CHRIS WINN

SOMETIMES THE TRUTH HURTS.

2012-01-22T20:25:00.002-07:00

Came across this little gem the other day. It was created by my former Rio Grande team mate and all round top guy Allen Krughoff. Worth a post I think!

GET ON BOARD.

2012-01-17T16:58:00.002-07:00

The artwork for our 2012 Horizon Organic/Panache team kits has been finalized....so what do you think? The team has really stepped up this year and we have some awesome sponsors on board. In the bicycle department I'm pumped to reveal we will be riding bicycles courtesy of Scott. I cannot tell you how excited I am to ride these bikes! I had the pleasure of using a Foil for around 3 weeks earlier last season and it truly was an amazing ride. In fact the first race I did on it I managed to win so it's definitely got the goods! Alongside Scott Bicycles we will be rocking some great products including Lazer Helmets, Fizik Saddles, Sidi Shoes and Speedplay Pedals to name a few. Check here for the full list, but I would like to take this opportunity and thank each one for supporting the team. I can't wait to get this jersey out there and on the podium. And for the avid reader, feel free to get on board and follow us on Twitter here and our FB page. Cheers!

Good times aboard a Scott in 2011!

So next week a handful of us will be heading down to Texas to do some warm weather training and pin some numbers on for some early season races. I'm actually super looking forward to getting out of the cold here and spicing up the training a little bit. Consistent, steady, and unwavering would be the best words to describe the last month of workouts, so I'm keen to change tact and throw some fresh challenges in there.

PERSPECTIVE OF A WORLD CHAMPIONS TOP TUBE.

2012-01-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

What Mark sees every time he looks down.

NEVER SAY NEVER.

2012-01-10T10:42:00.001-07:00

I got an email from the bro yesterday while eating dinner. It read "At The Drive-In reformed!". I almost fell of my chair in disbelief. Sure enough, a little google search yielded the golden nugget of information that indeed, ATDI have reunited and have already announced they are playing some shows. Incredible. It's been 12 years since their split, and while it did allow The Mars Volta and Sparta to come to fruition and create brilliant music, ATDI were an unrivaled force. I remember first hearing the sheer intensity and melodic aggression when their biggest album 'Relationship of Command' surfaced in 2001. It blew me away. Like most bands that have captivated, their back catalog was soon obtained and devoured. So although the news is fresh, anticipation is high for a new album (although I know The Mars Volta are currently finishing up in the studio first). Exciting times! For those unfamiliar, check the clip below from one of their last shows before the split.

POINT AND GLIDE.

2011-12-31T11:36:00.001-07:00

Nestled between Christmas and New Years Eve, yesterday was Kat's birthday in which we headed up to the mountains to celebrate. We hit the slopes (or flats, really) of Devils Thumb Ranch, an excellent patch of terra firma for skate skiing. It was my first time and boy was it a challenge! In much the same way as swimming, it really is a technique based activity, and teaching my brain new movement patterns was at times frustrating but in the end quite rewarding. As a cyclist that rides practically everyday it's easy to forget just how conditioned the body has become in producing only one type of movement. The skiing technique required a level of ankle stability and movement that was completely foreign for me at first, and even though I still had a long way to go by the time we finished, there was an improvement made. I would say I upgraded from a red level hazard skier to a yellow level hazard!

Happy Birthday!

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER.

2011-12-31T11:20:00.001-07:00

A new years resolution perhaps? Either way, very important.....get up and move people! Your life depends on it!

EXCUSE ME, PATIENTLY WAITING FOR SOME WARMTH PLEASE.

2011-12-27T11:04:00.001-07:00

A second brew is in hand as I wait for the temperature to creep above minus before heading out on the bike this morning. First of all lets talk Christmas! Kathryn and I had a really great day that was jam packed from start to finish. I was super lucky to be on the receiving end of some very nice gifts including Thule luggage, reading material and shoes amongst other things. For Kat my prized gift was tickets to see Ryan Adams play in Denver next February. Assuming she will take me along (!), from what I have seen in recent interview footage he really seems to be hitting his musical stride and looks to be clean, sober and happy. The show is being held at the Temple Buell Theater which I have never been before but I have heard good things.

Post Christmas breakfast and presents, Kathryn and I got straight to work on starting dinner preparations in which we were attempting to cook a beef wellington. Neither of us had tried such a dish before, and we also made some modifications to it, namely substituting beef for bison. It had all the potential to be a great feed, but wrapping a huge slab of meat in delicate filo pastry is quite the task we quickly found out! Coming out of the oven it smelled great, and tasted equally so, with Kat's dad ranking it as one of the best cuts of meat he has had. Along with the bison we also had salmon, risotto, creamed spinach, asparagus, a tomato salad and carrots mixed with chestnuts. The dinner plate was definitely stacked and I was practically rolling around once we also fitted in some traditional plum pudding and a slice of Yule log. But, as they say it only comes but once a year and I was happy to indulge.

A mighty meal!

Wilson has enjoyed Christmas in more ways than one. Having an indoor tree to climb is at the top of his list!

Hiding is drawers seems to a close second.

Our official snow-o-meter.

Golf TDI. 50mpg on the highway. The ultimate race mobile.

Henry wishes everyone a Merry Christmas.

This little beauty came from the bro. Big Merv I'm sure has plenty of stories to tell. Can't wait to get into this one!

In bicycle related news just before Christmas I was able to conduct some pre-season testing with UHC physio Inigo San Milan. Everything looks on track so far for 2012, although I need to keep on improving on my lower end efficiency. So the focus will still be continuing plenty of tempo time and allowing time for the adaption to occur. We are now also adding some strength endurance efforts into the mix which are always a good time. Well the sun is out and we are now on the positive side of the mercury, so time to go training! Cheers, cw.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-24T18:01:00.001-07:00

To all those reading, wishing you a safe and Merry Christmas. For those in Oz you are already a day ahead of me and should be ripping into presents and a third helping of pudding by now! For me tis still the night before, and it's been a hectic but fun filled week preparing for the big day. I even got a haircut after 5 months of looking like a worn out character from The Muppets. Have a great one and as always thanks for reading!
Cheers, cw.

PUSHING THE LIMITS.

2011-12-19T14:47:00.001-07:00

I'll stick to cycling thanks...but WOW!

AS THE MERCURY FALLS.

2011-12-05T19:34:00.001-07:00

As much as I like to not let it affect me, it's hard not to talk about the weather when you primary activity of the day is being outside riding a bike. Just like any cyclist out there, we've all suffered through some nasty days, be it ridiculously hot where it feels like your face is melting off, or so frigidly cold that you cannot feel your extremities. I'm sure many of you would disagree, but I will always take the super hot ride over the cold one! I've finished rides completely crippled by the cold, unable to correctly process thoughts and upon reaching the house hopping straight into bed still in the lycra. Not a pleasant experience! So over this last week the Denver mercury has plummeted to the point where I've dusted off the rollers for the first time this off season. No big deal, I don't complain as this is what I do for a job, but riding indoors provides a whole new cycling challenge to tackle. Tuesday I went through four small bidons in 2.5hrs and still came out losing 1.5kg. Without the wind drying the sweat loss, out on the road it's hard to judge that sort of fluid loss. It's easy when the puddle is right underneath you on the floor however! Being a big music nerd, I do relish in the opportunity to crank the tunes and sink my ear drums into some audio goodness. I've recently discovered that the local library is a pretty rich resource for my music tastes and I'm frequently making trips there to pick up items on reserve. Here is a run down of some of the tunes that get me through:

Tool

For whatever reason I've gravitated towards listening to these guys a bunch over the past few weeks. As mentioned my library topped up my previous one album collection. It's aggressive yet super melodic and the extended track play outside the "normal" three minute pop song is a nice feature when your doing stationary bike time. The frequent use of odd time signatures and creative drum loops is equally as stimulating for the brain, and it's always a nice blend of loud and soft dynamics so when it's game on for an interval usually there is something there to give you a boost. Album wise I've locked into "Lateralus" pretty strongly. It's a brilliant piece of work, and actually there is huge amount of mathematical thinking and blending within the title track of the song. If you have a spare 9 minutes, watch this video. Genius.

Silversun Pickups
This was a classic, "I've heard of these guys and look there is their album on the library shelf lets give it a go" type scenario. It's catchy in an easy to digest sort of way, and I think the lead singers vocals are great, something a little outside the norm. Pretty driving stuff and sounds great when cranked to 11. I have both albums but I'd probably rate Swoon as a good pedaling accompaniment.

Less Than Jake.
I hadn't listened to these guys for quite sometime and I forgot how fun they were. Vocal harmonies are sweet and you can't go past a horn section. This always goes down great with about 30min to go.

So there you have it! Other than cycling or music concert DVD's, I'm not really into the whole watching a movie while on the trainer thing. I've tried it before, but I just end up losing focus and my legs slow down. Something about being a male and multitasking I don't know......

HORIZON/PANACHE FOR 2012.

2011-12-01T13:09:00.001-07:00

Well I've just flipped on the brew machine, a bit of Tiesto is rolling around the ear drums and looking outside the snowflakes just keep on coming. Conveniently it's a day off the bike otherwise it would have be roller city and catching up re-runs of The Office. I still had a good 2hrs in the gym this morning which won't make me feel like a lazy bugger for the rest of the day however. So I need to get myself in great shape as I have a new team to impress for 2012. I'm happy to announce that next year I will be riding with the Horizon/Panache Elite Cycling team. Based out of Boulder they are a long time club (GS CIAO), but a relatively newly formed elite team. A big thank you to Colby and Nick for taking on a guy with a funny accent, and I'm looking forward to getting their jersey onto some podiums next year. This weekend we are having our first get together and I am keen to meet my new team mates. Stay tuned!

I'm hoping the 2012 kits don't change too much....this season's look sweet!

JUST MINT.

2011-11-29T18:39:00.001-07:00

It's been a great last week with lots going on so I feel like and update is needed! Last week I celebrated what would be my second Thanksgiving here in the USA. It's a great holiday tradition, mainly because it combines the two themes of getting together with family and friends plus eating large amounts of food! This year Kat's folks came out from DC and a great time was had by all. In fact we still have turkey in the fridge and I'm not complaining about finishing training rides with a recovery slice of pumpkin pie. Now that I think about it there is only one left so I better make tomorrow's training worth it! Overall I have to say that getting back on the bike and being in the full swing of training again feels great. I'm already leaps and bounds ahead of where I was this time last year, and it's easy to pin point it's because I finished the season with the most consistent block of racing I had all year. Things are also looking up for 2012 with the new ruling that USAC will now manage the local Colorado racing scene, meaning that pro's can race again. I know this was a big issue for many people, and a great deal were not happy that the ACA will no longer operate independently. For me however, it's a real tragedy when politics and money get in the way of someones basic right to participate in sport, which was exactly the situation I was at this year. For those who are whining about a change in fee structure or where the money now goes, remember that at least you could line up and race your bike this year at great events like the Superior Morgul and Steamboat Springs stage races. I couldn't and that sucked big time.

Being perhaps the most "normal" time of the year for us, Kat and I have recently fostered another dog in need of a home. This guy is a real champ. A bearded collie mix, he is full of energy and is eager to please. Last weekend we took him mountain biking at some of the off leash trails in Boulder and he loved it.

Wilson started work on his long time project of writing a detective novel. He only made it through two chapters however.

So as the title of this post implies, life is just mint at the moment!

ASHES & FIRE.

2011-11-26T22:32:00.001-07:00

THE VERY BEST OF HELMET HAIR.

2011-11-26T21:50:00.001-07:00

TODAY'S OFFICE.

2011-11-26T14:58:00.001-07:00

TEMPO. A WORKOUT BEST SERVED COLD.

2011-11-21T16:26:00.001-07:00

Since getting back to pedaling I have spent masses of time of late riding Tempo. For those who don't know, Tempo is that uncomfortable little place that is not quite going full gas and not just cruising along endurance pace. We have been building in duration for the past week and a half and today I was able to get through 2 X 1hr blocks of the stuff which I was happy about. The key I've quickly learned to these workouts however it you gotta eat and drink consistently. The increased intensity keeps the old kj meter ticking over at a solid rate, and unless the fuel tank is kept topped up things can go downhill quick! To add to this the temps are starting to drop in Colorado and the last couple of training sessions I've done have hovered around the 5C mark, meaning the body is burning even more energy just to keep warm. It's a survival thing I'm told. Tomorrow I push out to 75minutes and by the end of the week I'm looking at 90min blocks. Lucky Thanksgiving is around the corner and will give me a nice excuse for a second or third plate!

FAMILIAR FEELINGS RETURN

2011-11-10T17:53:00.001-07:00

We are now a week back to training and I'm psyched. Today was my first recovery day and with the fitness a little lower than last remembered I needed it! In fact it was perhaps one of the slowest rides I've ever done I think. I enjoyed my off season this year more than most, it was nice to enjoy a mix of weather to participate in some different activities, alongside some couch time that according to the coach I need to get better at. In fact my off season went 5 days longer than planned that were mandated no physical activity time as I had been previously been doing too much. So instead I picked up my old six stringed friend and tried to get reacquainted. My fingertips are still sore.

So to say I'm motivated to be back training again is an understatement. It's no secret that I want to be racing with a UCI Pro Team again. To make the step up this year and then have it end wasn't easy to deal with, but I've come to quickly realize that there are things that are in my control and things that are not. The things that are not in my control are never worth worrying about. The one thing that stands above all that is in my control is to arrive at the start of the 2012 season with the best form I have ever had. That one thing is clear in my mind and it provides an excellent amount of endless drive to get the most out of my days. In meeting with coach Ben we both agreed that 2011 was a step forward physically (I improved all my peak power wattage's from 2010), but perhaps was not a career improving year. 2012 I plan to change that.

As we embark on another adventure forward, thanks to all those in my corner. Onwards and upwards.

Project Complete. For Now At Least!

2011-11-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

With the last non-bike weekend just gone, Kat and I busted out the last three garden boxes in our on going project. We ran short of the surrounding rubber mulch that we previously had, but other than that we now wait until Spring to put dirt in these guys and plant some vegetables!

From what was a pretty dead corner that we weren't sure what to do with, we are both chuffed on how it turned out. Best of all it really didn't cost a great deal being able to reuse a lot of materials we already had or got second hand. Sure if you took a level and a set square to the boxes they wouldn't be precise, but I kinda like the rough charm of it. I was thinking of putting a little sign up on the back fence there too...any suggestions?

Looking Outside The Bubble.

2011-11-06T08:55:00.003-07:00

The off season is drawing ever closer to the end. I look back with pride on the last three weeks of spontaneous activity that didn't involve pulling on lycra and clipping into pedals. Snow-shoe adventures (thanks to a couple of mid week snow dumps), hikes, gym time, Pilates classes and the odd tennis match at the local hard court. Now those were a hoot. I know this site spans back a long way (500+ posts) but before the cycling bug bit, tennis was my first sport in which I went mad for. Well until I discovered mountain biking that is! Typically I was on the court three of four times a week between training sessions and weekend competition. So swinging again was super fun, and although I had some memory of the stroke techniques, the execution was terrible!

My other new off season revelation has been the raiding the library. I've discovered there is a plethora of good stuff out there including CD's, books and DVD's that I have been keen to get my hands on for quite sometime!

This going hand in hand with...

...one of these and you've got a pretty good off season arvo!

Into the Wild.

Jam Packed.

2011-10-31T09:11:00.000-06:00

Any weekend that disappears as quick as the last one is a good weekend that's for sure. Kat and I were both flat out from the go and come Monday morning I am beat! Most of the weekend was spent on our garden project, and Saturday we went out and collected our materials. We struck is super lucky, heading over to the Habitat For Humanity ReStore outlet and picked up some old used decking material which was perfect for the boxes and saved us a ton of coin.

With the area now leveled out and ready for action, the fun part was seeing it transform, and although it's not completely done yet, you can get a good idea of how it will look when it's finished. We've decided to have another crack at composting too. I guess our first attempt was a little lackluster and uneducated, happy enough to put food scraps and such in the bin, but not do much else with it! With a quick googler search it was clear we missed some fundamentals such as soil bacteria and turning it over regularly (!) so hopefully coming out of winter we will have some good soil for when we finally plant in these bad boys.

Sunday afternoon we went up to Boulder to check out the Boulder Cup CX race that was going on. With a bluebird sunshine day and close to 1000 people out there it was a super fun time. With a few former team mates racing alongside the countries best it was a great race to watch, coming down to a last lap attack from Belgie Ben Berden to stick the win. It was also cool to catch up with a lot of people I haven't seen in quite sometime.

Trebon giving it some stick mid race. That's Friedman rocking the Master Shake costume in the background. It is Halloween this weekend folks!

Dig It.

2011-10-25T12:11:00.000-06:00

Literally. Now that the off season is in full swing, it's down with the handlebars and up with the rake/shovel/pick/insert other yard tool here. Before old man winter finally dumps the white stuff and keeps it there, I've got a few new projects around the garden that I hope to achieve and today we got the ball rolling. See awhile back we got a new fence and in part of the process we squared our yard little differently. In doing so it has left this handy-dandy space by the shed and although there were many votes in for a hot tub, we decided that some garden boxes for some vegetables would be the go. So phase one today has been clearing out this space of all the weeds and associated plant life that was taken over this space. Now back in the day I've done plenty of garden/laboring work, but as they say if you don't use it you lose it. Hence why I'm writing this post as a little break after only a few hours out there! Nonetheless it's a start and hopefully the framework can be put in place before planting next spring!

Challenges We Seek: 2012.

2011-10-19T13:41:00.000-06:00

Sometimes things just don't shake out the way you want them to, and for next season I won't be out there in V Australia colors. With a downsizing to the program I wasn't resigned. Simple, quick and the harsh reality of the situation. A big thanks all involved in the program and of course my awesome team mates for all the adventures both off and on two wheels.

Nevertheless my passion and commitment for this sport and the pursuit of my goals remain true, and I am hoping that (perhaps even from those reading this site?) some answers are around the corner. Currently I still have no team and will continue the hunt. I've truly learned a great deal this year, especially just how brutally tough yet beautiful this sport can be. Whatever shakes out, in 2012 my legs will still be turning circles and numbers will still be pinned. Thanks y'all...

Travelling Man

2011-10-19T13:28:00.002-06:00

And just like that I am back home in Colorado. It was a short week after Tasmania, and with a chance to get on a flight to the US only a handful of days later I gladly took the opportunity. Coming home to Kat after 10 weeks away racing was something I was madly looking forward to. Heading off again is always difficult, and I know I can never catch up with everyone before jumping on a plane so apologies to those I missed. Like I say to everyone...see you soon. In this game you never know what is around the corner and where you will be next.

First hike for the off season.

Tour Of Tasmania: Stage Ten

2011-10-09T05:38:00.001-06:00

We are done! The race and the season for that matter too actually. Sitting here 10:30pm and thought I'd bust out a half awake brain cell report on today's final stage. With nothing to lose the whole V Australia team was aggressive out there but Genesys were just too strong and kept a tight leash on everything. It was a hard little coastline circuit and with a bit of wind up there was some nice gutter ball action out there. Thanks to big guys like the lovable giant of the peloton Vandy who provided me a good draft on a few laps! After 12 tough loops it was a bunch kick into the line and Bernie got up for 2nd place. Overall despite not taking out the GC, it was a pretty darn successful tour for the team, with 4 stage wins, 3 days in yellow, numerous podium places, Best Tasmanian and Criterium Champion jersey and 3 riders inside the top 10GC - Camo 3rd, Bernie 5th and myself 9th.

As I mentioned that's stumps for season 2011 and it's back to the mainland tmw. Lets hope the sun stays out next week cause I'm going to find me a beach somewhere to lie on.

Tour Of Tasmania: Stage Eight and Nine

2011-10-08T04:13:00.002-06:00

As I type the Tour of Beijing is one TV so forgive me for any bad grammar or spelling mistakes. Dual focus here. This mornings stage started right outside our hotel window which was perfect, having a little more time to sleep in and recovery before another punishing day. This race has been a tough one. The crit circuit was one again fun filled, with a tight snaking course around the coastline. At only 800m around and a total of 30 laps it was the shortest stage at just over 30min. With a back row start I was in the box early trying to move up as the pace was on, but once things settled down I was really feeling the effort from yesterday. And the days before that too! The race finished on a sour note with Bernie getting taken down at over 60km/h just after the finish line in a mad sprint. Coming past seeing your team mate in pieces on the ground is a terrible sight and although there are some crazy photos from the incident I don't really want to post them here. Also we lost the yellow jersey to Haas and his superb sprinting skills.

The afternoon stage was far more difficult than I gave it credit for. Up and down all day and still with the GC battle so tight it was attack after attack. Once again the climbs shattered the field and I was lucky enough to scrape into the pointy end again. Barely. It came down to another mass sprint in which the Russian's rolled us for their second stage win of the race.

Tomorrow is the final stage and should be fireworks right until the end. Cam is sitting in third just 14 seconds back and Bernie only 37 so it's not over until it's over! Wish us luck!

View from the hotel balcony! Boom!

Tour Of Tasmania: Stage Six and Seven

2011-10-08T03:59:00.000-06:00

A day of suffering that's for sure. The day started out great with a fast and sketchy criterium thanks to a bunch of parked cars on the course. On a side note I gotta say that this sort of stuff is not on at this level of bike racing. To have cars on the course makes a dangerous sport even more so and thankfully everyone made it through unscathed. The team rode awesome to set up Kemps for another win although on the downside Cam's yellow jersey lead got reduced after some strong intermediate sprints from Haas. This race is going to come down to the wire.

The second stage of the day was set up to be the hardest of the week, with a nasty 3.5km climb of just under 9% average and pitches of over 15%. Yikes. Looking back I would say this is perhaps the biggest day of suffering I've had on the bike this season. Overall the day was not flat, with plenty of rolling hills and attacking thanks to the narrow GC gaps. The boys rode awesome to keep things together and the plan was to save myself to look after Bernie and Cam on the major climb and onwards to the end of the stage. Coming into the valley floor after a tricky decent Genesys lit it up and split the field so only a smaller group was now heading into the monster climb. I got a terrible run at the base of the hill thanks to a few riders putting the reverse lights on as soon as the road went skywards. It was a slow and painful slog fest but we finally reached the top and as expected the field had shattered with Cam on the wrong side of the split. Over the top it was full gas on the front to pull the leaders back and preserve the yellow jersey. It took about 5km with the gap oh so close for quite sometime but we finally bridged. From then on out to the line it was just pure suffering to ride the front and contain as many GC threats as possible. A group of 3 slipped away but were no threat. With no help from any other teams until inside 2km I finished completely spent. We held the jersey by just one second.

Packing was tight for each day.....

....every last square inch was utilized!

Tour Of Tasmania: Stage Four and Five

2011-10-08T01:21:00.002-06:00

Stage Four was the first criterium of the Tour and having Aaron Kemps freshof some good form from the Tour of China, he was our man guy for the win. The course was pretty tricky, with a littlebit of elevation gain and a couple of tight off camber corners. Being only 42km and plenty of time bonuses upfor offer it was aggressive right from the gun. Breaks would form but nothing too major until around 18 laps to go adecent group got off the front which looked like it could stay away. From 16 to go Tito and I swapped off thefront and by 6 to go I was starting to die. From then out the big man Sully and J-Walk took over, closing the gapand setting up Kemps perfectly for the win. Three stages in a row! Cam stayed safe in yellow and once again it was going tobe all hands on deck in defending that lead in the afternoon stage.

Photo Credit: Goss/Licorice Gallery

Looking at the profile of the day I would say this was going to be the “easiest”stage of the tour. With anotherdifficult climbing day looming on Friday, we were pretty keen not to go toodeep and run out of legs before the week was out. The plan was to let a break go up the roadthat were no significant threat on GC, and let the other teams who wanted thestage wins do the majority of the leg work. Things worked out pretty much to plan and although we spent a far amountof time on the front we kept the intensity pretty low.

Tour Of Tasmania: Stage Two and Three.

2011-10-08T01:02:00.000-06:00

The Tour kicked off in great fashion for the team, with Kemps taking out the win and Bernie also up there on the box. Can't ask for much more than that! It was a pretty aggressive first stage with lots of fresh legs ready to throw their hat in the ring and with no real selective climbs ended up a bunch sprint. The run in to the finish itself was perhaps the most bizarre I have experienced, with under 1km to go turning into what seemed like a driveway wide access road with lots of loose gravel. Awesome. Either way we did a great job of taking control and stamping some authority on the race.

The afternoon's stage was sure to play havoc with the bunch. Featuring two significant climbs that no doubt were going to whittle the fielddown, I was looking forward to seeing how things panned out. With someordinary road surfaces, the day didn't start out great for me, flatting myfront tire only 10km in. At this point the pace was on as the early breakwas trying to establish itself which Tito was able to jump into. Howeverall this made for a not very fun chase back through the cars back to the bunch,and I wasn't too pumped on using up the energy stores before they were reallyneeded. Hitting the first 4.5km climb it was game on as expected,shelling much of the field and with an average of 7.5% I to was in thered for all of it. I scrapped over the top with the lead group and although prettyragged was happy to make the first selection of the day. The second majorclimb was just as nasty and with the legs running on empty at the bottom I gotgaped pretty much right at the base thanks to a lightening attack from DaleParker that split the bunch. It took almost 2km to creep my way into the second group, swapping offwith Mark O’Brian who was suffering just as bad. It was a real grovel in thegroup to the top, but making it over we soon caught the front group oncemore. At this point there was around 10km to go, and in making contactagain with Bernie the news came in the Camo was going full gas up the roadsolo! There seemed to be no major chaseand with a fast finish he was home free, taking 1.10sec out of the field andstraight into the yellow jersey!

Boom! Photo Credit: Shane Goss/Licorice Gallery

Tour Of Tasmania: Stage One.

2011-10-04T00:36:00.000-06:00

Suffering second wheel behind Camo inside the final km. Above the cloud line!

Photo Credit: Shane Goss/Licorice Gallery

Yikes what a way to start a Tour! 18km uphill TTT up Mt Wellington! After some good recovery post Launceston Iwas confident but slightly unsure how the legs would respond to today’s brutaleffort. We drove the climb yesterday andthis bad boy is the real deal, and I actually liked it a lot, reminding me agreat deal of the climbs around the YarraValley. A Tasmania version of Donna Buangperhaps? Either way this sucker was big,with 1200m elevation gain we climbed through the clouds and finishedabove which was way radical.

With the rules stating that time would betaken on the fourth man, we calculated a plan to use our non climbers early inthe piece, and be as consistent in our pacing as possible not to blow anyoneup early or leave the team stranded. It’s clear in an event like this that you are only as strong as yourfourth man, and we had to be careful especially on the opening day of a 6 daytour. As painful as it was, I look backon this mornings effort and it was a great stage. The team did a top job of pacing, usingKemps and Sully early, and each of us giving their utmost effort, with the final fourcrossing the line being Tito, Bernie, Camo and myself. I was really proud of the guys all coming together today for the common goal and in the wash up wefinished 4^th @45sec down on Jayco-2XU. Hats off to those guys, they rode great, butI sure am looking forward to the stages ahead and seeing how the tough terrainwill shake things up. Thanks to thosetoo watching out on the climb today too. There was a rabble of guys going nuts at around 3km to go which kept myspirits up! Recovery time now, big daytmw.

Recovery at it's finest as shown by Tito.

Launceston To New Norfolk

2011-10-02T01:00:00.002-06:00

With the big bird in the sky slowing edging closer to tarmacin Launceston, I was reminded just how stunning Tasmania really is. I’ll admit it, I’m a real sucker for ruggedmountain wilderness environments, and this little island gem fits the bill justperfectly. I think the last time I wasin Tasmania was perhaps for a mountain bike National Series race, or even the 4day Wildside event, but either way, I kinda had that gut feeling that it had beentoo long and couldn’t wait to get out on the bike, let alone do a total ofseven days racing here.

So the Lauceston To Norfolk race was a solid 208km outingfeaturing a nice 10km mountain berg up Poatina about 50km in. From what I was told from the top there neveris really a true descent, just undulations and smaller climbs to thefinish. The day started out with abrilliant morning, albeit a little chilly. Despite some attempts, no break eventuated in the early stages of therace and it was going to be left up to the climb of the day to sort thepeloton. Coming into the base of theclimb I was feeling great and soon enough settled into the first 10 wheelsheading skywards. It was a really coolclimb for sure, nice and steady gradient with a few switchbacks in there and a sense of never knowing exactly how far to the top! However by the time we reached the main plateauwe were only down to a group of 15 or so, with myself, Tito Camo and Bernierepresenting the V. At this point we hada significant gap on the main peloton and there was some hesitation between allthe teams represented in fully committing to work the front. With such unrest soon enough came a flurry of attacksbetween Genesys, the Russian National Team and ourselves. A break of four snuck away featuring Cam P,Pat Shaw (Genesys), my old MTB buddy Ben Mather and a Russian. We were happy with this combo and the gaspedal was then lifted from our group, enough so that 30min later the rest of themain peloton arrived.

The front group over Poatina. Photo Credit: Mark Gunter

With our mainsprinter Aaron Kemps now back in the fold, the call was to start working thefront, and we committed ourselves to thecause. With the Russian in the breakcoming back to the bunch after a flat, they too threw a couple of guys in thepot and soon enough Pat and Camo were caught too, but Mather was on a missionstill 4min up the road solo. Dang. This now meant full gas rolling the frontwith the Russians and I suffered like a dog. We picked up Ben with around 20km to go and at that point I was runningpretty ragged to the finish, crawling my way back to the bunch after spending abrief period in the cars with Camo.
Itwas all for Kemps and coming into the final km’s the big man Sully was pulledsome big turns to keep the pace high. Iwill say that for a 208km race it was a nasty finish, with an uphill dragbefore a left hander into the finish line. Kemps did well for a 4^th place finish and so close to apodium spot. I was pretty much crossed eyedrolling in not too far behind and satisfied at the end of perhaps the toughestday of racing I’ve had this year. So the morale is high in the team for some good results at the upcoming Tour ofTasmania, and I hope with only one day of rest the legs will be keen to fireagain!

Race Time: 5.22.43

Distance: 208km

Work: 4418kj

TSS: 350

Av Pwr: 228W

Norm Pwr: 271W

Av Speed 38.1km/h

Rainy Day, But No Blues.

2011-09-29T01:54:00.000-06:00

As I type it is literally hosing down outside. Sheets of water are falling from the sky, amidst waves of fog delicately permeating through the air, kinda like that foam you get on top of espresso. Except nowhere near as enjoyable. Don't forget Old Man Wind too, he's having a decent crack at it, and combine all three and you have quite a standard winter day in the Dandies really. Except we are in Spring! No matter, the weather is one thing totally out of everyone's control so there is no point fighting it! Yesterday was my last big day on the bike before tapering into this weekend's Launceston to New Norfolk and onto the Tour of Tasmania next week. I must admit I was pretty lucky, having 5hrs on the cards I spent just over three of them with a dry chamois before this current block of weather rolled in. Even managed to spend some time through the Don Valley, a few repeats up Panton's Gap and onto Donna Buang. It seems like climbing will be the name of the game at Tassie, so it's been a consistent theme over the past couple of weeks, and for those of you who have ridden out this way there are plenty of options on the table. Just for the hell of it the other day I even visited an old buddy by the name of Terry and rode his Ave, averaging a cadence well into the 40's for the most part. Not to mention an excessive amount of arm pump that was felt after reaching the top. Tito wasn't with me but I sure could have used his Garmin to find out the exact percentages of the pitches of that climb. On second thoughts, maybe I don't want to know!

Time is ticking away and right now I have been in Australia 8.5 weeks so far. No doubt I am missing Kathryn a great deal as the weeks roll on, especially with the arrival of a new member to the family back home. Without going into a huge amount of detail, our first adopted cat Cricket has moved on to a better environment which is going to make her a happier cat. As she progressed through our time with us, she became more and more stressed and unsettled, to the point where it was detrimental to her health. Not to mention affecting our other guy Henry and his behavior. Despite medication and sessions with behaviorists things weren't able to progress. Always wanting a pair for friendship reasons, we decided upon adpoting a new little guy into the family. He came with the name of Wheaton, but right now we have 80% decided on the name Wilson. In fact anyone reading this is welcome to leave a suggestion in the comments area below!

Wilson! Or maybe something else?

The Inside Scoop.

2011-09-28T02:17:00.000-06:00

(Post Golburn to Sydney Prologue)

Avid readers meet Taylor 'Tito' Shelden, the lone ranger American on the team and my current housemate on this Oz stopover. Bout time he got a featured post I reckon!

Where did the nickname 'Tito ' come from?
It came from Freshman year (9th Grade) in High School. We had a class trip to Mexico (!) and during the time there had some Spanish lessons. I was in the remedial Spanish class so instead of actually learning we just gave ourselves Mexican nicknames. Tito just stuck.

Strangest thing you've seen in Australia so far?
People driving on the wrong side of the road. And me driving on the the wrong side of the road. (Note to self, no more lending the Red Rocket out)

Last book read?
'A Feast For Crows'. (Not a cook book despite my inquiry.)

If Team V Australia was a rock band, who would be in it and what instrument would they play?
You would have to be the singer, due to the previous noted experience. Micheal has a lot of hair so that works well for some headbanging guitar action. Cammo too for that matter, maybe a bass guitar with a punk rock twist. For the drums, Sully cause he's such a driver.

What is the worst job you've ever had?
Land Title Management. Paper filing in a warehouse that was 30F (-2C) in middle of winter. This place was FULL of files and I had to organize them all. My hands would get torn to pieces with cuts in the freezing cold. Not fun.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A fireman.

Spiderman versus the Hulk, who comes out alive?
Thats a toughie. I feel like the Hulk could smash him but Spiderman is so nimble, like a cat......or a spider even!. Nah, advantage Hulk.

Have you ever solved a Roobix Cube?
Yeah I have. I dominated it.

Vegemite?
That is disguising. Spew. (Fine then, more for me)

Worlds Stripes, Tour Win or Olympic Gold?
Olympics. Cruel question though. Olympics you can go baller with gold bling items for four years, where as the rainbow stuff you would only get one.

Last time you wore a suit?
A wedding a few weeks ago. Boring.

Cooking to impress, what's on the menu?
I am a mean dessert maker. Mean! Okay, so lets go through the whole meal here. The entree (main course to us folks) would be a stuffed chicken breast with a cheese and spinach filling, some cous cous with crazy spices and maybe some grilled vegetables. But that's just the minor part of the meal. As I said I'm all about the dessert. The best ever was a home made peppermint ice cream filled cake, rolled up and cut into slices. (This question had an ulterior motive. You're up for cooking tmw night bro!)

Lastly, in five words describe what you know about the game of cricket?
Goofy. Tea Drinking. Paddle Whackers.

Thanks dude! Now about that ice cream cake.....

Damian McDonald Memorial Race.

2011-09-25T18:25:00.001-06:00

With a week to go until the Tour of Tasmania, both Taylor and I were keen to keep as much racing momentum as we could after Goulburn to Sydney. Yesterday we fired up the Red Rocket and headed up through the Black Spur to Eildon for the Blackburn run Damian McDonald Memorial RR. Having not been up that way in a very long time, I really enjoyed the drive and it was a great reminder just how stunning that area is. With a blue sky day I was amazed just how green things are up there at the moment and looking back wish I could have taken some pictures. My only memories of Eildon are spending three MTB Nationals there that were complete dustbowls in the January heat!

The race started off in a very subdued fashion, with very little pace on for the first of two, 27km laps around the lake. There were a couple of solo attacks and in the end Ashley Bains took up off the road solo and quickly gained a handful of minutes. I think the bunch knew a lot more about the roads around the area than I did though, as the final 48km loop went straight up a solid 8.5km berg where the group just shattered to pieces. Taylor did a super job setting the pace at the bottom of the climb and by the top we were whittled down to a group of four. It was a mighty climb for sure with steep pitches and a couple of false flat sections near the top which had me thinking some recovery was sooner rather than later. At the top of the berg we were able to pick up Ashley and we were all keen to keep the pace high and drive a gap as much was we could. The descent off the Skyline Climb was a little nerve racking with a few corners that tightened up hard, but we all made it safe but were reduced down to just four at the bottom. At this stage we had just under 30km to go and the four remaining were myself and Taylor, Ashely and Jason from Budget Forklifts. It was a great position for me and Taylor to be in, but we both were happy to rotate and do our share in the break to make sure we stayed away until the finish.

With 15km to go the cat and mouse games began, as we took turns attacking the group trying out luck in using the numbers advantage we had. It wasn't until the third attack that a split happened and I was able to slip away with Jason following who had been super strong all day. At this moment we heard a nasty noise behind which turned out to be Taylor unfortunately hitting the deck. Clear away it was a two man race and we rotated smoothly until 3km Jason attacked from behind up over the last rise of the day. I was able to follow but the line was drawn in the sand and waited until inside the last 300m to launch by surprise out of the last roundabout and hold off for the sprint win. So a nice end to the day and some good sensations before heading to Tassie at the end of the week.

On a side note it was definitely very humbling to be presented the trophy by Damian's young son Lachlan and also having members of his family at the finish line. Damian was a highly accomplished cyclist including representing Australia at the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympics and taking gold at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in the Team Time Trial. He tragically died in 2007 in the Burnley Tunnel explosion.

PJ20.

2011-09-21T16:22:00.001-06:00

All yesterday I was buzzing at the prospect of watching the international premiere of PJ20, a 2hr movie/documentary celebrating the 20 year anniversary of Seattle band Pearl Jam. Regular readers will know I have been a bg fan for many a year now, and the passion still is alive and kicking today. I can credit my older brother for the introduction after he VHS taped a late night television airing of their MTV Unplugged session way back when. I was 13 at the time and was instantly captivated by the sound, attitude and presence of the band that was like nothing I had heard before. From then on it was one discovery after another, scouring deeper into my brother's collection of cassette tapes and CD's, consuming and digesting one after another. One gem that stood above them all was a recorded radio broadcast of their concert at Melbourne Park Tennis Centre from their first Australian tour in 1995. Spanning over three cassettes, that little sonic utopia got me through many a school bus ride. Over the years many albums have been purchased, I've stayed up all night in front of shops for concert tickets and still search the web for rare live bootlegs. Seeing their story on the big screen was going to be a real treat and it didn't disappoint.

The cool thing about Pearl Jam is they really are the only band from that era that are still intact, still making music and still enjoying what they are doing. Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden to name a few, all imploded for whatever reason , yet through all the pressures of international fame Pearl Jam never broke. They were able to say enough is enough and by 1996's album No Code, had shunned all media to keep their sanity intact. The film gave a great nod to the origins of the band, being born out of the ashes of Seattle band Mother Love Bone after their charismatic lead singer Andy Wood died of a heroin overdose. Regrouping, a demo cassette tape with a handful of new songs found it's way to a San Diego surfer named Ed and things took off from there. From an out of control rise in fame where Eddie had to literally build a stone wall around his house (a stalker still plowed his car into it at 80km/h) to legally fighting the corporate monopoly of TicketMaster in trying to keep show prices low for their fans, there is quite a story to tell. Great footage, awesome interviews and insight, the worst thing about the film was they only played it once.

Goulburn To Sydney

2011-09-19T20:30:00.000-06:00

For a sneaky weekend trip, Sydney really turned it on. Great weather, a smooth flight and getting there super early on Saturday morning meant a chance for a nice water side breakfast and time to relax before the afternoons violent 3.7km prologue.

The prologue was one of those 'over before you know' it deals, and no matter what was never going to feel very good. It didn't, and as soon as I crossed the line the thoughts were for the main 170km RR on Sunday.
I was really looking forward to having a good day out for the main Goulburn to Sydney RR, but sometimes the chips don't fall the way you want. The day started out well with Tito slipping into the break and taking the pressure of the team. With some light winds and a slightly downhill profile the first 100km seemed to breeze by, and all of a sudden we were at the key part of the race heading over the RazorBack climbs. Coming into the first time up the hill I managed to drop my chain, and in the process of getting it back on twisted my front derailluer. Not ideal. After being that annoying guy going nowhere in a moving peloton I got going again but my bike sounded pretty much like a motorbike from the chain grinding away through the cage in all gears. I made it over the first berg with the group, but coming off the descent and into the next climb I wasn't in great position and a small select group including J Walk broke away and stayed away until the finish. I rolled in with the second group after trying to bring it back with Cammo for out main sprinter Scotty L. For now it's two weeks back home before heading down to Taz for the last NRS stage race of the season!

Feeding The Birds And Waiting For Something To Happen.

2011-09-15T01:46:00.001-06:00

With my American teamie in town today we went out to the local natural avery today in search of some feathered friends. Run a muck we did. Of course we rode today too but it wasn't nearly as exciting as a cockatoo landing on your head unannounced.

Tour Of Murray Images

2011-09-10T16:39:00.001-06:00

A Spanish Term For Approval.

2011-09-10T05:33:00.000-06:00

Pearl Jam played Jimmy Fallon last night and decided to bust out a brand new never been heard tune. Worth a post I reckon!

Looking For A New Home. Owner Must Like Green.

2011-08-21T17:12:00.002-06:00

With both Kathryn and myself being hardcore bicycle enthusiasts, at times our garage becomes a virtual bike shop of equipment. This little green beauty comes from the Garner side of the stable and with no need for further use is up for sale!. CX season is coming up fast and this rig is ready to go with some tricked out parts bolted on a super nice boutique frame. I seriously like this bike a lot, and although no amount of bricks on my head will ever shrink me to fit a 49cm frame it wouldn't stop me trying. Check the pictures below, and also a link for more information.

Unique Salsa Chili Con Crosso. 2008 green model. These bikes are impossible to find.
49 cm (rides like a traditional size 52 frame, with an effective 52.4 top tube).
Frame is in near-mint condition, having been ridden less than 20 times and never crashed. New cables, new chain, new handle-bar tape, nearly new tires ridden twice. This bike is ready to race and make you look good, complete with green Salsa skewers!

Fork: Ritchey Carbon
Headset: Chris King
Shifters: Ultegra (short-reach)
Rear Derailleur: Dura Ace
Front Derailleur: Shimano Sora
Cranks: Sram GXP, cross-specific
Wheels: TRE hubs (equivalent to American Classic) with Velocity rims.
Tires: Maxxis
Bars: Ritchey
Stem: Salsa
Saddle: Specialized Ruby 143
For more information: http://www.salsacycles.com/pdf/Chili.Bike.Card.pdf
Price- $1450

More Information - Click Here!

Learning From The Best.

2011-08-20T01:39:00.000-06:00

I've added a new performance team member this year. Henry has taken role as my new specialist recovery coach. We've been working hard on the above technique this week, and I think I've got it just about down pat.

Tour Of Geelong.

2011-08-15T23:58:00.004-06:00

For those with a little amount of geographical nous, you would know that there ain't no Geelong in the USA! Yep, I've slipped under the radar back into Oz for my next block of racing. To be honest, there was a reason for keeping my travels on the low down. My Grandma's 84th birthday just happened to be a few days after I landed, and with an already planned family lunch, we decided to keep my appearance top secret until I walked in the door. So no FB, no Twitter mentions and most of all no blog announcements! Not that my Grandma is quite up with all those things (!), but nonetheless the extended family is! She loved it and good times were had by all.

As always my flight home aboard V Australia was nothing short of brilliant. I've flown a bunch around the globe on different airlines and I have no trouble ranking V Australia at the top of my list. Why? Everything is quite simply stress free and well thought off. The flight from LA to Melbourne is ~15hrs, so quite a time sitting in one spot, but the inflight entertainment system is unreal. I watched two movies, "Thor" (C+) and "Hall Pass (B+) and listened to about a dozen CD's that I wished I had in my collection but don't. Anywhere from Jebediah's latest record to The Who. Throw in a decent snooze in a comfortable seat and food that you actually want more of and boom, all of a sudden you're landing. Good times, good times.

Coming from the middle of summer to the middle of winter sure has been an experience, with the body taking some time to adjust. After landing I had just under a week to get going, and following a small battle with a slight cold and getting a couple of decent days on the bike I was looking forward to hooking back up with the team and racing again. The Tour of Geelong was a 5 day race, with much shorter stages than I'm used to in the US, and even multiple stages on the one day. With most of the stages being criteriums our main focus was towards supporting Benny K and Scotty L for wins, with Brooksey chasing a high GC position. With recent success at the Gippy Tour, it was quite obvious that the Genesys Wealth Advisers team were the guys to beat, with their three pronged attacked of Haas, Shaw and Van Hoff.

The first stage we arrived a little late, and by the time numbers were pinned, air was pressured and helmets were buckled, I had 10min of warm up on the clock before being on the start line. Not ideal but nonetheless I was ready to have some fun on a treacherous wet and slippery course. A straight up four corner affair, two of them featured some nice road furniture in the form of median strips and a roundabout. Add in 150 fresh legs, greasy wet roads and rain, it was going to be a chaotic start to the tour. And it was, with crashes galore (not just in the corners mind you), and with people coming back in from the pits, at one stage it was damn confusing as to where the front of the bike race actually was! With 12 laps to go the V boys took control, and we kept the pace high and tried to keep it somewhat safe. I rolled off with 2 laps to go and the rest of the guys took over, delivering Scotty Law to the win (and the yellow jersey) and Benny K third. Perfect!

The second stage was once again a filthy wet affair, and I was quite amused in the fact the socks I packed were brand new, and in less than two hours would never be the same shade of pearly white. Once again crashes were on the menu, and combined with narrow roads and strong wind I was on the back foot early, getting caught behind a stack and having to chase back on. The rest of the stage was fairly aggressive until a late move containing Genesys's Pat Shaw snuck away, it was time to get on the front and spend some time in the wind. In the rotation with me early was race leader Scotty, so it was clear to other teams we weren't looking to defend his jersey for the overall tour win, but also weren't looking to have a race winning break waltz up the road. Swapping off meant my legs were pretty well done at the bottom of the final 3km climb into the You Yangs Park. Break was caught and Brooks stayed in the front bunch. Job done, on to tomorrow.

Whether I was still suffering some jet lag/time change/sea level hoodoo, the legs didn't want to turn so nicely on the third stage of the race. It was another four corner set-up, and once again featured a few little corner surprises, but at least this time it was dry. And windy. A sharp cross wind along the front straight threw everyone into the gutter and if you weren't careful the day could finish a little early. Once again we tried to set up our sprinters, and my job was too be one of the first couple to keep the bunch strung out. This time I managed one (average) turn at the front and unable to slot back into the rotation. That's bike racing sometimes, and Genesys took out the stage with BK 3rd.

Day three was a 28km time trial. With no time trial equipment available, it was essentially a day off, riding the course at 80% pace to finish 10 minutes down. Maybe be not so for road races, but at this level of racing, for time trialling if you don't have the specific bike, disc, helmet, skinsuit etc. there is really no point in having a crack. Kinda like entering a Formula One race with a V8 SuperCar. Yeah it's fast and has four wheels, but there is no chance when competing apples against apples.

Friday's stage I had a sneaky ambition for a strong result. The only major road stage in the tour, it was a lumpy 140km around Anakie, and would also double as the Vic State Road Championships. Hey, I'm a Victorian! I wanna win this thing! With free reign from the DS, I knew it would be a selective style road race, with a tough circuit featuring short steep pinchy climbs and hardly any chance for rest. The first lap was aggressive right from the gun, with Genesys keen to take the yellow jersey away from Jayco-AIS after the TT. Coming in the final 5km of the first of three 47km loops I felt the rear get a little spongy, and sure enough I'd flatted. Not a huge panic, but still I had to do some solid chasing to get back into the bunch before starting the major climb heading out on lap two. Lap two featured much of the same aggression, and managed to shell a lot of riders out the back, yet nothing was sticking. I was able to keep good pace on the climbs and was looking forward to the fireworks of the final lap where I was sure something would slip away late. I made my way in the front 5 wheels at each major climb, followed a bunch of strong moves from Shaw and Haas but no matter what nothing escaped. Coming into the final 5km it was a final select group of 19 left in the front bunch, and we still had myself, Brooks and Bayly. The run into the finish was fast and flat before a 90deg left hand turn 500m from the finish. We lost Brooks to a flat, and with plenty of shuffling and jostling, I rolled underneath into the last turn as a few went wide on the wet road and gave it all I could to the line. At 65kg I'm not much a powerful sprinter and took 5th place. So close, but so far! Nonetheless the legs were good on easily the hardest stage of the race, and hopefully a win isn't too far away.

The final stage was a short 45km criterium in Geelong's Eastern Gardens. With no GC podium possible, the team was keen to finish on a strong note, rallying all for Benny. Although plenty tried, no break got established, and with 4 laps to go we amassed at the front to string out the bunch. I was feeling good and ready to suffer for a good few turns, and with Haas and Bisaker going to a sneaky late move it was my job to nail them back. We caught them inside the last lap and with two turns left I swung off leaving the rest of the boys to finish. Nick Walker delivered them into the bottom corner and Benny K and Scotty threw down for 1-2! Perfect! Definitely a nice way to end the week.

For now it's back to the Nong's for some rest and recovery before building up again for the Tour of Murray River. 15 stages in 8 days, I'm looking forward to it already, hopefully it's a little warmer out there tho!

Big thanks to my Uncle Philip for all the photo work! Great stuff!

Superweek.

2011-07-27T12:08:00.001-06:00

With Cascade falling by the wayside, I needed to keep the racing in the legs and Superweek was a pretty obvious choice to go to and get some more speed in the legs. Two and a half weeks of 100km criteriums/road races dotted around the Milwaukee / Chicago, this series of races have been going for 42 years and is know for big fields and even bigger cash primes. Kat and I ventured out for 5 days in the final week, and alongside the racing we were super exciting to catch up with the Kruse family, whom we've been friends since they hosted us back in 2008.

After a solid drive spread over two days we made it in one piece, and the first thing that hit us as we stepped out of the car was the wall of heat and humidity! Wow! The first day of racing was out at Whitnall Park, and was a course that I had done resaonably well at in the past, so was eager to give it a red hot go. With a heat index of 110F (43C) it was some of the most oppressive race conditions I've ever faced. With high humidity it was like racing in hot soup, and at the end of the day all I could manage was a top 20 after some aggressive racing by the Taiwanese National Team who were leading the overall. Day two was much the same conditions and a good criterium course that suited me. Unfortunately a good break stayed away, and I got well boxed in for the bunch kick. Day three was a new circuit in Humboldt Park, and once again a small break took off and managed to lap the field towards the end of the race. Disappointed to miss yet another move, but with the past success of V Australia and a certain Mr Cantwell at these races I was quite the marked man!

Day four was perhaps one of the roughest, nastiest circuits I have raced on. Full of potholes, raised pavement and sqaure edges I contemplated whether a 29er mtb with slicks would have been effective! Sure enough a dozen or so laps in I hit an edge, flatting my rear tire instantly. Waiting in the pits it was clear that I wasn't the only one, and my stay there was a little longer after neutral had run out of wheels with that many people needing assistance! Waiting to be pushed back in, the danger break was already off the front and alarm bells went off in my head. I figured I had two choices, roll back into the bunch, or go balls out from the pit to try and catch the break, or at least spark others to try and get this move back. I chose the latter and went full noise to try and latch on. Thankfully the plan worked and the bunch was whole again. Once again more attacks kept the field stung out, and soon enough the rubber band snapped and I finally made it on the right side of the race. From then on it was the odd time off no one wanting to commit to work fully versus guys sneaking off and everyone looking around for someone else to chase. With no major teams represented this seemed to be the theme for the week, with no one really willing to commit or collaborate for a greater cause. We lost two up the road due to the aforementioned tactics and it was going to come down to a bunch sprint for the rest of the places. I had a crappy run outta the bottom turn and ended up 7th which was a bonus after feeling like death most of the race.

The most exciting thing about our final race for the week, was that it included a Junior category, and our host family's son Spencer signed up for his first road race. After spending the night prior tweaking his drivetrain for the gear restictions, I dont know who was more excited for the next day to come. Waking up to a torrential downpour and smatterings of lightning, everyone was anxiously watching the radar hoping it would clear in time. It did, and Spence was soon enough on the start line against a decent sized field for 15-18 year olds. The first few laps the field were together, and then soon enough our worst fears were realized, with the bunch whizzing past minus Spence! Yep, he had an 'off' in the third turn, and thankfully was okay and soon enough back in the bunch. Coming into the final lap the race blew apart and he did a great job of holding his own against a more experienced field. Good work mate!

My race I perhaps had the best legs of all week, and tried to stay attentive and follow those who had excelled the days prior. It was a fun course, and I found myself more often than not telling myself how much I was enjoying it, maybe because it wasn't over 40deg! Once again it came down to a bunch kick for the remainder of the spots after a small group stayed away. Overall it was a fun week of good solid training/racing that hopefully will keep the form building into my next set of races.

The drive home featured a mega storm as we crossed though Iowa. Our plans got shelved pretty quick and we dived for the nearest hotel exit! This photo doesn't do it justice, but it was some of the heaviest race I've experienced.