State Criterium Championships

On the very front towing the group into a tricky corner....
Taking the hill on the front....

On my way to the podium and the Bronze medal at the State Championships...

This past Sunday I took part in the Masters State Criterium Championships held in Minden Nevada. This is the big race of the year for Masters riders, as the District title is on the line for the winners of each age group. I raced in the most stacked division, the 35+ group. It was full of Pro riders and super talented racers from area's all over Northern California and Nevada.

For this race I felt amazingly good. I am very thankful for this.......

In the end I worked my way onto the podium, claiming the Bronze medal~!! I was very stoked to get this finish. This race had the best of the best racers from Nor-Cal in the field. They only had awards to the top 3 and I battled my way on to the podium bringing home Bronze.

I had a chance for the win, yet I am happy and humble to just make the podium and be ranked as one of the best riders in all of Northern California.

Thank you to everyone and anyone who has believed in me as a racer and has offered me help and kindness!

I have much more racing left this season, and it was nice to reach a major goal of mine at one of the biggest target events I have for 2009.

ARMSTRONG

Legend.....
Armstrong at the top of Mt. Ventoux with Schleck and Nibali in his wake. Armstrong is the ultimate fighter....

The showdown on Mt. Ventoux, Armstrong showed he is one of a kind this day....

2010 Tour de France, but on different teams, with even more aggression between the two ???....

Armstrong is a true legend. To pull off a ride up Mt. Ventoux that kept himself on the podium. And to produce such a stellar Tour de France after being away from the top level of cycling for years, was simply legendary. I was able to ride with him before the Tour. I was able to spin with him during his warm up for his first Road victory of 2009 the Nevada City Classic, one of his pre-tour prep events. It was just him and I and 2 of his team mates. I can tell you from first hand experience that Armstrong is one of a kind, a true legend of cycling.

Laguna Seca Twilight Cycling

Yesterday was the 4th edition of Laguna Seca's Twilight Cycling event on the race track. They had a Criterium race on the same course used for the Sea Otter Classic Criterium.

I was able to claim 1st place in the Crit. race! This was extra nice as I was the overall winner at the previous event they had for Twilight Cycling, which was the full length of the raceway- the Circuit race. It was nice to claim back to back wins at the cycling program held at the raceway! The group was really fast, and I was still very sore from doing 3 races over the weekend. At my Tuesday night work out the day before, I felt really tired and my legs felt sluggish to say the least. But I came back well for the Wednesday Twilight race and felt my legs turning over much better then the day before. The three races I did over the past weekend were extremely fast and the groups were full of strong riders. Each race had over 50 riders in the field and I was able to make podium in those events. I know that the steady riding and hard efforts will pay off as my Road race season progresses. Now I need some rest!!

Friendship

Time and time again I see that cycling really shows you who your true friends really are......

Today Ben Jacques-Maynes, a professional cyclists who I am friends with and have watched develop from a young cyclists racing my CCCX Cyclocross Series races into one of the USA's best all around riders, won a stage of the Cascade Cycling Classic. Ben immediately dedicated the win to another local rider who just passed away from a heart ailment, Chris Hipp.

This past Saturday at the Watsonville Crit. I had a long talk with Ben about racing and life in general. Ben told me about his friendship with Chris Hipp and how they trained together and I could see that Ben was very hurt from Chris Hipp dieing so unexpectedly.

To hear that Ben rode away from the best domestic riders at the end of a hard race and then dedicated the win to a fallen friend was very special to me. Ben really is a great rider and a great person.

Cycling shows people's true character. Some people quit and are negative, while others are always out there trying their best and fighting the good fight on the bike. Some people always say positive things to others when riding- encouraging others and uplifting others even when things go wrong. While others remain quite until they then say some negative remark that will only lead to conflict. Most of all cycling shows the true feelings of its competitors. You want to know how someone feels about you, test them and push them, and see how they respond. Their true feelings toward you will most likely be revealed. Either they will be haters and respond with hatred and negativity, or they will be kind, caring, respectful and congratulatory.

Friendship can be shared on a bicycle between humans. Racing and training is hard but the demands of cycling build character. Cycling also builds friendships and support groups that make one better, stronger, and faster. Cycling can also show you "Who" your real friends are and "What" real friends really are.

Ben Jacques-Maynes and Chris Hipp were true friends who supported each other and kept it positive when the cycling was demanding. Congratulations to Ben for winning a race and dedicating the win the Chris Hipp. Gestures like that show true character and are touching in a heavenly sense and are straight from the heart.

Watsonville Crit. & Albany Crit.

It was very hard racing this past weekend at the Watsonville Criterium and the Albany Criterium. Each race was super fast and the fields were full of super talented riders.

I was very pleased to make awards for both days with strong finishes. This was excellent as I picked up Nor-Cal ranking points, and raced at a high level.

Most of all, I know I am going to improve dramatically. If anything, my racing will be more aggressive, and I can develop more tactics in the Criteriums and Road races. I want to keep working on improving, and the results will surely follow. But to achieve anything I must keep working hard to improve.

Focus

I am keeping my focus on the goals I have set. The work and training I do to improve on the bike is the key to attaining my goals. Each day is a chance.... and all I want is a chance. Because if I have a chance, I will succeed.

Looking Forward~

To win the Folsom Circuit race was amazing for me, however you need to lose races to really evolve as a racer and competitor....
This race win was fantastic for me because the course was so sweet, as the route took over the entire downtown area of Folsom and had two bridge crossings. But what was extra special was the fact that the riders who finished 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th, were some of the top Road race specialists from all of Northern California. To be #1 on this day was amazing because the riders who finished behind me from the break-away were all riders with incredible talent....

The past weekends races did not go as I would have liked. However, there is always learning experiences I get in each event that will help me in the future. It is important I learn from the good and the bad moments in racing. Sometimes the bad races provide the most learning that will help me in future races.

I am really looking forward to the upcoming cycling events I will be competing in. I need to work on all aspects of racing and continue to develop my skills, tactics, and form.

Race Weekend~

My training has been spot on thanks to the help from my coach. I very much want to race extremely hard this weekend....

It will be the San Rafael Crit. on Saturday afternoon, and then the Lodi Crit. on Sunday.

It will be some very fast racing action for sure~

Teus. Wed. - & the past Sat.

Before the CCCX DH Final on Sunday I raced in the Davis Crit. on Sat. I rode aggressive and in the end I was 5th place in the race. My goal was a strong performance & to fight for the win. I accomplished these goals and for my ride I was awarded some cash and a spot on the podium.

The past 2 days I have had some very hard road rides. Tuesday night was the circuit race in Ft Ord. I felt really good on this ride and my attacks late in the ride distanced myself from the group and a solo win was the result.

Then today(Wed.) I did intervals on the route my coach prescribed for me in Pebble Beach. Intervals are crazy on this section of road my coached wanted me to use. It really is brutal, but in the end I felt shattered and completely blown, and this will help me in future races. I am positive that the intervals I do will make the difference in my Road results for the remaining races this year.

Now I need a rest day~

CCCX DH FINAL

I hit all my turns spot on for the final.....
The action was fast and furious....

Toro Park and the surrounding hills make for great MTB racing.....

It was a beautiful day for DH racing....

I had a solid focus and delivered a clean run for the final....

The top 5 Pro riders for the 2009 CCCX DH Series. I was stoked to get 3rd pro overall going against riders half my age. It is fun racing against some young guns....

I had a sweet DH final race this past Sunday. I hit all my turns and was very happy with my race run. I did get caught out by a family of hikers near the bottom of the trail which made me lose a few seconds. But this did not matter because it was a rad course and I had a blast racing downhill. The turns I designed for the course became super tricky and many riders fell victim to the difficult turns and twists of the trail. For the most part my run was flawless and I was pleased to finish the series ranked 3rd in the Pro Division.

This Weekend

I have been training very hard and getting ready for a string of Northern California Road events starting with the Davis Criterium this coming Saturday....
Lance Armstrong, seen here racing against me at Nevada City, has been training with a strong determination to race well in France during July, I think he will surprise many people with his results....

Armstrong destroyed the field at the Nevada City race and it was great to just have a chance to race with him. I pulled him around for as long as I could, which was not very long at all....

I set up the course today for my Downhill Series final race. The course really is amazing, and it is so fun to ride that I want to do it again and again and again. Yet today was a rest day basically, and all I did on the bike was coast down the DH course after setting up all the pins-poles-& course tape.

Tomorrow I will finish the final course set up, then get about 90 minutes of easy spinning in on the Road bike.

Saturday will be a very prestigious Criterium race here in Nor-Cal, The Davis Crit. I have directions from my coach on how he wants me to go at it, and it will be very exciting to compete. I very much hope to feel good when it matters most in the race.

Then Sunday will be the final race in the Spring/Summer CCCX DH Series. I really like the course and it will be fun to race DH at Toro Park.

Intervals

I backed up a hard Tuesday night effort from the Circuit race in Ft Ord with some steady intervals today. Intervals are a key to my development on the Road and MTB XC racing.

Tomorrow I will set the DH course for my CCCX DH Series final race. I will work to put together a extra fun route and try and really challenge the racers with some tricky turns and twists on the course.