tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38420402457710472842024-02-07T00:05:44.399-08:00Dude.... BuddyBicycling, Mountain Biking, Cyclocross, Road Bicycle Racing, Mountain Bike Racing, Fitness, Colorado, Denver, Fitness Training, Life, Challenges, Running, Front Range, Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.comBlogger358125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-1388521325959506662014-04-16T11:22:00.001-07:002014-04-16T11:22:37.559-07:00Riding with ConfidenceAs I've written in the past, I just don't feel like I'm up to speed so far this year. Which is OK if its just a fitness thing but I also feel like I'm not riding with confidence. I don't feel like I'm riding well, riding too stiff, no flow, can't corner well, descending skills suck, I'm leaving big gaps when riding in a group, etc. It's not good and I feel like my lack of abilities is further hurting my confidence. I used to feel as though my skills were an advantage of mine, now they seem to be missing. I've had a few friends crash this season, and they're fine but I seem to have this mental block and fear of having to wear a little Tegaderm. <br />
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I need to get my mojo back. I need to get back to enjoying the wind in my face, leaving my worries behind. Not carrying them with me. Perhaps I need to set up for a few skills workouts and remember what I can do. Not sure there's time this week, but I'll set it as a priority. <br />
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<br />Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-66070399976825329862014-04-09T16:03:00.001-07:002014-04-09T16:03:33.214-07:00Mid Week UpdateThis past weekend and week have been good for riding. Last Saturday I set a goal of riding 5 hours to make sure I was ready for that much saddle time during the Ridgeline Rampage which is coming up in 2 weeks. I wanted to make sure my body was ready to ride that long and that my nutrition plan would keep my power output up during that riding time.<br />
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The ride was a total success. I got in 4:52 and 84 miles, averaging over 17 mph with a normalized power just above my level 2 power level, 208W. My power to heartrate decouple was under 17%, which is pretty good for my outdoor rides.<br />
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The ride ended up being great. I'm glad I got that effort in. I'll need a few more like that in the coming months, however I'll need to put more climbing in the route.<br />
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On Sunday I was given a second hall pass so I hit the team ride. The legs felt pretty good and I put in a few efforts to remind the body what speed feels like. It's funny how much of a benefit those long endurance rides give me. During the ride we had a little snow squall got through, fortunately it wasn't even enough to get the pavement totally wet. In the end, I felt great and my nutrition plan worked well to tack on another 50 miles.<br />
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Monday I got a little skills lesson during a mountain bike ride, which frankly, was something I needed. Vincent offered up some pointers which captured the issues I has having and if I can get out and work on it, should help.<br />
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This weekend is going to be a little interesting in the riding department but I should be able to get in a few rides. And with the weather hitting the 70's this week, I'll certainly be out to enjoy and welcome spring.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-61181308456842680432014-04-02T16:02:00.002-07:002014-04-02T16:02:42.462-07:00I Feel Way BehindI was out for a mountain bike ride last night with a couple of friends, hitting some trails I haven't been on in a few years. It was great to get out for the evening ride and just enjoy the trail and competitive feel of riding with friends. The loop we were one was nothing difficult or technical but it had a few short punchy climbs and some 'few minute' climbs. I just kept feeling out of sorts and...... slow. Slow is a bummer.<br />
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Typically come April I'm starting to feel 'competitive', but not so far this year. It's certainly discouraging to feel this way. I'm trying to stay focused on the fact that I started training a month later than normal and I've been sick twice. So by default I should be a month or more back compared to normal. On top of that almost all my riding has been base miles, they're necessary but it's hard to get fast doing endurance rides. <br />
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In the end I need to keep plugging away at the plan and not get too anxious. I have the 50 mile Endurance race Ridgeline Rampage coming up in two and a half weeks. Then Battle the Bear in a month, again the 50 mile endurance race. I need to keep building the endurance miles to ensure I can survive those races. According to my plan, those will help get me through the Bailey Hundo. Time will tell.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-90141454969349570452014-03-31T08:25:00.000-07:002014-03-31T08:25:59.289-07:00Frustrating Training CampWell, that was certainly a test and not for the reasons I anticipated at the beginning of the week. Last weekend I put in 5 hours... all below or right around 40 degrees. On Monday I was coughing but still felt great so I kept to my minimum 2 hours of riding per day. By Wednesday I was still riding but my throat hurt bad enough I didn't want to talk on those rides. By Thursday I was heading home early sick. I was down and out Friday and Saturday. This is the second time this spring I've been sick. Initially I was pretty mad about it, but what good does that do. So I tried to get some small things done around the house while resting.<br />
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Sunday I felt pretty good (no medication) so the plan was to get back out on the bike. I was out on the new mountain bike only to crash on the first 5 feet of my first single track. I clipped a pedal and went over the handle bars. No real damage so I continued on my ride. About 40 minutes later I put a hole in the middle of the rear tire that the Stan's couldn't seal. I put in my spare tube only to find it had a hole in it as well (I later saw a spot were the tube had a hole rubbed in it). So, I was doing the walk of shame back to the car. Fortunately some cool fellow riders pitched in and gave me another tube and loaned me a pump so I could limp back to the car instead of walk. Much appreciated! Thanks.<br />
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On a side note, I seem to have one of these rides every year and someone always bails me out. Since I believe in the 'circle of life', I'm always willing to help a fellow rider when I find them in a similar predicament. I figure if I earn good karma, it will come back to me when I need it.<br />
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So, my training camp ended up 3 days short plus one day with a 'broke' ride. No long ride and not the hours I wanted. It's still early but I feel like I need to make some changes to get things back on track. First things first, let's get over this stupid cold.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-63334434479690133232014-03-20T15:37:00.001-07:002014-03-20T15:37:00.767-07:00Training CampI've found that adding a "training camp" to my schedule has been very beneficial to my fitness each year. A training camp is basically an entire week where you commit to riding everyday of the week, including both weekends on either end (9 days) The goal is to log as much time as you can. My basic commitment is a minimum of 2 hours per day. This number comes about because if the weather is poor, 2 hours is about all I can tolerate on the trainer. But also be careful, 4 hours one day does not mean you've ridden two days worth of time. It means nice job, now ride at least two hours the next day. Thus I set out to log as many hours as I can. Be warned, by the end of the week you can be pretty zapped.<div>
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Pace on these early training camp rides is typically base miles, Level 2 endurance power. Training camps later in the season are more tempo, L3 based. As much time as possible in that zone. You're going for an adaptation with your body to get your aerobic engine rev'd up.</div>
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During the past few years when I've had training camps, I've only traveled someplace away from home once. Typically I do what I can to set aside my extra commitments that I have for that week and just ride. I'll come in to work a little late or leave a little early to get my riding in that week, because it's training camp week. I take the long ride into work or on the way home.</div>
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I'm planning to have a training camp starting this weekend, through next week which is spring break for the kids. The weather is looking good and I'm looking forward to getting out for some riding. Wish me luck, and set yourself up for a training camp this spring, you'll be glad you did.</div>
Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-20042597965970279582014-03-17T08:19:00.001-07:002014-03-17T08:19:26.635-07:002013 Cannondale Flash 29er 1 High Mod Carbon - First Impressions<br />
Back in March 2010 I got my first 29er, an aluminum <a href="http://dudebuddyu1.blogspot.com/2010/03/cannondale-flash-29er-2-pre-ride-review.html">Cannondale Flash 29er</a>. It wasn't the top end version by any means. It's a super fun bike to ride. I had a few issues with the bike but they were all resolved. The fork had to be sent back to Cannondale once. The Avid brakes sucked so I upgraded them. The wheels that came with the bike were heavy so I got a pair of race wheels. Overall, I enjoyed the bike a lot. I certainly had no reservations about getting another Cannondale Flash 29er if the opportunity presented itself.<br />
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Well, an opportunity arose! As 2013 bikes were being cleared out to make room for the new ones I came across a deal I couldn't pass up. So, I struck while the iron was hot and snatched up a top of the line beauty. The 2013 Cannondale Flash 29er 1 high modulus Rocket ship carbon hard tail bike!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdGWhCRF1PjcArh5vGMxg5p6xGyi7Yw2OxLwFUDSB3FFwmqFig8R6oMbCxuGPngkBUSzJr4g2Al0VqO73WIut5gUYWn3-3mTGBTEgh9ced4e1Omqh95r7UDbexVLgxDsLcZbiiNXoeuo/s1600/full+bike+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdGWhCRF1PjcArh5vGMxg5p6xGyi7Yw2OxLwFUDSB3FFwmqFig8R6oMbCxuGPngkBUSzJr4g2Al0VqO73WIut5gUYWn3-3mTGBTEgh9ced4e1Omqh95r7UDbexVLgxDsLcZbiiNXoeuo/s1600/full+bike+image.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>
I'm so over the black on black coloring so many manufacturers use. I love the colors of this bike. Red, White and Blue BABY! It stands out and looks good.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7K3LEUIFAXE45Bw9pFUjbYm9I5E6t-o51WWLY2KTs439MPi679guQ9u7yFX0wu4TvqTP65nziDmW-XC9DONBpJoWNtDa36PA1JK1fob5g2KA2ndmmIRP2T-tj2y-urviVleBKq9Gd3xY/s1600/headtube.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7K3LEUIFAXE45Bw9pFUjbYm9I5E6t-o51WWLY2KTs439MPi679guQ9u7yFX0wu4TvqTP65nziDmW-XC9DONBpJoWNtDa36PA1JK1fob5g2KA2ndmmIRP2T-tj2y-urviVleBKq9Gd3xY/s1600/headtube.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Carbon XLR 90mm Lefty Fork.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkLQ36Ymw5Iydo6wbpLIGnSwiBEfY62pvZvclc1se79jCBsE0ATQfmWgf4l2OOHAMDNkW3-upI30mMwHUK_xlim44XyIVhKqvQot-z0dnwYVRHPUzgg6Wm91hGVO8QOjB4-3xVzX63MFM/s1600/lockout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkLQ36Ymw5Iydo6wbpLIGnSwiBEfY62pvZvclc1se79jCBsE0ATQfmWgf4l2OOHAMDNkW3-upI30mMwHUK_xlim44XyIVhKqvQot-z0dnwYVRHPUzgg6Wm91hGVO8QOjB4-3xVzX63MFM/s1600/lockout.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Not sure I'm a fan of the Avid brakes but the lefty lockout is integrated on the break mount. It keeps the cockpit nice and clean.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKtRulHsmsfWk_dLiQPrZGmzB5mn_jcZpkT-V6iV_u6XjUyXXkZcD39ng70Kc6JBP-GdIEasw3QWQKvT1jq3L3ILAOAe6z5TTXnIEFvoflOr3UYX9qfO6BUDZPjhqPltIH3X6qbUDjok/s1600/rear+dropout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKtRulHsmsfWk_dLiQPrZGmzB5mn_jcZpkT-V6iV_u6XjUyXXkZcD39ng70Kc6JBP-GdIEasw3QWQKvT1jq3L3ILAOAe6z5TTXnIEFvoflOr3UYX9qfO6BUDZPjhqPltIH3X6qbUDjok/s1600/rear+dropout.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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High modulus carbon</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTSRBnWJjuTNt8VHHeuGA-G5akqFxjHosGISV8bU5sUBoq1BShMY8XFeVK-67l9FBR7d0w4XjtZyTVrx8zTTelNfoSA662ofdDnSzjJknhxFFdWGQ73HPWt1PSzaIPHcvpSHp4C13ZZ0/s1600/XTR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTSRBnWJjuTNt8VHHeuGA-G5akqFxjHosGISV8bU5sUBoq1BShMY8XFeVK-67l9FBR7d0w4XjtZyTVrx8zTTelNfoSA662ofdDnSzjJknhxFFdWGQ73HPWt1PSzaIPHcvpSHp4C13ZZ0/s1600/XTR.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
XTR derailleurs are awesome! The Shadow plus technology doesn't stick out and is hidden away. The genius of the entire bike is the extra clutch they put on the derailleur to prevent chain slap. There is no chain slap!! Coming down a bumpy descent is like riding a single speed...... almost! The chain still raddles within the cassette but it is truly awesome for people that like having a quite bike. Most importantly, it works!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhks5g5oODT_Pc-cyl9r9mgfiovo-uXRk8rXkEA1czdXK1XB96zYXzAmL4uINY3JsZDx_FzoFial9VVB8fVbvhFD7dBq-HQEawep7ShrtmH-5PTwH0-dFQH7lJFG0uUfYsFO634WfsAojY/s1600/wheels+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhks5g5oODT_Pc-cyl9r9mgfiovo-uXRk8rXkEA1czdXK1XB96zYXzAmL4uINY3JsZDx_FzoFial9VVB8fVbvhFD7dBq-HQEawep7ShrtmH-5PTwH0-dFQH7lJFG0uUfYsFO634WfsAojY/s1600/wheels+image.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Reynolds carbon 29er wheels! Reviews on these wheels seem to indicate the spokes like to untension. I'll have to keep checking them out. So far I like the ride quality. When I converted them to tubeless the tires snapped into place giving confidence they were in tight. They popped into place just like my Stan's ZTR crest rims I used on the old Flash. Most importantly they come with 2 years of Reynolds Assurance Program (RAP), so I guess I'm covered.<br />
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After a few rides my first thoughts are that this bike is a rocket ship! Super efficient and fun to ride. I'm looking forward to more rides on this bike. I'll post updates as the season goes along and I learn the true personality of the bike. It's kind of fun having a bike that's so far above my ability level!Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-88707684931319275822014-03-13T12:59:00.000-07:002014-03-13T12:59:02.255-07:00Aero is EverythingEven when racing in the mud. Notice the aero helmet, did it make a difference... maybe. Either way Zdenek Stybar was fast and it looked good.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GWrleMp0KpkSa_z9b_fllZfk58o3aXlasyVyWemOkVUmIFZrbHCM7YoLnWux9gxwldnnjQI-OG9zdS6Z3Uu0pAz_L-CX4gxjZpZRzrBT97WMRb2z-VAeuSi_5EPrjs65urCXkL8kB5o/s1600/CX+Aero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GWrleMp0KpkSa_z9b_fllZfk58o3aXlasyVyWemOkVUmIFZrbHCM7YoLnWux9gxwldnnjQI-OG9zdS6Z3Uu0pAz_L-CX4gxjZpZRzrBT97WMRb2z-VAeuSi_5EPrjs65urCXkL8kB5o/s1600/CX+Aero.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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But WOOOW! These aero helmets look horrendous! Just nasty. Oh my. Are they faster? .... oh who cares, don't do it. <br />
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Ikea called, they want their helmets back.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-81835705501775853942014-03-10T09:35:00.000-07:002014-03-10T09:35:09.421-07:00SickThe entire household, including the dog, has been sick this past week. Making things pretty miserable and not much fun. So I've been focusing all my time and effort to the recovery effort. I'll try and get a few more posts out in the coming days.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-82853057532892154752014-03-03T09:07:00.002-08:002014-03-03T09:07:57.024-08:00Base Mile OptimizationNow that I'm back to riding base miles I've been spending some time thinking about what makes a good base ride. I typically think about long 'slow' rides; slow isn't quite right because a steady base ride can be done at a good pace. You should think of it as a steady pace that you can hold for a long time.<br />
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Having a powermeter really allows me to look closer at that definition. The long steady pace your targeting during base miles is typically referred to as Zone 2. For my zone 2 workouts I like to target 200 +/- 10 watts. Based on this description, the definition of a good base ride is maximizing the time spent in the target power zone (2), and minimizing time spend out of that zone.<br />
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It's easy to do on a trainer. You pedal at the target zone, no stopping, no coasting, no hills. Basically you end up with a 100% efficient base mile ride. See below, no time spent not pedaling and the overwhelming majority of the time is spent in the target zone.<br />
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Now when you take that ride outdoors and you have traffic, hills (up and down), lights, pedestrians and other interruptions. You start to loose that good base ride. During a recent 2 hour ride I was sad to see that I had over 20 minutes of not pedaling. According to my good base mile definition my two hour ride was really only 1:38, which isn't as exciting. </div>
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So, how do you fix that? Theirs not much you can do about lights, cars and pedestrians other than select a route without them. Since I live at the foothills of the mountains most of my rides have hills. So, to minimize the riding time lost spend coasting down hills I apply my brakes and pedal against them to keep my watts up. It's not so exciting to be pedaling down hills with your brakes on but in the end, your ride will be better. Below is the same two hour route as the one above, this time the time spent not pedaling was reduced by about 8 minutes. I know, 8 minutes, but in a time crunched world were it's hard to get bike time in the first place..... I don't want to give up those 8 minutes. Hopefully I'll get better at this and my time spend riding base miles will be maximized.<br />
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This also shows that riding the trainer can be a great way to get in quality base miles, as long as you can mentally stand the drone for hours. Which is challenging.<br />
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Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-17375353840539749952014-02-25T07:56:00.001-08:002014-02-25T07:56:47.635-08:00SRAM Rival Stages Cycling Powermeter ReviewPart way through this past cyclocross season I purchased a SRAM rival stages powermeter that I can use on both my Ridley X-fire CX bike and my old aluminum Cervelo P3 TT bike. So far I've been pretty pleased, that is to say, I've had no issues and it works the way they advertise.<br />
<br />
First of all it's super easy to install, just like installing the left crank arm. Second it's easy to communicate with. My Iphone talks to it in Bluetooth mode, and allows me to update its firmware. The Garmin edge talks to it using the ANT+ protocols. Just zero out the powermeter by leaving the crank pointing down and then hitting the calibrate button.<br />
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I raced with it during CX season and had no issues and now it's on the TT bike. No big deal. Below are some pictures of my rival cranks. I moved it from my compact 110 rival CX chain rings to the standard 130 TT chain rings with no recalibration or anything. Just moved it.... easy.<br />
<br />
I ran some tests to compare the readings of the stages powermeter with that from my G3 Powertap. I put them both on my TT bike and did an easy endurance ride and the two powermeters read within 10 watts of each other. They're not exactly the same but they're close. The difference isn't enough to be in different power zones or anything. The one draw back is the stages only reads the left leg and I know my left leg is stronger/more efficient than my right. I don't know if it's 10 watts better, but maybe.<br />
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Either way, with the low cost of the stages powermeter and the simplicity of its operation. I'm happy with it and would think it would make an outstanding powermeter for just about anyone. You're not locked to a wheel nor is it expensive like a full crankset (quarq or SRM). I see Sky cycling is even using them. It will be interesting to see if the Tour champ(s) have an issue with only getting data from his left leg.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kFUwl5dHlCfOa7xWKti2UJAPwsk8jJFQPkoJeM6XIprBHkuQVKVp6BC9Zpsh5_54OPNDu-DN0NtTRlihyphenhyphenK04WdhvYRBW4e_wAz3Q2X4odlwUIrYmN2b0cQJwpJZQigr7_LpNowdbqjs/s1600/IMG_2485%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kFUwl5dHlCfOa7xWKti2UJAPwsk8jJFQPkoJeM6XIprBHkuQVKVp6BC9Zpsh5_54OPNDu-DN0NtTRlihyphenhyphenK04WdhvYRBW4e_wAz3Q2X4odlwUIrYmN2b0cQJwpJZQigr7_LpNowdbqjs/s1600/IMG_2485%5B1%5D.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I just moved the stages powermeter to the old Cervelo P3 TT bike</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhieLatRRiPKlwqzTCed6gZZS-u0YrS_FqGAqY_CXwXdlEGXrPihcCc8Y_l522Y_6IfAYCJEQbw_yw34DnhvRbJoZBPVDJxVfBvYUKpZl-mAcxmzACb_TG9Sk89f-BcahakDGT2q73hQGc/s1600/IMG_2486%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhieLatRRiPKlwqzTCed6gZZS-u0YrS_FqGAqY_CXwXdlEGXrPihcCc8Y_l522Y_6IfAYCJEQbw_yw34DnhvRbJoZBPVDJxVfBvYUKpZl-mAcxmzACb_TG9Sk89f-BcahakDGT2q73hQGc/s1600/IMG_2486%5B1%5D.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I had the stages powermeter on the Ridely CX bike for half the 2013 CX season</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL9w8fGDZfTYgi3wMuZtWuF8_tcAPhOAejzG_ggZAVojr5OK54V2JVdtd2SrZmV8GTjAnIrgtyvlTqAM4iyzdINb-RSf5q6hyphenhyphenevl6RBS46NfEDFxmkjTisQzYkokT7cDLwT9_LJ9vO4uQ/s1600/Stages+and+PT+comparison+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL9w8fGDZfTYgi3wMuZtWuF8_tcAPhOAejzG_ggZAVojr5OK54V2JVdtd2SrZmV8GTjAnIrgtyvlTqAM4iyzdINb-RSf5q6hyphenhyphenevl6RBS46NfEDFxmkjTisQzYkokT7cDLwT9_LJ9vO4uQ/s1600/Stages+and+PT+comparison+image.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is a WKO+ comparison between the PT and Stages powermeters on the same ride, on the trainer. The top graph shows the power. It looks like there's a little offset in time (my fault for not cropping the data correctly). As you can see the power numbers on the yellow/Stages line appears to be slightly higher than the red/PT line. The heart rate data in the second graph should line up perfectly as I was only wearing on HR strap, the offset is do the slight difference in data crop. The average difference between the Stages and PT powermeters was about 10 watts.</div>
Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-81085987909355138852014-02-23T14:34:00.000-08:002014-02-23T14:34:25.607-08:00Starting Season StatisticsOk, weekend goals completed.<br />
<br />
To determine my season starting threshold power (FTP) I used the TrainerRoad.com 8-minute test workout. It's pretty simple, two 8 minute all out efforts. You take the average power from the two efforts and 90% of that number is your estimated FTP. The TrainerRoad system calculates everything for you. On a side note, the TrainerRoad program has been really helpful for me. I've enjoyed it and find it useful. I have a couple of screen shots of the test below.<br />
<br />
During the first 8 minutes I averaged 309W and the second 312W. I feel like I paced my efforts pretty well and I was happy about that. At some point I'll do the twenty minute test and see how it compares. The test results are that my FTP is currently at 279W. It could be a little higher if I'd done this outdoors but I'm just looking for a reproducible test result and this should be close enough.<br />
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Also, my body weight was 180 lbs. Again, not too bad. Races that I've performed well at have been when my weight was closer to 175 or a little lower. Hopefully this base season will allow me time to burn some of those calories and shed a few pounds.<br />
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Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-58951657945827835602014-02-19T08:25:00.000-08:002014-02-19T08:25:15.894-08:00Tis the Season<div class="MsoNormal">
Ok, it’s time to get a little more serious and start mapping
out and preparing for the 2014 season.
It’s time to begin getting in some longer base miles, not that I haven’t
been riding a little, but now it’s time to get a little more formal about
it. Time to analyze those workouts to a
greater degree and make sure things are progressing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is the latest I’ve ever started my season, I typically try
to start those base miles in early January.
With the cold weather and snow we've had this year, I’m glad I haven’t
been on the trainer as much as that would have required. My plan is to kick everything off with a
power test this weekend and a body weight measurement. I can’t say I’m look forward to either of
these but it needs to be done. This will
be my starting point.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once my power numbers are identified I’ll use them to target
my endurance power zones and begin ticking off the miles. The goal will be getting to body adapted to consistently
riding and building up my aerobic engine to get it ready for the season. I'll post on the results this weekend.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-53426464989370647002014-02-12T08:14:00.000-08:002014-02-12T08:14:11.615-08:00The ‘Off’ Season<div class="MsoNormal">
Towards the end of this past CX season I was “looking forward to the
off season.” I felt a little burned
out. But what does that mean? I’ve reached a point were not exercising really
isn’t an option. After a day or two of
resting I really don’t feel all that good, I literally start feeling like I’m
getting sick. Once you develop a level
of consistently exercising, stopping is <u>almost</u> as difficult as getting
started. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So the off season isn’t really time off, it’s just
unstructured time where I can do whatever I want. Honestly, one of the reasons I enjoy riding
my bike so much isn’t the races. It’s
the training. Since my last race, Jan 11<sup>th</sup>,
I’ve been in the ‘off season’. I’ve kept
my training time unstructured, aka not scheduled. I’ve focusing on spending time with the
family which has limited my workouts to an hour or less each day. I’ve made the family the priority so I fit my
workout in without interfering with their plans. It’s easy to find the time but difficult to
make plans or attend any classes. There’ll
be enough time in the future when I’m asking for a pass to go ride, it’s my payback
time now.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This off season has been about refocusing. I have to remember what a normal person
should eat, and bringing the caloric intake back to normal. I’ve been going to the gym and lifting
weights to shift the body composition back to the muscular side. I’ve continued running, brining my long runs
up to miles I haven’t seen in years (which isn’t much, 6-7 miles in a single
run). I’ve also been hitting the trainer
for some work on my pedal stroke; high spin efforts, isolated leg interval and
stands. None of these efforts have been
overly intense; they serve to rejuvenate the body and mind.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With the upcoming 2014 season and my planned races and
goals, the most difficult part of the off season is patience; the patience to
wait, to not overdo it, to take it slowly and get back to the basics so that I’ll
be ready when the time comes.
Fortunately the weather has been helping; the thought of base miles in the snow and ice
have greatly enhanced my ability to be patient.<o:p></o:p></div>
Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-91384451713234884282014-02-10T08:06:00.000-08:002014-02-10T08:06:14.056-08:002014 Cross NationalsThis past cyclocross season culminated in my participation in CX Nationals which were held in Boulder this year. It was awesome to have the race near home, which honestly, is why I participated. Of course just fitting the race into my weekly, post holiday crush ensured I wouldn't have time to enjoy and participate in the 'extra curricular' activities. First lesson learned, it would be better to travel to the race so I could fully immerse myself in the joy that is the National Championships.<br />
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My races were, fun but not overly spectacular. My goal was to simply finish on the lead lap and have fun. That's it, no other expectations. I was able to race in two races, the championship race and a non-championship race for my age group 40-44.<br />
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The first race was the non-championship race on Wednesday morning. The weather was finally warming up and melting the snow that had fallen during the previous weekend. The number of racers was huge, like 115. I didn't have a terrible starting location, there were a lot of riders behind me. Unfortunately, and to keep a long story short, on the second lap I was passing the pit and took a 180 turn. As I slid across the snow in the corner, my rear tire hit a rut and the tire was dislodged from the rim. I was running mud clinchers. As I came out of the turn, I made it to the sand pit before the tire blew off the rim bringing my race to a sudden stop. There was still some time and I didn't want it to end that way so I threw the bike on my shoulder and ran to the pit. Once at the pit the nice Shimano man put the bike on the stand and gave me a rear wheel. I jumped back out to finish the race but ended up a lap down on the finisher. I wasn't DFL, but I wasn't real happy with my finish either. Fortunately, I still had my championship race on Saturday.<br />
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My championship race was the first race of the day, early Saturday morning. The course was a lot drier and there were only a few icy spots left. There were about 130 starters this time and I was starting way at the back. That first lap was crazy, stupid chaotic, but amazingly I got through pretty well. A video form one of my teammates shows the first lap below. He had it worse than I did. In the end, the day was not to be mine. Sometimes your the hammer and sometimes your the nail. I gave it what I had but it really wasn't what I had envisioned my race would be. Fortunately I didn't have a mechanical but I just didn't have the legs. In the end, I was pulled as the leader came by, shortening my race by 2 laps. <br />
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In the end I didn't reach my goals but I certainly learned a lot and had fun. I'd definitely be interested in racing nationals again. I'd even be willing to travel so I could immerse myself in the event. It made me hungry to improve my cyclocross skills and fitness. We'll have to see if I can do that. I'm a little worried all the easy gains are gone and I've just hit my 'genetic speed limit,' requiring me to commit to more training hours than the work, life, hobby balance can withstand.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="236" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HDH6BvPCPoU" width="420"></iframe>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-31076081561951136332014-02-07T07:57:00.000-08:002014-02-07T07:57:42.682-08:00Time to Go Somewhere NewI've been wanting to get back to this blog for a while, but I've felt like I haven't had time or a story people would be interested in. So, I've held back. While that may still be the case, I'm going to try and renew this site. Don't worry, it will still be cycling related. For this season I think I have a journey that I think people might be interested in.<br />
<br />
In 2014, I'm planning to make some changes in my normal cycling routine. The past few years I've primarily stayed on the road bike, raced an early spring season then had a short break before cyclocross season in the fall. This year I'm planning to make some changes, I'm going to target some races I've never attempted and frankly have been a little worried about trying. I'm going to focus on some endurance mountain biking races this summer. I've already signed up for the <a href="http://www.bailey100.com/">Bailey HUNDO</a> and I'm thinking I should have a run at the <a href="http://www.leadvilleraceseries.com/mtb/leadvilletrail100mtb/">Leadville 100</a> by way of the <a href="http://www.leadvilleraceseries.com/mtb/silverrush50mtb/">Silver Rush 50</a>. So look for stories and details about my journey towards these goals in the coming months. Hopefully it will prove to be an insightful and fun ride.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-69699514440115366692012-06-14T08:49:00.000-07:002012-06-14T08:49:45.052-07:00USADA and Lance ArmstrongEveryone has their own belief, theory and reason to support or hate Mr. Armstrong. Did he dope or didn't he. I don't know if he did it or not. I do know it made for great entertainment watching him crush the tour every year, and he had a few good books. He's stories helped get me out on a road bike, I was already rediscovering mountain biking a few years before he became big.<br />
<br />
I also know that just about everyone else that was in contention for the tour wins during 'Lance's' time has since been busted for doping. Which is an interesting aspect to this entire story.<br />
<br />
Anyway, instead of reading all the analysis from the folks trying to sell magazines, have a read through the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/armstrongcharging0613.pdf">actual letter</a> Mr. Armstrong received from the US anti doping agency (USADA). I bet they don't send these to just anyone. Gad Zooks - Use or attempted use, possession, trafficking, administration or attempted administration, assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, covering up, aggravating circumstances. The letter also lays out similar charges against 4 other people, including team doctors and team director Johan Bruyneel.<br />
<br />
What a mess. Hopefully there will be some benefit to this, through change that improves the sport and protects it's participants from these activities. Some how I think larger changes than just busting a few doctors and a racer are going to be required.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-33125842902303143772012-06-06T15:55:00.000-07:002012-06-06T15:55:11.207-07:00First/Early Season 2012<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was my plan at the beginning of 2012 to split my season
into two blocks. The first block was to
be an early road racing season were I would hit all the big spring road
races. Then I would shut things down,
enjoy some summer family time and riding and ramp it back up for
cyclocross. The early season events
began with Boulder Roubaix and culminated with the Superior-Morgul Omnium.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At the beginning of the season I had big goals. I’m a category 3 cyclocross racer so I wanted
to raise the bar and upgrade on the road.
I wanted to drop another 5 pounds and increase my threshold power. Sadly I was unsuccessful at all of those
goals. I did plenty of riding and I
worked with a coach. We tried to plan
everything out but it just didn’t happen and to be clear, it wasn’t because I
didn’t due the planned work.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In races were I had hoped to be worrying about upgrade
points, I was just trying to score Colorado Road Cup points for the team; and I
wasn’t even successful at that. By the
time I reached my planned peak for the Superior Omnium I was just hoping I
could finish in the top 20. While I had
a lot of fun at each of the races, I certainly didn’t have a shining performance. In the end, I did finish in 18<sup>th</sup>
in the omnium, accomplishing my last minute goal of a top 20 finish.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the end my goals were not meet. Where they too lofty? Was everyone else just so much faster because
of the warm spring? I already weight
less than I did in high school, my body just didn’t want to give up more, or at
least I couldn’t seem to make it. My threshold
power didn’t improve much during the spring even though my aerobic engine was sufficient. So I’ve made some changes going forward to
see if I can improve things going into the second, and more important to me,
part of the season. I’ve returned to my-self
coaching ways, they got me upgraded in cyclocross in the first place. Since I’m calling the shots with my training
again and I have time, I’ll be putting more effort in those longer intervals
that will result in threshold power improvements. I’ll also be paying close attention on trying
to get a few more pounds off so I’m not throttled on the big stair run-ups like
I was last year during cyclocross season.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ll be writing about my plans and how they’re coming along,
stop back by if you’re interested.<o:p></o:p></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-77362007732225990732012-05-23T09:13:00.000-07:002012-05-23T09:13:52.746-07:00Superior-Morgul Race Weekend – Road Race<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sunday morning was an early start. I was up and moving at 4:30 am to drop my
wife at the start of the Colfax Marathon.
Her big goal happened to be the same weekend as mine; I would recommend
avoiding this situation to anyone thinking they can pull it off. Once she was off, I drove over to Superior
for the road race. Of course I was a
little early but that gave me time to stretch the legs and get everything set
up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="http://app.strava.com/runs/8971059/embed/57d5bc2f666712fbab0b0e8df18bafcbe0a5b852" width="531"></iframe></div>
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My fear during this race is always the climbing. I’m not a small guy and climbing has never
been something I felt like I exceled at.
My plan was to try and start the climbs at or near the front the drift
back if needed so that I didn’t lose the group at the top. The race started with a neutral start as we
rolled out to the base of the wall for our first climb to the finish where we
would begin our 3 lap race. Once we were
out on McCaslin the motorcycle judge blew his whistle and gunned the motorcycle
like we were about to take off or something.
I saw a few racers twitch like there were ready to sprint and I quickly
yelled out “easy guy’s, that doesn’t mean go.”
Everyone had a laugh and we headed up the hill.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I felt like the race pace was pretty high but as long as I
could survive the climbs the rest of the course was not overly difficult. It wasn’t long before I was having a
difficult time with my pre-race plan.
The group would swell-up on Marshal road before the climbs and I
couldn’t move forward. I was starting
the climbs at the back of the pack. At
that point I knew I didn’t have much room for error and I would absolutely have
to give everything to stay with the group as I couldn’t drift back. I would have to suffer, and suffer I
did! Every time I went up the wall and
hump 2 (the hills I did in the TT) I was faster than the personal records I set
during the TT (except for the last time up the wall). The road race went over the same ground as the time trial and twice we did it faster than my TT, I know a group is faster than a lone rider but we were over a minute faster!<o:p></o:p></div>
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On our second to last time up the wall through the finish
line the back of the group was struggling, including me. As we hit the top gaps were forming and I had
two teammates back with me. I knew if we
didn’t catch that group quickly we’d never see them again. I turned myself cross-eyed to close the gap
and managed to close the gap.
Unfortunately I was right near the bottom of the last hump climb and I
couldn’t keep the pace going up the hill.
So I set my own pace and hoped for the best, one of my teammates did
manage to bridge and stay with the lead group so I guess the effort was worth
it. I never caught them again but a
small chase formed to help reach the finish.
I can’t say that I helped the chase group much other than to try and keep
myself in a good position.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the end we finished a couple of minutes down on the folks
in the lead group. The last climb up the
wall to the finish was everything I had.
After a full weekend of racing I was done. I ended up 33<sup>rd</sup>, finishing in
1:56. That’s a couple of minutes faster
than when I did the race a few years ago and that year the winning time was
1:59. It was a hard race and in the end
I learned I can climb better than I think I can.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I'm still pulling my final thoughts together on this race weekend as well as some future plans so look for that post in the coming days.</div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-65296839528209448182012-05-22T08:28:00.000-07:002012-05-22T08:28:27.663-07:00Superior-Morgul Race Weekend – Criterium<br />
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Our criterium race was early in the morning on Saturday, sadly
as I awoke I could hear to gentle pitter patter of rain on the window. It tapered off and I quietly hoped we were
done with the wet stuff as the course would likely be dry if it stopped now. I got geared up and headed over to the
race. When I got there the road was dry
and the temperature was cool. Perfect, I
got in a few practice laps between the races before heading back to the car to
get in my final warm-up on a stationary trainer. As I was riding the trainer it started to
sprinkle again, then it picked up into a full on rain. So sad, I’ve never done a road race in the
rain much less a fast paced criterium with a couple of high speed corners. For the most part the rain stopped before the
race but the streets had rivers running on them and at the bottom of the hill
with a fast left hand corner, there were lakes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I lined up on the front and figured it would be safer to be
on the front at least the first couple of laps to make sure everyone made it
around the wet corners. After someone
nearly crashed into me during a practice lap taking a corner stupidly, I knew
things might get interesting. I tried to
be patent on the front and not go too hard but after a few laps the pace went
up and I ducked back in the group for a nice little road spray shower from the
other bikes. Things were progressing
nicely until there was a prime announced for additional omnium points and the
group took off like they were fired from a gun.
I was left struggling to hang onto the tail end of a splintering group and
finally got gapped off. The legs just
didn’t have a response to that acceleration.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I begin looking for other riders to work with and came
across the current omnium race leader in my category, perfect, a free
ride. He had beaten me in the TT by
almost two minutes so I knew he’d be strong.
Fortunately he’s technical skills in the corners were not very good and
I could easily pass and on the fast turns, gapping him. He would bridge up and I would hold on for
dear life. We were stuck in this mode
for far too many laps.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As the laps ticked down our group had swelled to about 5 and
we still had not been lapped. We had
just been given the 2 to go sign and were getting ready for our bell lap when
the motorcycle marshal came buy in the final 100M to the finish line. We kept going but were caught about 10 feet
from the finish line by the sprinting finishers. Suddenly our race was over, personally I
wanted to finish on the lead lap but after all that chasing in the cold and
wet, I was ready to be done.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unfortunately the officials thought I was with the lead
group and placed me in 3<sup>rd</sup> for the race. Now, I’d really like to finish on the podium
in a road race someday but this was not the day. Once I caught the error I let the officials
know and they set out to figure out what had happened. Unfortunately this didn’t happen until later
in the day because immediately after the race I had to go warm-up, I was wet
and cold and not hanging around to find out the placing of a lapped rider. Anyway, they ended up giving me 15<sup>th</sup>
for the crit. I was pretty happy to have
safely negotiated and finished my first wet criterium. Now the legs would really have to recover
before the long hard road race.<o:p></o:p></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-26039700130046090472012-05-21T11:52:00.000-07:002012-05-21T11:52:56.214-07:00Superior-Morgul Race Weekend – Time Trial<br />
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This past weekend was the pinnacle of my planned spring road
race campaign, the Superior-Morgul Omnium. Three days of road racing near my house on
roads I am very familiar with. Friday
evening was a roughly 6.5 mile time trial (TT – race against the clock),
Saturday was a 45 minute criterium and Sunday was a 49 mile road race over the
famed Morgul-Bismark loop. If you have a
look at the Strava widget on the right side of the blog you can see the maps
and all the details on each of these races.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Since these races were a goal of mine, I had specifically
targeted my training in an effort to be at my best. Leading up to these races I tapered off my training
to rest up for the races ensuring I would survive the weekend and be as fast as
possible. For me, resting is always
harder than just riding, it gives you time to think about all the things you
could have done differently and doubt yourself.
I tried to push that all out of my mind because right before the race it’s
too late; doing anything different is only going to cause more harm than good. The week before the races I backed off the
number of intervals and took a few days off the bike the week before the
race. I got in some short openers on
Wednesday and Thursday to make sure the body was ready for the TT Friday
evening.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I arrived at the Time Trial race early to get my number and
check out how the TT was being run and ensure I got in a good warm up. I only do a TT about once a year so I wanted
to refresh my memory on these things. I
don’t have a time trial bike, or deep dish carbon aero wheels, or a pointy
helmet, or clip on aero bars; I was going to do the time trial retro, meaning
no extra aerodynamic enhancements other than what you find on a standard everyday
road bike. I knew it would be a
disadvantage and I’d lose time but my legs were going to have to do the work.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My concern for the race was pacing, there are too pretty big
hills (the wall and so called hump 2) connected by a flat section and I knew if
I went too hard on the hills I’d lose even more time on the flats as I fought
to recover. So I decided to using my heavier,
32 spoke Powertap wheel to help gauge my effort. My plan was to be a little under my threshold
power or coasting on the descents, at or near threshold on the flats and above
on the steep part of the climbs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I got in a good warmup and went down to the start
house. We got to start out of the official
US Pro Challenge Time Trial start house, which was kind of cool. I stuck to the plan during the race and the
legs felt pretty good, I set a new personal record going up the Wall in 5:49 as
well as the second hump in 3:17. In the
end I finished the TT in 18:42, finishing in 18<sup>th</sup> of 28. At first I was a little disappointed but
after looking through the results most people were within +/- 20 seconds and I
set two personal records up those hills, what more could I ask for? I set out to recover and get ready for the
Criterium that was to be held about 12 hours after my TT. During cyclocross season my second race of
the weekend was typically my best; hopefully this weekend would be same.<o:p></o:p></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-8975320819366075472012-05-09T09:03:00.000-07:002012-05-09T09:03:43.616-07:00Deer Trail Road Race - 2012<br />
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I’ve done this race a couple of times over the past couple
of years. Each year it’s typically my
first road race of the season. I’ve had
good results and not so good results but I am almost always in the top 20. This year was obviously not my first road
race and I was hopeful I could influence how the race turned out. My team had a number of good riders signed up
for the race and with that strength I felt like we would be able to accomplish
something. Nigel had won the race last
year and I felt like he could likely out sprint most of the field, Michael is a
great climber and Matt and myself I would describe as all-rounders.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Driving into Deer Trail was like returning to the scene of a
nightmare I had had a few weeks prior.
Nothing has changed in that town.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice little town but all I do is drive out
there to suffer. Our early morning start
had a cool morning breeze and temperature in the upper 40’s to low 50’s. There was a last minute change to the course that
morning because of a bridge issue which confused things but ultimately the race
is just two straight roads with rolling hills. The only technical obstacles are multiple 180
degree turn arounds, which can play havoc on a larger group. The field size was on the small size, only
about 40 guys.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Heading out of town for the start of the race things were pretty
mellow. The motorcycle judges did a
fantastic job keeping a couple of loose dogs out of the group. I have to admit they expertly put their
motorcycles between us and the dogs keeping things safe. I know they don’t hear this enough but
thanks, I’m glad you were there! Not too
long after the dogs were behind us, a couple of riders were starting to get the
itch and wanted to jump out. We were
going into the wind and they didn’t get anywhere but they were determined and I
was happy to sit on their wheel. If they
were strong enough to go I’d go with them so the rest of my team could sit
on. But nothing really happened. This went on as we hit the first turn around
and started heading back. As we turned
left onto the main out and back route the wind became a cross wind.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I drifted back to find a good draft but soon found myself
behind a few strong riders that were making their way forward. So I stayed with them. When they got to the front, the real pressure
on the field started and by the time we reached the second 180, four of them
had a clear gap and the riders behind were totally unorganized and
shattered. The group of four was made up
of my teammate Matt and 3 other riders, all from different teams. I would have to argue that Matt was our
strongest rider, so when I saw him go with 3 others, I wanted to give him the
chance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nigel, Michael and I were in the shattered remains in the
group and fortunately we were close enough we could all start working together
to ensure we all made it into the first case group. We were successful and all of us knew we didn’t
want this group to pull Matt back. So we
started blocking at the front. I tried
to keep it in good taste, I wasn’t just getting in the way. People could pull through but when they did
Nigel and I would sit on their wheel until they tired and made it more
difficult for other riders to come around.
If no one came around, I’d set a false tempo. Michael tried to make a bridging move up to
Matt but ended up getting caught in no man’s land and never made it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Towards the end of the race my legs were getting pretty
tired from chasing everything down. Someone made a hard effort up one of the last
steep hills and shot me right out the back.
Nigel and Michael stayed in the group.
I chased with a few other dropped racers but my influence on the race
was over.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the end, Matt was dropped from the group but we had given
him enough time to hold onto 4<sup>th</sup>.
Nigel, our sprinter for the day, took the group for 5<sup>th</sup>. Michael was 15<sup>th</sup> and I out
sprinted my chase companion for 19<sup>th</sup>. In the end I felt pretty good about the race,
the team had dictated how the race would unfold. We showed our team strength and got two guys
in the top 5 and four of us in the top 20.
This race is proof that riding with teammates can be incredibly beneficial
even in lower category races.<o:p></o:p></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-83440021796260354642012-04-29T19:02:00.000-07:002012-04-29T19:02:12.613-07:00Mead RoubaixThis was my second adventure at a dirt road, road race. I have to tell you, racing in a pack on a dirt road with people I don’t know the skill level of is a little scary. Especially since after pre-riding and seeing how much more challenging the road surface was compared to Boulder Roubaix a few weeks earlier. There were no terribly difficult obstacles but the soft, dare I say sand, was going to make the difference. This race wasn’t really important so the goal was to be safe and see what I could do. Safety suggested that I stay near the front, particularly on the dirt sections so that I stayed out of trouble.<br />
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Things seemed wrong almost from the start of the race. Even on the opening part of the race I felt like I was going backwards. I simply couldn’t maintain my position and found myself drifting to the back. When we hit the first dirt section I was in the back third. But the group managed to stay on track. The motor cycle judge was a little over zealous with the “yellow line rule”, I understand racing right but he was whistling at everything and we were stuck racing on a third of a crappy road. Great, thanks dude.<br />
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Once on through the first dirt section and onto the pavement, I followed a teammate to the front of the group. We rolled up just before what I would say was the worst section of the race, sandy and rough. So I stayed on the front and tried to see how the race would do under pressure. I was expecting someone to come around at anytime but they didn’t. So I slowed and slowed and no one came around. Then they came flying around before the hill. I slowly worked my way towards the back of the group and then I found myself grasping to tail end of a splintering pack. I ended up getting split off. I did manage to find a former teammate, Todd, in my little chase group.<br />
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Todd and I have raced a lot of cyclocross together so I felt total comfortable on his wheel. I pretty much felt like I knew how he would ride in the sand and dirt and I knew I could trust him. We worked really well together trying to bridge back up. We had the lead group in our view but never caught up. We chased for two and a half laps, picking up stragglers and dropping them, seeing some crash wreckage go by. In the end we raced to the finish and had a little one on one sprint out. We were both pretty tired so maybe sprint isn’t the right word but we went for it finishing within a wheel length of each other for 14th and 15th. I like to think my bike throw at the end made the difference, but whatever; it was fun to have a good hard ride with a friend.<br />
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Lap 1: hiding in the back.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgCfFivjpZoWoDeQcGwB4d88k9dEC1UJWPbheFHV6DLmftIzXkC-EeqYOwcAAjpSdk34xh4iiphebH-D7vEcFGQyGak7632A5tQUMPqj6v7oDowOFcPg3RNBsJLnAE3V0LMJA09s4UXc/s1600/mead+Roubaix+lap+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgCfFivjpZoWoDeQcGwB4d88k9dEC1UJWPbheFHV6DLmftIzXkC-EeqYOwcAAjpSdk34xh4iiphebH-D7vEcFGQyGak7632A5tQUMPqj6v7oDowOFcPg3RNBsJLnAE3V0LMJA09s4UXc/s400/mead+Roubaix+lap+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Lap 2: After a strong pull from Todd we were trying to bridge back up.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsTIAEHEDS4CtYEWVrt0Imq9jSQFFzk4FXaRdNudm-N3wc3CdwxuH73gJ_vc8lIFE9wlzTWHfylmtKASkar8_kHHu2jN6eTiSMklF5fGQtvg_bbmJl5wPAC-ffS0u8FTadG7HtEM0DQAY/s1600/mead+roubaix+lap+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsTIAEHEDS4CtYEWVrt0Imq9jSQFFzk4FXaRdNudm-N3wc3CdwxuH73gJ_vc8lIFE9wlzTWHfylmtKASkar8_kHHu2jN6eTiSMklF5fGQtvg_bbmJl5wPAC-ffS0u8FTadG7HtEM0DQAY/s400/mead+roubaix+lap+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Lap 3: Trying to finish strong and pick off a few more riders.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEN0dt4eKvtdBGd870d5nn7drP8yqP9jgKlBv0nitv0qEFXYM9e_t35bg_3XDvoQSyGXq0KrexOJssbuqwy6RE0Ku6xPtqkCNtMOl8g3-8HD3v75RF7uy0RM1vHdmOOHJHLXDV04wxolc/s1600/mead+roubaix+lap+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEN0dt4eKvtdBGd870d5nn7drP8yqP9jgKlBv0nitv0qEFXYM9e_t35bg_3XDvoQSyGXq0KrexOJssbuqwy6RE0Ku6xPtqkCNtMOl8g3-8HD3v75RF7uy0RM1vHdmOOHJHLXDV04wxolc/s400/mead+roubaix+lap+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-22227833008826296322012-04-24T07:12:00.003-07:002012-04-24T07:15:35.428-07:00The song I sing when I rideI raced Mead Roubaix this past weekend but haven't gotten a chance to write up my story. This week is stupid busy but I'll try to get to it soon.<br /><br />Until then enjoy a fun video.<br /><br /><iframe width="448" height="252" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hgCqz3l33kU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-80604033014009780362012-04-17T08:22:00.003-07:002012-04-18T10:34:33.905-07:00An Open Letter to WivesThis was written by Grizzly Adam on his blog <a href="http://grizzlyadam.net/2012/02/an-open-letter-to-wives.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EpicRidingEpicWriting+%28Epic+Riding.++Epic+Writing.%29">grizzlyadam.net</a>. It is so well written, and true, that I wanted to post it here.<br /><br />"To the wives of mountain bikers; from the delusional, dirty, oft-distracted men you married.<br /><br />First thing first. Thanks. We ask a lot from you. You have been our crew at races, our nutritional experts, our sponsors, and our sounding boards. We know that such things were not always high on your list of Things-I-Want-To-Do-When-I-Get-Married, but nevertheless, here you are. Your understanding and support means the world to us. The only thing better than crossing the finish-line of a long-anticipated race is seeing you (and the kids!) at that finish-line. Thank you.<br /><br />We men are strange creatures. Our intuitive instincts demand that we conquer the world around us. For thousands of years men have engaged in dominant behavior; we farm, hunt, build, and when that isn’t adequate, we make war. War is in our very nature. Our paradigm of the world is clouded with the fog of war.<br /><br />Part of that warrior mentality is an innate desire to provide for ourselves, and our families. Until about 70 years ago doing so was fairly straightforward. If we needed food, we killed an animal or worked a farm. If we needed a house, we built one. Luxury and comfort were far subordinate to survival. Life was difficult, but fulfilling.<br /><br />Modernity changed everything.<br /><br />Today we are trapped behind desks. Food comes from well-lit grocery stores, heat comes from a thermostat, and our homes are more advanced and comfortable than any human dwelling in history. That need to conquer and provide has been replaced, warped. Instead of providing the essentials of survival with our hands, we perform menial tasks in an office, and are given a paycheck that simply buys needed supplies. This is hardly a bad thing, but it is a remarkably different (and new) method of earning a living. Life is soft, and not always fulfilling.<br /><br />Our culture has changed. But our warrior gene has not.<br /><br />And that is why we race our bikes.<br /><br />We need something to conquer. We need adrenaline and uncertainty and risk. We need rivalry. We need to know that if we had to, we could physically conquer the world; that we could be the alpha male. And so we race our bikes. And in doing so, ward off enemies, and the effects of age, disease, and mid-life crisis. We are more emotionally stable, physically healthy, and culturally engaged because we race our bikes. Our introverted nature is reversed, forcing us to socialize amicably (once the race is over) rather than constantly spar with one another in the perpetual and destructive rut that has defined manhood since the very beginning. Despite its primal foundations, bike racing has turned men into sophisticates, capable of respectable, normal lives. We have beat our swords into wheelsets.<br /><br />You know this is true. You know that we are better men because of the bicycle. We are distracted by carbon-fiber instead of secretaries. Our “poker-nights” are spent in yurts or on singletrack. Our mid-life crisis is an expensive bike, rather than a sports car, hair plugs, and a DUI. Our legs are the envy of women everywhere.<br /><br />We know that sometimes we become overly focused on our fitness, our bikes, and our races. We know that you know that we’d much rather be training than be at your second-cousins’ dress rehearsal of Death of a Salesman. And we know that bikes and races and carbon soled shoes add up. Maybe you are right that that money would be better spent on new carpet, a car repair, or food for the kids.<br /><br />But consider the alternative.<br /><br />If we didn’t race, we’d be overweight and diabetic. We’d be ornery. We’d complain about our station in life more than we already do. Our legs would be hairy, pasty, and ambiguously defined. Instead of a $5,000 bike in the garage, there’d be a $450,000 Mercedes SLR McClaren.<br /><br />If we didn’t race our bikes, we’d be forced to repress our warrior ancestry. An explosion would be imminent. One day you’d wake up wondering how your husband, pudgy and pasty, turned up in a high-roller casino suite in Las Vegas with 3 call-girls and a kilo of cocaine; the FBI, DEA, ATF, and mafia shilos chasing him.<br /><br />Indeed, when you consider the alternatives, it is you who owes us your gratitude.<br /><br />Bike racing has kept us out of jail.<br /><br />You’re welcome."Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3842040245771047284.post-76031721480118501962012-04-16T12:01:00.003-07:002012-04-17T07:52:24.041-07:00Fed Center Circuit RaceI believe I had a bit of a mental break through during this race. I’m always nervous before a road race; the reason for my nervousness is the proximity to other racers during the race. Mountain biking and cyclocross, for most part, do not have the peloton feel. This race was pretty complicated with 17 turns every lap, each lap being 4 miles and the race lasting 6 laps. That’s a lot of turns.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jbWN3WlWeAZ8a6M610z6Aou6i1zJptFKTDFH-2eMkN3ajtm_84HepBjZB9NJa6V4OkIheth9DqQFPyXcLXoY9hH1eJc_7jcuBvraKotOENyv7sHgftShaxaMYPQjZpnaLtIZ12Ub1bA/s1600/fed+center+map.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 345px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jbWN3WlWeAZ8a6M610z6Aou6i1zJptFKTDFH-2eMkN3ajtm_84HepBjZB9NJa6V4OkIheth9DqQFPyXcLXoY9hH1eJc_7jcuBvraKotOENyv7sHgftShaxaMYPQjZpnaLtIZ12Ub1bA/s400/fed+center+map.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732076128270282850" /></a><br />When the race started out, I went right to the front to get through the first couple of turns. I figured if someone was going to do something stupid it would be early when they were excited. Turns out the first and only crash I saw was during lap two. Silly actually, on a short climb a rider rubbed wheels with the guy that stood up in front of him. Typically when a rider stands up his back wheel moves back, I guess that guy didn’t know that. He went down on the slower part of the hill. I was two riders back and pinned up against the median. His back wheel went into the gutter where I was, and me and the guy in front of me just rode over his back wheel and kept trucking. I heard later everyone made it back into the group, including the rider that fell.<br /><br />During the rest of the race the group kind of started to gel and figured out the corners. Near the end of the race people were taking the corners faster and safer. Still slowing down more than they needed, which afforded me an easy way to move up. In the end we had a pack of about 25 riders racing down to the finish. I had just made a big effort to pull back in a guy off the front hoping one of my stronger teammates would benefit. (The guy that was off the front managed to hold on for the win but finished with the exact same time as the pack, so it was close.) As we raced down the finishing stretch I snuck my way up and finished right in the lead group for 14th. My teammates captured 4th and 9th as well as 24th and 25th. <br /><br />Overall, I accomplished my goal of finishing near the front but more importantly I became a little more confident in the pack after having to negotiate that complicated course. Within an hour or so of our race the wind moved in and the rain began, culminating with some spring snow that evening. It was a great race to squeeze in before the storm.<br /><br />Edit: 4/17/12<br />Found some photos of the race on www.sportifimages.com, Dean these babies are so good you made me look good out there!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZz0jEcbUwfj49IlS9IiHeHGV8HGWmOKzgUil4w4NQPezrherEyJu9TYLsZ-aGYo_6ZFespdHjTpUUTInFHhBbmSx1cPTQj_YNrkE4eyi_qjqbIc7RxTqDqwt8l6wwOnHT_NsL2onptU/s1600/The+Group.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZz0jEcbUwfj49IlS9IiHeHGV8HGWmOKzgUil4w4NQPezrherEyJu9TYLsZ-aGYo_6ZFespdHjTpUUTInFHhBbmSx1cPTQj_YNrkE4eyi_qjqbIc7RxTqDqwt8l6wwOnHT_NsL2onptU/s400/The+Group.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732382459377795234" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINUhObw8Xnc7CnhiIHZwm9UInWys6Qcn15hwH0A-7LVrm0tQ5VODwRY5op9PlAH0h_RqeAYL53Kir2WBLH1KS2kJEmhQUw8s8iKrYkrLNOZo5X1gvcwtP9Rg_fzroP38MgXAzjEjbJOs/s1600/Close+up.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINUhObw8Xnc7CnhiIHZwm9UInWys6Qcn15hwH0A-7LVrm0tQ5VODwRY5op9PlAH0h_RqeAYL53Kir2WBLH1KS2kJEmhQUw8s8iKrYkrLNOZo5X1gvcwtP9Rg_fzroP38MgXAzjEjbJOs/s400/Close+up.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732382456363269170" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ONDGV0B5IjT74YvaE1Vc1NyisrnEHiSEHxTFmvGB9wXwvapP4KGHtdhI3QKq5fM3Gi3xY-KS-hQJwncQurOCGO8pBz_Qsw9-peDNxhPApdhtcjsdOPxjfTl4EDY9o7Cvh-uDgrwM_y4/s1600/corner.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ONDGV0B5IjT74YvaE1Vc1NyisrnEHiSEHxTFmvGB9wXwvapP4KGHtdhI3QKq5fM3Gi3xY-KS-hQJwncQurOCGO8pBz_Qsw9-peDNxhPApdhtcjsdOPxjfTl4EDY9o7Cvh-uDgrwM_y4/s400/corner.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732382449042737986" /></a>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04696914900668432922noreply@blogger.com0