Andy McKeegan

Official

2011-04-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

Moving up in the world. Big Thanks to BH Bicycles, Uvex, and Raw Revolution for making this season seamless!

www.andrewmckeegan.com

Act 2, Scene 1

2011-03-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

Its truly amazing how scary, awful, exciting, and agonizing a healthy dose of change can be. We all get so caught up in our world, social scenes, and careers that life becomes a straight shot interstate to what? To where? The smallest catalyst can send your entire world tumbling down on your head. Then as in any chain reaction, everything starts to simmer and precipitate until that spark has finally reached the end of the line and sneaks into the powder keg... Ill forgo the resulting antics. After the soot, ash, and debris have settled who knows what you'll see. Wiping the grit from your eyes, freeing your lungs of the burning particulate, ears ringing. You can breathe again. The first steps will hurt as muscles spasm and shards pierce under foot, but outside the blast radius, there is light. The road you were traveling was a phantom of a past life, new roads surround you begging to be traveled. One could end up heading back the way they came, heading an entirely new direction, or stumbling upon an unknown detour linking up with their original trail. Regardless, there is walking to be done, experiences to be had, and a life to live before its snuffed out by the cruelty of time. Who knows you may even end up back at that blemish, still blackened and torched by past turmoil, yet exhibiting signs of healing. Fresh sprouts breaking from the ash. You can sit under a tree in that spot, take in the sun and say: "damn, that was some crazy shit."

The Flo

2011-03-05T13:09:00.000-08:00

Its true. Ive been ok'ed to begin training again. Slow at first obviously, but being able to ride with friends at the cusp of spring is intensely refreshing. Mixed signals from the doc for this recent round of tests. My legs/leg/tube felt pretty solid and I managed to push myself to 400 watts before a general lack of fitness left me swollen with lactate and gagging. Ill just cut to the chase: the results were both my legs dropped in pressure. Left was still at 50% flow, right dropped to 70%...weird. The doc heard a bruit below my graft (pronounced bru-ee, its French, lame) which is a sign of obstruction in the artery, but a really clear Duplex scan (fancy for a arterial ultrasound) didnt show any obstructions and blood velocity through the artery was exceptional. So...that's 1 point for me for feeling good, and 1 point for the duplex being solid. Also, 1 point for the bruit and 1 point for the numbers dropping. ITS A TIE! So marching orders are to start training, see how it goes, call the doc in 6 weeks. Been starting off slow with the likes of Nick Waite (riding his MTB as a handicap) I cant help but picture the before and afters of my surgery as such:
And after:

glorious :-p

A Ride

2011-03-01T15:51:00.001-08:00

Right turn, enter the flow, the main artery to escape. Wobbles, unstable, strokes choppy…yet familiar. Three miles in and shoulders relax, back flattens, comfortable. Sinking into the saddle like a cozy chair, actions become innate. Fingers twitch with the contours of an ancient valley, second nature, while the mind wanders. Legs, rising and falling in a perfect circle, as they have done countless times before. Sunset spreads a Midas hue over the hills, warming the faces of the giants. Second Mountain, Reddish Knob, Massanutten; solemn centurions, forever vigilant, bid me silent reception. The wind of an early spring burns the face, bites the skin; a welcome sensation, too long absent. Country roads, cut and sunken into the landscape like a great sleeping serpent. The flow of its coils yields to olden trees and rocks, too sacred to remove. A startle. Starlings take flight into a purpling sky. Apollo graces their feathers, reflecting the light, an airborne oil spill. They pitch and roll with the wind, with the hawks, like so many misplaced sardines. Gone. Into the trees and thickening grass. Left turn, shade, cold. Legs ticking, easy, cautious. I remember. The beauty, the purity, the simplicity. The urge to go, to run, tempered; in the starting gate, foaming. Patience. Tomorrow. A life reborn with the sunrise.

Tina you fat lard come get some dinner!

2011-01-22T17:46:00.000-08:00

Holy balls this week has been crazy. Ill spare the gritty details but I had my return visit to the UVA vascular center to test my new leg straw. Seeing as how I had return of symptoms after my first ride on October 1st, I was not surprised with the given result: my left leg is worse...flow down to 50%, when tested before surgery it was 70%. What. The. Fuck. I had another angiogram scheduled the following morning to find the problem and see if it was fixable. That angiogram had to be canceled due to a skin rash I managed to procure from the gym or sleeping in a cesspool. Stressful.

No riding going on after that test, dont want my toes to fall off (which they felt like doing after I ride...after turning zombie white of course.) Now that all that is cleared up my angiogram is on Monday. Fingers crossed for promising results. In the mean time lots of swimming and running have been on the books. Occasionally a hike: scoped out Big Hollow/Heartbreak with Selena, a popular mt. bike trail frequented by the local thrillseekers of the burg. Cold day, some robust blisters from my sweet new hiking boots, all in all a solid time. Pre-Hike fuel consisted of glorious Kurt Kakes: almond flour, oat, flax, nutella, and honey love patties. Amazing. Selena is thrilled to be enjoying them.

Stapling my luck to my face and hoping for a easy fix, fast recovery, and a return to riding sooner than later.

Recovery?

2011-01-09T16:25:00.000-08:00

With bike racing and bike riding and general exercise/training on hold for 6 weeks(doctors orders) there was a multitude of time to partake in other extravagant hi-jinx. With the assistance of Nick Waite & Co. some of these shenanigans may have turned a tad debaucherous. From September 4th through October 1st the following may have ensued...

Snip Snip

2011-01-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

That was quite the cliffhanger!

The last thing I remember before going under the knife was crying to my girlfriend and mother (literally) about how scared I was. Pussy right?

Surgery is the most surreal experience of my life. At one point I am drugged into a dreamless coma. Eventually I wake up and someone has cut into my body and done shit to it which I cant fathom. I don't know what day it is, how much time has gone by, what happened, etc.
Pain. The pain wasn't bad...with enough Fentanyl coursing through your veins, nothing hurts nor matters.
Hunger. My body was pissed and I hadn't eaten in almost a day. The catch? Being the only person in the vascular ward without coronary disease or diabetes did not exempt me from partaking in their heart healthy meals. Salt-less, tasteless, grease-less, flavor-less nutrient units. Hardly food. I had my steady drip of visitors smuggle in wraps and smoothies from the cafeteria. I felt like an oracle; humble servants would make the pilgrimage with offerings of flowers and food. Occasionally a bull was sacrificed at my feet and blood smeared around my scars while the guts were set afire and read over my face!
While I "enjoyed" my time moving my bed up and down and numbing my cerebral with reruns of Jersey Shore, eventually I would have to move. A walker was conveniently constructed before me and I was eager to move around.
Pain. I could not even sit up to get up. My body felt weak and my incisions felt to be ripping at the seams. Wincing and bitching I was forced upright by a pose of RNs and told to stand. Pain. Standing upright was a pipe dream. I hobbled forward one shuffle at a time, my posture making Quasimodo look like a ballet dancer. Counting tiles until I reached the door, then about face and back to the bed. Exhausted.
This continued for days until I was wheeled into my mothers minivan and sent home. No change. Night sweats, pain, 15 min ordeals to reach the bathroom to piss. Jersey Shore. Kim Kardashian. History. drug induced bliss. No poop
It was 6 or 7 days before I pooped post-op. I wanted to poop sooner but was told not to push for fear or bursting a stitch. Epically constipated I sucked down Smooth Move tea and fiber for days. There was gurgling and rumbling, but no one at the gate. Then one day it happened. In a multi second whoosh which required zero effort my bowls were expulsed. It must have been at least 5 pounds of fecal matter. Felt amazing.
Soon after there was a snap in the recovery. I was only running simple pain killers and slowly standing upright. Once I could walk well enough without pain I returned to Harrisonburg (2 weeks post-op) to get back to life.

Bionic

2010-12-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

Last time I posted I mentioned a possible surgery. I had been experiencing intense burning and loss of power in my left leg at high intensities since March 2010. Writing off the idea of something serious I went through the usual channels to treat the "issue:" massage, PT, stretching, strengthening, and generally flushing twenty dollar bills down the toilet... With no relief in sight I took the advice of Nick Waite and scheduled an appointment with Dr. Ken Cherry: the big poobah of vascular surgery at UVA.

August 17th was the first test which involved a ride on the stationary bike until the symptoms presented themselves. Once my leg felt sufficiently suffocated I hopped off the bike and was rigged to a series of tubes and cuffs to measure blood pressure. Still dubious of the whole situation I had convinced myself that everything would be normal, and I would go on to ride with and suffer through this strange ailment. However the Fates had a different plan in store for me. My somewhat aloof and hippie lab tech showed me the test results: the blood in my left leg dropped dramatically compared to the right and recovered to a state far below that of the right leg. Verdict: left leg was fucked, but why?

August 18th, test 2, the angiogram. After being injected with a drug that mimicked the results of "a few bottles of wine" and being sufficiently numbed, a camera tube was slipped up my right femoral artery and snaked into my abdomen. This tube then ejaculated dye down into my left leg and pictures were taken. Dr Cherry visited in the recovery ward with some interesting news. "Well, you have it, and its bad." Iliac Artery Endofibrosis.
Officially: 'a subset of athletes (particularly cyclists, rowers and triathletes) have reported symptoms of leg pain and weakness from an unexpected cause - damage to the arteries of the pelvis, groin or lower leg. This damage, or arteriopathy appears to cause the arteries to stretch, narrow or kink in such a way that during high-intensity exercise the athlete experiences decreased blood flow due to the constriction or obstruction of the artery in the affected leg. This lack of blood flow, or ischemia, causes pain, burning, weakness, and powerlessness during exercise.' Nothing I caused, just happens and it fuckin sucks. The damage to my artery was 6-8 inches in length and was restricting my blood flow by 30%. Too much to patch, the options were limited; segment replacement with an artificial graft. Photo not of my artery, but you get the gist.
August 19th: The Surgery...

Dawg Days

2010-07-31T18:02:00.000-07:00

Trying to post more...again. Now with the girlfriend officially residing in Charlottesville I should have more time to keep shit up to date. As anyone south of the Mason-Dixon has noticed its been a crazy miserable summer. 99 degrees with 99 percent humidity. You know its officially time for summer to be over when all you can think of is tele turning the shit out of some sweet WV glades. Racing has been winding down and going decently well. I usually end up with epic meltdowns once the mercury rises...but with a stiff regimen of 50 spf sunblock, electrolytes, 2 bottles of water per hour, and nearly constant pre-hydration Ive been keeping it together deep into the heat.

Scoped out new terrain today east of the Blue Ridge well riding new training routes to come see the significant other in the Foof. Slapping two mountains in the way lengthens the ride to a decent 4 hours with nice riding down into town. The foof side of the mountain is way more tree covered then the de-forested, agri-business oriented valley, making for some nice shade and relief from our oppressive star.

On deck for August: MABRA championship road race, Luray crit, then Millersburg stage race. Possible surgery on the 19th. More to come on that.

For now...quality training and quality deck time with Nick Waite and High Life.

Vint Hill Classic

2010-03-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

This will be a typical race report. Abridged. Elite men: 35 miles on a 1.2 mile circuit...circuiterium for the rest of you ugly mugs. Lap 2- break of 7 gets away including 3 heavy hitters
break gets 30+ seconds. I jump solo to make the bridge. Chase hard for 5 laps. 7 vs. 1 is not good odds. got within 5 seconds. Had a 30 second gap on the field.
Teammate Paul Lengermann and Haymarket rider Jared Neiters bridge up to me, but the help came to late...main field chases to bring us back.
Next lap Joe D. from Haymarket and teammate Greg Abbot get away. No one chases. Ridiculous Cat 3 style yoyo'ing ensues for a good 10 laps. Frustrating.
10 laps of that bullshit and a group of 4 sneaks off. I get pissed and attack hard after a strung out section and bring 2 guys with me, including the Iranian national champion. We work well and put about a minute on the field...but hover off the main break. With my group we would be in the top 12 since people were coming off the main break.
2 laps to go and I get a front flat. Within 5 to go there is no free lap for mechanicals. DNF...super pissed and frustrated. However, never had strength like I had today...it will be a good season!
Teammate Greg Abbot nails 6th in the break sprint. Nicely done!

Lost River

2010-03-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

Returned from the NCVC elite team training camp at Lost River Barn this weekend. Great legs, great teammates, beautiful mountains, excellent riding, shit tons of rain. A beautiful old barn renovated for cycling enthusiasts from all over to come ride in the WV mountains...and a convenient 37 mile trip from Harrisonburg. Fitness is in prime mode to win some races! Rest week this week then the season opener: Vint Hill Classic!

Soon...

2010-02-22T15:06:00.000-08:00

Im still alive. Survived both blizzards. Kept the training load up with 30+ hours of XC skiing and suffering on the trainer. Got out at last this weekend for a 5 hour team ride my new pose, National Capital Velo Club elite team. I counted 4 Robins...3 days before at beloved Whitegrass I saw numerous Blue Birds....could this signal the end of the dark days and the return of light and youth to the land? Probably not, some fat Pennsylvania rodent fucked it up.

Wonderland

2010-01-04T16:05:00.001-08:00

"All my life, right and wrong tangled, playing with the moon, ridiculing the wind, listening to the birds…Many years wasted seeing the mountain covered with snow. This winter I realize snow makes the mountain" - Dogen Zenji

The Paceline

2010-01-02T18:19:00.001-08:00

Emergency Condition

2010-01-02T17:55:00.000-08:00

As Lewis Black says: "cold like this aint weather...its a fuckin emergency condition." Its cold in the sultry, balmy south. The residents of Harrisonburg are now walking around like New Yorkers; heads down and shoulders shrugged...walking with stiff purpose from point A to point B. No hellos, no leisure pace. The outlook for the next 12 days shows highs in the low 30's. Sadly the past 12 days have boasted the same frigid temps. Until the mercury decides to climb out of the teens, training will remain a day-to-day ordeal of trainer rides, skiing, and thinking of ways to beat the cold. Jeremiah and I have been hitting the gym to torch the legs and offset the weekly hours. Coupled with fixed gear cross bike rides and plyometrics and you still feel blown by weeks end. Hopefully this wont last too much longer and the Mid-Atlantic/New England riders wont turn into fat slow slobs for the first races. At least we'll all be fat slow slobs together!
Bishop and I put in 4-5 hours on the one warm day of the week...high of 40 for 15 minutes. The only other people on the road were the Mennonites, with babies and all. Tough tough folks.

Wrap it up

2009-12-07T18:40:00.000-08:00

And that's a wrap for the cyclocross season. I missed my last race due to a weird onset of nausea and vertigo in the car on the way to the race. Looking pale with skin like a dead fish, I had to pull over and let Selena drive because I felt drunk and thought I was gunna spew. Very strange. Tails tucked I returned home to take a nap and had nightmares about missing the race...fuckin' A.
On a better note this season boasted better results than last year; even though I was mortgaging all my results by packing in base miles for a strong road season and not doing ANY specific training for cyclcross. Even with six hour rides under my belt and tons of tempo riding the results improved. I'm stoked for a big leap next year...the Black Knight cometh! Got a jump start on the weights and a new kickass core routine nailed down. Should be putting Leonidas to shame by the spring.
We had one of our biggest snow falls for this early in the year. Jeremiah and I drove up to Skyline Drive and poached the AT for some amazing cross country skiing. Its only every couple years you get enough snow to ski the Blue Ridge...a narrow window and we nailed it. Then the next day, it was gone...phantom mist. Pics to come soon

cycloxxxxxx

2009-11-18T16:59:00.000-08:00

Made a west/east excursion from base camp this weekend to West 'by God' VA and Fooftown to do a little grass bike racing action. Ending this three week training block with 2 races had my legs feeling a bit like rotten peaches but I toughed it out...after ambitions to drop out of both races since the power profile had taken a vay-kay and I'd rather snuggle in the mud for a nap. Rocked it out in a small field at the West VA Cyclocross Series race #4: Blackwater cross. In the home town of none other than Nick 'spider-monkey, pro' Waite. His fan club contingency was disappointed that he did not show...but that means more pay out for me! Layed the smack/payback for Iron Cross on old man Gunnar Shogran, no hard feelings though, and took second behind local Cannondale pro Jason Cyr, who, to syke me out, was riding wheelies around the course and bunny hopping the barriers. After taking the g/f to legendary Sirianni's Cafe for pizza we departed Davis with some decent cash and swag. Check out the pics

Next day found the legs in worse of a way than Saturday. The course was a disaster too. Momma Ruth from C-ville loves making a tight, twisty, steep cross course. Add a week of rain to that and you've got 4 run-ups and the barriers per lap...gruesome. As per usual this season I was not expecting a call-up. Then when my name was called for a front row spot I was taken aback! Launching into the hole shot 4th wheel I was so excited that I hit a tree, front wheel landed in a hole and I crashed...finding myself near the back as this photo can attest 8-( (see Notre Dame bell ringer at the top of the hill) I dont know how it happened given my flat legs but I fought my way into 8th place, one spot out of the money and a worse result than my Urban cross last year (7th)...but the field this year was twice as big and twice as stacked. Guess I'm riding faster, there's some good news.

This week is for some R&R. Did some bushwhack hiking with Jeremiah at Fridley's Gap yesterday and a small excursion to Hidden Rocks today. Sometimes a hike is just the thing to rest the mind as well as the body...when the thought of an easy hour spin in the cold, grey, wet just isn't thrilling. Test this weekend, and probably a race.

PS- New Cannondale Cross bike is the shit!!!

Monterey Jack

2009-11-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

It takes some balls to grab a map (or not) and go into the West Va. mountains without any knowledge of the true terrain, road conditions, weather, or whether roads which exist on the map actually exist...and finding out roads not on the map actually exist. I had the idea for this epic excursion after the ride to Monterey Curtis and I explored back in March...except this time it would be bigger, meaner, and more wild....with plenty of bitching, wandering, and wondering in between. So the ride started out the traditional Churchville to Monterey loop...except we went beyond over Monterey Mt. into Hightown when the rain started and Jeremiah began to cry (though he did ride 8 hours the day before). Looping back near Snowy Mt and the town of Bluegrass we got lost trying to find a way over Jack Mt. The route on the map was a phantom to trap bold travlers in the hillcountry....Deliverence style. We came across a local in an abandoned auto shop (true story) who told us how to get over the pass in a thick, backcountry accent which took all three of us to decipher. It came out to be the best climb of the day with the most amazing views back East. Then heading over Simmions Mountain (with the help of another local) there was a huge, rickety, spooky oak tree with the bodies of at least 10 groundhogs hanging by the neck from the branches....I shit you not. Next time I swear Ill take a picture.
Then finally back over Shaws Ridge and the backside of Reddish Knob to the truck parked at the base of Tilgman Rd. Monterey Jack or Jackson's Revenge...easily the most epic ride/loop explored by the Pros and pro-lites of Rocktown.

Overview of the mountains

GWNF mini climbs
Shenandoah Mt
Shaw's Ridge
Bullpasture Mt.
Jack Mt.
Monterey Mt.
Jack Mt. again
Simmions Mt.
Shaws Ridge
Shenandoah Mt.

Iron Cross VII

2009-10-19T11:42:00.001-07:00

So I was skeptical about this race at first, not being a true cross race, nor a road race, nor a mountain bike race, just some bastard of the three. However Iron Cross became one of the coolest races Ive ever done. Special shout to the promoters, organizers, and sponsors who make it happen year after year!
After a warm week in the valley (80-85 degrees) I arrived at Michoux State Forest with little more than summer cycling gear, t-shirt, jeans, a pillow and a blanket. Jeremiah and I crashed in a cabin with 10 other dudes. As the night progressed the temps dropped the low 30's, freezing the morning dew on the course tape. I had a sleepless night of shivering and daring not to move or go out to pee. My bunk mate didnt seem to have a problem waking up 6 or 7 times during the night to go pee. He would put on his Sidi Dominators and hoof around the cabin like a house broken pig, waking everyone over and over. What the hell man?
In the morning I had no idea what to expect. The talk of the night was pacing yourself as to not explode half way through. But when the gun went off it was full on through the cross course and onto the fire roads. I started a good 6 rows back like a jackass and had to fight a hard battle to work my way up the lead group about 15 miles in. When we hit the first section of single track everything exploded and little contingents of 2 or 3 guys were spit out the other end, eventually finding our way back together to continue the chase. Miles and miles, lots of rocks, 2 powerline run ups and 6,000 ft of climbing later I attacked my group leading into the cross course, jumped the last set of barriers to finish 6th in the Elite Men. A good result after a slow start to the season. Jeremiah took home the win

Dallas

2009-05-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

Back here in Dallas for 4 days of crits, culminating with the State crit championship. Good stuff. Although the riding sux i like the climate here more than Austin, its greener, just as flat, and dosent have the lung-burning, sinus imploding allergies that seem to plague me in Austin. Going for a spin with teammate Steve Dodge to get the legs primed.

Dasypus novemcinctus

2009-05-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

The common nine-banded armadillo. These little fuckers are everywhere in TX. They have replaced the possum and groundhog as the leading roadside carrion. Apparently their range borders the Mississippi river but I definitely counted at least 10 alongside the road starting 100 miles east of Nashville TN. Who knows.

Today Fawley took me on part of the "13 up" ride. I have never, ever seen hills as steep as this. Some border on 30% and since it never snows here, I guess thats legal. If I didnt have a 27 Id have to walk up some of them. They are not little steep rollers, they are 2-5 minute suffer-fests in the house of pain. I dont know how they go out and "race ride" all of them without falling to pieces. Apparently the 13 Up ride is why Austin racers are so much better than Dallas racers. Kind of like how Rocktown is so much better than the Foof. Similar principles.

Im still getting over the "Blair Flu" the team picked up after Joe Martin. Heart rate is a bit high but that may also be the gnarly south Texas allergies. Either way hope it passes soon. Dont need a repeat of January-April. fuck

Houston Grand Prix

2009-05-18T16:16:00.000-07:00

Two days of hard hard Texas crits. These are (I'm told) some of the hardest crits in the country with some of the best crit racers. 120 dudes started on the mile-ish long course shaped like a spear head. Our average speed was 30mph. With nasty cross winds guttering the entire field at times I felt like I was motor-pacing off a freight train. Hard to move up with so many guys but I managed until 2 laps I was sprinting up the right to help Fawley with a lead-out when an epic crash took out the entire front-middle of the field, at least 30 guys hit the deck. I rode my front wheel to a stop and had to shuttle my way around the carnage. With a break of 11 up the road, the rest of the field split into pieces, shook up and weary, riding to the finish. I came in 44th...blah. Fawley won the "field sprint" for 12th. Id rather be road racing.

Kyle sent me pics of the SDS ride back home. epic

Joe Martin

2009-05-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

The good the bad and the ugly

Arrive in Fayetteville AR the night before the TT and pre-rode the 3 mile climb a few times. Legs felt pretty good after a 16 hr drive.

Day of the TT legs didnt feel as good, may have gotten over zealous with my openers the day before. I wasnt sure how to pace myself without exploding and rode a 9:37...coming in 28th of 150 starters....A bit disappointing. I figured I could have saved 7-10 seconds and that even would not have been a top 20 time....fast dudes out here. Because Joe Martin was a NRC event they had a 125% time cut for the TT...as a result 30 guys got cut the first day...that sux.

Stage 2 - 115 mile RR with lots of climbing. Feeling good, Fawley got in the early break and the team patrolled the front to go with any moves etc. Break came back after 90 min off the front and a gap of 2 min. Stayed near the front until the 12 mile climb 30 miles from the finish. Climbed with the top guys, sitting around 5th wheel over the top, field split and a big group came together on the decent. Andy McKeegan...field sprinter? Hardly. Rode in back of the group, maintained GC position.

Stage 3 - 100 mile RR. 10 miles out, 3x25 mile loops, 10 miles back. Loop was half stair step climbs and the other half was screaming fast ridge top riding and descents. Team plan was to get me in a break to make up GC time. Fawley buried himself to bridge me up to moves but nothing was sticking. We reached the turn for the fast charge back to town and started working the front to set up Fawley for the field sprint.
At 5K I charged up the left side to get to front and manged to gap the field. The GC leader and another guy were already off the front by 10 seconds and I bridged the gap, bringing a Mercy rider with me. In that 5K we put 18 seconds on the field. I was hurting bad and wanted to ensure a podium so with 1K I sat on the GC leader and sprinted around him for 3rd. Fawley got 2nd in the field sprint for 6th. A sick result in a huge, hard race. With the 5 second time bonus and the 18 seconds on the field, I was bumped to 20th GC

Stage 4 - fast, techy, hard ass crit. Legs shot, started to come down with a sickness. Field cut in half, wound up in second group, lead group put 2 min on us. Finished 37th GC....damn it

Went out with the team and saw why University of Arkansas is rated 18th for hottest student bodies....go Hogs!

Quality

2009-03-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

Had a pretty good second weekend back here in VA. Friday I kitted out the Irish ancestry for the St. Patrick's Day alley cat race in town. My super pro squad of Selena and Kelsey Miller rocketed around town gathering clues and securing my first podium of the year haha. Our team got 3rd place thanks to a thorough knowledge of the Burg and the fastest routes around town!

Saturday proved to be another beast. Selena wanted to go to the Maple Festival in Monterey VA; a town not far from good 'ol Staunton, which holds some fond memories from my scouting days. I also had a long training day on tap so what better way to combine the adventure than to ride to Monterey. I picked a route and picked a crew....though I could only muster C-dubs the chubs to accompany my quest.

The route was simple enough and Ive ridden half of it a dozen times. Leave town over Shenandoah Mt. via Rt. 33. Head south to Sugar Grove WV then over Moyers Gap and head due west through the mountains to Caves. Hook a left south, through Snowy Mt pass and hook another left to Blue Grass and Hightown, then back over Monterey Mountain to Monterey.

At snowy pass things went bad and we missed our turn heading deep into the wilderness. When our route bumped headlong into a wall of mountains and shot north we knew something was amiss. Curtis asked a lady sitting outside a trailer how to get to High Town. She replied "ya gun Wn gOw nEow O'er da'tDere up er myanten up er roun Snawee deb on yoall gub derop up on dan ner an tak raght on Wtmer un gone to 220 dat take-ye iner weresyagoone." (read out loud for best results)
After doing 20 extra miles back over the steep bitch Hardscrabble Mountain and winding our way through the high country that looked like Austria, Curtis and I finally arrived in Blue Grass and could navigate our way to the festival, 2 hours late.
After enjoying buckwheat pancakes, country ham, natural honey, maple syrup boiled down that same day, mountain vistas, kettle corn, and the pleasantries of mountain life we drove home.

Sunday I accompanied Selena to a karst Geology and Sinkhole seminar in Luray. The gist of the seminar was that ground water and surface water mix easily in a area prone to sinkholes and caverns....i.e. don't dump your dead cattle and old truck tires in a sinkhole...its like putting dead mice in your coffee filter...eventually it will end up in your drinking water.
After the seminar I took 3.5 hrs to explore the eastern edges of Page County and ride back to the burg for a bangin' Mexican dinner.
All in all a good weekend!!!

Its always summer somewhere

2009-03-05T15:06:00.000-08:00

Just returned from a 3 hr ride with Fawley and Tyler, one of the TX Tough racers. Tyler took us out on some good roads and I was finally enjoying my Texas riding. Traffic was slim, the roads were nice and the landscape opened up without taking an hour of riding through town.

This Saturday is a 60 mile gravel road race in east TX. Then the team travels to Louisiana to do the Rouge Roubaix, a 100 mile gravel road race through the bayou. Looking at the pictures there's trees covered with Spanish moss, sandy roads, and crazy tow paths. It'll definitely be fun!

In other news while the east coast gets slammed with more snow and single digits, its been spring/summer here in TX for almost 2 weeks! Any trees that weren't already green are budding, the flowers are already out and the colors are amazing. Alas, back to the frigid tundra for me in 4 days, but at least Ill get to see my mountains again. I miss having them on the horizon every time I go out.

Fawley woke me up to Denver's 'Country Roads' this morning; gave me goosebumps.

And a word from our sponsors...

2009-02-26T20:23:00.000-08:00

All this bike racing and globe trotting wouldn't be possible without the help of kickass sponsors dedicated to cycling. To get the ball rolling the Park Place team has the support of Dallas Racing and Dallas Metal Fabrication. These guys are behind the scene keep the sponsors out there with the club racers and getting the elite team to all the big shows around the country. Without them, racing would be nearly impossible. A special thanks for all their hard work!

To keep us healthy the team also has a few very cool nutritional sponsors. Cellucor, a company which specializes in supplements to boost athletic performance and aid recovery, is sponsoring the team with R3 Extreme. This product aids in recovery and tissue repair as well as bolstering the immune system so No Compromises Lawrence cant give me the flu again! For all you folks looking to help your riding, these products are worth checking out. When you order make sure to use the promo code dallasracing as 15% of all proceeds will be given back to the team. Check it out at www.cellucor.com. Because results matter!

We also have the support of Cooper Complete vitamins. These guys have also done blood work on all of the elite riders to make sure we're healthy and have no deficiencies. As well as providing us with critical information like predispositions to high blood pressure, testosterone levels, etc. Fawley better lay off the hamburger!

And when out riding and racing the Park Place team is in style on Orbea bicycles and Rudy Project helmets and glasses.
Fawley has been working on a private sponsor with Mavic so maybe Jeremiah's tight yellow shoes wont be the only pair in Harrisonburg.....brrrrrrrrrrrrrrp!

Pure Austin Classic at Pace Bend

2009-02-22T21:51:00.000-08:00

Hosted by Lance Armstrong’s bike shop, Mellow Johnny’s, which is ridiculously cool by the way, the Pure Austin race was an 80 mile race on 13 6ish mile laps. The terrain was rolling with a few good windy sections and two steep hills. The first hill led to the feed zone. The second was the start/finish. Each was about a 2-3 minute effort.

Our Pro 1,2 field was sporting 150 strong! You’d be lucky to get 100 at a big 123 race back east! Started sort of near the front and on the first lap my legs weren’t feeling so bad but I was sitting in and sliding toward the front. I was sitting about 15^th wheel when we hit the first wall. Holy shit did my legs hurt. They felt super flat, no power, sore, and my HR went ballistic. I literally sag climbed the hill accidently and was probably 60^th wheel at the top. Fucking sucked. Having a super hard race yesterday and it being the first of the year must have really zapped my tank. I figured Fawley won’t take that as an excuse, I better eat and maybe the pipes will come around. Boy was I wrong, each lap felt worse and worse and got harder and harder and I noticed the field getting bigger and bigger in front of me. The only thing saving me was sitting in and that still wasn’t doing much. I wasn’t a bit of help to my team as Flyin’ Bryan attacked again and again. It sucked watching Fawley and my other teammate Loren take such hard pulls and work so hard to get away or chase breaks and know that just getting to the front again would pop me. With 20 miles to go the Hotel San Jose team decided to make it hard for everyone. With the field strung out single file we hit the start/finish climb and I exploded over the top. I chased through the caravan for half a lap before I truly fell to pieces and rode the rest of the race like a small child, finishing 97^th.

A decent first race followed by a terrible second. I think a week of good training and rest will set me up for a strong showing at the Lago Vista road races this weekend. Coach analyzed my power files from the race on Saturday and it appears that my HR is still a bit high compared to pre-sickness. I can’t believe that shit, it’s been almost 2 months and even with hard training, my performance is still suffering from that stupid illness! A word to the wise: clean up your shit, keep your house clean, and get your flu shot.

The races this coming weekend are also both 80 miles and each one sports a 2 mile stair step climb with a 2 mile steep and fast descent. Screw the power tap for those events; I’m taking Fawley up on his offer to use his light wheelset.

The Walburg Classic

2009-02-21T13:52:00.000-08:00

So my first Texas road race turned into a boxing match. Everyone Ive met, talked to, and everything Ive read marks this as "the hardest race in TX." The course is 3, 25 mile laps on flat, rolling roads. Sounds easy enough....group sprint right? WRONG. Throw in winds so bad that they started fields at 8AM in 10 minute increments before the winds picked up to 40+ mph. The first lap wasn't so bad. Things stayed together for the most part, a few guys hung not far of the front, and the pace would go ape shit for a minute or two then back off. It took me most of that lap to finally get to the front in our almost 100 man field. I threw in a half ass attack to see if they'd chase and everyone jumped like it was a Cat 3 race.

Lap 2 started and we turned into the emerging winds. Suddenly it was like a herd of race horses were pulling on the front and the field was single file, everyone on the gas, nowhere to hide. I figured it wouldn't last for more than a minute or two....but it kept up, I was dying, who or what was pulling like that!? People were literally just pulling out of the line, totally shelled, as others had to close the gaps. I survived and found myself with a group of 4, remnants of the field splayed out before me. We worked well and had a good echelon formation going, mowing through people, catching larger groups and adding a few others to ours. I was definitely the strongest in the group, taking the most pulls, controlling the formation. It was very negative racing. Guys would try and attack our small 10 man group, explode in the wind, and drop to the back or get dropped...idiots. I was getting tired of pulling everyone around and not having but 2-3 other guys help me out. I decided to attack our group in the headwinds on the third lap and solo it the last 15-20 miles.

Lap 3 began and we hit this small hill into the headwinds. I started to drift to the back of the group to launch an attack over the hill and get my gap. At the back there was this small Asian dude who was dying. He couldn't have weighed more than 100lbs and was running Zipp 808s...ZIPP 808s IN 40 MPH WINDS? Fucking retarded. As I drifted behind him a crosswind blast slammed his wheels and he slammed his rear wheel into my front taking me down. It felt like someone kicked my wheel out from under me. I didn't get too banged up since it was an uphill and head/cross wind. I was fuming uber pissed. My chain dropped off from my big ring and it was a pain getting it back on. It probably took me 30 seconds or more before I was up and going and those guys were gone. I knew without me they'd be slummin' so I pegged it at threshold and started the chase. I finally got them in striking distance on a super fast, tailwind road 30 minutes later. I was so pissed at that Asian dude that I planned to attack that shit as soon as I got there and make life miserable for him to the finish. I rolled up behind the group quietly and BOOM! Throttled it up the yellow line and got a 7-10 second gap. I was tired as hell but kept on the gas for 10 minutes or so until I noticed that they were chasing me. I got caught by them with 5K to go and was so blown that 4 guys rolled away from me and I was with 4 others....the Asian dude was gone! So we road it in to the finish and I took 2nd in our group. I was stoked...I didn't see anyone in front of us, though I knew there were others in front, but I figured it was only 5-10 of the strong men. I felt good and strong coming off being so sick in January. I figured top 20 wasn't bad being a few weeks behind in fitness. Total bummer at the finish to find out that there were about 20 guys up the road. So I suppose I was somewhere around 25th. Sucked, I felt awesome and rode like a horse but must have missed that main split when the field went Kaboom! Tomorrow is another 80 mile road race. Kelly Benefits Pro team is coming up from San Antonio to race...as well as the Wherry, Tilford, Blackgrove posse. Sufferfest on the books.

ATX

2009-02-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

Getting prepped to race this weekend with the new team Park Place Lexus. The motto in these parts is: "If you're not racing in California or Texas this part of the year, everything else is pussy shit!" So I'm expecting a weekend of ridiculously fast racing. Did a pretty fast training ride on Wednesday with Chris Wherry and Heath Blackgrove from Toyota United Pro Cycling. Since that team folded these power houses are racing for Hotel San Jose pro cycling out of Austin. There is some super talent in these parts, even though the riding isn't all that great. Once you get out of town the roads are beautiful but Austin is huge and it takes at least an hour of lights, stop signs, asshole drivers, and traffic dodging before the countryside opens up. Its certainly no West VA. Fawley and I hit the town for a friend's birthday. It was nuts. Austin shuts down entire streets with barricades because people are everywhere. On 6th street every single building is a bar. No restaurants, no stores, no pizza shops, just bars and clubs...everywhere. There are girls leaning out of windows and dancing on balconies with hardly any clothes. Some are holding trays of shots shouting "two dollar shots, come on in!" Everything is to lure you in...freaking sin city. So the ATX was a pretty warm welcome. But now its time to buckle down and get to the business at hand: bring down the east coast fury!

go fly a kite

2009-02-18T18:26:00.000-08:00

If you haven’t already heard from me, I have arrived safely in Texas after 2 days of almost non-stop, arduous driving. If I learned anything from that trip it is that I could never, ever be a truck driver. Texas is a very pretty state, mostly flat, although I have yet to really get out and see the countryside as most of my riding has been in urban settings.

My first impression of Texas was disheartening. I arrived in Dallas to pick up my team bike from Dallas Bike Works, our supplier and mechanics. My patience was on thin ice from the days of travel and being tired. I was setting up my bike, measuring out the saddle height and what not when I overheard a conversation between two gentlemen standing close by. It went something like this

One man said to the other, “I have the day off for Presidents Day, I’d like to go for a ride but not sure If I have time.” The other said “you should do what the Presidents did on Presidents Day.” The first man said “yeah like play golf or…” The second paused and, thinking he was clever responded: “or go fly a kite and get struck by lightning.”

I closed my eyes and cringed at hearing this as a massive wave of ignorance flooded the room and bitch-slapped me in the face. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then perhaps you should consider returning to grade school. The comment rivaled a statement I heard from a JMU student not long ago: “Did you know that DC is the only state not represented in the US Supreme Court, and their state motto is ‘taxation without representation!’ Can you believe that!”

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the American educational system.

Things began to look up by the time I reached Austin. I arrived at the home of my teammate Bryan Fawley and his girlfriend Sherry. They have a sweet pad south of the city with plenty of room and DVR so we can watch cycling until our heads explode. The hospitality is awesome: a comfortable bed, full pantry, wireless internet, and good company. It was raining pretty hard all day and the traffic in Austin is heavy at times so, in the interest of good health, Fawley and I decided to ride the rollers. A power test is on the books for tomorrow, get the diesel warmed up!

T-minus

2009-02-13T19:33:00.000-08:00

When going away for weeks on end it becomes necessary to spend some one on one time with the significant other, especially on Valentines Day weekend. Since I had a rest day Selena and I both worked early and laced up the hiking boots (or running shoes) to do a bit of trail wandering. Every time I ride up Shenandoah Mountain via Rt. 33 West I see the massive peak of High Knob but never made the short trip to the top. The summit of the mountain boasts a sweet fire observation tower made of stone and thick lumber. The tower was built by the CCC in 1940 and, sitting on the tip top of the mountain with no surrounding trees, slightly resembles a medieval keep, but with no archers oddly. Anywho the views from up here put everything to shame. You could see clear across to the Blue Ridge Mountains and far out into West By God Virginia. It was amazing.

and far off in the distance tarnishing the skyline was Mount Storm, one of the largest coal fire power plants in the country.

The Lineup

2009-02-12T18:42:00.000-08:00

Last post October 6th....fucking pathetic. The word is out that I'm temporarily relocating to the Dallas/Austin area to race some road bikes. I leave on Valentines day for the epic 22 hour journey into the depths of the Confederacy. My truck has been fully kitted out with a new CD player complete with USB thumb drive. These devices should numb my brain through enough hours to slow the agony. When music isn't killing the boredom, I have a mega-version of the Hobbit on CD. The Hobbit, unabridged, all 12 hours of it...Ill be seeing dwarves and dragons before I hit the Mississippi. Its really too bad Middle Earth dosent exist (or does it?), it looks like some epic riding! When the going really gets tough I have a 25 hour version of "General Lee's Army"to get my brain firing again before interacting with society. More to come on that soon enough.

2008 wrapped up splendidly, finished up cross season and didn't make it to nationals due to a miscommunication and a general lack of funds. However, I finished with a number of podiums in the smaller races and top 10's in the big events. The Redline has about had enough, its starting to feel 2 seasons of cross and 2 winters of gnarly man hours. Hopefully a cross sponsorship and a sweet new rig will be on the agenda for 2009.

2009 up to this point. Started the year with a glamorous kick in the ass from our common household friend, the flu. The flu seems to have entered my system sometime around my birthday/Christmas but did not rear its hideous head until new years eve. It then smote me down with a mighty vengeance for months of hard racing and training and not giving my body a chance to rest. Jeremiah says its a blessing in disguise, so I don't burp and fizzle out in April like last year, although the season up to that point was awesome and got me my Cat 2. We shall see, Im almost back to pre-flu numbers.
That wasnt all in store for me. Due to the flu being a bitch to my lungs, I wound up with a good case of bronchitis which left me hacking and miserable for weeks and weeks. That was sured up with antibiotics, however, antibiotics carpet bomb your good intestinal flora leaving you susceptible to stomach bugs like the Nora Virus, which I naturally contracted, spending a few days pissing out my ass and cramping so bad I swore I had a uterus. Wonderful, with my body a literal battlefield of disease its taken almost 7 weeks for my heart rate to return to normal in the morning and on rides. However, progress is being made and I should be kicking ass and taking names by the end of the month.

Save the Ta-Tas

2008-10-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

Another sick weekend of cross racing. Saturday was MABRAcross race #2, the Breast Cancer Awareness race. Carpooled with Jeremiah and Erin who seem to be getting deeper and deeper into the cross scene this year. The course was tough, very techy and bumpy. Did what I could and had a good race but could only manage a 13th place out of it.
Sunday was an epic of cross races. The promoters of Kelley Acres cross, located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge near Fredrick MD, have determined that too many of the modern day cross races take place on fair grounds or around parks or schools. These guys decided to get back to cross roots with this race and fabricated the gnarliest course Ive ever seen. Those on mountain bikes were faring better than others. Jeremiah won the race and related it to a world cup course. The start was typical shooting around tape in a series of fields. However, the course then drops off and hits a series of steep muddy climbs, steeper muddy decents with hairpin turns, stream crossings, log piles to hop, burley run-ups, all topped off with a healthy serving of walnuts littering the ground. It was a fun fun race and was very hard. My tech and skills are not by any means world class yet so I was having trouble staying with the leaders. I muscled my way through and came out the other end in 8th place and won 40 bucks. Not bad given the stacked field of national champions, state champions, and cross pros.
The most important news of the day: This Tuesday, October 7th is the first race of the Blue Ridge Cup, a series of training races pitting Harrisonburg against Charlottesville, may the fittest town win! Info can be found under the "rides" forum of www.svbcoalition.org. Come support your favorite town!

Where's Waldo?...racing cross bitches!

2008-10-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

I did it again, worst blogger in history...totally forgot to keep on top of this thing for the past month. Since its now October theres been alot going on since the last post. I burned out pretty good for the remainder of road season but had a nice break on the west coast. Selena and I had an all expenses paid trip to Portland OR to see her grandfather. It was sweet. The town and the surrounding area are amazing and having never seen a mountain over 3800 ft before, the first time i saw Mt. Hood I nearly shit my pants. Other than that and slumming not much has gone on. That has all changed in the past 2 weeks with the reemergence of another wonderful cross season. The first race of the season (Charm City Cross, Baltimore MD) didnt go so hot, 3 minutes into the first lap I rolled my front tubular and that was it for me, baddabing. I limped home with a shattered ego but was chomping at the bit for more.
This past weekend turned out a bit better. The Ed Sanders memorial cross race was boasting a record high 35 starters in the Pro, Elite field. For a fledging race they have been doing well for themselves, the race has been bumped up to a MABRA calender event and the course is sick. The race takes place on a lily pad and wetlands farm. Essentially its a series of ponds all linked by land causeways, providing a very interesting experience raging between the ponds, bumping shoulders with the guys around you.
The entire weekend was rain soaked so the course had an gnarly mudpit 100 ft long with a left hand turn in the middle. Other than that the course was relatively ridable.
My race began in good position sitting top 10 while race favorite Jeremiah Bishop made life miserable to the front runners. I was feeling good and trying to move up around some slow-pokers but the lily ponds were not providing me with easy access. Three laps in I was warming up to make a move to the lead group of 5-6 riders when the mud pit ruined my day. I got caught in the middle and when I came out the other end my cleat was so gunked that I spent the next half lap banging my foot on the frame and trying to slam my foot into the pedal. I lost 7-8 positions and was totally bummed but decided to slug it out for whatever place I could salvage. My competition was slowing down substantially and I picked off a majority of the dudes that past me and wound up 14th for the day....not the desired results but better than I expected given my mechanical. Jeremiah didn't fare so well and rolled his rear tubular in the worst possible place....50 ft outside the pit....and you cant go backwards on the course. This weekend is the Breast Cancer cross race and Kelley Acres, both in Maryland. I'll be gunning for the podium and some $$$.

Fixated

2008-07-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

I took this past weekend to get my head back into the game and enjoy the simplicities of 2 wheeled machines. Blake 'Flake Talker' Walker gave me a ring proposing a large fixed gear ride in the Foof before hitting up a night of heavy partying Charlottesville style. It was a well deserved trip. We awoke bright and early to beat the heat and and were out the door by 6:30. It was a rough start. I could only manage 3 hrs of sleep on an unfamiliar couch in an unfamiliar town and was in a bad way for the first 2 hrs of the ride. Flake and I were both running 39/15 so there was no sneaking away unless you were totally blown. After an 8AM stop for Coke and Cliff bars both of us had managed to pull it back together and started to enjoy our single gear epic. Two quasi-mountains and 5 hrs later we rolled back to Foofdom whipped out and dehydrated but it was totally worth it. It was nice to ride without fretting over watts, speeds, cadence, gears, pacing. All I had to do was pedal, and when I didn't feel like pedaling it didn't matter...there was no option. The riding around Charlottesville was a nice change of pace from the baked out corn fields of Rockingham Co. and the surrounding neighbors. Most of the roads we hit on the ride were tree covered adding a bit of beautiful relief to a summer marked by scorching days and heat exhaustion. The day was capped off with a night of partying and meeting new people. Good times were had by all.

Up and Comer

2008-07-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

The first post on a new blog well into a cycling career... that'll be interesting

A few updates and an abridged story are in order for those who are wondering what Ive been doing as of late. After a less than stellar road season in 2007 cycling had left me jaded and dried up going into Fall. The local shop I was wrenching for had to cut back and let myself and a few co-workers go. The future looked bleak; no job, no good results, no dollars, no girls, no creds, nada. Then one morning in September I woke up to a bright light hovering in the midst of my room. An angel covered in mud appeared to me and spoke: "take up my vessel and and be happy, for cross is the way and the truth, cross is boss." After that first race life changed. The whole cross phenomenon took some getting used to. I was less than adequate with my technique, bumbling on and off the bike, cornering like a newb, running pressures way to high. Eventually I got the jist and results started to pile up like hot cakes. By December I had been reacquainted with my love of cycling. I slid into the off season with numerous wins, podiums, and top 10's in the mid Atlantic conference and the small but vicious Virginia Series. I had landed a Cat 2 upgrade in my first season and was riding cloud 9.
The off season was what it was. Lots of big miles, cold days, good beer, friends, parties, the works. The fitness continued on the up and up and I was feeling ready but weary about racing road. I had been in contact with the Kelly Benefit Strategies elite team about being integrated into the squad once I had my Cat 2 on the road. So there was some added motivation to not suck it up in the early season.
To make a long story short my first 3 road results of the season were 3rd, 1st, 3rd. All were solo or small group break aways. I was ready to make the jump to the big leagues and it came. My riding partner and eventual teammate Curtis pulled some strings to get me on the Kelly Squad mid season and Ive been racing with them ever since. Its been a tough ride. I usually end up covering moves and trying to mix it up at the front before my engine runs dry and and find myself in the broom wagon. Buy hey, its a growth year, chin up!
August is just around the corner and then comes September and then comes cross! My coach has me prepping early this year. We have big plans in store for the season, mainly tackling the epic MAC series and shooting for results, a cat 1 upgrade, and hopefully a full cross sponsorship. Road season is starting to taper off so Ive been getting back on the cross bike and back into the running shoes for the past week or so. Its a beautiful relief of the stress and anxiety of road racing. With the dog days of summer upon us I'm due for a miniature off season before jumping back into it. Maybe a trip to the beach is on the books. 'Til next time.