The End.......or is it?!?

Here we are nearing the end of September.  Looking at the title of this post, it's easy to think that it sounds negative in thought; however it's actually a great thing, a new beginning and another chapter.  Before I get carried away with the now and moving forward, let's take a few steps back to Univest.

Univest:....would prove to be another learning experience.  I was fortunate enough to guest ride for Team Mountain Khakis presented by SmartStop.  Thank you to Jamie, Neil, Ben, Thomas and Clay for bringing me on board for the day.  Also, thank you to my wonderful and supportive father for flying in to see me race.  I'm sorry I couldn't deliver the goods.  Friday night found us at Palermo's in Blue Bell dominating pizza/pasta and having a team meeting.  Thank you to Yoram and Maria for supplying us with great food.  Saturday morning and we're off to Souderton to tackle this 100 mile road (circuit type) race.  I felt so good it almost made me wonder if something was wrong.  Looking back, my coach Brian Walton, had done an unbelievable job of preparing me for this race.  I rode as smart and strong as I've ever ridden and was feeling very confident going into the last portion of the race.  I could bore you with details, but I'll get to the point.  We came into the  finishing lap and with 3 miles to go, climbing up Wile St, my bike gave way.  As I was out of my saddle climbing, the back end simply dropped to the ground.  At the time, I had no idea what happened, but my race suddenly came to a stop.  I couldn't believe it, but as I frantically tried to replace the back wheel, Dave (riding in our team car), made it clear that my day was done.  The chainstay and seatstay snapped under stress.  The bike was shot!!  HR went from 190 to 120.  I was sad and in disbelief.  I had dreams and goals of a top ten finish and the way I way feeling that day, made it all that much more possible.  I also knew my dad was waiting at the finish line just as dialed in as I.  I just couldn't believe it.  I finished the day with a "DNF" (did not finish).  Amazing how quickly things can change.  I was sitting 10th wheel with 3 miles to go in what could have been one of my biggest races.....5 minutes later....I'm riding in the back of the team car to the finish line, head full thoughts and feelings of anger, sadness, and discouragement.  I just wanted it so bad.  The stage was set so perfect....last race of the season, father in town, guest riding for a well known team....a perfect way to end a chapter.

Thanks again to Team Mountain Khakis

 

Saturday, Sep 17th, 2011 

Hmmm.....not a good thing when this happens. 

Onward:  After a frustrating number of hours, both my dad and I changed our attitudes and had a wonderful time together.  With the DNF, I was unable to participate in Sunday's race; therefore we went out for burgers and beers.  Such a good time to just hang with my dad at a bar and not care about anything.  We shared lots of conversation about the race, life, next steps, Wisconsin, jobs, relationships and more.  It was great!  The next few days would bring more fun.  Thanks to Bryon Kremer for hooking us up with Cannondales, we were able to get some riding in as well as a evening dinner with Bryon and his wife Monica. We also visited the coveted Seven Stars Farm in Phoenixville.  They produce well known organic yogurt.  What a trip that was.  My dad has been huge into this product and we headed out for there for a tour.  Did I say tour???  Not even close...this place is so granola, organic, grass roots!!  We could not believe our eyes.  They have such a simple set up on that farm.  Again, I could share a lot of information about this, but I don't want to bore you.  I leave it at encouraging anyone to head out there for a look.  They make a great product and are so passionate about it....admirable.  Wednesday morning came all took quickly and with a few tears, we said our good byes.  (keep in mind...these tears were coming at 5:30am as we thought it was a great idea to schedule a 7am flight!!...hmmm).

Thanks Bryon Kremer for getting my dad on I on bikes. 

  

There he is....love how he is displaying that yogurt!!

The real stuff:  It's safe to say, I've got a mindful at the moment.  I'm tossing around idea's of what comes next.  1 year ago, I set out to go after my cycling dream.  I walked away from my career, simplified my life, and went after it full speed.  It's been an awesome ride to say the least.  Unfortunately, I hate to think that it all ended with a DNF at Univest.  Hard to swallow ending it all on that note.  Not sure what to do next, but I'm tossing around a few ideas.
Option 1:...  Thinking about staying out here and giving it another go, finding a part time job and chasing that top ten one more time.  It's a drug...it's an addiction.  I cannot even begin to explain the feelings and drive associated with cycling.
Option 2:...heading back to Wisconsin as I miss my family more and more everyday.  It hurts to be left out on important family events (nieces, nephews, siblings, parents, Erin, gatherings, bbq's, life).  Not sure where cycling would fit into this option as Wisconsin is pretty cold in the winter time.  The race scene is also lacking.  Simple put...it doesn't have the cycling vibe that the northeast does.  I've created an awesome support structure out here and that could not be matched in Wisco.
Option 3:  Finding a 'real' job.  What does that mean?  I'm not sure if I can adapt to a 'real' job at this point.  I seem to run from it and seek out ways to avoid the 'realness'.  I've thought about getting back into recruiting in PowerGen.  I've also thought about seeking out a job in the cycling industry.  Again, I'm going back to this drug of racing my bike.  My mind puts that as a priority and looks for ways to work (job stuff) around it.  If I go with option 3, I need to rearrange that priority.  I don't foresee this as being an easy transition.

So there you have it.  A recap of Univest and my father's visit as well as a taste of whats running through my mind in regards to moving forward.  I'm seeking any and all suggestions.      

Suddenly September

I know it's been a while since I've last blogged so we'll have some catching up to do.  Hmmmm, what's closest in my mind?  Had a great time last night as I saw my old Parc Bistro friends Bob and Greg for some drinks and dinner before watching a killer thunderstorm roll in.  Good times.

So let's go back a bit to VT and the Green Mtn Stage Race (GMSR).  I had a lot of excitement rolling into GMSR as I was meeting Erin and my parents there.  They flew into Burlington, rented a car and met me at the rented cabin.  What a great place!!  I made the drive up solo and soon saw the devastation that the media had been talking about.  VT got hit hard by Hurricane Irene.  The best part of the whole scene was that the locals had such a great attitude about the whole situation.  Welcoming us riders to their state and accommodating us in anyway they could.  Looking back, its rather impressive that the 4 day stage race still took place.  The race director had to make a number of last minute changes, but overall all things considered....it was a success and we had fun.  I love the fact that Erin and my parents were able to come up and see VT.  The state is a lot like Wisconsin expect it has mountains.  For some reason, the coffee tastes a bit sharper, the Oktoberfest beer a little more fall-like, and the pancakes have a more earth like feel/taste to them.  I like it!!  Thanks to my teammates Blair Berbert (his dad Bruce) and Andrew Suchocki (his girlfriend Kelsy) for joining us.  Both Blair and I were wishing we had the whole squad up there as it's a very enjoyable scene.

Race details:

Stage 1:  TT-  this was an 8k TT required to be done on road bikes.  The first half was an uphill kicker and that usually works to our advantage.  I was happy with my result as my TT's have been rather weak this year with my back injury from last season.  I ended up 12th while Blair had a very respectable 5th place finish.  The fun portion of the story.  Warming up for the TT, I noticed my headset was making all kinds of noise.  I ignored it as I needed to race soon.  Early on in the TT, the horrific noise was growing louder and I was thinking my bike would fall apart in my hands......onward...ignore it.  I finished and as Blair and I were cooling down, I began to worry about my safety because the handlebars had so much vertical flex.  Here I come to find out that the steer tube is cracked.  If you know about this problem, you know that I could have died if it were to have cracked straight through as I would have lost all steering.  Happy to be safe, but frustrated as I no longer have a bike for the rest of the stage race.  Good old SRAM neutral support would prove to be my savior as they set me up with a Specialized for the remainder of the race.  Thank you thank you thank you SRAM.  In the Cat 2 race, Andrew would slide in for a 67th place...don't worry, he improves this significantly over the next few days.

Yep...that's my steer tube for your road junkies!!  So cracked and so lucky I didn't die.

Stage 2:  My kind of race.  A 60 some mile circuit race with punchy climbs.  I was stoked about this race and even more fueled to do well as it was my mom's birthday.  I rode very smart, yet aggressive enough to be ready for any move.  In the last portion of the race, 500meters before the King of the Mountain.....I flatted!  Not an ideal place or time to flat.  I quickly got a change, but was forced to chase the rest of the race and in the end would lose 2+ minutes to the field.  With that, I lost my high spot on the GC and was now pushed back into the 60's overall.  Blair on the other hand, rode very well and hung in for the field sprint keeping him in the top 10 GC.  Needless to say, I was very disappointed as I had my mother in mind, feeling well and shooting for a top 10 finish.  Everyone has a bad day here and there.  Andrew rocked out a solid 6th place in the sprint finish of the Cat 2 race.

Stage 3:  This was the race that was significantly changed do to weather.  The entire course was rerouted with the exception of the mountain top finish that 'baby gap' and 'ap gap' provide.  In other words, they changed everything except the brutal, painful, death like climb at the end...30-40 minute climb leading to the top of 'ap gap'.  The real climbers do well on this one, while the fake climbers (Jacob Mueller) hang on for dear life and pretend like they belong with the leaders.  Blair and I would ride hard all day, but unfortunately miss the winning break.  That break would have a 2.5minute head start rolling into the final climbs.  Blair put his climbing legs on and crawled away from me as we throttled in for the pain.  I put myself in that happy pain cave and settled in for the death march up the mountain.  Ears starting popping, sweat dripping off onto the handlebars, road surface moving so slowly underneath you and hearing your breathing and heart rate so loudly.  It's not a fun place to be, yet somehow you overcome the challenge.  Switchbacks give you a little relief only to find you have 3-5k more to go.  It hurts.....a lot.  I just kept thinking 1 pedal stroke at a time and sooner or later, I would be seeing the refreshing faces of Erin and my parents.  Next thing on my radar is my father, cheering louder than I've ever heard before.  Gave him the look of "here it is dad....all my effort....keep cheering for me even if it looks like I don't care or if I can't acknowledge all your cheering efforts...help me get across the line"  I made it... and finished 31st of 100 some riders on the day.  Maybe I am a climber!?!?!?!?....No.  Cooler, windy weather on the top were followed by happy chatter with fans and supporters.  Climbing that beast is one of those experiences that you lay down at night proud of.  Looking back, I'm so happy to have had loved ones there to watch and encourage me on.  Blair, as always, did awesome coming in 15th on the day.  Andrew would come in 28th in the Cat 2 race.  As we all noted, he was chatty Cathy afterwards with his always positive vibes!!

Blair Berbert on Ap Gap.

That's me..pretending like I can climb like Blair!

Mr. Andrew (Doc) getting it done. 

Stage 4:  Burlington Crit......cancelled do to rain!  Sad.  I like this crit and have been riding them well lately.  Mother nature gave it a no go, so instead we found a bar, drank some beers and had a great chat with long time friend Ben King who goes to med school in VT.

The next 48hours were spent with Erin and my parents.  We had a great time relaxing, touring chocolate factories, breweries, and eating like kings.  I sent them off to the airport and started my long trek back to Philly.  The first few hours were gorgeous driving through the Adirondacks but soon rain would come and last the entire rest of the way.  Overall, it was a great trip/race, although I had high intentions of doing much better than I did.  Luck would not be on my side breaking my bike, flatting and having the crit cancelled.  That being said, I still had a great time with Erin and my parents.  VT is special place and I'm glad I got to share it with them.

Die hard parents/supporters/fans/adventures pictured here at Magic Hat Brewery!  

Always supportive and patient girlfriend Erin after a long weekend of racing!

 

Next:  Univest baby!! (http://www.univestgrandprix.com/)  Game on and probably the last race of the season.  I will be guest riding for Team Mountain Khakis.  This race is in my back yard and has always had a significant meaning to me.  It's a good measuring stick of how far I've come the last few years.  I've done this race 2 of the last 3 years (last year I was hurt) and am happy to be racing with a quality group like Khakis
 (http://teammountainkhakis.com/) (http://www.facebook.com/cyclemk) and looking to help them out anyway I can.  It's a 2 day race consisting of a 100 mile circuit race Sat (9/17) in Souderton and a 50 mile crit (9/18) Sunday in Doylestown.  It's a great scene and I would encourage any local folks to come out and watch.  Details can be found on the website provided above or feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions.  Would love to see local folks come out!

That's it for now.  Summer is coming to a close and fall is rolling in.  Change is on the horizon.