New Schwinn Approved Speedometer

Finally got one of these bought on ebay for a reasonable price. Just finished cleaning it up and getting everything working again. I had to take apart the head unit and get the input drive shaft freed up, it was froze. The worm drive that mounts on the wheel came in pieces and was full of old grease that had turned into concrete. Had to do a bit of grinding on the worm drive as I think the previous owner applied too much force to it and partially stripped a tooth (due the old grease). A bit roughed up but works fine!

 

My objective with this Varsity is to find every possible "Schwinn Approved" option there is for it and install it. The parts don't have to be mint, but they do need to work and look reasonably good. The bike itself is all original including, the Panasonic tires, all the original reflectors, shifter cable housings, and handlebar tape. Every part has been cleaned and regreased and works like new.

 

Here's what I have so far for the optional accessories:

• Chrome fenders
• Soubitez 6v 3W Front & Rear Dyno Light System
• Front Quick Release
• Rear Rack
• Seat Bag
• Speedometer with 27" worm/cable drive

 

Here's some of the other accessories I'm on the lookout for, not all of these accessories are compatable, but I still want them for the collection:

• Wire Grocery basket
• Handlebar bell
• Brooks Saddle
• misc tools, etc, that I could put in the seat bag

Everything "Schwinn Approved" of course!

New cross frame assembly.

Got a sweet deal on this frame off of ebay last week.  It just came in today, switching all the components from the Raleigh touring frame to this single purpose cyclocross machine!

Sub assembly. No schematics for this part.

Jason VS Shimano STI

Recently I've been building a cyclo-cross (CX) bike for the upcoming CX season and like many other bike projects, I'm always convinced I can build a bike cheaper than I can buy a new one.  This of course only being marginally true if you have a line on acquiring all the necessary parts at a very good price!  In reality, I'm not sure this ever works out to be true, but it does put a lot of spare parts I have sitting around back into service again.  One of the key deals I got on some parts I didn't have was a set of 9 speed 105 STI levers (ST-5500). The rear (and most critical lever of the two) was gummed up and not working right.  After spraying it with some magic aerosol from the bike shop it worked better, but still not good enough to put on the bike.  I then decided, I'll just tear it down clean it up and put it back together.  A quick internet search revealed that this is not possible, don't do it, sti levers are not serviceable!  Fair enough, but there was about 2 websites I found where people had done it and successfully put them back together.  Now if anything is broke you're out of luck, Shimano doesn't make service parts for the internals.  OK, so fair enough no service parts, but the real reason no one recommends taking them apart is that they are super complex and require very good mechanical skills to understand the parts and put them back together!  There is no schematic by the way, but there are few helpful websites from the successful few that have done it.

So I partially took it apart and my first try at putting it back together, I discovered I had just created a pile of junk!  Considering it wasn't usable before I started I'm out anything, but that's not the problem.  If you're not aware, I'm a Mechanical Engineer, and while I'm above average for book smarts, my real skill is that I have super hands on and practical skills.  This is something that sadly many ME's are missing, (but that's completely different subject).  So now it's game on, I cannot let the STI mechanism out smart me, it is not my concern that Shimano says the levers are not serviceable.

So who won?  I have to admit though the STI mechanism was a solid opponent, I haven't had to do anything this challenging for quite awhile…  How did I do it?  First, I took pictures as I tore it down.  Then I cleaned all the parts.  Then I slowly reassembled and figured out what each part did and how.  Finally, I was down to the last part and it nearly outsmarted me, and as a last resort effort I took the left hand shifter apart to see what I was missing.  Thank goodness for that lever, I'm not sure I would have figured out this last trick on my own!  6 hours later, the STI lever is ready to go back on the bike! 

Last thing I'll note is that besides the assembly order of the parts, the biggest challenge is getting all the springs wound up and back in place!  There's 3 easy ones, 3 not so easy ones, and 1 super difficult one. 

CX race pic 4

These pics are courtesy of Mike Dixon.

CX race pic 3

CX race pic 2

CX race pic 1

CX bike

Just barely got this finished up being assembled friday after work.  Race is Sat!

CX Practice friday night before the race.

Psycowpath #10 - Maskenthine Classic XC

27 August 2011

 

Finally a free weekend to get a local Nebraska race in!  It's really been a long time since I've been in reasonably decent shape at the starting line of a Psycowpath event.  The races I did in 2009 definitely don't meet that criteria.  My choices for which class to race in were Cat II open or Cat II 35+,  after checking previous race times, I decided to go with the slower group, which was the 35+ and that should give me the best shot at finishing higher up.  I really didn't expect to do all that well because historically I never have at races in NE.  Compared to my days of racing in Illinois, Nebraska riders are just faster.  Really, though, today's race was just going to be a good benchmark to see where my fitness is at and give me an idea of how far I've come and how far I've yet to go before next year.

 

Overall, I felt good about my conditioning and I feel I'm actually pretty close the level I was at nearly 6 years ago when I stopped racing, not quite, but close.  At the start I felt like I could attack  and sprint for a decent spot in the line-up into the trails.  I ended up going into the trails around 4^th.  By age group, I was in even better position.  There was actually a pretty low turnout for this race, so open and 35+ started together.  It's been a long time since I've been in a regular XC race.  It was like coming home, it felt great, and I was reminded of why I love racing mtb the most.  Although it's a race against other riders, that part fades away once the race is underway, it's really just me against myself, an all out TT battle to get to the finish line as fast as possible.  During the race I was also reminded of how little actual single track riding I have done this summer, I was over shooting corners all over the place and constantly taking bad lines and losing my momentum.  After the first lap, I got better, but still I need to do more XC training throughout the summer (on real single track). 

 

 

 

The race was only 3 laps and I finished with a time around 1:20:00,  which was good enough for 3^rd place in 35+ and 4^th place overall Cat II.  Which is way better than I thought I would do.  Due the low turnout of racers, not all of the fast guys were there, so maybe I wouldn't have got a medal at many of the other events, but overall I was very happy with my performance, feel I'm on track heading into CX season and the winter. 

 

Getting a medal in a Psycowpath race is really a great landmark to my many comeback attempts (2006 failed, 2009 mildly successful).  I did not expect to get one of these this year, so now having one really makes this year's comeback attempt really feel successful and like I'm really makings some progress!  While I still won't state that my comeback is complete, at least I'm on track and getting staged as a force to be reckoned with!

 

3rd place on the podium (Weiland brother's weren't there)

Another Fix of the Leadville Buckle Addiction

As is typical for all Leadville write-ups, there's just no short way to do it, unless of course you want to skip everything that happened and just know that, yes, I finished and my time was 10:51:15. You can stop reading now if that's all you needed to know, but as the saying goes: It's not about the destination, but the journey and that is the story I'm going to tell.

As I summarized before: only two short weeks ago I got into the Leadville 100 mtb race, via the Crested Butte Qualifier Race. My excitement soon turned into nervous anticipation as finishing this race is not optional: I want the belt buckle and I'm going to "Dig Deep" to get it. "Dig Deep" is one of the race's motto's which has double meaning as Leadville is a mining town and miners have to dig deep to find gold and silver (not an easy task), for this race dig deep means pushing yourself through all conditions, pain, and mental doubt to make it to the finish line. For me this means, there is two ways to end the race:

I'm crossing the finish line or I'm getting hauled off in a ambulance!

That might sound a bit dramatic and perhaps it's too much pressure to put on myself, but this kind of vision is due to several things: I'm properly trained, my nutrition is well planned, and I've done everything possible to ensure my bike doesn't break.

Although nervous, I am super excited about this race! A couple good friends drove out with me to help crew and cheer me on. We left Grand Island Thursday after work, and after staying at a friend's house in Louisville, CO that night, we arrived in Leadville around 7:30am to beat the rush for the mandatory medical check-in and packet pick-up. After walking around town awhile it was time for the racer's meeting, and then after that we finally were done with the mandatory meetings and got the bikes out for an easy ride to loosen up the legs. If you're ever in Leadville, I recommend riding the Mineral Trail, it's paved and about 14 miles around town. It has awesome views and many info stops to learn about the left over structures from mining in the early 1900's. After checking into our cabin, we were back in town at 5:00 pm to drop off my aid station bags and to eat at the free spaghetti dinner. After some final bike checks and getting the race numbers put on I was ready to go for the race the next morning. 

 5:30 AM is early to show up at the starting line, and requires getting out of bed around 4:30AM. At 10,000 ft in the mountains it's cold this early. It was 42 degrees when I loaded the bike onto the car. At the staging area of the race, it was crowded. 1600 riders and there were a few details that didn't work out quite right, according to the race manual I was supposed to have a corral to line up in as I had previously finished the race and that was to put me ahead of all the first timer's and non-finisher's. It turned out there was no corral as stated in the instructions and I was on my own to battle all the first timers that believed they were all 9 hr finisher's. I'm going to call my next move neutral Karma. With a fellow conspirator we picked our bikes up above our head and walked straight out to the center of the road and right to the front (of the nubee corral). Quite a few people were not happy about this move, but hey the rules state you have to be with your bike, laying your bike down in the street doesn't reserve your spot. Where we walked to there was nobody standing there. Legal move in my book, but maybe not very courteous… Now I was in good position and not really concerned about not getting the corral.

When the gun goes off, nothing happens, sure the leaders take off, but the rest of us stand around while everyone in front funnels out of the gates and eventually we take off. Like the previous years, we all have an electronic chip on our ankle so our exact time is tracked, so technically, the time for each rider doesn't start until he or she crosses the start line.

Having one year under my belt was very helpful at the start, I knew to get moving forward through the crowds during the neutral start and then when the first climbs hit, I knew to stay calm and just take them easy. There is nowhere to go, it takes way too much energy to pass and there is plenty of race left to make up time. With this strategy, I felt good, was riding easy and the first couple climbs were a breeze and best of all I was ahead of my previous time split, by around 15 minutes. Wow I was feeling good and looking forward to a fun day on the bike!

Powerline descent - It was dusty.

Well, it's a given it was going to be a fun day on the bike, but around hour 4 things started going bad. Somehow, I missed the Twin Peaks aid station, maybe I was partly delirious already or just plain unobservant, but I missed this critical refueling stop and now I was headed up Columbine with minimal water and food. I barely had enough water for the next 2 hours and I only had one option for getting more food, and that was to rely on the goodwill of my fellow riders. This turned out to no problem, the few people I asked, gladly handed over a few spare GU shots and/or bars and I was refueled and on my way. Wow, super nice of them, (not that I wouldn't have done the same thing), but I was definitely thinking about neutral Karma move at the start and wondering how that played into the big picture.

At the top of Columbine, my time split was 5:30, which is 30 minutes ahead of previous time. I now had a change to fully refuel, fill up with electrolytes and I was well stocked and on my way back down the mountain. I ended up restocking so well that there was no need to stop at Twin Lakes on the way back, so I just cruised on through. This was around 7 hours, and this is when I started thinking that I was really going downhill.

I didn't doubt my ability to finish the race, but I was going to have to start "Digging Deep" and it really seemed too early to have to do such a thing.

The Return Ascent Up Powerline

The next hour wasn't so bad, but finishing the rest of the race was a battle. On the final paved climb, I was down to my small chain ring in front, which was uncharacteristic of most everyone riding by me that would finish with a similar time. I was just shelled out and this is all the gear I could turn. It was enough however to keep me moving and eventually I crested the final climb and still was on track to break the 11 hour mark! The last point I'll note about this part of the race is that the descents were just as painful as the climbs, my feet hurt, my arms were tired and it took all my concentration to navigate the rocky terrain.

Finally, as I rounded the last switchback coming down St Kevin's it was all dirt roads and pavement left to the finish line. I realized at this point that not only was I going to break the 11 hour mark, I also had a chance to do so by a fair amount of time. Like 2009, this is when the adrenaline kicks in, it's also nice because the home stretch is similar to riding in Nebraska, which means it's relatively flat, so adrenaline + terrain I'm used to riding = a fast ride to the finish, I passed a lot of rider's on the way in, maybe I didn't work hard enough earlier for having this kind of energy left, but no one was interested in drafting off me and in no time at all the red carpet to the finish line was in sight and buckle number 2 earned!

Got the Buckle!

So the race was tough and I was glad to be finished, but the next day after the award ceremony, I had my buckle and we were on our way home when it hit me:

It can't be over, I want more and next year seems a long ways away!

2009 vs 2011 Leadville Time Splits

RaceDay | Jason SCHUSTER @ Leadville 100 MTB 2011

RaceDay | Jason SCHUSTER @ Leadville 100 MTB 2011

GPS Data for Leadville

Start at 6:30am

A video will be posted later of the start.

5:30 am start line

Will be crossing this point at 6:15am. It is freezing this early.

READY Time for bed.

Im signing off. Cory and Leslie will be providing the updates tomorrow during the race.

2009 race splits

My plan is to do better or at least just as good as I did in 09. I have this taped to my bike to keep tabs on during the race.

Spaghetti dinner at 7:00

It was good.

Avoided this line by getting here early!

It was painful only sleeping 4 hrs and having to get up at 4:30 am but well worth it to not have to stand in this line!

Racer Meeting

7:30 am in Leadville. Headed off to check-in.

Ride for the Homeless (World Championship Tour)

6 August 2011

 

As most cyclists are aware, anytime the big names are gathered from around the area for a touring event like this one, it's a given that the lead is group is really assembling for the next battle of the Cycling World Championship Race Series.   Today's battle, was epic as usual and had the added advantage of being for a good cause.

 

This event as advertised is a 30 or 60 mile tour starting in Dannebrog and due to road closures was an out and back route to Loup City via Hwy 58.  Entry fee for the event covers the free t-shirt, aid stops,  infamous Dannebrog pizza, and the proceeds benefit Mark's Bikes for the Needy program.   Certainly a great ride and cause well worth supporting.

 

The route is U-shaped and the wind was not favorable, especially on the return.  Leaving Dannebrog at 8:00 AM, it was game on, I hadn't realized yet that this event was another installment of the World Championships, but as usual I planned to be at the front and in position to catch the break away if anyone was feeling trigger happy.  I should have known I could rely on Mike and Todd from Kearney to keep the pace high and the weak drafting.  After some initial confusion a pace line finally organized.  Early on I kept in the draft and didn't expend any extra effort until I had a good idea of how the ride was going to play out and how I was feeling.  What I didn't expect was the jump in performance I would see on today's ride, as all my training has finally added up to some serious gains that are reminiscent of my old race legs and it's awesome to be so close to being back!

 

We skipped the first aid station, at 15 miles as there was really no need to stop, many people didn't agree, but after a quick regroup there was only 4 of us left, myself, Mike, Todd, and Kendrick.  Mike was certainly the strongest on the ride and set the pace at a blistering 26-27 mph and the pace line started rotating, every time I was in the lead, I pushed hard, watched my heart rate and rotated through when I still felt like I had enough left to catch back into the draft.  On the way out I hadn't yet realized how much my training was starting to pay off.  As we rolled into the turn-around aid station, I was still in the lead group and amazingly felt pretty good.  We waited around here for everyone to regroup and after a decent break, the whole pack (maybe 15 riders) headed back for the return trip.

 

On the return we immediately discovered that we had a tail wind on the way out, this dictated a 23 mph pace on the way back (once again set by Mike), I think the rest of us were taking pulls in the 21-22 range…  Still feeling good and wanting to do my share of the work I took as long of pulls as I could and still saved enough  to get back into the draft.  Somewhere around mile 45, I was starting to fatigue, but the group was dwindling, I think we were down to 10 at this point, and by mile 55 there was only 3 of us left.  No one contested Mike as he pulled us into Dannebrog and the ride was over, I was super glad that I had hung on and did a respectable amount of the work.  Certainly I surprised myself and probably many other on the ride taking the pulls at the front like I had done, which was unthinkable earlier in the year.  Although, I knew I would eventually get back to this point it seemed a long ways away yet. 

 

The Dannebrog pizza is as good as it is popular.  Super deep and covered with tons of cheese, it was awesome, pretty much everyone could only eat 2 to 3 pieces, I ate 2 and really should only have ate one.  Around 1pm, it was back to Grand Island and another installment of the World Championships was concluded and my ego was boosted (as if I really needed that)…

 

Now it's rest and recovery rides until Leadville next weekend!

 

LEADVILLE UPDATE TEST

This is just a test message to make sure my phone can upload pics and status updates of the race.

Crested Butte Leadville Qualifier

Not getting into the Leadville 100 Mtb race is pretty much the norm. Last January’s lottery was no different than any other year, I didn’t get in. Despite this depressing news, there was still hope: Lifetime Fitness bought the race series and announced that there would be 3 qualifier races, each race awarding 100 entries. 50 of the 100 entries would be earned by the top finishers, I knew I wasn’t in good enough shape (yet) to win an entry, so instead I decided I would sign up for the race and take my chances at getting one of the other 50 entries that were to be given out by lottery to all race finisher’s that met the predetermined cut-off time.


Even though the odds were small, I decided it would be a fun race to do anyway and gave me a goal event to train for. Crested Butte doesn’t look to be all that far away, but due to mountain roads it ends up being about an 11 hr drive from Grand Island. However, the drive is well worth it as it sits in a Valley and has an amazing view of the mountains around it, adding to the scenery all the wildflowers were in bloom, and all the trails were surrounded by fields of yellow. Besides the plentiful selection of singletrack, the town itself is very cool place, like most mountain towns it has tons of character and lots of cool shops and restaurants. I wish I had taken more vacation to stay and ride more trails and just enjoy hanging out there.
The race started at 6:30am on Sunday. It was 100k long = 62.1 miles. It was actually a bit longer than that with the neutral start. The course was designed to simulate the Leadville course so it was mostly fire roads and just a few short miles of singletrack. The climbs were brutal, one particular spot had 20% grades for about a half mile. I was glad I installed a 12-36 cassette for the race, it was slow but at least I was able to keep my cadence up. The rest of the course was a flatlander's dream, long straights with rolling hills, this was perfect for me, as I could really put some power down and the effort to crest the rolling hills didn’t tax my system too hard. The race was going well until I had a tubeless tire failure, actually it was the sealant, for some reason it wasn’t sealing to the rim, after refilling it once, it went flat again and I was forced to stop and put a tube in it. This whole ordeal cost me about 15 minutes, but I was still making good time and at least I was still in the race. (Note: I foolishly did not use Stan’s when I put new tires on the bike last week. I have never had a problem with Stan’s and from now on that’s all I’ll ever use again! )
The cut-off time was 8 hours and I came rolling in to the finish line right at 7 hours, better than I thought I might do and best of all I now had a chance at the lottery! It's always interesting listening to the announcers as you cross the finish line, besides mentioning that I ride for Joyride, I recall them noting I was the only racer representing Nebraska.

It seemed like forever waiting for the awards ceremony to get over, and it was forever again as they handed out the 50 spots to the top finisher’s, and then finally it came down to the remaining 50 spots for the lottery. Amazingly there really weren’t that many people left standing around, so the race promoter just asked everyone to come down to the stage that was waiting for a lottery spot, and if you can believe this there was only about 30 of us. The promoter took a head count and announced we were all in! Next we all registered for the race on the spot and now I have a new goal event for the year!
While I was at the race, I learned that Crested Butte will host the first 3 years of the Colorado Qualifier, and they have the right of refusal for the next 3 after that. So mark it on your calendar for next year, because this is going to be the key event for our area for most anyone that wants into Leadville. Next year the series expands to 5 qualifier races, which I assume means even fewer spots in the general lottery. I have no idea where the two additional races will be held, maybe one will be closer than Crested Butte, but in terms of an awesome destination, no way they will be comparable.
There was another couple things about this race worth mentioning, Dave Weins and Rebecca Rusch held a Q & A session on Saturday, where anyone could ask questions. That was really cool and very interesting. I learned a few good training tips there. Lastly, I should mention that Lance Armstrong showed up for the race also, this is the second time I have competed against the 7 time TDF champion, same race, same age group, just me and Lance a head to head battle. Well maybe that’s not exactly how it went, perhaps Lance was way up front and I never actually even saw him, but none the less it was a great weekend!

Omaha Cycling Weekend

After being out of town all week for work, I just barely made it back in time on Friday to get registered for all 3 events. (I had 15 minutes to spare before missing the registration for the TT & crit) The way it turned out, it would have been better if I had missed the registration for these events… The trip for work was no picnic, after working 16 hr days in hot Kansas wheat fields, I was tired from the week and not well prepared for a weekend of racing. So here’s how it turned out: I was looking forward to the TT on Saturday AM, I had just got my Powertap back after being rebuilt and I needed to do an LT benchmark test and this TT was the perfect opportunity. I had also recently bought some aero bars and borrowed a helmet from a friend so in terms of equipment I was as ready as I could be short of buying a TT bike. My performance in the TT was a disaster, I was slower than 2 years ago when I did this TT Eddie Merck style. Besides being tired from the trip, I also assume that I have done too much dieting and that is affecting my performance a lot more than I thought it would. There was no need to hang out for the crit. The way I was feeling I would have been off the back in less than 2 laps. Instead I went home and got my bike ready for the road race and got some sleep.




After Saturdays performance, I didn’t expect much for this road race. The race started off well, I felt comfortable in the pack, my bike handling skills were solid, and best of all, I felt good about reading and reacting to the ever changing dynamics of the pack. Around mile 7 we were facing our first ascent up the hill. It really doesn’t even look all that bad, but halfway up it my legs were screaming. So it hurt, but I made it through and was super happy that I would now get to ride another lap with the group. The next lap I also made it up the climb with the group, but barely. Today was shaping up to be a good day on the bike, at least much better than yesterday. The third ascent of the hill, I knew was going to be troublesome and it was. I lost contact with the group and there was nothing I could do about it, I put forth every ounce of energy I had into that climb and it just wasn’t enough. Once my legs recovered, I was off the back of the pack by a good 200 meters and for awhile I was delusional enough to think that I might catch back up, but it wasn’t going to happen and the gap kept getting bigger and bigger. I put so much energy into the chase, that on the 4th ascent of the hill, I barely even made it, but after this I settled into a sustainable pace and cranked out the rest of race by myself.



All things considered, I thought the road race went well, not being able to climb with the group is disappointing, but not unexpected as all the training I’ve been doing is for long and steady rides, I’m basically right on track for the Crested Butte race at the end of the month (I’m still hoping to qualify for the Leadville 100). Next year, I won’t be focusing on this kind of racing, so I’ll be doing more high intensity intervals to be ready, but for now, it was a good day.



Last thing I’ll note is that the advertised distance for the race was off, the flyer said 52 miles and it was only around 45 miles. Despite the heat and humidity, I was mentally prepared to ride 52 and when it was over at 45, I was actually disappointed and decided to ride another lap to get 52 in. Other than the distance issue, Team Kaos did a great job of running the race and had some great volunteers handing out much needed water each lap. Many thanks to all those that helped put on this great event!

2011 Firecracker 50

Breckenridge, CO


7:30 Monday morning, the temperature was 52 degrees outside. This was a nice relief from the hot weather we have recently had here in Nebraska, but it was short lived by the time I checked in at registration and got geared up it was already getting close to 80 for the start of the race. Even so I could have cared less, once I was on the bike and rolling the day just kept getting better and better! For anyone not familiar with this race, the sold out race of 700 riders line up on main street for a neutral start to be part of the 4th of July Parade. It’s tradition to high 5 all the kids and well wishers during this ride down main street. Once out of town the pacer drops off and the race is on!



The race is two 25 mile loops and while there is over 3000 feet of climbing per lap, it’s well worth it as the single-track trails are super fun. A good majority of the single-track is relatively flat, so it’s not over too quick and yet doesn’t require huge climbing efforts, it’s easy to just enjoy the ride, which as many spectators, other riders, and volunteers pointed out: the Joyride! Since, I'm new to the team and this is the first race I've done with the Joyride jersey, it was a nice surprise to find out how many people like the jersey and seem compelled to ask whether or not joy applies to the current situation? I replied "Always" all day to anyone who asked, even at the toughest moment of the day, it just doesn't get much better than this, forget the mud, the cold creek crossings, the thin air, the 6000+ feet of climbing... I'm on my mtb giving it all I got and loving every moment!



Lap 1 was awesome, I was riding strong, felt good, and the single-track was flowing. I really thought I was on track for a new PR. Yet somehow my first lap time was 3 hrs even! Hmmm, that’s no better than I did 2 years ago… OK, I didn’t race at all last summer, but I have been doing some training and I sure feel a lot stronger. That’s when I noticed the distance: This year should have been called the Firecracker 55, the course had to be altered as some of the trails were still snowed in. A quick survey and many other riders thought there was more single-track too, which would make the lap times appear slower also. Wow, so yes, I’m on fire this year!



Lap 2 didn’t quite turn out how I expected, to start a slow leak appeared in my rear tire. Actually it was really low when I stopped at the aid station to fill it. I’m sure it cost me some time, but no worries as it was a slow enough leak I was sure I would finish just fine. What happened next though, I guess I should have assumed could happen, but caught me off guard. Somewhere around halfway through the second lap, my legs blew up. Perhaps bonk is a more familiar term, but it's the 4th and things should go boom. So for the rest of the race I was riding to survive. I ended up a half hour slower on the second lap, but even so, my overall average speed was still better than 2 years ago! Sure would have been nice to have maintained the pace I was riding the first lap, all the way to through the second, but still hard to complain as overall it was a great race and more importantly great training for some upcoming events later this month!

Calamus Half Century

For the past couple years since I moved back to Grand Island, I've listened to everyone talk about this ride and how much fun it is and the monster cookies at the sag stops.  Last year, I skipped this ride as touring just doesn't make sense to me: pay to ride, and have to drive 80 miles to get there?  If I have to drive to ride, I'd rather go mountainbiking in Omaha...  Well this year I gave in to peer pressure and did this ride.  Pretty much everone from GI does this ride, in total there were 8 of us from GI at least of the people I know that ride from GI.

OK, so it was a lot of fun and it turned out to be an awesome day of training!  Mark and I drove up Friday after work and got a nice 20 mile ride in.  Added bonus of being in the Nebraska Sandhills so we got in some climbing efforts through the rolling hills.  Longest hill was about a mile with 235 ft of elevation gain.  Not bad for Nebraska...  That night, Burwell opens up the high school gym, so we had showers and an indoor smooth surface to camp on.  Unfortunately I slept terrible in the gym, despite the cool breeze I was just too hot.

Next morning the ride started at 8:00am.  After everyone regathered up at the first sag stop, we headed off again.  This is where the games began.  Mark squared off with Mike from Kearney and as they casually talked the pace accelerated to 24+ and battle was on.  I recognized this situation forming immediately and knew to grab a wheel and try to hang on because this was going to be fun.  Troy did the same and the four of us were off.  Thank goodness I've been losing weight!  I don't think I would have been able to make it through the rolling hills otherwise.  Troy ended up getting shelled off on a steep climb, and although I was near redline (LT heartrate), I managed to stay on.  Just when I thought, I was about to blow up the course changed direction and they relaxed the pace.  Although the pace was now around 22mph, I was in the yellow, but figured I could manage for awhile longer (drafting only - no way I could push that kind of speed).  I am pretty sure I just stared at Marks wheel for the next 20 miles and finally on the last 12 miles I was nearing the end of my endurance, but I wasn't giving up.  A gel shot later, I had some energy restored, but it was minimal.  I'm pretty sure I was crying in pain on one of the last rolling climbs, maybe even a tear or two, maybe it was just the wind, but either way I was still hanging on and fianally we were there.  I made it. 
Next we turned around and rode back a few miles to regroup with everyone else.  Final miles for the day was around 55.  Besides the awesome monster cookie they provide at the stops, there is free pizza dinner a the Pizza Palace in Burwell, even if I hadn't been starving it was awesome pizza!  Drive home wasn't bad and then I turned into a vegatable for the rest of day as I was shelled out!  Looking forward to next year already, I guess sometimes there are things more fun than mountain biking and I get to tell stories for the rest of the year about this ride.

Racing for Team Joyride

This year I decided to ride for Joyride Bicycle Shop in Lincoln, NE. 
I decided to race for this team because my friend Mark rides for them.

Norfolk Criterium - State Championships

After Durango, I was feeling pretty good on the bike (especially after coming back down to Nebraska elevation) and the next weekend was the Norfolk State Championship Road Event, I had to work on Saturday, so I figured that I would do the criterium on Sunday and see how it went. After doing this race two years ago and getting shelled off the back when I should have been able to hang on for awhile, I decided on the following race strategy: Get close to the front early to avoid the accordian effect at the back and also to get well within the draft. A good warmup was also very important so I was ready to put forth hard efforts right away.
I executed my plan perfectly. I warmed up for 40 min on the trainer and tapped into all HR zones, then when the race started I got a good start and was positioned perfectly in the front 1/3 of the pack. From here, my conditioning shown through like a shining light, or more appropriately a black hole. There were 8 turns per lap and on the acceleration out of each one of them I was losing a spot or two and by turn 7 I found myself at the back of the pack... Lap two, I thought one more effort and I can get back on, but that was wishful thinking, my HR was already in the red and I was maxed out.

So from here on out I was doing a Time Trial effort and just hoping to minimize the number of times I got lapped. I ended up getting lapped twice which guaranteed me last place. While I had hoped I would do better than this there were a few positives for the day. For starters, I have not lost my mental toughness, never once did I even consider quitting or any sort of thoughts along those lines. Second, it was a good training day and I would not have been able to duplicate that effort on my own.

Really, when I consider how much riding I did this past winter: "What the heck did I expect?" I raced as well as I trained, maybe even better! Lastly, the result today was irrelevant, doing this race was still fun and gives me a big taste of the excitement and passion I have for cycling. This year, my comeback journey will be completed, It's game on!

2011 Race Schedule

May 28 - IronHorse Bicycle Classic 50 mile Ride
May 29 - IronHorse Bicycle Classic MBS Mtb Race - 21 miles

June 05 - Norfolk State Championship Criterium - Norfolk, NE
June 18 - Calamus Half Century - Burwell, NE

July 4 – Firecracker 50
July 16 – Silver Rush 50
July 23 - Mt Evans Hillclimb - actually just going out to watch.
July 31 – Crested Butte Alpine Odyssey (Leadville Qualifier) – 68 miles

Aug 13 – With some good luck at Crested Butte: Leadville 100


Sept 2 - Gateway Cup - Tour De Lafayette
Sept 3 - Gateway Cup - Tour Des Hills
Sept 4 - Gateway Cup - Giro Della Montagna
Sept 5 - Gateway Cup - Benton Park Classic
Oct 1 - Omaha CX Weekend
Oct 2 - Omaha CX Weekend

Oct 22 - Norfolk CX Weekend
Oct 23 Norfolk CX Weekend

Nov 18 - Lincoln CX Weekend
Nov 19 -Lincoln CX Weekend
Nov 20 - Lincoln CX Weekend (Nebraska USAC CX State Championship)