Boise

Well since the last post I am currently in Boise Idaho living here for the rest of the summer. The accommodations are awesome and don’t get much better than this. Currently Conor and I are living with teammate Sam Johnson and it’s a good time. Been in Boise for about a week. Went to Sun Valley Idaho over the weekend to do a crit of the 4^th of July and it was an eye opener. Coming from altitude and been racing in it for many years I was not concerned of the altitude that is in Sun Valley. However during the race I felt like I was breathing through a straw. The legs were there but the lungs were burning more than normal and everyone on the team was feeling the effect. We rode very aggressive and went for a lot of primes. In the end we came up short for the win but still managed to grab 2^nd with Remi and 3^rd with myself.

Next stop Canada. We are leaving tomorrow morning to arrive in Canada tomorrow evening and race Friday. Friday and Saturday are crits and Sunday a Road Race. The 3 day event is called the Tour of Delta, follow along at http://tourdedelta.ehosting.ca/. Then we have Monday off and another crit on Tuesday for BC super week. Then we travel back on Wednesday to get ready for the EXERGY Twilight downtown Boise on the 16^th. This is the team’s home race and having the top teams from across the Nation coming there is a lot of pressure to perform. I will update after Canada!

First race done

Last weekend was my first race as a pro cyclist and there was a lot of nerves about heading into the races. It was about a 10 hour drive to Tulsa Oklahoma for 3 day of NRC crit racing. We arrived in Tulsa Wednesday evening and didn’t race until Friday night so we had a little bit to meet and ride with our new teammates and get use to the bikes and gear a little bit. The first race was Friday night at 9pm and with the race being delayed 15 min due to lighting and rain the tensions were high to just get underway. The race was very sketchy with crashes just about every lap in the first half of the race due to slick roads. I stayed near the front all night long and with about 5 to go we lined it up for our sprinter Ben, and we all got caught up with a crash 1.5 laps to go. That’s bike racing and we all were undamaged for the most part and the bikes were still in one piece. Sunday night was the same with a 9pm start and a fast course didn’t have the same legs as I did the night before but hung in there. Sundays race I will remember for a while with it being a 4pm start in the middle of the day with the heat beating down. It had a good climb in the course called “cry baby hill” and the crowds on it were unbelievable. It was something you would see on tv at the tour on the final climb.

Now I am in Denver for a couple of days then off to Grand Junction next week for a little bit then off to Boise Idaho for the summer!

BIG News!!

Well I have been out of school for a couple of weeks and it’s been so nice just to relax a little more than normal. However I have been stressing out a little bit about Grad School for next semester. I just took the GRE test (Graduate Record Examination) it’s a 4 hour computer based test covering all materials and you are not able to use any other resources besides your brain not even a calculator. I will find out in about two weeks my final score and if I get fully accepted into the program. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Other than that I did my first race back since Collegiate nationals a couple of weekends ago and I did pretty well considering I only touched my bike three times prior to the race and I was still on antibiotics. The race was a USA cycling sanctioned race so pros were allowed to show up since they are unable to race anything but USA cycling races now? It was a crit downtown Aspen Colorado which is a VERY NICE and the people are rich and walk around like it. Other than that it was a 10 corner course under 2 min laps. I ended up 3^rd which I was happy with and walked away with all my skin and some extra cash. Since then some BIG news has come up.

                Both Conor and I were unable to secure a team this year which would be able to fully fund us at the races we wanted to go to. Up until now we have been flying the colors of LiveTrainRace.com and it has been a blast. They are a local team based out of Grand Junction Colorado and they have helped us out as much as they could and we both really appreciate that. However we got an unexpected call from the manager of Team Exergy Pro Cycling Team a few weeks ago asking us if we would like to ride for them. It came out of the blue for me and I said YES right away. Exergy is a first year Pro cycling team based out of Boise Idaho and they already have some horsepower on the team. Both Conor and I rode for the team last year when they were an Elite team and learned a lot. We both are really excited to make the jump to a Pro team. We have our schedule for the most part for the rest of the season and it is looking fun and hard. Our first race will be next weekend in Oklahoma for Tulsa Tough. Its three NRC crits with two of them being Twilight crits. I am so excited to get this opportunity to ride for a Pro cycling team and it has been my dream for a long time and I have worked super hard for someone to give me the chance to show off all my hard work and the time is now. Follow along for my first season as a Pro Cyclist!

Press Release http://teamexergy.com/new/newspost/team-exergy-expands-roster/

www.teamexergy.com

Summer

School is out for summer! It's already time for summer and school is done for a few months. I get to focus on training and racing now!

Collegiate Nationals was this past weekend in Madison Wisconsin. The weather forecast before we left was saying rain every day. We lucked out and it was dry and warm. We flew out of GJ Wednesday and arrived in Madison Wednesday night. Thursday we Pre road the road course to open up the legs and check out the course. I forgot how hard this course was with short steep climbs throughout the whole course with no place to really recover. On the pre ride my legs felt awesome and I was ready to throw down.

Friday morning came early, with an 830 start and about a 40 min drive to course it was defiantly early for me. The plan was to get in a break early on and try to get two Mesa guys in the break if possible. To make it short we tried hard but nothing was going to stick. With about a lap and a half left Conor and I got into a promising break but it was not meant to be. We both cramped and the field brought every one back besides the winner. I ended up 16^th; I was really bummed because I was in the right move. I am not happy with the result but I am happy I gave it 100% and tried but just didn’t have it that day.

The next day was the TTT, and with no TT bikes allowed it was going to be interesting to see how it went. Being the defending National TTT champs there definitely was pressure to repeat. Warming up on the trainer my legs felt so bad. I felt like I was pedaling squares and was getting really nervous’. We were the last team to start to we could see the other teams out on course. It was an out and back course with short steep roller throughout the course. Right out of the gate you go up a nice kicker to get the legs burning right off the bat. We rode smooth the whole way and really pushed it on the way back. We defended our title and now are 2X National TTT Champs. I was so happy we could do it back to back. We were only about 20 sec slower than the year before which is pretty impressive with no TT bikes and the wind was a lot stronger this year.

The last day was the crit and a new venue with a longer course just shy of a mile.  We were going into the race with high hopes as well as Richard was the defending champion. Early in the race there were plenty of attacks but nothing was sticking. About half way through I made an attack that drew a few guys with me. At first it was just one other dude that was not pulling through. Then finally a few others rolled up to us which looked promising. It was a good size group but I felt like everyone was not doing their fair share so I attacked the group and drew two other guys with me. We all started working pretty well together with everyone pulling through. However I could tell the other two guys were not giving it a 100% and they were not totally committed to staying away. This made me very frustrated because this was Nationals and the worst we could have ended was 3^rd. I tried telling these guys to pick it up this is the move we can win this but they were not having it for some reason. When the field was closing in then the other companions started really drilling. I did not understand their motive but it really pissed me off. We ended up getting caught with 2 laps to go. Being pretty spent I jumped on the front to get the lead out train rolling. I pulled off with a little less than a lap to go and it was up to the guys to do the rest. A little miscommunication on the last lap Conor ended up 4^th and Rich 6^th. Not what were looking for but we can’t complain we gave it 100% and rode well.

The team ended up 2^nd overall falling short by 12pts to Mars Hill who took the top step. Mesa rode strong and smart but with small numbers compared to the other schools we rode very impressive. Someday soon we will be on the top step.

Its summer vacation now, I finished up my last final yesterday!! I am looking forward to a few days off the bike and recover a little bit and get back to the grind. I get to graduate this weekend. I already graduated last semester with my Sports Management degree but they don’t have a ceremony in the fall so I am walking this weekend. It will be weird because I am still in school going for my Master’s degree.

BIG Show

Well like always time is flying by and Collegiate Nationals is already a week away. I am ready and can't wait to get there.
Rewinding a little bit the collegiate season is done besides Nationals of course. It was yet another great year for Mesa as we won the D2 Conference and on the men's side took 1st-4th individually, pretty impressive. It was a fun season and like always learned a lot about myself as a racer. A couple of weeks ago a few of us went out to Monetary California to test our legs against the Big boys to switch it up a little and to see how our fitness was shaping up to be. To be honest I was a little nervous heading into it, I didn't know how I would react. I actually impressed myself and hung in there. I was climbing better then I have ever been and really dug deep and had a great time and got a little confidence builder going into the rest of the season.

So back to Nationals, the team is leaving next Wednesday for the Big Show! We will be bringing 5 guys and 3 women so we have high hopes going into it and I think we have a good shot to get our name out there once again.

REST!!!

This past week was our Spring Break even though it was not Spring yet. O well it was a much needed break from school. Got to catch up on some sleep and got to just relax. I went back to Denver to see the Fam and Friends, it was nice to catch up. Then last weekend was the first collegiate races for RMCCC. Two crits, one on Saturday in Boulder and Sunday in Wyoming wich we decided to skip out on the Sunday one because that is a long drive back for a 1 hr crit.
So saturday was the same CU crit that have had for many year. Very simple, an oval with decent road a few potholes and two dips after the start finish. Very little incline so it is always a fast race. I went into the day knowing my Knee has been hurting and this is my first effort at elevation so I didnt really know what to expect. Lined up in the back row because FLC and CU all had like 10 guys each and they all lined up like 5 min before the start. We had a little bit of pressure to do good because we won this race last year. Once we startred I was just so excited to be racing and the legs felt awesome so i went on attack after attack. But to make it easy nothing stuck and it was a bunch sprint. With about a lap and a half to go we got swarmmed up front and before i knew it i was in the middle of the pack so I had to work hard to get back towards the front but just dint have enough time. However Rich won and I ended up 4th. Pretty excited with the form and getting the Win I was excited to get back in the groove of racing.

Check out Velonews for race report:

But now I am SICK, ugggg. My body is telling me to rest I think so thats what I am going to do until it is ready to get back out there. I am kind of bummed because I will have to miss this weekend of racing but it is still very early in the season and no need to be pushing it yet so going to take some time off until my body gives me the go ahead to get back out there.

Until next time....

Time Change!

I am stoked that the clocks moved an hour ahead today, that means an extra hour of sunlight that I have the opportunity to ride in so I don't have to rush home from class to just get a short ride in. Also my base riding is coming to a close end. I will be shorting the hours on the bike and getting some intensity in since the collegiate scene is pretty much
Have been having a little knee problem lately with my patella tendon but I think we are getting it under control, I hope. I am on "Spring Break" right know even though technically it is still winter but it sure does feel like spring out so no complaining. I have a week off from classes, so that means I get to sleep in and go ride when I wake up and try to catch up on homework but we will see if that happens. I leave Wednesday to head to Denver to see family and friends and relax a little bit and hang out with my new Nephew, Ayden.
This Saturday is the first RMCCC race in boulder which will be a crit. I am excited to start up racing again and to see where my fitness is with all these base miles I have been putting in. Last week I got an idea where I am at when i took a VO2 test. I lost nine pounds since last time and increased my power so I was really stoked about that but it still all comes down to the race. I am not going to let a test make me too happy until I see the results in the actual race.

Pic while in Arizona for Valley of the Sun

Crit at VOS