Hillside Road Race (Formerly Skull Valley)

We need a little more representation from the mens team for this Sundays race. Yes it will be tough but in the end worth it! Climbing and climbing - 55 miles! This will be a great race if you need a few extras in order to cat up. If interested, any one wanting a ride to the race this Sunday I will be leaving the valley @ 2:30 -3AM to arrive at the course by approx. 6-6:30. Starting times vary but this should put us there in plenty of time for any last minute preperations. I have room for an extra rider or two. Cell# 602-721-6891. Hope to see you there!

Congratulations to Matt, Steve and Jim! Skull Valley is on Sunday the 22nd

Way to go guy's this am at the Arizona Cotton Classic time trial. If you have any pictures from your camera could you either post them or send them to my email!


Also, SKULL VALLEY ROAD RACE IS ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 22nd.. I have been posting Saturday the 21st. Sorry for the confusion.....

CONGRATUALTIONS SHAWNA AND ADAM!

WHEW HEW! Great news! Shawna and Adam are going to tie the knot! Yeah! Congrats!

Garrett Chott on the Whiskey 50 video

Check this out! Here is a video of Garrett at the podium at Whiskey 50. Thanks to Adam Bergen who posted this on Facebook. Way to go Garrett! http://vimeo.com/13593664

2011 Kit- Try on to get your size in Castelli

Hello!
The jersey committee is trying to determine which brand to use for the 2011 kits. Come in and try on the Castelli jersey and shorts to see what you think and determine which size you would wear! Thanks.

Look who's on the Tour de Scottsdale Web Page!

http://www.scottsdalecyclingfestival.com/?page_name=Home

Team Meeting

Team Meeting Saturday, JULY 17th. We will be discussing important topics for the 2011 race season. Please let Kathy C. or I know if you are coming!!!

From Escondido, CA

I'm not trying to rub it in, but...I've been spending the week riding through the flower fields, fig, citrus and avocado groves, and the oaks and manzanita of north county San Diego. Here, 2500 feet of climbing in 20-30 miles is mandatory, but at 75 degrees it doesn't matter that much. You can do it all in zone 2. Yes, it has been hot, but only in the 80s for a couple of hours. Marine layer in the morning has kept it nice and cool. I've only been flipped off once so I figure it's a good week in Southern California. Next summer I can open it up for a few days for a team training camp if we have enough interest.

State Crit Champ. Photos

I just found these...

http://donluphoto.zenfolio.com/p163340158

Expectations

www.elevationoutdoors.com/index.php/expecatation/

Bike the Bluff Results

If you'd like to see your individual results, go to http://www.ceptiming.com/results_misc.cfm?year=2010&raceNum=251

Then search by your category. These results are much more comprehensive and include avg speed and each lap time.

This was a super fun, awesome race and I just want to thank Trish and Travis, and everyone who came up to volunteer, for putting in so much work to make this race happen for us. It was truly an awesome TWJ team experience, if we weren't racing, we were volunteering. It really makes a difference to have support at a race. THANK YOU!

Kathy C.

Mt. Graham (training): This Sat. if you're interested

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8TLuy2n-70

SWEEPING THE PODIUM IN FLAGSTAFF!

WAY TO GO GIRLS! SO CAT 3 in the works for ya? I can't tell you how proud we are of all of you this season! Your great team work and dedication to Two-Wheel Jones Racing has totally paid off and I thank you! BIKE THE BLUFF HERE WE COME!!!! CHEERS TO THE FASTEST CAT 4's WOMEN IN ARIZONA!

Flagstaff Omnium

What a great weekend of racing!! My team goal was realized this am when Two Wheel Jones Racing swept the podium at the Road Race! Shawna took 1st, Kathy Eaton took 2nd and I took 3rd!! The day couldn't have gotten any better! Trish will have pictures very soon!!

See you all at Bike the Bluff!

Kathy C.

Flagstaff Omnium

I'm with Steve - going to Flag to race and get some more points so I can cat up to 3. So far there are only about 80 racers registered. The weather is gonna be awesome. I am not doing the Hill Climb since I am not a climber, so I am only registered for the circuit race & the Road Race. The CR is a 1.8 mile course which is flat and fast and the Road Race is similar to what we did at AZ RR champs - downhill for the 1st half - turn around and come back up. Not doing the hill climb also saves me from having to pay for 2 nights of hotel rooms, I only need a hotel for Saturday night.
If I'm willing to do this Road Race, all of you should be willing, I'm a wuss when it comes to hills, I hate them, but I'm gonna do it to get points. Everyone is gonna be in the same boat with regards to the elevation.
C'mon, come join us, so far it's just me, Shawna, Steve.... and Kathy Eaton is gonna do the RR on Sunday.

Kathy C

Flagstaff Omnium...Need Help

I think many racers are burned out...we are about six months into the racing season. That's a long time to maintain discipline and focus. I know I'm slipping in both areas...it's too damn hot, etc. But...everyone is in the same boat. Now is the time to get some points and results while others slack. Please consider racing in Flagstaff on June 12-13. Yes, I know the course profiles are hellish, but what, really, do we have to lose? You are going to be a year older next year, and the next, and the next...let's get out there and have some fun!

Memorial Day Ride?

Any plans for a Memorial Day ride? I'm going to do something "longish", maybe about three hours, at a very moderate pace...please respond or email me if you have something planned.

Also, don't forget about the omnium in Flagstaff on June 12-13. Great opportunity to get some high-altitude racing in before Bike the Bluff. We've got a few TWJ racers signed up but we need some more.

Volunteer Meeting

Sorry for the confusion, but the meeting is for volunteers not the riders who are racing. So if you are racing Bike the Bluff, no need to come, only if you want to.

Volunteer meeting for Bike The Bluff

We will be having our volunteer meeting for Bike the Bluff after the ride (9:00) on Saturday, June 12th. We will have it at Starbucks right by the shop. The meeting won't be long. If you can't make it, we can reschedule with you during the week. Otherwise, see you then!
Thanks!

I dedicate this one to...myself and you know who you are

MBAA 2010 season final results

Nate and Garrett finished the season strong for Two Wheel Jones. Garrett ended up taking 1st in the Flagstaff Finale but Nate walked away with the season championship in Cat 2 15-18, with Garrett taking the number two place for the season - the announcer even noticed that Two Wheel Jones had both top spots. The top photo is the season podium and the second photo is the podium for the Flagstaff Finale.

The finale course was modified from it's original version which went up Mt. Elden due to too much snow on the course. Instead it was run on the south facing lower slopes of Elden where the trails were dry already.

Bike the Bluff Pre-Ride May 29th

If you can make it up to Show Low on May 29th please join me for a pre-ride of the Bike the Bluff course. I'll be doing the race distance at a moderate pace. Let me know if you plan to be there so that we can ride as a group.

Steve

Flagstaff Finale Mountain bike race info

This is an e-mail from 'The Mountain Bike Association of Arizona' Message:

To all Racers,

I'm very excited for this weekend and also sorry for all the changes to the series. The MBAA has been very busy finding the best solutions for the weather and the loss of a race.

Here's the List of Changes:
1. The series only has six races now and to be fair YOU ARE STILL ALLOWED 2 DROPS. The series is now your best 4 out of 6 races.

2.The intended course for the Flagstaff race has changed to only using lower elevation trails so this means no Mt Elden climb, no Catwalk, no Sunset and no Little bear trails. This course is now a combination of Rocky Ridge and Oldham trails. This includes an outer loop of 10.2 miles and an inner loop of 4.6 miles.

3. Start Times for waves 3 (women) and wave 4 (cat 3 men) have changed. Wave 3 will leave at 9:30am (2 minute intervals) and wave 4 at 11:30am (2 minute intervals).

4.We will be having a catered awards banquet on site at Buffalo Park from 2-5pm. All the proceeds will go to FBO. The banquet will be catered by Bigfoot BBQ. Plates will be $10 a head which covers a full meal and drink.

5. Stick around Sunday for a SUPER D "tell your friends".

More info can be found online at mbaa.net. I hope to see you all there.
See you soon, Chris "SCOOBY" Capages
MBAA President

Results Posted

I was just advised and verified that results from the AZ RR Championships are posted at the link below. Good job everyone! Thanks again Travis for the support at the feed zone!

http://proconcyclingaz.com/proconblog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/staterr_results.pdf

Tour of California started yesterday

Yeah! I can't wait to sit down and watch Versus tonight, it's Tour of California time!!!! Yippee! Who's gonna take the win? My bets are on Levi (depending if he got set back from yesterday's crash). My second is Fabien. You?

Mt Lemon TT

Is anyone interested in doing the Mt Lemon TT this Sunday in Tucson? It's a 12.5 mi climb with 3000 feet elevation gain. First in 5 part series. Registration Sunday before race. more info @ http://www.saguarovelo.org/infolemmon.htm?permit=2009-879

Tortilla Flat!!!!!!!!!

This Tuesday is the first Tortilla Flats race, lets go get it before the weather gets miserable!!!!!
This is a good training race.

Arizona State Road Race Championships

The results are not posted yet but I have a ball park on how we did. Next year lets all be out there racing!
Joe H.- pretty sure in top 10
Simon Z.- mid pack
Shawna- 3rd, Kathy C. 10th, Kathy E. 15th, and me, well I finished safely, at a speedy 21st place! Yeah!
Travis did not race as the Cat 5's filled up. (note to self, sign up sooner)
Great Job to all of you!

State Road Race Champs tomorrow!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL RACING TOMORROW IN GLOBE FOR THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS! NOW GO AND ROCK THE WORLD!!!

SoMoTT Team Results

Thanks to Jim, Jeff, Charlie, Doug, Garrett and Shawna (and our supporting team members who were there as well)...Two Wheel Jones Racing placed 10th overall in the team competition. Outstanding performances by Shawna (2nd place), Charlie (3rd place)and Garrett(3rd place) helped us score so high.

http://www.teamvitesse.com/SoMo2010TeamRankings.html

Steve Banta

I want to thank the team for all the support and generosity in getting me back on the bike. road this morning and it felt great to be back out there. you don't really know how much you miss it until you cant ride. good luck to those doing the state RR I know you will all do great .wish I could be there but my form is lacking between the back and then the crash. looking forward to showlow . darrall

AZ Road Race Pre-ride

Howdy All!
Tomorrow May 10th let's pre-ride the AZ road race course! Meet at the shop at 5:45 and drive up to the Start area. Here are the directions: Take US 60 - 90 miles. Park at the Cobre Valley Country Club on HWY 188. HWY 188 is 1/4 North of US 60. Address is 4877 W. Cypress Way. This ride is open to all, anyone can join us- I plan on riding it, not racing it. IF you'd like to do some team tactics that is great, I am totally on board for that. I don't know what to expect from the course so I am not sure I will be able to hang with you strong guy's and gals. See you bright and early!

Both Kathy's- Podium finish at State Crit Championships!

Sout Mtn TT

Hey team, for those of you doing the South Mtn TT tomorrow, I will be there about 6:30- 6:45am and will have a cooler with water, propel, bagels & cream cheese and some donuts. If you have anything you would like me to put in the cooler for you to have at the top, I will gladly take it. I plan to meet you all at the bottom but go up to the top at the start of the TT. I will be wearing my 2wheel jersey and shorts (not my full kit). See you in the morming.

Kathy Connolly

South Mountain TT

Registration ends tomorrow...no day-of registration for this one. We only have three TWJ racers registered (that I know of)...Jim Chott, Jeff Dupuis and myself...and we are the big guys, not the "climbers"!! If you've got some anxiety keeping you from trying this race, set it aside and come out and do it. All any of us can do is ride at threshold until we get near the finish and then just blast it. The fact that it is uphill makes no difference; threshold is threshold. I'm no expert but if you want to try it and want to know where to be HR-wise, send me an email at sbanta@sbantalaw.com and I'll give you some tips.

BTW - I Hate 2nd Place

To clarify that statement, I absolutely have no problem with 2nd place, 3rd place, 4th place or any place for that matter as long as my teammates are the ones who have beaten me. Grrrr!! I am so mad but I will use that anger in future races. Like Trish said, Live and Learn...and I am.

SMTT and Weight Loss

Like Jim Chott, I want to encourage you to come out Saturday and do the South Mountain Time Trial.

And now for something totally different...as we all know, most cyclists and endurance athletes are trying to lose weight. I found this question and answer advice on the cyclingnews website. It's nothing you probably haven't heard before, but it's a helpful reminder...especially the tidbit at the bottom concerning the importance of avoiding high-glycemic index foods if you are trying to drop a few pounds.

Hello,

I am a fairly serious cyclist. I commute to work every day which is about 25 miles. I do two 1.5 hour interval sessions a week and I go out for approximately 120km rides on the weekend averaging 30km/h. I am healthy during the week and on most weekend and I don't drink a lot.

I currently weigh 98kg and for some reason cannot drop anymore weight. I am quite muscular but still think I should be able to lose at least 5kg of fat. I am starting to run more but I was wondering what is the best cycling to do to lose weight. What heart rate zones should I be in?

Ross

Scott Saifer says

Ross,

Your volume of riding is adequate to support weight loss. You are right to focus on choosing an appropriate intensity. Many people erroneously assume that the more calories they can "burn" on the bike, the more weight they'll lose. The error comes from the fact that when we exercise hard (near LT) we metabolize almost exclusively carbohydrate and very little fat, while at lower intensity, the fuel mix includes a lot more fat.

Any carbohydrate you metabolize has to be replaced before you can ride strongly again, so hard rides do very little for weight loss. Fat metabolized during exercise does not need to be replaced, so riding at an intensity that actually uses fat is the way to go if you are using exercise for weight loss.

That means you want to ride relatively lower intensity to lose weight. Luckily for riders who want to be fast, the "fat burning zone" and the aerobic base development zone overlap a lot, so doing your base riding, combined with sensible diet, is a good way to lean out.

There's another common misconception related to exercise intensity and weight loss that comes from the sloppy way some research has been reported in the media: After an exercise session the body continues to metabolize more fat, even after you are no longer exercising, than it would if you had not exercised.

The research that showed this found that the exercise had to be "intense" to get the effect, but remember that when we are talking about sedentary research subjects, "intense exercise" might not be exactly what a trained cyclist would think of as intense. To provide this benefit, the exercise has to be intense enough to boost body temperature and mobilize fatty acids from fat tissue. Again, the aerobic base zone is quite adequate.

There are two dietary adjustments that seem to help a lot of riders lose weight: One is to cut out high-glycemic index foods other than while exercising, and only starting to use them 20 minutes or more into exercise sessions. High glycemic foods include your sugars, sweets, white bread and all athletic energy foods and drinks.

The other is increase consumption of fruits and vegetables. When you see a barrel shaped, soft all over man or woman walking down the street, you can be pretty sure you're looking at someone who doesn't like vegetables.

Flagstaff mountain bike race on 5/9 cancelled

The Flagstaff mountain bike race scheduled for 5/9, Mother's Day, has been moved into the slot that was going to be for the Williams race on 5/22. Please see http://www.mbaa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=145&Itemid=35 for details.

Jim

South Mountain Time Trial info

The registration deadline for the 2010 Team Vitesse South Mountain Time Trial is Thursday May 6th at midnight. Please follow this link to reserve your place in this popular race https://www.sportsbaseonline.com/events/index.xhtml?categoryId=22340&conversationId=131675 Join us for the best bike race in Phoenix, and challenge yourself to become "King of the Mountain" on this tough, but beautiful course. This year - we're making the race even more fun: * The SoMo Team Climbing World Championships. This is your team's chance to become World Champions! Each team member gets a point for reaching the finish line, and the top three in each category win extra points. The team with the most points becomes the South Mountain Climbing World Champions for 2010. * Awards. We've got "King of the Mountain" Trophies for the overall Male and Female winners as well as medals for winners of each category. * Raffle Prizes. Your race entry could win you a new cruiser bike or one of the many prizes in our raffle. If you have any questions about the South Mountain Time Trial please contact our Race Director at race@teamvitesse.com. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday May 8th and, until then, good luck training! Team Vitesse

Live and Learn? I can't stand that saying sometimes!!

MAN! What a damn day of racing! As always, I have been replaying our Cat 3/4 race over in my head getting more irritated with myself for not knowing to take the free lap that I was entitled too. Total rookie mistake however when I saw the crash happen and was embracing for impact into the barricades I was feeling super good, sticking to my strategy and looking to finish somewhere up near the front, with or near the Kathy's (wishful thinking from the get- go). And then BAM! Right into the damn barricades! I knew I was ok and my bike was fine but I was tangled up with the other chicks and was stuck watching the pack race away. So it took me a few seconds (felt like forever, being a bit in shock and had total tunnel vision) to get myself free from the chaos..... but then I was OFF and RACING! While I was riding I was thinking, "ok, I just crashed but I am going to finish this race but how the hell am I gonna catch them?" So I continued to go around and around the course in last position (way off the back) and then getting yanked at the last lap because the gals were just coming up from behind me. So I stopped my bike, right where the two corner marshalls were sitting on hay bails covered in black trash bags. They told me, "Great job and effort you put in!" Which was nice of them but didn't put a dent into helping my frustration. So of course I told them that I crashed and I needed to finish the race. That is when they asked me, "Well, didn't you get your free lap in ?" And I said in a sarcastic yet disappointed way, "ahhh naw, I figured I was out of the race anyway so I just wanted to at least get a good workout in for thirty @#$!% dollars!" They laughed and I went off my marry way back to our pit area. I glanced over to the BR pit and I saw the gal that was also involved in the crash and I went over to her and asked her, "did you finish the race?" And she said "yes, they brought me back to the start and let me have a free lap because I crashed." That was all I needed to hear! "You mean to tell me I could have went back to the finish and started back in? Oh boy! I wanted to go up to the announcer and pull his vocal cords out of his throat for not saying anything to me while I was going around and around and around in no mans land all by myself for 15 minutes! HOW DARE HIM AND THE ORGANIZERS TO LET ME DO THAT.... and that's what those marshalls were talking about! Later, I was informed that they did disclose the free lap rule at the beginning of the race. Oops! my bad for not listening to the rules huh? I wonder if anyone really absorbs that information before a race anyway. I also realize that the announcer may not have known that I was involved with that messy crashy thingy. Maybe or maybe not they would have said something if they knew, who knows. WE LIVE AND LEARN RIGHT? I still can't stand that saying even though it's true. It was an interesting race to say the least, the best part was hanging out with the team and their families in the pit area.

Congratulations to both Kathy's for riding another strong and successful race. Yeah, we gave those girls a run for their money today for sure, and we will continue to dominate. At the Focus Crit there was only one TWJ up at the podium, today there was two! Next time there will be three TWJ GALS standing together!

My crash is nothing compared to what we witnessed with Darralls crash which happened right in front of our pit. That totally shook me up as well as it did others. Last time I checked he did not have any broken bones (per his wife) and he was resting well. Many of you have his number and will check in on him, but I will update the blog too. Let's pray for a speedy recovery and get him back on the bike so he'll be ready to race the State RR in Globe, the one race he was really looking forward too!
-Trish

Sometimes it's OK to break the rules

After the race today, someone asked me if I had planned to work as much as I did during the race. Hell no! The first commandment of bicycle racing is:

Thou shalt conserve thy energy for the winning move.

First, you should notice there isn't a period after the word energy. If you're in a breakaway you probably aren't conserving energy, but hopefully it was the winning move.

Second, it's OK to break this commandment if you're already losing. Today at the State Criterium Championships I found myself in the back of the pack before the race even started. I took a lap to scout the course and guys were already lining up at the start. I ended up in just about the last row. That was a monumental error on a course that provided very little opportunity to move up.

The result was that I wasn't anywhere near the front when a group of riders opened up a gap on the rest of the field. Cat 5 racers are notorious for letting a bike length open up between them and the guy in front. If you're in a fast paced race with any significant amount of wind and you're a bike length (some would say two feet) or more back, panic! You must close that gap immediately.

It was a hellafast pace today from the start and the wind was brutal. The pack started to string out and moving up became slightly easier. I finally found a rhythm and I spent the next hour (OK, it only felt like an hour) closing gaps between riders and spending a little time on the front of the chase group myself. We lost time. We lost more time. We got lapped. We finally got the shepherd's hook and were pulled from the race. A heart pounding 25 minutes was all I lasted. Congrats to the winner. Well done.

So no, I didn't plan to work as hard as I did. At this stage in my cycling career, I never plan to work. I'm an opportunist. But when you miss the winning move, you have to resign yourself to losing or dig deep. I still lost, but I gave it my best.

-Jim Vidler

AZ Crit Champs

I loved having 2 Two wheel jones females on the podium today! Way to go Kathy E. awesome job today with a 3rd place finish and hopefully some Cat 4 points!! I know we could have had 3 on the podium if Tribe didn't take our girl Trish out!

My hat goes off to Travis, Sean, Steve G., Craig and Darrall for attempting to race with the masters. (I hope I didn't miss anyone) Although every time I think about Darrall's crash and his mangled bike, my heart sinks into my chest. I know the wound will heal Darrall and the bike is your biggest worry, but it is just a machine and can be replaced...YOU are not replaceable and WE love you more than your bike!

Last week when I signed myself up, I tried to sign Sean up and he said, "no, I need to talk to Travis, I think we're racing in the Masters!" And I said, "WHAT? Are you crazy, they are all ex-pros and they race as fast as the Cat 2's!" And he said, "No, that's not what I heard!"

Need I say more? You guys are probably gonna stick to the cat 5's from now on aren't u?

Congrats to everyone else as well! AZ RR Champs in 2 weeks. We need to get out there and ride the course at least twice before that race! Wed rides...who's in?

Kathy C.

KTAR BROADCAST SLAMMING CYCLIST

Hi Gang,
This has been circulating for a couple of days now. Not sure if you have heard it. All we can do is obey all traffic laws and pick our battles on the road with attitudes like this. I have a feeling they will learn it just may take a while, but I do feel sorry for their poisonous attitude.

http://www.ktar.com/resources/audio_headlines/audio_player.php?a=3791

Cat 5 Men: State Crit Championship

Gentlemen,

As of 8 p.m. there are only 7 spots left in the 5s...if you want to race on Sunday you better register tonight. I've looked at the names of the racers and I've raced them all before this season. As Rob Schneider would say..."You can do it!" Don't be shy...register now.

Whiskey 50, wow

By far the hardest 50 miles I have ever ridden.
I tossed around the idea of doing this mountain bike race for several weeks. I'm a roadie so I was a bit hesitant, but everyone told me it was an amazing race. Ryan from the shop egged me on by daring me to do it on a single speed. I do love a challenge, and a single speed was the cheapest way to build a mountain bike up in time for the race (like I said, I'm a roadie so no mountain bike in the arsenal of bikes). I had heard there was climbing(I had no idea) so I set the bike up with a fairly low gear, 32x20.
Prescott got a little snow the day before the race, so it was cold when we arrived. We had a nice dinner with Phil P. and his wife and went to the safety briefing. In the morning the weather was great, cool but not cold and clear a a bell with no wind. The race starts on Whiskey row in Prescott and climbs up out of town on asphalt, my advantage over these mountain bike types. I sailed up the hill passing people left and right. Eventually it turned to dirt road and then single track climbing all the way, advantage to the mountain bike folks, who passed me left and right. We climbed up into the woods finding snow on the ground and amazing views. The trails were challenging but not un ride able. After the first rest stop (about 15 miles in) you turn onto a dirt road that descends into Skull Valley, 12 miles down hill. The down hill is a welcome change from all the climbing until you remember that this is an out and back road. On the way back up the road rolls a bit alternating from Usery pass grades to Kong grades for the first 10 miles then it gets serious. With the single speed I found my cadence down to something like 10 RPM, using as much arm strength to pedal as legs. At one point I realized that all the other riders that I could see were walking, pushing there bikes up the mountain. The walkers were actually moving as fast as I was pedaling. Eventually it got so steep I just had to get off and push. There was about 4 miles of sustained grades over 15%, ouch. Once the mountain was bridged, the trail turned to gravity fed single track again, crossing dozens of flowing streams. Then a turn back onto asphalt to drop down into town. The organizers have a huge festival in the town square afterward and the people were super friendly.
There is no doubt I will be repeating this torture next year. The Whiskey was an epic ride.

http://connect.garmin.com/player/31284059

Do you get this excited when your on your bike?

This is a photo of a customer who bought his grandaughter a new bike from us! He said the bike was a HIT! Pretty cute huh?

Tuesday Night Crit is on Wednesday this week.

2 wheels for hope- Mountain Bike Benefit Ride

June 5, mountain bike benefit ride for injured cyclist. Looks really cool, it's a night ride. Here's the info:

http://2wheels4hope.com/default.aspx

Many Races Coming Up: Now is the Time

Check www.azcycling.com or www.velocitygroupcycling.com for upcoming races. There is something just about every weekend now. If you want to race (or you need to race to get your mandatory number of races in) now is the time to do it. Let's get out there and get those Two Wheel Jones kits visible at some races.

How many more Tuesday night crits?

Hi guy's and gals! How many are left? I'd like to squeeze another couple in if I could!

Behind the Peloton

Two Wheel Jones at Prescott Punisher 4/10/10

Nate Rees almost pulled off another win in the 15-18 Cat 2 group but was held off in the sprint for the finish in a race that ended with a deep sandy curve. Garrett Chott fell victim to a cut tire in one of the water crossings but was able to get it fixed in time for 5th, also in the 15-18 Cat 2 group. I was able to come up with a 7th place finish in 40-49 Cat 2 despite having a stomach cramp for the first lap. Trying to catch up on hydration in the half hour before the race was a bad idea. This race was held at the Alto Pit OHV area which gives the course lots of loose decomposed granite, many banked turns and numerous steep climbs.

Whiskey Offroad April 24th

The Whiskey Offroad is coming up on Saturday April 24th. This is an endurance mountain bike event that starts on Whiskey Row in Prescott. There are 15, 25 and 50 mile options and there's a bit of climbing involved. See http://www.epicrides.com/wor/wor.htm for details. I think there are four of us from TWJ so far signed up but it would be great to have more join us! The 50 proof is roughly half of the Leadville 100 in terms of distance and climbing, just at a little lower altitude.

Arizona State Criterium Championships

May 2nd in Scottsdale

Here's a link to the flyer

2010 AZ State Criterium Championships

Tuesday Night Worlds

Anyone racing this Tuesday night? I'm in for the C race.

Also, I'm going to take Tricia's suggestion and race Wet and Wild Crit on Apr. 24 and then Ride for the Children (at race pace if everyone wants to) on Apr. 25. There was no interest for the southern California races.

Please share your race calendars.

Steve Banta

Great Day for a Bicyccle Ride

Congrats to all of our team and club riders who rode El Tour de Phx today! It was an absolutely awesome day...and NO TWJ crashers this time! Shawna & Kathy- AMAZING to make that ver;y difficult platinum time. You proved to all of us that it is possible, despite our original thoughts. Everyone else improved their personal times significantly and that makes it a sucessful race. See all of you out there this week! Time to have a little post race fun! ~Nicole

Buena suerte a todos magana!!!

GO TWJ!!!! ROCK AND ROLL TOMORROW! Get plenty of rest and have lots fun!!!!!

BIKE THE BLUFF

This is a better flier which shows our map nice and big!
Bike the Bluff USAC Official Flier

sorry to say but i wont be riding phx

I have hurt my back and my chiropractor is not working. going to see my doc. hopefully i will be back on the bike soon. will be there to cheer you all on . I know you all have been training hard and will do great. see you all there darrall

Event Weekend of April 24-25

Is any one interested in racing the Wet-n-Wild Crit on Saturday, April 24 and then Ride For The Children (fun ride) on Sunday? Ride for the children is a beautiful ride! I am open. Any takers on this?

South Mountain TT coming up May 8th

To go along with the time trial theme that Jim Vidler is thinking,
there's a real time trial coming up at South Mountain on May 8,
http://www.teamvitesse.com/SMTT1.html has the details. Garrett and I
are signed up, it will be our first time trial on the road bikes,
thought you might want to let the team know about it.

Jim

TWJ -TT Challenge!

Hi Team,

Below is a fantastic ride idea from Jim Vidler . We can incorporate this into our Saturday ride for those of you who want to get some TT practice. We are thinking of trying it on May 1st. So for those of you who have TT bikes bring them to the Saturday ride, May 1st (if you want to).

-Trish

Here's the idea:

I've never done ride planning so this may be a stupid idea, but here it is:

Our normal Usery ride, Usery-Bush Hwy-Kong, whatever that ride is called. But we take it easy to the Usery-Bush Hwy intersection and start there for a some time trial practice. The route would be from there to Redmont, which is the entrance to Red Mountain Ranch. No stop signs, lights, etc. for 6.5 miles. There used to be a time trial that went from the intersection to the canal and back. I think it was the state championship one year. I wouldn't want people doing a turn-around on a course that wasn't patrolled though. So I think just going to Red Mountain Ranch is a better idea for an unofficial ride.

Basically, everybody would time themselves on the honor system. Start your watch when you leave, stop when you hit the intersection. If I remember correctly there is a grass patch right there at Red Mountain where people could wait for everyone to finish.

If someone on the club ride doesn't want to time trial, just keep riding through to the time trial end and wait. Since we wouldn't be real official we could send people off in 15-20 second intervals. It would only take a few minutes to get everyone going. We usually wait that long at the intersection anyway.

If people remember their time we can aggregate them at the end of the ride and post them online so people get an idea where they are at.

Of course there would be some serious bragging rights involved for the fastest time too. Do this once or twice a year for an unofficial TWJ TT Champ.

Maybe it's just me, but I got this idea because I would like some TT practice but I'm still chicken to do a "real" one.

-Jim

Registration now open for Bike The Bluff! Finally! Let me know if you have any questions.
http://www.larouedor.com/20100619-az-bike-bluff.html

Thanks

Tuesday Night Crits-Congrats to Jim Vidler

I managed to catch most of the D race tonight at the Tuesday Night Crits. Jim rode a great race, staying near the front and providing much of the horsepower to catch two breaks. He went for the win and finished in third. Very smart racing by Jim and a great effort to win coming out of the last turn.

Here's another bike event! Usery Madness April 17 . www.catchthemadness.com

Here's a Local Mountain Bike Event Powerline MTB Race in Apache Junction!
Looks Fun!

Devil's Punchbowl RR/Chuck Pontius Crit/AZ TTs

April 24-25 in Santa Clarita, CA. What could be better than a RR with 1500' of climbing per lap (two laps for Cat 4 women and Cat 5 men) and then following it up with a crit race (40 minutes for Cat 4 women and Cat 5 men) the next day? I'm planning to be there.

I don't want to race by myself so please let me know if you'd like to get a TWJ Racing team over there.

Southern California competition is a great way to see where we measure up. One of the DNA racers told me that it was an eye-opening experience to race against SoCal competition.

http://www.socalcycling.com/RaceAnn/2010/Punchbowl.pdf

http://www.socalcycling.com/RaceAnn/2010/ChuckPontius.pdf

Also, don't forget about Arizona time trials. On April 17 is a time trial down near Picacho. It's 30K and has a Merckx category (I shouldn't have to explain that one but Jim Vidler can probably give us a history lesson about TT equipment). Riding at or above your anaerobic threshold HR for 40+ minutes is an experience you should try. Tired of savvy riders drafting all the time and never pulling? This is your chance to show that you are the dominant rider when all drafting is taken away; that's why its called the 'race of truth.' Putting power down (and sustaining it) is the name of the game so big guys can do well.

http://www.teamcolleen.org/Events/default.asp?Year=2010&Month=04&Day=17

Finally, if cycling is not fun anymore, focus and reconsider. Like Darrall has reminded us, we should be having fun even as we race. Life is too short...

Steve Banta

Congratulations Nate Rees!

Nate got 1st place this weekend at the MBAA Sierra Vista Mountain Bike Race!. He raced Category 2's (15-18 yr)!

Wednesday Ride, March 24th-Tour De Phx Route

We are planning on riding the Tour De Phoenix route not Superior. Come join us at the shop at 8:45! It's about 80 miles from the shop. No sag (sorry).

Now that Superior is going to be rescheduled, Travis and I will be at our group ride (feels like forever). Yeah! Any suggestions for that day?

Mining Country Challenge, Sat 3.20.10

I decided back in November that I was going to conquer this advertised monster of a ride. So, of course, I really slacked off on my riding in November. I slacked off more in December, January, and then February came...uh, yeah, I better pick it up! Having only ridden a tad over 600 miles in 2010, I packed up my bike and drove up to Superior to start.

45 degrees, 30mph howling winds found me with nothing but my (proud wearing, I might add) Two Wheel Jones kit and arm warmers. I hunkered down in the truck until 7:45, then threw my helmet and shoes on, got a 1 mile warm up in spinning up the town streets to find where the sun was shining. It wasn't an organized start, but a start on your own type ride. I latched onto some unsuspecting souls and away we went, east on 60.

It was miserable. 30 mph crosswinds, darn near freezing temperatures, crazy drivers, sometimes little to no shoulder, and the first 20 miles were all uphill! I kept telling myself that I had one more gear on the bike that no one else had...the FEAR GEAR!! Hills really aren't my favorite, so I stuck it in low gear and spun as best I could, trying to pace myself for the advertised 96 mile ride with over 7000 feet of climbing.

After passing the first SAG stop and having a 1/4 of a PB&J, the going got a bit easier with some flats and a little downhill. Wait, there's more hills ahead. Ugh. I think the entire world passed me, but I made it to the top. Then, the reward on the backside...I got up to 49 mph on the downhill swing of that hill somewhere SE of Globe and NW of Winkelman. At that point, I didn't care how many cars were behind me or riders in front, I was flying!

At the 80 mile mark came the skull and crossbones for me. 3 miles of heavy duty climbing with the final 1 1/2 miles a true 10%-11% grade. That about killed me. Already spent from goinghefarthest I've ever been in one day (notice, I didn't say "sitting"), to look up at this monster hill and realize my legs are already feeling like lead balloons was rather intimidating. I stuck it in the lowest gear known to man, thought I would fall over on each revolution, looked about 5 feet in front of me and slugged away. I just counted, "one...two...three...four...one...two...three...four" over and over again until I reached the top! I didn't stop, didn't fall, and even passed two riders. Okay, one had given up and was walking to the top, which just provided me with more motivation. I think I picked it up from 3.8 mph to 3.9 mph when I passed him.

The rest was pretty much downhill into Superior again and I finally grabbed a group's wheel and coasted into town with them. Looking at my Garmin, I had only gone 92 miles, so I headed back onto the course, going backwards. I was going to ride 100 miles in a day, if it killed me. I got the strangest looks when people saw me going the other way. I was 2 miles short when I got back into town. It's amazing how far 8 miles is when you're totally gassed! So, I putzed around Superior's roads and then found a spot and did about 40 figure 8's in a parking lot to get my 100 miles in.

If you like climbing or just a challenge, this ride is for you. Of course, the craziness is interesting too. A Fry's truck came within 2" of hitting my left elbow just before the Queen Creek tunnel, the crosswinds literally blew me off the road into the gravelly shoulder, dead smelly skunks were about every 15 miles, I had to miss a dead javelina on the shoulder, the Bicycle Haus and Carlos O'Brien teamies can haul bootie, and one needs to come prepared for cold windy weather.

I will never look at Usery the same way again. I might still be slow, but it's an easy climb now!

superior ride on monday 3/24

sorry this is such short notice, me simon and mat are riding from florence junction to superior down the clime and out. 700am . you can call me if you would like to come 480-495-3823

Focus Crit

I loved the Focus Crit today...the course was absolutley amazing, perfectly paved, nice wide road, and easy turns...I really enjoyed it.
I went into today's race with absolutely no expectations, I did it at the last minute to race with Trish. We were grouped together and scored together with the cat 3 ladies. So honestly, my goal was to just not get dropped. Today I was given an opportunity by 2 very strong Cat 3 riders who took off and blew themselves up, which left the door wide open for me to suck the wheels of a couple riders trying to chase down Trish (Thanks Trish for making those girls chase you down)and then sling shot around them to catch Debbie, the 2nd place Bicycle Ranch racer. At first, I grabbed her wheel and was gonna just hang on and then I realized, she was spent and had nothing left. I was afraid to pass her cuz she is an experienced Cat 3 rider and I knew she would not pass up the opportunity to jump on my wheel. But I realized quickly that if I stayed behind her, I too would be caught by the pack. So I pulled out from behind her and took off to try to catch 1st place, I was mentally thinking that Debbie was gonna use me to recover and sling shot off of me at the finish, but I was gonna be happy with 2nd place. As we made the last turn we caught the lead girl who had taken off on her own on the last lap...I stood up and put the pedal to the metal, but was expecting to see 2 or 3 riders come flying past me any second. Much to my surprise and delight, I held them off and took 1st place. It was so exciting. That was so cool hearing the announcer say "that was rider # 569 coming across in 1st place for Two Wheel Jones!!"

I have to apologize to my team mates though as I made a comment after the race about working for Debbie. Honestly, it was not my intention or plan to work for Debbie OR to LET her win. I seriously thought she was gonna suck my wheel and then take me at the finish, so I figured when I passed her that basically I was gonna be working for her as she used me to get to the finish. Luckily, she had no legs to contest me. Thank goodness!

What an awesome and amazing day...thanks Trish for making me come race with you today! I'm with you...I love racing crits!!!! It's so much fun.

Kathy Connolly

Thanks Steve B.

Hey Steve B! I read the comment you added to Darrall's post regarding TBC and I really liked it! Thanks for the comment, it makes a lot of sense! I have made a platinum time decision. How about you guy's and gals? Are you in?

TWJ Podium finishes at Focus Crit!

Great Race today! CONGRATULATIONS to Kathy Connolly for getting first place! An awesome TWJ Victory!
Congratulations to Kendra our junior SUPER STAR for also taking first place in her category! She also rode a second race with us Cat 3/4 Women and really tore it up out there!

What did you guy's think about the crit today?
Thanks for all the cheering and support. I can still hear Travis yelling, "Close the gap girls! Close the gap!" I had a lot of fun and am really taking a liking to these crit races.
It was awesome once again to see all the team work going on during the races!

Darrall is going to be riding the Superior course this Monday. Darrall, what are the details on that?

Wednesday, we will also be taking a trip up and ride Superior. We will meet at the shop around 8:45 and drive to a meeting spot (TBD)!

Tour De Phoenix here we come! TWJ is gonna R-I-P I-T UP!

If the wind is at your back, chances are you're going uphill

I must have done something to make Aeolus mad today.

Pictures from TBC

Thanks Craig for letting me use your camera to capture these pictures!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12144407@N06/

great job at TBC

I'm proud of this team every one did there best and left it all out there. what a great time we had Steve, Travis, and, Shauna realy tore up the TT. little scary at the road race with the girls but thank God there were only cuts and scrapes. It did mess up the rest of their weekend as far as strategy goes and all the great work that Kathy Connolly had done in preparing, but they stayed troopers and finished Sunday strong. I was glad I could help out Steve in the road race and get him over the last climb after we had gotten separated from about a 12-man split off the front. Overall, we only lost a minute that day. I guess it could have been worse. On Sunday, at the circuit race, we did make up some ground. We tried to control the front, at least for a while. The final lap was really tough, and Steve and I stayed with the front as the field broke up. As we came around the final turn up to the finish, I didn't think I had anything left, but the legs responded and I was surprised to find myself sprinting for the finish with only about 6 others, and finished 4th. Overall, I am so proud of the team, and know that we will only continue to get stronger as we get more experience together. And above all that, we have to remember this about having a lot of fun and where we finish is not as important as how we ride as a team!

TBC

Travis - you're HR story is pretty funny. That's exactly why I left my HR monitor at home...I didn't want to know.

I learned from the TBC that I am stronger than I think I am...and that maybe, just maybe, I actually do have a chance to make that new 3:05 Pt time constraint for Tour de Phx. I will go absolute bonkers if I work my tail off aff and miss it by a few minutes like I did at Tour of Tucson Mountains.

I had a great time with my awesome team!! Love you all.

Kathy Connolly

new max HR

I was so happy with my TT results at TBC, I was able to put in my max effort with a really consistent HR. I really think the key was a great warm up. I built up to 185BPM and held that for the whole race with no spikes or dips in HR.

The next morning for the road race I did not warm up at all, figuring its a longer race I would warm up during the race. Mistake #1. Then I took 3 pulls at the front of the pack because I wanted to set the pace a bit quicker than the field was moving. I did not look at my HR during these pulls but my perceived effort was 75-85% max and the pulls were fairly short. These pulls were mistake #2. Apparently the race day adrenaline pushed me harder than I thought because I set a new max HR during those pulls 207 BPM. ooops

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/27035635

Learning curve straight up, great lesson for me.

TBC Command Station!

We plan on getting there before 10:00 so we can set up and warm up! Bring your trainer and set up at the TWJ command station. We will have 2 tents with the TWJ vehicle. (whoever gets their first, please save a nice big spot for us)

Call me and I will update you on the arrival information that I have.

Good Luck to EVERYONE THIS WEEKEND! Kathy is going to lead the girls to VICTORY!!!! YEAH!

Also, did you hear the platinum times (perimeter events) changed to 3:05 for all genders! YEP! I have the article (in Trail Winds).

Clear your calendars for the team training ride for the Tour de Phoenix on March 27th!

3:05 here we come!!!!

For those going to TBC

Hello Everyone,

On Friday, it would be a really good thing if we all pit together at the TT as a team. I'll be getting there 2 hours early, and I think Mike & Steve are planning to be there fairly early too. I'll be in my truck, so I should be easy to spot. Then we can ride/warm up together as a team. A lot of the big teams at VOS operated this way and looked very professional for their sponsors. I look forward to seeing you all there. I know that we are going to have a lot of fun! Go Team TWJ!

Darrall

Team Training

Hi Team!
On the 27th of March, we will be riding a Tour De Phoenix route with the Brumbies. We are gonna use this time to do some training and learn some tactics. I'd really like to see as many of you as we can get there, but I know it's never practical to get us all together. I wish we had more time for training, but with all the upcoming races, it's going to be pretty tough. Next year we'll definitely spend more time early season preparing. Hopefully most of you are done with base or getting close to it. I'm going to get with Mark Bunz and put together some simple interval workouts for those who have never done these kind of workouts. It is good for building power and will definitely improve your riding. Hopefully by the 27th, we'll have this in a handout that you can have, and we'll do a little instruction on how it works.

Also, on my Monday and Friday rides, those of you who have any questions or want some advice, I'm always open to working with you one on one. I will do my best to help you with whatever your needs are. Some of the upcoming Mondays and Fridays though, I will not be available, so make sure you let me know in advance if you want some one on one time. I'm really looking forward to this race season, it's going to be a lot of fun, and we are all going to learn a lot.

Thanks Team,

Darrall

San Tan Crit

I posted a comment yesterday, as I couldn't blog. So here's the comment I wrote since I am now a blogger. Thanks Trish for fixing me!!
The San Tan crit was awesome. The women's Cat 4 race was at 1:15. I showed up about 12:15, got signed up and then went out to warm up. Hit the start line nervous as can be since everyone was telling me not to do it (mostly to stay safe & unharmed for Tucson), but that's why I was doing this crit... as prep for Tucson. This was officially my 1st crit race ever. I liked that it was 40 minutes, gave me time to figure out who to stay away from and where to be in the turns. We had a couple close calls, but everyone managed to stay on their bikes. But man, some of those girls need to take a skills and drills class! I hung in and even led a few laps throughout the course of the race but made my move with 1 lap to go and followed another rider up to the front. I was 2nd goind into the last lap. The rider who was 1st backed off and dropped back which left me out front. I figured, this was not where I wanted to be so dropped back a bit as well. Hindsight is 20/20, but looking back I should have pushed with everything I had to stay out front. I jumped on the lead wheels and hung in tight. Came around the last corner, stood up and gave it everything I had. Somehow I managed to finish 4th and it just made my whole day. I am so stoked and even won $15. I know many people are gun-shy of those crits, but I absolutely love every minute of it. Does that mean I'm warped in the brain? I just have one thing to say....Two Wheel Jones Racing is in the house and we are coming to Tucson baby!

Kathy Connolly

Kathy C. smoked the crit, she placed 4th! Let me know how everyone else did.

Also on March 13th and the 27th the Brumby's are going to ride the Tour DE Phoenix route! I am not sure the times yet (I will find out) but this would be a great opportunity to check out the route and ride together as a team. Next week is TBC (the 13th) so some of us won't be there, but let's all try and ride it on the 27th together.

Phoenix Crit is on Thursday this week not Tuesday!!!!

Good Luck with the San Tan Crit. I want to hear all about it..... I know that there are at least 5 racers who are going to be there!

San Tan Crit Rollcall

Who is racing at the San Tan Crit tomorrow? I'm trying to determine if there are enough of us to have a "team pit area."

Thanks,
Steve Banta

FYI- You can also access the blog without signing in by viewing the website www.twowheeljones.com and looking under Two-Wheel Jones racing. There's a link "Orange and Blue Riders Blog.

Cafe Mix after the Crit tonight (Tuesday, March 2)

Come around 6:30 at Cafe Mix at McKellips and Greenfield even if you didn't participate in the crit! They have Greek and American Food.

Crit starts for D race at 5:00. It's located on the southwest corner of Priest and Van Buren.

TWJ Mountain Bike Podium Finishes!

Top- Garrett Chott placing 1st in MBAA Estrella Mountain Bike Race!

Bottom-Nate Rees in 2nd and Garrett placing 4th at McDowell Mountain Bike Race!

Nate is recovering well from his crash at Estrella (he asked Travis for Tuesday nights off so he can race in the Phx Crits....)

WAY TO ROCK TWJ!!!!

Estrella MTB race report

Garrett and I drove out to the Estrella race course early Sunday with an eye towards the sky – it had been raining off and on all weekend. The sky was mostly clear when we arrived, got signed in and started warming up. Nate and his Mom pulled up in the Two Wheel Jones mobile in the meantime. After a thorough warmup on wet roads, we got into race gear and went to the line.

Both of our races were two long loops for a total of about 20 miles. Garrett took off at 8:38 with the Cat 2 guys from 15-29 in his wave, a few minutes behind the Pros and Cat 1 guys. My wave had the Cat 2 guys from 40-49 and 50-59. I started at 8:44 and got the holeshot off the line as we headed up the first hill. I only held the lead for a quarter mile or so and then jumped on the wheel of another rider. I was able to stay with him until the turnoff for the junior loop and was then passed by a handful of guys.

The course was still a little soft and wet from rains the previous day, but the sandy wash climb was still in pretty good shape. Around 4 miles later, we crested the last of the switchbacks and got into the technical part of the course. This was mostly uneventful this lap and I continued across the backside towards the last hill before the venue. A little ways up the last hill I caught sight of Nate. This surprised me since he started 6 minutes ahead of me and he's usually pretty fast. As I caught up to him I noticed him riding one handed and cradling his right wrist. We talked a bit as I went past and found out he had crashed somewhere on the technical section and thought he had broken his wrist. His helmet was also split open. He was planning on riding back to the venue and visiting the first aid tent.

Somewhere in this area is where I noticed the clouds thickening and it started drizzling. The pass we had ridden over was almost obscured by rain and clouds. As I descended into the venue for my second lap, the rain picked up. The second time up the wash climb was softer and getting a little muddy. At this point, I was second guessing the decision to only go with jersey and shorts, but I was committed. I figured it was good training for when we do the Leadville 100 someday since it sounds like it always rains on that race. As I crested the switchbacks the second time, the rain was letting up but the rocky section of the course was now wet. I rode a little more cautiously this time, not wanting a crash or injury.

Along this section there were a number of riders walking due to broken chains, flats, etc. There was more traffic from earlier waves that needed to be passed as well. On the last big climb, I came up behind a guy who had passed me early in the race. He asked what wave I was in and we realized we were in the same wave – the race was on up the hill. At that point, I kicked it pretty hard to get past and then backed off a bit. At this point, the tech loop re-enters the course and there were a number of Cat 1 and Pro guys finishing up. As I heard them behind me I kept thinking it was the guy I had just passed, so I ended up going all out up this hill. Once over the last crest, there is a long downhill back to the finish line and I let the 29er really roll this time, just to be sure I didn't get passed right at the end.

I ended up getting 6^th with a 1:44, just out of the medals. Garrett ended up taking 1^st in his age group with a 1:47. It turned out Garrett was just a bit behind Nate when he crashed – we are still wondering who would have come out ahead if Nate had not gone down. Nate's wrist turned out to be a bad sprain instead of a break. Hopefully he is recovering by now.

Benefits of a Coach...and a Training Program

There is not much a coach can tell you that you can't find for free on the internet. Once you know your max HR, your AT hr, etc. you can google yourself a great training program. So, what is the benefit of a coach? Why would you pay $100 a month (probably the low end for a cycling coach) or more on a coach?

Here is the reason: a coach can zero in on issues right away. When I started to suffer in the VOS crit (before my flat) I got very discouraged about my fitness. After talking with my coach I was able to identify execution errors that killed my performance rather than fitness (e.g. riding on the hoods instead of the drops, too much braking, not pedaling through corners, not closing gaps, not drafting every possible moment). Encouraged, I went out two days later and jumped to the lead of the Tuesday crit and rode there until I decided I had proven to myself what I wanted to...that I could motor at the front of a Cat 5 crit race if I wanted to.

It has been said that even a bad training program is better than no program at all. I've got a long way to go before I'm happy with my fitness and performance but let me say this: I humbled myself in September, October, November and December. I got dropped on a regular basis as I pedaled around in Zone 2. I did not climb for those months; I stayed on the flats; I went on longer rides and missed "Starbucks time." But I stuck to my program. I made huge fitness and performance gains (I wish I had made more but I've had to accept my limitations). I made a big improvement in my climbing ability. The bottom line is that training programs work. When you combine a good program with a coach, you can see big improvement.

Finally, how does one afford a coach? All I can say is that you've got to make a personal determination about how important riding a bike is to you. Is it worth sacrificing something else to pay for a coach? That's not a question that has a universal answer for everyone. For some it may be yes and for some it may be no. If it is yes for you, I would urge you, without reservations, to find a coach you like.

Alright Trish it's official I'm a Blogger!!! :-)

Howdy! Just signed Trav and I up for the TBC, FYI.......Travis is signed up for the cat 5B, 5A was all filled up. Steve B, are you in the A group? Who else has or needs to sign up? Rates go up soon. South Mountain was great today. We had a nice turn out..... We did it twice, I think next time we will do it 3 times. Are you in?????

Party on the CRITS! Just got some info from Mark Bibby from FOCUS Racing on their crit held on 3/20/10. Here is the link http://www.larouedor.com/20100320-az-focus-gp.html Let's do this and show our support for them.

Nicole, I"ll do the San Tan with you. I have to put it down in my calendar. Let's do the Focus Crit too! It looks like fun and it is LOCAL!!!! Yeah....ANY TAKERS????
Trish

San Tan Crit 3-6-10

Is anyone planning to do the San Tan Crit on 3-6-10? Just wondering, since it is so close to home... not sure I can last for 40 minutes, I couldn't even hang for the 15 minute crit!
I'm going to think about giving it a try.

Remember guys and gals this week's (FEB 23rd) Phoenix crit is cancelled. It will resume next week along with dinner after at Cafe Mix! Yeah! Also check out the awesome picture that were taken at the Sun Devil crit last weekend (view them on Steve's most recent post). Steve Banta's mother in-law is an awesome photographer!!!!

Phx Crit Feb 16

We are getting more TWJ racers to show up every week. Thats great! We had 9 TWJ racers enter the D race. I think? Sorry, if I left anyone out in this blog. Steve B. jumped out in front early. He was leading the pack for several laps in the beginning. Andy made several attacks off the front throughout the race. Nice job guys. Travis, Jim, Charlie, Alex, Nicole, and Trish did well. Travis improved significantly compared to last week. Trish had the burning lungs like I did in my first crit race. That means you worked hard. Nice job. I managed to get 5th place this week. Thanks, Jim. Jim and I have been working together every race. I waited too long to move up in the last two laps. I am learning something new every week. The team mostly raced as individuals. We would probably win the race if we worked as a team. The next Tue Phx crit race is March 2. Hope to see you there. Feb 23 is cancelled.

Sun Devil Criterium

A little background, for those who don't know me. I raced bikes when I was in college, way back in '88, '89, and maybe a little in '90. Index shifting was new and not common, 6 or 7 speed freewheels were the norm. Cassettes and “brifters” weren't invented yet, and the cutting-edge frame material was aluminum. I was not an outstanding racer and I am certainly not gifted genetically. I remember winning a Tuesday night crit, and I won a couple of primes in some bigger races. In 1990, after 3 years in college, and three more to go (a story for another time), I decided to retire from racing and commit myself to my studies. My bike riding became limited to commuting to school. I finally graduated. I got married. We had children. Many years went by. I rode maybe a dozen times.

In 2003 I bought a new bike, the one I'm still riding today, and I attempted to get back into riding. But other priorities took over again and I logged maybe three to four-hundred miles between 2003 and 2009. My personal “Comeback 2.0” started last July. In 8 months I have ridden about 1700 miles and maybe 3 hours on spin bikes or indoor trainers. Roughly 60-70 miles a week average. Way below what I should be doing to even contemplate a return to racing. But, I'm having a great time and have promised myself to not abandon the sport again. I have thoroughly enjoyed the Saturday rides with Travis, Tricia, ride-leader Darrall and the rest of Two-Wheel Jones crew that have developed the best group ride around. The group ride is what kept me going this time. Thank you.

As for my revitalized racing career, I have ridden 4 criteriums in the last 3 or 4 weeks and have finished with the lead pack in all of them. With that limited training. How?

There are three components to bike racing, in no particular order: fitness, skills/tactics, and psychology. Don't fool yourself, the winner of any race was superior to the field on that day in all three, two, or maybe just one of those components, and it's not always fitness. And the sum of the fitness, skills/tactics, and psychology you gain during racing is called experience. That's why I can finish in the pack in a criterium right now and not get dropped. Experience. The particular area that benefits me for criteriums is skills and tactics. I still remember a few things from way back in the day.

With the stage now set the race report:

The Sun Devil Criterium is held at the ASU Research Park in Tempe. It's a nice venue. Plenty of parking, grassy areas for the spectators, port-a-johns. The course is a “D” shaped loop about half a mile around. Two 90 degree right hand turns are the only areas to navigate.

Mike Moss and I got there about two hours before our start-time and set up a canopy, a couple of chairs, and a fluid resistance trainer. The canopy was a life saver. The rain started coming down shortly after we got set up. The temperature seemed to have dropped 5-10 degrees since we had left my house. I think it was in the low 50's.

We both had a chance to warm-up on the trainer, but it would have been better to each have one. The 40 minute Cat 5 race was scheduled to start just after 11:00 am. Mike and I had a plan going in that would I work in any way possible to support Mike. He is definitely the stronger rider. I was really worried about the length of the race. During the last Tuesday night crit my heart rate averaged 182 with a max of 193 during the 15 minute crit. 40 minutes is a lot longer. I didn't think I could maintain that level of effort for 40 minutes. My only hope being that nobody else could either and the pace would be a little less.

By start-time the rain had been coming down pretty hard for at least 40 minutes. Everything was already soaked. Clothes, bikes, the course. Inch-deep puddles were in the apex of the first turn and scattered throughout the course. Even with the rain, I'd guess about 35 racers lined up for the start. Bicycle Haus was the dominant team kit in the peloton. The first lap was somewhat casual. Attacks started on the second lap and the pace quickly rose to almost 30MPH on the backstretch. The pace was pretty consistent, never getting below 20MPH for any length of time except a few times in the corners.

Mike and I were in the top half of the field for the first half of the race. Mike had a few laps in the top 3 and was in the lead for a while. The first half of the race was hard for me but I felt like I was holding my own.

At the 20 minute mark the race changed for me. Fitness, skills/tactics, psychology. Some days it only takes a superior effort in one of those three areas to win a race. But a below average performance in just one will always result in losing a race. Today I lost the race because of psychology. At the 20 minute mark I told myself, “I've already worked harder than I do in a Tuesday night crit, how can I keep going?” I let myself drift back in the pack a few places. Then a few more places. Eventually, I was at the back and fighting to stay on. I'd move up a few spots. Drop back again. I rode the rest of the race that way. Bridging gaps, accelerating out of the corners to catch the pack, hanging on.

It wasn't for lack of skill/tactics and I can't blame it all on my lack of fitness, although more fitness would always help. If you've ridden the Tuesday night crits you may have heard me preaching, “Ride near the front. It's easier.” The fact is: if you can hang on to the back of the pack, you can ride near the front of the same pack. And with less effort. I drifted to the back because I was giving up. I was only making it worse for myself. I hung on for the rest of the race bridging gaps, riding in the wind, accelerating out of corners, working hard. What was I thinking? I know better. Negative psychology caused me to ignore my experience.

By the time I realized my mistake, my fate was sealed. Once at the back, I didn't have the legs and lungs to move back up to the front. Steve Banta and his family showed up at the race to cheer Mike and me on. If it weren't for our cheering squad I probably wouldn't have continued to make the efforts to hang on and would have been dropped. Thank you all for your support.

The race went better for Mike. He stayed near the front for most of the race, and with the exception of a brain-fart when he had the idea to ride off the front, he rode a smart race. He seemed a little wiped out after that effort and drifted back behind me. At some point he got back onto my wheel and we worked our way up again. Mike stayed up there for the rest of the race. Mike has the fitness. All of you do. He just needs some more team mates to work with him.

As of this writing results aren't posted. If I were to guess, I'd say Mike got some where around 10-15 and me 20-25. Both of us were with the lead/main group. Several riders got dropped and/or pulled from the race.

By the end of the race we all looked liked we had ridden some European classic. Dirt and grime on our face. Clothes were drenched and filthy.

Here is my Garmin race data:

Sun Devil Criterium

See you at the San Tan crits.

-Jim Vidler

ASU Crit Pictures

Mike Moss and Jim Vidler raced the ASU Crit this morning. Here is a link to pictures from their Cat 5 race. Hopefully Mike or Jim will give a report...especially since this crit was 40 minutes long, a big jump up from the Tuesday 15 minute variety.

http://www.louisemcleodimages.com/Tempe%20Research%20Park/

Travis, Tricia, Nicole, Kathy and Shawna are all planning on doing it.

Tucson Bicycle Classic

Please get in touch with me if you'd like to ride the Tucson Bicycle Classic. It's a three day stage race, March 12-14, with a short climbing 3 mile time trial, a forty mile road race and a 28 mile circuit race. I'd like to have a team of at least four riders but as many as possible. If there is interest I'll try to make it as organized as I can. To that end, anyone who would like to take the weekend to support the riders by helping before and after stages, that would be great as well.

Think of it as Usery one day, and then two days of hard group rides.

http://www.tucsonbicycleclassic.com/

VOS pics & video

Tuesday crit

Sooo much better than last week. I am happy to report that I stayed with the field this time around 188BPM average heart rate. Those crits are crazy fun. This is what my Garmin thought about it http://connect.garmin.com/player/24871652

My VOS Experience

Sorry this is so late. I'm still trying to learn this whole blog thing. VOS was definitely a great time! I learned a lot and the competition was very high. With a lot of out-of-state teams from CA, CO, NM, NV, and even Mexico. They broke the field of 5's into two groups a 5a and 5b. Steve and I were on the 5b squad and at least they keep the teams together. The time trial was fun, and I have to thank Travis for loaning me a trial bike....it definitely helped! I wish I would have had more time on it before I raced it. I just put the hammer down and went as hard as I could. I had a little problem with the arrow bar twisting on me, but overall I finished in 17th with a time of 37:17. On the road race, it was actually quite slow with the team with the leader's jersey setting on the front at a slow pace. The one hill in the 2 1/2 lap course was the only place the pace really got fast. The 2nd time around, a small group of about 12 of us got over the top with about a 30 second gap. I tried to get that group motivated and see if we could check out...did a hard pull and couple others did too, and then the leader's group once again set on the front and let the gap close. I guess that's racing! I finished again in the 17th spot, but did put time on 2 of my competitors when a gap formed at the finish, moving me up to 15th in GC. The crit was extremely fun and scary! The streets were tight, turned sharp, and not a lot of room to move. It really puts you on the edge for the whole race. Stayed well in the pack trying to keep toward the front. On the last lap, even though I didn't realize it, having not heard the bell due to the intense focus of just trying to keep from crashing. As we came around the last corner, I was up toward the front of the pack, when I started to hear the clunking of gears and realizing the sprint was just about to happen, so I grabbed a few gears of my own, jumped out of the saddle, and gave everything I had! I was shouldered by another competitor, but just continued to push through. I was a long sprint with about 400-500 yards to the finish, and ended up finishing 11th. In the overall I kept my spot at 15th in the GC. I definitely learned a lot and it was a great experience!! I think everyone should experience on of these stage races, because they are a lot of fun.

Tuesday night's -Dinner at Cafe Mix after Crit 6:15

Tuesday Nights- Dinner after the crit at Cafe Mix -6:15p (South east corner of Greenfield and McKellips, right by Starbucks). Bring the family and join us even if you didn't participate in the crit!
They have great Greek and American Food. They are also a sponsor of the race team too!

Hi Matt! How are you and the family doing? Could you give me the information on your baby son? Date born, lbs, inches, etc. Congratulations! Are you getting any sleep? How's momma and Grant doing? Talk with you soon.

Zone 2 Spin Tuesday AM and Tuesday Crit

I'll be at Virginia and Recker at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning for a 2 hour zone 2 spin (90 rpm and above) through Red Mountain Ranch and Las Sendas loop. At a moderate pace you can get about 3 loops done in two hours. I usually try to latch onto the Brumby ride for one loop if I find them. Any of you NE Mesa riders...and anyone else...come on out if you can.

Tuesday at 5 at PHX Municipal Stadium is a Cat 5 practice crit. Probably no other type of racing, in my estimation, requires as much practice as crit racing. If you get inefficient, or lose a wheel...like I did Sunday at VOS...it makes all the difference between a great race and intense suffering. I know I need a lot of practice crit racing so I'll be there. It's also a lot of fun. It would be great to have a big TWJR showing.

VOS yellow line infractions

I drove a neutral support vehicle with a race official around for the Women Pro, 1, 2 race today. It was a good experience driving with an official for a race, different perspective on the race. She was very wrapped up about riders crossing the yellow lines and wanted to take down every # that crossed the yellow for even a second.
The yellow lines that will stay in my mind where not painted on the road though. About half way through the second lap a rider dropped back from the pack and took a very weird position on her bike. She was leaned way off her saddle with her knees bent, hind end back. Just as I started wondering what she was doing I saw the stream of pee coming through her shorts. As soon as she was finished she sat back down and stepped up her cadence, disappearing back into the peloton.
I am a reasonably competitive person but I have never wanted to win a race that bad.
The race official didn't have a sense of humor but I think it would have been appropriate to write down the offenders number for her yellow line violation.

Race schedule

Hey there,

I know Ride for the children was usa cycling last year. I don't see it on the schedule for this year. Has anyone heard anything? I'm trying to put my schedule together...

VOS Update

Darrall and I both had good TTs. Darrall finished two seconds up on me and was 17 in GC on day one. I was 19 in GC.

Road Race was today. First climb was easy, second was harder...got blown out the back but reconnected a few miles later and saw Darrall again (he stayed with the front group). On the third and final climb both Darrall and I were with the lead group. Things starting heating up, there was contact a couple rows ahead of me and a crash that took me down. Darrall did not get caught up in it. I lost about 30 seconds getting my bearings after hitting the pavement and then got on my bike and finished. That's bike racing...

Good Luck Simon, (Old Pueblo Race), Darrall, Steve B. and Shawna (VOS) Yeah!

Blog working

Seems to be working.

Ok, totally not sure if I did this okay. But I am going to leave it as is for now. I'd like to hear about VOS.

Hi! Travis and Nicole, I was wondering if I did this okay. Happy Friday to you!