Tis’ the season of nationals- a series of one day races that include a TT, a road race and criterium. The winner in each age group is crowned national champion and has the honor of wearing the stars and stripes jersey for an entire year. IF you win a national championship, I think it’s fair to call you a “BALLER”.

At one time or another, certainly if you’ve been racing for a while, you have probably thought about making the trip to nationals to see how you stack up against riders from all parts of the country. At the very least, earning the right to sport a stars and stripes jersey is pretty cool. Though you can buy these jerseys on line, the people in the know, KNOW. Winning a national title does not bring you great wealth and the adoration of millions BUT it does justify months and in most cases YEARS of hard work. Scoring the stars and bars is/would be an accomplishment in any category. But at the end of the day it’s another bike race, or is it?

Like any race that you might get REALLY excited about, the Nationals starts off in much the same way: you travel to the event, you get a number, you line up with a bunch of bike racer types and the gun goes off. From then on, you put all of your fitness and race smarts to the test. The outcome, like any race, depends on LONG list of variables that you can and can’t control. And IF you do the right thing at the right time, the result MIGHT be a new jersey. And this of course assumes that when you do the right thing at the right time, you have the HP to get the job done. You might find yourself alone off of the front in a head wind with 10 miles to race, or in a small group with a few k’s or even a few hundred meters to go. How will you deal with this? It’s hard to say how you will deal with these situations until you are actually in them and if you have been racing for a few years, chances are good you have fond yourself in one of these or MANY other situations like them and I would guess that on more than one occassion you have made the wrong move and come up short. Part of racing is making mistakes. And for whatever reason, we often tend to repeat our mistakes, EVEN THOUGH, we all say things like: “I knew that was the wrong thing to do and I won’t make that mistake again.” It doesn’t make you a liar, it makes you a person who believes something in that moment in time- it might even make you feel better after you blow the finish of an even you deemed “really important”. Is that so wrong?

It’s hard not to get really worked up for an event that you have been preparing for, especially when its an event that you have done before and have been “close”. And “close” can mean many things to many people. 2nd place is really close, and 11th is close but not THAT close. Being 2nd wheel with 3 turns to go in the last lap of big crit is pretty “close” to winning. Losing at the line by the width of a a tire is CRAZY “close”. In my book that’s ALMOST like winning, but it’s not, it’s “close” to winning.
Being motivated is a crucial part of performing well. Being motivated leading up to an event is key, but it can be a slippery slope. If you are so motivated that you can’t stop playing out the different race scenarios in your head, you might actually be setting yourself up for serious disappointment. A lot of things happen during the course of a race, and only one thing is FOR SURE: you can only control what YOU do. If you could control everyone else, instead of making the left into the homestretch you could make everyone go right and then coast to the line with arms held high.

When that gun goes off or that whistle blows you need to be able to quiet those voices in your head and focus on the task at hand. If you are not focused on the “right now” how will you be able to react to the opportunities that come and go so quickly throughout the course of a race? You won’t. And when your race plan, the one you cooked up with your teammates on the way to the race, or in your hotel room or in the line to the port-a- john, goes south due to one of many different reasons you have to adaptable. You wanted a field sprint because that’s where you shine best but 3 guys are up the road at 15 seconds with 4 laps to go. Are you content with being 4th because no one is willing to chase, or are you going to have to fire a big bullet to try and get across? You won’t have the luxury of time to think much about, you will simply have to react and put that 3 minute interval training to the test. Simply put, you will need to be willing to lose the race in order to win the race. That’s such a TRUE statement, and I certainly didn’t come up with it but I’ve hear it, been told it and read it dozens of times in the last 20 years and I find myself passing it on to riders time and time again.

You have to believe you can win and you have to be willing AND able to suffer for that win. And saying things like: “I’ve been going pretty good, I think I can win.” is not enough. You have to REALLY believe it, down deep. And that isn’t to say that you should walk around telling everyone that you are going to win today. There’s a fine line between being quietly confident and just plain arrogant. I“m not sure exactly where that line is but it seems to become very clear when you listen to “that guy/gal” talk about a race. Believing in oneself has always been a part of being successful, in any endevour and as simple as it sounds, I think a lot of athletes say they do but not to the extent that need too. Think about that- do you really believe when you clip in at the start of race that you can pull it off? And if so, are you willing to put yourself through severe discomfort en route to that success? The kind of discomfort where every cell in your body is telling you to STOP IT and quit. When you’re going for it in a bike race you are going to be in the hurt box. And how you handle yourself during your time in the box can define your race. Keeping a clear head and making quick decisions when your lungs are exploding and your muscles feel like they are being ripped off at the tendon is no easy task and that is what can separate the really good bike riders form the great bike riders. Simply going out and riding more miles will not be enough to train that system- that takes years of racing experience and attention to the mental side of training (which is now a much more mainstream training method). Details details.

When Luke Skywalker blew up the Death Star, his X-Wings’ on board targeting computer was busted up he had to rely on his experience and his instincts to fire those photon torpedos into that tiny air shaft that led to the core of the evil Death Star. Years of play/ training in his youth and of course years of Jedi training prepared him for THAT moment. When he fired those shots, he was WAY past plan A, he might have been on Plan k. He kept his cool and FOCUSED on what had to be done. And DONE! No more evil empire for a few years. Luke didn’t just show up and do that, he was prepared.

Bike racing can be pretty complex when you start breaking it down and looking at all of the pieces that need to fit into pace before you can start having results based success, but that’s what makes it so interesting. The sport take TIME. If you have a keen interest in becoming a better bike racer, take your time and understand the many steps. And if you have been racing for a long time, take a step back and consider your situation- use your experience and your instincts as they can guide if you let them. Believe it. I won’t go as far as telling you to use the Force, but the Force can be whatever you need it to be.

Best,
TH

I’ve written my account of what went down in the Ballard crit, 2 weekends ago, MORE than once. And the fact that I am finally releasing my final draft must mean that I was deeply affected my the happening that overcast Saturday eve. in the hipster hood that is Ballard. That sounds overly dramtic but I would be lying if I said I that the results of the race did not hit me at my competitive core.

The HSP crew did NOT win the race, as most know. And if you were within ear shot of the Pro Shop the weeks leading up to the event, you would have heard us talking about the race at some point. Simply put, it was a race we were all looking forward to and a race we wanted to win. And on top of that, we were very capable of winning. That being said, wanting to win and being capable of winning are simply NOT always (usually) enough to win. The secret ingredient: lucky, needs to to be present as well. And where as I believe that we can often make our own luck, the every changing landscape that is bike racing is SO random and SO…… It can be really thankless sport. I am pretty sure a lot of guys showed up hoping to win, capable or not, holding out some hope that they might get some lucky and score big.

When I was younger, I was NOT a fan of criterium racing. Early on I got it into my head that I was a lousy sprinter. And the truth was and is that I am not the quickest cat on the street. Having grown up in the Midwest I did a lot of crit racing. Week in and week out I continued to prove that I was far from the fastest finisher in a bunch kick . It took me a while to figure out that if I wanted to have any results oriented success in those fast, short and often technical courses, that I would have to go REALLY early- as in many laps before the finish. This approach often did not pan out either, but I was onto something and I was honing my attacking skills and my TT skills in the process so it wasn;t a complete waste of my time. If you followed my career you know that even those skills were not AMAZING, but earned me some street cred. and helped me to many respectable rides. It wasn’t until I started riding on teams that actually used tactics that my style of cirt riding became useful. Rather than simply attacking myself sideways in the hopes of getting away to win alone (proven to work VERY infrequently) I learned to cover/flow into moves, and how to roll a true lead out. I found my niche and that helped me become more at ease with crit racing. And to this day I ride the crits the same way. I love to sell out and make sure my guy gets to the line first. And now that Richter is riding with me, I have that guy again and I am having a lot of fun riding myself sideways. I will admit to wishing that I had a faster finish but at this point I don’t really hold out hope that that will change.

At Ballard, the plan was simple: We were working for Dave. Plan A is/was for Dave and I to end up in a move together, but that rarely happens as the local riders know enough to get after that move, and quick. The one time that we had Plan A this year we rolled 1-2. If Plan A was not in the cards, then I was going to be on the move until 2 to go at which point I would be so scorched from covering and attacking in an attempt to get out of dodge and maybe draw out a small group that included Dave or Flash or Levin, that I would be DONE. Man oh MAN, did I cover and attack and few times I thought one of them was going to stick but NO. I ended up solo for a few laps late in the race- sooner than I would have liked, and had thoughts of MAYBE sticking it to the finish. BUT, I simply did not have the motor for that. I ended up back in the field, did my best to keep the speed up on the front and with 1 to go I drifted off into anonymity. Flash and Arron were there on point to pick up the reigns and deliver Richter to the line. I was pretty sure with one to go that we had it. On the back stretch I was still sure we had it with Dave and Aron right where they needed to be. And as I rounded the last corner in the back of the group I was expecting to look up to see Richter with his arms up. BUT, it was not to be that night. Instead Richter came second, maybe WORSE than being last in his case as he was second the year before and was as primed as could be for that night.

Here’s what happened, and this is a second hand account as I was too far back to see it for myself: Richter got pinched hard on the inside, had to brake hard, and could not recover in time to catch the gent who came on the outside with a full head of steam. And just like that, the race was over. And just like that, you can go from being super G’d to super NOT G’d. After the race we were walking around shell shocked. For the past week we have all been re-telling the same story over and over. Simply put, we missed out in Ballard. The team rode very well together and I /we did a lot things right. Of course we sat around talking about what if, what if, what if- a similar conversation that I had when I was a 17 yr old junior, a 24 yr old aspiring amateur, and 32 year old professional. And now a 40 yr old….. person ( I dares say not a Master just yet). No doubt I will have that conversation again with my teammates again before the year is out. The good news for us is that there are some great crits left this season and we are more amped than ever for those- would we be if we had won Ballard? I’m sure.

Winning sure feels good, and I enjoy it as much as anyone. That being said, winning bike races is really hard, no matter what category or what race. If it were easy then everyone would win all of the time. But only 1 person gets to win. You can ride a so so race and still end up in the font at the end and win and you can ride a nearly perfect race, feel great and be right where you need to be for the final and…. end up on the ground, on the brakes or whatever. You need some luck. But you also need to be ready to deal with the luck and the opportunity if may afford you. If you haven’t the fitness or the experience to make the kinds of decisions you need to make in the heat of battle, you won’t be able to get it done. We’ll have more opportunities to put experience and hard work to the test in the coming weeks and months and if all goes to paln, we’ll enjoy a little bit of lucky as well.

Best,
TH

Most of my professional career I rode Shimano Dura Ace 7800. I assumed every group shifted, braked & functioned pretty much the same. That was until the season I rode with Monex. Gaggioli was very cheap (I mean budget minded.) And since Shimano fully-sponsored only 3 teams in North America, Gagg was not about to spend a dime on components. So we ended up with Campagnolo equiptment. Sounds great right? Yes, that is until you have to use Campy with American Classic cassettes…spaced for Shimano. To make a long rant short, I’ll just say it sucked. The next two seasons I rode on one of those 3 Shimano-sponsored teams & back on 7800. And every time I had a successful shift I would smile, then curse Gagg.
I started this season, like most, on 7800. But I made the switch this week to 7900. I’ve ridden 7900 around the block & know all about it from demos from the Shimano crew. I thought that it was no doubt better than 7800, but in the way that the Godfather 2 was better than the Godfather. How do you follow a classic, even if it is marginaly better? It’s like batting after Babe Ruth.
My knowledge of 7800 is vast, so this would be great experiment. I switched-out the STI, brakes, cranks & derailleurs. I left on my chain, cassette & bottom bracket. This makes the comparison even better, because when you replace the chain, bb and/or cassette on your bike it feels like a new bike.
I’ll start with the looks of 7900 on my bike, since this is what counts most (just kidding…I think.) It gives my Guru a more industrial look…I like it. From behind the look of the crankset is rad, it almost looks like the big chainring is a solid disk. From the front, you no longer see cables sticking out…welcome to the new century, Shimano.
Next I’ll talk about feel. The new hood design is a plus. Better than 7800. It’s like writing with a Mont Blanc, rather than a bic. better. It actualy feels like they dampen better than the 7800 STI. The 7900 system pulls more cable than the 7800 when you make a shift…three-times as much. Really, I’m not sure if that’s better, or not. But I do know that shifting was a bit crisper. Brake feel is much different than 7800. The brakes are simply the best I’ve ever used. And the overall brake feel (modulation) has improved off the chart thanks to the light feel in the lever. Shimano accomplished this by putting the shifting “guts” back towards the bars, rather than near the tip of the lever (7800.) Bravo. Another nice touch was changing the brake barrel adjusters. The cranks actually feel stiffer than the 7800’s. And remember, this is with my same bb. I think the added stiffness was accomplished from the new chainring design. They fused two pieces of alloy together to make one awesome chainring…and they say it floats. The chain looks different & is a bit lighter, but feels the same. They came up with a “master link” for the new chain, which they seemed to all of a sudden abandon and now recommend the tried & true old way with the chain pin. Shimano, with the 7900 has nearly made front shifting as good as rear shifting. Again, I think most of this is due to the new chainring design. Shimano empolyees say that the front derailleur has a lot to do with it, but they couldn’t tell me why. It’s the chainring.
So overall, it is worth the upgrade to 7900. Way better. A new level of braking & front shifting, better asthetics, stiffer cranks & a bit lighter. You had me at it looks better.

-Rocket

The HSP shop team raced the MOE (Mutal of Enumclaw) stage race this weekend. Flash was out due to a severe illness which left a 3 man hit squad that included myself, Richter and Dr. Levin- who was fresh off of a good showing at the Tour of Somerville in NJ last week (the Kentucky Derby of Cycling!). MOE was a 2 day, 3 event race that took place about 90 mins out of Seattle and the first stage race for me since Walla Walla, where I suffered terribly- as you may recall from my post race blog a while back. This weekend was no different in terms of the suffering, BUT the results were much better- if you care about results. Richter won the crit in grand style and I was 2nd in the RR. That got us both into the top 5 in the overall. The race was scored on points, 10 deep per stage- omnium style BUT it was not an omnium, which I am still confused about. Never the less, we showed up to race hard and that we did.

Here is the basic breakdown for the TT and the crit. I will get a little more involved in the RR because it had a pretty serious affect on me.

The TT was 10, short and sweet. GREAT course. I had the GURU chrono dialed in with the Zipp 1080’s and after having done a solid ride in the Walla Walla TT, I was pretty sure I could ripp a fast 10k time. I even rode the TT bike twice during the week, to make sure my position was dialed, because I was pretty sure that I could turn a fast time. WELL. The best plans can often turn pear shaped when a small detail is overlooked. Good warm up. Good shot out of the gate, great breathing rhythm, on top of the big gear early with good cadence and 30 dec guy in sight and ready to pounce quickly. All signs pointing to a good ride. Right turn at speed….. BAM! Solid. Big bumps in the road…. BAM!!! I nailed a big one and CRACK!!! Not a good sound. Seat was not tight enough and………. NOSE DOWN!!! I have 4 miles or so to go and I am now riding what feels to be a tricycle. Not comfortable. I can;t get far enough back on the seat, my arms can’t find a comfort spot and the breathing goes out the window and thoughts of despair enter brain. TT is effectively over. I get to the line in less than stellar time and done. 12 was the result, no point for me.
Next. NO ONE likes to hear the “the nose of my seat dropped” excuse, so I tried to limit the amount of times I used it. TT’s are all about excuses, and if you hang around the parking lot or the results window/wall at the host hotel long enough, you will hear some beauties.

The crit. Our crit started at 7:50 pm, which meant we spend 6 hours sitting around Enumclaw waiting. We went to the store, we went to the coffee shop, and we talked with a lot of people. My butt fell asleep sitting in the grass for so long. I was of course wearing my SKINS as were dozens of other riders from all the categories who were also sitting around waiting- their butts no doubt falling asleep in the grass as well. Flash showed up to watch, even with his illness, to give his support from the sidelines. Nice. The extra muscle is always nice to have in case a rumble were to break out. The last crit I rode was in Walla Walla and I did not really ride, I sat in the back and prayed for it to end. I am terrible in the night time crits. As the sun was getting low in the sky at Enumclaw I was getting nervous. I was looking for redemption after the TT and I know that Richter can win any crit he shows up to. And with myself and Levin keeping the race together, I knew that we could win. There were a few teams with quite a few riders. It was a technical circuit and…… long story short, Richter stomped it and took the win. I was back to feeling good, riding the front, bringing back moves and making sure nothing that went away, stayed away. It was the first time in a LONG time that I was feeling the FLOW. When I got on the pedals I WENT and whatever discomfort that is usually associated with that kind of effort simply was not there. THAT is a good sensation. I’ve been waiting for that! The only downer was that Pete “Money” Banko had a really bad crash in the Masters race and got really messed up. I spoke to him today and he will be back soon!

The Road race. 72 miles? Or something close. 5 laps with a nasty climb up Mudd Mtn. each lap and each lap on the climb there were KOM points good for points towards the omnium. And that means people go bat shit up the climb every time. Goody. Richter and I did a clinic for a local team about a month ago at Mudd mtn. so I had an idea of what I was in for. BUT as is often the case, the climb doesn’t always seem so bad when you’re just out training. It was bad, every time and especially the last time up.

It was hot at the start- we started at 12 pm. I had a very normal morning with the same normal food. I was G’d up for the RR as I am a fan of a tough circuit. We were amped up after Richter’s crit W and were looking forward to making it happen. The hope is always for me to get up the road and to have Dave come across in a small group or vice versa. From there we can figure it out. THAT is plan A. So often in racing you have to resort to plan S as things change so rapidly. The race took of out of the gates and most of the teams were sending guys up the road right away. We stayed active at the front covering this and that and finally a group of 4 rolled. Hagens missed the boat and with 8 plus guys in the race, took up the responsibility of chasing- which they should do. The 2 strong Canadian teams both had guys in the move and so were sitting back to watch things develop. I was not nervous as it was early and the break never got that far up the road due to a constant flurry of attacks and counters. Hagens was not getting it done so myself and other kept taking digs to keep the field moving. I did not want a group to get 5 minutes and then have to deal with getting across. We did finally bring that group back and on lap 3, after flurry of this, that and the other, I got out of Dodge with 2 Canadians. I knew 1 of them but not the other. Rob Britton was the one I knew and I knew he had a motor. I was feeling “pretty ok” but after the crit and the early activity at the front as well as my “limited” training time/ fitness (NOT and excuse!), I was trying very hard to play the conservative card. I had no plans to stay out for almost 3 laps of 5 with just 2 guys. My hope was of course that Dave would come across is a small group and I would play my “chase everything and keep the group together for the sprint or attack late and set Dave up either way or win myself” card. The big issue is that the 3rd guy got dropped on the mtn as soon as we hit it and NO group ever came across. So it was myself and Rob B, who has engine that could power a small city and is worthy of any pro team in this USA.

After trading pulls with him for about 15 minutes, I soon realized that the day was going to be about survival. After we dumped the other guy I told Rob that I was a passenger and that I was not going to be helping him. Honesty pays! He did not attack me on the climb, but he did ride me off of the wheel the final time up and there was not a thing I could do about it. I straight up got dropped. NOT attacked, just dispatched. And that……. was that. Sitting on the wheel leading into that last lap I kept wondering how I was going to fake my way up the mtn. and stay with him. Was it possible? No, it wasn’t. BUT I did do everything I could do to give myself the best possible chance: I sat on (most of the day), I had my breathing under control, I was fed and hydrated, and I was stretching my back and legs as often as possible. This guy was on auto pilot and just mashing his cranks- we were REALLY going fast. Bottom line is that I simply did not have the fitness to deal with him, I was over my head. My race was a TT to the finish, to try and hold off what was left of the group behind. And I TRULY turned myself inside out. I was SO uncomfortable going up that last climb alone that I considered faking a heart attack, a back spasm, and a list of other irrational BS that could take me out of the iron hurt box that I was writhing in. BUT instead, I dug into my memory banks and conjured up some old memories of races where I was turning inside out to stay on the wheel (and there have been MANy), with the hopes of finding some lost inner compartment of whoop ass buried deep within that I might be able to tap into an regain my composure. A few of those memories that came to mind as I grovelled past the KOM sign on the last lap, my breakaway “partner” disappearing up the road en route to a solo V, were:

The first “big” event after my 5 year layoff was the Athens Twilight Crit. Must have been 2000? I started in the back, went all out from the gun and 2 laps later the I ws about to get lapped…… that put things into perspective, especially since I thought I was going pretty good. I remember my heart pounding as I looked back to see the front of the field hard charging. I also remember a college kid throwing a beer at me and telling me to get out of the way. Welcome back to racing……… That was motivating AND pretty horrible too.

Holding on for dear life in single file of line of 120 plus riders at my first Tour of Georgia, in the gutter with winds howling, the gap to the rider in front of me opening (I was towards the back), and a mean Italian rider coming up from behind and hip slinging me back many places while yelling expletives at me. I was SURE they were expletives. THAT was horrible.

The dirt road climb at the Tour de Toona in 2006- my last Toona. I was in the front of the group and totally red lined. It was Nathan O’Neil, then myself, then Frattini then Ten Menzies and host of other after that. I remember thinking that I had “made it” and that I was going to be able to get clear on the open highway climb that was just after the dirt climb. I was falling apart trying to stay with Nathan. He did roll away and I ended up in a small group just behind the 4 or 5 that rolled away. I was so maxed that I thought was going to fall over. And then…… we started to descend. After the stage I could not sit still I was so cramped up and uncomfortable. That REALLY horrible.

The feeling of absolute agony mixed with overwhelming despair was similar in all of the above cases, including this past Sunday’s RR. The big difference was the level of fitness in each case. It ALWAYS hurts, it’s just that sometimes you go faster when you’re hurting. And for whatever reason, we sit around laughing about it after and often say “never again” but….. then it happens again and again. I won’t say that I am out of shape and not race ready, I’m just not in the kind of shape you need to be in to be truly competitive with a younger lad who is training and racing all of the time at a pretty high level. It’s all relative and it’s important to keep things in perspective. The reality is that I will probably not be able to ride a guy like Rob off of my wheel any time soon, and that’s ok. I’ve accepted that my best rides have come and gone but for sure I have plenty of good ones left in me. I’ll be just fine if I keep the distance at about 65 miles and I have to make sure not to put too many hard days back to back as it’s taking a long to recover from those intense sessions.

What a great weekend. It was a great reminder of how hard cycling can be and it really motivated me to keep racing. You see things in yourself when you are at the limit. You ask questions. You imagine things…… it’s amazing. And after its all over you can laugh about it and make all kinds of jokes and blah blah blah. And then you go out- at least I do, and hit it again. Does that ever end? I hope not.

Best,
TH

Hey, check out HSP staff on Twitter!

Shop: HerriottSP
Todd: THinthe11
Richter: rocketrichter
Kelly: kellywoz
Flash: david_flash

Lots of updates about new happenings, new products, and interesting things we see on the walk to lunch!

I just built the sickest wheels EVER! Dura Ace track hubs, DT spokes, red alloy nipples, and the star players – 1990 Mavic GL330 tubular rims.

GL330 rims were from another generation – The generation of light alloy rims. There were a variety of light alloy rims below 350 grams, getting as low as 270 each! 20 years ago, there were a ton of choices to build up a great light set of wheels. Anymore, the lightest rims are about 400 grams. With the rim being the most important place to lose weight on the whole bike, what’s a person to do if they want a light, low profile wheel?

EDGE

Edge 25. 203 grams actual weight. We’re building these with DT 190 ceramic hubs and DT Aerolite spokes. Weight for the set will be 930 grams. Read that again – 930 grams for the SET. For comparison – this wheelset will weight as much as a Mavic Ksyrium SL rear wheel with skewer.

Rims are $750 each, have no weight limit, and are available in a variety of drillings for Powertap, DT, Shimano, or whatever your preference. Come by the PROSHOP and check them out.

I strained my hamstring about a month ago. I’ve been getting physical therapy and thought maybe I could train through it, but the injury gods have spoken. I’m off the bike for at least a week.

As athletes, we walk fine lines in the face of injury. Where should we draw the line? When is it ok to train and when do we need rest? It’s often difficult to step away from the bike because our minds play tricks on us. My hamstring seemed like it was getting better, but after being struck with sharp, localized pain during all my recent races and my solo rocket ride on Saturday, I realized that I have to take a step back. All athletes struggle with injury management, but there are ways to make it more bearable.

1. Be calm. Worrying will not help you heal faster. An injury will take as long as it takes to get better. You have to be patient. A few weeks off the bike will not kill your season. It’s important to let it heal properly, otherwise you can prolong the injury for months or years.

2. Be proactive. Stay on that physical therapy, and make sure you get to the root of the problem. Months off the bike won’t help you if you don’t figure out why you are injured in the first place. It could be due to bike fit, a need for shims, a pelvis imbalance, or other biomechanical imbalances. You need to make sure you address these issues as you work through the injury.

3. Massage. Deep tissue massage can help break down the damaged tissues so they can rebuild themselves the right way.

4. Focus on the small stuff. You can still do core training and respiratory muscle training (spirotiger) so that not all is lost. It’s easy to stop doing everything when you aren’t riding, but its important to do SOMETHING! Don’t completely fall apart.

5. Listen to your body. Be realistic and honest with yourself, and let your body take the time it needs to recover. If you think you need time off the bike, you probably do. Learn when to pull the plug.

6. Stay on the nutrition. It’s easy to slip when there is no riding in the picture, but don’t wash away your sorrows with ice cream and cup cakes. A little is ok, but you don’t want to gain a lot of weight on top of being injured. Good nutrition is important so your body can repair itself.

7. Enjoy yourself. Time off the bike doesn’t have to be a death sentence. Use it to catch up on house maintenance (clean the grout, work in the garden), spend time with your family, read more books, volunteer at a race or provide feed zone support to your team.

If you take care of the injury the right way, you will be back at it in no time.

What Would Mike Sayers Do?

Coming soon to a race near you.

Think and discuss.

Daaah-dun, daaah-dun, daaah-dun. Yep, that’s the sound you hear in the movie Jaws . And that’s the sound a jedi crit shark is trained to hear in times of need.
This weekend I was the solo HSP rep at the Washington State Omnium Championship in Wenatchee. So, without the Hit-Squad, I had to summon the crit shark powers. I would need these powers to conquer the mighty Canadian teams in attendance.
Tactics change when your situation changes. And not having two or three strong team mates definitely qualifies as a situation change. So my tactics had to change. A fellow racer & I were discussing the crit beforehand & he suggested I just sit on the Red Truck (a strong Canadian team) train and sprint around them at the finish. This is not what I was thinking. Rule number 1 in the Crit Shark Credo: do not count on others to execute your plan. So my plan was to be very attentive at the front and let moves develop before I committed to them. Then, when a move looked tasty, I would jump across to it. You simply can not cover everything when you’re rollin’ solo, so you must roll the dice a bit sometimes & hope your judgement is good. And Crit Shark rule number 2: if you can’t jump across to moves, you’re not a crit shark.
My tactic was working well, but none of the moves stuck. So now I had to deal with the lead-outs that all the teams were going to try to unleash. To stay out of trouble I had to roll in the top-3 and go with every move. Two dudes jumped away with 2 laps to go & I jumped to them. The first guy faded the instant he got a gap & the other stopped pedaling as soon as he was first wheel…Crit Shark rule number 3: do not stop pedaling on the last lap. So that brings us to the last lap with 2 corners to go & I’m 1st wheel (in the wind, pulling the pack). Not ideal, but I remembered rule number 3. Which brings us right to Crit Shark rule number 4: position trumps everything. If I were to try & slide back to shelter, I was sure to loose more than a few positions…I would surely loose the race. I pedaled hard a few strokes & hoped for an attack to come around me, cause I was ready to pounce on any move. My senses were heightened, like a cheetah as he hunts a gazelle. I just needed a gazelle. Well, a Canadian gazelle appeared before me & then the race entered the Matrix. I executed the coup de grace. That’s crit sharkin’.

-Rocket

Last week the Pro Shop opened, I turned 40 AND I won a bike race. The week before I was CLOSE, but on Saturday plan A went as planned and the HSP hit squad squad took a 1-2 in a local 68 mile road race. I’ve not won a race in a few years and I can honestly say that I am not back into racing because I want win bike races- I“m back into racing again because it has been a part of my life for 24 years and it’s simply part of who I am. BUT…… it sure felt good to cross the finish line first. However, I took more satisfaction from how our team rode the race than from the actual results.

The HSP shop team is comprised of myself (ex pro), Dave Richter (ex pro), Dave Fleishhauer (up and coming and coming up FAST!), Aaron Levin (ex national level road and track rider) and Thomas Broderick ( ex semi pro mtn bike, and national level junior roadie and tt ninja. TBrah is out for a while dealing with an old injury which leaves four of us on any given weekend. And on most weekends, there are only three racing due to family commitments. So with limited numbers most days, there is not a lot of room for error in terms of tactics if we want to factor into the final results.

I changed nothing last week in terms of my training routine. Monday was off, Tuesday was a super secret 50 mins. training protocol on the POWERCRANKS (if you think pc’s are “hokey” that’s fine by me, they have been a regular part of my training routine for a decade now and they REALLY give back), Wed. was a short gym session (more super secret training), then on Thursday I planned to race at Seward but the opening party left me HUNG over and not to g’d up for anything more than basic human communication and walking. Friday I checked to make sure my GURU was dialed in and ready to race and then I spend 40 mins on the rollers doing a high rpm workout with a few jumps- nothing secret about that. Saturday I got up, ate a basic breakfast as I always do: 2 pieces of toast with peanut butter and good jam, cup of premium coffee, 4 premium insurance caps a la Hammer Nutrition and 2 salmon oil caps, also from Hammer nutrition, and 2 cups of water. SNAP! Then it was time to go to the shop and meet the boys and head to the bike race.

I LOVE going to races- big or small. The whole routine of it is timeless for me.

This weekend was a Wa. Cup race and since Richter was in 2nd overall in the standings and I was in 4th it was a race that we all wanted to perform well at. I don’t think to much about results because as you can see from my training week (and that’s a pretty standard week) my form is pretty hard to predict. Simply put, it could go either way. And it’s true that I have a pretty broad training base in my legs after so many years of training and racing. BUT, I am racing against guys who have plenty of training and racing experience who may not train a lot during the week, but certainly more than I. It could go either way. Most weekends I am in the mix but I pay a heavy price for many days after beating my system to pulp. I“m 40 now and every hard day seems to require 3 days of easy brah. Anyway.

Long story short, the race went off hot and stayed hot all day- just the way we like it. Many a group bolted off and came back- some with me in them and others with Dave and Dave and Aaron. It was good to see a local race with some SNAP! Guys were making it hard and the counter attacks made it harder and THAT’S the best time to put in the dagger and stab the best: when it’s HARD!!!! A group of 5 or 6 rolled off with 3 laps of 7 to go with myself and some fast local talent. When Richter came across with 1 other guy that was all I needed to see. GO TIME. The group ended up being 6- Richter, myself and 4 others. THAT is plan A for this team, the best case scenario.

Dave is FAST and can sprint with the best around and usually if it comes to sprint finale, he takes one of the top if not the top spot- no one is perfect! That’s not me blowing the horn for Dave, that’s me stating a fact that most everyone around these parts would have to agree with. I’m not a fast finisher but I am good for multiple freight train pulls and continuous attacking. So for us to be together in a small group means that at some point I will start attacking and either I get chased, in which case Dave follows and counters or simply (as in the case of this weekend) rides the wheels and sprints. OR I bring back the attacks that should come and set Dave up for a good counter. Either way the scenario is a good one. Turns out that on Saturday, no one started to attack us in the last few k’s. I then took a big dig with about 4k left to test the waters and there was one guy chasing me back- Dave sat and waited. When we made the turn for the final 1500 k, I waited for the guy who brought me back earlier to take a turn and then I hit out one last time at full gas. THAT was my last bullet. And no one jumped to cover. I got the gap I needed and groveled all the way to the line. Dave followed me in for 2nd and that was that. Plan A. SNAP!

It’s nice to have things go your way in a bike race as things SO often go totally pear shaped. It was satisfying to race our race and to have the best case scenario play out. Who knows when that will happen again, but I can tell you that we will push for it every time we show up. We have a lot of experience between us and broad base of fitness to fall back on, so if teams are going to stick it to us, they are going to have to work for it and THAT makes racing fun.

I got in my POWERCRANK ride today and I might break my code and do a longer ride tomorrow. I’m not recommending my training program to anyone other than myself- it’s what I have time for and it works for the kind of racing I’m doing. If I showed up at a national event I would have much harder time – I’m not pretending to that a few hours of hard riding a week will prepare me for much more than 60ish miles of racing. I’ll admit to thinking about doing more training and bigger regional races but the jury is out. I’m good for now.

Now what?

Best,
TH