Well I have been a couple of places since my last post. I spent a week in Wisconsin eating cheese, sausage, and visiting with my mom. I added a bike race somewhere in there. DNF'd out of the Cross Country race with a spastic back!!! The next day I had some fun in the short track and super D finishing in 6th and 7th respectively. That made up for a bummer Saturday. After a little bit of rest and rejuvenation at home it was off to North Carolina.
I spent the most part of the first two days being guided around Asheville by fellow ex-texan (yes we have denounced him) Will Black. It sure is beautiful up there. The scenery and amazing single track riding kind of knocked me back and humbled me. I had fun, which is what was needed. I threw a bike race in there somewhere as well, finishing 8th in the longest cross country race all season!!! I was somewhat surprised that I felt as good as I did considering the big workload I put in in the 8 or 9 days prior.
Now I am back in Texas waiting for nationals. I have started working again to keep my mind off of being a bike bum. Maybe I will go out and throw some punches around in the crit on Wednesday. It's a little hot here and very flat. I forgot about that... hehehe.
The nationals course looks cool. It climbs about 1500 ft in 3 or so miles. Little 5 mile loop should keep it interesting. Hopefully my continued racing and trainign will pay off.
I turn 21 on the day I race at nationals. I have decided not to bring my endurox for a recovery shake as I have other means of re-carbing after the fact.
I will definitely post the after my race.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Bump and Grind
No, I didn't hit up the clubs this weekend. It probably would have been somewhat less painless than what I really did but at least I got to listen to good music at some point.
This last weekend was my first AMBC race. The Bump and Grind took place just outside of Birmingham, AL in a state park that was actually really pretty. It reminded me a lot of Pennsylvania. The course was pretty rippin' fast. At 17 miles a lap the 34 mile race was about as quick as the double lake race of equal distance, with the winner throwing down a 2:09. Ryan Woodrall (the fast cat who won) recently confirmed he was ON FORM when he got 13th in the PRO race at the sea otter.
From the gun I was making mistakes. Trying to rationalize to myself that I can ride with the leaders, by the time one lap was over I had pretty much buried myself for the day and the second lap was painfully slow! On top of that I could tell I was having a bad day. After 2 weekends of heavy racing and lots of training in between I have found myself in a nice little hole that will most likely be a benefit in July but right now it makes high intensity race efforts a bit of an uncomfortable and unrecoverable experience.
I managed to hold on to a somewhat steady pace and only lost 2 spots going from sixth to eight. It was a shame that I could keep it up because I would have been the first semi-pro to finish in my race. I ended up 2nd.
I actually didn't see but one other Gary Fisher 29 guy all weekend which was somewhat of a bummer. I have a feeling that I will see a couple more in Wisconsin when I go up there for the Subaru Cup.
Until Then!
This last weekend was my first AMBC race. The Bump and Grind took place just outside of Birmingham, AL in a state park that was actually really pretty. It reminded me a lot of Pennsylvania. The course was pretty rippin' fast. At 17 miles a lap the 34 mile race was about as quick as the double lake race of equal distance, with the winner throwing down a 2:09. Ryan Woodrall (the fast cat who won) recently confirmed he was ON FORM when he got 13th in the PRO race at the sea otter.
From the gun I was making mistakes. Trying to rationalize to myself that I can ride with the leaders, by the time one lap was over I had pretty much buried myself for the day and the second lap was painfully slow! On top of that I could tell I was having a bad day. After 2 weekends of heavy racing and lots of training in between I have found myself in a nice little hole that will most likely be a benefit in July but right now it makes high intensity race efforts a bit of an uncomfortable and unrecoverable experience.
I managed to hold on to a somewhat steady pace and only lost 2 spots going from sixth to eight. It was a shame that I could keep it up because I would have been the first semi-pro to finish in my race. I ended up 2nd.
I actually didn't see but one other Gary Fisher 29 guy all weekend which was somewhat of a bummer. I have a feeling that I will see a couple more in Wisconsin when I go up there for the Subaru Cup.
Until Then!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Texas Crit Championship
This Last weekend was the memorial day weekend and traditionally Texas hold three races with memorial day being the last and the state crit. It's a really fun weekend of racing with some challenging courses. I got my first feel of real crits again since super week and monday ended like so many of my super week races.
Saturday was pretty sweet its a very technical course with a 180 turn and a killer uphill run about a 1/4 mile to the finish. This race is hard and sitting in is pretty much useless because it always hurts... no matter what. All weekend I could tell that I have been training really hard since being out of school. It probably would have been all peachy if I had tapered back on training a little bit or just not added in any racing. It's hard to keep an increased workload when you are racing really hard a couple of weekends in a row. I could only put in about one effort in all the races before I had to just sit in on the back. Also because of the lack of road racing up to this point, my VO2 repeatability just wasn't happening. So saturday I got in a break early, struggled and got dropped. Floated to the main pack and then sat in until the finish.
Sunday I sat in for 70 minutes and then attack with 5-6 laps to go and then proceeded to attack out of that pack to get 10th (there was already a break up the road).
Monday I attacked about 30 minutes into the race spent 30 minutes off the front and then got caught. Hanging on the back was pretty tough at this point. But what really got me was the mentality these people had. It was a re-run from super week. People 'giving-up' left and right, leaving gaps. We started with around 100 people and only about 30-35 finished. It's pretty pathetic, but then again I wasn't one of those finishers. With 3 to go a guy laid it out in front of me and I got on the brakes hard. When I tried to bridge the gap, I lost even more ground... the front group was pegging it. And with three to go there are no free laps. Out I go! And to top it off my effort did nothing to help out Kremke... he just wasn't feeling it. Frustration.
First race I haven't finished all year, which is pretty weak. Next I have the bump and grind and hopefully this week I can rest up and get in a good result in Alabama.
Saturday was pretty sweet its a very technical course with a 180 turn and a killer uphill run about a 1/4 mile to the finish. This race is hard and sitting in is pretty much useless because it always hurts... no matter what. All weekend I could tell that I have been training really hard since being out of school. It probably would have been all peachy if I had tapered back on training a little bit or just not added in any racing. It's hard to keep an increased workload when you are racing really hard a couple of weekends in a row. I could only put in about one effort in all the races before I had to just sit in on the back. Also because of the lack of road racing up to this point, my VO2 repeatability just wasn't happening. So saturday I got in a break early, struggled and got dropped. Floated to the main pack and then sat in until the finish.
Sunday I sat in for 70 minutes and then attack with 5-6 laps to go and then proceeded to attack out of that pack to get 10th (there was already a break up the road).
Monday I attacked about 30 minutes into the race spent 30 minutes off the front and then got caught. Hanging on the back was pretty tough at this point. But what really got me was the mentality these people had. It was a re-run from super week. People 'giving-up' left and right, leaving gaps. We started with around 100 people and only about 30-35 finished. It's pretty pathetic, but then again I wasn't one of those finishers. With 3 to go a guy laid it out in front of me and I got on the brakes hard. When I tried to bridge the gap, I lost even more ground... the front group was pegging it. And with three to go there are no free laps. Out I go! And to top it off my effort did nothing to help out Kremke... he just wasn't feeling it. Frustration.
First race I haven't finished all year, which is pretty weak. Next I have the bump and grind and hopefully this week I can rest up and get in a good result in Alabama.
Monday, May 19, 2008
One Weekend....
Two Awesome Races.
Saturday was the Bear creek crit. Got into a break with 3 other Texans and a guy from beyond the southern border. We worked pretty smooth all day and ended up lapping the field. After that the race tactics got interesting. I was put in a position where I had to sprint so when it came down to it my lead out man was Kevin Kremke. Coming around the last corner he jumped and I followed, but Tx tough swung off the front and boxed us in. Bad luck basically. Once I lost my momentum there wasn't much I could do to regroup. Came in probably 6-7th in the field sprint but 4th overall as 5 of us were on the lead lap.
Sunday
My Houston Grand Crit was tough one. I felt ok when warming up, but I have also learned over the past year or so that I will never know how I feel until I start going hard. We started and I felt pretty comfortable. 2.5 laps in I attacked just as the turn the 180 at the furthest point west. I kept it pegged until I just couldn't go any longer and with me came Dave Wenger, Tyler Jewell and an Orven rider. After another half lap on DRILLING IT, along come another guy on Dave's team, Kevin Kremke, and another Orven rider. From there things get hard. Orven doesn't work so we get real surge-y. After Dave screams at them they work. Then Tyler is hurting and pulling through slow. All the yo yo effect is to much for me. A couple of times I would pull through and struggle to get hitched on the back. Kevin help me with some words to get back on. I was definitely riding with the fastest guys in the race and It was HURTING. So with 3-4 laps in the break I sat after getting unhitched and not being able to get back. I drafted back to the pack and tried to make sure Kevin got all the advantage he could. It didn't pay off. Kevin got caught with 3/4 of a lap to go. Orven and Tx Tough came to the from and killed it for a lead out. TOugh day on the bike, but the team raced well. We just put or eggs in the basket that involved Kremke out sprinting everyone in the break as it finished up the road. Just didn't happen... wasn't to be. I wasn't the only one to cry uncle. Dave's Teammate got dropped as well as Tyler.
I think saturday played its role in my legs or lack there of Sunday. That and a tough two weeks following double lake and the end of the school year pretty much put the nails in the coffin.
On a side note, Saturday was amazing. It's not everyday that you lap the pack. I had never been in that situation before. When I got back in the pack, I had the fastest guys in the race at my side. My teammates Kevin Kremke, Brandon Cowart, Brent Turner and Jimmy Clarke are guys I totally admire. I remember watching these guys when I was racing the 4/5's at memorial 2 years ago and thinking they were gods. To have guys like that take you under their wing and protect you like a team leader is indescribable. My respect for these guys can't even be categorized. It is still such a surreal experience and puts me in AWE thinking about it.
I am looking forward to next weekend. The State Crit Jersey will hopefully be resting on some Bike Barn Shoulders.
Saturday was the Bear creek crit. Got into a break with 3 other Texans and a guy from beyond the southern border. We worked pretty smooth all day and ended up lapping the field. After that the race tactics got interesting. I was put in a position where I had to sprint so when it came down to it my lead out man was Kevin Kremke. Coming around the last corner he jumped and I followed, but Tx tough swung off the front and boxed us in. Bad luck basically. Once I lost my momentum there wasn't much I could do to regroup. Came in probably 6-7th in the field sprint but 4th overall as 5 of us were on the lead lap.
Sunday
My Houston Grand Crit was tough one. I felt ok when warming up, but I have also learned over the past year or so that I will never know how I feel until I start going hard. We started and I felt pretty comfortable. 2.5 laps in I attacked just as the turn the 180 at the furthest point west. I kept it pegged until I just couldn't go any longer and with me came Dave Wenger, Tyler Jewell and an Orven rider. After another half lap on DRILLING IT, along come another guy on Dave's team, Kevin Kremke, and another Orven rider. From there things get hard. Orven doesn't work so we get real surge-y. After Dave screams at them they work. Then Tyler is hurting and pulling through slow. All the yo yo effect is to much for me. A couple of times I would pull through and struggle to get hitched on the back. Kevin help me with some words to get back on. I was definitely riding with the fastest guys in the race and It was HURTING. So with 3-4 laps in the break I sat after getting unhitched and not being able to get back. I drafted back to the pack and tried to make sure Kevin got all the advantage he could. It didn't pay off. Kevin got caught with 3/4 of a lap to go. Orven and Tx Tough came to the from and killed it for a lead out. TOugh day on the bike, but the team raced well. We just put or eggs in the basket that involved Kremke out sprinting everyone in the break as it finished up the road. Just didn't happen... wasn't to be. I wasn't the only one to cry uncle. Dave's Teammate got dropped as well as Tyler.
I think saturday played its role in my legs or lack there of Sunday. That and a tough two weeks following double lake and the end of the school year pretty much put the nails in the coffin.
On a side note, Saturday was amazing. It's not everyday that you lap the pack. I had never been in that situation before. When I got back in the pack, I had the fastest guys in the race at my side. My teammates Kevin Kremke, Brandon Cowart, Brent Turner and Jimmy Clarke are guys I totally admire. I remember watching these guys when I was racing the 4/5's at memorial 2 years ago and thinking they were gods. To have guys like that take you under their wing and protect you like a team leader is indescribable. My respect for these guys can't even be categorized. It is still such a surreal experience and puts me in AWE thinking about it.
I am looking forward to next weekend. The State Crit Jersey will hopefully be resting on some Bike Barn Shoulders.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Another 4th
This past week ending up being pretty intense. The semester came to an end and that meant FINALS. Woohoo! Any ways after being battered with test all week this weekend also proved to be an important and taxing one. This was round #7 of the TMBRA spring series, and while most of the country is just starting to get into the swing of MTB racing, our series is coming to a bitter end until fall.
The Big ring Challenge is my 'home' race. It's a course that suits me pretty well with all the pedaling. It also suits my large wheeled bike real well since it's like a road race on dirt with big sweeping 15+ mph turns. I had the course pretty dialed from the last week or two of riding it. From the gun I was where I wanted to be in the top five with all the usual suspects. Ray Hall, Scott Henry, Billy Kurtz, Bryan Fawley. Billy towed us around for the first lap. As we came through the start finish line, it wasn't long before I realized that the feedzone had been moved since the start of the race, and then an even shorter time span before I realized that I had missed my feed. So I preceded to run with the leaders for a 90 degree lap with zero ounces of water. Bryan Fawley attacked at this point and the rest of us chased. I just sat on the back in frustration and tried to focus on following wheel and staying consistent. The second lap passed and I got a feed this time. Raymond Got on front from here and put the hammer down, closing the gap to Bryan very very quick and then attacking, putting my in the hurt locker quite a few times. On the fourth lap my body decided that it hated me and the legs began to seize pretty hard core! Unfortunately there is no way to replace a water bottle of fluid that you missed in the middle of a race. So suffer I did after getting dropped and Worried I got as I expected any minute for someone to come flying by me in my class. That person never came, but I did manage to loose a minute and a half to the leaders by the end of the lap. I guess that's how it goes sometime and I have to be happy with riding in such elite company. The first couple laps I felt stronger than the people I was riding with, TOTALLY COMFORTABLE. Maybe they were too.
I get a break for a weekend and then I focus on some road racing before I head off to Alabama's Bump and Grind, Wisconsin's Subaru Cup, and Tennesse's SERC #7. Then hopefully I can cap off the summer with a decent result at U23 Nationals in Vermont.
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Monday, April 28, 2008
Tmbra # 6 - Comfort
Managed another decent day bike racing. With bad weather threatening all weekend on a pretty rocky course, we definitely dodged the bullet when it ended up being sunny and 75 at the start line! The course was one big 27 mile loop full of some nice rock ledges, gardens and plenty of elevation change (for a flatlander!).
I made a good start, hitting the single track in 4th, eventually moving up to third after less than a mile in. After getting gapped off on one of the climbs when Bryan Fawley (TX tough) attacked, I settle into my own rhythm eventually getting into a group somewhat of Billy Kurtz (Austin Bikes) and Scott Henry (Trek/VW regional). I had a moment on the bike where I wasn't even focused on the trail and more focused on who I was ridding with. I was pretty stoked to be up there with guys that I have Idolized for a while. Both Scott and Billy are stand-up, super nice guys that have had their fair share of national fame and also raced against (and beaten) some of the local pro's like Jason Sager and Will Black. So to be in that kind of company kind of gave me a, "holy crap" moment.
About 4-5 miles from the finish, Billy put in a deep effort and immediately stomped me and Scott into the ground. I was the first to go and then Scott. It was ugly, I was crawling my way to the finish line after detonation! Still managed a podium (HAHAHA only because of a five spot podium) with a fourth place. More importantly with one week until my most important spring race Double Lake Houston's local spring mountain bike round, I think I have the legs to win which is what I want.
On another note, I know I have a post how this blog is discontinued, but after posting it, I found some software where I can post on all my blogs at the same time with one write-up... So you have to deal with it some more.
Until Next Weekend - Mitch
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Friday, April 25, 2008
Discontinued...
Well this bad boy has to come to an end. I have two others... and I am tired of trying to maintain three. Check out my others @:
http://www.source-e.net/blog/role/elite_blog
http://29ercrew.com/author/mcomardo/
http://www.source-e.net/blog/role/elite_blog
http://29ercrew.com/author/mcomardo/
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