Econojer

I told my wife I will win today!

2011-11-22T08:52:00.001-06:00

Warning...this is a long post.

I spent the better part of yesterday thinking about an appropriate title for this blog post. I settled on the above after realizing this was a defining point in my cycling career as I'll explain.

For a couple months running, The Flatwater Cyclocross Weekend pb Lincoln Industries on November 19th and 20th was on the calendar as the close out of my 2011 cycling calendar.

I went into this weekend feeling fast and dedicated. After being nearly burned out after Dakota 50 the progressive race calendar has left me feeling faster and faster each week. With the time change, I decided to make the final ultimate preparation of pulling out the trainer and doing several bouts of speed work on the trainer after work to keep the legs fresh and ready to race.

Buiilding up to the final weekend, The cyclocross season had been up and down for me with dissapointment and frustration at times but also capped with small successes. So as Friday approach my montra became; do my best this weekend and leave nothing to question later during those long and cold winter training rides.

Saturday Day 1: (Day of Mistakes)
Forecast for Saturday originally said 40 degrees at race time with 15-25mph winds. However, the forecast was much colder than expected. When we arrived it was about 31 degrees and a windchill in teens. It was that kinda of chill that seems to cut right through you. Yeah it was going to be fun.

Mike and I arrived in Lincoln with about 1.5 hours to race time for the 3/4 race. I checked the start list saw some of the usual suspects as well as Adam Keck and Ulises Salas from Iowa who I knew would be pretty quick as well.

Due to the cold and lack of preparation on my part I spent about 30 minutes kitting up in the car. Between that time wasted and the cold I didn't really warm up. When the race prior to the 3/4 race ended I only did 1 and a half warm-up laps (mistake 1). Instead I tooled around a bit more then got to staging to make sure I got a good spot on the grid (yay front row). After sitting in the cold for a few minutes it was finally go time.

At the starting whistle I slipped my pedal (mistake 2) and went backwards. I think I was that last guy onto the grass. Aaron Tredway made a fast getaway and took the holeshot with Ulises and Adam quickly on his wheel. Shortly after they got around him and were gone.

Progressing through lap 1 I found myself eager to make up positions but was bobbling a couple of corners early (mistakes 3 and 4). As we hit the top of Holligan hill though i screwed up my remount, 2nd time this year that happened (mistake 5). I gave back all the positions I'd made up. Shortly after I pulled my foot out of the pedal right before the gravel road crossing (mistake 6). After that I passed Paul Eichler and Rich Anderson but then overshot one of the final turns and ended up in the tape (mistake 7).

Finally closing out lap 1 we hit the pavement. I took a deep breath calmed myself down, then hit the accelerator. From there on out I went full gas on the pavement each time and rode as smooth as possible in corners and tried to minimize my mistakes. It took about 4 laps but with 3 to go I caught Aaron Tredway sitting in 3rd. For the next 2 laps I tried to shake him but couldn't. He was riding much smoother than I was. As we rounded the final corner I launched into a full sprint and held him off to take 3rd on the day and the first podium appearance of the weekend. Aaron and I ended up about 45 seconds down on Ulises and only a few back of Adam. Not bad considering those guys are pretty quick.

All in all day 1, I made a bunch of mistakes but showed I could calm myself and ride myself back into contention. I learned where I was fast on course and that I had a good amount of power to utilize on the course.

Sunday Day 2: The Championships
On Day 2, I woke up excited and feeling surprisingly fresh. That morning Becky and I went to our usual pre-race breakfast at Le Peep where I had my usual intake of egg white omelet with spinach and bacon and some green chile sauce with a pot of french roast coffee.

Over breakfast, Becky and I discussed the previous day but then something happened I've never really done before. I told her, I really wanted to win. Like REALLY wanted it. I then followed it up with I CAN DO IT. Now don't take this as cocky-ness I knew it wouldn't be easy. The field was going to be larger today again with some fast guys in the field, some of whom I hadn't been able to beat at all this season. But for some reason I knew I could do it.

Before leaving the house I pinned my number and got partially dressed to avoid spending another 30 minutes in the car prepping this time. Again, Mike and I arrived in Lincoln with about 1.5 hours to race time for the 3/4 race. I got kitted up, went and spun a couple of laps before the Womens race and was please to find the course was identical except for the placement of the barriers.

At race start, there were callups based on the previous days top 5. Yay again a front row start. Let me say there is nothing more motivating than hearing your name in a callup, feels so Pro.

At the whistle I slipped my pedal again. I got going quick enough but was midfield after the holeshot. Not exactly where I wanted to be. I looked ahead and saw the first two podium spots from yesterday (Ulises and Adam) riding away from the field. I made some quick passes on the first lap and was sitting 7th in a strong chase group of James Blake, Aaron Tredway, Dave Randleman, and a couple of others. I sat in for the next half lap as James set the pace up front and we clawed our way back to the lead duo. Around mid lap 2 we had them close but bobbles but each rider in our group had us not quite getting there.

Chasing

At the start of Lap 3 I decided it was time to chase and I gassed it on the start finish straight, and Dave and Aaron got on my wheel as we pulled through the start finish. At this point I think James was fading. After the runup on Hooligan hill there was a short up and down, Aaron was in front of me and went down, I locked my brakes by accident and slid out. Dave came through and I quickly remounted and followed.

Hooligan Hill runup chasing Dave Randleman

By lap 5 Dave, Aaron and I were getting close again to the lead duo but just not making the juncture. So at the start of lap 5 I decided it was time to go it alone and as we hit the s/f again I jumped hard to get away from Dave and Aaron and start bridging across solo. Besides I didn't want to create a 5 way battle for a win. Once, clear of of Aaron and Dave I figured I was on the podium and I was feeling good enough to hold them off if I couldn't get across. That said I wasn't giving up.

For the next 2 laps I worked steadily. As we hit the s/f to start 3 laps to go the leaders were clearly in site and only a few seconds ahead. Again I charged hard on the road to get up to them. I made contact right at the start of grass. Finally solid contact with the leaders. Their pace had settled quite a bit and was enough that I could save my few remaining matches and recover. With two to go Adam moved to the front and started setting the pace a little more. Again I sat in and just bidded my time knowing the last lap was going to hurt a lot.

1 lap to go! Now let me digress for a moment. Try to think of a moment when you have complete clarity of what you have to do. I guess one could say those are defining moments. This was one of those for me. Up to this point in the race I'd actually played a good tactical race, I knew what needed to do, I knew what I could do, and I knew I could execute it. With 1 to go, all my instincts and what I'd learned to date kicked in. As we started 1 lap to go I decided if I had a chance at this, I need to be at the front for the final lap, drive the pace. I wanted to take control lay it all out there and see what would happen.

As we hit the s/f again I jumped as hard as I could and accelerated. Ulises quickly followed my wheel and Adam followed. Once on the grass I kept the pace hard as I could to fend them off. I threw a couple of brake checks here and there. Through the barriers, I remounted and again kicked. At hooligan hill I was off without hesitation and running as quick as I could. I remounted and gassed it. Across the gravel road I took a quick glance and saw Ulises had gapped a little but was closing it quick. As we hit the off camber dips I made a small error and Ulises moved inside. I chased his wheel. As we hit the 180 degree turn for the s/f straight he took a wide line and I jumped on it. I moved inside and without hesitation went to a full sprint. I glanced over my shoulder as I pulled out a bike length on them and came home for the win.

With that I took the 3/4 race win and the Cat 3 Under 40 men state championship.

For me, this was the perfect way to end the season. There's so many cliche things I could say about Sunday. I'll sum it up thought with just this one, the moments of clarity I had both before and during the race made all the difference. They made a belief in myself become a reality. If you have those moments don't ignore them. Don't question them. Just execute.

I sit here now realizing how important knowing you can win is as important as training to win. It helps so that when moments come along, that even though you are suffering, you can still see through the pain and realize exactly what needs to be done.

If you're reading this and still have more racing for the year I wish you good luck. If you're done, I hope to see you on the trails and will look forward to racing next year.

Cheers everyone, 2011 is done for me.

J

Quick Injury Report

2011-11-04T09:44:00.000-05:00

Ok,
Couple of injuries to report on:

Right Wrist
So just after Dakota 5-0 I sprained my wrist bad riding Tranquility Park with Mike Miles. I went over the bars, and came down on my right wrist. After waking up with it swollen and not able to move it the next day I headed to the Doctor's office for some x-rays. No broken bones but a really bad sprain. 2 weeks in a wrist brace and 1 week no riding.

So it seemed to improve quickly and its about 85%. Racing CX hasn't helped it get back to 100%. Crashing at Cattle Cross on my right hand re-aggrevated it a bit. Wish it was better but it will heal the rest of the way at the end of the season in a months time.

Right thumb:
So at Morgan Cross I crashed and jacked up my right thumb. It was swollen for several days and was really painful to shift. In fact I had a numb sensation even shifting the thumb controls on a MTB. After a couple weeks Becky finally asked I get it looked at. Again X-rays. Nothing broken. But its going to be slow to heal I guess. It hurts periodically and I can't grip things too tight. Again it will heal at the end of the season. It's getting better week by week and I'd say its about 75%.

Everything else, scrapes from crashes are all but healed now.

Mid-Season CX Report..."Once your up your up, once your down, your down..."

2011-11-04T09:35:00.003-05:00

So, its been a while here's a quick run-down of the season so far...its been a season of highs and lows....so quick run through...

Omaha CX Weekend (Swanson Park in Bellevue, NE):
Day 1: I was coming off yet another sinus infection (5 this year) and unsure about progress. I started hard behind Kevin Limpach but started to fade in the cat 3 race mid-way through. After recovering a bit mid-race I managed a strong finish and came home in 8th.

Day 2: I woke up feeling so so but headed down anyways. Again I got a good start about 3rd wheel sitting right on Kevins wheel again. He bobbled in the sand and I fell back to 6th-7th. I rode aggressive for the next lap and half though and chased back to 4th and was sitting right behind Dave Randleman as we started lap 3. Feeling better and better I realized we had Limpach and the other leader in our sights. Shortly there after though I flatted on the drop in down by the baseball fields. Game over. Luck was not on my side this day.

Cattle Cross and Morgan Cross (Iowa):
The weekend following Omaha, Kevin Murray, Vaughn Pierce, Mike Miles, and I rolled over to Iowa for a couple of races. I wasn't sure how I was going to do (again) as I had been away on business Monday through Wednesday and also had a very nasty bout with food poisoning for most of the week. I decided this racing would be for fun and see how it goes.

When we rolled into the venue for Cattle Cross in Marshalltown one thing became apparent, there would be mud and it was manmade. Seriously Iowa, WTH. Anyways as I was warming up, I avoided the mud at all costs just to make sure pre-race cleanup wasn't required. There was a nice combination of technical turns, and use of the natural terrain to create a course that was fast but didn't favor power riders at all. There was a tricky technical bit on the back side of the course that was off-camber and had to be taken at very low speed. You came into this corner hot and had to break carefully into it. During warmup, I tried to see how aggressive you could take it, unfortunately I came in too hot. Bike slid out from under me. I fell hard on my left side and skidded in the grass/gravel. Left elbow/forearm and knee were torn up. The worst part though was my right hand which somehow got tucked under me when I fell. My thumb was numb which quickly changed to seering pain. I rolled back to the car and told Mike and Vaughn about my elbow and hand. Decision time, I cleaned up my wounds and inspected my hand. I decided to race but it would be iffy as braking was painful.

On to the race, I got a good start but fell to mid-pack. I was racing conservative with my hand not wanting to fall again. After getting through 8 laps of 12 I pulled the plug the pain was no unbearable in my hand and I couldn't hold on to the bars any longer.

The next day we rolled over Cedar Rapids for Morgan Cross. I was iffy for the day. My hand had swelled over night and was very sore. (side note Mike and Kevin had offered to take me to an ER that night..thanks guys but nah). After seeing the venue I decided to give it a go, it was a great course. Astonishingly during warmup I did find I could actually brake, shift, and hold the bars with my hand. So with that I jumped into the open race. After a so-so start (again timid not wanting to fall on my hand) I felt raced aggressively for a few laps. Mid-way through though the effects of fatigue/travel/stomach bug caught up and power just went to nothing. I rode within myself just to finish the race and got 13th out of 20. Not bad, not great.

Oakley Night Cap Cross (Iowa):
Last year I did this race with Stamper. We had a blast but it was a very late night being on a friday. This year, being on a Friday allowed for mid-day rest to make sure I could be awake the entire time. Rolled over to DSM in the Trek Midwest Shortbus (thanks Mark for driving). The venue was awesome again and now with some extra length and lighting on course. Well done Oakley and Mullets.

After a 20ish minute warm-up I rolled over to staging for the 3's race. Unfortunately I realized everyone else in DSM stages about 30 minutes prior to the race. So that meant lining up in the back of a 36 man field. Again WTH Iowa...staging 30 minutes before a race. Anyways, the course was a bottleneck on the start so I had to ride aggressive. From the blow of the whistle I was on the gas for the next 45 minutes. I quickly discovered where my prime passing points were. I was making passes out braking where I could in all the technical corners, and making passes on the levee and back stretches. With two laps to go I was sitting 8th with 7th in sight but I slightly bobbled the remount after the hill run-up. I fell back to 10th and thats how I would finish. Happy with the result but really felt with a better starting spot 1st or 2nd row could have meant good things that night. On a positive note this was my first race with my TRP CX-9 mini-v brakes. With the power of those brakes I was really riding aggressive in the corners and braking way later than anyone. I made half my passes under braking that night.

Flatwater Twilight Series races 3 and 4 (Lincoln):Race 3: For this race I rolled down to LNK with Mike Miles. I entered the B race for this night. Mike and I showed up with just enough time to register and ride half a lap (I was unsure even where the barriers were). Front row lineup with Jonathan Neve. I took the holeshot but then settled down to avoid crashing since I didn't know the course. The corners near the pinetrees about had me end up in the tree but managed to keep the lead. I battled with someone in a war axe kit for the lap but kept on the gas to keep him behind me when I could. After lap 1 I noticed he was gone but Neve was catching back up. By the end of the switchbacks on lap 2 he was on my wheel. We rode together for the next 1.5 laps. I noticed I could power out of the corners quicker than Neve could but he was taking the turns much better (course knowledge helps). With 3 to go I saw someone in a UNL kit gaining ground. Slightly worried about a 3 man group I gassed it hard. I solo'ed away from Neve and got a better gap. I kept on it for the next 2 laps and came home with the win.

Race 4: I entered the A race. Mike and I showed up with enough time to preride a bit. I lined up near the back (late to staging again). I rode really aggressive on the start and made passes working my way up to near-18th or so from the back of the 30ish man field. I rode aggressively and then settled in. I was leading one of the chase groups with Rafal just a little ways up. The group slowely wittled down to just 3. I fought to stay in the lead of the group to control the pace. Again I wasn't fast in the corners and didn't want anyone gapping me off. With 2 to go it seemed Rafal was coming back into reach and I picked up the pace. With 2 to go, luck would again strike and I rolled a tubular in the final switch back on course. Game over...again.

Midwest CX Twilight Series race 1: (Omaha):
And finally this brings us to this week. Trek Midwest CX was hosting a two race add-on to the Twilight series in Omaha at Seymour Smith Park. All week the forecast was getting worse and worse. At 9am that day I had to run to my car. After feeling the weather I had pretty much decided I was not racing. Frankly I hate cold and wet. I just don't like it. However, knowing myself I still went home and though and put the mud tires on the bike and added extra lube to the chain. I also picked up the Castelli Neoprene gloves I'd put on hold at the Trek Store (side note: I've been looking for good neoprene gloves for over a year). After chatting with Ryan Feagan after lunch I decided I was obviously still in and sure enough the weather started to improve somewhat.

I over packed for the race, thermal warmup tights, castelli thermal jersey, extra socks, rain jacket and rain pants. Before leaving the house I put on two coats of Medium Embrocation, then pulled my tights and jersey on. On the way to the venue the embro kicked in. I kitted up in my rain gear and started spinning the course. The rain gear was perfect as it kept all but my feet dry (best decision I made). At race time I lined up next to BR and Shim on the second row. I got a good start and rode aggressively. Mid-lap 1 Rafal made an aggressive move and threw and elbow or two my way and then forced inside on a corner. Not one to give up that easily I did the same on the very next corner. Good times. (BTW Rafal has been my top nemesis on Cross Results). After a couple of laps I found myself in pretty tough group of Dave Randleman, Rafal, and BR. I knew each of these guys would be tough to beet. BR and Dave were setting a good pace, although Dave kept missing corners. After trying to make a couple of moves I settled to the back of the group to watch and see how it would go. Mid-race BR got a gap and I was getting worried it would stick as it seemed neither Rafal or Dave had quite the power to close it back up. Not wanting him to get away, I jumped around Rafal and Dave after the barriers. I got most of the way across and realized Dave and Rafal were charging back to me. Shortly there after we were all back together again.

With a couple of laps to go the course was getting slick. I was starting to worry about the endgame since it seemed none of us really could get away from the others. Then, Dave went down in the first corner, shortly after Rafal would go down. I charged by Rafal and got up to Dave and BR. With 2 to go it was just the three of us. Then boom I went down in the one of the muddy corners. Rafal Caught me back. I rode his wheel for that lap and saw Mark was closing in. Not wanting to get lapped with 2 to go I rode hard hoping to stay upright. The bike was fishtailing though. with just a few corners left I went down again. Mark went flying by. So I rolled across the finish line behind him (I stayed far enough back that if anyone was taking pictures I wouldnt' be in it). 15th for the night. BR ended up getting Dave in the end. It was a fun race.

So now its off to KC this weekend for Boulevard Cup then next week its Race #2 in the Midwest CX Twilight Series. Hoping for good results this weekend.

Cheers!

Belated post..end of Road and MTB Season wrap-up

2011-09-12T11:08:00.002-05:00

So its been a long while since I've posted. Too long. A lot has happened. A lot hasn't happened. So here's the skinny...

Road season wrapped in Nebraska in July. Yay another year of little to no fall road races (note sarcasm). That said the Omaha weekend was a target for me this year. My quest for upgrade points got me a little over half way to the necessary mark for a Cat 3 upgrade. I had a consistent but not stellar performance at the Norfolk Weekend landing a 5th place in the RR and 4th place in the crit. Just off the podiums both times, in the money both times, and nabbing a few upgrade points.

Then Mike and I headed to one of the twilight crits the week before the Omaha weekend and picked up a 3rd place result, my entry fee back, and a couple more points.

Finally at the Omaha weekend my legs were feeling fast. My main objective was the road race. I entered the crit in near 100 degree heat and high humidity. Its a tough course, with little recovery. I took one too many warm up laps and then ended up lining up in the back of the pack...which was a fail. I couldnt' move up and by about mid-race was feeling overheated and bailed from the race. It was a smart decision as the next day temps would be just as bad if not worse. I did some work early in the race with the objective of sitting in for the mid-point and weight for the inevitable attacks at the end. It was a smart move, Noah Marcus attacked on the final climb of the penultimate lap. I saw his move from around mid-pack and hit the accelerator hitting the top of the climb in 4th place and starting a pursuit. Our chase group grew to 8 strong with Noah about 30 seconds up the road. At the base of the final climb I was feeling worked but we had Noah in our sights. Guys who hand't been working much attacked from our group of 8 at the base of the final climb up deer ridge road. I struggled and started to blow. Crossed the line in 6th overall and 5th in the RR. More points, more money. Season done.

MTB season on the other hand was up and down and never consistent. The C'dale Taurine gone it got replaced with a Trek Paragon which I stripped and rebuilt to be much lighter than stock. My equipment woes didn't end there. My first race with it was at the Kansas State Champs during a road trip with the RF's. I raced cat 1 for the first time that weekend and felt really good. Unfortunately a rock slashed the sidewall of my Schwalbe Rocket Ron on lap 2. I forgot my air can to fix it and dnf'd. Fail.

Raced tranquility with it in cat 1. Felt good again. But the heat slowed me a bit mid race. Ended up only a minute down on the money at the end of the race riding pretty well and smooth in the final half. One note on that, I've noticed that I tend to overheat early on hot days but seem to cool just enough to maintain threshold after some recovery and can get back on it at the end of the race. So all in all a good learning experience.

Swanson take 2. Different bike (now on a 29er) and the course backwards. Again racing cat 1. Felt good on the start. Road within myself. Didn't make a fool of myself. So yeah a good result to build on. At this point I'm also finally feeling more comforatable on the 29er.

Maskentine uh yeah...a late night cassette and chain swap went awry pre-race. On race day the cassette was just not working. RF helped me try and get it working but I was forced to use either the big or middle ring only and was limited to my 3 biggest cogs. Too much gap in shifitng and a new 29er which i'm still getting used to resulted in being over or under-geared. I managed another 2 laps and pulled the plug in frustration over the poor shifting.

Dakota 50...yeah baby...what a race. It is a fun course and perfect for the 29er. Last year I was frustrated with a late race asthma attack and also feeling slow compared to the f/s and 29ers on descents. This year that all changed. I new the course. I had asthma and allergy meds in hand (and used them). So the only hiccup was a mid-race detour I took with another that had me end up with 4 extra miles just prior to aid 2. My goal of sub-5 was squashed but even then i was 4 minutes faster than last year even with the extra 20ish minutes I added on. All in all I'm happy with how it went and will post more on it with another post later, plus some pics.

So with that road and mtb season are over. Now I'm trying to get enthused for CX season. After a full year of road and mtbs though I feel the urge for mtns calling me to go ride them rather than race CX. We will see what happens. CX season is right around the corner.

Later
JC

Part 1) On the Optimization of a Weight Weenie

2011-06-29T14:38:00.002-05:00

Make no mistake I'm an Economist and I'm going to demonstrate it here.

Before I begin, think about the last time you bought a part for a bike. Why and how did you decide to go after it? Did you see it in a catalog and then thought to yourself, hey, thats some blingy bike porn I must have it? Did you test ride a bike with it and thought it works great on that bike I want it on mine? Were you trolling ebay for a specific part and bought it because it was cheapest? Whatever your decision process somewhere in there, your mental checklist decided on the pros and cons of the part and then you went after it. Maybe cost was no option, maybe it was. Maybe weight was a factor. Maybe strength was a factor. Maybe reputation is the main factor. Or maybe it was just the color.

With this in mind I'm going demonstrate to you the basic logic behind a weight weenie economist. Geek out commencing in 3....2....1...

(***WARNING***Economics Discussion Approaching not for the faint of heart turn away now)

Goal Seeking: Trying to find an alternative that
has the larest different between benefits and costs

As an Economist I deal daily with the various interelated topics of feasibility studies for civil engineering projects, mainly the varying approaches to benefit-cost analysis (BCA). Put simply, BCAs involve the comparison of all benefits converted to monetary values to all of the costs incurred with a project over its lifetime. Essentially its a vary sophisticated way of looking at the pros and cons of an investment using one very common metric, $'s.

Sometimes though, whether because specific guidance prohibits monetizing benefits or because converting a benefit to a $ value is simply implausible, we cannot do a full blown BCA and instead turn to approaches like Cost Effectiveness and Incremental Cost Analysis (CEICA). Again this is a very handy yet advanced approach to comparing the Pros and Cons of an investment. Because benefits may not all exist on an equal playing, it is somewhat more subjective, the person(s) conducting the CEICA must instead choose which benefit factors to optimize. Consider the following simple example: three alternatives exist for a project;

Do nothing, cost of zero, bird habitat = 0, fish habitat = 0;
Option A, cost of 100,000, bird habitat =2 acres, fish habitat = .5 acres,
Obtion B, cost of 120,000, bird habitat = 1 acre, fish habitat = 1 acre.

Which do you choose and why? Both alternatives are fairly close in cost, however depending on the solution you want to optimize to, fish or bird habitat, you would end up choosing different solutions. If the goal is to restore fish habitat you would choose option B because you can get 1 acre at a cost of 120,000/acre versus the cost of $200,000/acre in option A. Now consider your optimizing bird habitat, the result would be the opposite. The answer usually becomes somewhat difficult when you consider also that fish and birds don't reproduce at equal rates, or that bird and fish populations vary significantly. So as the example demonstrates, metrics are important, you need to know what the goal is. The result though, is a very refined solution taking into account the pros and cons of a project.

Taking this a step further one can choose between mulitple solutions offering different levels of habitat by comparing the incremental costs and incremental benefits. Put simply by looking at the additional cost to buy into the next level we can see if its more cost effective to go to the next higher level. Expanding the previous case consider that there are two additional options beyond A and B so now you have B1, B2, and B3:

Do nothing, cost of zero, fish habitat = 0;
B1, cost of 120,000, fish habitat = 1 acre;
B2, cost of 170,000, fish habitat = 1.5 acre;
B3, cost of 570,000, fish habitat = 2.5 acre;

B2 gives an addition 0.5 acre (1.5 acres total) of fish habitat and that extra acre of fish habitat only cost $50,000, meanwhile B3 gives another full acre over B1 and B2 (2.5 acres total) but at a cost of $400,000 for that acre. The end result, you'd go with B2, why well consider that the do nothing gets us well nothing, B1 gets us 1 acre, but why stop there? We see that the next .5 acre actually costs less than the previous acre at option B2. We wouldn't go farther though because B3 costs $400,000 for that final acre.

What I've outlined above is one the most important rules in Microeconomic theory, rational decision making or rational choice. That is to say, that people and society make decisions based on consideration of the cost and benefits between one choice and another and choose the option which maximizes the benefits given all alternatives.

For me being an economist never ceases when I leave the office. I pervades every iota of who I am right down to being a cyclist. Certainly, the very process outlined above is used on a daily basis (there may even be spreadsheets locked away somewhere). As you may recall from my last blog post, I've bought 3 bikes recently. I buy frames and parts on a seemingly regular schedule lately. I use the CEICA process to optimize my part purchases in order to minimize costs and achieve what I deem to be the optimum result.

Now since I've blown your mind already, I'll leave a description of the framework I use for another post...I make no excuses that if you read this and are now totally turned off its all your own fault, but thats another econ principle.

Cheers
J

The Bike Purchase Trifecta

2011-06-15T09:58:00.001-05:00

As anyone would agree, the sport of cycling ain't cheep. It requires considerable resources, which often leave me considering if I'm in way over my head. Just to put it in perspective, what would someone just getting into the sport have to purchase? There's you're fixed cost investments such as:

bikes, kits, helmet, shoes, bike lights, computer, saddle bag, bottle cages, bottle, camelbak, HRM.

Maybe those aren't all purchased at once, but you can see how all that stuff quickly adds up whether it's a hybrid, entry level mountain bike, or svelt road race machine. Now throw into the mix normal wear and tear:

tires, tubes, wheel truing, drivetrain adjustments, drivetrain parts, batteries for computers and HRMs, etc.

Think about the the last time you replaced a cassette and chain. Not exactly cheap right?
Now lets take that a step further by adding into the mix the racer/weight weenie mentality and the costs goes up exponentially. First, figure the cost of race registrations, travel expenses, team kits, licenses which have to be added to the annual costs. Then, you might buy lighter weight stuff (such as Dura-Ace instead of Ultegra) which will cost more. Then there's another problem, wear and tear also increase. Racers are harder on equipment because you train more frequently and at levels of intensity which increase friction and thus eqiupment wears quicker. So you get dinged from both sides, your equipment wears quicker thus replacement intervals are shorter and you're maybe buying more expensive equipment. So boom its expensive right?

Now factor all this in and I'll tell you, I don't buy bikes often because the fixed cost investments are so high. My last road bike a 2006 Cannondale Caad8 lasted for 5 years before getting replaced. My 2nd mountain bike, a 2004 Gary Fisher Superfly was in service till 2009. I like to make sure my equipment is well used before its replaced, I guess thats the economist in me. Beginning with the 2010-2011 CX season this whole process was somewhat upturned. I've found myself in a situation now where I've come into possession of 3 new bikes in the span of 1 season. How did that happen?

Bike #1: Ridley Crossbow

The flood gates opened with the urge to try cross for real last season. I know I could have raced on my mtb much like others have successfully done. However, I had almost all of the spare parts lying in the garage so my objective was to find a frame for cheap and build one on a budget. The solution came from competitive cyclist in the form of a 2008 Ridley X-Bow frameset for $500 bucks shipped. With that and about $300 bucks in parts (cx tires, crank, chain, cassette, and cables) i was into CX season for $800. I raced that bike for 3 months and trained on it in the spring and fall. Not bad for its first season. This year that bike will go on a diet and recieve new parts to make it even more race worthy.

Bike #2: Velo Vie

Bike number 2 came early this season when my desire for carbon, along with my compounding fear of the caad8 cracking soon came to a head. Now having just built a bike and raced CX season, a new bike wasn't in the budget. Surely I would have loved a brand new Madone but it just wasn't in the cards. Enter budget racer build number 2; a Velo Vie Vitesse 300R frameset. Gloss white with black lettering (I think the same paint that Cervelo uses actually). So after some sweet talking of the wife and putting down 750 buckaroos, the frame and fork shipped to the Cook household. After that it was as easy as transfering my essentially new Force group from the Caad8 and I was once again on a new bike.

Coming soon to a Trail Near You Bike #3

After that I'd thought I was done. Certainly given the costs of the sport outlined above plus the money I'd already spent in a constrained cycling budget another bike just wasn't going to happen. Right? Wrong! About a month and a half ago an opportunity presented itself. My beloved Cannondale Taurine frame had cracked. Cannondale in their graciousness had gifted the frame with a lifetime warranty. Boom, brand new frame. So, what to do? Ebay, the frame, fork, and various parts. I spent the better part of May selling stuff and raising funds so that I could purchase a Trek Paragon new. The glorious thing is that bike 3 was done at essentially no expense. My fixed costs are equal to the value of parts sold. I even had enough funds to even buy a new helmet in the mix.

So there it is I've completed the 2011 new bike Trifecta. Now as anyone knows me, I'm a self confessed weight weenie and the stock 2011 Paragon won't cut it...so I'm optimizing upgrades...but thats another post...stay tuned...

Vacation in ABQ and a high altitude training camp

2011-06-08T11:57:00.000-05:00

So a couple weeks back Becky and I headed back home to ABQ. Becky's nephew was graduating from high school and we hadn't been home in a while. I took the opportunity to use the 6 days as a high altitude training camp. I brought the velo vie along and decided to demo a 29er mountain bike while I was there. I'll spare you all the details and instead give you the basic ride details along pictorial view instead.

On the road I got in 4 rides with a total of 148 miles of riding and a total of 7k feet of climbing.
On the 29er I got in 1 ride with about 20 miles of riding in the north foothills Elena Gallegos trails with 3 6.5 mile laps and about 1k feet of climbing per lap

Starting elevation for road rides was approximately 5k
Starting elevation for the mountain bike ride was 5700

Longest ride was 66 miles and with a ride time of 3hr and 17 minutes (see map my ride link at bottom of page)

Now if you like what you see here...you'll have to join me sometime...all I can say is the photos never do it justice.

So now on with the photos:

With 1 hour to go to ABQ Becky and I the Land of Enchantment welcomed us home with a beautiful sunset in Pecos NM

On second day of riding I took to Tramway Rd climbing from the Rio Grande River valley up to the North Foothills Area. The climb is 4 miles long and averages only 3% but its misleading because theres a good false flat in the middle which sucks the life out of your legs. I was also feeling it this day as it was my 2 day in ABQ and usually at this point the effects of altitude are the worst.

Looking back down to the valley nearing from the top of the climb

After topping out the Tramway climb you have several options. One is to take a left and continue climbing to the base of the Sandia Tram. This is a view of the tram as I climbed up to it. You can see the tram lines which go all the way to the top of the Sandias at 10.5k feet. The climb up to the tram station is much steeper than Tramway Rd probably averaging nearly 5-6% for about 2 miles.

Oh I do love ABQ...bike lanes everywhere. I was able to start each ride safely from the house without having to drive anywhere and took bike lanes the entire way

To get back home I always had to cross the mighty Rio Grande River. Notice how muddy it is in the background. Low flows right now.

Not only are there bike lanes but theres also a great trail system interconnecting the city from N-S and E-W. This is the Rio Grande system which parallels the river.

And Here's one of the Ped bridges over the Rio Grande which is connected to the bike lanes and the trail system on both sides of the river.

Fortunately Becky and I's trip coincided with the REI Anniversary sale to which we had some money to burn. Antics ensued!

When in ABQ always refule with the best cuisine...such as Sadies! Carned Adovada, Red Chile Pollo Enchiladas con Pintos y Arroz! OMFG so tasty...needless to say we brought back some chile stuffs to continue our chile addiction.

The best way for me to refuel after a ride is with a Keva Juice. Keva Colada with a full scoop of Protein is perfect after a long ride!

On my Ride in Tijeras I had two options. Option 1 was turn north and ride up the back side of Sandias or 2 was to turn south and go up 338 to Pine flats. Because Option 1 might have some construction I went with Option 2. It took me past the Tunnel Canyon and Otero Canyon Trail heads some of the best mountain biking in the area. As expected on this day the road and trailhead were packed with cyclists doing the same thing I was. Also, I should say the ride back down is amazing. Nothing like blasting a 7 mile twisty turny descent on a road bike.

Yep high altitude...thinner air but great riding and climbing

A little water and food stop in Tijeras. Just past the bike are the Sandias.

Finally, capping it off was the mountain bike ride. There were some minor rain clouds over the Sandias that day. Made for perfect riding conditions with a bit of shade. Trails were dry and fast as usual. Man that was fun.

upgrade points and state champ medals...

2011-06-07T11:26:00.000-05:00

Ok this is going to be a long one.

Just as everyone has been blogging about this past weekend was the state champs crit and road race in Norfolk, NE. The road race was on Saturday and was comprised of two 32 mile laps on a rolling course. The crit was Sunday in downtown Norfolk. I've ridden both courses before and new both were tough.

Before I give my run down let me preface it with this. Coming into this last weekend, my results since upgrading to cat 4 last spring have been fairly lackluster with only a top 10 placing in the time trial at Branched Oak this spring. I know I can do better but just haven't been on form or ridden any race well yet. With that in mind my objective for the weekend was to do my best, watch for splits and try and get some top 10's and hopefully finally some cat 3 upgrade points. Coming off a great week of training at high altitude back home in ABQ..my legs had felt really good since returning to Omaha I was hoping that would help...so here's the run down.

Saturday Road Race:

MWC Cat 4's

At roll out I found a spot mid pack and settled into a day of being patient. We had a NE wind which meant the south bound section of rollers would have a nice tail wind and would be fast, but also our west bound section on the 2nd half of the course would feature a nice head cross wind and a selection would likely happen there on the second lap. With that in mind I decided stay middle of pack and out of the wind for the first lap. Mike soloed off the front early in lap 1 though. Jim W. and Rich Pearson went to the front to bring him back...I decided to insert myself into their rotation and not really work just to see what would happen. Mike sat up after a short stint and was back in the pack. I stayed up front and put in a couple hard efforts to test myself and was able to gap the field easily over a hill. With that in mind, I settled back to mid pack.

Strung out on lap 1, Photo Courtesy of: Lois Brunnert

On lap 2 things changed quick. First a neutral pee break followed by a solo attack off the front by a guy from CPC. Around this time, Mike was cramping bad and I went to work for myself. Again objective make the break. I moved to the front. Pearson, Winklepleck, Richter, and the BP guys all started working on the tail wind section to bring back the guy from CPC. We caught him with about 2 miles left in that stretch of road.
As soon as we caught the guy from CPC, he attacked again but we quickly caught him. I noticed him and a couple others making plans to attack again. On the next hill they went, I marked and countered and gapped the field. The guy from CPC, Richter, and two others caught up to me and we had a break. We started working hard but as soon as we got organized Rich Pearson was pulling the peloton back to us. So failed break.

As we turned onto the headcross wind section it was do or die. The same guys were on the front. I was sitting about 8th wheel behind Jim. Everyone was going full gas pinned to the yellow line. On one of the first hills it happened...Kaboom peloton ripped apart. Winkelpleck cracked in front of me and all 3 BP boys went backwards. I had to jump to get to the lead group of 8 now. Just at the crest of the hill I caught on and that was it. We started rotating and putting time between us and the rest of the now crushed field.

Norfok Road Race Cat 4 Overall Podium

With 4 to go we all settled down and the pace dropped a lot we were visibly marking each other. With 1 to go both EVCC guys attacked, we all countered and dropped them. With less than a mile to go the pace picked up. I didn't have it for the sprint though and finished 5th on the day. Good enough for 2nd place in the state champs 30-39 and in the money for the first time.

Sunday Crit

Now I love this course. Its fun, flat, and FAST. Going into it, I was thinking I just want to finish on the lead lap. I figured the day before may have worked me over and wasn't sure how well I'd do. At the start I slipped a pedal again and ended up in the back which was where I stayed for the first 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes something happened and for me it was probably the best thing possible. Our race got neutralized do to a train. While we were stopped Mike came over and asked where I had been and I explained slipping a pedal and ending up almost tail gunner.

His response: "you got to be aggressive man."

Duh! Jeremy you're here to race...

On the restart pace lap, I was still in back but for some reason there was 5 feet of daylight for me on the s/f straight. With that, I gassed it and went right to the front and pushed my way into the line. I led one lap and swapped with mike for a couple of pulls making the pace nice and hard. We now had 11 laps to get it done.

FTW! Photo Courtesy of: Lois Brunnert

Next lap was a preme lap and I decided to go for it. I led around on that lap and gassed it down the s/f. Got third in that sprint behind Richter. I reinserted myself and had to start jockeying for position. With 3 to go I head Mike say to Greg from BP that we need to be at the front now. I waited 1 more lap and then kicked hard on the s/f line to advance to 5th wheel. With 1 to go we were flying I held the 5th place spot through the last corner. The guys at the front opened the sprint early and before I knew it I was going full gas with a long ways to the line. I made up one spot. Mike Kicked hard and went rocketing by me. I crossed the line in 4th place. Mike got the big W. The result got me another state champs medal (bronze in the 30-39).

Wrapping it up
I learned a bunch this weekend:
1) I don't sprint well
2) I should try to attack
3) Being patient also helps
4) But also be more aggressive

All that said it was a great weekend. From the personal side, I exceeded my expectations. I brought home two state medals, I was in the money both days, and finally I earned 5 upgrade points.

For the MWC team, it was awesome to see Mike get the win on Sunday. In the 1/2/3 categories we had a great showing sweeping the crit podium and a few state champ crownings as well. In cat 5, Kevin had a great race after having already raced Masters just a little while before. Oh and Leah took both the road and crit 1/2/3 womens state champ titles. Well done boys and girl!

Wednesday Night Worlds updated

2011-04-13T14:59:00.000-05:00

Well first of the year for me. One of my non-race objectives for the year...don't get popped from lead group on the way out to Fort Calhoun when the rides really heat up this summer.

As for tonight...Its the first of the year for me (rides started 2-3 weeks ago). I'm subbing it in place of some other intervals I was do to complete tonight. Mainly its a tune up ride and to get some more work in before 2 days of work travel and then racing this weekend. I'm not expecting much after last nights power intervals (hello pain cave).

Catch ya on the flip side.

*update*
Yeah that didn't go as planned. Note to self power intervals the day before WNW doesn't go to well. I made it up the hill in Irvington then blew up. Recovered a little and chased then faded fast on 72nd. Pulled plug ob the trace. Rode northern hills to hwy 75 and back.

Swanson Marathon Race Report (1 week late)

2011-04-11T10:09:00.000-05:00

Ok not much to tell here. On saturday I helped the MWCC with setup/running/timing & scoring at the Jewell Jam TT and Swanson STXC. Sunday, I arrived early got setup and ready to rock in the Marathon. I felt good had a nice steady warmup and legs felt rested.

At 10am the marathoners were the first to go. On the starting sprint I heard a pop and that was the start of the end of my race. The pop was the sound of one of my chainring bolts coming lose or breaking, I dunno. I entered the woods 7th wheel behind Andy Keffer. After a minute or two I was able to get by and start working on catching the lead Group of MG, Winkelpleck, Lucas, Bartels, Brunt and RD.

Shortly after getting by Andy though i noticed a rattling from the drivetrain (more signs of impending doom). Then in the first drop my chain jammed (b/c my chain rings weren't staying in place). On lap 2 I caught RD but the rattling was getting progressively worse. I stopped multiple times to check and couldn't see the problem. At the end of lap 2 I grabbed a bottle and took note of the drive train. I saw the problem, 2 chain ring bolts gone. I didn't notice the other 2 working themselves loose also.

I headed out on lap 3 knowing my time on the bike is limited and I'm not going to make it to three hours. I settled in with RD who was feeling under the weather, babying the bike hoping to survive one more. On the final climb my day came to an end. RD would pull out 1 lap later with busted spokes. Fortunately for the MWCC marathon guys, Lucas and Bartels both had great days with Lucas taking the overall.

Looking forward to some more dirt racing in the coming months.

J

Climbing the Hill at the Twin Bing Classic

2011-04-11T09:57:00.000-05:00

For 3 years now I've opened the road season at the Twin Bing Classic.
For 2011 it was the start of the new year. Once again I'm racing on a team with good friends for the squad at the Trek Bike Stores of Omaha with the Midwest Cycling Community. On Sunday, BR, EOB, Mod, MM, Brady Murphy, RF, and I piled into the MWCC sprinter and rolled out for climbing hill.

On Sunday winds were out of the WSW and were expected to be picking up right about time for our second lap. With an already fun/tough course, the wind was going to make things interesting. That said, I should also note it always windy there, its just a matter of what direction it would come from (two years ago South West wind, last year South East).

At roughly 11:10 the race started. Mike and I lined up 2nd row but I slipped a pedal on the start and had to wait for opportunities to move up. That said with the WSW wind things were much more tame over the first hill. I could see mike up front marking Kaos and a few others. The race got frisky about mid way headed north and when we made our turn east to the rollers the pace picked up and the peloton accelerated. I made moves to stay up front in case a split formed so that I could be in contact to work for Mike when the time came. The break didnt' happen though. The pace remained hard over the rollers but we just couldn't shell anyone to form a break with the tailwind. I did my work to cover a couple of short moves by Kaos while mike recovered.

Lap 2 began we were still altogether. With not many teams working I told Mike to not work as much as possible and sure enough in the crosswinds we must have been doing about 10 mph at one point. On the rollers little splits finally started to form and some riders got shelled but not enough. MWCC and Kaos did alot of work it seemd but it cost us. When we turned south all the teams that had been sitting in holding on accelerated and attacked. Mike was having stomach cramps. I jumped to try and catch the attacks but cramped myself (note to self drink and eat more in a 40 mile RR).

Long story short lots of work done and no dividends. Finished 32 out of 70ish. I made some mistakes in my nutrition but I'm riding well hopefully next weekend will be better.

On a positive note, I've been training with a powertap for a few months now but I also decided this year racing would be done based on feel alone, no computer, HR nothing. I mean in all honesty when do you have time to look down during a crit anyways. The goal though with power was to learn how efforts feel and to build myself up to be able to work harder. This was the second weekend of doing it and so far so good. I could tell when I was burning matches but also gauge how much was left in the tank. My issue this weekend was all nutrition/hydration.

So with a another Twin Bing in the bag my 2011 road season is underway.

Confirmed

2011-04-01T14:38:00.002-05:00

Recieved the email today with this verbage:

"The following request to change your NORBA category has been approved and processed by USA Cycling"

That's it. I'm a cat 1.

Game on!

At the precipice!

2011-03-31T13:35:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting here at my desk. Its Thursday. T-minus a day and half to the start of the Psycowpath season which means 2011 racing season is about to be officially underway. Its probably not smart, but I'll admit that I'm entering the season with a mild amount of trepidation. I'm hesitant. See for the last 4 seasons I've been a cat 2, I've gotten the routine down and no what to expect. I enter race day calm, self assured, and open to whatever happens. This year is going to be different. Since last year was a great year for me, it revealed potential I'm hoping to expand on. As such I feel the need to push myself more. I've put a little more pressure on myself to improve and deliver the results I would like to see. Maybe they wont' happen this year, but ultimately long term, I have some good hard but achievable goals. So with that, I'm not as easy going as I normally would be.

Additionally, swanson is one of my favorite races, but I seem to have a love/hate relationship with the course. Two years ago, I fell early in lap 1 and spent the entire race chasing and eventually got 8th. Last year, I had some travel woes the day before and only got arrived home at 1am the day of the race. I was fatigued and spent most of the race in damage control mode and ended up 8th again. In both cases the base miles and training to build a little top-end paid off. That said, those races were in May which meant I was always farther down the road in my preparation. This year things will be different, the race has fallen in early April which means at this point I really don't have a top end. I know lots of guys are faster than me. I'm also going to mix it up in the marathon category this weekend. So all in all lots of unknowns then.

Now, don't let this fool you, as always I'll do my best and see what happens. I'm not whining, I don't need moral support here. I'm being honest about the mild bit of apprehension I have towards starting off the season so early. Now if your also asking yourself, now hasn't he done Twin Bing which in years past has been the same approximate time? Well you'd be right, but for me that was always treated more as training than racing for me. For me the story is always the same: ride your bike, have fun, do your best, and see what happens. I have great support from my wife and friends, and this year we have I have the support of a great team which should help. So while I'm saying this today, on Sunday, when the kit is on and i"m lined up all those thoughts will be gone and its go time.

So as I sit here...mentally preparing myself to suffer this weekend..here's a couple updates from me for 2011:

1) If you haven't noticed I'm the new Psycowpath Series Points guy so contact me if you have issues with that.
2) I'm still racing for MWCC but I'll be in a slightly different jersey along with a few others..so keep on the lookout for that.
3) New road bike...review coming
4) I just put in for my upgrade so bu bye to Cat 2, hello Cat 1 XC.

Good luck to everyone this weekend and this season...have fun and keep the rubber side down.

J

Its been a while...I know...I know

2011-03-21T13:39:00.000-05:00

The 2011 race season is almost underway and a lot has happened since my last post. So here's a summary of the plot twists in 2011 for me:

Paleo no more: yeah something happend in January. Shortly after my last post I started feeling pretty weak and fatigued. Was still constantly hungry (as I noted nothing new with Paleo). Ended up figuring my caloric needs of training weren't being met under Paleo and when I get 150 lbs I simply couldn't afford to burn more fat like last year. So Paleo is gone, hello breads and grains again. Amazingly I have more energy. I can't explain it. But thats another post.
Leaner than ever: as noted above I hit 150 in January this year. since that was my lightest weight last summer, I'm even leaner this year. Yikes, can't lose much more now (I think). Going up hill is definitely easier in the spring training rides now.
Power: bought a powertap. Its nice, lots of data...blah blah. It is a training tool. I won't race with it. There is a learning curve with it...but for a statistics nerd/junky like myself its very manageable.
New bike: well I picked up a new road frame recently. Again I'll need to do a separate post on it. Hopefully soon. After 1 week of rides I can say thought carbon is much smoother alloy. Viva La Fibre de Carbone!
New Training Plan: although I've done the same thing mostly for last 2 years and it worked well, I've decided to mix it up a little for this year. Hopefully it works. I think variety is the spice of life and you have to try new things if it doesn't work, go back to the old model.

Now with all that said. This past week was great. A lot of time on the bike, lots of miles logged and the efforts got a little harder. Rode the mtb for the first time and it felt good to be on dirt again. Started working on my summer tan lines.

Anyways, we're now 2 weeks away from the first mtb races, then its a couple weeks of road racing back to back. April is around the corner, spring is in the air, and I'm itching to ride!

ON Being Paleo...Part 4: Favorite Snacks

2011-01-06T08:46:00.000-06:00

So its been a while (even though I said it would be a frequent series) since I posted something about the paleo diet. So I thought I'd jump in mid-week and throw out a few of my favorite paleo or what i loosely call paleo friendly snacks since they don't meet all of the paleo requirements but are close. So without further ado, here we go...are you ready...ok

Paleo Snacks:
Nut mixes - mainly any combination involving unsalted almonds, pecans, macadamias, and pistachios
Clementines
Raspberries
Turkey Jerkey (a little high in salt content but i'll call this one paleo)
Cocoa Nibs (hard to find in omaha)
Guac
Salsa
Sweet Potato Chips

Paleo Friendly Snacks:
Tamari roasted almonds (these are pretty much paleo but a little high in salt)
Dark chocolate covered cocoa nibs (almost paleo it adds some refined sugar and chocolate but its marginal)
Organic blue corn tortilla chips (unsalted is best and the only cheat here is the corn/masa which should be taken in moderation because the corn starches cause insulin spikes)
Pepperoni and/or Proscuitto (a nice little afternoon snack but high in salt - so best kept in moderation)

So, on any given day I try and keep quite a selection at my desk so I always have variety to snack on. That way keeps things interesting and I get a variety of nutrients into my body. Today, I have a large assortment of nuts, some clementines, and sweet potato chips.

Enjoy

J

What a difference

2011-01-04T10:30:00.000-06:00

So yesterday was January 3rd, 2011. Since I'm a couple weeks into base and also back into my stricter paleo routine, I thought I'd compare my weight with 1 year ago yesterday.

January 3, 2010
Weight: 163

January 3, 2011
Weight: 151.8

So yeah i'm a little over 11 poundes lighter this year. As a note of reference last year I started the Paleo Diet after Christmas. Both years I started base in mid-December. At my leanest last year in June I was 150.5 pounds. This year I've made a couple more changes, no alcohol till feb-march (aside form a couple glasses of the bubbly on New Years). I may cut out coffee and go to green tea for a month. Otherwise its just standard Paleo stuff.

I've noted in the past (I think) the combination of the Paleo diet and the base phase (lots of easy fat-burning days) result in big weight loss (at least for me). Other notable results came from Mike and Mark as well. Mark did his cleanse and lots of base type stuff and lost alot, Mike just cut calories and road long endurance rides as well to achieve weight loss. As such, I have some goals for this year, I'm not posting them and I'll be comfortable even if I don't hit those targets as i'm pretty light now. Needless to say, last year I felt myself get faster as those pounds came off, this year starting at that leaner weight will hopefully make the riding even easier.

So, other updates, yeah I'm in early base phase, lots of easy riding. A good gravel ride on Sunday. Great meals with the wife. I'm still working on the 2011 race calendar but its coming soon.

Hope everyone has had a good and safe New Year...bring on 2011.

J

By the Numbers: 2010 Season in Review

2010-12-21T11:22:00.000-06:00

Lots of numbers this year

1) Lots of firsts this year:

First mountain bike podium as a Cat 2 - Jewell Park Mountain Bike Time Trial 3rd place, missed 2nd by 1 second and 1st by 4 seconds.

First trip to Fruita. It lives up to the hype. The MSC mountain bike race is nothing short of epic if nothing less for the scenery.

First trip to Dakota 5-0. Again amazing.

First time racing cyclocross.

First timer at a USGP. Maybe I was in over my head but damn that was fun and quite the learning experience.

First night race. Oakley Night Cap Cross in Des Moines.

2) My best supporters: Becky who supports me, and Bontrager our faithful Labrador who also joins us at races.

3) DNF's. Argh nobody wants a DNF but they happen. This year I had 1 in each discipline: 1) flat at the Cornhusker State Games (whilst sitting in 3rd) on the final lap, 2)got crashed out of the Dave Babcook Memorial RR, 3) bad day at USGP day 2 of FoCo.

4) Podium finishes. 2 - 3rd places in cross country, back to back 3rd places in the cat 4 category at the Bellevue cyclocross weekend (hello upgrade).

I entered only 4 road races this year. I had planned for more, but conflicts arose. Next year I'll be hitting the earlier season races much harder.

Also - I busted up my bikes on 4 separate occasions - I broke 3 drive trains this year on my Cannondale Taurine and busted up my road bike in the crash at the Dave Babcook RR.

5) My goal was to break 5 hours at Dakota 5-0. I was on task to accomplish it until after aid 2 I started having asthma problems. I slowed a lot and ended up 5hr 20. Still respectable for my first go around.

6) States. Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota. I'm only counting the states the races officially started in. This doesn't count the fact that one race crossed state lines into Wyoming. Next year I really want to add New Mexico to the list.

8) Busted Spokes. Both from crashing, sticks jamming derailleurs, and training.

9) Top 10's this year. Yes that's a function of the volume or races but its also a good sign of improvement where before if I got top-10 it was a major achievement. Now if I'm not on the podium in Cat 2 I'm not happy with my day.

- Coincidentally I also did 9 Cross races.

10) Mountain bike races.

18) Days of travel for racing

22) My number at Dakota 5-0. Can you tell I enjoyed myself there? Even struggling to breathe this race was amazing.

23) Race starts, wow by far my busiest year.

So that's it. I did alot, pushed myself harder than I have before, had to deal with dissapointments, and in the end learned a lot about myself. I'm working on plans for 2011, I've started base, but nothing is set in stone yet. There will be more of the same with some big tweaks though. Stay tuned.

Hope you all enjoyed your 2010 as much as I did mine.

J

Don't forget to turn out the lights...

2010-11-23T16:10:00.001-06:00

The Lincoln CX weekend stood as my last weekend of racing for 2010. Going into the weekend, I knew I've been on the steady decline, with each week I can feel my fitness waining. However, I was motivated, not so stellar results the previous Saturday and Sunday at the FoCo New Belgium USGP lefting me wanting some redemption of self-respect going into the short off-season. So with that I felt one I would have to try and do something on both the days. So here's how it went down.

Saturday:

Mike Miles and I drove to Lnk together. Fricken cold, the weather report lied. I had also forgot my knee warmers. Thankfully an extra layer of embrocation and extra warmup time on the trainer helped prevent me from feeling the cold too much before the course opened for preride.

Preriding I warmed up pretty quick. Late to starting area though and had to stage 3rd row.

Whistle blows, and we start pretty hard. Mike got the hole shot. My legs felt flat and I struggled to make up positions. I'd make one up, give one back. Thats how it mostly went for the next 30 minutes. Finished 14th.

Sunday:

Last chance for redemption. Again, for the second day in a row its fricken cold, the weather report lied. Get to Pioneers and park next to the Omaha peeps. Some Bad Goat Racing boys were in town. There boy Stamper had gotten the win the previous day. Both were fast so I knew this was going to hurt. Warming up on the trainer and the course I felt much better. The course was going the opposite direction today, so that meant hitting the fast barriers early in the first lap. I was worried about how hard we'd hit them so I took extra care for a few practice runs through them.

Lining up, I was early today and got on the front row. Whistle blew and I had a great start, clipped right in and up to third wheel. Rounding the first turn and into the barriers, sure enough, we hit them at full speed no brakes. That was fast I'm not a good runner let alone sprinter. I managed to keep it upright and maintained my third spot. Back on the bike and back at it, I looked back and saw that we had gapped the field. It took the field the next lap and half to close the gap down. On the second half of the seconda lap I let the chasers rotate through and I found a spot sitting 5th wheel to conserve some energy.

Next lap through again on the second half at the climb back to the road I found myself get unhitched from that group. I maintained the gap and was sitting 8th now. Spent the next lap and half trying to chase Ryan Feagan down. I'd get close then bobble and find myself chasing hard again. Finally got him, pulled through and quickly detached him. I knew Noah had about 15-20 seconds on me and there were 2 to go. Unfortunately as I got up to the runup at hooligan hill I saw Noah had flatted. With that I was 6th overall. I maintained the gap to ryan for the next 2 laps.

Coming off the grass and back onto the road for the final time I looked over my should and didn't see Ryan. I powered down the descent and into the final straight. Again looking I didn't see Ryan and sat up. That almost lead to big mistake as Ryan was charging hard and almost caught me at the line.

Ah well, 6th overall. That gives me some redemption, I rode a good race. I made the entire race hurt. My legs continually begged for me to slow. Every descent to the finish line I put my head down and hammered.

The wrapup
So with that. I posted some photos on flickr if you haven't seen them...well check em out, there's a couple of fav's of mine shown below.

Rafal the Polish Big Bird

MT Chasing, The classic aged poster look

Warming up the legs

The discerning hobo is a winner!

So in closing. It's been a stellar season. CX was more fun that I really thought it would be. I'll be back in 2011 for sure. 2010 is closed out for good now. Time for some R&R before turning the screws on 2011. Look for a season in review soon and probably a blog post about the USGP in the near future.

And for now, its been fun racing with everyone. Whoever's still in the room, since your the last one here...all I ask is that you turn out the lights.

Cheers,
J

This week: F1, Space Shuttles, Cross and more (Updated)

2010-11-04T09:11:00.001-05:00

This week is filled with activity here's a rundown.

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Tuesday: Voted...its important to engage in the democratic process even if as a liberal in the State of Nebraska my vote doesn't really get me anywhere...its the principle of the matter. Still our political process is exciting to watch and we are all lucky for being able to take part in. Even though I'm not happy with the outcome the majority does rule even if its only a small percentage of our population that votes.

That said, through the act of voting I feel I am entitled to the right to complain about anything I don't like going on in our government with impunity. And FWIW I managed to avoid the impulse to get all forms of social media on Wednesday morning and launch a tirade about the GOP's initial comments I saw on the news.

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Sometime this week: or maybe next week...the space shuttle Discovery will launch. STS-133 is the final launch of Discovery...EVER. There is only 1 more flight after this one people. Watch it! If you haven't seen a launch in person...STS-134 will be the last shuttle launch of the entire program..go..watch it live. It's an experience you'll never forget. I saw one as a kid and it has stuck with me forever. Watch a rocket that generates over 3 million pounds of thrust at takeoff...you will quickly know what i'm talking about...the ground shakes over 50 miles away at liftoff..the sonic boom is heard for over 200 miles. Night launches will light up the sky.

The ending of the shuttle program closes a significant era in the history of our exploration of space..an era in between the Apollo missions to the moon and our establishment of a near permanent research lab in space. It was meant to be a cheaper/safer/reusable alternative following the Apollo missions. Fact is it wasn't much cheaper and as we have been reminded on a couple occasions (Challenger and Columbia), the astronauts take big risks on every flight.

So bottom line watch it...As of right now, Thursday aint happening due to rain, Friday is risk of wind. My guess right now if not techy problems, Friday or Saturday launch.

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Saturday and Sunday: Formula 1. Two races left in the season. My boy Fernando Alonso has rallied the Ferrari Team to a late season lead in the Drivers Championship. Brazil is always a good course to watch, its fast and somewhat technical with good elevation change. If it rains, once again all bets are off. The Redbull Team continues to have reliability issues and their drivers continue to make small mistakes which are costing them consistent finishes. But there are only 14 points between Alonso and Webber (1st and 2nd overall) and 4 drivers eligible to win with 2 races left. So here we go...its going to be exiciting.

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Wednesday and Saturday: Cross Practice and Racing. Last night went to CX practice. Mark made some course mods and they seemed to work. Its a tough course and with the winds that made it more interesting on the off-camber bits at the top of the hill by the Derby Track. Mike and I spun easy in anticipation for this weekend. Also this was the last one for me. Time change means I can't leave work any earlier to do this.

Saturday, Mike and I are headed to Joules Cross in Lawrence, KS. Should be fun.

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Which leads me to Sunday. Anyone want to do a road ride? later morning early afternoon should work. I'll only have maybe 2-3 hours. Not too hard a pace since racing on Sunday and then rolling to Fort Collins next week for the USGP with Mike Miles.

Updates:
Shuttle launch delayed due to a hydrogen fuel leak on the umbilical fueling line. So Earliest launch time is now Monday next week...still stay tuned on it.

Rides looks like I'll be crashing the ride Mark mentioned on his blogpost. Looks like Bryan, Jonathan Neve and Mark are in so far.

Cheers,
J

Big Fat CX Fail...all my own fault of course

2010-10-25T16:53:00.000-05:00

Well, I skipped Norfolk this weekend..too much going on...in fact no riding whatsoever on Saturday. Decided my legs felt good though to race on Sunday at the Lincoln GP. Becky, Trey (crazy lab), and I rolled out of Omaha at nearly 10am on Sunday and arrived at the venue with about an hour to spare. Kitted up, embroed up, number pinned on, got Becky and Trey set, and then headed off to find a place to warm up.

After about 20 minutes of spinning the course opened up, I managed 3 laps and then it was time to line up. Course was fast, dry, loose, with just 1 set of barriers coming into the start/finish area. I knew it would be fast. My concerns lied with the tight turns and the leaves now covering the course...famous last words right...or at least famous last thoughts.

Turned out, my 3rd warmup lap was 1 too many as I rolled around the corner to find everyone lined up. I manged a second row starting position...not too bad since is was a small field of 10.

Whistle blew...we were off, I immediately was DFL. Engage the afterburners and I managed to jump to 5th before entering the first of the switchback areas. I was glad I did that too, 1 guy went down behind me and Jeremy Eisenhower blew a tire. Tyler Whetsone got the holeshot and was pulling away, with Rich Pearson, Paul Eichler, Noah Marcus, and then myself giving chase then a hard charging Matt Maxon bridging up to us.

Through lap 1, Rich Pearson faded, then Paul started to go off also. I started trying to make passes on Noah but couldn't get around, I felt like I was racing F1. Noah finally moved around Paul on Lap 3 and began his chase. I also finally got through just after the barriers and now was sitting 3rd and trying to bridge to Noah. Looking over my shoulder I saw Matt had also now passed Paul and was closing on me.

Heading through the start finish to start lap 4 I tried to push and get up to Noah. Legs felt great, I new Matt was almost up to me. Off the pavement and into the tight switchbacks (where the accidents happened on lap 1) I tried to be aggressive thinking a little more speed through this section and I'd be up to Noah. Thought I'd setup perfect for the first turn. I laid off the brakes though a little too much. Halfway through the apex of that turn my wheel slipped...before I new it I hit the deck hard. The kind of hard that takes the wind out of you. Then a double wammy, Matt Maxon who'd had been closing came round the corner and ran into my ribs at a good clip. He stayed upright, but that pretty much ended my day. I remounted, straightened my bar and got going again. But the chase was out of me...My stomach felt like crap from the impact, and I was trying to regain my breath and composure. I second guessed my approach into every turn for the next 2 laps.

Ah well...thats racing. All in all no bike damage. But I tore my side up from my shoulder to my knee...more battle scars.

Good job to everyone who raced. The 3's field while small was pretty competitive...I could hear Lefler calling the shots and it was a fight at the front of the race, wish I could have been in it...but things go wrong you roll with the punchs er accidents.

Anyways, next on the calendar will be Fort Collins USGP in a couple weeks time. Can't wait.

J

This Ride Narrated by Robert Redford

2010-10-20T10:33:00.001-05:00

Just the other night, fueled by wine and good conversation, the topic arose of favorite movies. I struggled to recall the name of one of my all time favorites. I finally remembered it yesterday afternoon. "A River Runs Through It." Written by Norman Maclean, Directed by Robert Redford. The movie features narration of teh story telling from Older Norman performed by with narration by Redford. I remember watching the movie as teen...Redfords voice is relaxing and haunting all at the same time...the closing quote to running waters:

Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.

I am haunted by waters.

For some odd reason, Redfords voice became lodged in my head as I struck out for yesterdays ride...hung up on this quote my inner voice changed to his, and my thoughts subdued and pensive. Perhaps its because I've been reflecting on everything that I've experience this season, maybe it was in knowing this week is to be my last for post-work rides for the year, or maybe its the weather (After all I love this time of year, the leaves are displaying their full variety of colors, the air is cool and dry, the smell of the freshly harvested earth, the crunch of the leaves under my feet as I take trey for long walks after work). Either way something was transformed my inner voice.

So as I headed north I started noticing all the things on the route, taking stock of the memories of rides with friends and new training partners, noticing marks on the roads from races long past. All to the soft sounds of Redfords voice. While I know this sounds odd, it made the fall ride all the more enjoyable, and relaxing.

Riding north I noticed the corn fields, just months ago following the tour were green with life, now brown and gold ready for harvest. Combines in the field meeting semis ready to bring the farmers long toils to the waiting silos.

As I turned from Rainwood onto 218th st, I noticed something which really struck me. Markers painted on the roads for the Babcook road race were still there. Signs to slow down, left turn ahead all still marked in light green on asphalt. Amazing that in three months, the markers are still there. I followed that loop around and I made my turn south to Mount Michael, Elkhorn, and home...I remembered how lucky I am. Dan Ertz took a big spill in that race. He only recenlty got out of the hospital again for blood clots which are side effects from his injuries in that race. I had gone down too, had to have an MRI and got lucky with no major injuries. Cycling is precious to me, but it can be dangerous, these accidents serve as reminders to that. I'm lucky every day that I get to ride my bike, and enjoy it with such great people in my life.

As I rolled through Elkhorn, I made one more run at the cobbles. Bordered by the fall leaves and carried over cobble, my legs knocked out a tempo fueled with fall angst and energized by my heart rate. I sped over the short patch of pave and towards home.

One more fall ride, one more down for the season. Thanks Robert for joining me on the ride.

J

On Being Paleo...Part 3: A good start (paleo pancakes)

2010-10-11T10:02:00.000-05:00

Ok,
On the lighter things...one of my most favorite parts of this diet is exploring the variety of foods I would have never considered before. Things such as:

Spaghetti squash topped with my marinara and paleo meatballs,
Jicama with guacamole,
Lettuce wrap fajitas, and
Vegetable stews.

One of my most favorite has been this little breakfast routine which saved Becky and I and kept us on track. You see 2 weeks in we were getting sick of omelettes, hard boiled eggs, and other egg and fruit ensembles for breakfast. I happened on another paleo blog discussing the same thing and they proposed a totally paleo friendly breakfast of paleo banana pancakes. My mouth immediately watered at the though...mmmmm pancakes. Needless to say the next day we tried them and this is the outcome.

This little dish is probably what kept us honest and allowed us to do a full 3 months of paleo dining.

Now you can believe me or not, but both Becky and I have agreed we like them so much we now prefer these to regular pancakes. As such they are now a permanent staple of our diet. THEY ARE THAT GOOD! Don't believe me try them for yourself. Recipe below.

Ingredients:

1/2cup mashed banana
1 1/2 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 egg
2 tbsp almond butter
coconut milk (use to thin the batter out a little)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl...

1. Peel the bananas and break into large chunks. Mash banana into a pulp.

2. Add eggs, and almond butter. Mix thoroughly.

3. Add in flax and coconut. You want a fairly thick batter but not so much that it won't spread on the pan (just like regular pancakes).

4. Meanwhile, heat skillet on medium heat. When warm enough, grease with cooking spray, butter, coconut oil, etc (your choice).
To serve. Top with any combination of : blueberries, sliced bananas, apple butter, agave nectur syrup, or butter.

Enjoy.

J

On Being Paleo...Part 2: Always Hungry

2010-10-08T13:17:00.000-05:00

Ok, before I being, this is an annoyance with the diet itself but not really a reason to not do it.

Alright...so I'm a cyclist...I'm always hungry right? Well yes. But here's the thing and one of my biggest struggles with this diet...I never seem to be fully satisfied. Here's an example of a daily meal routine.

Breakfast: big 2-egg omelette with tons of veggies, 2 cups of coffee, and side of fruit
Mid-morning snack: nuts, banana, possibly more coffee or tea
Lunch: lettuce wrap sammie with bacon, avocado, tomato, etc
Mid-afternoon snack: more nuts, a little chocolate (yes not paleo whatever) tons of water
Dinner: 8 oz filet, side salad, water, maybe some vino
Post dinner snack (prior to 8pm): nuts, carrots, fruit

Calorie wise this day actually balanced out perfectly. Throw in a ride I might offset that with either a banana, or gel/gu to maintain my calorie needs for training.

Problem is though, you still feel hungry. Here's where I can't quite figure it out, is it the lower amount of salts in the diet, the lower amount of starches and carbs and non-bloating issues that accompany it...but not matter what...Usually all meals leave me feeling just right...but I start to feel hungry within an hour of eating.

Regardless it is more of an annoyance because I am always snacking, which leads to temptation to eat other non-paleo things. That said, even snacking alot, my weight stays consistent. My thought on that is: (1)
lower salt snacks mean no retained water and additional water weight fluctations, (2) and snacking on non-refined foods means your body has to work harder to process them and this results in additional calories burned.

Cheers
J

Omaha CX Weekend: Upgrade Worthy

2010-10-04T14:21:00.000-05:00

Photo Courtesy of Lucas Marshall

Well my first cross weekend is in the books. What fun it is. Lessons learned:

CX bikes are fast
I need to work alot on my dismounts (surprise surprise as I went to 1 cx practice prior to this)
My remounts were surprising getting easier
Longer strides when running will help
CX tires don't hold an edge quite as well as a mtnbike tire does
Just like a crit or mountain bike race - don't be late to stage and line up on the front

So here's the short report on both days. On saturday I did a 30 minute warmup. Got to the line early and got my position front row center right between Todd Eyberg and Jeremy Eisenhauer. 35 racers in the cat 4 field. Looked around marked a couple of guys from Central Plains Cycling and Sioux City Velo I new from crits could be quick.

Whistle blew...clip in...full power...go. I decided to drill it from the start and see what would happen. JE and I gapped the entire field from the start. Through the first half lap sand pit, Eyberg was closing down the gap and not far behind were the CPC and SCV duo. By my guess they had 10-15 second gap to close. Through lap 1, the gap still existied. I told JE lets work together and stay away, he pulled through but started to fade. Sensing he was blown I jumped around and went hard again to reopent the gap. 3nd time through the maze my rear wheel slipped going the tight off-camber shikane. Lost 2 positions there. Remounted started going hard and got jittery and over-shot the turns through the trees. Back on track but gave up 5 spots. 3 laps down and now 3 laps to go with a 30 second gap to close to 1st. Spent the rest of the race chasing it down. Managed 2nd place.

Photo Courtesy of Dan Farnam

Day 2. Course in reverse with some tweaks. 36 riders in the cat 4 field again (awesome turnouts). Late to S/F area and everyone else was staged (refer to lessons learned above). Eisenhauer let me in to row 2 next to him. Thanks Jeremy. After a 45 minute warm up legs were primed. Whistle blown...clip in...go hard. Jumped some wheels up to 4th place. Dude from bike pedalers went down in the first turn and I got caught behind him. Now sitting 11th-12th I had some work to do. Rest of race was spent chasing hard. Worked my way back to 3rd place and was only 10 seconds out of 1st by the end of the race. Legs definitely felt fast for two days.

Photo Courtesy of Lucas Marshall

Anyways, I'm not stoked to race some more CX races. I'll be running the rest of the season as a Cat 3. Following this weekends results I upgraded. So this upcoming weekend Mike Miles and I are headed to KC for Cross Out Cancer.

Cheers,

European Fall in Nebraska!

2010-10-01T13:07:00.001-05:00

Yeah, there I said it. Ok, wait what the heck did I just mean? So last couple of years I've been very aware of the growing popularity of cyclocross (CX) both domestically and also in Nebraska but never had the urge or the proper machine to try it out on.

I also can remember back to my days as a Junior, living in southern Spain and watching it on eurosport. In those days, being in Southern Spain no one raced cross..it was road all the time. The mediterranean weather was perfect for it. But even during the fall when I was still no the road bike, the euro road calendar was all wrapped up and Eurosport shifted coverage to those crazy northern europeans on CX bikes. It was always awesome to watch. So that mean european falls were on the road bike with CX on TV.

Skip to 2010, I've been intrigued all year and also somewhat nostaligic about watching it on TV as a junior. Having watched a couple of races (omaha and lincoln) in 2009, chased Ryan, Rafal, and others on their CX bikes whilst riding the Taurine earlier this eyar, and also hearing Savery talk it up all year, my motivation to try it is at an all time high. So just over a couple weeks ago I talked Becky into allowing the purchase of a frame.

And now, even though racing 4's, I'm excited for my European Fall in Nebraska. Here's how it will go down:

Belgain CX bike (Ridley Crossbow),
White and Grey team kits,
Select set of CX races, and
CX on TV

Now the races kick off this weekend:
First off: Omaha CX - Omaha Cyclocross Weekend flier
Then:
10/23: Norfolk CX
10/24: Flatwater CX
11/20: Lincoln CX Weekend

So with that, back to work to finish out the day..then its off to the races!

J

On Being Paleo...Part 1: How Did I Arrive Here?

2010-09-23T13:26:00.000-05:00

Ok, so a little background before I begin. Part of the reason I took so long in restarting my blog this year was debating over content. Do others really care about what I have to say, and also what of value do I have to contribute. When I finally decided to get going, one of the things I knew I was going to share was regarding nutrition and some of what I've learned over the last two years. So with that, here is the first of a couple of blogs about how I ended up on the Paleo diet, what I've learned, some of the myths, and why/how its worked for me. I do caveat, everything I say here may not be applicable to everyone AND I'm not a doctor.

So, for the first blog how and why dear god would I want to cut out gluten? To answer I need to go back a ways. So forgive my digression and enjoy the ride I'll take you on.

So 2 years ago, I was overweight not very but somewhat. For my height (5'10") I weighed in at 175 but my % body fat put me in the overweight category. Not by much, but enough I wasn't happy. The spare tire I had built in grad school was not going away. All my clothes from yesteryear had been subbed out for size 34 and almost 36 jeans in some brands. I longed to wear size 31-32 jeans again! Looking over old photos you could see the change in my face..and er waste. So I wasn't happy with my looks.

In addition I was having problems with my gut which went undiagnosed for quite a while. The problems would strike at what appeared to me to be random times and was very uncomfortable. The gut problems had a hole host of symptoms with it none of which ever left me feeling great. Following conversations with my doctor we never quite figured out what was wrong although a dietary problem was suspected.

Now, lets throw in one more problem, I also discovered around the same time, I was having allergic reactions to beer, worst of all wheat beer. Where anyone normal could drink beer and feel fine, I would have hangover like symptoms; and swelling my lips, throat, and face; and congestion all within 45 minutes. So with that I tried to minimize beer intake. I will note, all other libations were consumed with no reaction and with proper planning no hangover, however with beer I never avoided a hangover.

So there is the background of where I was, in short, slightly fat, with stomach problems, and beer allergies.

So in 2009, I began my first bit of weight loss in the spring during which I went low carb for 2 months. In that period I lost about 8 pounds and was not below 170. Goal 1 achieved. I felt better and was on the road I wanted to be on. Also because I was low carb, I cut out gluten and noticed an improvement in the gut problems. Still the high levels of salt and other things about the diet left me wanting more.

So through summer 2009, my new diet consisted of eating rite. I did lots of research into calorie counting, traking carbs, optimal mixes of veges/fruits/meats etc. The biggest bang for the buck here was calorie counting. With that practice and exercise I hit 160 by fall 2009. Goal 2 achieved. There was now 15 pounds less of me to love and I was back to size 33 jeans. However, the problems with this approach. Conflicting information to sort through on how much of you SHOULD be taking in of carbs/proteins. There is good information on sources of protein, carbs, fats, etc. But the ratios are tough to figure out. I made lots of decisions of what felt right for myself.

During this period there was one diet that was in the back of my mind, but it seemed impossible for me to take on. The Paleo Diet. I was introduced to it in 2009 when I bought a training plan and it recommended the diet. I bought two books:

They seemed perfect for what I was trying to do, but trying to go paleo required breaking lots of habits which were long engrained in me...a brief two week foray into it in 2009 failed miserably.

Now in 2010, attempt number two. This time, I brought Becky on board so that cooking and living the paleo lifestyle would be much easier. After all, it takes a village! So in January 2010, we set about a full on hard-core 3-month paleo lifestyle. Since the initial 3 month phase I've been living a more relaxed but still paleo-centric lifestyle.

What happened, in that first 3 months of paleo goodness I went from 160-151 and have stayed there. Success, I'm at a weight I"m much happier with. I can go uphill much faster. Except for 2 instances post race, I've been away from beer for 9 months. I don't miss it or the allergy problems. I consume wine and am becoming more and more a wine snob.

Now, the benefits mentioned above were great. However, the biggest and most unexpected one relates to the gut problems. They are gone! Completely. The suspected culprit is gluten which also explains some of the problems with wheat beer.

Now as I'll mention more in a later post, the paleo diet is like an anti-inflammatory diet on steroids. Where as other anti-inflam diets allow other refined grains, the paleo diet cuts them all out. Rice, wheat, tapioca, quinoa all gone from the diet. This leads to natural weight loss. But for those who have allergies to things like gluten, those allergies clear up. Basically, while I may not have celiac, my doctor related that I probably have a gluten intolerance. This leads to bowel inflammation, which untreated leads to long term problems. Now because I had been consuming gluten all my life and had been suffering the inflammation problems for a long time, it took about a month for all the problems to clear up when I initially went paleo. It also explains why I didnt' see the full benefits of being gluten free during my low-carb phase the previous year.

Some other benefits I saw:

low salt meant less bloating
natural amounts of weight loss
more consistent energy levels throughout the day (no highs or lows due to insulin spikes)
reductions in general allergies (again I mentioned its an anti-inflam diet on steroids)
overall improved health

Some of the cons:

eating or snacking all the time
increased in food budget (hey the corporations have use eating cheap on refined food filling our stomachs with alot of crap)
difficulty adjusting diet to work adequately with cycling (the athletes book provides a good basis but it took alot of trial and error to get pre/post and on-the-bike nutrition to keep me from bonking)

So with that, I'll go into more detail on some of these issues in future posts.

Cheers

J

Something wicked this way comes! (Today)

2010-09-15T09:10:00.001-05:00

As cross season and winter training approaches...this has been ordered...stay tuned for the built up bike!

Branched Oak Race Report!

2010-09-12T18:15:00.000-05:00

Well, for the second time this season everything worked out and I got on the podium.

First off, as my previous post indicated, I wasn't so enthusiastic about this race. Mr. Miles and I pre-rode the course along with Kev on Thursday. I felt slow and out of it, mainly D 5-0 was still in my legs. On the second lap of pre-ride I was yawning...a sure sign of fatigue. So Mike convinced me...I need to race for the points, do my best and see what happens. Also, remember what Mark always says, its not important that your legs feel good in the middle week, what matters is Saturday. So with that, I convined myself to race.

On Saturday, Mike and I left early taking back roads through Venice, Yutan, and Wahoo to avoid the early Husker game (argh crazy drunk traffic). We arrived at 10am to area 7 of Branched Oak. by 1030 we were kitted up and rolling for a course pre-ride. Just several minutes into our warm-up I noticed today would be good, Mike wasn't dropping me and my legs had noticeably recovered since Thursday (thanks to lots of sleep).

At 1145 we rolled to the start area for staging, we also learned that Cat 2's would be doing 4 laps (glad I ate that big breakfast). This meant a slightly longer race for the cat 2's but also would be interesting to see who had the endurance. We watched the cat 1's launch and I began to get in the zone for the next 1.5 hours of suffering. The the SS's went off and I convinced myself I'd be passing them in no time (no offense guys its just a fact). Then it was go time.

3..2..1..we jump. I follow Mikes wheel as he finds clean air. Jesse B leads us up the hill with Mike, Paul Eichler, and myself in tow. A little reck on the left side allows us to open a gap. We hit the rough prairie start and Chris Hansen has caught up. I'm sitting 4th on Paul's wheel with Mike and Jesse mixing it up in front. Chris catches and moves around putting me in 5th. Jesse, Mike and Chris pull away opening a few second gap, leaving Paul and I to chase. I'm content to sit on Paul's wheel for as long as I can and recover from the start then chase for the next 4 laps.

As lap 1 progresses, I realize Paul is slowing little by little, there is a group of 10ish riders chasing us, but Mike, Chris, and Jesse are not really pulling away from us more. By the last 1/3 of lap 1, Paul offers to let me by. I jump and begin to pull away as we hit the field. Once in the prairie I see the lead 3 are still together and not far ahead. I try to bridge but go too hard and decide to back off. As we cross the finish line we have gone through the entire SS field and Paul is back in front I also decide to look and take stock of where the chasers are. I see 2 riders closing but not fast.

Back into the prairie descent I'm recovered again and begin to pull away from Paul. Now I'm on my own. I set my tempo and go to work to chase the lead 3. Half way through lap 2, something unexpected happens. A tricky short descent into a short loose off camber left hander approaches. As I round the corner I see Mike on the ground looking dazed and holding his shoulder. I ask if he's ok as I pass. No response, but I hear him talking to other riders asking the same thing. Ok, I tell myself his days likely done and decide continue on and then look for him at the start/finish area. My only concern its his collar bone and I need to get his keys just in case an ambulance shows.

I also now realize I'm sitting third. I settle back into my tempo and work hard to maintain my gap on the field and try to close down on the lead riders. For the next 1 and half laps I don't see anyone in front or behind. Then near the end of lap 3 I notice one of the other riders has closed the gap to me. as I enter the prairie before the s/f he jumps around but doesn't get more than 10 feet before he slows noticeably. I look and see 3 other riders are near too. Hmmmm, what to do. I test him out and sure enough I get right on his wheel. Just before the s/f line I jump around and settle back into my tempo. Thats the last time I saw him, and just as I thought he wasted his energy catching me and blew up.

As I cross through the s/f area I also see Mike, he tells me Jesse is not far ahead (turns out he said 30 seconds but it was really a minute, thanks Mike but I was in the zone and was focused). Again lap 4 maintain the tempo, don't blow and keep the podium and if luck prevails you catch Jesse. As I approach the final run through the prairie Mike is there, he's says is less than 10 second to Jesse and I can catch him if I work hard. Sure enough I hit the open field and jesse is just 50 feet in front. Wow what a I feeling to smell blood like that before the s/f line. I open it up and see him looking over his shoulder. I can see him giving it what he has left. I kindly yell to him, "I'm coming for you Jesse!" Unfortunately that's how it would end. Close, but not quite.

Turns out Mike popped his shoulder out but after I saw him remounted and got going again only to crash a second time (the culprit really low tire pressures, a gamble on the day for a loose course). I'm sure Mike could have won. But that is mountain bike racing, stuff happens we move on.

Regardless, here's the podium picture below. Chris Hansen got the W, Jesse 2nd, and me a close 3rd. I'm very happy with the race result. I road a solid tempo and didn't fade at all. I think more of the cat 2 races need to be 4 laps. Makes it a bit more interesting endurance wise. Now, its on to Swanson for the final race of the year. I'm still in the points running. Hopefully, I can pull out another good race result and wrap up the year with a good position in the series.

Cat 2 Men Open Podium (l-r): yours truly - 3rd place, Chris Hansen - 1st place, Jesse Bergman - 2nd place

More from Dakota 5-0

2010-09-12T17:17:00.001-05:00

Ok,
So here's a few more random IPhone photos form Dakota 5-0.

The ubiquitous self-portrait

The Lucas

Badlands

More Badlands

And some more

The MWCC Shortbus

Common Grounds Coffee....mmmm yeah

Sarah making up a nice pre-race meal for Chris and uh Lucas

Bikes ready to rock

Marks got a chip er a bug on his shoulder

Primitive technology which keeps us warm!

Some of the Nebraska crew post race

Post-race....nearly 500 peeps hanging out...heck yeah!

Markie Wonder!

2 Races to Go!

2010-09-10T21:37:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is Branched Oak XC. 1 More race after tomorrow...then CX season begins. For me that means I'll be behind the camera and not racing. I'm somewhat thankful, my first race was back in March. It feels like forever ago. I had planned to peak again for these final two races but the 2 weeks of cold/virus leading into D 5-0 put a damper on my training. Now I find I'm just trying to hold my fitness for this last month.

At any rate, I've gotten back on the Paleo train this week. 4 days no gluten and total paleo goodness with each meal. Its amazing how good you feel when you eat right. This year I'm starting early so I'm not trying to lose a few pounds come January and instead can settle into a nice nutrition/training regimine for base miles in 2011. Yeah go figure, planning ahead for 2011 already.

Anyways, time to get off to bed and get my head in the game....for the cross guys here's a few shots from last years omaha cx weekend to help get you fired up for the cx season which is just around the corner.

Dakota 5-0 Race/Ride/Tour

2010-09-08T14:52:00.001-05:00

Well, this was the year I finally went to So-Dak with the midwest crew. I'd been hearing Mark, Ryan, and Rafal talk this race up for a while now. None more so than Mark. Anywho, last Thursday I bid goodbye to Becky, and sped off with Mr. Miles to join the rest of teh MWCC Shortbus Crew for our journey NW across So. Dakota. After a brief respite on Thursday night, we rolled into the camp in Spearfish SD.

Now let me just say, I've camped before, but this was by far the best camp ground I've EVER been too. Anyways, with quick efficiency, the entire crew set about unloading the Shortbus and establishing camp. We were on a mission: setup camp, pre-ride, eat, relax.

At about 430 we rolled out of camp for the first of 2 pre-ride sessions. I wanted to see the infamous gravel road climb and lollipop single track climb I'd been hearing about. For me the goal was simple, test the lungs, see the course, don't over due it. I new the first 25 miles are mostly uphill with some steep pitches. So while the likes of MM and RF set about their weekend duel, I was content to spin and steadily raise the HR. First time up it the climb seemed long, and my lungs were searing from the recent cold I was still recovering from. My general reaction after day 1...I think I have a new favorite trail.

Photo Credit: Heather Wolff

Day 2 began with a burritto and coffee. A mid-morning session on the bike up and down the gravel road/lollipop climb revealed two things, my lungs were steadily healing and that my bike continues to resist my need to race it. With less than 2k to go on the single track descent I ripped off a knob on the rear tire. No sweat, the Rushmore Bikes came through in a pinch. Dropped off the Taurine and 1 hour later..presto, brand new rubber on the rear wheel. The rest of the afternoon was spent deep in race preparation mode contemplating what was to come the following morning.

Race Day! After a somewhat restless night, I awoke at 520 and rolled into the coffee shop with Mark. Race fuel and high octane coffee snapped me from my pre-dawn funk. I rolled back to camp alert and excited for the next few hours suffer fest. At 7:10 I roll over to stage and find myself a spot with Team Wolff, and Rafal. The sun finally starts to show itself at 7:20 just as we prepare to go. The sun immediately begins to warm the sub 60 degree temps and offers a taste of what I would be feeling in just a few short minutes time. 7:30 and we are rolling. There is one thing that has been on my mind all weekend, don't get caught up in traffic at the top of the gravel road climb...but don't blow up either. With that we hit the gravel road and I begin turning the legs to make up positions. With every pitch I accelerate my pace keeping just below the red zone. By the time we hit the top of the gravel road I've caught up to MM with Rafal in tow. Good job I tell myself..now lets rock it!

Photo Credit: Heather Wolff

For the next 45 minutes, I follow Rafal and Mike as we make our way through single track and around slower riders. I quickly notice that the first hour has held me just below a nice steady XC pace. No red zone, but not exactly easy either. With that, Rafal and I blow through Aid 1. I hear a guy with a radio call out we are top 60. Holy crap, I hope I don't blow up.

On to Aid 2 we roll and the mid point of the race. Mid-way between Aid's 1 and 2 we catch MM again. We would roll into Aid 2 together. At this point I'm feeling good, but am starting to notice a burning in my lungs. The previous 2 weeks of head cold, lingering congestion, asthma, and large amounts of dust from tires are slowing catching up to me.

At Aid 2, we find the Ladies (Roxy, Megan, and Sarah) waiting for us, bottles and nutrition ready so we can continue rocking the day out on our bikes. We also unexpectedly find Lucas, who's broken his bike. Roxy quickly informs us, we are riding for Lucas since his day is done.

Out bound from Aid 2 we begin an awesome descent. Its also when my lungs decide they've had enough. The next 3 hours would be an exercise in futulity trying to climb up steep climbs while also having a strong painful weezing cough. At Aid 3, I stopped only briefly to top off a bottle eat a gu and roll on. By the time I reached Aid 4, my lungs felt like they are were fire. I also realize what I'm up against for the next few miles between Aid 4 and the Bacon Station. First a nice steep climb, followed by single track climbing that would make my lungs wish I had called it quits at Aid 2. Unable to get my HR up to do labored breathing, I rode when I could, and pushed the bike when I had too. It seemed to take forever to reach the Bacon Station. At this point, I'm beginning think I would not finish in under 6 hours. Finally I hear it, someone on the ridge at the Bacon Station has some music blasting. I round the corner and the hard climbing is done.

The next couple miles are a combination of an awesomely technical single track along a narrow ridge, with some more climbing, and a fun forested descent. Before I know it, I'm moving at a good pace again, realizing I will be done in under 6 hours, but by how much I don't know. I begin to rethink the sequence of trail that Rafal and Mark had told me we would have. I start to anticipate the turn onto the final exposed forest road climb. With that climb, I realize that while my lungs are toasted my legs are not, I push my pace as high as my lungs will allow up the climb catching and passing riders in the process.

Photo Credit: Heather Wolff

Finally, the descent. I tell my lungs your done for the day, its time for some flow. I catch several more riders as I make my way down the descent. Brake drag hear, skid there, before I know it I'm already out of the single track and on the gravel road. The gravel road blows by and I'm back on pavement. What seemed like I wouldn't be done in under 6 hours now appears to be a sub 5hr 30. At 5hr 19 minutes I rolled across the line of the 5-0. What a race! My time was good enough for 60th in the mens 30-39 and 132nd overall out of 500.

In all some 20+ nebraskans took part in the race with a great showing from all. All I can say is that I will be back next year eager for another go at the 5-0.

Thanks to Mark for shuttling us out there. Rafal, Ryan, Mark, and Mike, and Bryan for being excellent training partners this year, you guys have really pushed me to excel this year. And thanks to Becky for supporting all my training hours this year.

Now its on to the final couple races of the year. The season is winding down and I'm looking forward to some recovery time!

Time to blog

2010-09-08T13:24:00.002-05:00

Well its been a while since I've blogged...I tried wordpress, but now I'm back on good old blogger....here we go!

Econojer

I told my wife I will win today!

Quick Injury Report

Mid-Season CX Report..."Once your up your up, once your down, your down..."

Belated post..end of Road and MTB Season wrap-up

Part 1) On the Optimization of a Weight Weenie

The Bike Purchase Trifecta

Vacation in ABQ and a high altitude training camp

upgrade points and state champ medals...

Wednesday Night Worlds *updated*

Swanson Marathon Race Report (1 week late)

Climbing the Hill at the Twin Bing Classic

Confirmed

At the precipice!

Its been a while...I know...I know

ON Being Paleo...Part 4: Favorite Snacks

What a difference

By the Numbers: 2010 Season in Review

Don't forget to turn out the lights...

This week: F1, Space Shuttles, Cross and more (Updated)

Big Fat CX Fail...all my own fault of course

This Ride Narrated by Robert Redford

On Being Paleo...Part 3: A good start (paleo pancakes)

On Being Paleo...Part 2: Always Hungry

Omaha CX Weekend: Upgrade Worthy

European Fall in Nebraska!

On Being Paleo...Part 1: How Did I Arrive Here?

Something wicked this way comes! (Today)

Branched Oak Race Report!

More from Dakota 5-0

2 Races to Go!

Dakota 5-0 Race/Ride/Tour

Time to blog

Wednesday Night Worlds updated