It passes you by

And you think the curve is still going steeply upwards- it's not. It reverses course and sends you into the death spiral of form which follows peaking.. You know- those weeks when you always feel like you have two flat tires and begin to reflect on how unbeatable and fast you felt a few weeks ago. Sadly, if you knew at the time that you were peaking back then, your whole outlook, attitude and confidence would have been on a different level.
My volume is down in June, for a lot of reasons.. May was 1000+ miles though- with five consecutive 240 mile weeks. Friday afternoon I just had to go out and do a field test- a 20 mile loop of rolling hills. Personal best last year was 58 and change. This year I had yet to break 1:01. Friday's time was 58:30.
By the way- I broke the bb spindle of my ergomo while tightening a crank arm. I'm now using my new-to-me Bontrager Powertap set and I gotta say- it's quite stingy with the watts compared to the Ergomo.. But that's also partly due to weight loss.
Hope to throw it down tomorrow in Harlem.
Thanks for reading.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Post this on your refrigerator tonight!

2009 NUTMEG Pro Criterium Photo Finish and Results

The first crit in New Britain usually blows for me- I always do better in the July edition- this year will not be an exception. I did so much screwing around before the start of the 35+ that I got no warmup and rode straight from the car to the line. That sucked. Not a good race for me- I felt like I had a flat the whole time. When it came time to sprint, I was lethargic and fatigued (forgot to down my Red Bull before the start, too) and with no room to go anywhere, I practically coasted to a finish in the mid-20s.. The 30+ race which followed was no better. In fact, after three laps I took myself right out of it. Head was not on straight- my son Reis was throwing a tantrum when I went to refill bottles and change numbers- and it became un-fun to the point of wanting to stop and lie down. I forgive myself now, but at the time a sickening sense of self hate came over me for being such a pussy. This forfeiture meant that I had nearly 2 hours to kill before the Pro race. I can write thousands of words about the dozen or so times that wheels touched and squealed, handfuls of brakes were grabbed, and bikes swerved in anticipation of horrible crashes. This was probably the most dangerous crit I have ever raced. 125 guys do not fit too well on this venue, where in three places, the course narrows and funnels everyone into eachother. With 3 laps to go Ka-BOOM! huge crash takes out 6-7 guys. Two laps to go, another crash crackles like lightning and takes aout another 3-4.. One lap to go- going into the final uphill chicane- Ker-POW! 4-5 bodies go flying and push me into the curb at eye popping speed. I stay upright, but the lead 25 guys are pulling away from the huge gap. I sprint to get back on but by this time the front of the field is single file and leading into the final corner. I catch up and dive-bomb into the corner when SPLAT!- three more guys take eachother out while cornering at MACH 3. I get inside of the carnage and uncork the fumes left in my tank. The results were posted and right where I expected to see my name is an "X". So naturally I go to the camera tent and advise them that "I'm the guy who is your 26th place, Bib No 1". Done.
The last three laps were a lottery. You were either lucky or unlucky. Don't anyone give me any crap about there not being any luck in bike racing. I did not survive all the close calls and the crashes by being an awesome bike racer. The Red Bull sharpened my senses and that helped a lot- I felt totally wired- but I had luck on my side today. 125 or so starters and 80 finishers.. 80 lucky finishers..
Gotta hand it to CCB! They lined up their team at the front for three laps, fighting like mad to reel in the two guys who were up the road. Not only did they succeed- without any help from any other team- they also launched Colin J to victory with an armchair leadout. I salute their excellence today. Tomorrow I expect to feel a little more opened up than I did today. Breathing was short for some reason, maybe having ridden only once at Ninigret all week, a definite loss of form was detected today. It's no surprise, really.. I will sharpen up with some proper volume in the next two weeks. Thanks for reading. Whaling City Cyclone tomorrow! No rain!

RIP

Today I am asked to move into the cubicle of a person who took their own life over the weekend.

He will be missed.

Few pics from the trip

Bursa in the distance, nestled against Uludag Mountain with ski reort on top- I've climbed it, it's over one mile of vertical distance you see there.Europe on the left, Asia on the right..
Murat x 2 = trouble
Snake tattoo
"Feribot"

Ninigret No 5: Sleep-racing

Past two years I’ve gone to Turkey and returned on a Sunday and raced Ninigret the following Wednesday. Last year, I was somehow able to win the field sprint and get 7^th, but I just wasn’t feeling the love last night and it was all I could do just to avoid quitting. A few accelerations early on really put me in the red, and it took forever to shake the effects. I’m a little bit discouraged, but the jetlag and the fatigue of my vacation still lingers in a big way, if that makes any sense. Technically, at 7:00 pm Ninigret time it’s really 2:00 am for me.. Anyway, I like the way that I’m accelerating but I don’t like the amount of recovery time I’m needing between big efforts. Also worth mentioning, I almost crashed last night when another rider who I’d overlapped shifted suddenly left, and my front wheel started to hug their rear wheel. Some quick thinking and weight shifting freed me from this, but then sent me careening off at high speed into the grass on my right. If this had happened from the inside of the course, everyone to my right would have been taken out like bowling pins. From that point on, I resigned myself to tail-gunning the field and just finishing in one piece.

Sad week so far..

This wonderful April-like weather isn’t enough of a downer- a co-worker here at MW1 commited suicide over the weekend. And just now I discover that the Turkish cycling legend Rifat Caliskan (2^nd from the right- my father Irfan is on far left) has passed away from a heart attack. He was a friend of the family who raced with my father in the late 60’s, who coached me in the summer of 1989, and who was Turkey’s answer to Eddy Merckx at one time. RIP.

Starting to sink in.. Grrrrrr

As I view the podium photos and the pictures of guys warming up on TT bikes from last weekend's Nationals racing, I am gradually stinging with regret and infected with jealousy. Clip on aero bars would have scored a Silver Medal. On one hand, me.. winning the TT would have been somewhat of a disgrace, especially considering my sub-par time trialing ability. On the other hand, my superior racing frequency probably gives me an edge over the others, who have probably not time trialed since the last Nationals and who definitely have not raced even 1/5 as much as I have... No doubt about it- the winning time was clocked by a very good time trialist- he beat No 2 by 50 seconds and me by 70. Still, he had the advantage of a TT bike, helmet, skinsuit, and going out last, presumably because he's last year's winner. I have one year to improve my equipment, my position and my attitude toward time trialing, and I can't wait to get started. I'm cautiuously optimistic about time trialing- it's a discipline which I think I may have more success improving- relative to climbing anyway. One thing which I definitely resolve to use is 172mm cranks which are what I've always raced on before buying the LOOK 486 back in 2006. Thanks for reading and for tolerating my woe-is-me crap.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Forgot to include:

Dacia, Alfa Romeo and Citroen.
These are some interesting cars.
I'm blown away by the new hatch version of the Honda Civic. That thing's a work of art.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

CARS

It always amuses me how this country went from having three or four auto brands back when I was a kid, to now having more than we have in the US. Back in the 70s, the only cars on the road were LADA, Skoda, Renault and TOFAS (Turkish FIAT). These days we see such oddities as SEAT, Peugeot, and OPEL- all of which make very handsome cutting edge vehicles. Then of course the ubiquitous Kia, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Hyundai, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW, and Volvo are everywhere. I have not seen any Saabs. Honda Accords look like Integras and Civics look like American Accords. Weird. Imports such as Land Rovers and Lincoln Navigators cost DOUBLE, yet you see more in one day than we see in a month driving in New England. On the interstate highway between Istanbul and Ankara, we were passed by some pretty sick drivers doing nearly 200 kph in their Beamers and Benzes. Speaking of BMW- I saw one yesterday which looked like it was on steroids- a kind of bad-ass looking cross-over. I would like to have one-but even with my generous income, it's impractical and out of reach (I'm a cheap bastahd) How do they afford it? Well apparently there are two classes here- have and have not. Both are immense. Middle class is a minority. Time for breakfast. Its rainy out today so we're keeping the rental car one more day.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Time Trial what ifs

I do not like to express regret, but two things have been turning my crank ever since Saturday:
1. Not having any clip on bars or aero helmet or aero wheels or skinsuit, did indeed cost me a spot on the podium. Over 10k distance, all I needed to pick-up was 2 seconds per km (needed 22 seconds to be 2nd and 18 seconds to be 3rd)
2. Going out early was not an advantage. I was 11th out of 40 to start and had the best time up until the 30th rider returned. It could have helped me, too, if I had a time that I could shoot for.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Masters Nationals 70km Road Race in Turkey

The road race turned out to be a nasty little smack down. Closing roads in Turkey usually causes a disruption of Tiananmen Square proportions, so the road courses are usually out an back like a TT course. Ours had one diversion that was also out and back, so picture a course that is T shaped. This means that any hills that you climb, will be climbed again in reverse on the way back. I was pitifully shelled on the first windswept one miler. Actually, I wasn't shelled so much as dropped by the 6-7 leaders, which also included fellow team mate Murat Akyazi. I let myself get swarmed by the field and put my head down and dragged everyone up to the leaders with help from a couple of others. We caught them right at the turn around point of the first leg of the course. From here it was a very gradual big ring climb for 3 miles, then a nausuating corkscrew descent, followed by the back side of the original hill where I got gapped. This time I really chewed through my handlebars to stay connected and probably made some womanly noises trying to stay on.. The hills out here are wind blown and the roads are extremely heavy and rough. I was dropped again, but this time I exploded completely and ended up having to ease off until I got over the top. For a minute there I felt like my race was over, but I pulled myself together.. From here, it was a long straight downhill with a tailwind. I was last over the climb, except for maybe 10-15 guys who were shelled for good on the first climb. After getting my lungs to retreat back down my throat, I started to attack the road with vigor, picking up one then two then three others and getting them into rotation with me. I took the longest pulls! We could see the field 30-40 seconds up the road and it took about 5-6 minutes to close it and latch on. Unfortunately, six of the tops guys went clear on that last climb and had about a minute on us at this point. Our group never closed the gap and I got 2nd in the field sprint, so 8th again! Doh! I can tell you that Murat and I had the field strung out single file for the 2nd half of the race. We got away a few times but kept getting caught- and then no one else would work with us.. We rode an honorable race. Murat ended up 16th after blowing his wad in a solo kill with 2km to go. A very exciting race!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Masters TT Nationals in Turkey

I was 11th in the start list of 38 in the 10k Masters Nationals TT here in Bartin, Turkey.. After finishing my flat and very windy 10k in 14:43, I was in 1st place for a time. This false sense of achievement continued for another 1/2 hour as other riders continued to depart and return in 2 minute intervals. Then the last 10 guys on their tricked-out TT bikes took start. I didn't even have a skinsuit. My only aero advantage was arm warmers and booties. Anyhow.. After much nail biting and wishful thinking, I was beat.. First by a few seconds, then 10, then 20.. And I was eventually relegated to 7th.. Only 20 seconds separated the top 7 at this point- the only ones who beat me were the aero bars and deep dish carbon wheels and disks. Until the very last starter rolled up- he could not be more than 120 pounds soaking wet- but he demoralized everyone with a time of 13:34.. Full aero everything- So my cannibal time got me 8th out of 38. If I had a way to cheat 20 seconds using some aero gear, I would have populated the podium. I guess I'm pleased to be top 10 in a TT for the first time ever, but a set of clip on aero bars would have been nice! Redemption tomorrow in the road race!!! Thanks for reading.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

2009 Tour of Somerville Pro Race Report

As told by the recent winner of the Sunapee Road Race:
Folks,

Just a note to let you know what happened at Somerville.  In case you have not heard, the most notable result is that Alain got caught up in a crash with 2 laps to go and broke some ribs.  Prior to the crash he was looking strong!  It would be great if everybody could send him some love...

The race was super fast.  On the front straight we would be between 30-33mph every lap.  On the back stretch, we were doing 29-32.  The style of riding was very aggressive.  Guys would pass you and as soon as their hip passed your bars they would come across your wheel.  This would force you to hit the brakes to avoid touching wheels.  I must have hit the brakes 20 times a lap.  It got to the point where I wouldn't even stop pedaling while braking.  It was crazy, and stupid, and exciting.  One thing to note is that the smoothest classiest riders were New Englanders like Jonathan Page and Robbie King.

Eventually, I started getting wise and made it my mission to stay on the inside of the field and would move out into passing riders.  Alain and I had very good position throughout the race and I was really feeling great.  I was in an early break.  Alain got a prime.  We'll have to wait for his report on this as I did not see it.  With about 6 laps to go, Alain came by me so I could grab his wheel.  We then started moving up to the front.  We would get up there and then 20 guys would swarm up the outside and then we would have to start again.  Eventually we got separated and then the crash happened (this was the second or third one).  At this point I had no idea that Alain was in the crash, so I was looking around for him, but with 2 laps to go, I started looking for the United train.  Didn't matter, I had hit the wall and when I stood up to go I had nothing.  FYI, I was spinning 53x11 and really needed another gear!  Quite an experience...

Attached are 2 pics from Cycling News.  One with Alain, one with me (I'm on the far right against the barriers).
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Part 2 is a Go

Your hero is going to be a licensed participant of Turkish Masters Road Nationals this weekend
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Part 1 of plan A is complete

To get an "Athletic License" in Turkey you must first get a form filled out by a doctor, indicating that you are fit to compete. After completing this task I ask my brother in law why the doctor didn't collect a fee and I discover that health insurance is free in this country. The exception is drugs, and there are enough Turkish pharmaceutical companies making licensed knock-offs that most drugs are pretty cheap anyway. For example a months supply of Nexium is 360$ in the US, last I checked. Here, its about 100$. Anyhow.. My brother in law is inside the Sports Federation building trying to get my license for me so I can race in the Masters Nationals this weekend. It's a 10km time trial on Saturday and a 70km road race on Sunday. Of course, the way things are organized here, no one knew until yesterday what kind of races there would be. Maybe in the next 48 hours they will be kind enough to announce the start times.. But I guess that's what Friday's "technical meeting" is all about. They tend to do some things really pro and others really lousy.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Priceless

My 90 day Visa stamp is 20$.. The porter at the airport gets 20 TL for helping me with my bags and getting me a big taxi.. (I found my Thule bike case in the middle of the floor in baggage claim) The cab ride to the bus station is 40 TL.. Porters descend on my cab and carry my bags and bike to my bus. There's 2 of them and I give them a 10 TL bill to share. The younger one wants me to give his buddy another 10.. I show him only 50s in my pocket and he's reaching for it saying he can break it. I'm astonished by the lack of manners. If this guy is making 10$ every 5-10 minutes just to roll a tourist's luggage about 100 feet, he's doing a LOT better than you or me.. Fuck that- the bus ride cost 20 and I'll lbe damned if using a porter doubles the cost.. This country is crazy. I'm now considering a career change.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

2009 Cyclonauts Criterium Results & Report

Forgive me for including only the results of my events. Millwork One Racing had a very good day in the 35+ race at Stafford Springs. I raced as aggressively as the legs would go, and considering my goal of being in the top ten, I'm pleased with my form and my result. The field sprint played out the way we wanted it to- Alain was up the road shutting down and passing the two breakaway riders with two to go (these two were originally accompanied by our Adam). Matt and Patrick R were on Alain's heels with one lap to go, fighting for 3rd and 4th, and the field followed by a few seconds in the sprint for 5th. I got the "D" spot, as this race paid only 6 places.. A decent result for me- one which gives my confidence a nice boost.
The Pro race was a blur- the laps went flying by so fast that I was often surprised when the card seemed to go from 30 to 20 in a matter of minutes. Again I raced aggressively, I mean, relative to staying near the front as much as possible. This race had an early break with Matt in there, a chase groups with Alain in there, and another chase group with Adam S in there. These three groups totaled 14 guys and they eventually got together and lapped the field. Just before they caught us from behind, a field prime was announced. After getting through the chicane and onto the fast back straight, I turned on the gas. It was not a mind blowing acceleration- but enough that all but one was caught off guard. I buried myself into the curve, clocking some eye popping speed and apparently dragging someone along for the ride. I cant turn around and check- I'm forced to assume that someone is there in stealth mode, waiting for me to sit up so they can steal my thunder. So I just pin it.. and get out of the saddle for the last 50 meters. This afforded me a chance to take a peek and sure enough there he is, all out sprinting a few bike lengths back. I take the prime and look back- the field is still rounding the bend. My passenger gives me kind words for sticking it and I'm happily $10 richer, with completely dead legs. The field went flying past me and it took some very deep digging to get back up to speed and tag myself back into the field, but I did it, no worries. One lap later, the break catches us. Final sprint was a bit chaotic, and technically, it would have been better if no one sprinted except for the leaders, but there's pride at stake I guess and most everyone tried to get their nose up there. I was so gassed by this time, but happy to have the legs to make my mark in both races. Sadly, my Ergomo was out of juice for some reason (it has been draining completely on me whenever I leave it on the bike overnight, I just discovered), so I have maybe 20 minutes of data from the 1st race.
I'm proud of my team for delivering the Win and the multiple top ten results today. In the 35+ race, we were the only team with more than one guy in the top 10.. in fact we had 3 of us in the top 7! I'm very happy with this little statistic.
I would also like to salute Alain and Matt for being the kind of guys who make the rest of the team perform at a higher level. Best of luck to them on Monday at the Tour of Somerville. With Matt Kressy's upgrade to Category One this week, we now have two Millwork One Racers in the Pro race. Thanks for reading.

Performance Management Chart and Summary

This data is as of Wednesday night. May is shaping up to be a very difficult month. You can see an obvious drop in volume in March, which is partly why I'm able to kill it these past few weeks. I'm still hurting from yesterday, and I don't expect to be 100% on Saturday at Cyclonauts.

Hard couple of days

I was coerced into riding from Beacon Street to Wompatuck on Tuesday, and back. Round trip was 4 hours, 76 total miles. Would have been 90 except the crash ended the race after only 10 laps.. Yesterday I dared myself to ride from my house in West Warwick all the way to Ninigret Park in Charlestown- it was into the wind the whole entire way. This is something I’ve been meaning to try for a long time.. I then proceeded to race for an hour at a pretty high intensity.. Then I did a quick change into warm dry apparel (had my backpack) and rode it home in another 1:38. So overall 92 miles in a total time of 4:30. Cramps struck my quads in the last 6-7 laps of the race, taking me out of contention for the field sprint. The cramps abated on the dark ride home, but man alive there were a gazillion bugs out on Route 2- It sounded like a toy machine gun the way these things were slapping against my wind breaker. Head down and mouth closed was the only way to go. Got myself a bottle of Mike C’s beer for giving him an armchair ride to his prime. Cheers!  

So today I feel like I was hit by a train. Now it’s time to take it easy and taper myself all the way to May 30-31. I’m trying to get myself into the Masters National Championships in Bartin, Turkey that weekend. There are some technical issues to resolve, but I hope to be there and race and come home with something to show for it.