snickers bar in the pocket of the jacket for fuel. When the race started, of course I was scared shitless to be riding so close to so many people, but once I settled down I remembered that my Boss Shane had explained to me the benefits of riding in the pack and conserving energy rather than sitting on the front and letting others draft. I did that for as long as I could but once we started going uphill, I remember thinking "This is stupid. We're going too slow. This is a race isn't it?" You have to remember the mindset of a runner. We go hard ALL THE TIME. There is no free wheeling in running. So I went to front and went hard. This was not an attack, mind you, this was me trying to get a workout. I pulled for probably 10 min. when I decided that I was hungry. So, I drifted back as I fumbled with my jacket trying to extract the high-performance energy bar we call Snickers. As I was 'refueling', I was at the back of what was maybe 10 guys left in the lead group. The pace started to lag again and so when I was finished stuffing my face, I resumed my role as pace setter. As we neared the summit of the first pass (maybe 2mi out), I really started to give it my all to get a gap on the field. I remember when I really started to push it that only one person could hang with me. He held on for quite awhile but with maybe 800m to go to the summit, I was able to gap him and crest solo. So now I had a descent, climb, then descent to go to the finish. "i can do this" I said to myself so I went about descending as fast as I could on a windy descent that I'd never seen before while only being on my bike a total of 3 months. In other words: slow. Also, to make things interesting, the wind caused my eyes to dry out and I blinked out one of my contacts! I am near-sighted and though not blind - my contacts tend to really help me see. I started to freak out a bit and sure enough was caught by 3 guys before the end of the descent. "Well if I'm going to win this one, I'm going to have to have a huge gap by the top of this last climb." So as soon as we started going up, I started going as hard as I could. Again, it was down to me and this same other guy battling it out on the climb. About midway up, after everyone else is out of sight, he looks me up and down and asks "Dude, what's your deal?" "I'm an injured runner" is all I replied. Then he said "I think we've got them" while looking behind us. I remember thinking "We?". I may have been new to bike racing but I'd been racing in running since age 11 and all I knew is that I wanted to win this race. I wasn't there to make friends nor cross the line together with someone else. So, I did the only thing I could do - I picked up the pace. I turned myself inside out to drop this guy and give myself as big a buffer as possible coming over the top. Finally, he started to fade back and I just kept pushing and pushing until I reached the crest. On the descent, I rode with reckless abandon (still slow) taking turns way faster than my comfort zone. And then early on the descent, what do you know but I blink out my other contact! I'm riding in a blur! "I should stop. I should stop. This is stupid!" But sometimes the competitive drive trumps the brain so I carried on. And somehow I didn't crash and somehow I didn't get caught. I 'broke the tape' in my very first bike race. Did I celebrate? Hell no - my adrenalin was so tapped from feeling like I was on the verge of death on that descent and my legs were screaming at me so loudly that all I wanted to do was get off that stupid machine and lay down on the safe, stable earth.
The guy who pushed me so hard on the climbs finished 2nd. Turns out he is a pretty good guy and a decent rider too. I saw him at a few other races and we chatted from time to time. We were even teammates in 2005. We drove down to New Mexico together to compete in what became my very first Pro/1/2 victory - The Sandia Crest. We shared intimate conversations on life, and how cycling fits in the equation. He became my 'spiritual advisor' to give me perspective with life and cycling. When I signed my first pro contract with Priority Health in 2006, he was the one I called to say "We can do this. This is not an abstract dream, this can be our reality." In 2007, he signed his first professional racing contract with BMC. Since then, we have been there for each other - taking pleasure in the other's successes and picking each other up when we falter. The racing careers of Scott Nydam and myself have taken a very similar trajectory, including our recent rough patches. I'm not sure if I'll ever compete in a bike race again, but I'm becoming okay with that. One thing that Scott has taught me is that a sport cannot encapsulate us. We are too complex to be defined by one thing.
This post wasn't meant to be much more than entertainment. I was riding the other day and was having trouble with one of my contacts and so I naturally started thinking about the Iron Horse with fond memories. And then I started to think about how lucky I am to have Scott as a friend and 'advisor'.
Scott and I drove the 1100+ miles to the 2006 Cascade Cycling Classic in the beat up Corolla behind us. He won the Climber's Jersey and I won stage 2.

Status

2010-01-29T17:18:00.003-07:00

I write this post armed with a big bowl of ice cream and the Hustle & Flow soundtrack blaring:
As expected (though hope plays funny games with your mind), the 'B' sample of my urine has come back confirming the presence of an exogenous anabolic in my system from the Aug. 29, 2009 test. I expect USADA to come back with a 2 year sanction any day now but I'm tired of waiting for them so I decided to let everyone know what's going on. There will probably be a hearing in a few months whereas I will proclaim my innocence. We all know the drill! How many times have we been through this with this sport? I even secured one of those lawyer fellas to help me through this. We are still attempting to figure out how this happened and I'm optimistic that we'll have an answer in time for the hearing.
I'm sorry that this is more negative press for the sport of cycling, but that is the least of my worries right now. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to share encouraging and supportive words to me. "Keep hustlin'. it ain't over for me. no, it ain't over for me. keep flowin'. i'm gonna step my game up and get what's comin' to me." I love it - that's what playing on the iTunes right now. I guess I should come back from this?
Remember to keep perspective.

drug of choice?

2010-01-08T10:32:00.003-07:00

I did a phone interview with Lyne Lamoureux yesterday for her website podiuminsight.com and I wanted to share an exchange we had that I kept laughing about the rest of the day but I was assured wouldn't make the article.
This came after the recorded interview:
Lyne: so how are you doing? Are you taking care of yourself?
me: Yeah, mentally I'm doing pretty well. I'm doing what I need to do to get through this. But physically....sheesh, it's getting pretty bad. I think Jan Ulrich and I have a lot in common.
Lyne: Woah, careful there. That could be taken the wrong way. (laughs)
me: Ha! No, you know I mean...
Lyne: Yes, you mean you both like your donuts and schnitzel, right?
me: Yeah, I think Jan and I both like the schnitzel. (Pause) Whoa. Crap, that could be taken the wrong way too! You stopped recording right?

mi bicicleta or mi muerte

2010-01-05T09:59:00.002-07:00

I have a t-shirt that says this on it. It has a picture of a phat cruiser bike with long handlebars ("Easy Rider" style) that is popular in some Mexican cultures. I'd have to say that in light of my current situation - I'm bluffing. I love the sport of cycling and more specifically I love racing my bike. But if that is taken away from me, I'm not going to give up on life or play the victim. Life is too full of OTHER cool and exciting things that I can dive into head first. It's also far too short to dwell in the past and be miserable. Typing these words is much easier than putting their message into practice but I'm confident that if it comes to that, I can do it...with the continued support of my kick ass network of friends and family.
On a lighter note, I also have a t-shirt that says "cycling is dope" which I still think is a great shirt. So great, in fact, that I wore it to the opening and testing of the 'B' sample in Utah. Bad form? I thought it was funny, and I'm in need of laughs these days.
Thank you to all of you who have shown your support through emails, calls, texts, and comments on this blog. It means the world to me. And to those of you who think I'm a lying cheat, I can't say that I blame you really. It was always my first reaction to news of another positive test. But hopefully we can find and prove the truth in the coming days, weeks, months. Oh, and there was a comment deleted on my last post after the press release that I can only assume was really nasty with f-bombs and such because I never even got a chance to read it - it must have been flagged and deleted by the server. Thanks blogger.com!
Happy New Year everyone.

You know it's offseason when...

2009-11-11T11:17:00.002-07:00

...45 min. into a road ride you look down and see a spiderweb that spans your handlebars. True story, that happened to me yesterday. It was wasn't even my first road ride back...it was like the third or so.
You also know it's offseason when you travel for something other than bike racing. Rebecca and I took a little holiday to Peru last week. Peru is an incredibly cool country. It is so diverse in culture, ecosystems, and landscape. We spent time in Lima on the coast, Cuzco and Machu Picchu next to the Andes, and Puerto Maldonado in the rain forest. Machu Picchu definitely lives up to the hype. Yes, there are tons of stinkin tourists ;-) but it is well worth the hassle to see such a beautiful area and see for yourself how amazing the Incas were. And where we stayed in the jungle, it was about as untouched from development as I've seen. We saw a lot of monkeys (3 different species) and several big tarantulas among other wildlife. It was the first time I'd slept in mosquito nets and I was glad we had them after seeing the giant cockroaches roaming around our room after dark!
In other big-time news, I am now a proud (part) homeowner of a place in Boulder. Pretty sweet, not gonna lie. Moving always sucks, but the grunt work is over and the only thing left is unpacking boxes and finding a place for everything – no small task.
I've started riding my bicycle again. Splitting time between road riding, cx rides, and hiking/running. If I had to race in one of 3 tomorrow, I think I'd be faster hiking up a mountain, but that's okay. I may enter a cyclocross race this weekend or next. They really should let me enter the cat. IV race (and still get slaughtered but not by as much) but they won't. Oh well, it's good for me to get walloped from time to time. That's what I'll be telling myself next year too. :-)
Happy Autumn!

Update - still lazy

2009-10-08T09:44:00.003-06:00

Here are a couple of Worlds pics:
Hour 3 on the "Hot Seat". Exciting yet extremely tedious. Sitting in the same seat, in the chamois I warmed up in, watching a time trial on a little monitor for 3 hours while my legs throbbed. But an awesome experience!

My Belgian body guard Chris "The Fox" to keep the Tifosi at bay. Don't piss him off or...he'll make you cry on the massage table!

I'm still taking it easy here in Boulder. I'm starting the slow process of getting hiking fit again. I went on a 2mi run the other day and felt like I did after a half marathon in my running days. A little pathetic actually. I've said it before but the longer I race my bike, the worse I am at EVERYTHING else. Tho just because my girlfriend can do more push-ups than me doesn't make me any less of a person.

Also, there is snow on my deck. Too early for snow - take it back.

Dunski

2009-09-28T08:27:00.002-06:00

I'm at home now in day 3 of offseason and loving every moment. I walked up and down a flight of stairs like 5 times throughout the day yesterday so that was pretty taxing. The hard thing about offseason is that I sometimes forget to shower because I'm not working out. It's tough. And how much coffee is too much? At what point does it become obsessive and where I probably need an Intervention?
Anyway, Worlds was fun. It's nice to go into a race with low pressure, modest expectations and surprise myself. Of course, that can only happen once because the next time I go will expect a medal from myself, but I enjoyed this experience and I'm not dwelling on the fact that I was relatively close to earning hardware. (Or am I?)
And to the family of the bee who stung me during the 2nd lap of the race: Your brother suffered a horrible death and the anger he induced only made me go faster. And sorry about my appearance while crossing the finish line. They should have had a warning of some sort for children and sensitive viewers.
So, thanks for following Bissell and myself along this season and for all the positive vibes and encouraging messages throughout. I may actually (I can't believe I'm saying this) have to start Facebook or Twitter or some crap in order to better stay connected to friends and family next year while over the pond. Ugh.

update

2009-09-23T09:52:00.002-06:00

We have a Gold! I use the term "we" loosely.
And...
Just think of how much faster I'll be thanks to Tejay using my head as a platform to express his artistic voice. (sorry HB)

Mendrisio

2009-09-22T08:14:00.009-06:00

So I got into Switzerland a few days early for the World Champs TT on Sun. The race is on Thurs. so the idea was to get settled and used to the time difference. However, I had a tight connection in Atlanta en route to Milan, Italy which was made even tighter by a 15 min. delay that resulted in me sprinting through the terminals in Atlanta in order to make my flight. Well, I made it - in no small part due to my extensive running background - but my bag and bike did not. We had to go back to the airport the next day (mon.) and retrieve my belongings. Do you suppose that I'll get any of the $300 dollars I paid to Delta to transport my bike??? BTW, if you have a choice - don't fly Delta. $300 each way for traveling w/ a bike internationally is a bit excessive I'd say. I think they deserve a boycott. Anyway, back to positives - the hotel and area that we are staying in Switzerland is AMAZING! It is so beautiful that my vocabulary is not sufficient to describe it. We are on a lake (lago di lugano) that is surrounded by mountains and small swiss townships. Except we are also next to this little area of land that is owned by Italy (Campione). It is quite the area and the hotel we are staying at is pretty cool too. It's not super fancy but the real estate, service and food are all top notch.
Oh and about the race: I've ridden the course 4 times so far. It's pretty straight forward - very few turns that require thought and/or brakes. It's got one little ring climb in it (but we do 3 laps) and a couple of fast corners but otherwise you can get into a pretty good rhythem. Today is the first day I've felt good so I'm starting to get excited. The weather has been picturesque so far but there could always be rain in this area. And I rode the road course as well and I have to say I'm a little relieved I'm not doing it. It's a 15k circuit with punchy climbs and single-file narrow, windy descents through town. Very good for Bizarro-Zirbel. Okay gotta go. Ciao.
the view from the our hotel

also taken from the hotel, that little town is Lugano

this is the view from the other side of the lake. In the lower right somewhere is the hotel we're staying at. And it's not hazy, the crummy cameraman just doesn't know how to reduce glare.

And here is the entrance to Campione, 2 sq miles of Italy surrounded by Switzerland which is also right outside our hotel (we're on the swiss side).

And this is a Swiss slug making its way across cobbles. It's hard being a slug.

50k to go

2009-09-16T09:31:00.003-06:00

Tour of Missouri is over and done with. And as easy as the first 4 days were - the last 3 days were brutally hard. Bissell had a good tour, finishing 4th on GC and 2nd in the team's classification. A podium in GC would have been nice, but let's put it in perspective: the bus that Columbia-HTC drives around probably costs more than our entire team budget. I am proud of the way our guys rode last week. It was a great way to end the season and a good last race for me donning the Bissell colors.
I just found out on Monday that I have 49.8km left to do this season. And I'll be doing it in Mendrisio, Switzerland wearing a USA skinsuit against the best in the world. Pretty exciting. I'm hoping that I can represent well and justify my nomination.
We had a mini Clear Lake High School reunion in Missouri this week. In all, I had 9 friends and family who made the trek from Iowa for the race. Thank you! pic courtesy of Jody - who may just get the nod as the #1 Superfan. ;-)

Today's Lesson

2009-09-08T16:33:00.002-06:00

No matter how hard you're going, always keep your eyes up when you're sprinting. The lesson occurs around 8 min. into the video.

The 2nd step...

2009-09-01T10:18:00.005-06:00

...of the podium
2nd - Nature Valley GC
2nd - USPro TT
3rd - Fitchburg-Longsjo GC
2nd - Redlands Classic GC
7th - Tour of California St. 5 TT
2nd - Tour de San Luis st. 3 TT
3rd - Tour of Elk Grove GC
2nd - Tour of the Gila st.3 TT
2nd - KOM at Philly
10th - Tour of Utah Prologue

It was difficult to write down these results and it's difficult to look at them. My top 10 failures and shortcomings racing this year are there for everyone to see. The top 3 particularly evoke a sick feeling in my stomach just looking at them. After each one of those first 3 results listed, I remember thinking how teaching high school chemistry or working in a research lab wouldn't (COULDN'T) possibly be as painful as what I was feeling at the time. All that I knew is that I never wanted to feel like that again - and the safest way (so the logic in my head goes) is to find a new line of work. Of course, it doesn't take long to come to my senses and remember that I'm living my dream job and there's no way that I could willingly give it up. So the only choice is to work harder, learn from my mistakes, and make sure it doesn't happen again....but it will. I will always have soul-crushing disappointments in this sport as long as I'm racing at this level. The trick is to let them go. This year has been a lesson in recovering from failures. People may look at my season and see the (apparent) Individual NRC title, all the TT wins, all the GC podiums and say it was a dream season. I will look back at this season and remember how I let my team down by losing the GC lead on the last day in dramatic fashion in both the Nature Valley GP and the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic. I'll remember how it wasn't me pulling on the stars and stripes jersey on the podium after the USPro TT. I'll remember how I had to ship off 8-10 leader's jerseys to different family, friends, and sponsors because I couldn't stand the sight of them and didn't want them in my house as none of them were from the last day of the race.
This is not to say that I dwell on the negative. I'll certainly remember the moments on the top step as well. I'll keep in mind that since turning pro, my final NRC placings have been: 2006 - 47th, 2007 - 104th, 2008 - 54th. And looking back, I'll be proud of how Bissell came together throughout the year and scrapped for every point possible to earn the Individual NRC title by a mere 7 points! Because let's be honest, what is more indicative of a "Team" title? Is it the Teams classification where you score the most points by placing 3rd, 5th, and 6th rather than just 1st? Or is it the individual standings where the entire team sacrifices their races for 1 person's placing? I believe it's the latter. That's why I am so happy that Bissell was rewarded with the #1 spot in the Individual NRC standings. I time trialed well, but the team slayed themselves for my podium finishes. Without that commitment and sacrifice, I'd currently be 3rd at best in the standings. I believe that WE (the riders, staff, and sponsors) deserve that title.
So, I'm planning on using all these rollercoaster experiences to help me keep an even keel during next year's adventures and challenges. Because some may think the stakes go up next year racing at a higher level, but I don't believe that to be true. You can be just as exhilerated (or devastated) by a small local race with 18 starters and a few parents and girlfriends watching as you can by a prestigious NRC race with deafening crowd noise. It all depends on INTERNAL drive, motivation, and goal setting and has very little to do with the number of fans present, prize money, or number of countries providing live video streaming.
BUT FIRST!!! We have unfinished business at the Tour of Missouri next week where last year I learned some valuble lessons about being a pro. In last year's edition, I was so cracked mentally and physically from the season that my attitude was a joke and when I found myself as the only GC guy on the team after getting in the decisive break, I fell apart in the last 3 stages and went from 6th to like 15th because of stupid mistakes and general unprofessionalism. Moral of the story: SUCK IT UP PANSY-BOY!!! And ride like you're capable no matter how much you hate your bike at the time.
FTR: I do not currently hate my bike and am looking forward to smashing some stinky Euro-trash next week. :)
Sorry for the length (of course it's your choice to read my heartfelt ramblings, not mine) but it's an emotional day for me. I've already had 20 or so congratulatory emails, calls, and texts today. Oh, and I peed in a cup for some USADA reps this morning too after we watched the end of the Vuelta stage. They come over to visit so often that we're on a first name basis. All this before noon - Big day!

Yeah, yeah

2009-08-24T12:21:00.003-06:00

It's been awhile, I know. But as the season gets longer and longer - I find less and less energy to post blog updates. Too busy? No. Laziness? Absolutely. There's been quite a bit of racing since Cascade where we got a couple of stage wins and a day in the leader's jersey. We had the big money stage race in Elk Grove, IL where I was able to score a couple of big novelty checks by winning the TT and finishing on the podium. Another highlight of that race was getting kisses on the podium from the Elk Grove mayor's daughter and her friend again this year. They are 19 now and growing up so fast! I remember just last year when they were only 18 and still in high school? Yeah, I just think it's funny that the mayor has his daughter up there kissing dodgy bike racers. Anyway, though not my cup-o-java, they treat us well at Elk Grove and I hope it continues to grow.
Then it was on to the Meijer Grand Cycling Classic in Grand Rapids, MI. Our main man and sponsor Bob Hughes makes this race happen so it's important for us to perform well there (ie. WIN!!). And I don't know if you'd heard the news, but I'm a crit specialist now cuz I was able to pull off the victory ahead of a strong and savvy Jake Rytlewski in our 2 man escape. Jake the Snake is my former teammate and he is very good all-arounder. He can climb, corner, and sprint all very well so I had my work cut out for me. Because we HAD to win our home race, I was a jerk to him and made him take 2 pulls to my 1. He is going very good right now and has since placed top 5 at Downer's and Marion. Impressive for a 'little climber', huh? Oh, did I mention he is tiny on the bike and tends to kiss his stem while he rides? I was very annoyed and angry at the world for being in a break with him of all people. I pirated this photo of his site: www.breezer.org in order to show you why I was so miserable on his wheel.

Up next was the Tour of Utah this past week where we had a stage win and another podium finish on the hardest day. More importantly we animated the race that final mountain day and really put the pressure on Rock, BMC, and Type 1. Great racing Vennell, BJM, and T-Bird! That's what it's all about. Me on the other hand, was going up that final Snowbird climb on Sat. at roughly 10kph, going as hard as I could muster, cursing Burke and his "hometown race" all the way up. Thanks to all the fans along the climb who took pity on me by dumping cold water on me and giving me the occasional push. I was also helped (emotionally) by having family at the race. I got to see an aunt, uncle and cousins whom I hadn't seen in years for the TT, and a different aunt, uncle, and cousin who live SLC for the weekend races. Incredible. For those of you keeping track - I have had friends and family come to watch me/Bissell at every race this year except the Argentina race and the Tour of the Gila. Can you believe that??? How's that for a support system?!? Yep, I'm a lucky dude. I don't deny it.
Next up is the TT/RR in Greenville and a week later is the Tour of Missouri. It'll be interesting to see how well different people have managed the long season coming into these big, big races at the end of the year. I feel confident, so hopefully I've done something right. ;-)
Thanks for reading.

Cascade Happenings

2009-07-21T09:31:00.003-06:00

Hello,
I'm here in Bend, OR for another fine edition of the Cascade Cycling Classic. If you want to read about what's going on in the race with me this week, I will be updating a blog on Wartburg College's athletic website (my alma mater): www.go-knights.net where there will be a link, or you can just go to straight to the blog they created: www.ontheroadwithtomzirbel.blogspot.com I promised I'd do a good job of updating so the pressure's on!

Fitchburg

2009-07-03T08:04:00.002-06:00

Fitchburg has been a unique experience so far. After a 14 hr travel day due to delays and layovers, we got to our hotel 14 hours before race time. Not that I'm complaining, the J-M bros got in roughly 20 min. before the start and Vennell never even made it to the start due to cancelled flights. So after that rough start, we were greeted w misty rain and fog all day during the TT. At one point during my race, it was so foggy that I had to take off my sunglasses just to avoid the potholes and finish the course in one piece. A few hours after the race, the race organized a podium presentation at the Senior Center in Fitchburg. We ate spaghetti and homemade meatballs while listening to an accordian player. I found it very entertaining and unique. There were kids there as well, so we signed a few autographs and then they held a raffle for a couple jerseys and a bike! The little boy who won the bike was so shy that he hardly smiled while receiving his prize. But he did manage to mumble into the microphone that he'd be beating me in a few years on his new bike! It was a fun experience. The community seems excited to have us here (it IS the 50th edition of the race!) so I'm hoping the weather cooperates and caters to the viewers and fans.

Midwest Racing

2009-06-26T11:51:00.003-06:00

They're already talking about mid-September! This was a teleconference I did about the Tour of Missouri the other day. Some of the dialogue was muddled a little in the transcript (maybe b/c I mumble at times?) but it turned out okay. I certainly didn't throw out that many "ums" and "well you know"s did I???

Weekend Getaway

2009-06-23T10:49:00.005-06:00

This isn't exactly cycling related but there was some cross training(?) involved and it served as a good reset button for me. Rebecca and I hit the Great Sand Dune National Park before checking out Taos and Santa Fe for a 4 day holiday. The sand dunes are pretty amazing really. There are these 600ft high sand dunes abutting the Sangre de Cristo mountains on one side and desert plains on the other. Pretty cool phenomenon.
This is the view from High Dune. It took a solid 45 min. of exhausting hiking to get up there. Ever tried to hike uphill in sand?
We camped about 10 miles away from the dunes at a little tent site. You can see a bit of the dune field at the base of the mountains.

I really like this picture taken by Dean Hanson of the last corner at the Stillwater crit in NVGP. This is only the tail end of the Bissell train as there were 5 guys in front of me.
Next up for me is the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic out east. Special thank you to the riders from the Bike & Sport team in Santa Fe for taking me out on a ride...and letting me win the city limit sprint! :)
Thanks for reading.

Wow.

2009-06-16T06:27:00.003-06:00

What an exciting end to the Nature Valley Grand Prix! That's what bike racing is all about: 5 days of racing comes down to the last 2 laps at Stillwater. There were 1000s of people lining that incredible venue screaming their lungs out for their favorites. It's taken me 2 days to put a positive spin on it being as we were on the short end of the stick, but I think I'll take a lot of good things away from that race. I am so proud of the way the team rode that Stillwater course. I've replayed the last 2 laps in my head somewhere in the vicinity of 100 times (which isn't healthy) but I know the things I did wrong and I just have to make sure I ride differently if ever in a similar situation. One cool thing about this sport is the strongest person doesn't always win. There are a lot of a tactics and technical aspects to this sport that I need to improve on and this race may be the impetus for me to take the next step in my progression.
Plus, being as NVGP is fairly close to my old stomping grounds of Clear Lake, IA - I had a pretty kick ass fan club: Mom, dad, brother, 4 aunts/uncles, 3 cousins, 8 family friends, 3 HS friends (w/ personalized Bissell/Zirbel Tees on of course) and the biggest surprise was that my sister flew out from New Hampshire to see the race! I was loving it. What a cool experience for me. As much as it sucks to lose a leader's jersey on the last day of a stage race by 3 seconds, sometimes you have to just take a step back and say "Wow" and remember to enjoy the ride.
Thanks for all the support!!! Oh, and I lost my phone Wed. night June 10, so if you called or texted since then I didn't get it. I'm not ignoring you. :) Hopefully I'll have it replaced sometime today.

1/2 way

2009-06-12T14:30:00.002-06:00

3 down, 3 to go here at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. The team is riding most excellent and is helping me every step (pedal stroke?) of the way. We have a hella hard circuit coming up in Mankato tomorrow and I'm excited to see how I respond to the pressure and attacks that are headed my way. But first, we have to get thru the Minneapolis crit tonight! 75 min. of nail-biting, white-knuckled fun! I can't think of anything else I'd rather do...
Thanks for the support thus far!

Honor Thy Mother

2009-05-14T10:34:00.003-06:00

Last Sunday was Mother's Day and because I was racing and couldn't spend the day with my mother, I thought what better way to celebrate my mom than to eat a half-priced cake in her honor? Afterall, the end of the Joe Martin crit on Sun. marked the beginning of my mid-season break.

I'm still bumming a bit about not winning Joe Martin but we definitely raced our hearts out on Sat. trying to regain the lead. OUCH did an impressive job of defending the jersey. Thanks to my Dad, Uncle Don and Margie for cheering us on every stage of the JMSR! Sorry we couldn't win it for you guys. :(
Next race for me is Philly and I'm giddy b/c it'll be my first go at that U.S. classic. Watch out Manayunk - my fat @$$ is coming!!

sloppy day

2009-05-08T10:13:00.005-06:00

We're here in Fayetteville, Arkansas - home of the U of Arkansas Razorbacks and Walmart! It was pouring rain quite heavily this morning and is still coming down a bit right now (3 hours till start) but is supposed to clear up this afternoon. Makes me grateful that we have afternoon starts at the Joe Martin stage race rather than the 8-9 am starts at Gila last week.
There is a buzz of excitement and nervous expectation rippling through the team this morning because BJM smashed the TT yesterday and is leading the race! We stacked 4 guys in the top 10 and so gave ourselves some options for the remaining racing. It's a strong and motivated field here so it should make for some dynamic races these next 3 days.

The 3rd place finisher in yesterday's TT has a relaxing morning while the weather gets the rain out of it's system. If you look closely, you can see that JV has his recovery Skins under his tracksuit like a good lil' racer.
If you have a sec, send some good luck thoughts our way!

2009-04-21T18:57:00.006-06:00

I'm back from the Tour of Battenkill in upstate NY and it was actually a pretty cool trip. I was able to get on the podium on Saturday's race which wasn't really the plan - I was kinda supposed to save things for Sunday but sometimes things don't work out the way you plan them. I wrote about the race on the team site. Sunday went not so well for me cuz I flatted on the first lap and didn't get any neutral service - I think they were out of wheels from so many flats! However, the other 4 Bissell dudes showed some grit by finishing the 200k classic style race.
Every once in awhile people ask me what I do with all my free time on the road. Well, when I'm staying at a camp resort in a room by myself with no T.V., no computer, no cell phone reception and no crosswords handy....
I finish a 489 piece jigsaw puzzle over the weekend (11 pieces were missing - which btw makes things more difficult not less b/c you end up spending all sorts of time looking for pieces that aren't there).

Actually this was my roommate for the first day or so, but he was sick (too much coffee?) and I had to put him out of his misery when I saw him stumbling around on the floor the next day. :(

So, that area of New York is pretty cool. The race was in Cambridge/Greenwich area and is surrounded by hills and trees and rivers and all sort of pretty scenery. I was impressed. And all of the locals seemed to really get behind the race which always makes it more rewarding for us. I think the race will keep getting bigger and better as well.
As for Boulder, our weather has done a 360 and today was georgeous. I thoroughly enjoyed my recovery ride today.

This is a picture from the Stone Cup coffee shop in Lyons during my pit stop today. I really like Lyons and would think about living there if it wasn't so far from the airport. But I took the picture to poke fun at the coffee shop b/c they have an American flag w the peace sign in place of the stars and a flag of the earth. Can you be more Hippie than that??

Up next for me is the Tour of the Gila followed closely by Joe Martin Stage Race. I'm looking forward to both - should be some goooood racin!!!
Thanks for reading!

"Uncle!" you win Weather

2009-04-16T15:46:00.004-06:00

This fella recently had a B-Day. I also post this pic to remind me of better days. Rain, sleet, hail mix today in Boulder. 100% chance of snow this weekend. It's mid-April, folks. Enough already.
If my flight actually gets off the ground tomorrow morning, I am headed to the Tour of Battenkill in NY with Omer, Frank, Sheldon, and Graham. No snow in the forecast so that's promising.

Redlands Success?

2009-03-31T08:49:00.002-06:00

So finally after over a month off from racing after our biggest race of the year, the NRC season officially kicked off this past week. We finished 2nd and 5th on GC and had a 3rd and two 4th place finishes on stages. It's a solid start to the season but as we were sitting around, guzzling Ultragen after the Sunset Road Race, I could tell that none of us were overly content with the week. We've upped the expectations and 2nd place on GC is no longer going to be a 'success' for this team. Louder and BMC rode a great race and deserved the win, that much is clear. So we are going to have step it up another notch if we want that top step on the podium. I, for one, did not race aggressive enough to pull out the win on the last day. The fear of losing our podium spot on GC caused me to race defensively for the majority of the race. Hopefully I'll learn from this experience and react differently next time I'm in that situation. That being said, this was my highest finish ever on GC for an NRC event. And a high quality field at that. Everyone on the team helped me out at one point or other during the 4 day event. Be it helping me with positioning, fetching bottles for me, helping me with positioning, gobbling up time bonuses, getting in the break or helping me with positioning, the boys had their hands full the last 3 days! And of course our staff made it so we just had to pedal our bikes and recover. Such a huge help. But my favorite part of Redlands (besides that wonderful, 90 min., zig-zaggy, 160 man field, white knuckled crit that I and many other poor souls crashed in) is staying with my Aunt Margaret and Uncle Jim during the race and spending time with their/our family. I'm so lucky to be able to get that family TLC on the road while racing. Thanks fam!
Okay, maybe I'll start updating this blog more often now that the racing has begun again. Maybe I'll start posting pictures again to spice things up. And maybe I'll put a little effort into writing interesting content instead of generic race reports or self-evaluations. Maybe.

now what?

2009-03-02T13:25:00.003-07:00

phew! I'm glad that race is done. Now we can just sit back and relax for the remainder of the 2009 season, right? Maybe not. That's the trouble with the schedule for the domestic pro teams. The biggest race of the year for us is in Feb.! And then probably the 2nd and 3rd biggest races are at the end of the year. Don't get me wrong, it's nice having a month at home after the AToC but it just seems like a big waste not being able to directly utilize this fitness gained from suffering through that friggin hard race. I am thankful that Bissell was invited to the ToC again this year because it's an incredible experience and it's an honor to race in it, but it's just difficult to be going well in Feb., Sept., and a few times in between. Now that I have the whining out of my system, let me say that my friends/family support throughout the ToC was 2nd to none! It was a lot of fun having the support of so many loved ones (not to mention some complete strangers) at the race this year. It's that very support that helps keep us going when we're racing in miserable cold rain for 3 days straight...for instance.
So, I took it nice and easy on the bike this week and all my little road rash areas and bruising are healing up nicely. I'm hoping that Scotty, Teddy, Omer, and PZ are healing up fast as well. AJM seems to have recovered okay as proven by his podium finish this past week in Merced. No team races for me until Redlands at the end of this month, but I may jump in a local race or 2 in the meantime.
Thanks to all who supported and cheered the Bissell team during this year's edition of the Amgen Tour!
Take care.

Picture time

2009-02-09T13:34:00.012-07:00

In typical blogging fashion for me, I have some photos and updates from weeks ago...
after our Argentina campaign, we flew straight to training camp in Santa Rosa. With quite a few new additions to the team, it was good to finally meet each other and try out the new gear and equipment (which some of us had already done in Argentina and Wellington). Have I ever mentioned that we have about the best equipment sponsorship on the planet? We also got to spend quite a bit of time chatting and riding with most of our sponsors. A lot of times training camp is the only opportunity to meet many of the sponsors or at least get to spend some time with them, so it's nice to be able to get to know some of the personalities behind the forces that allow our team to exist. Besides a few of us getting sick at camp as well, everything went according to plan and it looks as though we are going to have a fun year of working together and winning races.
The Tour of California is coming up quick so that's been preoccupying most of my thoughts of late. It sounds like I'll have quite the friends and family contingent cheering there for parts of the race so that'll be a bonus. I've been feeling pretty good and gaining confidence coming into this year's edition, but if you haven't noticed, there is a pretty impressive start list for the race so I'm not sure what my fitness and confidence will translate to when head-to-head against the best in the world. All I know is that Bissell is going to race hard and make opportunities for ourselves. Let the circus begin!

San Luis was beautiful most of the time we were there but about once a week they'd have this crazy deluge for about 30min. that would cause massive flooding in the streets.

This San Luis store sounds like my kind of place!

This was some sort of roadside altar near San Luis that I thought was interesting.

A team ride doing the Geyser's Loop near Santa Rosa. I love my Boulder roads, but Santa Rosa is no slouch either...

Giampaolo and I mug for the camera at his restaurant Riviera. He and his family fed the Bissell team (no small feat!) 3 of the 7 nights of our camp w incredible italian food. Thank you Pesce family!

This one is for my dad: it's a picture of new bossman Wohlberg's '64 Buick Le Sabre wagon with roof rack. Bench seats, 8 track player, 401cc engine, etc. It pretty much demands respect. I think the night time picture adds to the mystique.

Take care.

don't cry for me...

2009-01-25T14:17:00.004-07:00

Hola,
a little update here from San Luis. I'm alive. I wasn't able to start st. 5 of the Tour due to a bout with what was probably food poisoning. I was disappointed for sure but mostly because I missed out on some more great training and prep for ToC. I'm feeling better now but I was pretty worthless there for about 30 hrs. The team is doing great without me with BJM in the top 10 on GC and 2nd in sprint points.
Argentina is a cool country and I am enjoying my time here now that I have time to look around a bit. The people are very chill and generally happy. They love their siestas here as nearly everything closes down between 1p - 5p! Also, they don't start dinner until 9p or so. And the best part?!? They love their helado (ice cream) here!!! There are ice cream shops everywhere and they're always packed. That is the real reason I like these people so much! I can get a giant waffle cone w/ 2 scoops for 3 pesos ($1)! And oddly enough, that was one the only food that didn't cause me to get nauseous (sp?) the day after getting sick. :)
I've been taking a few pics but I'll have to post them later.
Thanks for the supporting emails and blog posts!
Also, www.pezcyclingnews.com posted that interview of me done by Nathan Rand back in November recently. Make sure you check out how boring of an interviewee I am...after checking out the "daily distractions" of course...
Hasta luego amigos!

Dias Contentos!

2009-01-15T08:51:00.003-07:00

Hello,
quick update here. I'm heading to Argentina today for the Tour de San Luis which runs Mon-Sun. I'm mucho excited both to see a new country and start racing! The form seems to be coming around so I'm cautiously optimistic about the TT on St. 3. It's a pretty big race with a couple of Pro Tour teams and a bunch of pro conti teams from overseas so you should have no problem following results with cyclingnews.com, velonews.com, or pezcyclingnews.com. Some Basso character is planning to show up which is apparently a big deal but I think the J-M bros being reunited is a much bigger deal. That's just me.
Oh, and if there happens to be a freak blizzard during the race (forecast is for mid-90s), my prediction is that T-Bird and I will dominate due to much practice in riding in those conditions the past 2 months. :)
Take care.

A Clean Start to the New Year

2009-01-02T11:28:00.007-07:00

Happy New Year!
In an attempt to start 2009 on the right foot, I broke out my new Bissell ProHeat 2X CleanShot that was given to me from Bissell for Christmas and cleaned every square inch of the carpet in my apartment (approx. 900 sq. ft!). That thing is bad @$$! I picked up so much dirt, hair, and crud even after vacuuming with my stellar Bissell Healthy Home Vacuum first. I need to post some graphic pics to demonstrate its dirt-fighting prowess.
The ProHeat in action. Can you tell which side I've already cleaned???

This is some of the hair that the ProHeat picked up from the carpet. The best part is that it was primarily black dog hair from the PREVIOUS TENANT!! (note: The mini candy cane is for scale only and was not picked up by the Bissell)

So, a lot has happened since my last post. I went to Santa Rosa in mid Dec. for an 8 day training block with buddy Scott and to spend some time with boss man Glen as well. Congrats to Glen and Tonia for the birth of their first child, daughter Kira Christine Mitchell born on Dec. 26th!!! But don't think you can skimp on Birthday presents just b/c Christmas is the day before!
I also went home for Christmas for a few days which was nice but the weather was a little obnoxious. The one time I ventured out in the cold for a ride while I was back, I crashed 1 block later on a sheet of ice and flipped it. I also got to see Baltimore and D.C. for the first time. I got about a day's worth of each.

That bulge in Tonia's belly is now breathing, eating, crying, sleeping, and pooping in our world.

Here's the Capitol Building in D.C. After seeing how big it is, I think they should rename it the Capital Building. Also, it doesn't really lean, it's just a bad angle by the cameraman.

Okay, I gotta get out and RIDE! Here's to a great 2009!

December already?!?

2008-12-03T10:33:00.006-07:00

Hello,
I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Instead of having the traditional Thanksgiving meal with friends and family this year, Rebecca and I tried out our version of the Saxo Bank Boot Camp. Though I'm not sure how much faster this trip made me, I'm sure that it better prepared me for conditions such as was experienced during the St. 4 death march at the 2008 Tour of California. Our adventures included camping in the cold rain in Canyonlands NP in the desert? of Utah, hiking over slippery rocks/cliffs from said rain, camping in the freezing cold of western CO, riding in freezing rain turning to snow as I ascended, and driving through a snow storm which caused us to take backroads and culminated in traveling a 20mph curvy canyon gravel road where we saw only 1 other car in the 45 min it took to drive the 20 miles. Though we had a great time, we concluded that these near-death experiences (we're so dramatic) were signs that we should be spending Thanksgiving eating massive amounts of turkey and pumpkin pie with family. Lesson learned.
So, this training business is going okay so far tho I hit a speedbump when I caught a cold recently (totally unrelated to camping in freezing weather, I'm sure). I'm still feeling kind of crap but it's a snow day anyway here in Boulder so I don't feel too guilty.
Here is a recent interview I did with Amy Bush who freelances for U.S. Cycling Report. Amy is the woman whom I met at the Tour of Missouri and has provided this blog with pictures in the past. In the picture accompanying the interview, I'm looking pretty psyched about my 2nd place effort at TT nats. :)
Some boot camp pics:
the midway point of our 'treacherous' Canyonlands NP hikes. Also, one of my favorite places on Earth.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. I had never been here before last week and the dramatic sheer cliffs absolutely floored me.

Okay, that's all I got. Hopefully my next update will be about how hard I've been training and how fast I'm getting...

Dear Lee,

2008-11-17T10:05:00.004-07:00

how have you been? Sorry it's been so long since I've last written. I hope you're doing well and are having fun with your land. Any Mtn bike trails yet??
So, I've been having a good time here in Boulder. Offseason was great (my first in 3 years), and I was able to recharge mind and body over the past couple months. I got in some epic hikes and a little cross racing too. I may have to give the latter up though because I seem to find the ground with my face every stinkin time I ride that bike! It's been fun though. In my first race, I think I beat 4 or 5 finishers which was a moral victory. And in my 2nd race, I was beating a few guys as well before I crashed out (and took Logan with me, haha). Friend Rob Nagler took some pics of the first race and there are a few of me. You can just FEEL my speed emanating through your screen. However, now it's time to get down to business. I've been training for 2 weeks now and am starting to remember what it's like to ride a bike everyday again. I love this time of year because you get to dream big and imagine how good you're going to be in the coming season.
In other momentous news, I moved to south Boulder. I hate moving but this was a step up for me. I'm officially moved out of the closet! Happy days! Though in reality, I probably won't sleep as well in a room with windows.

We had our first snow last week. And I am trying to brag when I say that this pic was taken 200 ft. from my new front door.

This was taken a full block away from my place. Oh and did I mention it's 65 and sunny today? Word.
Take care, General CB!

Cheater!!!

2008-09-29T11:12:00.003-06:00

Do you want to know how you get up Brasstown Bald when you weigh nearly 200lbs and you're completely cracked and seeing stars?? You get not 1, not 2, but 3 grown men to help push you up the steepest section. This photo cracks me up because I remember that cycling ethics was the last thing on my mind at that point. I just wanted to be able to start the next day by any means possible. This photo was taken by Amy whom I met at Tour of Missouri this year.
So, I'm definitely in offseason as confirmed by my recent resurgence of a nightlife, the liklihood that I be spotted at the local IHOP or ice cream aisle of a 24hr grocery store after 10p.m., and the unliklihood that I've been seen outside of Boulder on a bike in the past 2 weeks (exactly once). However, my hiking form is coming around. I'm feeling pretty fast on the dirt paths of the foothills. :-) And I built up a cross bike and so have been hitting the gravel a little and practicing mounting/dismounting a ton (make that 10min. worth where I racked myself a good one and called it a day). I think I'm ready for some cross racing! I may start jumping into some local races as early as this weekend, so if you want a good hearty laugh come out to the races and see me get throttled handily. Sounds like fun to me!
I hope you're enjoying your autumn!

Ouch

2008-09-12T10:16:00.004-06:00

Yesterday hurt...a lot. So much so that I've been claiming that it was one of the hardest days I've had on a bike. The 90mi course was finished with a 46.8kph (29mph) average. This was on a very challenging, hilly course with no flat road anywhere. It was a good thing that we had total participation on the team trying to get in the break, because there were probably a dozen or so serious breakaway attempts that were absolute leg breakers for those in the moves. The decisive break didn't go until 100k into the race. I was a tad smashed by the end but still tried a late move (1500m to go) that was weak and extremely futile.
After the stage, BJM and I were asked to sign some autographs at the Michelob Ultra tent (race sponsor). Our appearance fee consisted of one cold Michelob each. Mmmmm..recovery.

After falling victim to a viral infection and dropping out after St. 1, Jeremy has taken a new career path? as a t.v. commentator for the race. Have we found the next Paul Sherwen?

Okay, 3 stages to go. Gotta stay attentive and keep out of trouble.

Missouri update

2008-09-11T07:10:00.002-06:00

Those of you giving me a hard time about lack of updates - this will have to do. Now get off my back!!! (Matt, Don, et al) :)
The TT yesterday didn't go so well for me. I felt flat about the whole day and really haven't been feeling all that great for weeks now. I'm not sick or anything, I just think the long season is starting to wear on me a bit. We have 4 days of racing left in the season though, so it's a good time to let it all hang out, take some chances, and have fun racing.
My Dad and uncle Don came to Stages 2 & 3, which was cool. At this time of year, I'll take any form of extra motivation I can get. Rumor has it I could get a Mom appearance this weekend too. Lucky me!
So, if you'd like better race updates and pictures, etc. - I suggest you visit www.podiuminsight.blogspot.com. Lyne is at all the races (it seems) and does an awesome job of covering the races, taking pics, and providing unique insights. Plus, if you scroll down through her ToMissouri posts, you'll find my latest fashion choice with regards to haircut and facial hair and an opportunity for you to vote 'yay' or 'nay'. Good for cheap entertainment. Thanks for reading. And the countdown continues....4 to go.

Pick out the good in any situation

2008-09-03T13:24:00.003-06:00

The Highlight of my Saturday. The rest I can do without. photo courtesy of Su'zi:k.

the Morning of...

2008-08-30T06:57:00.003-06:00

I roll off in just over 3 hours for TT Nationals. I feel really fit and confident at the moment. The course is a little technical and definitely hillier than the profile gives it credit for. All my preparations have gone well and it's time to execute. My body seems to be awaiting the serious trauma that will commence in a few hours. Kind of like the calm before the storm, in a way.
I'm ready.

"America's Toughest Stage Race"

2008-08-11T16:45:00.004-06:00

So say those crazy Utah people anyway. But can they really be trusted? There are a lot of crazy long and mountainous races down in South America that I know of but maybe I'm just nit-picking. The Tour of Utah kicks off this week right in our main man Burke's backyard. So bring your climbing legs and your oxygen tanks cuz there's gonna be some throw downs in the Utah high country this week!
Do you realize this season is winding down, people?? I only have this tour, USPro RR&TT and then finish off the season with the Tour of Missouri. I'm glad I get to finish off the season doing races that I'm excited about! Then a glorious offseason filled with activity (or inactivity) yet to be determined.
Oh, and the Tour of Elk Grove was fun at times and very frustrating/hard at times. Highlights: feeling unbelievably good out on the TT course. I can only hope I feel that good at TT Nats or Missouri. Other highlights included getting 2 giant novelty checks on the podium and getting kisses from 2 (18 yr old) podium girls up on stage. Both of those events now have check marks next to them on my "to-do before I die" list. So in that sense - what a successful tour it was!! Let's hope for more of the same from the Bissell team this week.

Tuscany: my romantic 3 days w Joao Correia

2008-07-30T14:55:00.013-06:00

"No matter what, we'll always have Tuscany, Joao." Whenever we come upon hard times, that'll be my response to the Portugese Gangsta. I had a pretty awesome time in Tuscany. We stayed with his friend Alessandro 30k north of Sienna in the country. The roads are beautiful in the area and all up and down. If all you want to do is train and eat, I've never been to a better place. That area is so romantic that if Joao would have asked me to marry him, it's likely that I would have gotten caught up in the moment...
so here's the picture tour:
Alex's apartment. No joke. It's very simple inside, no luxuries - perfect for the area. originally built 4 centuries ago.

Alessandro and Joao outside Alex's cobbler shop in Sienna.

a window at the apartment. it was all so surreal.

Nothing but rolling hills filled w vineyards and olive trees everywhere we went.

This is the main street in the little village of Lucci where we got cappucino and a brioche every morning from Paolo.

Paolo and I outside his cafe. aside: Paolo has the biggest hands I've ever seen. He could crush my head like a nut if he so chose.

Back to the Granfondo Pinarello - here is the podium of the race with Giovanni Pinarello (THE founder) second from right and the crazy Treviso mayor behind me far left.

I did some wine tasting on the podium. "When in Rome..." or Treviso. I was completely smashed at this moment but it wasn't the alcohol.

I thought these Treviso commuters were pretty cute so I snapped a pic while we waited for a train to pass.

Mr. Indurain was at the banquets so I needed a comparison pic to show people how much bigger I am than he. However, I asked him how much he weighed when winning the Tours and he replied, "ochenta y uno. mucha forza" (rough translation: 178lbs, good for power.) Wow. I'm only ochenta y ocho. I have no excuse not to at least podium at the Tour someday. :)
That's all for now. Maybe I'll post more later. Up next is the Tour of Elk Grove outside of Chicago. BIG prize money there, so I hear. Maybe if we do well I can buy a one-way ticket to Italy.

Granfondo Pinarello

2008-07-22T12:08:00.010-06:00

Hey All,
I just got back from Italy late last night after 22 hours of traveling and so am a little whooped but of course I can't sleep because of this wonderful jet lag phenomenon. I had a great trip a got a little taste of life and racing in Italy. For now, I will post pics from the 2nd part of the trip in Treviso. I will post the Tuscan pics later.
Race report: After taking part in the Granfondo Pinarello, I will no longer refer to it as a 'race' with quotes. It is most definitely a full on RACE! Those Italians are a very proud people and they don't give an inch so you can imagine what it was like at the start with 3000 other people battling for position. Luckily I was able to sneak up to the front before the start, though I wasn't seeded so technically I was supposed to start in about 1000th place (thanks Joao). The race was 200k with 9400ft of climbing with the majority of that packed in the middle w/ 3 consecutive climbs. It was very dynamic and hard from the start with the selections being made 40k in on the first real climb. I found myself in the 2nd group on the road after that ballistic first climb but we had 8 strong guys ready to work together to catch the front group of 7. We didn't catch them until 60k to go, and as soon as we did (field was whittled down to 11 at this point) everyone just sat up and wouldn't work. Me and another guy (basically the only two who would pull through on the flats) attacked w 50k to go and got a gap. The field wouldn't work well together so we immediately started putting some time into them. At the base of the last climb (a steep 2.5k SOB named the Montello w/ 30k to go in the race), we had over 3 min. on the field but I bonked hard from lack of food and water (though I ate more in that race than I ever have in my career and drank 8 bottles in 5 hours) and was dropped by my breakaway companion. I thought it was game over for me but I kept eating and drinking and started to come around after descending that final climb. At this point w 20k remaining, I go into to TT mode to try and hold off the field for 2nd. But I'm feeling slightly better now and am starting to motor fairly decent after 5 hours of racing. Sure enough, I spot the leader in front of me and catch him w 8k to go. At this point, we are both cracked and neither one of us wants to work but we still have to hold off the field so we continue with some weak pulls. While he is pulling on the front, I get a small run-up on him and attack him from behind. However, he looked back just before I got past him and so got a better jump than I was hoping for. He was able scratch and claw his way back to my wheel and there after would not budge from my wheel. Because I did not know the gap to the chase group, I had no other choice but to keep pedaling and lead it out and try to start late so that I was still accelerating thru the line so he would have a harder time getting by me. However, it was not to be and due to a slight confusion as to where the finish line was (there were about 5 overhead tents in the last 100m) and a lack of sprinting prowess, I was passed in the sprint and had to settle for 2nd. I was not too disappointed when I considered all the events leading up to my finish: 2 near crashes (once locking up the breaks on a descent and once missing a sign to turn and plowing into the eventual race winner when we were still in the chase group), 1 actual crash on a descent which bruised my hip a little and more detrimentally bent my deraileur hanger and caused me to lose half of my gears due to slipping, and the little hunger knock in the last part of the race. Considering all this and the fact that the winner used to race professionally on Pantani's Mercatone Uno team in the late 90s, I was not too disappointed/embarrassed/pissed off. But boy...putting a Pinarello Prince over the line first would have been nice! The winner and I averaged 38kph which I thought was respectable considering the difficulty and length of the race.
After the race, I got to meet the mayor of Treviso, who seemed a little nutty to me after he insisted that I drink wine on stage to 'recover' from the race. And Giorgio Andretta, the owner of Gita Sporting Goods(one of Team Bissell's biggest sponsors) acted as my interpreter for the post race interviews. It was a good time, and of course they couldn't get over how big I was, so it's probably better that I couldn't understand their jokes and jabs. :)
So, here are some pics from my time in Treviso:
In the Pinarello factory, the song "If I had a million dollars.." comes to mind.

Were you wondering what Valverde's spanish road champion bike says on the head/down tube during the Tour? I was. This is the bike Fausto Pinarello rode in the Granfondo this year.

We got to attend the presentation for the 2009 line of Pinarello bikes, and I was trying to capture the awe and excitement on people's faces after another new bike was unfurled. mild success.

The new look of the Montello. I think it's Bad Ass to be blunt.

This is about 4k up the San Boldo climb which was the 2nd climb of the race with 20 switchbacks and a couple of winding tunnel sections. very cool climb...unless you're racing it.

these temporary tats were in our race packet, so I sported one on my arm during the race. Cappucino doesn't count, right?

the fruits of my labor. this is the 2nd place trophy (very nice) coupled with Rebecca's impressive orchid which currently has 8 blooms! Thanks for reading!

Off to Italia

2008-07-14T13:25:00.002-06:00

I'm boarding my flight to Italy in a couple of minutes (actually Frankfurt, then Florence, Italy) so I'll be short. Cascade went okay for us but not great. Mostly because I wasn't climbing quite how I expected. The team did a great job of setting me up on the Sat. RR after I was sitting 2nd on GC from being in the break Fri. and time trialing okay. However, despite everything going smoothly for me leading into the final climb on Sat. up to the ski resort - I was unable to hold the wheels of the fellas I needed to mark and ended up losing a significant amount of time. Disappointing because I know that I can climb with those guys when I'm firing on all cylinders and it sucks to let the team down after they worked hard to set me up perfectly. But we live to race another day. The race did have quite a few injuries this year tho. Our thoughts are with Ben Brooks for a speedy recovery from that horrific crash on st. 1. And also with BJM and Logan for a quick comeback from their broken chicken wings.
For me, it's on to the Granfondo Pinarello which is on Sun. I'm taking it kind of seriously because I think it'd be a big deal for Mr. Pinarello himself if one of his bikes came across the line 1st. I have no idea what to expect and don't even know if I'll have a shot at winning but I'm hoping that this form that I really thought I'd have for Cascade just took a week longer than expected. :)
I'll try to post from the former empire if I can and I will also do my best to take pics liberally.
Gotta go. Ciao! (lame, I know)

Full On

2008-07-07T12:18:00.005-06:00

That's the best way to describe the upcoming racing at Cascade. Have you checked the start list?!? This field is stacked! I'm looking forward to some quality racing and I'm feeling confident with my fitness coming in. It feels like I haven't raced in ages though I got back from piggy-backed stage races only 2 weeks ago. I feel like a different rider now and I've already laid down some expectation on myself despite the stellar field in Bend this year.
And after Cascade is concluded, I get to jump on a plane to Italy for some sponsor-related activities! Joao and I will be representing Bissell and Pinarello for the Granfondo Pinarello race/ride on Sun. July 20. Pinarello is one of our biggest sponsors with the half million dollars in product they provide us with each year and so it would be awesome if we could come and win the Pinarello sponsored Granfondo riding our sweet Prince bikes. The event takes place in the Treviso/Venice area which I've heard is beautiful. I'm excited but I also know I have a job to do!
In between my intense training blocks of late, I was able to sneak in my first camping trip of the year and first ever w/ Rebecca. The area is near Estes Park and was a 5 mile hike in near the North St. Vrain river. It is a beautiful area and our site was right next to the raging river. Very cool. We were also visited by a family of mountain goats (7) in the morning who were just grazing and staring at us about 100 ft. from above.
I also went on my first ride on Trail Ridge Rd in the Rocky Mountain National Park last week. I went w/ Frank Overton and some of his Fascat athletes. We had a great time riding and observing the breath-taking views - at 12,000ft, that can be taken a couple different ways. :)
But enough of this "summer fun" stuff. It's time to smash up the competition at Cascade! Bissell is bringing a very strong team and I think we should have all kinds of options to animate the race. Plus, I'll be racing with (against) Scott Nydam and Logan Garey - the first time we've all 3 been in the same race since we were teammates back in 2005. As I often remind Scott, "This is for Nick's (Sports Garage owner) undying love!" Thanks for reading. I'll try to post race and/or Italy updates when I can.
We saw lots of Columbines in full bloom on the hike to our campsite.

A view from a bridge near our campsite.

Trail Ridge Rd at around 12,000 ft. elevation. Oh, THAT'S why they close this road in the winter. pic taken by Gregg.

Basking...

2008-06-24T16:04:00.008-06:00

both in the glory of a Bissell GC win and the Colorado sunshine! Aaron Olson took home an impressive come-from-behind GC victory at the Tour de Nez last week. It was an awesome team effort to help him pull off the win but don't let his post-race quotes fool ya. He'll have you think that he let Graham and myself do all the work driving the race winning break on Sun. but that is far from the truth. Aaron pulled as much as Graham and I combined and when he came to the front, it was all we could do just to hang on to the wheel! Boys and girls, PT has found himself some form!! As for me....not so much. I was passed in a TT for the first time in my entire cycling career at Nez. Race winner Ian McKissick took 30s out of me in what seemed like about 3 min. (no lie) into my race. Wow. Talk about a morale killer. I think I'm coming around, but boy! does this racing business hurt when you haven't done it for awhile!!! I'm letting my body heal from Nature Valley and Nez and soon I'll be smashing it up the canyons around here in preps for Cascade which starts in 2 weeks. Cascade is one of my favorite races and I can't wait to be reunited with my lil' 4 year old girlfriend Kayla! (w/ the Sheasby host family)
Nature Valley was also an awesome experience for me. The racing I could have done without but the friends and family who showed up to see me race were amazing. Dad, Mom, Karen, Don, Doreen, Doris, Wellsy and Miller - THANKS FOR COMING AND CHEERING!!!

This 5 min. sunset was the highlight of the 6 hour drive through Nebraska. ugh.

Stillwater was by far the coolest thing about Nature Valley. It is an epic race and I was little disappointed to race it on sub-par form, but maybe next year?

CLHS baby!!

View of "The Biggest Little City in the World" from our 11th floor 'suite' in the casino.

Presenting: your 2008 Tour de Nez race winner! PT Aaron Olson!!!

We're close on this team. Sometimes too close (Joao). Donner Lake back drop - beautiful area near Lake Tahoe.

Vacation O-vah!

2008-06-10T17:56:00.003-06:00

Time to get back to this racin business. Nature Valley starts today and it sounds like I will have a strong family and friend contingency at the races, being so close to my roots. I have some requests for my family & friends making the trip to MN to watch: no streaking. no throwing objects at or in front of my opponents. and no pushing me...unless there is a really steep hill that I don't know about and it looks like I need it.
Speaking of pushes, I could have used a little help in my "warmup" race that I did on Sunday. I'm not sure why I did it b/c in no way did it resemble the racing at Nature Valley, but it was still fun to get out there. The race took about 70min. and about 60 min. of that was climbing - some of which was upwards of 15% gradient. Ouch. I lost count of how many times I called myself fat under my breath during that one. I finished 4th on the day which was about as good as I could have done considering how I was climbing. Shortly after, I jumped in the car with mi madre and headed for the homeland of Iowa where I've been the last 2 days. Kinda reminds me of swamp land around here. This rain and flooding has hit this area pretty hard.
Okay, let's hope this rain forecast fizzles out and we can race our bikes this weekend and the midwest can dry out a little.

Notice to the DEA:

2008-05-28T17:06:00.003-06:00

Take me off your list!
Hi, my name is Tom Zirbel, and I've been percoset-free for over 32 hours! If I can kick the habit, then YOU CAN TOO!!! I'm not going to lie, the heart rate jumped a couple of beats last night when I realized that I was going to try and sleep an entire night w/out my pain-saviour of the last 3.5 weeks. But I slept okay so that means no more happy pills for me...unless I reinjure my ribs again like I did last week.
So, if that's a valid indicator then I'd say I'm recovering well. I'm even starting to do real, honest-to-goodness training. How exciting! You should have seen me - I was even un-officially racing triathletes and sport riders alike during my ride today. I can tell that it's been awhile since I've had a competitive outlet, for sure. Is it time to shave the legs again??? I kinda felt like a bike racer for the 1st time in a month today.
I'm planning on being back for Nature Valley in MN which starts in 2 weeks so it's high time I log some hours and intensity in the saddle, I'd say. Nothing like being a little under-cooked for crit-filled stage racing.
Okay, thanks for checking in on me. And good luck to the Bissell Boyz who'll be tackling Philly Week starting this weekend.

upon further review...

2008-05-16T10:02:00.003-06:00

Ah, remember that time when I updated after my gila crash, reporting that I had a strained shoulder, 1 cracked rib and a broken bone in my hand? Just kidding about that! It took 11 days to figure out, but it turns out I have 3 cracked ribs, a broken collarbone near the sternoclavicular joint (don't I sound smert?) - which is adjacent to the sternum, annnd still a broken bone in my hand. It sorta ruins your day when you go a week thinking you have 2 broken bones, only to find out that you actually have 5 - surprise! It's especially irritating when you've been moving your arm in hopes of gently stretching out the tendons rather than keeping it completely static to let the bone heal. Moral: get 2nd and 3rd medical opinions folks!!! I wish doctors were all-knowing but they aren't (except for Otis, the Bakers, Taylor, Andrea, and T-Bone).
On a happy note, the pain is getting more tolerable and I can even ride some. I just have to take it easy and let my body heal itself unobtrusively. And the Bissell boys are doing well at Mt. Hood. Kill it in the TT fellas!!!

having lunch down by the creek w/ mis amigos. must fill days w activities like this or insanity will ensue.

Keep on truckin...

2008-05-11T13:46:00.002-06:00

On to that "recovery" stage where everything goes slower and takes longer than you hope/expect. I rode the trainer a couple days ago with some success but today I don't feel well enough to even walk around. No complaining though, Esparza from Tecos, who crashed on the same descent as me, is still in rough shape in El Paso. They have set up a fund to help pay for his medical bills. Donations can be sent to:
Wells Fargo Bank
1201 N. Pope St.
Silver City, NM 88061

Attention: Fausto Munoz Esparza Donation Fund

Next month, I plan to be doing this! But for now, will have to settle for this...on my good days:
this scuzzball hadn't showered since the crash 5 days previous!

Sorry Mr. Guptill

2008-05-06T13:26:00.006-06:00

Hey Everybody - I'm alive and well!! (relatively)
Man, I'd say we had an awesome Tour of the Gila! 2 stage wins, 2nd on GC, 2nd in the team's classification and we controlled the front of nearly every stage. Vega from Tecos is an amazing climber so Burke should be proud of his 2nd on gc.
I was looking forward to seeing how I would fair on the brutal last day but didn't give myself the opportunity when i overcooked a turn on the steep gila monster descent and slammed into Andy Guptill of Colavita who was just lifting himself up from crashing. Well, me and about 8 others crashed on the same turn. I guess we got a little carried away. I hobbled away w/ a strained shoulder (no broken collarbone), broken bone in L hand, and cracked back R rib. I'm a little sore of course but am actually doing fine. I have teammate Jeremy Vennell here to give me his special kiwi TLC when I need it, and my new friend Percoset has really come through for me too.
Thanks for all the emails, texts, phone calls, and blog comments first for getting the leader's jersey, then for the crash. :) Much appreciated. Here is a good pic of the week taken by Gleein.
we had to get a pic w this local after the crit (read his shirt)

It was a good day...

2008-05-02T13:20:00.005-06:00

Bissell had a good stage 3 at the Tour of the Gila. I won the TT to squeak into the leader's jersey by a full 2 seconds. Plenty to spare - I should have sat up the last 20m. BJM was 2nd on the day to slip into the top 10 on GC. Which is pretty impressive considering he's spent about 95% of this race off the front in breaks so far. And Burke had a solid ride and is sitting in 5th GC at the moment. The top 7 are all within a minute. Yikes! And with Sunday's epic mountain stage, there are going to be some massive time gaps. Oh, and we're leading the team GC competition which may not mean much but is always a subject of pride for the teams. We have a fun downtown crit tomorrow that has a little roller coaster section on the backside and then the slugfest on Sun.
We're staying in a cool host house about 20 miles outside of Silver City. It is very, how do you say....remote. It is an awesome place though and it gives us a good feel for this beautiful southwest U.S. region where people don't move here to have a bunch of neighbors. I love the rolling, desert terrain of NM. With my occasional hermit tendencies I can see myself living here someday.
our host Jeff's backyard view. Hammock essential.

from TdG, to show how well they treat us, here is documentation that my hotel bed came equiped w/ 7 pillows. wow. I guess that means it's fancy, right?

Here, Mayo shows her Bissell pride during the Brasstown stage at Georgia.

Thanks for reading and if you happen to have any good luck to spare, could you send it our way for the next 2 days? Thanks.

i hate this sport...no wait, I LOVE IT!!!

2008-04-26T06:44:00.003-06:00

After having a day so frustrating that I wanted nothing to do with this race or sport for a time, why not have the best day ever in the history of Bissell/Priority Health??? I've felt some rather extreme ups and downs in the last 48 hrs. I had a mechanical at the beginning of lap 3 of 4 in the TTT and wasn't able to catch back on and so wasn't able to help the team like I hoped. We lost a lot of time that 3rd lap but the boys recovered well and had a smokin 4th lap. We were obviously disappointed with our performance and wanted to make up for it on Stage 5. The stage was a brutal 134 mile up and down affair that was hard all day. Teddy did an awesome job getting into the break and gobbling up KOM points along the way - and nearly held it off until the end! Then the man of the hour, Rich England, showed that he's on decent form by winning the queen stage of the tour in a sprint finish by a select group of 15 or so. YEAH!! So that's 2 podium spots on the same day at the Tour de friggin Georgia. It's hard for me to even remember what it was that I was disappointed about the day before. I was so proud of the team effort put forth yesterday in that champion effort. Everyone did their job, be it covering moves, getting bottles, getting KOM pts, or winning a stage. :)
Okay, gotta go get ready for this Brasstown stage. Nothing like a little momentum to help you up a hill, eh?

Done w/ the Fluff

2008-04-23T17:48:00.003-06:00

Finished off stages 2 & 3 without too much trouble. Could have been better for us, I guess, but not too bad nonetheless. Stage 2 went like this: really fast first 70k until a group got off that the peloton was relatively happy with (or just too tired to respond). Then we went really friggin slow for the next 2 hours, letting the 3 breakaway dudes maintain a lead. Then, of course, it got really stinkin fast for the last hour. Overall, not to bad of a stage except that my body HATES going hard, easy, hard on rides/races. It's like the engine just shuts off during the easy portion and I sit there cranking on the starter to no avail when it gets hard again. I'd rather it just stay hard the whole way (done whining). Teddy came up just short of the KOM jersey behind Pipp near the end of the stage so that was bitter-sweet. And Jeremy got hit by a Toyota team car late in the stage after a pee break. He is okay, just a little scratched, bruised and irritated.
Stage 3 was a similar stage on paper to st. 2: 175k or so with no categorized climbs. However, in reality st. 3 was a bear! The 2nd half of that stage had some serious rollers (re: leg-busters) and then finished up on a killer 3k up and down circuit that we did twice. We averaged 44kph (27.5 mph) for a stage of about 110 miles. Ouch. One reason it was so fast is because Zwiza and his 3 breakaway companions must have been KILLIN it out front. They were hella-strong today. Hats off to them.
On a more somber note, fellow front range Coloradan Timmy Duggan suffered a nasty crash today on a fast descent. Word is that he broke a few bones and is hemorraging from the brain. He is in ICU and they are watching him closely but every indication is that he didn't suffer brain damage and he is expected to recover. We're thinking about you, buddy. GET WELL!!!
Next up is the team time trial tomorrow. We're hoping and expecting to shine in this event, it's just a matter of racing smart and communicating well. Then it's on to the hardest stages 5 & 6 which contain a ton of climbing and will be where the GC is separated out. So like I said, done w/ the fluff and on to the meat of the race -Game on!!

Tour de Georgia, St. 1

2008-04-21T19:19:00.004-06:00

Only so much you can write about a dead flat 115k stage 1 of 7 but I'll try. Bissell was aggressive today, initiating quite a few moves and Garrett was in the move that stayed away for a bit w/ 5 others. However, if nothing else I will have the unofficial title of being the first person to attack at the 2008 TdG. I was thinking of just calling it good and pulling out of the race w/ a "job well done" attitude but I decided to stick it out for a bit longer. And Rich scored a really good result for us with a 4th place finish in the sprint after getting a bit of help from Vennell down the stretch. Nice work, fellas!
I needed an action photo so Rich assured me that this is what he looked like while throwing his bike for 4th place on the stage.

Here is the view from our hotel room in Tybee Island. Check that - this is the view for HALF of the team, but Garrett, me, et. al are on the opposite side w/ a keen view of the parking lot.

What the...?!?

2008-04-16T17:56:00.002-06:00

It was 85 and sunny here yesterday. I guess Garrett and I should be ready for any weather condition the Tour de Georgia throws at us next week.

So long SoCal

2008-04-08T18:17:00.004-06:00

The California tours are over (for me anyway) and it’s time to travel to other regions of this fine country. Redlands finished up well for us with Burke securing a podium spot for the GC. That was his first podium at Redlands and he’s in his mid-30s so I guess that means that I have 4-6 years of improving (at least) before I hit my lifetime peak. Bad news on the weekend was that Omer broke his collarbone in a massive pileup 15 min. into the Sunset RR. He’s okay, “It was a clean break; I’ll be riding the trainer in a few days” he says, but he and a few others suffered some road rash on the day as well. Jeremy, Rich, and Teddy also went down during the stage and as a result weren’t able to catch back on to the lead group. BJM was feeling ill, yet was still able to stay off the front in a 3 man break for half the race. Aaron and I tried to help Burke and keep him in good position in the last part of the race. I was psyched to be able to help on a couple of occasions: once when burke was caught behind a crash and once when a gap opened up on the last time up the climb. I’m convinced he would have been fine without me but it always nice to feel like you contributed to a great effort. :)
It’s nice to be heading home but I’m gonna miss the home-cooked meals provided by Aunt Margaret this past week! We were so spoiled!!! And in fairness, I have to admit that the smog wasn’t too overwhelming during this stay. The mornings were often chilly and wet which helped dispel the sulfuric acid in the air, I believe.
Next up for me is the Tour de Georgia followed closely by the Tour of the Gila. I’m excited about Georgia having never done it. I hear there is some Copper or Brass something-or-other hill in it that is supposed to be challenging. Nothing my 200lb carcass can’t handle, I’m sure. :) Gila is definitely high on my list as well. It is in such a cool area and has great race courses. I haven’t raced it since 2004 when I was a cat. 3, so I definitely miss it and can’t wait to get back. I guess I better find my climbing legs for the upcoming races…
Take care. And it’s spring now so don’t forget to make time to get out and ride!
This was the family crowd support for the Sunset RR (minus Mike and Desiree who bugged out before picture time). Impressive, eh?

Burke in all his Redlands podium slendor.

Redlands Update

2008-04-04T19:46:00.005-06:00

Hey Everyone,
Burke had a good ride today for Bissell at the Redlands Cycling Classic. He got in the race winning break that went on the 2nd of 5 laps and made the podium on the day w/ a 3rd place showing. Nice work by the old sage/jedi master! He is probably sitting 3rd or 4th on GC at the moment so that's exciting as well. It was a circuit race that went right by Aunt Margaret and Uncle Jim's place in Calimesa where Jeremy, Teddy, and I are staying. So needless to say, we had some stellar crowd support once again.
As you could probably have gathered, yesterday was not one of my better days. I missed my start because a) I'm an idiot and didn't give myself any wriggle room and b) because the UCI officials checking the bikes decided to change the measuring rules for BB to bar ends and decided I was over the UCI limit for length even though it was the same bike that I rode in the Tour of Cali the last 2 years and US Pros last year, etc. I was not the only person to fall victim to this "new rule" as several other people were forced to ride their road bikes and/or miss their start as well. It is pretty disappointing and irritating when officials have the power to just wreck a person's race basically on a whim. As Henk Vogels vented to me "It's the same f%&$in measurements I've used for 2 Giros, Tour of Cali [and a shit ton of other giganto races] and they're gonna sit there and tell me that I'M wrong?!?" Grrr. There needs to be changes in our sport's administration.
However, the sun came up this morning and it turned into a beeeeeautiful day. I even got a lil too much sun (despite copious amounts of sunscreen), which is okay w/ me. I felt fine today in the 1st group of the peloton and am not looking forward to tomorrow's crit, but Sun.'s Sunset Loop should be full on fun.
Teddy, Jeremy and I spoke to about 200 kids from Smiley Elementary on Wed. about bike safety, what it's like to be a bike racer, and how FUN it is to ride a bike. In this pic I'm showing off my sz 50 DMTs. Pic courtesy of Teddy and his beloved Iphone.

Teddy sporting the KOM jersey at San Dimas from last weekend. Check out the impressive hip angle!

San Dimas Sketch Race

2008-03-29T23:18:00.004-06:00

A quick race update for ya:
Teddy King is holding the Sprint and KOM leader's jerseys heading into the final day here at the San Dimas Stage Race. There are no KOM points available so Teddy will just need to finish to retain that. The sprint competition however is very much still up for grabs and will require some aggressive (and fast) riding from Teddy aka iamtedking aka Iphone 4.
After a "sub-par" TT in which he was holding back vomit for most of it, Kiwi Jeremy Vennell is sitting 7th on GC in his second ever race on U.S. soil.
My personal highlights include talking trash to Michael Creed before the uphill TT on Fri. (he was my 30s man and I just said "Sucks to be you today" as I rode by him in warmup) and then rightfully I got schooled by him by like 6s. The biggest highlight so far, however, was surviving the RR earlier today. Sketch-ball City!!! That course, though cool and challenging on paper, is not designed for 140 aggressive dudes desperately trying to get an early-season result. If you happened to race this course today or sometime in the past, please feel free to use this blog's comment section as your forum. Maybe my old age (big 3-0 this year) and/or my being on blood thinners is making me soft and pansy-like so I'd like to hear what others have to say.
At the finish of the 2nd lap of 12, somebody crashed in front of me and because he slid, I had time to slow down ALMOST quick enough to avoid him but instead ended up with my front wheel on his chest and my left foot on the far side of him. "You okay?" A nod. Okay, time to get my chain back on and catch back up to the peloton which is receding into the horizon. Luckily Burke and Graham saw my episode and waited to escort me back to the group nearly single-handedly. Having good teammates is such a treat! I caught back on with minimal effort after a mishap that should have cost me big-time energy that I would need later.
So yeah, Teddy got into the main break of the day w/ 2 others to gobble up those sprint and kom points. Burke put himself in a move with 4 others late in the race that wasn't caught until the final time up the hill (about 3k to go). Zwiza and I crested the hill together on the final lap in about 15th or so and he attempted to launch me to the solo win w/ about 1k to go but I had little left in the tank and could hardly come around him. So, it came down to a sprint finish w/ Omer, Jeremy, Burke, Zwiza and I finishing on same time w/ the winner.
Unfortunately, Morgan double flatted at the base of the climb w/ 2 to go and since he was sitting 2nd in the U25 competition, Teddy and Graham gave him their wheels in hopes that he could catch back on but it was just too fast at that point and thus those 3 missed the front group. Bike racing.
It's a hard crit tomorrow and I predict carnage. It's got a good little hill and descent in it and is a bit long (90 min.) for people to fake it with tired legs.
I also have to say that I've had some pretty awesome fan support during my first 2 races of the season. At the ToC, I had my mum, 2 aunts, 1 uncle, 5 cousins, and a Boulder bud come out to watch. And here at San Dimas, I have my dad and friend, same aunt and uncle, and 2 cousins out to watch. It's pretty cool. It's a bummer the other racers don't recognize this and just let me win. Maybe I'll make an announcement before the crit. Thanks for reading!
We're staying at an Extended Stay hotel for this race and we've got 3 dudes packed into each room. Here is a pic of our room less than 24 hours after Bissell infiltration. And yes ladies, Iphone-1 does frequent our room shirtless from time to time. How lucky am I???

Breaking News!!

2008-03-26T23:23:00.004-06:00

This just in:
I received my Frostbite TT medal in the mail today! Don't know what I'm referring to? Read my blog entry on the team site from 2 weeks ago. Recent exchange between my roommate/landlord/romantic-nonsexual life partner Betts:

Betts brings in the mail, hands me small package.
Me: hmmm, what's this? Oh! I'll bet this is my medal!!! You know, from that local TT that I placed 3rd in... [I open package] Yes!! Sweet!
Betts: Remember that time when you finished 4th in the National TT?

buzzkill.

Thanks Mr. Haywood, for spending the time and $1.13 in postage to send me my prized medal.

The Bright Side

2008-03-25T19:07:00.011-06:00

What's the best part about crashing during an early spring local race???

It's usually cold enough that you're wearing lots of clothing (ie. protection) if you eat pavement.
So yeah, my crash-less streak (369 days for those of you counting) came to an end on Sat. during a local business park crit. I clipped a pedal going around a round-about because I was sick of the Pippster gapping me off every corner we went through. Kinda backfired. Little road rash, little collarbone scare but turned out fine, considering. And I clotted!!! Yay! Casualties included bib shorts, jersey, left glove, left knee warmer, and right arm warmer - not to mention scrapes on shoes, left pedal (duh), skewers and shifters. Sorry Mr. Olson. Pretty sure I was going to win that race, too. Hadn't decided how I was going to beat Frank Pipp, Pete Lopinto, Henk Vogels, and a few others to the line but I still had 6 miles to figure that out. I'm pretty sure it wasn't going to be by out-sprinting them though. :)
I decided to jump back on my steed on Sun. for another business park crit in boulder. It was just your run-of-the-mill local crit with 7 Toyota Uniteds, 2 Health Nets, 2 Slipstreams, 2 Team Type 1's, 2 THF Realty, a Jelly Belly, a slew of super strong amateurs....and don't forget the 2 Bissell riders! (Garrett and I) A little aside: not only was Toyota fielding an entire team with 2 team directors at this local college crit, they were also radioed up. I guess they really wanted that $200 first place prize. Sounds like someone is bitter... As you could probably guess, I didn't do all that well in this one either. My main objective was to make it really hard and get a good workout by attacking at every opportunity - which I did to my own peril. After my 3rd attack got reeled in, the break that stuck countered and I wasn't able to follow. A few minutes later my 5 or 6th attack resulted in a gap over the field along with Ben Day. We were making ground on the lead 5 (which he had 3 teammates in) when he attacked me after a pull into the wind and I had no response. I was little irked at this (mostly at myself for getting dropped) so I let the field catch me and made it my mission to help pull back the break so Garrett could contend for the sprint win. I rotated on the front with 3 other dudes for a few laps until it got to 4 laps to go. I then put in a really hard lap on the front, pulled the break to within 8s or so, and looked back to pull off and had 3 Toyota guys right behind me just smiling. It was clearly on me to bring it back at that point so I went all out for another lap but I made no dent in the advantage and so when I pulled off w/ 1 to go, the field was left to contend for 6th. Grrrr. I was really irritated w/ myself for a) getting dropped by Day during our bridge attempt, and b) not being able to pull back the break. BUT, looking at the bright side - I felt really strong again, I got a really good workout in, I'm not going to race w/ reckless abandon (r.e. like an idiot) in our team races coming up, and Toyota is not going to have a numbers advantage on us at the big races. Oh, and it's a LOCAL MARCH CRIT.
Got some pics here taken by Rebecca, who made it to her very first bicycle race on Sunday:
artsy photo of the start - look at that product placement!

Garrett and I posing with some goofball grinning in the background. However, turns out that goofball was the first amateur finisher on the day. Props Logan!

An early break containing Ben Day, Tommy D., me, Johnny Clarke? and Matt Cooke? who needs NRC classification?

closing on the lead break moments before I was discarded like a saturated kleenex.

Next up is San Dimas and Redlands. So get ready Aunt Margaret and Uncle Jim - we'll be infiltrating your home and fridge before you know it! And soon I'll be sporting my killer tan lines once again!
Oh and last week marked the 1 year anniversary of my being diagnosed w/ a DVT (blood clot in leg). I'm thankful to be 1) alive and 2) racing my bike. Both of which were in doubt at several different times in the previous 370 days.

Sprinter time!

2008-03-17T13:52:00.003-06:00

Sprinter: that time between winter and spring when you are just as likely to get 60 degrees and sunny as 5 in. of snow and freezing. coined by T-bird. Right now, it's the latter in Boulder.
So I did a local TT last week that you can read about on the Bissell Team site. It was an interesting day. This coming weekend, I'll take part in one or two local crits before shipping back to Cali for some more racing with the team. The local crits can be found here. Then it's the San Dimas Stage Race followed by Redlands. After that will be my first ever big, bad Tour de Georgia, followed by Gila. Should be a little knackered after that stretch of racing.
My fitness is still pretty good I think, despite taking a nice rest after the AToC and then getting a little tummy bug last week.
The Bissell Boys have been doing well in Cali this month (even without me?!?). BJM has scored a 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the 4 races that I've seen results from. A good solid array, I'd say. Zwiza ran a good TT and Joao put out a good crit result this past weekend at the Sequoia Classic as well. And I hear that Teddy has been putting the hurt on the locals over in the Asheville area.
Now, I'm not to going to complain about the weather cuz I know it's been pretty rough for most everyone around the country this year but I found it amusing to get 3 forms of precip on my ride yesterday. It started once I got above 8000 ft when it started to snow on me. Then about an hour later following my descent back to the flats, I got the 30mph headwind hail, which was less than pleasant. Then I finishd off the ride with about 30min. of light rain. Ah, Colorado. Not known for its consistency. Don't want to get soft anyway, right?
Oh, and I broke down and got me one of them fancy computers that I can haul around on the road with my hipster self. Point being, no excuse not to keep this blog thingee frequently updated. All I'm saying is I'll try (I'm talking to you C.B.). Thanks for reading!

Today's pick-me-up: try not to smile when viewing this photo. Jake (2.5 yrs) and Aida (9 mos) get ready for a Ft. Collins 5k run this past weekend.

Cali Aftermath

2008-02-28T17:03:00.010-07:00

That was quite the Tour. Plenty of drama to go around with the weather, rampant sickness, start list oustings, and oh yeah - the racing. Most impressive performances from my standpoint: Cancellara's prologue - different planet. Levi's TT - who expected that kind of domination? Nydam's KOM jersey - overcame more than just mountains. Creed's St. 7 performance - anyone else would have quit after being as sick as he was the first 3 days. However, the Bissell team had an impressive ToC as well and I'm psyched on how strong AND cool everyone is. There are some questions that need to be answered but don't show up in the results: 1) just how many times did Zwiza give up his wheel (or bike) for a teammate during the tour? 2) Exactly how many kJs did Teddy burn during St. 4 being in the break all day? 3) How fast was BJM going while descending back to the group after flatting during st. 7? 4) How many times did Steve-O toss cookies during the week? All very intriguing questions that start to tell a richer story than just what was seen on VS. or the results page. Thanks for all the emails, texts, phone calls, and comments on the blog that I've received since the tour. I am in awe of the number of people supporting and cheering on this Bissell team. It's very humbling and I hope we can continue to race to our potential. I decided to post some of the pictures that I've been sent since the tour:
Bissell was a part of the Best Buddies program for Stage 7 and Aaron and I were introduced to our buddies for the day, Travis Raefield aka "Mr. Electric" and Brianna Barlow. You can check out all the photos for the week here.
Aaron, Travis, and Brianna signing autographs before the start

Travis making sure my Prince is over the UCI weight minimum before the start.

Travis cheering me on during my doomed solo attempt

Slogging up Sierra Rd during St. 3 - photo by Martin Brandt

off the front in St. 7, still feeling chipper, by the looks of it - photo by Bruce Nolte

Starting to feel it now...ouch! - photo by Bob Kahn

At the start of St. 3, I had just caught sight of Nydam's bro Aaron in the crowd cheering - photo taken by our very own Beth Skau.

It's Rrrrracin' time!

2008-01-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

Hello! Happy New Year and Cycling Season and all that! Off season is officially over. I was so "busy" w/ off season that I couldn't be bothered to post on the blog. I've stayed alive and well which is not always a given with me (though I had a couple of "close calls" that I'd rather not get into). I'm in Santa Rosa now for team camp which officially starts next week. The Bissell Pro Cycling Team has officially been invited to the Tour of California. So that will be our main focus for the next 3 weeks. ToC is a fun one. Ya got the stellar competition, the incredible venues, and all the media and fanfare hoopla. So I'm looking forward to that again. I went on a fairly long ride yesterday and averaged 16.5 mph so I'm obviously fit...16.5! I can't remember the last time that I averaged that low of a speed and wasn't soft pedaling. Keep in mind that I'm on a $9k piece of machinery that is made for speed. Oh well - hopefully it was just the coastal winds and steady downpour that slowed me down.
Right now, the team has rented a house for the month so we're staying in this decent place right out of town. People think we are spoiled pro athletes but sometimes we have to learn to adapt to any situation and still be expected to perform. I'm used to living in a boiler room w/ just enough room for me to sleep and now I'm expected to sleep in this giant master bedroom with a king size bed, fireplace, giant plasma t.v., huge bathroom with a bath tub and separate shower, and access to the back deck. How am I supposed to sleep restfully when the contrast is so great?? People just don't understand our plight. But I have to do this without complaint. It's rough.
On a different note, the new Pinarello Prince is incredible. You bike nerds need to see this bike (and ride it if possible). We have them equipped w/ easton, sram red, speedplay, and fizik saddles which all are awesome but the bike itself is stellar. And I'll go ahead and make the claim that SRAM Red is the best groupo out there. Okay, I've said enough about that. My point is two-fold: a) try the equipment we're on and see for yourself and b) I feel sorry for the other teams that we race against because they are clearly at a disadvantage. Which means more pressure on us to perform, right?
Okay, happy riding to those of you who do so. And for those who don't...buy a bike or something. Just kidding, spare yourselves the discomfort of wearing spandex.
backyard view from team house in Santa Rosa, CA

roughing it at the team house.

aahhh brings a tear to my eye. I'm not sure I'm worthy.

'07 in the books

2007-11-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

With Southland signed and sealed, I think I'm done racing for the year. What a way to go out! 5 stage wins out of 9, 2nd in KOM, and 4 dudes in the top 20. I can say now that I loved the racing down there though those first 3 days I was absolutely hating life at times. In particular, the times that I thought the sideways hail was ripping my flesh off 3 different times in Stage 2.
I could go on and on about the particulars of each stage and how dynamic of a race it was but it would take too long and be closer to a short novel than a blog post, so I'll just focus on the last stage - which reiterated a huge tenet of cycle racing for me.
I had been slightly sick the week prior to the tour and it was getting slightly worse with time. By the start of tour, I was coughing and spitting all kinds of colorful nasties. It wasn't affecting my legs though so I didn't make much of it. However, as the race progressed, so did my little cough. I'm sure racing all out in freezing rain and 40mph wind wasn't doing any favors. So, by Fri. Stage 7 I was feeling like complete poo. Every real effort I made on the bike was followed by a disgusting coughing fit and I did my best to sit in and survive the stage. That night after the stage was rough as well and I started to find it unlikely that I would finish the tour even though only 2 short stages remained on Sat.
If this hadn't been the last race of the year, I may have pulled the plug that night but I decided that there was no harm in trying in the morning with nothing left on the calendar. So I saddled up in the morning, warmed up slowly and made sure I had plenty of hot coffee in my belly at the start of the first stage. Surprisingly, my legs felt pretty good that morning and I was able to sit in all day thanks to Omer slaving away in the break.
For the afternoon stage, I decided to take a shot at a late breakaway if the situation was fitting. However, 5k into the stage I flatted, just as we turned into a crosswind and 4 guys were gapped off the back. So because the commissaire wouldn't let the caravan pass if there were riders gapped off, I had to do a 5 min. ITT bridge effort to regain contact with the pack. "There goes the energy for that late race attack" I thought to myself. I was a little irked. I had about 5 min. to get to the front so we could try to help Omer get the KOM points by setting a hard tempo up to the top. We set a really hard tempo but Omer was cracked from being in just about every breakaway during the week. However, the hard tempo split the field to about 10 riders with all the heavy hitters present. So then we rolled through pretty hard for a bit but then people started losing interest and the main pack caught us.
Then, director Glen thought it would be a good idea (ie. payback to other teams and fun to watch) for us to throw it in the gutter and smash the field. (Sorry for all the cycling terms but I don't feel like explaining so ask your nearest bike nerd to interpret if you want). Only problem was that poor Zwiza's radio wasn't working so he ended up being part of the field that was "smashed". It's funny now but damn he was steaming at the time! Rightfully so, I admit. So after we had our fun, the rest of the field (including Scotty) rejoined us a bit later and by that time it was about 15k to go in the race.
As soon as it was gruppo compacto, 3 dudes attacked and got a gap on the field. We had 3 4k loops left in the race so I decided to bridge up so we wouldn't have to chase. I really didn't think that it was the race winning move. When I caught them, I saw that it was #1 and #2 in the sprint points competition along with this strong (but little) dude who we raced at K2. The sprinters were going for sprint points that were every 2k so they were completely worthless in the break and were only concerned with each other. I suggested to Strong that we go right by them after the next time they sprint it out. They went all out for the next sprint and sure enough they just had to watch as we went by them on the other side of the road after they had thrashed themselves.
So now it was down to he and I with 2 laps (8k) remaining in the race. We still had a decent gap on the field and I started to believe that we could take it to the line. With less than 5k to go, Strong gapped me off as he went by me after my pull. I couldn't believe how strong he seemed because it didn't seem like an actual attack, he just seemed to be pulling away without trying. As we rounded the last corner with 300m to go before the start of the last lap, he just kept pulling away until 10m from the line he posted it like he had just won. I looked around wildly trying to figure out if it were I who had screwed up the number of laps or if it was him. But Glen was in my ear confirming that we had 1 to go. Whoops.
Well, the momentum has just shifted and despite just putting in a max effort, he continues to pull through with me due to what must have been embarrassment and guilt. I made my move to go solo with 2k to go. It was a weak attack, but he was so smoked that he couldn't accelerate at all. The last 1.2k into a headwind was probably the longest 1.2k of my life. That stretch would not end! But as I rounded the final corner, I knew I had it so I put in a few hard pedal strokes and then rolled over the line with a big grin (not before I poked a little fun at Vennel for his awkward attempt at a victory salute during st. 5's heavy cross winds). "What a crazy sport" was the thought that kept running through my head. I wasn't the strongest person out there that day. And I didn't have the easiest ride either. In fact, I probably had to work harder in that stage than any other racer. So how did I win? A little strength, a little craftiness, and a whoooooole lot of luck. I didn't even want to start the stage, and now I've ended my season with a victory. It reminds me of Nydam's lesson during that decisive stage at Georgia this year. He was dropped 5 or so times but just never gave up and ended up top 5 on GC. This sport is so unpredictable that you have to just keep plugging away even when things are going to crap, because that next victory could be just around the corner.
sorry, having trouble posting pics. another time...
thanks for reading. take care.

Expatriot?

2007-10-27T15:08:00.000-06:00

Greetings from the B-side of the earth. We are hanging in Hamilton, New Zealand right now awaiting the start of the Tour of Southland. New Zealand is absolutely beautiful. Very green, very rolling, very diverse. It seems to have a bit of everything really. We should have some time to be tourists this week as our legs need a spot of rest before the tour starts. The Sun Tour was some great (hard!) racing and we came out with some decent results. Yesterday we raced the K2: a 192km mountainous, windy affair that our director Glen has won like 13 times (or so). It was Epic (notice the capital "E"). We finished 2, 3, 5, and won the KOM title. The victory eluded us but beyond that is was a successful day. And the weather was georgeous so no complaints there. At one point on a descent, there was this incredible view overlooking the Pacific and beach towns and I nearly dropped myself from gawking at the view rather than steering my bike! No worries - I stayed upright. The Kiwis know how to have fun with the races too. All along the course they had all these signs with short quips for us to read and apparently possums are their main roadkill victims because they had like 5 or 6 of them tied up to sign posts dressed up in baby outfits holding beers. I thought they were stuffed animals until told otherwise by locals after the race. I'm sorry if you work with PETA, but that's pretty funny right? Think of the time and effort spent with these roadkill just to get a chuckle out of us during the race! Our hosts from Hamilton, Scott and Debbie, are friends of Glens and live right on the Waikato River. Scott is actually filling in for poor Teddy at Southland, because Teddy is recovering back in New Hampshire after his scary crash on the first stage of the Sun Tour. Thank goodness he's okay. Also, let it be known that Teddy was absolutely flying before he flew off the mountain. Back to Hamilton, We have a park and river path right outside the door. Very nice! Today, for recovery, we are planning the watch the water ski races on the river with plenty of beverages at arm's length. Should be fun. Theres been talk of caving, bungee jumping, and lounging on the coast for this week but we'll see if theres time for all that and resting up too. Sorry there are no pics. I'll make an effort to break out the camera or else I'll pay off Zwiza and use his pics.
Take care.

Ode to Benno

2007-09-27T12:51:00.000-06:00

This poem is for Mr. Oliver, our wonderfully unique wrench
A man who is not only smart but can do 350lb on bench

He’s a dude of many talents, as many of you well know
If you get him drunk and ask nicely, he may show you his “gun show”

Of course he fixes our steeds and even washes them too
But he also gives them his love like only special mechanics do

But there’s even more to this quiet man with all his colorful tats
Though he looks as though he may bite the heads off of bats

His patience is unparalleled, when dealing with high-strung spoiled pros
I wonder why he doesn’t just whoop our ass and feed us to the crows

He’ll consume nothing but coffee and beer for a stage race of 5 days
And then he’ll drive the van home in a drunken, sleep-deprived haze

And don’t be fooled by his scraggly beard and his worn cargo shorts
The man has a better vocabulary than the famous Will Shortz

You may catch him in a corner, reading Waltman, Poe, or Joyce
And this is no assignment mind you, this is his free choice!

Many say his calves are sculpted better than Arnold in his prime
So our mechanic may be juiced, how is that a crime?

And then there’s the team van, this part is hard to describe
He has this special relationship, way more than with the Vibe

He’ll drive that van for hours on end, with his foot firmly affixed to the pedal
Fueled by nothing but caffeine and seeds, while his Ipod blasts Death Metal

Bathroom breaks? Yeah right – those are for the weak!
Those bench seats have essence of sweaty Ben; one might say they reek

It’s considered his permanent residence, that much is for sure
He spends more time in that thing than any human should, anyone will concur

But that’s why we love him, he does all this without complaint
I even heard one time he applied Bag Balm to Garrett’s infected taint

Maybe that’s not true, but I know this for shizzle
We’re lucky to have Benno for 2008 on team Bissell!

who writes this trash?

2007-09-24T13:10:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I have to admit that my life seems like a poorly written novel. This year I've been dealt with some fairly extreme circumstances. I'm not trying to be dramatic here, I'm just pointing out that I try to live my life on a relative even keel, and these severe ups and downs are starting to mess with my psyche. Starting out the 2007 season on highs w/ a couple of the best results of my life at the LA World Cup and Tour of California to our team winning its first Tour at Central Valley. Then comes the blood clot out of the blue in March to put me in the gutter. Months later, with no recent results to my name, doubts and questions about my career and life growing louder with each passing day, I'm offered another contract for the 2008 season from my team. "We believe in you" they say and it nearly brings me to tears on the phone because again I'm reminded of how blessed I am. So this is mid-June and the fitness is really coming along and I decide to throw caution to the wind and start utilizing this form and producing some results for this team that I love. Whoops, we know where this leads: my near-death experience with a pulmonary embolism and a forced re-evaluation of what it is I'm actually doing with my life (What's my Personal Legend? "Alchemist" anyone?). My answer? I'm following my dream and my passion with the knowledge that tomorrow may, in fact, never come. That's not to say that I wasn't stupid for cutting my meds like I did but I know that it was a calculated risk based on bad information that led to my actions. My current decision to race on blood thinners is also a calculated risk, but it's a risk that was made after consulting with both a lung specialist and a hematologist and not just from a 28 year old pro racer with a B.A. in chemistry. So with the decision made to race when well enough to do so, I decided that USPro TT (6 weeks after getting out of the hospital) would be a nice starting point. It took the 1st week to get back to full breathing capacity, the 2nd week to get over my fear of suddenly expiring while riding out on my own, and 2 more weeks to actually open up my legs and remember what threshold training was all about. Leading up to the TT, I was getting noticeably stronger every day but still not at the level that I was in late June. I was trying to remain optimistic and not put any pressure on myself to perform, but I couldn't help but remember how fit I knew I was before I got sick again. So, I went out in the TT, played it conservative the first half never digging into the red and really never gave it some stick until the last 10k because my body was so unaccustomed to that level of effort that I was afraid of completely blowing during the race. So, to finish that race in 4th, 8s out of podium and 16s from the jersey was definitely an unexpected surprise. I couldn't have possibly asked for more based on the last 7 weeks leading up to that race. But I can certainly ask for more from myself in coming years. That race showed me what I'm capable of. Results aside, if I were to have proper training and preparation leading into that race, could I have gone 20s? 30s? faster? I think so. Since that TT, our team has had its share of ups and downs as well. In the USPro road race, a tired Ben was forced to lead the team yet again because none of us could make that next step up. 14 hours later, we lined up in Atlanta for the last NRC event in hopes of clinching the NRC individual title that Ben has led since March. We won the race but lost the war as Emile won but Rory finished in front of Ben to take the title. However, Ben had an amazing season and really should be proud of the way he pulled through time and after time for this team while balancing family life and the stress and strain of having another child in July. The team should also be proud of the way they rode so unselfishly for Ben throughout the entire season. The next week, we raced the Grand Rapids crit in front of and put on by our sponsors and we were schooled by 3 (albeit very good) Health Net racers. Last week, we raced the Tour de Leelanau, 109.5 mi road race with relenting hills and wind in northern Michigan. This type of race is right up our alley and so went better for us with Garrett scoring his first victory of the year and the PH boys going 1-3-4-7-10.
One of the downers about this sport is the lack of job security for yourself and your teammates. This coming year, we are keeping the roster mostly the same but not completely the same. As a result, I won't be racing with a couple of my buddies who I've developed friendships with over the past 2 years. A bummer, but hopefully positives will come out of these setbacks.
Okay, so do you want to hear my latest installment "In hindsight...maybe that wasn't such a bright idea"? So, I went to my high school buddy Wells' wedding this past weekend in Chippewa Falls, WI. It was a nice, pretty wedding but that is not the story - the story is how I managed to injure myself at the reception. Because I thought it would be funny (after a few beers, mind you), I decided to dive for the garter belt that Wells flipped to us according to ceremony. I'm talking a full-on, Pete Rose style head first dive on the wooden dance floor. It was a pretty sweet dive, I'm not going to lie. Probably about 10 feet or so of actual sliding on the buffed wooden floor. What I had forgotten was that I had my digital camera in my front pocket and landed with all my force on the camera. Results: I came up a foot short of the belt, my camera was still functional, but my left quad now has a deep bruise/charlie horse that has swelled due to the blood thinners and has kept me off the bike for 2 days now. The next morning as I was driving back to the airport from the venue, barely able to bend my leg past 20 degrees or so, I was again feeling down on myself and life in general. But then my new friend Kanye reminded me "that what does not kill me, will only make me stronger". And I said "Word, Kanye" as I blasted the volume in my compact Dodge rental zooming down the interstate to my destination.

still kickin'

2007-08-27T00:04:00.000-06:00

Well hello there!
I'm quite alive and doing well now. I've been training lung-pain free for a few weeks now. And I'm taking my meds like a good little infirm. I've been out visiting teammate Sheedy in the Appalachians of North Carolina and I have to admit how impressed I am with the terrain. The Rockies got nothin on these here southern hills. I don't even remember what's it like to ride on flat ground. I think if I live here for a few more months and subsist on nothing but coffee and rice cakes, I could snatch that KOM jersey from Scotty next year at Cascade! weeeell, maybe I should just stick w/ TTs. I wouldn't want to relinquish my status as the heaviest bloke in the pro peloton.
I will say that the backroads in this area can get a little precarious. If you're fast enough to outsprint the loose rabid country dogs (which amazingly I've got an undefeated record thus far - look out Logan! Of course, the knowledge that I'm on blood thinners could add a little extra adrenaline to the mix) you still have to pray the NASCAR Ricky Bobby Wannabes don't feel like jerking the wheel 2 inches to the right as they pass you. In reality, Lees-McRae cycling team has not had any car/bike encounters in recent history but I did get pegged by an empty Mt. Dew plastic bottle and an empty chaw tin (thank you for fitting perfectly into my stereotypes mr. redneck motorist) in one ride. I'm in the process of working on a thesis that quantifyingly correlates the deepness into redneck kuntree with how shot up the road signs in the area are. you know, 2 or 3 rifle shots and you should watch out for dogs but if the sign is so full of shot that you can't read it - you should pull a u-turn and sprint like mad, etc. All in all, these are minor hiccups when compared to the quality of training available in this area. So, I'll be doing the USPro TT this weekend so we'll see how that goes. Should be fun to get a little adrenaline pumping anyway. After that, we have the Atlanta 100k which should be a slugfest as it's the last NRC race. Then we head to Michigan to race in Grand Rapids and Tour de Leelanau to hopefully wow the sponsors and end on a good note. After that I'm hoping to get out to track nationals in LA and go around in circles fast for a bit. Buuuuut, let's just take it one day at a time, eh? TT nats this weekend...
here are some pics from the summer:
this is how we cool off and ice the legs in the summer in boulder - a little soak in the boulder creek. the ladies try to deny it, but they love our hot spandex and tan lines.
so I'm a little bit of a coffee snob sometimes but don't these just look scrumptious? it's art I tell ya.
here's a sunset in my hometown of Clear Lake, IA. yup, it's purty.
here's sheedy in his element w/ passenger Ally. when he tells you he's been spending a lot of hours on the bike - this is probably what he means...
this is one of many secluded country roads in the area of Banner Elk, NC. It's fun to just go out and get lost on roads like these for a few hours.
Take care and thanks for sticking with me! Are you happy C.B.?

Not so fast there Tiger

2007-07-21T12:42:00.000-06:00

I'm thinking of writing a story. All that I have is the outline so far, but tell me what you think:
March 20: rider diagnosed w/ blood clot in leg
mid April - June 30: rider just trains, trains, trains and starts to feel really good when pedaling.
June 30: rider gets leg checked out, blood clot ALMOST gone but not quite, rider lies and says "blood clot gone, yeah for me, time to race!"]
July 1: rider cuts his coumadin intake in half w/out telling doctors
July 16: rider starts feeling short of breath and says "time to reap what you sow" quietly to himself
July 17: rider diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism and spends 20 hrs in the ICU fighting to breath
July 18-present: rider improves by the hour and is thankful to be breathing pain free and even more thankful to be breathing period. Also, rider does not feel very intelligent.
present: rider still wants to race again someday but does not feel like he has the energy for blogging anymore.

That's all I have so far. I think it's going to have a happy ending but I'm just not sure what that involves yet.

yup.

2007-07-04T08:48:00.000-06:00

All systems go!
I'm headed to Iowa today for racing on Sun.

Winner of the previous post's pop quiz: Teddy comes through w/ the closest (only)guess at 8 lbs of water lost. That would have been right on if I weighed 80 lbs. Alas, I weigh nearly 200 lbs, so it was actually 20 stinkin pounds of water lost on a 6 hour ride in the mountains! 205 ounces drank during ride and I still weighed 10 lbs less after the ride. craziness. that's a p.r. for me.

Have a happy 4th and don't shoot anyone w/ fireworks.

Can you see the heart beating?

2007-06-25T13:02:00.000-06:00

Friday June 29 is an exciting day for me! As I'm sure any parent will attest, the nervous excitement of the first ultrasound can be overwhelming at times. This will be my first ultrasound since that fateful day when we found that big bundle of joy in my body. It's been 14 weeks and I can't wait to see the progress. One would hope that my little intruder has gotten smaller rather than bigger...but there are some similarities, no? If the news is good, I'll be sure to post picks of the utltrasound so everyone can put them on their fridges. This impending date w/ the doc will determine if I can race in mid July. If I don't get the green light, I'll get it checked out again in August and just take it month by month. BUT, if I do get the okay - I will be racing at the Bicycle, Blues, and BBQ festival road race in Clear Lake, IA on July 8 as my big return to the sport. It's a 71 mi point to point race with a closed finish and it is run by cyclists who know what racers like. So, you think you're fit??? Come and bring the hurt to a pro cyclist who hasn't felt the pain of a race since March. Doesn't that sound like fun? Besides, Clear Lake is a cool place to be around the 4th of July and it'll be a fun weekend.
Soooo, I guess it's summertime, huh? It's been pretty stinkin hot on the Colorado front range lately. You'd think that climbing up 4000ft would cool things off significantly but that doesn't always seem to be the case. With that in mind, I have a pop quiz for ya'll:
1) The other day, I went for a long ride in the mountains where the temperature varied between 80-90 degrees, depending on the elevation I was at. So, the question is - how many ounces of water did I lose during the ride? Details: I was out about 6 hrs, rode about 110 mi at an average elevation of about 7000ft. hints: remember I'm a big dude so everything gets scaled up. Here's a pic of the post-ride salt stains on my arm and jersey.
The calculation I used was (weight lost during ride) + (total ounces drank during ride) - (2 lbs for calorie expenditure) - (1 lb for my one "nature break" during ride).

Over the past few months I've been forced to observe races from the other side of the barriers, and don't get me wrong, somedays I miss racing so much that I feel sick but there is definitely something to be said for spectating this cool sport. I mean what is there not to love? It's free, you can get so close you can touch the riders (right Teddy?), you can just sit there and let the riders come to you, and you get to see all sorts nuances of the race that aren't always apparent in the pack. It's certainly a nice way to spend an afternoon...

Not an atypical sight at a lap race. This was from April at Koppenburg. Lounge around and chat/drink for 20 min., cheer like mad for 30s, sit down and repeat.
A Denver crit from last week with Logan in tow. They went by probably 50 times and this was the best picture I could manage. weak.

Take care and remember to get out and ride (if applicable).