Plano Athletic Cycling Club Elite Team

Mineral Wells Stage Race 2012

2012-02-21T12:02:00.001-08:00

Cat 1 Crit by Corey Ray

Day one started out rainy cold about 45 degrees. I did not get a chance to pre ride the course. We arrived with 15 minutes to spare and then I had a chance to preview the course in the misty rain. The course was rather technical with a big ring power climb in the middle of it. There was a slight crosswind on each of the straight away sections. After riding the course it was time to line up. The first lap was slow with everybody getting a feel for the rain and concrete. The next to laps Collin and myself tried to separate each other from the pack. On lap 3 Collin was on my wheel and I was at the front of the pack. I started to put in a slight effort and drifted away from the pack on the back straight away with the cross wind. For the next 3 or so laps I went as hard as I could up the hill and held it on the straight away building my breakaway. From this point on I did not use my brakes in the rain on the corners. I knew that if I could keep my power and speed up in the corners I would have a chance to stay a away. I was getting plenty of feedback from spectators on my time gap. It grew from 20 to 30 to 45 seconds. At one point I could look across to where the peloton was from atop the hill. Jesse would yell at me my time splits and then tell me that I was his hero. Mike Lalla would tell me to settle into a rhythm that I could hold for an hour. I found that rhythm the best I could and continued on with my head down focusing on breathing deep. As the laps past the time gap fluctuated anywhere from 20 seconds backup to 30 seconds. I did not start focusing on how many laps I had to go until lap 8. With 5 laps to go Mario was of the front of the pack and gaining time on me. I knew that I could take a few breathers through out the course of the .6 miles lap. It definitely paid off when it hit 3 laps to go. Mario got really really close maybe 10 seconds. Jesse would scream at me each lap, "Go go go faster faster faster, Mario is gaining on you, you gotta go now, come on Corey two more laps!" To me it was gut check time and I had to dig really deep. I took it easier with 2 laps to go. I let Mario get really close and then dropped the hammer 1 last time. Coming over the hill the last time I could see that I was going to win. the only thought that was crossing my mind as I was going through the last 2 turns was do not go down in the slick rain. After I made the turn, then accelerated back up to speed I looked back to check one last time. At this moment I knew that I won my first p 1 race. The feeling that I got coming down the finishing line with the rain in my face and a grin ear to ear was beyond words. I threw one of my fist in the air staring down the finishing line like it was my enemy that I just defeated. Once I crossed both hands lifted in the air. I did it! Team PACC did it!

The Wrath of Rusty Stover

2012-02-16T20:07:00.000-08:00

Rode to Plano Cycling and Fitness

2012-02-14T14:08:00.000-08:00

After flatting both days this past weekend I decided it was time for some new tires and tubes from Plano Cycling and Fitness. Lets get it on this weekend. WPFND

Cedar Hill RR Weekend

2012-02-13T12:36:00.001-08:00

Play song with video

We are young by Corey Ray on Grooveshark

Texas Chainring Massacre.

2012-02-08T04:07:00.000-08:00

I hadn't been on my cross bike sine the State Championship race in December, and it was looking kind of lonely. So once I realized I would be in town this past weekend I decided to put myself through 90 miles of Denton and Wise county’s finest gravel for The Spinistry's Texas Chainring Massacre. The event had already been sold out, but I was able to get a transfer from a teammate, so I was in.

There were some big names signed up already, Russ “Big Daddy” Walker, Tom Brandish, Ben Spies and his teammate Simon Essl were also signed up. Eventually Bryan Fawley, and Chris Powers got spots from people who backed out so we were gonna have a pretty good group of strong riders.

Mike Bohn and I previewed the course on Thursday evening, even though it was night, we got a good feel for what the course was going to be like. Lots of undulating hills, and plenty of gravel, some sections had gum ball to golf ball sized gravel, so I was certain the course could not be completed on a standard road bike. We made it out of the pre ride without incident, and were feeling pretty good about the upcoming Sunday.

Sunday morning came and after a slight comedy of errors we were out of the house and headed north. The temperature was in the high 30’s for the start, and didnt get too much warmer all day. Most folks were bundled up with all the clothing they had. I went with a vest, and knee & arm warmers, as I didn't want to overheat once we got going. I did however go with a liner in my gloves as cold hands will quickly make a ride quite miserable.

We rolled out at 9:00 sharp, and I led the way across Hwy 35, I knew there were a few corners relatively soon and didn't want to be caught up in the group going through them. It wasn’t long before “Big Daddy” was on my hip ready to go. I was messing with my computer for a bit, and he went up the road a few hundred yards. Bryan, Tom, myself and a few others were ok with letting him dangle there for a few minutes, but not too long. Once we hit the gravel, and the cross wind, and we were all back together, Russ moved to the left side of the road and put everyone in the gutter. Russ and Bryan and two others got a gap, including my teammate Mike Steeves, and I looked around and realized it was up to me get up there.

We rotated a few times, and then I looked behind me and it was just Russ and I. We rolled away and no one really wanted to give a major chase just yet, as we were only 6 miles into the race. We strolled through a few miles of smooth asphalt and hit the real start of the gravel and were still alone. At the feed zone, at mile 27, we would have 4 minutes on the group. We didn’t know this but kept plugging away, taking turns and keeping a good pace. We were having good luck so far, getting through the water crossings without incident (Russ had 80mm deep dish wheels), and no flats.

The wind was out of the north so the first “half” of the race was into a headwind. We would keep an eye on who was behind us, and as we entered Muenster Russ could see Bryan Fawley and Tom Brandish about two miles back. So once we made the right turn to head back south and worked our way out of town, we knew we had to hit it. Russ was on his road bike with 27mm Roubaix tires, and a 53x11, so I tucked into his draft and tried my hardest to keep up with him as I had cross tires which provided a much higher resistance than his smooth road tires, and cross gearing(46x11 was my biggest gear). This went on for about the next 20 miles, we would take turns at the front, but I was already tired from pushing just to keep his wheel.

Just one of the early hills.

The hills seemed to be worse on the way back in once we had passed the feed zone again after mile 71. It may have been the exhaustion setting in, but Russ would gap me on every hill, and it took me longer and longer to get back each time. The final big hill gps at mile 78 is what did it too me. I finally cracked and had no motivation to get back on Russ’s wheel. We would finish solo from here, I sat up for a minute, had a Honey Stinger Waffle, and some water and felt a little bit reenergized. At this point I didn’t know how far back Fawley and Brandish were. I thought maybe 5-10 minutes possibly. Little did I know that they had some tire pressure issues and would finish almost 30 minutes behind me.

Now the goal was to finish the last 10 miles without getting caught, as Russ was no longer in view, and I knew I wouldn't catch him. The good news was the remaining miles were a gradual downhill back into town, not without some rollers of course though. At point I was catching a few of the last stragglers that were doing the short course, which was slightly motivating, and kept giving me a carrot to chase.

I finished the 89 mile route second in 4 hours and 36 minutes, 6 minutes behind Russ. This was definitely a tough route, with some very well linked together roads that kept you on gravel probably for 80% of the route. This was good training for some of the races I have coming up in Late February and Early March. I may add some of the roads into my regular training route rotation when it gets a little bit warmer.

PACC Elite Team Sponsor Day

2012-01-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

The day began with a nice 80 mile ride out of Jesse's place. During the end of the ride we went to go check out the Cedar Hill Circuit Race Loop. We piled mud on our bikes to make it harder taking the path less traveled into the park. After cleaning off the bikes good enough to get the wheels to spin we spun around the park and then realized it was time to go home so we would have time to volunteer at the North Texas Food Bank. Collin and Ryan whipped up some killer grub then we went on to volunteer at the North Texas Food Bank. From there we were off to Plano Cycling and Fitness for some mingling and head shots. All in all awesome day with great gentlemen. More pictures from Erin can be found here at http://networkedblogs.com/ts9l5

WPFND!

HAHA Epic Mud Trail Check out the WATTS baby!

Grapevine Dam Effort

2012-01-26T17:44:00.000-08:00

Last effort of 3 by 5min.

Megan Baab Race Report

2012-01-22T17:21:00.000-08:00

Michael Wilder off the front in the 3/4s race.

Tis a new year. Time to crank out the watts and do something with it. I was having a discussion with Collin before the race and we both agreed that we where going to put our joking attitudes aside at races this year and race our bikes, like we both know we can.

The race was a lollypop shaped course with 9 miles out and a big lap around 30 miles. We had a solid plan of Shawn and Ryan trading the early moves if one went and the rest of us would save it for “the time”. Nothing really went right away, but at about 5-7 miles into the race Collin and I had to follow some moves with big hitters in them which would form off the front and be quickly brought back. At that point I had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

Right before the left turn into the cross wind Collin and I looked at each other and agreed that it’s about to hit the fan at just 9 miles in. While making the turn Collin, Cory and I were in the top 10-15. It turned out to be a little too far back. The hitters where hitting at the front, not going too hard but going hard enough to make the slight uphill cross wind a little tough pushing a 53/15. The gap formed by someone letting go of a wheel. The gap was maybe 3-5 seconds when Collin hit it hard with 2 guys on his wheels to get across. He couldn’t close it and the other 2 wouldn’t/couldn’t pull through. So after just 12 miles top 5 was gone. I didn’t know this at the time but when Collin jumped I started to drift back where there was no collective peloton it was shattered with little groups all over the road. I think it was a shock to the peloton with the display of power being put out at the front.

Collin got into a group to fight out a top ten, but flatted and went back to the main peloton, Cory crashed and then had to fix his cleat and I flatted. Collin and Shawn finished in the main group sprint. Cory, Ryan and I cranked out some watts for training while everyone was happy to sit on.

---

It really wasn’t the race we wanted it to be. But, we were happy that the fitness is there, the team is meshing well and there’s a whole season ahead of us.

Next race we won’t make the same mistake. We have the legs and heart to win.

WPFND!

Michael

2012 Megan Baab Memorial Classic

2012-01-21T18:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a Strava link to my race file: http://app.strava.com/activities/3514275

Tough race! Normalized power was over 230w! Pain, pain, pain!

_________________________________________________________________________________
Corey - I missed the break at the beginning but was right there and was in a little mix up and went down right before the dirt section. I had to stop and fix my cleat in the feed zone then it was off to finish the race. Other than that, Mr. Lalla and myself had a good time bringing up the rear with some nice watts for the remaining 60ish miles.

He Rides Again!

2012-01-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

My dad riding again after recovering from a stroke this past November.

WPFND

PACC Training Camp Tin Star Ranch Video 2012

2012-01-16T09:34:00.000-08:00

Training camp was amazing. Check out this Strava effort http://www.strava.com/segments/old-san-antonio-road-655831 along with all Team PACC's rides on the follow tab.

After the audio cuts out, locate and blast your favorite song as we tear down sweet descents and breathtaking views. Enjoy this video.
WPFND

Optimus Prime Cycling Lead Out

2012-01-05T20:49:00.000-08:00

90 Mile Ride with Adam Koble and Christina Smith

2012-01-04T21:19:00.000-08:00

Beautiful day out in North Texas where I was getting over a cold while Mr. Koble has been killing it the past 4 days with 5 hours each day. I mounted a Kodak Sport camera to the front of my bike and took videos of the ride. I plan on using this contraption during some training races for the last 10k or so. Christina Smith joined up with us and put the hammer down a dozen times when I finally put her in the ditch. I also had a live app running called Map My Ride where it posted a link (http://t.co/ekmvFY1b) to my Facebook and Twitter accounts. I am not sure if it works but it sure sounds pretty cool. Anyway here is the video. Enjoy!
PACC/WATTPASSEFIGHTNEVERDIES

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T08:23:00.000-08:00

Check out "Last Ride of the Year" by Shawn Hodges Click Here

Feels so good to train again. Map my Ride apps plus my Strait Talk Android phone are nice things to have to keep track of all the miles and routes.

Loves,
Corey

My training calendar for the month of December 2011

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T05:26:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from all of us here on PACC. May you carry this spirit onward throughout the rest of your life to find a deeper meaning in your own life. Happy miles and safe roads be with us all.

Loves,
PACCfightneverdies

Deep Deep South East Texas Training Camp Map My Rides

2011-12-21T09:31:00.000-08:00

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/61036926
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/61138270
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/61195920

Cyclehaus Tough Cross

2011-10-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

First weekend of racing cross in Texas. We missed the opener because we did some races up on the east coast. Highlight up there was a 37th at Providence Cyclocross Festival on Sunday. A great way to end the vacation and head back to Texas with some great momentum.

The weekend was in Fredericksburg not far from where we have team training camp each year in January. It was a challanging course, with a loose long dirt run up, a few sets of barriers, a screaming fast downhill dirt slalom, one tight technical downhill corner, and a sandpit.

Saturday:
I didn’t get a great start, but was in the 3rd start row, so I wasn't too far back. I got edged out by TSA rider in the start, so I lost a little momentum there. Went into the holeshot probably 11th, which was unfortunate because once we hit the dirt we went back down the hill, and it became a giant dust bowl as the ground was very dry even with the recent rains. I was close to Stefan Rothe and Austin Stewart. I knew I would be better to at least ride in their draft so I bridged up to them.

Rode with Stefans group for a little bit then passed Stefan in the short run up right before the Pit/feed zone. Austin had made a gap at this point so I made it up to him and Austin rode on his wheel for maybe 2 laps, bringing my heart rate back to normal. He attacked on the start hill and caught one other rider. I bridged up to both of them and passed Austin. Andy beres(ride away bicycles) had a good gap on me, and was he was one spot up. I would only would see him once per lap, but we would pass at the same spot where we had last seen each other every lap. So he wasn't gaining time, but I wasn’t loosing any time to him. I kept on chasing him, but wouldn't make up any ground, and finished 7th.

My rear tire was feeling somewhat soft, and I was thinking I had lost air from when I started. Started with around 43 when I measured after and I had 37 in there. It was maybe a little light, but felt like just the right amount of give in the corners. Almost like I was gonna roll a tire(if it was a tubular, I’m on clincher Michelin Mud 2s), but it would grip right before I would break contact. My front wheel started rubbing my brake during our final pre-race lap as we headed to the start. I figured I might have a broken spoke, and would deal with it post race. It rubbed for most of the race, slightly more noticeable towards the end, but i just kept my brakes pressed a little, not enough to make contact, to eliminate any rubbing. Turns out my tire had a bulge in it, and the tube was popped out and hanging over the edge. So I got really really lucky that my tire didn't explode on me during the race.

It was 88 degrees on Saturday so we were allowed feeds, Penny of Dallas Bike Works was giving Bryan Fawley feeds, so she hooked Michael and I up with feeds as well. This definitely saved the day. I found the going up the longer steep run up/climb was easier with a shouldered bike as opposed to pushing it. I also made up time hammering up the start hill, and then recovering on the downhill slalom-esque dirt side.

Sunday:
Sundays course didn't have too many significant changes, trade the sand for the run up barriers. It was possible to ride most of the sand pit, but had to get off for the turn around. I chose to go with a higher psi closer to 45. Should have run less probably closer to 40. I was sliding out in corners instead of the rolling tire feeling. Would have preferred less pressure. It also made my lower back hurt more significantly sooner during the race.

I had the same start position, but was way more aggressive at the start and got a much better position. I was at the back of the front group of 8. I kept up with everyone trhough the first half of the lap. Fawley was super aggressive to get to the front as he started at the back, he dismounted before the 180 degree turn for the longer run up, where everyone was still on their bikes. Sometimes in high traffic running while everyone else fudges around with dismounting/remounting running is a good maneuver. Got a dollar in the first lap at the top of the run up. The front group of 5, Fawley, Helmig, Kevin Fish, Paul Bonds and Johnny Sundt, started to make a gap. So then it was Wiley Mosely another other tsa(Team Super Awesome) guy, Andy Beres(Ride away) and myself. They had a small gap, and I put in an effort to catch back up to them.

Wiley popped and other tsa guy rode away. I caught ride away guy, and we would both pass Wiley. We rode together for a lap or two but I would drop my chain over the barriers and the run up. So he would get a small gap again. I attacked after the technical downhill turn into the head wind and got a gap but was sloppy over the barriers and would drop my chain again. So he would go around me and get a small gap on me again, 5 Seconds at the most. I'd attack on the pavement and make up the gap he had put on, and we would chase like this for another few laps. With one to go I caught him on the pavement hill and could tell he was done, but I could feel Paul Bonds charging (2nd previous day) so I had to keep smooth and not let up.

I was catching some lapped riders as well. I made the last lap smoothly, no chain drops, and knew that the lapped riders would help keep Paul at bay. On the last half of the lap I could see the Tsa rider from earlier and he had maybe five or ten seconds, gave it one last effort and got close but couldn't catch. I think with one more lap I could have had him. I finished 6th on Sunday

I had a much lower heart rate today, not sure if that was from sitting on, or my heart rate monitor malfunctioning. It was hot this day as well, possibly in the 90's, but Andy Beres the rider I passed with one to go, didn't take a feed all day(they ended up having a few guys doing neutral water), But I believe this was a factor in his eventual relinquish of position to me. As I took a feed(drink of water) every lap.

Super Week day 1

2011-07-09T10:52:00.000-07:00

Phil and I are up here to do a few races at Super Week. We've both have been off the bike a few days or have been riding easy. The plan for our first race was just to finish. After an hour or so it was obvious we both were going to finish so it was time to go for some primes. We went for three of them but didn't get any... it's hard to win a prime when you're sprinting on the sidewalk avoiding a Taiwanese rider sliding across the road. On the last lap Phil was sitting 3/4th wheel when he decided to do his best bowling ball impression. we finished 26 and 27. Not the best but at least we got some hard riding in. We're looking for some better luck today.

Collin Davis: Me ride bike-Me go fast

2011-07-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

I ride for freedom, for the energy, for the intensity, for the friendships, and for the ability to push yourself beyond all you once thought impossible. I race to make people hurt and for the thrill, but I ride to make myself hurt. There is something pure and cleansing about committing to such a masochistic way of life, as the rewards and results are few and far between. I ride for the beauty of the countryside, the trees, the views, the wind in my hair. I ride for transportation, as it helps the environment, and it is my hope that maybe, just maybe, I will inspire at least one person to start doing the same.

Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I have hope for the human race. ~ H.G.. Wells

Lesson Learned in Recovery during the last two weeks (NVGP & Elite Nats)

2011-06-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about my results from the past months and how I've felt on the bike. Although I've been pretty good about short term day-to-day recovery, I think in the big picture I've needed more large periods of rest. These are just my stream of conscious-type thoughts. Feel free to comment and give advice....

The last couple of weeks have been crazy. Coming into the Nature Valley Grand Prix I was starting to feel back on form after going through a low period. Before I left Texas, I rode off the front of the Wednesday Night Crit for about 40 minutes to a solo win. Then that same Saturday I was runner up in the MN State Championship 40K TT. The next week I completed three very difficult climbing repeat workouts in Mankato, MN (on MWF) before taking some rest. The next Wednesday was when the stage race started.

Race reports for Stages 1,2 &3 are below. I'll give a quick overview of the last three stages here.

Stage 4: Minneapolis Uptown Crit

This was a right-turn crit with 6 corners. It's one of the few clock-wise crits I've ever done...and it was a blast. United Health Care controlled the whole race. We averaged 30 mph and at points we had to be well into the high 30's. There were several crashes in men's field and a crash in the women's field that left 46 women on the ground (not just with their foot down to take a free lap...they were ON the ground). I've never went so fast for so long.

Stage 5: Menomonie Road Race

This RR was hard. 100 miles of rolling country with several very hard climbs and many teams looking to de-throne UHC made for a really long day in the saddle. Before going off the back at mile 50ish here's what I learned: Pro teams don't like amateur jokers (Or maybe I should say Pro jokers don't like amateur teams). At one point I thought it would be fun to ride up next to the strung out train of UHC, Bissel, Jelly Bellies, etc. I didn't realize there was a sprint point coming up so soon and those guys didn't like that I was up there. They were swearing to threatening me and when I didn't back off Bissel tried to put me in the ditch. And it wasn't just 1 guy...it was several. They didn't succeed though and I took their wheel anyway. Eventually UHC blew most of the peloton up before blowing themselves up. They lost the race that day.

Stage 6: Stillwater Crit

All I had to do was make it 5 laps...5 laps of up, then up some more, then down, then up again. Well, I did make it 5 laps, but not with the peloton. A group of us got pulled after 10 laps of a 20 lap race. These races were hard, but I was also hurting. I just couldn't put out the power it took. I was getting tired...

Over the next few days I went home for a night, did laundry, repacked, and got on the road to Georgia. After arriving in Augusta, I had one day to totally rest before the 30 Km TT.

Nats TT:

During the day before I rode my TT bike and also got it set to within UCI specs (apparently I measured some things wrong without having a jig to put the bike in). I felt pretty good and knew that if I had a good day on the bike I could be competitive on the rolling course that was set up.

5...4...3...2...1: Riding off the ramp I felt great. I accelerated quickly and easily up to speed. It was hot out, but not over 100, and there was a strong crosswind. When I rolled out, I started a little under my TT pace like I normally do so that I can ride up into a faster pace throughout the effort. It was right about the time that I hit my normal pace that I couldn't hit my normal pace. I blew up...and hard. It was early on and I was doing everything I could to just spin a gear-any gear. I rode in at 44+ minutes, which is pretty embarrassing...the winner rolled just over 37 minutes.

The road race was similar, but I did a better job of keeping within my limit. I lasted only 6 of 7 laps. During this race, it was really important to stay cool. This meant taking 2-3 bottles per lap-one for drinking and the others for pouring on oneself. I found there to be a huge difference if I poured cold water on my chest, head, and back when getting fatigued and overheated. I blew into bits mid lap after holding on as long as possible. I rode back to the tent at around 5 mph.

So there were many lessons learned, but I'm focusing on the big picture recovery for now. I'm way too worn down to finish races that shouldn't be a problem at all and I'm mentally not in the game right now. For now I'm taking lots of days off of the bike entirely and from now on I'll have to figure out a way to recover better once I'm into the racing season.

Muchos Luvos,

Adam

the thunderdome

2011-06-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

Day 1

Team PACC/WattPosse went into Tulsa Tough a hungry bunch of riders. Hungry to race aggressively, hungry to get our sponsors some camera time, and hungry to put one of our boys on the podium at the end of the day. Tulsa Oklahoma’s shadow was the setting for the weekend of racing. For Ryan “the wolverine” Dromgoole and Michael “the real deal” lalla this was their first experience. Both were eager and ready to give it their all.

The blue dome district was the scene of Friday’s action. Lalla got the aggression rolling for the WattPosse halfway through the race by attacking trying to draw out a few fellow aggressors. There seemed to be a lack of aggression, but “the real deal” was rewarded with a sweet $100 prime for his efforts. With 5 laps to go Lalla got on the front for a spry Jesse “the man” Moran, to reel in two escapees that were clinging to a 30 second lead. A lap later, with the gap reduced by half, lalla pulled off to watch the chase once again flounder. Then the rain came. At first it was light, then the heavens opened up and it started to get wet. Real wet! Dromgoole went down in a pileup at 2 laps to go. Lalla was caught behind a crash at about the same time. Jesse, however, was sitting pretty at 12^th wheel with ¾ of a lap to go when a rider braked in a wet corner. Game Over!

Not all was lost, there was the P/1 race to look forward to. Phil “the bowling ball” Snodgrass had an aggressive race and was ultimately well positioned with 3 to go when his head thankfully cushioned his ensuing fall. After racing Saturday and Sunday and mainly not knowing his own name, he found out he had a concussion.

Borski, summed it up best,, “pedal, pedal, pedal, rain, crashes everywhere, live to fight it out another day!

Nature Valley Grand Prix- Stages 1, 2 & 3

2011-06-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hey PACCsters,

A few, but not all of you know that I'm up in Minnesota racing the NVGP with the local team, Grandstay Hotels Cycling. I'll try to recap some highlights from the madness that has taken place so far...

Stage 1: Time Trial

I have a love/hate relationship with this race. It's the first TT I've done where we started on a starting ramp...which was pretty awesome. Everyone was racing their road bikes because, in an effort to make all teams equal, the promoters decided to limit racers to one bike for the entirety of the race. I got up to speed and cranked along. Christian Helmig (Elbowz) was starting 30 seconds behind me, so I was very motivated to stay away. Apparently I was going pretty fast, but with the rain and legs that hadn't been raced in two weeks, I felt sluggish. The TT finished on Ohio St, which, after a right turn, heads straight up to the finish about 1 Km later. Unfortunately when I shifted into the 39 chainring my chain fell off. I got it back on after a couple of tries, but lost all momentum going into the hill. When all was said and done I was placed 7th in the race for the amateur jersey...about 14 seconds off the jersey.

BTW-5 of the top 7 in the amateur jersey contest are Texas racers. Just sayin...

Stage 2: St. Paul Criterium

FAST. This was a technical crit that mixed pavement, potholes, bottleneck corners, and lots of other sketchyness into one crazy race. Positioning is obviously important in something like this. I got a slow start was close to the back. I pretty much stayed there as people blew up around me until 6 laps to go when the break was caught and the United boys when to the front and drilled it. About half the field blew off the back at that point. I faught until 2 laps to go when I was about 20 seconds off the back of the field. The officials made me quit....

Stage 3: Cannon Falls Road Race

Let me just say that we averaged 30 mph for 66 miles. That's including hills, wind, gravel, sketch roads, and an ultra fast five-lap finishing circuit. United Healthcare controlled the race all day. It's pretty cool to watch something like that firsthand from a racer's prospective. Those guys were putting out WATTS all day long. Coming into the gravel I was sitting midpack, which would have been okay, but I went into the corner hot and now there're pieces of grass sticking off my bike. I rode it out and got onto the peloton as quickly as I could, but still lost position. The road went on to a narrow bike path-like section where pot holes and bad pavement was more of a rule that the exception. A right turn at the bottom of the hill took us onto the 1.9 mile circuit through town we completed five times. It was all any of us could do just to hang on. Jelly Bellies threw down hard while they tried to position themselves for the win. United Healthcare was on their wheels and ultimately came around in the final lap to take the win. I held on until there was a half lap to go. About 20 guys got held up in a crash and although I was nowhere near it, one of the guys trying to get going again cut me off into a curb so I had to slam on the breaks. I got gapped and couldn't get back onto the peloton. Fortunately we all finished with the same time, so I didn't lose time.

Thank you to everyone at Grandstay for the support and inviting me to race this weekend!!! I'm having the time of my life!!!

Watch tonight's race in Minneapolis (7:45 pm), tomorrow in Menomonie, and Sunday in Stillwater @: http://www.naturevalleybicyclefestival.com/live

~ Adam

Wrap Up From Memorial Day weekend.

2011-06-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a big weekend for Texas road racing. There was a big race, under the lights on Friday night, a race on Saturday, and two State Championships, Skill/Catagory Based on Sunday, and Age Based on Monday. A very busy weekend, I drove well over 300 miles, and they were considered local races!

Fridays race was Bike the Bricks, our race started a little before 9, so it was completely dark when we started, glad I had my clear lenses for my Oakley Jawbones. The race started fast and furious. I was towards the middle of the starting line group so I had to try and move up as quick as possible to help out my teammates. I could see Jesse at the front chasing stuff down, so I knew I needed to get up there to give him a hand. I moved my way up to about tenth wheel, and there was a few guys up the road, I got antsy and tried to make the jump up to them, I got most of the way but could not complete the deal. The pack caught me/them, and I moved back to try and recover. I moved farther back than I should have, and ended up paying for it. I wasn't aggressive enough to move back up until it was too late, and ended up 22nd. My teammate Jesse did well and got 7th in the sprint.

Saturday was a P/1/2 race, and was really windy. We did a lap or two, and I was mid pack, but a gap opened up in one of the corners, and I did all I could to close the gap, but could not manage to close it, so I was out in the wind for a lot longer than I needed to be, trying to get back on. Once I couldn't go anymore, a bunch of people passed me, and as I had been riding hard to get back, I was already toasted, and couldn't catch back to those guys either. And thus, my race was over. It only lasted about 15 minutes. I put in an effort with the other guys who had fallen off the back, but we weren't getting any closer, so at about 30 minutes I gave up, and decided to spin for awhile.

Sunday was the Category based State Championship. The plan was to protect Jesse for the sprint for the jersey. All the best plans are for naught once the whistle blows. I was active at the front of the pack, and went with a move during a prime lap, and it stayed off for a lap or two. We got pulled back into the group, and I fell back through the pack gradually. I would try to bridge up a few times to other breaks, but was unsuccessful, but so were they and they got brought back. Eventually two guys would get up the road while I was at the back of the pack so I didn't know about it until it was too late. Jesse snagged a $100 dollar prime, essentially uncontested. The two up the road had 40 seconds on the field, when I saw two elbows riders get to the front. I thought they were blocking, having seen one of their riders go up the road, but he had been brought back apparently.

Well I wasn't going to go down without a fight, so I stopped their "block", and got in front of them, and started to pull, trying to bring the break back. Their lead increased to 50 seconds, and would stay that way for awhile, at 5 laps to go, I had enough, and the gap wasn't getting any smaller, so I pulled off. Paul Bonds from OKC Velo was nice enough to let me back into the draft, and I recovered a bit. Jesse was back on and in the mix, and Lalla instructed me, no more work until the end. I would get gapped, and passed in the corners and gradually fell to the back of the pack.

Coming through the back side of the course Jesse got after me to get to the front, and instructed me that I was spinning too high of a gear. I shifted down, 2, then one, then one more, and I moved up, and planted myself a perfect 4th wheel. Jeff Labauve was leading out his former teammate Danny Parks 5 seconds off the front. The wind killed their momentum by the last turn and I was still sitting pretty in 4th wheel. Two Park Place riders, and a matrix rider. At the beginning of the parking lot shift/chicayne the Matrix rider jumped, and I was right there waiting. He made it to about the stop sign/entrance and was done. I jumped him at this point and never looked back. I hit 40.5 mph and had half a second on the matrix rider in 4th behind me.

Monday was the Age based Crit Championship. We had 6 riders in this race. Myself, Adam, Phillip, Collin, Jesse and Michael Lalla. The plan was to stay at the front incase Elbows started to push the pace, and if they didn't, we could initiate. The group consisted of the Under 23, 23-29, 30-34, and 35-39, categories. There was at least 75 riders to start. I got off to a bad start, by missing a pedal, so I was moving back in the pack. Then I decieded that it would be a good time to take a energy gel shot, seeing as it was only a 60 minute race. Gel shot good, timing BAD. I dropped to the absolute back of the pack. I could see a few of our guys at the front of the race, so I knew I needed to move up. I worked my way up to a better placing, about mid-pack, after a few laps. Phillip was still at the front and I was going to ride up and try and slide in with him. I got up there, and decided to instead roll off the front, and give it an effort myself. They let me roll off for a bit, then two guys came blazing past me. Nick Boulle, and a a Super Squadra rider, likely a Haga Brother. I tried to accelerate with them, but just couldn't handle it after being in the wind myself.

Luckily another group made their way up the road pretty soon after that. I knew I had to keep up with them or make my way back to the group. I jumped into the back of the line, and tried to rest a minute. Once we got a proper rotation going, I knew we were golden. We had 5 in the group, One Elbows rider, myself, a Matrix Rider, a 787 rider who got 2nd the day before, and a Park Place rider, who had been having a really good weekend. With 5 laps to go, Austin Stewart the Elbows rider started to attack. This put us down to three riders after we dropped the guy from 787 and the Park Place rider. 1 lap to go Austin was at the front, and neither myself or the Matrix rider, were going to come around. He would pull the whole lap. With 500m to go I jumped and the Matrix rider was right on my wheel. He would beat me at the line, I ended up 12th in the overall, and 4th in the 23-29 category. Adam got 6th and 2nd in the 23-29 category.

Why I ride: Michael Lalla

2011-05-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

… why do I ride. This has been a major subject weighing on my mind recently. Why do I ride? To be honest, I ride for fun, race for glory and live for life.

Does that answer the question?

Why I ride: Corey Ray

2011-05-23T06:59:00.000-07:00

Corey Ray Say's

I ride because I love to breathe that crisp fresh morning air. I enjoy long strolls on the beach and don't mind a streaking ride every now and then. Riding gives me life, makes me feel like a kid, and is wonderful to be alone admiring God's creations. I ride because it is healthy, makes my legs look like cannons and keeps my fiancé happy. I ride because it is cheaper than driving my car and I can have the widows down and still get excellent gas mileage.

I ride kinda like this http://vimeo.com/22132070.

Muah

Love,

Corey

To the readers: This is the first of many blogs from each of your elite team riders. Each of them have been asked to answer one simple question: Why do you ride? Check back soon for the next!
~Adam

Joe Martin: A Quick Recap of Stages 1 and 2

2011-05-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been great so far. The WATT POSSE is truly living the dream (we don't even know what day of the week it is right now....:)

Time Trial: The course was just over 4 km with a short flat run up to the bottom of the hill. At that point it got tough. It quickly ramped to around 10% grade for an average of 6.8% for the entire time trial (including the flat section). The winner afteraged over 17 mph, but the W.P. wasn't far behind. Koble clocked in at 9'16', Rusty at 10'02, Lalla at 10'21'' (with a 1'' time penalty) and Jesse at 10'55''. The winner came in at 8'47...

Road Race 1: The 110 mile race got off to a slow start. Everyone knew it was to be brutal due only to the miles, so attacks were slow to come and people were slow to respond. There were to main climbs on the day, the second being over 10 miles long. Lalla and Koble stayed in the first peloton coming over the second climb and still in the game for a win. Stefan Rothe (Tulsa Tough) was up the road after a huge attack at the end of the climb. Towards the end of the descent, Koble put his descending skills into action breaking free from the peloton and then motoring away with a solo effort trying to catch (and work with) Rothe. Unfortunately he (and later Rother) were caught as the peloton kept the pace fast to catch the break further up the road. At the end of the day, it came down to a uphill field sprint after two kicker climbs. Koble and Lalla came in at 18th and 24th respectively with Stover in a follow group 20 minutes back. Jesse wasn't able to make the time cut, but has been inspired to raise training volume.

This is Jesse shortly after he pee'ed on himself in the woods. You can't see it, but he has a towel in his hand to clean up.

Lalla rockin' some sex appeal on the way up to Fayetteville, AR

The view out of the sun roof in the "team car" while scoping out the time trial course

Winning

2011-04-11T09:53:00.001-07:00

If Charlie is doing it so can we! Look for the Watt Posse towards the front at the Matrix Crits! We'll be the ones racing our bikes, the rest will be following.

Watt up Posse!

P.S.

And I'm not sure why Adam is thinking about me while he is peeing.

Humming the tune of "Summer time"

2011-04-09T00:27:00.000-07:00

I just woke up and had to pee. While I was peeing I came to the realization that in about two months Lalla and I are going to be riding up in Minn/Wisc together on some of the most epic, beautiful, "this is why I ride a bike" rides we've ever been on. In the mean time, I'm going back to sleep.

This pic is from one of my favorite races last year. It's the crit in Stillwater-the last stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. I couldn't do the PROOOOO race so this is the Amateur 1/2 race. My friend Cayman caught on film the moment I went to the front and drew out a group of five guys-four of which stuck it in a breakaway. I got 4th and it was still to this day the hardest 60 minutes of my life.

Also, my mom got a whole year older TODAY! Happy birthday, Mom! I got these legs from you. Thanks for everything!!!

<3 Adam

Hump Day Ride

2011-04-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Despite consistency in training during the past few weeks, my watts have not been consistent. I've been doing VO2 max intervals during this training period. Just last week (Thursday) I set a new PP 5 minute record for myself. I've been getting great sleep, eating well, and taking time off the bike when I should, and somehow I haven't been able to hit my numbers for those intervals for the past two training sessions. It's probably been too long since I've taken a full rest week, so I'm considering that for next week. It throws a huge wrench straight into my rear wheel, but something is going on and it's getting frustrating.

Todays ride got pretty epic...and fast. I originally planned to head north around Ray Roberts, but changed my mind when I felt how strong the wind was today (I know...lame!). My plan was to ride a mostly at tempo with two 20 minute intervals in the "Sweet Spot" power range described in the Allen/Coggan book "Training and Racing with a Power Meter" before riding at tempo for the next hour with four 3 minute VO2 intervals to mix things up. Unfortunately, only one of those intervals happened because I couldn't keep the watts up. Mid way through the second "Sweet Spot" interval I hit gravel...in a head wind...going up hill...with my legs burning! That might sound like an exaggeration...it's not. After I figured out that the VO2 intervals weren't happening for today I just put my head down and hammered out some tempo for the remaining hour and a half-ish.

My post ride stop at Jupiter House was the highlight. Some of the guys on the team know this place well for their espresso, coffee, cookies, and muffins. I like to stop in before or after a lot of the group rides I organized because of the central location and friendly attitude towards cyclists (They welcome bikes inside!). An iced coffee was the perfect thing to cure my low watt blues.

I can't wait until the Matrix Crits! It's going to be awesome to see all of the guys again and race in downtown Dallas!!!!

Luvs,

Adam

Lalla and I in 'Da Falls

2011-03-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

Saturday:

I’m not sure I’ve ever ridden my bike in such windy condition for so long. I arrived at Lalla’s place just before noon. When I walked in he was eating his breakfast and updating facebook…go figure! We both knew the day was going to get epic, so we weren’t in too big of a hurry to step out the door. Eventually, we got kitted up, pumped our tires, lubed our chains, clipped on our helmets and mounted our new steeds. It still amazing how much more I go forward with every pedal stroke!

The ride was hard to say the least. On our way out of town we stopped in at TCC, one of the shops in WF, to meet another cyclist, Les. Les has had an interesting story during the last month. He had a horrible crash at Mineral Wells and then again on a group ride shortly after. The crashes have left him with two sprained shoulders, two broken ribs, and enough cuts and scraps to make both Lalla and I cringe. Together, we headed north and west (the direction of the wind). We kept our pace fast and managed to push lots of watts all day long. About halfway into the ride we stopped at a little convenience store to fill water and drink a Coke. This is also where Les turned off to head home. Lalla and I pointed our bars south and pedaled for about 30 minutes-the only time all day we had a tail wind! Somehow we managed to head further west before taking a loop out in the middle of nowhere (I don’t think we saw a car, house, or sign of life for about 2 hours) and returning east. By this point, the wind had shifted and was hitting us hard from the north. We originally thought we’d have a tail cross wind home, but this wasn’t the case. I asked Lalla how long it would be until we got home and he replied with “about an hour and a half.” In my mind I was sarcastically thinking “great….I’m shot!” The only thing that kept us both pedaling was Lalla consistently asking “We pushing good watts?” We ended up averaging 235 for the 5 hr 30 min/97 miles. Ouch!

After showering, we quickly drove to Qdoba for a recovery meal. I think the ladies working there thought we were on drugs because of the way we were acting. I could hardly speak and Lalla was extra giddy-a weird symptom for extreme exhaustion! When we got home to the Man-sion, Lalla and I went our separate ways for a couple of hours. I practice my tuba in his living room/bedroom/entry way while he earned some “man points” by changing the brake pads in the team car. When done, we went to a nice little sports bar to put down some liquid calories and meet up with Alex Boyd, another WF cyclist. Uncle Lalla put on his story time boots and the night went by quickly. Off to bed…

Sunday:

As divine as it feels to climb into the clouds, it feels much less angelic when it’s 36 degrees and windy. Or as Lalla would say…”It was f@#$ing cold.” We got up early in the morning to get rolling. After some biscuit-esque pancakes and some French press coffee, we packed the car and hit the road. At this point we were already second guessing our decision as the car told us it was 42 degrees. That was the warmest temperature we saw all day since we were heading north.

I may or may not have been in and out of sleep the whole way up to the Scott Hill. When we got there Lalla told me “Dude, I’m not riding today” before we even got out of the car. I’ll admit that I didn’t really want to either, but I couldn’t give in after three hours on the road. Before getting in the saddle we decided to drive to the top. It was gorgeous! We could only see the bottom 1/3 of the mountain because of the thick fog/low clouds that covered the remainder. About halfway up the combination of the wind and clouds made the drive up worth it. We could see the clouds rolling up over the road as we were parked. It was really amazing.

The ride was about what you’d expect. Since Lalla wasn’t riding I only road the mountain (1003 ft. ascent) three times. When I hit the bottom the first time I had been on the bike for about two minutes. I thought a 350 watt warm up would be painful, but it actually felt good. Lalla hit the climb by foot and I went up and down with only the time it took to descend as a break.

Afterwards Lalla needed to throw away the two bags worth of trash he had collected from the side of the road (yes, Watt Posse saves the environment) when he noticed two raccoons that were trapped in the trash container. We figured out that they were trapped because there were scratches all around the inside where they had tried to climb out. We quickly found a long branch that we propped against the side of the container so our furry friends could climb out. Hopefully they’ll figure it out!

All in all it was an epic weekend. No flat tires, great rides, and lots of fun in Da Falls. See ya’ all soon!

-Adam

WATT UP!

2011-03-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

Riding in Snow flurries.

2011-03-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

I'm on the east coast for another week, and I've been trying to get some riding in, to keep some fitness, and for a mental outlet. Well I went out today, it was 38 when I started, a little cold, but its March in Massachusetts, so I take what I can get. I fully enjoyed last weeks 60 degree temperatures for sure though.

I've lived here my whole teen life, and driven plenty, but good driving roads and good cycling roads are completely different. I really don't know any routes, so having a Garmin has been a great help. But I digress.

It was a little chilly when I left, I headed north towards NH, so I could add another state line crossing to my list, so far I have LA-MS, MD-PA, and now MA-NH. I rode for about 30 minutes, and passed through a few towns, and was close to the NH border. All of a sudden it got colder, and I saw a few snow flakes, I kept heading north, and it started to pick up. Soon I was in the middle of a snow flurry, wanting dearly for somewhere warm, and a blinky tail light, as the sky was now grey and I was probably not very visible(that and there are no shoulders on the roads up here).
I recalculated my bearings, and started to head south. Soon I would decide that it was too cold, mostly because I couldn't feel/move my fingers, even though I had my warm winter gloves on, so that I should head home. Garmin to the rescue again, as I didn't know the town I was in. Slight re-route and 30 more minutes and I would be home.

It didn't get any warmer when I was heading home, but the sun did come out, so my mood came up slightly, but that was probably the coldest ride of the 2010-2011 year. I'm glad I got out of the house for a lil bit, but man was it cold, 34 degrees when I finished.

Rouge Roubaix 13 from the Pack.

2011-03-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

There was a 6mile nuetral rollout and then we took a left and it was on. Our goal was to get someone off the front from mile 1, so Michael Lalla rolled off the front, and as its a long day in the saddle, they let him go. Another team sent two guys up the road with him pretty soon after, and the field was content for a bit to let them disappear. I was sitting mid pack, and we took a right turn off the main road to some more twisty tree'd section, still on pavement but not a major highway anymore. I looked back, and all of a sudden I was at the back of the pack. The field had split, we were maybe 10 miles into the race.

I should have moved up at this point, but I was getting my feel for the P1/2 pack, and still apprehensive. There were some attacks through this section, my teammate Jesse was at the front covering most of them, he let one guy roll off the front, Jonny Sundt of Kenda-Gear Grinder. I've done a few races with him, and he's a really strong rider, so letting him up the road without a member of our team was our mistake for the day. He would solo for most of the day, catching my teammate and the other two with him, in the second dirt section around mile 70. He would flat with a few miles left, get a new wheel after a 5 minute wait, and still get 3rd on the day. I didn't even know that he was up the road actually, which is another reason I should have been closer to the front.

As we were approaching the 1st dirt section, Jesse organized us, and I was sitting on the front, to cover attacks. No one attacked but I kept picking up the pace until we hit the right hander into the dirt. I was glad to hit it first, as I heard breaks squeal behind me. I was at already at threshold, so I soon saw everyone else go by me, Christian Helmig, Jesse, Adam, and then Matt Davis almost ran me off the road. Soon I found myself off the back of the group. I would get back into a grove, and started picking off a few riders, riding with them till they flatted. I managed to stay with a rider from Herring gas for the rest of the first dirt section, switching pulls. The back of the group was ever so close but still far enough away that we couldn't make contact.

We got to the end of the dirt section, got a neutral bottle that was ice cold, and refreshed ourselves. The peleton creeped away from us as they picked up the pace being back on the road. We, myself and another rider from Herring Gas(the other major team in the race), kept a moderate pace as to not destroy ourselves to early, as it was potentially going to be a long day. Fortunately we saw that the peleton was getting closer, so I picked up the pace, and egged my partner to do the same on his pulls. We would catch them soon after and when we did I saw Rusty at the front of the group rolling a neutral pace. I was thankful for that. I let Jesse and Adam know I was back in the group and was instructed to stay near the front. There were a series of attacks by the Dalhiem/Helmig group, but we were right there everytime. Eventully this would end, and the pace settled down to downright slow. Adam and two other racers slow rolled off the front, and no one contested it. The guys who had fallen off the back/flatted were able to catch back on a few miles before the second dirt section.

Left turn into the dirt section was about .5 a mile of "carpet bombed road" before the dirt hill. With bad positioning through the left turn I fell off the back of the group, but was able to pick up a few positions up the hill and through the dirt. I caught back up to Jesse, and we would stick together for awhile. Reformed a group after the dirt, and started to rotate. This worked for a little bit, but not everyone one wanted to or "could" work. One rider would attack and stay a 15 seconds off the front, but no real threat. The left turn for the last dirt section, came up and the rider up the road had missed the turn. I don't know how, as the course is REALLY well marked.

I hit the gas, looked back and saw Jesse also at the front. I knew it was time to go at this point. The last dirt section is 83 miles into the race, and is a bit sandier than the other sections, and bumpier in general. I ended up walking/running about half of the first hill, and then it was just me and jesse, none of the "baby jokers" were left. We had ridden this part of the course the day before so we knew what we were getting into. Lots of short steep hills with sweeping downhills. Jesse would flat about halfway through the section, and left me to finish by myself. It was mile 87 by the end of the dirt section, so I had a little under 20 miles left. I grabbed a banana, and some fresh water at the feed station.

I would settle into pushing 300watts, as I knew I could easily hold this without going to far into the hole. I caught two riders, and recovered in their draft for a bit. We would drop one of them, and pick up Rusty my other teammate, who had wasted himself in the last section covering attacks. I told him I was going to attack the other guy we were with, so he let me roll off the front and create a gap forcing the other guy to cover. We rotated through again, and the other guy said he was in survival mode, I wasted no time, and attacked and rolled off solo for the last 10 miles.

We had driven the finish line of the course the night before, so I knew some of the land marks. I was picking up my pace, as I knew there wasn't much left, and there was sure to be stragglers up the road. I put it into TT mode, and picked it up to 350w. I hit the 1K mark and there were two guys at a bridge cheering me on. I was still feeling great and picked it up even more. The 500m sign was right before the final turn, I made the last turn to the hill before the finish and saw my last victim. I turned it up even more sprinted up the hill, and people started cheering me on. He was still a bit away, but I had 200m of false flat/hill to catch him, I pedaled as fast as I could, trying not to get bogged down, and then stood up and headed for the checkered flag. I got him by a wheel at the line. He actually commented to me "man, you didn't have to make me work so hard", I told him "Sorry man, I just never give up till I hit the line." I ended up 23rd overall, a pretty decent showing for my first P/1/2 race.

"Fight Never Dies!"

Rouge Roubaix 13

2011-03-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

The plan was simple. Since my form is in real question I knew I could roll off the front for a while and wait in the break till a couple of my teammates came up. The race started like it did last year with me going off the front in the first mile. Once I looked back I instantly had a huge gap and a couple of dudes from the other big team were bridging across. Perfect, I knew at that point it was going to be a long 106 miles being in the break (with a guy who was wearing lucky number 13, upside down of course). The main sections weren’t really that interesting, just a lot of 53/11/12/15 powering the break away. We had no clue on time splits so we just rode at a tempo pace.

Going through the second dirt section with the $100 prime I knew I was going to be in trouble. So I made a deal with the dudes to split it. That was a wise deal on my part because I got dropped on the big hill. Half way through that section I saw a rider coming up fast. It was Jonny Sundt (Kenda). I thought great, he can pull me back up. He slowed down and let me catch on and told me he was chasing us for a couple hours and we had over 10min gap and it was over.

Once he started to pull it was obvious to me that I need to just hang on. He was pulling a lot harder than us and I was failing fast. But at least he let me stay on till we caught those other guys. After a few miles I just couldn’t hang on and we still had one dirt section left and about 30ish more miles. I was extremely mad and sad to see them ride away and I may even cried a bit. I knew that that was the winning break and I was in it for so long but couldn’t do my job any longer.

I had a 10min gap and I was on my own. I just put my head down and went as hard as I could. I was still in 4th place and could maybe hold on to it. With maybe 10 miles to go I was caught by Mike Olheiser (Team JuwiFirst-Solar) and Cesar Grajales (Real Cyclist) I guess the Columbian didn’t want me to catch on so they agreed to sprint by me. I gave it a few pedal strokes but couldn’t hang. Time to put my head down again, I was still in 6th. A few more miles Christian Helmig from Elboz rode by. I didn’t even try to get on. Okay… still in 7th. After a few more miles a group 5 or 6th caught me and a face I’ve been looking all race showed up ADAM! I told him I was dead and wouldn’t be much of a help. I rotated a few times and sat on the back then got dropped with about 3 km to go. Adam finished 10th and I got 12th.

Jonny flatted and those remaining 2 won the race. They went coast to coast with the win. So that’s 2 years in a row I’ve been in the break, last year I was 42. This year 12th. I would like to thank Plano Cycling & Fitness for all their help, The Merry Miler for all her fun and of course PACC! Next year baby… next year!

Watt Up!

Sex Appeal

2011-03-07T12:18:00.001-08:00

TONB Weekend

2011-02-18T12:21:00.000-08:00

Adam Koble takes 2nd Place in P1/2 TONB Road Race last Sunday!!! Jesse places 8th in Omloop Saturday.

Here is a little interview from Koble about... well you can see for yourself!!! Guys take notes, ladies I hope you are sitting down!

Winter Blues

2011-02-05T13:28:00.000-08:00

Snow? School is closed for a week? What do you do to to cure the winter blues?

Copperas Cove Classic

2011-01-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

Our first race of the season. After a great training camp last week I knew going into this race we had some strong dudes. The 1/2/3 team consisted of Ryan, Michael “T”, Adam, Collin and myself. The plan was simple. Get me Ryan or Collin into the early breaks and save Adam for when the crap hit the fan.

The race started off kind of slower then usual, thanks in part to the new team “Knees” out of Dallas. They pretty much had maybe 8-10 dudes. So early breaks were hard to get into, they would get into everything and not pull or even soft pedal around… after a few annoying attempts by myself and a few others we just started to chill aka getting angry… haha Mr. Speed and I saw our opportunity to attack when the Knees leader was taking a piss. Yeah not the most gentleman thing to do but the racing was super boring and negative. So if you got to go you got to go right? We stayed away for some time almost catching the 3 riders in front of us, but didn’t. Then at some point Collin got off the front with Speed again in a 5 man group. That one looked good to last awhile. Then it went back to boring till a few miles before the cross wind section where the big red team started lining up their riders for a nice cross wind gutter fest. I was sitting nicely on the former British National Champ’s wheel when it started to go down. My positioning could have been better though when it started to get really hard. Shortly into the section we picked up Collin’s group so we had Collin and myself in the lead group. I spent way too long in the gutter, bridging gaps I couldn’t push the watts. After a few seconds after I got dropped out of the lead group Adam came flying by me! He dangled for a few minutes off of the lead group but never caught them. Once he was back with us a nice chase group was formed driven by Mr. Haga and Big Daddy. I knew if I was able to keep Adam chill and get him back up into the lead group we would have a chance. After long pulls and a lot of yelling we finally caught the lead group! But not soon enough, the winning break left right before we got there. At this point I made it over the hills dangling on the rear in the gutter again but had nothing left, so I popped off the back. Adam got 7th! 2nd in the field sprint!

It was a good first race for the team, we’re small and have some learning to do but we were in every move except the end. We have the power to win and will at some point. I like the fact we went into the race as one of the smallest teams yet we were always there in every move and always at the front.

It going to be a great year! I think we’ll be winning more than just a few races.

Who is going to keep us in line Corey?

2011-01-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

Sushi time at the Cross House

2011-01-04T18:25:00.001-08:00

83 miles...Watch out boys...I'm back!

2011-01-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

Nothing to do today besides ride a lot. After turning in some papers to the new job at Fuzzy's Taco Shop it was time to ride. I was going to meet up with Mr. John Scott for a few miles but he bailed. So it was just me and lots of deer. All of the deer in the pictures are all from Elkin's Lake towards the beginning of the ride. Then I road to Point Blank to visit my old neighbor Miss Emily. Then it was off to relive the memories of the Cold Springs Road Race. I have to be ready to defend home turf baby! I love that race. All pictures are from my new toy Kodak Sport camera which Santa got me. Tiara's funeral went well with only a few tears shed. Real men ride pink. Thanks again to Rusty for letting me rock Jennifer's bike sock off.

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Loves-Corey

The Ultra Provocatorio Invitationale'

2011-01-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

The Ultra Provocatorio Invitationale' from Team Wooly Mammoth on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T11:03:00.000-08:00

From,
PACC Elite Team

Deep Deep South

2010-12-23T20:38:00.000-08:00

Our East Texas mini camp in Nacogdoches was too good for words, so I will leave you with some highlights to look for in the video, and there will be some interviews to come!

Congrats to Matt Reynolds for Graduating!!!

Things to look for in the video:

Sweet Sweet Roads
Corey Rays Bullet Casing
Rusty Stover's Stem
Corey Ray's Sex Appeal
Adam Koble's Sex Appeal
E-Texas Restroom Rules
The Last Photo of Tiara on the Road
Adam Koble being attacked by Rusty's Son

Dallas Jingle Bell Run

2010-12-22T21:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight we went out to the Dallas Jingle Bell Run to see all of the dressed up people. Taylor and Heather ran while Jordan, Maddie, and myself took the spectator approach. Taylor has still got a solid 5k in him after months of not serious running training in the Army. Boy is fast. Mad props also goes out to second place Westyn with a flying 15:20ish. After the race we hit up the free food and drink, yum. The night ended with lots presents being wrapped for the festivities to come.

Loves,

Corey

Thank you Rusty and Jennifer

2010-12-21T19:33:00.001-08:00

I am now training on Jennifer's bike. It is a Fuji also but is made out of aluminum. Poor Tiara is dead with a crack in the rear chain stay. Poor baby girl, broke her in less than 2 months. New team bike should get here mid January. I am open to names for her.

Loves,

Corey

He is home for Christmas

2010-12-20T11:06:00.001-08:00

Shootout in Tucson

2010-12-19T20:16:00.000-08:00

I did it the other day. I missed the break of 5... yeah but I was able to take second in the field on the up hill sprint. We almost caught the break on the hill. The guy who beat me? Phil Zajicek from Fly V Australia. He attacked a few times but wasn't pulling to try and caught the break. I did both. So... that's cool I think for my first time doing any intensity? There was also like 15 other pros there. Next time I will make the break.

I'm so stoked for next year. I think I trained like 24 hours last week including an 8 hour ride up to Mt. Lemmon for about 124 miles. I think my two summers in Belgium are paying off. Plus I'll be pedaling with a lot of emotion this year.

I miss the rest of the Wolf PACC though. :( If you ain't in the PACC you ain't on the podium.

Rusty Stover's house is awesome!

2010-12-17T18:02:00.000-08:00

Just got here to beautiful East Texas and we got in 40ish miles before dark. Then we were fed some awesome pasta. Lots more good times to come. We have lots of awesome riding to do tomorrow. Until then....road rash pictures from years past.

Loves,

Corey

PACC FONDO: DENTON ROUBAIX

2010-12-15T13:12:00.000-08:00

(The Hell of the North)

I looked at the weather the day before the ride and imagined what it would be like to have a tailwind all day. The cold front was supposed to move in sometime in the early afternoon, hopefully as soon as we reached our most northern point of the day.

I couldn't have been more wrong!

As I made the drive up to Denton I noticed the temperature dropping in my car, the flags started pointing south, it was going to be a long day!

The ride started beautifully, we hopped on the greenbelt north of 380 a beautifully groomed dirt road that winds through the trees, the mood was light and the weather was perfect. About halfway down the greenbelt Mike Bohn gets a flat, it was quickly repaired, though not a quickly as Lalla would do! And we were off again. Another half mile down the road the tire blows again! This was our first warning. We stand around and heckle Mike, but are shortly on the road again. 100 yards later Katie gets a flat! Something doesn’t seem right, someone doesn’t want us on the road today!

We do not heed these warnings and are soon off again, heading farther north. We pop out from the green belt and hop on the main road, soon we head directly north on a road completely exposed to the wind. This is where we realize what we are in for, this ride is going to be brutal. We wind around North Texas through Sanger and get sidetracked several times, our mental GPS’ do not work under such harsh conditions.

As we start to make our way south we are excited to see what a 35mph tail wind feels like! No such luck! We are again hit with multiple flats, 3 more to be exact, stretching our ride time to over 5hrs, and we still haven’t seen the 90 mile mark. We are running low on tubes, and patience! The group decides to call it a day and head for home, I think we ended up with just over 90 miles and a ride time of just under 6hrs.

After it was all said and done, I think this is one of those rides that makes you stronger, both mentally and physically. It pushes you to the very limit of muscular and mental strength, and will make the riding in Nacogdoches next weekend seem all the more awesome!

Wolfpaccfightneverdies!

Cross House Christmas party and 72 miles with the one and only Rusty Stover

2010-12-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

Friday night was a night filled with arts and crafts, lots of sugar cookie eating, and white elephant gift exchange. The next morning called for a ride from Groveton, where I would meet Mr. Stover for what I thought was going to be a nice long ride. As I drove to the location of the ride at 6 AM, I was driving through dead clouds the whole way. It was dangerous but really cool. We left the court house and started rolling around 7:10 or so. The next thing you know we just started moving. This man can motor my friends. We held a conversation pretty much the whole time. Just before Bernard we stopped talking due to 30 mph death pace drag race we started. We ended the the ride with a 18.9 mph average pace. We only took turns pulling one time during the ride for a total of 15 minutes. With the hills, rough road, and the wind I would say thats a solid pace. My legs hurt. After the ride I hurried to attend the women's basketball game. See the "Giving" page.

Loves,

Corey

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Another beautiful ride in Huntsville, Texas

2010-12-10T15:14:00.000-08:00

Perfect winter weather today. Light winds, 65 degrees, and good company. Mr. Kip Prado is the future of Huntsville, Texas domination. Tomorrows recipe calls for 70ish miles with the Rusty Stover. After Collin and mine's trash talking I think that he wants revenge. Well...I say bring big baby. Last night was the Chi Alpha movie festival which was awesome.Tonight we have little Christmas party over here at the Cross House at 8pm. Feel free to stop on by, decorate ornaments, cookies, and hang out.

Loves,

Corey

On the road again

2010-12-09T15:47:00.000-08:00

Tiara and myself have made up. We are now cycling again. Thank the Lord. Now we can dominate next racing season. That is until "insert name of new bike here" arrives. I will will always love you Tiara. You were my first steel. Muah.

Loves,

Corey

KobleDown Going Fast down Mt. Scott

2010-12-07T06:48:00.000-08:00

KobleDown from Cole Kirkpatrick on Vimeo.

T- minus 5 days.

2010-12-05T14:44:00.000-08:00

And I’ll be in wonderful Tucson AZ. This coming week is filled with studying and finals, ending with Jordan Nyguen and me jumping in my car and heading west. I’m a very lucky person. My ex-lady friends parents are very nice and allowing me to stay there from December 10th to January 10th. The first time I met them last year Megan wasn’t even there. They knew I was coming, but I just showed up and was like... Hi, I’m Michael I guess I’m staying here for a few weeks? HAHA it was pretty funny but they made it feel like home right away.

Plans will be, to ride lots! Go out with Jordan and Megan a few times and do the New Years up right! Last year I was in bed by 8pm... I think I did a 7hr ride that day.

I’ll keep you all posted, but if you want a more day by day read go to shameonice.blogspot.com

Peace out,
Michael

Spring racing should be interesting... I just hope the veins on my legs will look like Collins someday.

Lots of things going with no time to ride...for now

2010-12-02T07:29:00.000-08:00

New job, end of semester, granddad's funeral, and lots of travel. Granddad is awesome and always had that smirk on his face. The father is truly happy to have him up in heaven. No worries, I got some things baking in the oven. Stay tuned.

Loves,

Corey

Big Spring, Texas Training

2010-11-27T08:52:00.001-08:00

Some pretty good roads around here to ride on. Traffic is very light, lots of open space, windmills, a little mountain to ride on, and some dirt roads. I stopped to fix a flat on the top of the mountain the other day and the wind was so still, so quite, so peaceful. There was not a sound I could hear. Today I am going to try to hit somewhere around 4ish hours. The sunshine here is abundant and the wind is minimal for a change. The leaves are falling like rocks because of the freeze the other night. The weather is comfortable during the day and freezing at night. Well, Tiara is calling my name. I wish I could take more pictures for ya'll but I just do not have the money right now to replace the other broken camera.

Broken,

Corey

Giving many thanks

2010-11-25T06:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving

Loves,

Corey

5 Hours...

2010-11-23T04:11:00.000-08:00

Wednesday group ride in Da Falls (Wichita Falls) is going to be a fun watt controlled ride. Endurance pace. Yeah, good times will be had.

I've been going out with our local Prooooooo Alexi Martinez (Wonderful Pistachio) every Wednesday for the past month or so. I've been showing progress just from theses rides already. Good enough to take out our local fast sprinters... in sprints. ;)

PACC 2 - Baby Jokers 0

Financials just got a bit tighter

2010-11-22T16:03:00.000-08:00

Car payment starts back up this month. Camera still broken. Roommates say I need to move in other room and pay more cash money. Needed new tires before the Holidays. Had to issue refund for my crankset that USPS lost. Regardless I am still looking forward to the Holidays with the family. I still have Tiara and Sara. My small group guys are awesome! Time to look for a job that will sustain my life. I am open to opportunities around Huntsville, Conroe, or the Woodlands. If anyone has any information on a job opening please contact me.

Loves,

Corey

Easy day of cleaning

2010-11-21T11:41:00.000-08:00

Cleaning up the house a bit. Hour or so on the trainer. Then lots of rest. Church was awesome today. Basically you can not half "insert bad word here" a personal relationship with god. Small group tonight with the boys.

Loves,

Corey

Camera Committed Suicide

2010-11-20T14:13:00.000-08:00

Rode 101 miles today. Did not eat enough food and was feeling a bit dizzy. Finished it out though. Mad props to Mr. John Scott. Congrats on your first 100 miler. No pictures today. The camera decided to jump out of my pocket and break.

Loves,

Corey

Thank God it is Thursday!

2010-11-18T09:43:00.001-08:00

Top of the afternoon to everyone with love. I just got done with one of the most beautiful crisp cool morning rides a man could ask for. I strolled on over to the Trophy Club to pick up Mr. John Scott. We were just going to go straight onto riding the route for the day but John's chain lube rag just would not do the trick on keeping his head warm. So we made a stop by the house and I picked him up one of my skull caps. Next, we went to Raven's Nest golf course to pick up a wrench to loosen my headset. I overtightened it the other day and was not able to take my hands off the handle bars because the handlebars would not turn without human weight on them. Then we were off to Elkin's Lake for a few loops around the lake. We must have seen 52 deer in the neighborhood. Half of the time they would not even move when we flew past them. After this, John had to go to work so I dropped him off by the shop and refilled the water bottles. Now it was time to jam to some Jason Morant, Enter the Worship Circle, David Crowder, and Explosions in the Sky. Some songs are so good I find myself riding and singing until I am completely out of breath. It is awesome. Towards the end of the ride I came up on some dirt roads. These were the hardest dirt roads ever with lots of pot holes. Time for some chicken pasta then off to work on Mr. Ryan Milstead's bike. Ryan is completely gay and awesome! Mr. Eric Mingle is preaching tonight at the Chi Alpha house be there at 6:30.

Loves,

Corey

New team sprinter

2010-11-15T14:36:00.001-08:00

Gentleman's 100 Miler and End of the Year Party

2010-11-14T18:29:00.000-08:00

This was an epic day in the training log. Mr. Jesse Moran has truly discovered a gold mine of roads to ride on south of Duncanville, Texas. The roads included a mix of dirt, gravel, rock, bridges, gates, crazy dogs, and a nice northernly wind. We headed out around nine thirty. I quickly downed my first two bottles and it was time to pee. Mr. Lalla and myself went pee about 4 times within the first 2 hours. On the way out we had a super nice tail wind just pushing us along. The weather was slightly overcast. 15 Miles into the ride we come upon a "Dead End" sign. Jesse says keep riding you girl, so I did. The next thing you know the road turns to gravel rock combo and everyone gets excited and starts tearing up the dirt. There were some nice smooth roads and then about 40 miles into the ride we hit another awesome dirt road. This one was super loose in some areas. Mr. Collin Davis dropped a bottle so I fish tailed stopped and picked it up. After some climbing it was time for a super fast downhill section. I was on the front just cruising along when Jesse comes flying past me. My ears hurt because that fool just broke the sound barrier. This was a crazy awesome section. The video at the end of the movie does not do it justice. 50 miles into it we stopped at a gas station. It was time for some chocolate milk. After the pit stop it was time to face the wind all the way back into town. On the way back, the roads got tighter with sharper turns and the sun came out to play. It was truly a spectacular way to end the ride. After the ride, it was time to go pick up Sarita and head on over to the end of the year party. Now if you want the coolest and most awesome sponsors house to host a fiesta, Michael and Cindy's place is the best. The weather was cool, cool enough to huddle around a fire outside, by the pool. There were candles, chips and salsa, guacamole, awesome doggies, great company, and sweet memories. I cannot thank everyone that is a part of PACC enough. They are truly some awesome people with so super cool passions. Michael and Cindy, thank you for all the support last year. I know everyone is looking forward to this upcoming season. There is so much potential out there it gives me chills. I know you feel it. WOLFPACCFIGHNEVERDIES!

Loves,

Corey Ray

A few easy days before the 100 Miler Sat with Team WOLFPACCFIGHTNEVERDIES

2010-11-12T04:33:00.000-08:00

This past Wednesday, I only had time to ride for an hour on the trainer in front of the computer. See picture below of Tiara. This is one sweet setup to where you can type, surf the web, jam, and ride your bike all at the same time. I needed the easy day anyway after the previous days 70 miler. The next day I had to take the GRE which I dominated. So I get to continue graduate school now. The next set of pictures are from the cruise around town with John and Kip Thursday afternoon. After those, there are a few pictures with some friends eating some bbq before church Thursday night. Look out for WOLFPACCFIGHTNEVERDIES 1st 100 miler training ride coming this Saturday. Till then...
Loves,
Corey

Good long ride to Montgomery

2010-11-09T10:29:00.000-08:00

Todays ride was just awesome. High of 70 and light winds coming out of the south east. Lots of sunshine and very respectable cars. My legs go fast!

Loves,

Corey Ray

Map of Todays Ride

Chargers Conference

2010-11-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday I volunteered to help out at the annual Chargers Retreat at Camp Allen in Navasota, Texas with many of my Chi Alpha brothers. We left bright and early that morning after a quick trip to the Starbucks and Jack in the Crack. When we got there we signed in and waited for further instructions. There were two groups of volunteers. There were the one on one big brothers and sisters and then there were the people that worked different events around the camp. We were instructed to work the carnival. I helped unload the balloon tank and started blowing up balloons. After that, the parents and kids started showing up. I quickly started setting up the fishing booth and the next thing you know, I was the fishing clown man. There was something special about the kids there and there was something even more special about the parents and the volunteers that came out to make it happen. Many of the kids could barely see or hear, had balance problems, or were attached to oxygen tanks. The determination and joy that many of the kids had still shined though them. They would fish, throw balls at peoples heads, play tag, bowl, golf, laugh, and cry just like any other kid. They were truly awesome. After the carnival, we were fed some good cafeteria food. The afternoon consisted of bounce house domination, jumping off two story dock into cold lakes, and watching Mr. Mingle roll around like a soldier while kids chased him. Truly good times and good fellowship. As far as training, the soul was filled. I rode my bike on the trainer when I got home. It was one of those rides where it just felt so good to breathe, jam, and pray. It makes you look back on life and be grateful for the friendships that you have developed. All in all, a very very good day.
More info on the conference can be found at http://texaschargers.org/events.htm
Loves,
Corey Ray

Easy 40ish miles with some friends

2010-11-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

Nice cool day here in Huntsville, Texas. Plentiful sunshine and good company. I started the ride thinking it was going to be a solo easy ride. 40 minutes later I met up with Mr. John Scott. Mr. John Scott did not bring any knee warmers so we stopped by Mr. Hans Schneider's bike shop. He hooked John up, then we were off. After I got done riding with John. Mr. Kip sent me a text message about riding. So, I was off again for another hour of good company. No need for the good jams today.
Loves,
Corey

Training Route to Buc-ee's Beaver Nuggets

2010-11-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

View Larger Map
To start out, this ride was awesome and Miss Tiara was purring like a kitten the whole time. The roads were super smooth, the weather was cool, and the scenery was just awesome. Wind was coming out of the north at about 15-25mph. So for today, my legs went bad on me after about 3 hours. The next bummer was that I got a flat with about five miles to go outside of town. But good thing that I was able to get it fixed. Thank you to Mr. Blackburn pump. I need to purchase a patch kit and start on my supply of tubes from last year that all have holes in them. Then Miss Sarita had my lunch ready for me when I got back. She said, "I forgot that you eat a lot!". Then it was time for shower and compression tights. Next weekend I will be heading up to Dallas for the end of the year team party and should be getting in some good training rides.

Loves,
Corey Ray

Pictures from today

Rest Day

2010-11-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

Not much training today for Mr. Corey Ray. Got to work at 6AM. Got off at 1 and spent the rest of time running errands before classes tonight. No worries my friends, training will come soon enough.

No shave November? I think so!

I was talking with my friend, Mr. Ryan Milstead, and he was telling me about this Bible verse. So here's a little something to ponder:
"Jesus woke up and spoke to the wind and waves, 'Peace, be still.' And then there was a great calm. Jesus spoke the Word (Psalm 107:28-30) and the storm had to calm down immediately."
I know that there is a time in everyone's life where you feel like you are going out of control and situation after situation, stress levels rise. I know I have been stretched thin at times and this was very calming to my spirits. One of my best friends while I was a freshman in college passed away a few weeks ago, Mr. Thomas Johansson. He was one hell of an athlete and had the biggest heart. There is now a Hurricane named after him and I thought that was awesome. His last facebook picture was of him pointing to the sky. I felt like he was symbolising that he had an understanding of how calm and still faith keeps us, yet continues to moves us in a certain direction. Thomas and myself would always talk about training and since we were both injured during our season, we cross trained a lot on the bike. With his intensity, friendship, fellowship and heart, we grew near and became great friends. We always talked about me coming to Sweden or him to the states again. Super awesome.

Lovingly WOLFPACCFIGHTNEVERDIES,
Corey Ray

Training starts now for Mr. Corey

2010-10-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

A beautiful Saturday morning here in Huntsville Texas. I sleep next to the window on the floor in the living room, sofor me, the day began with the cold air blowing on my face. After a nice bowl of peanut butter oatmeal, I set my bike on the trainer and began to mess with the seat and cleats a bit. After finding a position that I felt was comfortable, it was time to help Miss Emily move. Now, the weight training for the day: couches, washer, dryer, TVs, stove, dog, desk, and dressers were loaded up into the big truck. After that, it was time for some nice Shlotzskys Deli from my friend, Haleigh. Then, we were off to unload the truck in Point Blank Texas. After the drop, we headed back and it was time to test the new love of my life out. Miss Tiara is her name. She is pink and steel. She has a super nice feel to her but a bit on the fat side I might say. However, she is a beauty. Tiara and I enjoyed a nice stroll though Elkins Lake and then went by the saw mill in town. Over the bumpy roads and hill after hill she began to tickle me with riding greatness. I think it's safe to say the training bug got me back good. After a day like this, it's now time to take it easy for the night and enjoy good company with some friends at a few get-togethers.

The blog is coming together nicely. Expect more stories from me and the rest of PACC nation. Till then my brothers and sisters, love, WOLFPACCFIGHTNEVERDIES
Corey Ray

Setup

Truck with lots of stuff

That just happend

Miss Emily

Clint and Miss Emily

Haleigh cooking some bacon

Team PACC Blog PIMPED

2010-10-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

I am pimping out the blog. Please excuse any broken links or awesome pictures. Look for more action coming soon!

Thanks with love,
Corey Ray

The ups and downs at Fayetteville

2010-04-02T22:40:00.000-07:00

By Jesse Moran

I will begin the story with my preparation for Fayetteville Stage Race. The season had gotten off to a rocky start, with some really tough races and some bad luck sprinkled in for good measure, my confidence was not at its peak. I began to make my list of things I will need for the weekend; clean jerseys, bibs and skin suit… check. Plenty of HEED and Perpetuem oh and don’t forget the CheezeIts. Road bike, race wheels, time trial bike… wait a second? I don’t have a time trial bike, well I guess I’ll just borrow a set of clip ons from somebody. My search brings me to Alver at Plano Cycling, he said he would be more than happy to supply me with a set of aerobars for the weekend, all I have to do is make the trek up to Frisco to pick them up. When I get there we start rummaging through his garage to find all the pieces to his vision areobars, after about 15 minutes of searching, he says, “Why don’t you just take my bike?” After some contemplating from me about whether I want to be responsible for someone else’s custom painted high end time trial bike, I decide what the hell, sure I’ll take it! I wasn’t really expecting to do well enough in the road race to need a time trial bike, I was thinking that I would be Rusty’s faithful domestique and keep him out of trouble, since he is a much better time trialist. Unfortunately Rusty’s doctor had ordered him off the bike for the two previous weeks before FSR.

Friday morning, bright and early… well not so much early, since Michael Young had to go by Sam’s Club on the way to my house to get some CheezeIts, fearing that the standard size box from the store just isn’t going to cut it for the whole weekend. So he ends up getting to my house around 9:30am, I have had at least 5 espressos at this point, which has put me into a euphoric state! I ask if we can stop by the shop to pick up a few last minute things, like a TT helmet. I know what you’re thinking Jesse wearing a TT helmet I thought you said those are only for those goofy triathletes? I know but I figure, if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em, and because I am in such a good mood, I pick up a brand new pair of Oakley’s while I’m at it. So off we go to pick up Monica and make the hike down to Fayetteville, TX. When we arrive we meet up with Collin and Rusty and do a easy lap around the course to loosen the legs up after the drive. We then make our way to the ranch house, which is amazing by the way, I wish we had more time to enjoy it. This is when the bad new was unveiled to us all, the forecast for the next morning was 45 degrees and raining with winds in excess of 30 mph, great what a way to start off the weekend of racing!

The one thing we had to look forward to about Saturday’s race was the 11:00am start time, we get to sleep in!! So we roll out of bed around 8:00 to the smell of coffee and pancakes, I think to myself, “this is as good as it gets!” I look outside to see the black clouds rolling in from the West, oh shit! This is going to be bad!! After breakfast we are glued to the TV watching the weather channel, hoping for some good news, our only chance is that the storm is called to roll out of Fayetteville at 11:30am. We may not get wet after all! So Collin, Rusty, Corey and I suit up and head out, our chauffer pulls right up to the officials cabin to drop us off, that is when we are notified that our race start will be delayed for an hour, good news since it is still raining pretty steady. During that hour we all contemplate how the day will play out, going through the various scenarios, our thoughts and emotions go from positive to negative and back again.

Corey and Collin are called to the line and we watch them roll off into the wet windy distance hoping for the best, 15 more minutes of dry warmth for Rusty and me. We line up on a dirt driveway just off of the road it is still sprinkling, the water where I’m standing is about an inch deep and the temperature is freezing cold, not literally, but close. The wind is bitter and cuts through what little warmth my spandex kit is trying to provide. The officials seem to talk forever, about yellow lines and sprint zones, whatever, lets just get this show on the road! Off we go, there is still a lot of standing water on the road, so I am instantly soaked. The race starts off calm enough, some small attacks go off after everyone gets their blood flowing, but nothing dangerous. We have three 22ish mile laps to complete for the day, and then a short break until the TT in the afternoon, so everyone is racing fairly conservatively, that is except for me! A small group of four or five guys makes it up the road and just out of sight, no superstars but some decent threats, each one of the major teams has a man in the move so no one is trying to bring it back. I try my hand at a couple attacks to see if anyone is interested in going with me, no dice, I then chat with Ruarri Day Stiratt (Hotel San Jose) about the tactics on the day and he assures me that the move will not stay, he has a man in the group so he’s not too worried. Since getting off the front didn’t work, I decide to try and get some of the smaller teams riled up to try and bring the move back to a more reasonable distance. I wait until the cross wind sections and drill it, with 30 mph winds the group gets strung out quickly, people start fighting for the limited draft spaces and the weak start falling off. This was effective in getting people nervous and we start to pull the break back into sight. With one lap to go we catch the early move, the counter attacks ensue and riders start dropping quickly. During one of the exceptionally tough sections I look back to see how Rusty is doing and I see a fairly large group with him in it fighting to catch back on, once you lose a wheel in those wind conditions it is hell to catch back on! We keep plowing through the head wind section with less than 10 miles to go, I make my way towards the back of our group, and that’s when I realize how small it is! I count 2, 4, 6, 8,10? Wait 3, 6, 9, 10! Holy crap there are only 10 of us left in the lead group. As we make the final right hand turn 3k to go, you can feel the tension in the group, attacks start flying, Greg Hercules (AT&T) makes an attempt at the 1k to go sign and no one reacts! Everyone is looking around wondering where the next move is coming from, I sit patiently waiting to hop on someone’s wheel, Ruarri makes the move David Arteaga is on his wheel, I follow. The finish is a 350 meter climb with a cross wind coming at our right, the longest 350 meter sprint ever, all out at just 17mph! I’m sure it was faster than that, but that’s how it felt! The kind of finish that rewards the patient, unless you are a 1k specialist on the track like Hercules! Ruarri and David take the brunt of it as I wait until the last minute, Tucker Gerald (Park Place) comes flying up the right like he hadn’t taken a pull all day, (I don’t think he did!) an I end up snagging 2^nd in the group sprint which puts me in 3^rd. Rusty ends up rolling in for 24^th place, not bad for being off the bike for 2 weeks!

Well it looks like I better learn how to ride a TT bike in 4hrs! The upside is that I really only have to beat the 10 guys that finished in the lead pack. The bad news is that the wind is still blowing at 30+ mph and I haven’t ridden a TT bike in over a year. David Hassan (GS Tensing) is my 30 second man in front of me and one of the 10 guys, Scott Simmons (Think Cash) one of the fastest guys I know on a TT bike is 30 seconds behind me, so I’ve got some motivation. The count down from the official, an I’m off, into almost a straight tail wind. The gusts of wind are amazing they felt like they were going to blow the wheels right out from under you. I can see myself gaining on Hassan as we make the turn into the cross wind section. I can feel the fatigue building in my legs, then I hear the distinctive noise of a disc wheel approaching quickly, Scott passes me as we make the final turn into the head wind. Normally this would be a shot to the ego, but since I don’t have to worry about Scott I decide to turn it into a positive, seeing him up the road is like a rabbit I’m chasing down, and it starts working, I start making up ground on Scott. As we round the bend to the finishing straight I give it all I have, Scott finishes about 50 yards in front of me, but I feel good about my effort, I left everything out there!

Collin, Corey and Rusty had a tough day with the road race, but Collin turned in an impressive TT, or at least an impressive snot beard, on the stage against some tough competition. We head back to the ranch for dinner and recovery, did someone say King Ranch Chicken! Thanks Cindy! The dinner was delicious and it tasted even better because we didn’t have to worry about making it! So we cleaned up our road bikes and waited for the TT results to be posted. Was Collins snot beard justified? Did Jesse hold his 3^rd place position? We waited and waited, 11:00 rolls around and I just cant wait any longer, so I head to bed, we have a 5:45 wake up call on Sunday.

We wake up Sunday to breakfast in bed compliments of Michael Young, not really, but it was great to have coffee and pancakes ready to go when we got downstairs. We have to be out of the house by 11:00 so we load everything we have into the truck before the sun even comes up. The legs feel good, but I’m anxious to see how my TT went, so we head into town. We head into the registration barn to check out the results, and sure enough I held my 3^rd place position. Collins snot beard was justified with a 3^rd place on the stage, but it was only enough to move him up a couple spots in the GC.

We start off day 2 with the same brutal wind conditions as Saturday, the race is pretty mellow, with all the GC contenders well in front of most of the peloton. The course for day 2 is very similar but with 30 extra miles, the idea is to play it safe, race smart and finish with the top 3 GC guys. Luckily for me the top 2 guys Ruarri and Hercules both had sizeable teams in the race and were ready to pull anything dangerous back. 75 miles in the race has been pretty easy to this point, as long as I can keep it up and don’t get a flat, I should be good to go… oh shit did I just think that, I take it back! Oh no is my back tire low, crap it is! So I float quietly to the back and let Rusty know, I signal the wheel truck and I hop off my bike, adrenaline flowing. I go to undo my QR and I realize I cant feel my hands, its so freaking cold I cant feel my hands! I fumble getting the wheel changed, hop on and try and get up to speed, the bike will not stay in gear… so I hop off straighten out the wheel and dial the barrel adjuster on the derailleur a couple turns, better but not great by any means! So Rusty and I start the chase back to the group, through the feed zone where I’m sure Michael was wondering what the hell just happened. My flat happened in the worst possible section of the course the head wind cross wind section, and my wheel change couldn’t have gone worse. Rusty is pretty fatigued from the weekend and can only help me finish out the lap, so one to go all by myself. By the time I make it around to the big hill on the course I am within 100 yards, but then we hit the fast crosswind section and the gap gets opened up again! I end up chasing all the way in finishing several minutes off the back, putting me in 19^th on the stage and bumping me to 13^th in the GC. How could this have happened?

There were some key lessons I took from this weekend, a stage race is an interesting and exciting event where anything can happen, and nothing should be taken for granted. The whole experience was an emotional roller coaster, from almost not bringing a TT bike to having to use one to defend a podium spot, from having worked to get a podium spot within my grasp to losing it because of a flat tire. The whole ride takes you from the highest highs to the most frustrating lows. The experience that I take home from could be a very negative one, but I choose to stick with the positive aspects of the weekend. The podium spot on Saturday, the all out effort for my TT, and the fact that we have some really great sponsors that made it all come together so that I didn’t have to sweat the small stuff. The fact that I raced really well on Saturday and as smart as I could on Sunday, and that I got to share that with some of my best friends and team mates. That is what will keep me coming back to Fayetteville, and to all the other races during the season. So see you guys at Mineral Wells!

ToNB Day Uno

2010-02-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

Hungry fella......

There ya go....

Tour of New Braunfels Day 1

The sun was shining very bright in the morning. After a very good night’s rest next to my bed buddy Collin we got up and had some good ole continental breakfast. After some good frosted flakes, yogurt, a banana, and muffins it was time for some bike cleaning.

“Capri” the name of my bike, she is a black beauty, was just a little dirty from the previous weeks of training and racing. It is not good to have snot rockets and sticky shot drink that Jesse let me borrow from a previous race on the top tube. So I give her the spit shine of her life. Super squeaky clean. After I clean Capri, she needs her racing shoes on. Here is where the Rey Rey’s come into play. Formally known as the Reynolds SDv66 or something like that, Capri needed some racing shoes that were customized to some dude named Corey. That is the lucky guy that gets to ride it.

Well we were off to the races after some good San Antonio breakfast tacos. O my they were so good. After driving down the previous night with Collin in my truck, where we couldn’t feel my toes due to no heat in truck, the morning was looking bright and kinda toasty. We were jamming to some Moby “Extreme Ways” O baby!!!!

We get to the race and I drop Collin off to get our numbers. I park by church. They kick us out due to wedding that is going to be taking place during our race. I move to side of road. We pin numbers. Put on race stuff. Slight warm up. Try to stay warm. Drink a lil coffee. The we were on the start line.

Bang, the race was on. Minus the Bang, sorry used to running track races. The race was pretty mellow for the most part. Everyone was over the centerline including myself on several occasions but I was always near the front. The race got stopped 2 times while there was a break up the road with 3 guys. After some man pissy fits about center lines and what not, the race was back on for the second time. There was one section that got pretty strung out with a slight cross wind, but not enough to do damage on the pack. I saw Collin and Rusty quite a bit during the stroll througheast San Antonio. We had some chats on where to be and what to watch.

Last lap, Team San Jose and Squadra are on the front. The break gets caught. Now the real race starts. It’s all about positioning in the last few miles of the race. I fight to maintain my spot while taking the abuse from fellow race. I smile and keep riding. With 5k to go Mcarty, Haga, and Craddick get off the front. I was too far back to make any sort of reaction. Game over for place 1,2,3. I find myself in a fairly good position with 1 mile to go. However, I miss the jump before the right hand turn right before the finish line. Come out of turn barley in the top 15. Now it was sling shot time. The wind seemed to becoming from our right. I took the left lane and used the momentum of the pack to launch whatever kind of a sprint I got. I started closing faster than I expected and ended up barely missing 5^th place. I looked up and Carter was well ahead of the pack. But I was happy with my legs, Capri, and her Rey Reys. I found out later I got 7^th, Collin and Rusty somewhere in the 20ish. First top 10 of the year for the boys, so the race was a success. I am feeling more confident in my sprinting and team tactics. I am looking forward for the more aggressive and difficult races.

Huge thanks to the team and sponsors for all the support!! This wouldn’t be possible without you guys.

PACCingly getting better at bike riding,

Corey Ray

ToNB day dos

2010-02-03T14:10:00.000-08:00

Day 2

The Forecast called for a high of 50 degrees by noon and partly sunny skies. Dark skies and a temp of 34 degrees greeted us as we rolled into the race venue. A jersey, a vest, a base layer, 2 sheets of paper from the race flyer, knee warmers, a 100$ first lap prime, a skinsuit, and I was as warm as a bug in a rug. I mean seriously 34 degrees?? Come on texas I think you can do better than that!

The course on Day 2 of the tour of new braunfels takes place at beautiful canyon lake. The course is 2.1 miles in length and basically has 1 corner and a few slight twists. Rusty, Corey, and I discussed our pre race strategy while trying to shiver off the cold, and thankfully before we know it the race starts. Speeds were high and the peloton seems a bit jittery and nervous as things get rolling. Most of the 60-70 are content to sit in as this race traditionally ends in a field sprint. Our strategy was to be aggressive and cover as many moves as possible and hopefully insert one of us into a promising move. The speeds of the main group on this day seemed too great to illicit a breakaway.

The only move that gained more than 10 seconds i would say is a solo move by san jose rider brant speed. His move lasted around 2 laps which is a testament to the athletic and physical ability he possesses. Once he was reeled in with around 3-4 laps to go the sprint teams started moving forward to position their sprinter in the best possible position. It is truly a beautiful thing to watch teams organize and set up their sprinters. Josh Carter took the win making it look so so so incredibly easy. Corey mixed things up in the sprint a bit and managed a 14th position. Overall, I believe we raced aggressively as a team and are beginning to show signs of team cohesiveness and chemistry!

On our drive home we stopped at Valentinos on the square in donwtown San Marcos. If you ever happen to find yourself in San Marcos Valentinos is a must!!

Minute 0

5 minutes in

Termino

Austin at 3 pm on a sunday....traffic much?

Race car driver Corey rey rey

Copperas Cove Mixed Results Mixed Emotions

2010-01-30T15:51:00.000-08:00

By Jesse Moran

Our trip down to Copperas Cove got off to a little bit of a rocky start, five of us (Jesse, Corey, Adam, Collin and Audrey) headed down Friday night after work so that we could get a good nights rest. I may have made a slight misjudgment in the quality of hotels in Killeen, TX, in an effort to save the team some money I booked us a room at the Killeen Super 8 Motel, how bad could it be… right? Just check out some of the reviews! Not only were the accommodations not exactly five star, our double room got switched to a single queen! I wish I could describe the smell of the place, the best way I can put it, it smelled like there was someone smoking stale cigarettes outside our room and blowing it into our AC vent! So we pulled ourselves up by our boot straps and swallowed our pride… and our last gulp of fresh air, and started to figure out the sleeping arrangements.

Collin brought his girlfriend, so he was an automatic shoe in for the bed, we couldn’t make her sleep on the floor, touché for Collin! Adam and Corey had brought air mattresses knowing that they were likely to be on the floor even if we were staying at the Four Seasons. So that left me! I surveyed the room, 4 bikes, 5 people, bags strewn about, generic hotel furnishings stacked on top of each other, ooh, is that a 2 foot wide section of bare floor between the bed and the wall? So that is where I laid my head, along with the extra bed sheet the hotel clerk so kindly gave me as a concession that we were short a bed. A short pre-race meeting discussing the course and possible tactics for increasing our chances for a good result, and we were off to bed.

7:00 am, time to wake up. Sometime in the middle of the night, Corey, in fear of hypothermia hops into the bed with Collin and Audrey. I somehow actually got some sleep, it feels like someone hit my hip with a sledgehammer due to the hard floor, but I actually feel pretty good. Everyone seems to be in good spirits, and with the early rising we have plenty of time to grab breakfast and head to the race start.

We arrive at the start, grab our race numbers, and get suited up. The conditions seem good, a little chilly, overcast and not windy. After a short warm up to loosen the legs we line up, the officials give us the pre-race talk, yellow line rules and the usual. There will be a short neutral roll out then 85 miles in the rolling hills of the hill country. The course is laid out like a lolli pop, two 35 mile loops attached by a 9 mile out and back section….which somehow adds up to 85.

The race starts out as usual, lots of looking around after the field is de-neutralized, then some small attacks go off to get things started. As planned I go with the first couple of attacks of which the second organizes and starts to develop a sizeable gap. The group includes Me, Nick Kiernan (Metro VW), James Lawrence (RBM), and a San Jose rider ruarri sturratt. We push the pace and continue to maintain some distance from the field, just after the left turn to start the first 25 mile loop 3 more riders join us Ryan McFeely (ALS-C3), Robbie Robinette (San Jose), and an Austin Bikes rider, lucky for me as the longer rest periods suit me better. We end up losing the first San Jose rider due to a flat, which is good because it levels the playing field in the break.

The six of us continue to push the pace and get the gap over the peloton up to 6 minutes, I think every one of us felt the fatigue fade out of our legs as we pictured the finish line. Audrey was prepared to hand up bottles at the feed zone, she said she could see me from 200 yards away, just smiling! This was the winning move, so we thought! Our next time check just as we started our second lap was, “One minute to the chase group, Four minutes to the peloton!” What!! My mouth must have been dragging the ground, how could that be?

Unknown to me Collin, Corey and Adam were struggling in the field to cover the flurry of attacks from guys trying to bridge the gap up to us. Just before the start of the second lap we lost Adam after he made an attempt to sling shot Corey and Collin up to a chase group. They gave it an all out effort to get into that chase group, which would mean a free ride up to me in the break, meaning fresh legs for the finish. Despite the effort, the small chase group including some big names, was just going too hard to catch. This group included, Patrick McCarty (RBM), Josh Carter (San Jose), Scott Simmons (Think Cash) and others.

The chase group was able to close the large gap up to us just before the end of the second lap. As I looked back to see who was in it I desperately wanted to see a PACC jersey, unfortunately I was all alone, and the legs were starting to feel heavy! We take our final right turn before a hilly section and the final stretch back into town. The group of 6 was now 10, riding straight into a strong headwind that seemed to have picked up just as we had been caught. The group being bigger was harder to keep under control, especially with the finish just around the corner. Attacks start flying on the hills and it doesn’t take long for me to start feeling the effects. I end up getting dropped about ¾ of the way up one of the larger climbs before the left turn into town, about 8 miles from the finish!

I turn back to see what’s left of the peloton, chasing me down. I put in my best effort to keep them from swallowing me, but my best effort is no match to the 20 riders or so left. I was relieved to see Corey in this group, we had lost Collin due to losing a bottle and dropping a feed, then succumbing to the dehydration. We need to get that guy some Velcro bottles or something! Corey seems to be in good shape, I let him know how many riders are up the road and bid him farewell, as my legs are too shot to hang with his group in the hills.

In the end Corey gets 4^th in the group sprint which earns him an 11^th place overall. In the end this was an emotional race for me, I am definitely satisfied with an 11^th place for the team in our first race, but it is hard to stomach that I was so close to a top 5 to end up 23^rd. All in all I think that this race is a positive indicator of things to come for the team this year. Corey not traditionally being a sprinter getting 4^th in a fast group sprint, me not being a breakaway specialist staying away for almost 80 miles, and if we can keep Collin hydrated he should be as strong as ever! I think its shaping up to be a great season for PACC Elite, and I think we are all super excited to see how Tour of New Braunfels and all the other races around the corner are going to go!

Trrrraining Camp

2010-01-22T11:51:00.000-08:00

PACC Training camp was recently concluded just outside of sunny Fredericksburg Texas. Yes, the skies were a beautiful crystal blue, and the few wispy white clouds danced about the sky as if it was their own playground. Temperatures reached the mid sixties and all was well as we departed for our respective homes on Martin Luther King day. The weather that I write of was not always this beautiful and romantic for this edition of training camp.

Temperatures in the lower 40's and a spattering of rain greeted us as we arrived to camp around noon on friday. This resulted in only a handful of souls braving the conditions. Chilled to the bone and dripping wet my teammates returned spouting wild tales of tire and tube eating pavement monsters that resulted in 10 flats among 12 riders. Not a great way to get things rolling. The next day was almost as gloomy and cold. Although angry skies loomed and the wind howled the majority of us were able to put in a very solid 85 miles of training. 85 hard miles! Lets just say that faces and countenances were a bit long on saturday night. I would imagine that the long faces were attributed in part to the days' ride but also in part to the 85 miles that await on the morrow.

Sunday morning came and brought ample sunshine and noticeably warmer temperatures. I for one do not remembering pedaling a single pedal stroke. Our 85 mile journey meandered from just north of fredericksburg all the way down to comfort and back again. The route seemed dead pan flat when compared to the previous days route. A few notable climbs and descents peppered the way back. Minus the lunch stop in comfort our ride flowed very nicely and put us back in camp at a reasonable hour.

Sunday Night at the dinner table was an interesting sight. I saw quite a few people staring blankly at the wall with expressionless faces. The strain and stress from the previous 2-3 days was glaringly evident.

Mondays’ ride was talked about as a “recovery” ride. HA, I thought to myself, these guys don’t know how to spell recovery. It’s only 55 miles right? Well, less than 4 miles into the ride as my heart rate was nearing threshold I wondered if these guys recalled the word recovery. Soon after that first bit of aggression things mellowed out, until we saw the “fang” looming in the distance. What is the "fang" you might ask...well you just have to see it to believe it. As we approached I could feel the nerves tighten and the pace lighten in anticipation of the upcoming effort. Fortunately, most of us lived to tell about it. There were a few unlucky souls who to my knowledge are still trying to crest the peak. It was “on” after that, attacks and counter attacks were the order for the remainder of the day. For some brutal and unknowing reason the worst climb(steepest, longest, and it just so happened to be into a 20mph headwind) of the whole camp came at mile 53 out of 55 on the last day!! Thanks Micheal!! There were reports of a certain Mr. Moran uttering the words “God, I may have to get off and push this thing!!” I wore a blank expressionless stare to the lunch table on this day. I know I ate and talked to peeps but I have no clue who I spoke to or what really went on.

Training camp was a great 3-4 days of training in a very beautiful place. I have to say without the unending hospitality of Cindy Young and her entourage we would have all been hungry and probably eating fast food in Fredericksburg or ham and cheese sandwiches in our rooms. Instead, we had a better than restaurant quality breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. We literally rode our bikes, dismounted our bikes, walked into the dining area and ate a home cooked meal. Truly this was the best part of camp. Thanks definitely does not say enough!! Another thanks goes out to Micheal Young for organizing camp in every regard, from scouting the bike routes, securing lodging, and providing support and coordination during our rides. He did it all. And Jana who drove, drove, and drove that support vehicle some more there is a special place in my heart for you!

I really feel like the team came together on and off the bike. There were some new faces, including mine, and it seems that we were all welcomed with open arms. PACC is truly a great club made up of committed, supportive, and talented individuals. I am glad to have a part in such a team.

Me thinks we are off to a great start!!

I see my path, but I do not know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it.
-rosalia de castro-

New Beginnings

2009-11-23T19:07:00.000-08:00

I will say that this last weekend was the start of a new beginning. New friendships, new partnerships, a new season, and more importantly a quiet seriousness about the season ahead. The weekend for the 5 of us (Scott, Michael, Corey, Jesse and myself-Collin) took place in and around Fredericksburg Texas. The goal of this trip was to scout some routes for the upcoming training camp while at the same time building team chemistry and camaraderie.

Before our trip officially started Cindy Young provided us with a feast fit for kings

Thanks Cindy!!

rest and rejuvenation took place here... would that be r&r??

We started saturday morning with full bellies and hearts filled with glee as we took in our surroundings and departed for our ride. Ahh its just 80 miles right, no big deal??!! Wellll, about 60 miles into the ride I was signing a totally different tune!! 32 miles after that, i rolled back into camp cross eyed, calorie depleted, and way way ready to be off the bike!! Fellas there is a big difference between 90 miles in the DFW/ wichita falls area and the hill country!! Jeez.

pictures just don't do this place justice

Sunday was 3.5 hours of pure bliss. Beautiful smooth roads and ample amounts of sunshine that made the high 50's weather feel jussst right. The ride flowed extremely well and we were able to keep a pretty pace going without a huge amount of effort. There were still a few climbs but they were gradual and longer versus the many "punchy" climbs that we encountered on saturday.

Check out our rides here...

Saturday: http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tx/fredericksburg/510125907535877919

Sunday: http://www.mapmyride.com/route//tx/fredericksburg/588125907547247775

Overall we enjoyed 2 days of superb riding in stellar weather and its honestly hard to return to the normal rides that we all do from week to week. I'm excited about this year and this was a great weekend to start it all!!

A big thanks goes out to Michael and Cindy Young who made this weekend possible. Thank you guys so much!!

Random tidbits:

where it all went down...hahaha

Jesse loves Cindy's salad

good times while waiting on Scott to catch up

Jesse the cow whisperer

corey staying "connected"