Hosting Aaron's Pro Cycling Team

My family and I had the great pleasure of hosting the Aaron's pro cycling team this weekend for the National Criterium Championships. This is the third year my family has done so and we really enjoy it. They are very enjoyable to be around, socializing with my whole family including my young son and daughter. A teammate of mine hosted a few of the riders from the team and they really enjoyed their family's dog. They share their stories and enjoy our stories, as well. It is a rewarding experience and one that we will continue year after year. Thanks Carmen, Brian, Kat, Meredith, and Erica for staying with us. Also, thanks to Rebecca, Carmen and Anna who stayed at my teammates house.

So, in summary, we had a blast this weekend!! So... how do you get started hosting a team? I am not sure the best way, but I can let you know how we did it. When Elk Grove was planning their first cycling event, I found out they were looking for host families. I talked to my wife about it and we decided to take a chance. We were given a choice on hosting 2 couples from different teams or to take 6 people from one team. We decided to take in 5 riders and 1 director. It ended up being only 5 because one of the team members stayed with a friend. It was a great decision we made. We had a wonderful time. We have continued every year since.

I know that Superweek was looking for host families this year. I would imagine there are still opportunities to host teams for Elk Grove and Downers Grove. I would suggest contacting Special Events Management and/or Elk Grove Village Hall regarding being a host family if you are interested. I have yet to hear of someone having a bad experience.

Please feel free to leave your host family experiences in the comments.

Thanks!!

Quite a few of my fellow cyclist friends have congratulaged me on my job with Giant. Thanks; it has meant a lot to me. Obviously, I am very happy about the opportunity, but others who know my love of cycling seemed more excited about my opportunity than I did and that is pretty hard to do.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who threw a "congrats" my way. I really appreciate it.

2 more things... Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about Giant bikes and No, I cannot get you deal on a Giant bike :-). I will appreciate you patronizing your local Giant Dealer, thought :-).

New Job

I am so happy... I got a new job. I now am the Chicago Account Executive for Giant Bicycles. This is a job I have wanted for a long time and I am so excited to join a great company. I will try not to make this blog an advertisement for Giant, but it will be hard especially given their 2009 road bikes. They are awesome.

I am currently at "The Link" which is Giant's bike dealer event. I have had the opportunity to ride a few of the new bikes and I was blown away. Every road bike wants stiffness, comfort (compliance), and light weight. Comfort was the most evident, but stiffness and weight were also obvious benefits. For those of you that know me, I can't climb worth a damn. I went up a 700 ft. climb with an average 8.5% grade and made it. It was still hard, especially being at altitude, but I don't think I would have been able to do it on my current bike.

Needless to say, I am very excited about Giant's products, people, and my new responsibilities.

Fantasy Cycling Team - I didn't win but...

I played the Tour de France Fantasy Cycling game on the Versus website sponsored by Kenda. I spent a pretty good amount of time selecting the right combination of riders in order to maximize my results while staying within their spending limit. In retrospect, I may have put too much focus on TT riders, but my overall results exceeded my expectations!!

From over 20,000 people who played, I finished 66. I didn't win anything, but I can at least say I beat all the Versus announcer guys. If you played the game, you can view the top 100 finishers of each stage as well as the top 100 for the tournament period (stage 5-21).

If they do it again, I will play again next year, but I think this year's result will be hard to top.

Landis Decision preannouncement

CAS has announced that they will release their decision regarding Floyd Landis on 6/30/2008 at 10am CDT. I am very interested to find out what their decision is and what they have to say about it.

Back on the bike

I rode for the first time in about 2 weeks and it felt great to be back on the bike. The shoulder was sore, but the pain was muted by the joy of riding again. I rode 67 miles in my first ride back. I wouldn't recommend doing this for most the first ride back after an injury, but it worked for me.

Anyway, it is great to be back on the bike. I won't be racing until the end of July due to the injury and family commitments so I have plenty of time to train to be ready for the heart of the season.

Also, you should be seeing a few more blog posts from me from articles I have been reading.

Shoulder update and items for sale

Yes, my shoulder still hurts. I did some research and confirmed what I already knew... I separated my right shoulder. I rode my bike on Tuesday with the family since it was feeling better, but this was a bad idea. I was riding with my daughter and I needed to make her stop for cross traffic. I wasn't thinking about my shoulder and reached out with my left arm which made my right shoulder rotate. OUCH!! It has been quite sore since then. A sling is recommended for this type of injury so I am now using one. I expect to be off the bike until Sunday or Monday and then ride the trainer for at least a week, probably 2. It sucks to be riding the trainer in the summer, but it could have been a lot worse.




Also, with my spare time, I have been cleaning out my inventory of used cycling related items. I am selling them on Ebay. You can see them here:

Obama... c'mon, put the helmet on right!

After being involved in a crash on Saturday where the helmet saved me from serious injury and having a few of my friends being hit by cars recently, I saw this picture in the Chicago Tribune. So... what is wrong with this picture? Yup, Obama didn't strap on his helmet. Doesn't he know that the helmet isn't doing him any good if he doesn't strap it on? If he falls, the helmet most likely will come off before he ever hits the ground.

For a guy that is campaigning to run our country, you would think he would be smart enough to make sure he straps on his helmet. And if he forgets, there should be someone there to make sure he does.

Crash and Wound Care

Well, as they say, it isn't if, it is when.... I crashed today on our club's group ride. I won't bore you with the details. The basics are someone crashed up ahead of me and it caught my attention and the person in front of me moved to the left and slowed down to get away from the crash and crossed my front wheel. Down I went and in a hurry. Shoulder hit first and then my head. I have a bit of road rash, but the shoulder is the worst as I know I at least sprained it. I don't know when I will be back on the bike but I expect to ride at least easy rides in a few days, but probably won't race at Sherman Park like I expected to. Anyway, it could have been a lot worse and my bike seems to be no worse for wear. I will take it to Spin Doctor Cyclewerks on Monday to get a full check to make sure there isn't any damage.

With that out of the way, one of the guys in the club has a lot more road rash. My wife helped him get acquanted with the more recent advances in wound care. He only had gauze on the wound which isn't the best. Anyway, here is a rundown in what I use for road rash based on personal experience as well as doctor care and my own personal research.

- If I have a very deep road rash wounds, I start by using non-stick gauze and silvadene creme. Silvadene is by prescription only, but doctors usually have no problems prescribing it. On top of being effective, the creme feels GREAT going on.

- If you aren't concerned about changing bandages often, you can start with Tegaderm, but normally I wait until my road rash isn't seeping a ton so I only have to change it every couple of days. The bandages aren't cheap, but there is nothing like them for effectiveness and simplicity. Tegaderm looks and acts like plastic wrap. It keeps the wound clean and moist which is what you want.

Remember that road rash is nothing but a burn and burns should be kept moist. Also, polysporen and neosporen should not be used. I forget why but it has something to do with killing not just bad bacteria but also inhibiting some of the body's normal healing processes.

By keeping the wound moist, you also minimize the scarring. If you let it go to scab, scarring will be dramatically increased. Speaking of letting it scab up, it will take a lot longer to heal if you let it go to scab, not to mention that the scab will get ripped off at some point and have to reheal itself at least once.

One drawback to Tegaderm and products like it is that you see the wonderful secretions from the wound. Some people can be grossed out by this, but I suggest either wearing pants and/or long sleeve shirts if that is the case.

One product I have tried that many people like is Duoderm. I found that Duoderm leaks too easily. I find with Tegaderm, you can tell when it is time to change the bandage (if you can call it that) to alleviate a "leak". The more margin you have when applying the initial Tegaderm, the longer you can leave it on.

Lastly, you can also find Tegaderm with a gauze pad in the bandage. I don't really think this is anymore effective except that they cover up the secretions so others aren't grossed out.

Please feel free to comment on this post with your own suggestions or comments.

Ahhh... now I understand

This morning I got up and weighed myself and I had lost 2 lbs since yesterday. I thought I had been drinking enough water, but evidently, I wasn't. I am sure the first hot days of the year had something to do with it as well as being outside all day.

While I am glad to see the weight come off, I know when I get rehydrated that at least a pound of it will probably come back.

This morning, I had a nice recovery ride with my wife. I am also glad to see her riding improve. We went a little longer and a little faster than our previous rides. I can't wait to see how much better she will be by the end of the summer.

Have a great week.

Winfield ABR Championship

While yesterday I felt good, today was not so good. I got up early to serve as a course marshall. While doing so, I could tell my stomach just didn't feel that great. I figured that once I got warming up, I would feel better.

Part way through my warmup, I could tell my right cleat was moving. Thankfully, one of the guys from the shop was there and helped me to get it tightened up quickly, although I figure I lost 15 minutes of warmup time between the fix time and finding the guy. Anyway, I went back out, but really didn't get in the amount of intensity I wanted and when I went hard, it really felt harder than it should have. Again, I figured once I got into the race, I would be fine.

I improved on one thing from yesterday... I got on the front line for the start. When the race started, I slotted into 3rd wheel, but the first 2 guys didn't want to be there, so once we got to the back stretch, I took the field to the hill. I decided that first lap to see how the legs felt and let people pass me going up the hill. Honestly, the hill felt much harder than I remembered. I came off the hill still in the top 10. I proceded to fade back at that point. During the race, I found it easy to move up on the home stretch as the field would take a break. I moved to the front 2 or 3 times during the race.

I kept positive during the entire race. I had a discussion with one of my teammates before the race about hammering it on the last lap up the hill. On the last lap, I did give it all I had on the hill, but unfortunately, I just didn't have it. I limped in for 42nd, but still with the main field.

One thing I did enjoy during this race is helping a few riders back on with the pack. I saw 2 guys I knew start to fall off the back, so I encouraged them to catch my wheel. I have been told many times that I have a good wheel to follow which is just another way of saying that I provide a very good draft. Both guys were able to catch my wheel and get back into the field. Both guys finished ahead of me. Heck, one of the guys had the nerve to pass me in the sprint. We got a good laugh about that after the race as I tried to give him a hard time about not showing his appreciation.

Well, today was an off day and I can tell my body just wasn't right today. I haven't felt very good all day. Considering how I feel as I write this report, I am very satisfied with my effort today.

Winfield Twilight Report

I was looking forward to this race for a change. I want to thank everyone who has told me that I am riding stronger this year; it has given me more confidence to do much better. So, for a change, I really wanted to see what I could do on a course where I have never done well.

Well, unfortunately, the day didn't start out to well. 10 minutes before our race was to start, my front tire went flat. I really didn't want to ride my backup wheel, so I rushed to change my tube with the help of my teammate. The real bad part was that by the time we got to the line, everyone else was already there, so we had to start from the back. I now knew that I would have to spend the first part of the race picking through the pack to get near the front. I stayed positive that I could get near the front and then have the race start.

The race started and I slowly picked up position by position as we went up the hill the first time. My teammate took the inside route and got to the front quick while I was picking my way through the field. His way was much better especially with the tail wind on the uphill section. It took me about 3 laps to finally get into the top 20, but I spent a lot of energy moving up so I was pretty spent. I planned to recover a bit, but there never seemed to be a good spot to really recover. That is the hardest part of this course. You have the hill which takes its toll on everyone and then the downhill with so many turns that you are constantly accelerating out of the turns. This is one hard race.

As Chris Padfield from Team Pegasus mentioned in his report, the memory of the race is fuzzy, but there are times I remember thinking I was done. The major mistake I made in this race was not realizing that the race was partially decided by where you were on the last lap at the top of the hill. I took it easy on the hill to save something for the finish, but that was a huge mistake. I hammered out of every turn, but it just didn't matter in the end. I past the finish line going 36. I was gaining on the riders in front of me who were also flying, but it just didn't matter because you can only make up so much ground in 200m.

I ended up finishing 19th which was pretty much what was left of the front group. I am very glad that I was able to stay with the front group in this race, but feel I could have done better getting a better starting position and better race strategy.

Mike, my teammate finished 6th riding very strong. Congrats, Mike.

One request for the officials... please consider giving instructions for lapped riders at the beginning of the race. Most lapped riders were very good about staying out of the way, but there were a select few that didn't pay attention and placed themselves in the turns opening up gaps as riders further back in the pack were unable to get around them and had to spend energy to bridge those gaps. Yeah, I know, I can fix that by staying near the front, but in my opinion, the field should not be broken up due to lapped riders.

Next up, Winfield ABR Championship.

Memorial Day Weekend - Day 3

Wow... Today was a great day! It could have been better, but I am happy with the results and what it could mean for the rest of my season. Also, we could not have asked for a nicer day to race.

This course had about 40 feet of climbing ever lap which was about 3/4 of a mile. The course had 6 turns. The first turn was fine, turn 2 was a bit hairy if you took the wrong line or too fast as it was off a down hill and the exit of the turn had a concrete wall. Turn 3 was also downhill but a much easier turn. Turn 4 and 5 came one right after the other off the downhill. After turn 5, the road turned up with varying grades, with the steepest grade of around 8% right before turn 6. The surprise came after turn 6 going up the false flat to the start finish.

With the hill on the course, I wasn't expecting too much as I am not the lightest rider at about 195 right now. The race started at a pretty easy pace, but it sped up pretty quickly. I concentrated on staying in the top 10. After a few laps, a prime was called. With where the start finish line was, I had no thoughts of taking a prime, but I thought I could help pick up the pace, so I went to the front for the downhill. Well, in turn 2, I learned that you didn't want to take that turn too fast or start the turn too early. I thought I wasn't going to make the turn. I did make the turn, but I had swallow as my heart was up in my throat. On the brighter side, I had a lot of speed that I carried down the course. After turn 6, the guys going for the prime went around me and I tagged on to a few guys that went around.

Pretty much after that, I was just trying to hold position by taking agressive moves on the downhill and just spinning up the hill without giving up too many positions. Over the course of the race, we cut the field down to 12 riders. Mid race, I found a good line to take down the hill, but somehow lost the line as I got more tired. Also, I learned that spinning it up the hill in my 53/23 or 53/25 was the best way to conserve my legs, especially after the previous 2 days of racing.

I ended up coming in at the end of the 12 person group. Considering I felt it was a possibility that I might get dropped, I was happy with the result. I was disappointed that I finished 2 spots out of the money. It is hard to have great results when you have such low expetations and negative thoughts. One guy watching the race noticed that I was actually making up ground on the hill. If I approached the hill with more confidence, I would have been more relaxed and possibly finished better.

With my racing this weekend, I didn't get great results, but I got in great intervals and it gave me a lot of confidence going into the Winfield race weekend.

Memorial Day Weekend - Day 2

Today was a frustrating day, but I got a GREAT workout. Today's race was on the same course as yesterday except the wind was out of the south instead of the east like the day before. Also, the wind was stronger. I figured with the wind that a break wouldn't be able to stay away. Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong.

I found myself without teammates today, so I decided to see how things would pan out and make decisions along the way. Right away, as the race started, the pace was faster than the day before. In one of the first few laps, a break of 2 got a way. For quite a while, the field kept the break at around 10 seconds, but then the break started to increase the gap. At this point, I decided that I would put in hard efforts to try to bring the break back and encouraged others to help out. I started pulling about 1/2 of the next 5 laps. Now, it was the stretch with the wind and the other stretch was downhill, so it was the easiest part to pull, but you don't put a 190lb, 6 foot 2 inch guy with broad shoulders to pull up a hill or into the wind. There were a few other guys that decided to help, but very few. Thanks to those that helped try to bring the break back. It was all for not as the break caught the field with 4 to go.

I was spent by the time the finish came around from the time I spent chasing the break, so I only managed 13th out of a field of around 25.

On a brighter note, one of the guys I coach won the Cat 5 Masters race. We went over the plan before the race and he executed it perfectly.

Next on the schedule is Batavia. I have no idea what to expect for this race. It is a very technical course, so taking a technical course with a Cat 4 field is always a little nerve wracking.

Memorial Day Weekend - Day 1

Today was the first of 3 races put on by ABD. The first 2 races are in Wood Dale and the 3rd is in Batavia. The course today was downhill between turns 1 and 2 and uphill between 3 and 4. Also, the wind was from the east so it was with the riders going down the downhill and against the riders going up the upslope.

I wasn't sure how this race was going to go, but I had decided not to attack early and wait to see what opportunities present themselves at the end. The race had its normal eb and flow. I found it easy to move up after turn 2 if I was able to get a good line through the turn so I didn't have to brake. I found that I could take this turn faster than the others, so I filed that away in the memory banks. There was a big crash between turns 3 and 4 which went completely across the road. It started on the left and went like a domino across the road. If I remember correctly, there was a rider who almost saved it by riding to his right, but he lost control as he reached the right side of the road and 2 or 3 riders fell on top of him. I can tell I am over my fear of crashing as I made smart moves to miss the crash, but didn't have the normal post crash adrenaline crash. I hope everyone was OK from the crash as I know a Team Mack rider had to go get x-rays. Also, I heard there was a bad crash in another race. I hope everyone is ok from that crash as well. Ok, back to the race...

A couple of brakes got off the front and a few actually looked somewhat promising as there were 4 riders in one break, but the field never let them get very far. Without any dominant teams, there wasn't much chance of anyone getting away. I will say that Albertos probably did the best job of doing some amount of teamwork. Kudos.

Anyway, with 3 to go, I moved up in the field and felt really good going into the last few laps. I started thinking that I would have Mike lead me out at the beginning of the lap or I would lead him out. When the field took the bell, I told Mike to catch my wheel. Unfortunately, he didn't hear me. I took off and flew through the first 2 turns. I should have pedaled more through turn 2 but I had a good gap. As soon as I came out of turn 2, I caught a stiff gust of wind. That was a bit of a bad break, but it wouldn't have mattered. I snuck a peak half way between turn 2 and 3 and saw I had a gap of at least 100 meters, probably a bit more, but the pack was charging fast. I thought with about 1/4 of a mile left, I might have a chance. As soon as I took turn 3 into the wind, I knew that was it. I let up a bit and tried to catch a wheel as the field came up. No dice. I had nothing left. I ended limping in at around 30th.

I have no regrets about trying the flyer. It was worth a shot. Now, I have to take a look at the wind tomorrow and strategize what to try tomorrow.

Even the best make mistakes

If you watched the race today in Begium, you saw that one of the world's best racers made an embarrasing mistake... He started to post up before crossing the line and got nipped at the line. I never expected Tom Boonen of team Quick Step to make a mistake such as this especially considering Boonen started his sprint early. He got nipped at the line by Mark Cavendish of team High Road, but half a wheel.

Let this be a lesson for all racers out there... It is much more important to practice your sprint and bike throw, than it is to practice your post up. If Boonen had held his sprint and did a bike throw there is not doubt that he would have been the winner.

First Race of the Season & other updates

I had my first race of the season yesterday. It was a blast. First, kudos to Burnham Racing for putting on a great race at a great venue. These guys need to right a book on how to put on your first race as this was the first race for this team.

I raced the masters 4/5 & cat 3/4. Since I haven't lost the weight
using the "hope" diet (I hope I lose the weight), I had modest goals.
For the masters 4/5, I decided I would be aggressive and see what
would happen. I attacked a few times, bridged to a solo break and won the prime. I was cooked after the prime. There were only 2 laps left after the prime which wasn't enough time for me to recover and get good position for the finish at this time of the year so my final position wasn't very good. That is ok because I did exactly what I planned.

For the second race, I had much more modest goals. I knew the pace
would be faster so I decided to sit in and hang on. I had not tested
my fitness so I thought this would be a good plan. I rode the race
near the back and watched a number of riders get popped, especially
during the last 2 laps. I passed at least 15 guys during the final
400 meters to take... 49th. :-). It wasn't about the place; it was
about ralizing how much I had left. Again, I accomplished my goal for
the race.

Considering my weight is still high and I have less than 1000 miles in
my legs this year, I have to give most of the credit to my new bike,
my new Specialized Tarmac Pro. I love it. It really made a big
difference. I can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds as I
lose wait and my form improves.

Also, it was fun to watch the riders I am coaching. While they are at
different abilities, I felt they did extremely well!

Stem Height: spacers or no spacers

In my favorite cycling magazine, Road Bike Action Magazine, there is an interesting article about stem height. It talks about what it can mean for performance and the stigma of a high stem.

Evidently, there are some clubs/teams/groups out there that evaluate new riders based on their stem height. If they have spacers, they are viewed as inexperienced. I find this completely ridiculous. Yes, I do have spacers, but that isn't the point.

Those people who ride with no spacers and haven't had a professional fitting are only doing this to look like a pro. Most are not doing it because it is the best position for them. Also, stem height is only partially responsible for the final position. If a person has long legs and a shorter torso, then the rider may need spacers just to give them the correct "pro" position.

Anyway, the point of the article is that pros are able to obtain that position because they work to be flexible and to powerful core muscles and to be thin so their bellies (or lack there of) don't get in the way of their thighs. For us everyday Joe's, we are not as flexible and our core muscles aren't as strong, not to mention that most of us don't have sub 8% body fat.

So, if you see someone who has spacers, don't make any judgements. Also, if you don't have spacers and are having neck or back problems, or your thighs are hitting your belly, you might want to think about a professional fitting. Greg at Spin Doctor Cyclewerks does a great job with fittings.

Also, pick up the latest edition of Road Bike Action Magazine. I read it cover to cover and love it. Bob Roll is one of the regular columnists.

My spring break

I am really enjoying my spring break with my family. I have been able to get out and ride quite a bit. The weather has been great; much better than the 6 inches that are predicted for Chicago in the next day or so.

My training is going much better than last year and while my weight is slightly lower than this time last year, it isn't where I want it to be. I will have to put a little more focus on my diet.

Anyway, that is a quick update from me. I will be posting new informative articles soon.

First Outdoor ride for 2008

If you are/were a reader of my blog, you might be wondering if I was still alive. Between Gatorade tests, starting a new job and just everyday life, I have been busy. Yeah, I know... so is everyone else. Now that I am riding more consistently and we are nearing the start of cycling season, I plan on updating this blog more often.

Yesterday, I took my first ride outside for 2008. It was a beautiful day for ride. Never mind that it was 30 degrees (-1 C); it was sunny and only a light breeze out of the West. Of course, starting the ride into the wind didn't help to get me warmed-up quick. I even thought about turning around right at the start of the ride because my neck was so cold. I didn't and I am glad I didn't. I rode for 1:15 and was pretty warm for the entire ride.

A couple of things to keep in mind when riding in the cold. You will ride slower. Your body has to take a good amount of your energy to help keep you warm. Also, the air is more dense and you have more wind resistance which also decreases your speed. If you expect yourself to ride a certain speed all the time, cover up your speed reading with a piece of tape, if you have to. Just get out and ride. You will be glad you did.

I am planning on riding with a fellow club member today as today is supposed to be a little warmer although the wind is supposed to be a little stronger.