I recently had the pleasure of being a spectator at a sprint triathlon. Cyclists are known to make fun of triathletes riding bikes maybe a little too much, however, what I saw cannot go without saying. I expected to see funny outfits and backwards helmets, which is more common than you think, but what I did not expect was the spectacle I saw at the swim/bike transition zone. In a short period of time I saw at least 3 crashes, people riding off the road almost into the woods, and countless close calls. I could not drag myself away from it, I had to keep watching. I thought that most of these people would have ridden their bikes a good amount in preparation for this event, however, it looked more like the majority of these people had never ridden a bike before. As entertaining as it was, it was actually hard to watch. I wanted to help these people get on their bikes, or at least give them a push. There were a handful of people who had such a hard time getting on the bike that I thought they were going to just call it a day and go to their car. It was amazing. I saw one girl try to hop on her saddle but couldn’t seem to get on, so she opened the quick release on her seat post and dropped the saddle no less than 6 inches, tightened it up and took off for her 16 mile ride. I imagine she had some minor knee pain after this race. Another guy came running in with his bike, shoes clipped on to the pedals for time savings, only to find that he could not get on his bike. He then stops, pulls his shoes off his pedals, straps them on to his feet and takes off. So much for saving time.

Like I said, us cyclists are known to make fun of triathletes a good amount. I hate to feed the stereotype, but come on triathletes, you guys aren’t doing much to help your cause. All in all this made me realize that maybe what we do is harder than it looks. When people say, “it’s just like riding a bike” maybe they don’t know how hard that really is.

We eventually made it to Anniston for the Crit which was being held on Saturday night. It was your basic 4 turn downtown crit, with an uphill on the finishing stretch and a downhill on the back stretch. I was able to start on the second row and the race was fast from the gun. I tried an attack about 10 laps in, but it was of no avail. So I sat in for a while, I was not feeling so hot. Then with about 18 laps to go I tried again. This time I got some ground and was able to stay away for 4 laps before I was caught again. This attack took some out of me, so for the rest of the race I just stayed and finished in the field.

The road race on Sunday started less than 12 hours after the crit finished, we had an 8 am start. The road race was in Piedmont and the course turned out to be hilly. Most of the climbs were like stair-steps, which made things even more difficult. After the first few climbs a group of 9 got off the front. I tried to bridge with 2 other riders but I didn’t work. A few miles later I tried again, this time with 2 different riders. This time it worked. About 10 miles later more guys joined the group to bring the total to around 25 or 30. There were some attacks but nothing seemed to stay until about 20 miles left in the race a group of 3 went up the road. That group stayed clear until the end. I stayed near the front of my group the rest of the race, and tried a few attacks in the remaining few miles. Nothing really stuck so my group came to the finish to sprint for 4^th. I attacked with 400 meters to go and had a gap. But a few guys came around me in the last 150 meters and I finished 11^th.

One of the cool things about these races is that food was provided after each race. This was especially nice because food is usually one of my major expenses when traveling.

I’d like to thank my Dad for going on these crazy cycling trips with me. This was the first time I have been to Alabama. And cycling has taken us to some pretty weird places around the country.

I traveled to the race with John. We rocked out to the top 40 countdown on the way up. I had heard that the weather forecast for the day was 45 degrees with a chance of rain later in the afternoon. It was about 40 when we arrived at the race course. It was hard for us to figure out what exactly to wear. So during the warm up I opted to race in leg warmers, arm warmers and a vest. John chose shorts, and a long sleeve jersey. Needless to say I think we were both very underdressed. The race was 70 miles long and had a 3 or 4 mile neutral roll out to the course. The first few laps of the race moved along pretty fast with a few attacks here and there. On lap 4 of 7 the rain started to fall. I was actually warm before the rain started; then things just went downhill. I was ok with the rain until halfway through the 5^th lap. That’s when pretty much everything went numb. It was tough for me to finish the race. By the last lap there was a group of 3 up the road with a chase group of 7 behind them and then John and I in the field. I attacked about 4k out, and thats when I realized just how cold I was. I knew I attacked fairly hard but I could not really feel anything, which may have actually been a good thing. I caught 1 or 2 of the guys in the chase group, but the field caught me just at the line, so I settled for 10^th place. John finished just behind in the field. It was too cold to ride back to the start so we rode in an EMS truck, which had heat.

It was a good race, but very cold. It is never that pleasant to race your bike when its about 40 and raining. But we do it anyway, because it only makes you stronger. Right?

We then headed to the hotel. This weekend we were staying in the Microtel, and told them there would only be 2 people in the room. We had 5. So we had to sneak in the back door so that we wouldn’t get charged extra.

On Sunday we had a crit in the Columbia suburb of Forest Acres. The course went through a neighborhood and by an elementary school with one decent sized climb on the back of the course. All of us started on the back row, so the first order of business was to move to the front. Once at the front I was able to get into a break with 3 other riders. About 10 laps later another rider bridged up to bring the group to 5 off the front. We came close to lapping the field, but it never happened. Coming into the final laps there were some attacks but nothing stuck. So it came down to a sprint for the win, and I finished 4^th. So 4^th place in the road race and in the crit. It is a coincidence that I got the same place both days because last year at this race weekend I finished 9^th in both races.

On day 2 of the weekend, it was the Donaldson Center for the 3^rd time. The racing began in earnest, and as the race progressed the wind picked up. After  we had covered numerous moves during the opening laps, many which looked promising, the peloton was all together midway through the race. A small group of 3 was able to sneak out of the field with one rider bridging to the group. We missed the move but remained active in the field in hopes of bridging to the group. It was just not meant to be today. And as the field came to the line for the sprint I made a move about 800 meters from the line. It was for naught though and a few riders passed me before the line. I came across in 13^th place with Eoin in 17^th. While the results from the weekend were not stellar, the racing was difficult and the way we were able to ride as a team show signs of things to come over the next few weeks.

We will be headed down to Greenville again this weekend for the final races of the training series. Hopefully we won’t have any mishaps with bicycles on the roof.

The next weekend in Greenville, it seemed like summer time. We had temperatures in the 60’s and were able to race in shorts. It was nice to be able to start the tan lines in February. The race started out pretty smooth and the wind caused and field split near the beginning of the race. But the group came back together, and then a break of 4 went up the road. That group was brought back and then a group of 9 went up the road, and I was able to make the break. We worked well together and built up a pretty large gap that stuck to the finish. The attacks started on the last lap, and I was able to go with them until the group came down to 5 of us in the sprint. There was a good lead out for the sprint, and I went with just over 200 meters to go, but it just wasn’t to be and I was beat to the line by less than a bike length. But a 2^nd place is a good result for the second race of the season.

I don’t think we will have many more races as cold as the NC State race with spring around the corner. A 7^th and 2^nd in the first two races are a good way to start the season.

It looks like tomorrow will be the first race of the year.  Since the last post that I have written a lot has gone really well for me and the team.  For me personally, I have managed to ride more than I did last year (mainly because my teammates have forced me to ride when the weather has been bad) and through my new diet, I am almost back to my old race weight.  Being fit again, has made riding much more enjoyable as I am able to take part in the rides again.  However, lately training in North Carolina has been less than ideal.  NC has had the worst weather in 20 years, and every ride has required me to wear almost all of the clothing I own (seriously, I wear all of it).

Although my fitness is much further ahead than it was last year, I plan to spend most of the early races of the year helping out my teammates.  Their fitness is much further along and being able to help them will be just as fun.

The biggest downside, of the weather being bad has been the amount of free time that I have had.  I have used this time hang out with my friends (thanks T for taking me to the Duke-Carolina game) and my family (getting stopped by the cops with my brother (his registration was out of date, we honestly were not doing anything wrong at the time.))  Although I will not be able to see them as often as I would like over the next couple of months, all of them understand that we will get to see each other after I get back from Ireland.

For the team, we have managed to create a program that has gone beyond our expectations.  Through all the help that we have received we have managed to make the team bigger than the sum of its parts.  As we begin the racing season, we plan to continue this theme.

Tomorrow will be the first race of the year, the Wolfpack Classic, which is being put on by the NC State Cycling Team.  After the race, all of us on the Happy Tooth Racing Team are going to help at the race by running registration or working as course marshals.  The opportunity to give back to the NC racing scene is one that we will continue throughout the year.  So with 8 hours to go and no snow forecasted for the night; hopefully, tomorrow we will get the chance to race finally.

Originally, this post was going to be about what I do when I am bored (for people who know me a huge problem) and there is snow outside (absolutely hate snow). However, I quickly realized that talking about how I terrorize my cat (Squeaky) would probably not be as popular as I thought it would be.  This post is also way better than me talking about not having a Valentine’s Date.