Good to be racing!

This past sunday i took part in my first race since july.  All i can say is that it's good to be back.  In May my back flared up on me and though i limped thru racing until July i called it quits after superweek.  After taking a good month off I started riding again and finally in the middle of October I was able to start doing some cyclocross specific training.  I'm nowhere near i'd like to be fitness wise but cyclocross is just too fun to miss.

New Bars on the Cross Bike

Long story short is that my back has been messed up since may.  Raced a bit thru July then called it quits. I've been riding again now for a few weeks but it's all easy endurance paced riding until i can do that pain free.

About a month ago i dropped the chain on my road bike and it sucked my derailleur into my rear wheel.  Shredded the derailleur as well as bent the dropout/hanger.  I'm sitting on the frame for a bit before i send it back to Trek to have the dropout replaced.

Since then i've been riding my cross bike.  When i built the cross bike last year i threw my old road bars on it that were 42cm.  My road bike is now a 44cm bars and i always felt a little cramped with the 42cm bars.

This week i bought a 44cm wide handle bars and i can't believe how much better it feels.  Now the cross bike feels like my bike.  Now i'm really loving this bike.  

Also i grabbed some Forte Grip-Tec Handlebar Tape.   This was the first time i've used this stuff and i have to say it's gotta be the easiest tape installation i've ever done.  Great tape to work with and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.  It's quite comfy as well.  We'll see how it's durability is.

Fox River Grove

Thankful to be alive.

This past weekend we took a mini family vacation to Galena. As always the bike came with and the plan was to get a couple rides in on the course for the Tour of Galena RR. In later posts I'll profile the climbs on the loop and I'll also have a review of the Sea Sucker Talon+ bike rack I recently purchased but this post is about how I feel very blessed to be writing this right now.

Saturday morning I woke up to clear skis. It had been overcast and rainy and Friday I actually got sleeted on so this was a welcome change. I headed out from our hotel at about 6:35am for the 20min or so ride from the hotel to the southernmost part of the course.

When I left the hotel it was twilight as the sun wasn't above the horizon yet. I had 2 white flashing lights on the handlebars and two flashing red lights on the rear of the bike. By the time I made it to Gulliford road and started the climb the sun was above the horizon. I went over the climb and descended down to Stagecoach road.

Stagecoach is a road I don't like to be on too much because there isn't much of a shoulder and it's the main road heading East out of town. Traffic isn't that heavy but speeds are high and you do have to be careful. The sun was on the horizon at my back and looking back it was blinding but it was behind me so I wasn't too concerned but was very aware that any oncoming traffic might not see me.

From Gulliford rd Stagecoach takes a soft right curve then straightens out for about 1km. I had just entered this part and was hugging the shoulder as close as I could. I heard what sounded like a pickup coming up from behind so I steadied myself and waited for the truck to pass.

What happened next took only about 1.5 seconds. The first clue that I had that this wasn't going to be a normal pass was that startling feeling you get when someone buzzes you. You know they are coming but unless you have done a head swivel to check if they are giving you space, the proximity of their front bumper to you as it enters your peripheral vision startles you. I didn't even get to complete the thought of "damn that bumper is.." then WACK! The trucks mirror tags me on the back. The sound was loud.

Somehow by the grace of God i didn't go down. Then to my surprise the driver of the pickup just keeps going. He did not even adjust his path or tap the breaks. Just kept on driving. Completely stunned I came to a stop and quickly checked myself out. Other than feeling like I had just been slapped really hard on my back I seemed fine. Then I started taking tabs on the truck. All white large pickup, maybe early 2000's. I don't think it was a dual rear tires but it was large, with large black extended mirrors.

As the truck disappeared around the next curve I continued into town. Once in town I did a couple loops looking for the pickup but didn't see one. I then went to the county courthouse and talked to an officer there who took some details down but said that it was a county sheriff's deputy that needed to interview me but he was in East Dubuque dealing with overnight vandalism. Long story short, I finished my ride of the RR circuit and rode back to my hotel. A little while later a Deputy met me at the hotel and filed a report.

This photo shows the exact point where i was hit. The orange line on the graph is my cadence. I stopped pedaling the moment i got hit. The blue line is my speed.

Will anything come of this? I don't know. I just wanted this on record so if it happens again there will be a history recorded.

Could I have done anything different? Well I actually had a GoPro camera on the bike but it was off because I was saving it for some of the climbs later in the ride. I had the blinky lights going and was in colorful clothing so I don't think I could have been better prepared. I was as close to the shoulder as possible as well.

Being that there was no oncoming traffic I'm pretty certain that the driver was either impaired or that this was deliberate. I just can't believe that he didn't see me before or after.

Location:Galena, IL

Getting reacquainted with the road bike

Tonight I rode the road bike for the first time since I think October. I've been using the cross bike for trainer rides all this time and switching back to the road bike was a bit of a shock.

I've yet to get an outdoor ride in yet but hopefully that all changes tomorrow.

Quick Update 2011 season

I have just completed a 3 week base period training block that has to be the best one i've ever had this time of year. I was able to make my hours all 3 weeks with almost all of the time being indoors on the trainer and rollers. It's getting a bit mind numbing but it's awesome to have friends over for the early sat. am long rides. Makes the time go faster.

I had been afraid to compare to last year since i feel i haven't been as driven as i was at this time last year but the good news is that i'm a little ahead of this same time last year so i'm excited about that.

After hearing about all the exciting things happening in the midwest this fall for cyclocross i've decided to make a somewhat focused run at cyclocross this fall so the current plan is to build up for Superweek in July and then reset for the fall.

I've also gotten myself into another Gatorade Study that i'll be doing the month of April. If you'd like to get in on the study check out Provident Clinical Research's website to get signed up.

That's all for now.