Where in the World is Garrett White?

So after a long hiatus, I am officially back. Everyone may have been wondering where I had gone and why I have had no updates, have I been racing? Training? What gives Whiz?

So after returning from my stint in France, I was still having lots of trouble walking properly and my bursa was still very inflamed. I found it in my best interest to pack the bike in for a few weeks and start over. Unfortunately, this limited any sort of racing here locally and any fitness for racing nationally. 

After healing, I went through a bit of a motivational crisis and finally after deciding that I was going to make a push for the rest of the season it seems that my luck showed up again. I had a fork delaminate while riding, causing me to do the "Hincapie." This also sent my body flying through the air, rendering 12 stitches in the knee and 2 broken ribs. So check one week recovery!

Feeling fresh, I started to hit the gusto again and figured I would race one of my favorite local crits, the Bartow Twlight! This also prompted my last call up and ability to wear my 2009 Florida Cup Champion jersey! 

The race itself went pretty well, especially for racing with 2 broken ribs on a bike I had never ridden prior to that night. Coming in 10th was a nice bonus too.

The next day, we raced a new course in the day that was somewhat technical. Also being a little windy it meant that the field was going to be in pieces.  Approaching the midpoint in the race, as I came into the third corner, which was a little off camber and downhill, my front tire blew mid corner. Trying my best to stay upright, I put all the weight on the rear causing the rim to taco, sending me into the street gutter. 

Almost laughing as I got into the grass, since this could not be happening again. Doing an assessment of the damage, I had my right side pretty much covered in road rash and my helmet split in half! As I got cleaned up by the EMT staff the pain in my shoulder started to grow and driving home I was almost in tears the whole way.

During the next few days it progressed and got worse. This prompted some attention and I found out that I did indeed fracture my collarbone. Most riders at this point would write their season off at this point. I thought the same thing and then during my time off for the next week, the gossip of this crash started to come back to me and really lit a fire up under me. 

Personally hating when people tell me things cannot be done or negative things about me, I started planning my last horrah for the year, the Florida State Road Race Championship. Being so motivated I rode my trainer 7 days straight in my garage, until I was able to ride on the road again. I wanted to stay off anyone's radar for this race, training alone and skipping all the end of season races. 


As I slowly started to gain fitness, I was pretty happy with the legs coming into the last race of 2010. Knowing that I would have two chances to become a "state champ," I would have to play my cards right either day to capitalize. Saturday was the championships based on age and Sunday was set to be per category. 

Coming to the start line of these races is always interesting because you never know who is going to show up. As the race started, the normal stars of Florida were out and also a few outliers that showed up out of the blue. Danny Holt of TT1 being one of the major players. Getting underway, I had a feeling that this was going to be a race of patience. Coming into the last laps, I was very quick to follow any of my marked riders and with one to go Holt shot a ballistic attack up the feedzone climb. I went eye's crossed to follow but it was a little too late and my move also brought two guys I had watched all race.


As the move progressed, it seemed that we were going to come to a bunch gallop. I made sure to stay towards the front and as we came into the last two kilometers, a crash seemed almost immanent from the energy of the field. Sure enough with about 700m to go, a surge happened on the far right causing a multitude of riders to move in that direction, this caused a massive pile up! Being quite patient, I stayed right and was able to sneak through any sort of pending catastrophe. 

Crossing the line in a mixed category race, you never know where you are. I came across 4th, but who was ahead of me? Where they in my category?

NO! 

Goal Achieved! 

Garrett White is now the 2010 State Road Race Champ!

 
Finally after what seemed to be a year of crashes and broken me, I came back and made up for all of it in one day! This will provide some great motivation for the winter and fuel my fire all season! 

Taking Any Luck I Can Get

So after finding out I was not broken, I figured that racing the next weekend was not entirely out of the question or crazy. After two rides during the week it still seemed a little iffy. Also, I was still walking around like a 60 year-old hip replacement recipient, so racing my bike was at least going to be interesting.

Thankfully the weather here had took another turn and it was glorious all week. Unfortunately I only got to see two days of it, since I was hanging out in my bed most of the time trying not to move. But as Saturday morning rolled around, so did the clouds. 

Typically races start around 2 or 3pm here, but Saturday was a 10am start. We had been informed that our pick up was at 7:30. So basically everyone was up at 6am, shuffling for breakfast and coffee. Our course was to the Vendee Provincial Championships and from what we had been told the course was very rolling, but shorter at 100km.

Coming into the start town of Thoringy, we were graced with rain. The day was going to be wet and windy. Finally we got underway, with attacks out of the gun. We managed to stay dry for the first 20km, then the winds and rain came down. As we started to hit some crosswind sections the race was coming into groups and splitting. I was doing everything in my power to stay in the saddle and in the right position. Kalvis was able to make the break, as Ulmo and I stayed in the peleton following wheels. 

After the second pass back through Thoringy, we hit another section of crosswinds. Somehow I had a lapse in attention and was in the autobus all of the sudden, realizing that the peleton in front of me was in reach I jumped across having to burn some matches to get there. Eventually we did right as the group hit one of the 120 degree corners. 

With 40km to go we hit the local laps, which consisted of two climbs, making things not so easy on the legs. Halfway into the first lap Ulmo asked how far we were along and was opting to pull out since conditions were less than optimal. With 3 laps to go I felt ok up the KOM and found myself in the first 5 riders over the top. My legs were ok and I figured with the wind and course that someone might be able to stay away on the last lap. 

Coming into the last lap, I tried to attack in the head wind section and was given some room. My move was soon countered and our speed did not drop under 50km/h until the KOM. As my legs recovered, I knew someone was going to want to kill it up the KOM, so I did the same and found myself off the front with 3 other riders. As we hit the top, the US Montobaun rider countered and I had no response. I was able to slot in line as we sat at 65km/h coming into the sprint. I found it a little funny since we were sprinting for maybe 10th at best. These guys were murdering it in horrible conditions. At 500 meters to go I figured 15th and 20th were no difference, so I rolled in safely as France has gotten enough of my skin. 

I was pretty surprised at a top 20 result since I was still not walking normally and the course contained 6 KOM's for the day. Something that really is not suiting to my riding style. Hopefully I could repeat the performance tomorrow on a flatter parcourse.

Sunday was back to a typical or actually later start time, at 4pm. So we got to enjoy sleeping in since we were not getting picked up until 12:30. I was on my last day of antibiotics and hobbling a little less than Saturday. Today was prime to be a good day! 

As we got to the start in a park in the middle of nowhere, there were a good amount of riders with a starting field of 110-120 riders. It was also extremely windy out so positioning today was going to be key. From the course description we got, there would be about 80km consisting of two loops and then a finishing circuit in Riaille. The race was typical from KM 0, attacks galore. As we came through every city, the amount of traffic furniture was an issue, it seemed we had 5-7 round-abouts and 3-4 traffic islands to avoid in every city we rolled through. About 20km into the race, we rolled into one of the smaller cities, made a sharp left and all of the sudden it was like being in a gun range.

Little did we know at two meters from each curb and in the middle of the road where small (one meter high) signs. Each one of these signs claimed riders. Overall, I think 6 riders hit signs, seeing and hearing it was quiet an experience. These riders created a yard sale in the road taking down 10 more riders. Thankfully I was right in the middle of this as it happened and managed to avoid all carnage. Coming to a stop to traverse the downed riders was not something I wanted to do, but it was better than being the guy on the ground. 

Obviously this caused a massive split with about 50 riders going clear. I put my head down and got in line for the chase. As it looked like we made it back in 10 minutes, I realized that 4 riders infront of me a rider pulled the plug after leaving an 800m gap. At these speeds and wind, that was going to be super hard to pull back. Being in a group of 8 riders we rolled turns trying to make it back. Unfortunately this just did not happen. 

The organization allowed us to come into the local laps, but then we were forced to retire after that. True to French racing, 35 riders finished from our huge field. At the car some laughs were exchanged about the crash, because Kalvis was thinking there was no way I could crash again and was worried since I was not in the field and riders had to be transported to hospitals after that crash. Fortunately I was just gapped off. Be it bad luck, I will take that any day over winding up on the ground again!

France's Bag O'Tricks

So finding the motivation to actually write this post and give it the time needed for all the unnecessary emotion to pass has taken longer than I had anticipated, but at least things now are more positive and have a better outlook. 

As for last weekend's racing, I was really looking forward to racing hard since my form was coming along great and I was able to really start to give it some gas and I was ready to showcase this in our upcoming events. Unfortunately this country had other plans for me. 

We sign in, take our photos, say hello to the announcers and then it is all business. We need to get the legs opened up because we start with a KOM right out of the gate. Navigating the city streets is easier said than done in this light and especially in a French Cup race, there are people everywhere. 

Finishing my warm up, as I make the final turn back up to where the team car is, I see the rider in front of me swerve and then BAM!!! I am on the ground again! Laying there thinking WTF just happened. I look up and there is some guy with the deer in headlights look trying to apologize to me. Looks like I found a spectator and my bike made friends with him. As I tried to get up, I was in excruciating pain. My leg felt broken. I looked at my arm and my scar tissue from my brash with death had completely been split in half and was gushing blood. 

As I used my bike as a crutch to get back to the team car, I lost it emotionally.I completely broke. I just could not grasp why these things were happening to me. I had such good form and then this was being stripped from me. I broke into tears as I waited for the medic to come look at me. 

Being physically tough, I wanted to at least try and start the race. I rode up the hill to the start line and realized this was not possible. I could not get out of the saddle, and barely pedal in the saddle. Something was wrong, again. 

I spent the rest of the day in the car, upset. I figured out after getting out one time that, I was not going to be moving much, since it took me about five minutes to even get out of the car. 

Seeing the strain this put on me, when we made it home Albert flat out asked me if I wanted to pack up my bags and just go home. He was sharing my frustration. I knew I was not going to be racing Sunday. I tried to spin my legs out Sunday and it was pretty rough doing 70 watts and trying to block out the pain I felt. Racing Monday became out of the question.


Since Monday was a National Holiday, this meant I would have to wait until Tuesday to see a Doctor. Monday was by far the worst day pain wise that I had been in. I was convinced my pelvis or femur was fractured. Walking was almost impossible and any movements caused a stabbing pain. 


Thankfully I woke up Tuesday in far less pain, walked to the Doctor and found out that my joint and bursa were completely inflamed and I had also bruised my knee and ankle. Pretty much all things were damaged somewhat on that side. He gave me some prescriptions and noted that I should take 5-7 days off from any activity. 


In cyclist lingo this means four days. After one day of medications I was feeling quiet better! By Thursday I cleared myself for the weekend and figured if I was going to be racing I better go out and at least see if I could ride my bike. 


In the first five minutes things felt completely different. I was able to pedal, I was able to get out of the saddle. I was able to ride at some speed and force. Thankfully things were turning around. Friday was another day in progression, as I had to do some intervals to get the legs going for the weekend. I could feel things breaking down, but it was definite the weekend was not going to be easy because the openers were a little painful.

 On the bike I began to laugh, knowing that this whole time in this country, I have been like a "Bozo" blow up punching bag. This country is the little boy, waiting to smack "Bozo" as hard as he can, hoping he stays down. Well just like "Bozo" I keep bouncing up. I will take the licks, but I will keep coming back. Persistence will always pay off because if you give up, you will always wonder how close you were. So buck up, know that sometimes you have to take a proverbial "punch" then comeback stronger and smarter than before!

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Breaking Mirrors! Stage Race Perils,,,

At best my voyage to France has been 50/50 on the scale of success and failure. Which in cycling, is pretty normal. It is the hardest sport in the world by far, it will steal your wallet, punch you in the face and kick you while your down. So basically you have to cherish the good things you have done in your career and not concentrate on the setbacks...

As the weekend started, we headed for Orleans on Thursday for Friday start of my first big French Stage Race, Tour De Loriet. I was kind of nervous, but just wanted to have a good showing and make it to Sunday where the one Sprinter's stage would happen. 

We arrived after a 4.5 hour drive in the team box truck. We unloaded, and then were given new team track suits for presentations and dinner. So they were pretty sweet, presents always make things fun. As we came into the hotel restaurant, our itinerary showed that we would be getting the full five course treatment for meals we would have! This was pretty awesome, finally we moved away from team ham sandwiches to something more exotic. Our first dinner was amazing, and unfortunately I had not the best time sleeping before the first stage. Not sure if it was the nerves or the hard bed, sleep just did not happen.

Getting to the staging area, we all kitted up and went for the team presentation. The day looked to be cold with possible rain showers. I also was told I couldn't wear my non-issue team arm warmers, so today I was just going to have to suffer through being cold. As I was getting my shoes on, I was able to sign my first autograph to a guy that looked like Kim Jong Il's brother. So that was cool. Finally got to warming up, and had some weird issues with my chain dropping, so went back to the team car and my rear derailleur was super bent inwards, so as soon as I touched it, the derailleur snapped off into my hands. Seriously, at this point I wasn't sure weather to laugh or cry. 

Everyone from the team went into a panic as we heard from the announcer that all riders were departing in 7 minutes. The bad thing is that the BH Connect frame uses its own style hanger, and the team only had extra hangers for the G4 style frames. Next thing I know my pedals were on a size small or xs small spare from the truck. Trying to get the saddle height as close to we could. I had no time to change the 90mm stem to something more fitting either. Then bam, I was off on a bike that was way to small and was completely unadjusted. 

As we had the first neutral 4km to get out of Orleans, I knew the day was going to be miserable. There was no possible way I could even ride the drops, the saddle height was one inch higher than the maximum suggested height and the shifting was beyond sticky. Thankfully I was a master at making campy work under duress. 

Next thing I know, we are stopped for the official start at km 0. Then we are off. I had no computer or the notes for the stage were on my bike, so I was hitting things completely blind. I knew that there was a prize at the 45km mark and figured I could see how the legs were for that. Unfortunately, we were off like a rocket. The racing was extremely fast for the first 100km, which we covered in 2 hours. Part of this due to a repetitively flat par-course, since we only had two categorized climbs before hitting the finishing laps where there were 6 categorized climbs.

As the kilometers passed, I noticed some extreme discomfort in my knee. I was pedaling complete squares. My position was completely off. This would be fine for just hanging out, but not at those speeds, distance and intensity. Finally the third time up the climb I completely snapped. I couldn't even pedal. So I figured I would ride a steady tempo and finish the day. With one time left up the climb, I had the race director ask me if I wanted to continue and of course the answer was "oui." No matter how much it hurt, I was making it to Sunday. Not but 30 seconds later, his car swerved in front of me. I stopped, we argued and then I was forced to abandon. 

Not but five minutes from pedaling, the swelling in my knee started and also extreme pain. Moving into the team vehicle and changing was extremely painful. This was not good, since this was the knee involved in the horrible crash in Loches. Being pretty upset with the day, everyone knew that it was going to happen. Getting thrown onto a bike you never have ridden, then having to ride a course like that meant nothing less than doom. 


The team seemed to miss the split in stage one, but then Kalvis was able to win the field sprint. Moving to Stage two, a crash and bad crosswinds created a break that all the teams except ours and the Slovak team were in. The Slovakians had 3 riders abandon during the stage, so bringing it back was not going to happen. Especially since the yellow jersey's team had a rider in the move as well. 


Our team salvaged some face as Kalvis won stage 3. This let off some pressure and the team went into the time trial with a grain of salt. We finished up and headed out for our long drive home.


Not sure how my knee was going to feel, I spent my Monday morning building up a spare 56cm frame. Got all the measurements dialed in and took it out for 2 hours of steady tempo. Thankfully after 1.5 hours my knee finally started to feel ok. Hopefully my slew of bad luck will turn around since I don't remember breaking any mirrors. 

50/50 Weekends and Sweet Euro Crits

After a slew of races that really have not fit my personal skill-sets, it was nice to know I would be racing a "Nocturn" for the first time in my stay. Basically, a "Nocturn" is a French version of a night criterium. This promised to be very exciting since going uphill is not my specialty, but going fast in tight corners and bumping is something that comes naturally to me.

As the days came down to race day, the weather seemed to take a turn for the worse. It seemed Friday we awoke to a very overcast day with a lot of spotted showers and sure rain for in the forecast for Saturday. This was not exciting, since I do night races, but I am not a fan of them in the rain.

Thankfully as Saturday progressed, the rain cleared and we were off to Doule le Fontaine for a dry night crit! The weather was a little chilly as we dipped below 50 degrees for the start. Glad we had enough time to preview the course as the last kilometer was pretty hectic. The last corner especially being tricky with it being downhill, a rain grate that extended the length of the road, traffic island, raised crosswalk and cobbles. The last kilometer comprised itself of 5 corners, cobbles, an addition traffic island and raised crosswalk on top of the aforementioned items for the final corner.

The course itself was more of a big circuit than the typical American Criterium course. Each lap was around 3.5 kilometers and sent us around some wide and narrow streets of Doule le Fontaine. Also things are done in laps here, so we were set to race 90km in total instead of a set time. Definitely longer than most American Criteriums, it would be interesting to see how the race would play out.


As we were called up to the starting line, something hilarious happened. It may have not been funny to anyone else but me, because sometimes things just do not transverse culturally. "What is Love" started blaring from the speakers, and I chuckled looking around to see who else would be nodding their heads like Will Ferrell or Chris Kattan. But unfortunately everyone was really seriously looking or really into the song. This was more funny then seeing someone nod their head. And just like that we were off!


Rolling out slowly, I was primed for attacking from the go but was informed that we were doing a neutral half lap and then the race would be on. Even getting past the neutral it seemed like we were going to do a full lap neutral until right before the last kilometer. Then it was on. Knowing how dicey it was, I knew I had to be towards the front to avoid any early mishaps and hit the final corner and gave it as much gas as I could. After I passed the line, I looked back and had a gap so I put my head down and went for it. 


Shortly after being caught, my teammate Kalvis counter attacked and that was the move. He drew out three riders with him and the only team with multiple riders, E'leclerc completely missed the move. They also had 5 riders inforce. So for the next 80km I was following their attempts to go across and or bring back the break. Eventually things dwindled down and the front group began to shred. It got to a point where E'leclerc was just sending guys up the road for us to chase them. This caused a split in groups with 3 to go. I found myself jumping across and then the group split again and I couldn't make it across. 


Sadly being ok with the group I was in, I had no other options but to win the sprint in our group. As we came into the final kilometer last years winner attacked and sat up before the 2nd of the 5 final corners. I just put my head down again, made it to the last corner and kicked again as hard as I could. I thought I might get passed by the line as I could hear the gears shifting behind me, but I was able to stick it out for 14th. Kalvis was able to snag 3rd place. So we ended on the podium!


The only downside to Nocturn racing is that we didn't get home until 10:30pm and had to leave the next day at 11am for Sunday's event. This left little time for a shower, food, stretching and sleep. Thankfully I was able to fall asleep rather easily and able to get up the next morning with enough time for a decent breakfast and coffee.


Heading to Sunday's race, we really were unsure of the course and distance. We finally got to the start in Sarent, the course was going to be very difficult. The field was also quiet large with 100+ riders and the French Continental team, Sojasun was also in attendance. As we started, things we thankfully neutral as we navigated out of Sarent due to the amount of traffic obstacles and narrow roads. Many riders opted for sidewalks and some off roading to avoid crashing. Clearing neutral we were graced with a nice 2km climb. This definitely made the legs scream, especially due to bad cross wind and chaos at the front of the field. 


With the confusion, a small break formed and it seemed that Sojasun missed it as well as the Cotes D'Amour team. So they decided to gutter the rest of the field in the cross wind for the next 40 minutes. As we came through some narrow farm roads, I seemed to drill a nice pot hole trying to stay at the front of the group and heard the explosion of my rear tyre. With my arm up, I got a change pretty fast and spent the next few moments behind the car trying to make it back to the caravan. Unfortunately the officials decided that my day was over and I ended up going for a training ride.


I tried to stay on the course, but ended up getting lost somewhere along the way. With no phone or anything else this mean a nice u-turn and backtrack to get to the start town. I got into Sarent shortly before the remnants of the peloton made it back. I ended my day with some bottle duty and just tried to stay focused on next weekend. 


Coming up for next weekend, we have a stage race starting on Friday, three days and four stages. Two of the stages being relatively flat and a short time trial. This will give yet another opportunity to shine. Until then....

Specialists Weekend

After another week full of training (no midweek races) and an increase of hours for me, we headed into a group of races for the "specialists." This being those specialists who can dance up the hills. This is not really my specialty, being from the flattest state in the union and only having handfuls of races over the past two years with any sort of climbing in them. Unfortunately France does not do "I can't" so it's sink or swim here, you have to show up and give everything you can.

S

 Saturday's car ride was not too bad, since Bauge was only a little North-esque of Angers, this mean only about an hour and a half in the car. After grabbing our numbers from registration, I got my first look at the course ahead of us. It looked like quiet the day ahead of us for the the Tour de Bauge.

Our map showed a big loop of a little more than 100km before coming back into Bauge for 40km of local laps. Looking at the course profile was personally discouraging, the day had 9 categorized climbs ahead of us before coming into the local laps. Thankfully the only Cat. 1 climb was 30km into the loop, making for a pretty epic first hour of racing. 

As we got underway, we were headed out of Bauge neutral for the first 4km or so. This meant a nice little spin to get the legs moving before things got underway. As soon as we got out of the city limits, the attacks came from the gun. Being that a lot of teams had full squads, the race was pretty controlled and nothing threatening went up the road.

We maintained a steady pace up the first climb and as we headed into the one category 1 climb, the pace had become infernal. I had a feeling things were going to split eventually but I was unsure when. As the climb began it was in a strong crosswind, as predicted a group was able to get a gap on the field. Unfortunately we missed it. I was happy to just make it over the top in the group, but Stefan was off the map and assembled after the climb pretty upset that he missed the move. 

Being one of the only teams to not have a rider in the move, we spent most of the day at the front. I did as much work as possible, strung it out up one of the climbs and spent the next 10 minutes hanging on to the wheel infront of me, hoping to not pop. 

Finally as we were coming close back into Bauge, we came through a chicane and hit one of the steepest climbs I have ridden a bike up. Thankfully it was only about 1.5km long, because there were riders getting shot all over the place. Personally, I was peeling out up some of steeper areas trying to be out of the saddle and keep weight towards the end of my rig was easier said than done. 

I made it over, but the next 10 minutes we were single file. Coming into the city limits a rider about 5 places infront of me pulled the plug, leaving a huge gap in the crosswind. I did everything I could to close the gap, it just was not happening at that speed. I rode in the caravan to the local laps and called it a day. As the laps counted down, Stefan had a bit of bad luck with a touch of wheels. Thankfully he only had some minor scrapes. 

Everyone was pretty heated after the race. When the team leader has a bad day it sort of trickles down on everyone else. I felt pretty bad for not being able to help more and explained my regrets and hoped it was enough.

After coming home, we heard that Sunday's race was a three hour or so drive, so the cars would be arriving at 10am. This did not give the most optimal time for making dinner, stretching, foam rolling, showering, getting ready and most importantly sleeping. Thankfully, I was able to get my list taken care of and get into bed before midnight. 

As the morning came, I was feeling a little better than Saturday but still unsure about the course ahead of us. Kalvis informed me that at some point in the loop we had a long 4km climb. I was not really looking forward to that. 

In the car, we headed for our 3 hour jaunt. Our destination was Villaines la Juhel and as we got closer my nerves decided to turn things up to Mach One. We were definitely going to be in a very hilly region, there were going to be no flat sections of the race today. Also the weather was not our friend today, rain was coming down and it was a bit chilly. Today was going to be a race of the hard.

Before we started, Albert expressed his desire for me to race very aggressively today, so survival was not on the menu. I had not been this nervous before a race in a while.

After a wet warm up, the clouds parted for our depart and sun warmed things up for the first neutral kilometers. As we came from neutral, the attacks were more organized especially since it was more windy. I had a feeling things were going to be in pieces and I was not getting left behind. I hit it immediately. Making my way into the breakaway. We got organized, and had a great gap. I took my share of the work and shortly this attack became a field split. 

Our group came to about 40 riders and about 4 climbs later, Stefan attacked creating a break of 5 up the road. This meant that our job became following wheels. For the next 30km, I felt great. Over every climb, I was feeling better and better. With about 10km to go to the long climb of the course the E.Leclerc team was assembled at the front because they missed the move. They worked on bringing things back and keeping it strung out. This shredded what was left of the group, bringing us to about 25 or so riders. Midway up the climb riders began to attack to try and get across to Stefan, I marked two attacks and did my best to hang on to the group, but completely blew up with 500m to the top. 

I got the thumbs up from Albert as he passed in the caravan, so that was a plus. I was also gathered up by 3 riders from the E.Leclerc team. We rode together up the next two climbs, where they decided to pack it in at the top of the 2nd climb. This was not an option for me. As I descended on a road about as narrow as a bike path, I kept a steady pace and had a car come up and tell me a second group was about 2 minutes or so behind. 

Figuring that the group would catch me sooner or later, I soft pedaled until the group was with me. One of my teammates was in the group as well. It was really the first time that I saw him all day. We hit two more categorized climbs before heading into the local laps. I knew that the rest of the day was about fitness and got on the front as much as possible. As things closed down, I was able to get 4th in the uphill sprint for our group and 14th for the day, surprising since a lot of riders had pulled out. Stefan sealed the win, and Kalvis took 4th. Overall as a team we nabbed 2nd in the team competition as well. It was a good day for Team Bigot.

A

 After the 120km, I was a little rough for ware. I missed two feeds doing the whole race with one bottle. We also braved rain, a little snow at the top of the big climb and some dirt roads.  It was definitely a good day for me personally, since I don't regard myself as a climber. Being able to ride in the group is great for me, being able to attack is even better. Thankfully next Saturday is something I am good at, CRITS!!! I am really looking forward to giving it full gas in my first European Criterium. This week is also a rest week too, after last week of nearly 400 miles of training the legs will enjoy shorter rides! Thanks for reading!

Building Blocks

After another good week of training, with a lot of increased numbers and my overall body/mind starting to come around, I was looking forward to another weekend of racing. As things were conveyed to me, Saturday would be a technical race on very narrow roads, and a very tricky finishing circuit and Sunday would be a French Cup race in Nantes which was hilly and had a flat finishing circuit (which basically meant more starters, big teams and super hard). 

With last Sunday's comeback in mind, I was really ready to see if the legs could handle a result this weekend. I worked a lot of mental visualization and focus coming into both days preparing myself for whatever may happen. 

As we got off in the car on Saturday, somehow I got elected to sit in the middle of the back seat since we all piled into one car for a 3 hour Journey to Matha, small town outside of Cognac. Eventually we got there, after what seemed to be a painful car ride. The weather seemed great, and it wasn't terribly windy either. 

Once we picked up our numbers we had a look at the route, which looked to be the standard 100km loop through the region and then back into town for 30km of "local laps." We all seemed in good spirits as we came into the start, and it also looked like we had a good field of about 120 riders. I recognized some of the riders from other races and in my head marked some of them who were strong. 

As we got underway things were aggressive from the go with exception being we were hitting corners and turns every 30 seconds. If the day was going to be like this I knew I had to be at the front and very aggressive. I stayed top 15 riders for the next 30 minutes knowing that something was going to break. As we hit dirt roads and roads no wider than 6 feet through the farmland, a break formed. We had Kalvis in it, so it was a free ride for me as soon as someone wanted to go across. After about three surges, I was able to get across with Stefan. We had pretty much everyone in the move. Kalvis told me something was wrong with his seatpost and his saddle was coming down and that in the next town he was pulling out. Stefan pretty much attacked immediately after this. 

His move caused a 4 rider split, my job now was to sit at the front and get across. Coming into the 50km mark, the KOM primes started to come and the group was fracturing with the surges and attacks. I marked one of the stronger riders in the group as he tried to make it across. Eventually we came back to the group and I drifted mid pack recovering. At this point we came into a tight left corner, where his teammate attacked (another rider on my list). Unfortunately I was in no position to get across. The surge brought 6 riders up to Stefan. 

For the next 40km, our group maintained about a 30 second gap to the break. Coming into 80 to 90km the desire to work in the group became completely uninterested. This lead to non stop attacking until we got into the local laps. I pretty much fired every missile I had in the arsenal to stay in the front selection. A few times, arguing with a few of the riders trying to make me take a lead of the work load. 

Finally making it into the technical finishing circuit, I used my crit riding skills to nab a prime and get my name announced a few times. Apparently "White" isn't a super easy pronunciation in French and it comes out "Wheat"... So I became a common grain. I won the sprint for our group and I was happy to be done for the day, coming in 16th. The race was super technical and didn't leave a lot of time for drinking and eating, so I was pretty much destroyed. Looking at the numbers we did 130km in 3:08. My normalized power was 284 watts for the race. 

Getting back into the car wasn't fun either. We had a 3 hour journey back home. With the late start we finally made it home about 9:30. I finally ate dinner by 10:15. Then laid in bed trying to fall asleep since we had an 11am pick up Sunday. I noticed my hip and glute were extremely tight (crash side) and hoped in the morning they were ok. 

Morning came, so did the stiffness. I made it a point to sit on my foam roller for 30 minutes before leaving to make sure I could at least have a normal range of motion. Thankfully, we had two cars for today's race, so we wouldn't all have to be packed like sardines in one car. 

We headed for Nantes and got there in about an hour and a half, the weather was beautiful out and it was going to be a nice day for racing. At race parking pretty much every big amateur team and one professional squad made it to the race today. The field was huge with 142 starters. Somehow my reputation proceeded me and I was interviewed for one of the racing papers, asking me about where I grew up and how I had recovered from the epic crash in Loches. Surprisingly I was able to do about 40% of it in French-Spanish...

There was also another American in the peloton, who had made France his home for the last 10 years. We had our introduction and shared some conversation in our roll out. This was short lived since 140 plus riders dodging roundabouts causes some splits. 

Getting into the main circuit of the course, the pace was absolutely ballistic. Again knowing a split likely, I did my best to stay towards the front. As we began the climbs, I made it over the first two without issue. Upon cresting the second climb, we were strung out downhill in the crosswind at 500 watts. We pretty much maintained about 65km/h until we hit the third climb. Seeing the top was no prize for me, my back and hip/glute were not feeling today. I pulled out of the single file line hoping what I was feeling was temporary. It was not. I pulled the plug.  

Not a super happy day for me. 

Thankfully our team had a great showing, Stefan was able to nab the prize for climbers and Kalvis finished 7th. Surprisingly, out of 142 starters about 35 riders finished. As we came into the local laps, I didn't feel too bad riding in the car seeing all the other team cars with bikes on the top racks.

I hope that our great weather here continues and we should have another great weekend of racing. I also hope to keep building from each race I do, eventually ending on the podium.

 

Don't Call it a Comeback: The Two week Turn-around From Coma to Racing

Two weeks ago I experienced the worst crash of my career. Something that left me unconscious and completely unresponsive. Thankfully I had some luck on my side and woke up mid CAT Scan, after being dead to the world for 4 hours. Hearing the words "You're a very lucky boy" shortly after. I really was not sure what was going on. Finally after some self exploration, I realized what had happened, without any sort of recollection of the event that passed.

The next week was one that was full of surprises. The first few days out of the hospital going to the bathroom and moving out of my room seemed to be a hard task. Finally mid week I was able to walk to the end of the block and back without a lot of pain. Eventually the end of the week came and the stitches and staples were to come out. 

Having staples pulled out of your head is about as fun as getting them put in. I was fine with getting the stitches taken out, but the staples were just a little much. As I was putting my jacket on, I experienced something new and it felt like all the life was getting pulled out of me. And slowly again, I was unconscious with people standing over me. Not sure if the ordeal was just too much for me or having metal yanked from my head was too much, but the end result was me on the ground. Thankfully, the nurse made sure I was ok and I stayed most of the day in bed, since I was not feeling anywhere close to myself. 

Thankfully as the weekend came I started to feel more and more like a human being and a return to training seemed pretty possible for Monday. After a quick check with the nurse and cleaning of my wounds, I was cleared to get back on my bike and that I did. I felt a granted freedom and happy to be back doing the thing I loved. Everyday the legs felt better and better as the time on the bike increased. Thursday, Albert had confirmed that I would be racing Sunday. As Friday came along, I also got thrown on the roster for Saturday's race.

Coming back into action from a crash like that is hard no matter if you remember it or not. Especially after taking a week completely off and laying in bed recovering from it. As we headed to St. Christophe on Saturday, I was extremely nervous. I wasn't entirely sure how the legs would feel and how I would feel in the peloton. 

As we kitted up I tried to be as positive as possible and Antoine told me to just get the legs back today and race calm. So that was a little more comforting, knowing there wasn't a lot of pressure from the team. The race was on from the gun, as there were various primes along the outer loop before hitting the local laps. I felt a little nervous in the group, and the legs felt surprisingly ok going up the climbs. I found myself in the front 10 riders over the first KOM and was kind of surprised. 


As we progressed I had a front flat and drifted back into the caravan, but we had no car there. So I rode into the next town and waited for the broom wagon behind the last group of riders. It was my first experience riding in the broom wagon and it wasn't the best. I was happy to get back in the car and ride home after the long day. Thankfully for our team, Kelvis was able to nab third and Stefan was able to get an award for his aggressive riding. 

Personally, I was approaching Sunday with far less expectations. I was told it was a 5km circuit, with a 2km long climb that topped out at 20%. We were set to do 20 laps. So being the amazing climber I am, I was out to get some fitness for the race.  

Not having any idea where we were going, we ended up having a three hour car ride to St. Georges-Buttavent. Eventually we arrived after lots of circles in roundabouts and some rally-esque driving on country roads. The town was having some sort of fair and there was definitely the biggest crowd I had seen at a race since crashing in Loches. Mentally for me this left sucking less of an option and venturing into the pain cave a large probability. As the race got underway, the pace was high again from the start. An early break was established and we had a rider in it. This made it easier for us, just following wheels and not having the responsibility to control the race. Hitting the second time up the climb, I had another puncture. Thankfully I was able to get a spare wheel this time and get back to the peloton. 


 Being such a short course it seemed that the climb was always coming. Fortunately, every time I was making the selection and midrace I was actually hearing people cheer my name. It is only recognizable because "Garrett" isn't exactly something that rolls off a French speaker's tongue. Another funny thing that I noticed was English in the peloton. It caused me to have a double take. Sure enough, two Estonian riders introduced themselves shortly after. They said they heard about the crash in Loches and were amazed I was racing so fast. As the laps closed down, with 3 to go the break had caught us. It brought the group to maybe 15 riders and the field was not sure if we were getting neutralized after that. With two to go, a barrage of attacks started as we hit the climb I made it 50% up and then just locked up. I wanted to ride it out but Albert was happy and told me to shut it down.  


Thankfully Stefan had attacked and had enough horsepower to stick it and take the win solo. So all in all a pretty successful ride for Team Bigot. Personally it was a great confidence builder to make it so far in such a hard race, especially coming back from what had happened two weeks ago.  


As another week starts, we will be racing only this weekend, so it provides some great training all week to prepare for the upcoming races. After the confidence gained Sunday, this next weekend is going to be a great showing!

The Return to the Ring

As today started, the joy of knowing I was going to be on my bike fueled me with energy. It made breakfast a little better and getting out of bed easier. There was absolutely no anxiety to return to something that essentially "left me for dead." 

So as I started my ride, it was like someone turned on a light switch in my brain. Creativity and thoughts were pouring out. Had I not been enjoying my time on the road so much, it would have been a perfect opportunity to sit in the sun and journal everything that came to mind. 

This has always been a blog about cycling and will continue to be. Some of the postings have been dry and very orientated around the details of the subject at hand. Today is a day for growth and change. The window coverings are going to be pulled back and people are going to be able to see a little further into my world. 

The past eight days have been extremely difficult for me, from a wide angle the experience as a whole was uncharted territory for me. From racing to waking up in CAT Scan to laying in bed for a week and moving around like a crippled old man. A lesson was to be learned from this experience. 

Most people would never understand why someone would get back on the proverbial horse after a mishap like this. But I don't. This is life. During our lifetime's we will all have hardship, we will all have a "crash", we will have to learn how to recover, cope and improve for the future. My incident may be a lot more physically involved, but the emotional aspect is all the same. The human spirit must persevere! If we don't get back on the horse, we will always wonder "why?" and "what if?"

So today I remounted the horse and didn't look back. Personally, when I started racing as a Category 4, one of my biggest long term goals was to race in Europe. Now this goal and dream has come to fruition. The years of work, sacrifice and hardship have been worth it. I am not letting a mishap get in the way of the overall goal of racing well here. So I will push on. 


There is no doubt that cycling is the most difficult and taxing sport in the world. There is no other activity that requires this much devotion, suffering and perseverance. It is completely incomparable to other activities. It stands alone as its own animal. Thankfully in this gladiator-esque sport, I have unbelievable support. Nothing would be possible without the support of my family, my girlfriend, my close friends, and the cycling community as a whole. The messages, conversations and phone calls over the last eight days have helped me get through the recovery process. Focusing on the good things can be a harder task than expected when walking to the bathroom is a taxing task. So thank you everyone for being there for me.


As the week starts, I hope to get back up to speed for a big race Sunday in Cholet. The legs may not be there, but being back in the peloton will help dump some gas on the fire of motivation. The ride today was a great success, I was not shaky on the bike at all, and emotionally felt ok riding as well. The only negatives were some inflexibility in my hamstring, hip flexor and IT band. Hopefully after a few days of stretching, foam rolling and massage these can be remedied and we will be good as new!

As always, thanks for reading and stay tuned for updates!

A Very Lucky Boy

I wake up to hear "You are a very lucky boy." My first thoughts are that this is a dream, or something terrible happened... I looked around and noticed that I was in a CAT Scan Machine. Something bad has happened. I continue to drift in and out of consciousness not knowing if what I am experiencing is a dream, even where I am and what is going on around me. I wasn't sure if I was in France or in the USA, if this was a dream... Everything was very cloudy.

As I streamed in and out of consciousness, the next thing I remember is water being dumped on my head. It felt like a fire had been started on my head. I was awake. This was real. My clothes are being cut off of me. I was racing, I am in France. What Happened?

 As my naked and torn body is covered we are moved into a shower room, and it was to be a very painful shower as all the dirt and wounds are cleaned out. I am not sure I have felt this amount of pain before. 

After the shower, my IV is administered and the drugs are being slowly pumped into me as my threshold of pain has surpassed. The doctor told me that my head and face were in need of sutures. I was hoping to pass out for this, but no dice. Being awake as he stitched up my face added a whole new level to pain for me. My head was even worse. Especially when the staples were being put in. I thought I was going to rip the nurse's hand off. Slowly more morphine was administered as the threshold of pain was broken over and over again. 

I still could not grasp what happened and how lucky I truly was. Eventually the facial sutures were complete, and then it was onto my knee. Which looked worse than hamburger meat. I wasn't quiet sure if they were going to skin graph it or what, it just looked bad. Finally, the Doctor went to work with his needle and thread, this time I did get some lidocane to make it more doable... I was almost done, when they realized that my chin was also split open... More suture goodness! 

Finally the nurse began to dress my wounds. This was about an hour of teeth gritting fun, as the small particles of debris had to be removed. The tops of both hands and both arms were completely bandaged. This was the same for both knees and one hip and one shoulder. Somehow I am walking away from this with no broken bones... I am asking myself how?

As I am calming down, Antoine came with my bag and told me Albert would come pick me up in the morning. Then I was visited by the director of the race, who informed me about what had actually happened. He also apologized that it had to happen at his race and that I should heal up soon.

Once everyone had left my room in the ICU, I was dying of hunger! I somehow managed to get off my bed and find my jersey and two nut bars in one of the pockets. This made the nurse not so happy, and she told me that is all I could eat! They moved me to my room at this point were I requested a juice and my cell phone!

I called my parents ASAP, because I wanted them to know I was ok. I wasn't sure if they were going to get any funny phone calls from France or USA Cycling informing them that there son was in ICU. So it was imperative to let them know what I knew and that I was ok. I also called my girlfriend, Emily right after to let her know what was going on. I didn't want her to worry since she knew I was competing and my chance to talk with her that night was already getting limited for obvious reasons... Surprisingly everyone seemed more ok about the situation than I did, but I really had no idea what was going on, so I guess that added to the excitement for me.

Taking things from the top, I started my second race in France, with a lot more knowledge than the first race. I did know that the French riders are cautious in the corner and that the race would get decided about 50% of the way through. The race was a circuit in Loches, that featured some rolling hills and single lane roads. After one lap I felt like today was my day to shine. I was at the front and climbing with ease. There seemed to only be one sector of the course that made me hurt and everything else was great.

As the race progressed, I found myself in the front group, even if it meant me jumping across riders who opened gaps. I was closing them down. As the halfway mark approached I was in the front group. We hit the cross wind climb on the course and I was going through riders, climbing at my own pace. As we turned into the tailwind/downhill section I could see the elastic was snapping some riders. I jumped across into the front selection again... Then lights out! That is all I remember...

At the hospital, the race director told me because of the wind and rain the rider in front of me lost control of his bike and had his rear wheel slide out into my front wheel. I guess that I almost saved it from catastrophe when my front wheel caught grip mid skid and I flipped completely in the other direction with other riders going down behind me. 

My damage was a concussion, and complete blackout, 12 stitches to my face, 10 stitches to the top of my head, 6 staples to the top of my head, 6 stitches to my knee and one to my chin. Also obvious road rash was there.  I was rushed to the hospital in Loches, because I was completely unconscious with apparent loss of all motor skills. The cat scans where all negative... So I dodged a big bullet...

When I woke up this morning it felt like I had been thrown from a moving car. My head felt like it had been squeezed in a vise and my arm felt like I had pitched an entire major league baseball playoff's with no rest. I opted for a morning shower, but realized that it was going to be from a chair as standing on my one leg was pretty painful. 

Eventually post shower, and having my dressings changed, Antoine had arrived to take me back to Les Aubiers. I slept most of the ride. We stopped at Albert's house and I met his wife. She was very nice, and made sure that I had some food and what painkillers I could get because its Easter.

For those that want some photos here they are... A little hard to stomach so turn away if you cant handle it

Race 1... Sharp learning curve...

When going into a race in a place you never have been, in a country you've seen for less than a week, what you expect is pretty much unexpected. As far as the information for the race, no one on our team knew much. This making the unknown factor so much more.

As for the night before, I was asleep early but then a storm seemed to wake me up around 1am, and it felt like I never really was asleep again after that. I got up early, made the breakfast and made sure my machine was ready to go. Then laid back down to make sure I had at least some down time.

When the cars arrived to pick us up, we were blessed with the awesome weather that was to come during the race. SNOW.

Being from Florida, these are not typical conditions we ride in. I just found it funny, knowing this is going to make our unknown race that much more epic. So after about an hour in the car we made it to L'lle Bouchard, and we stopped at "Super U" which is a super market and the guys began to unload bikes. I guess we were at the race...

So it started to know again. Then registration opened inside the store, which was a new thing for me, to be at a grocery store for a race. This is in the photo below.

As we all got kitted up and pinned up, and the race got organized, we lined up in the parking lot for about a 2km neutral roll to the starting line. I had no idea what was going on the whole time. Eventually we got to a start line which was a familiar site! Then they introduced every rider and then gave us 10 minutes to get ready to race. Pretty much not speaking French was a handicap, since I had to ask the Latvians on our team what was going on. Unfortunately they don't speak a lot of French either. 

As the race started, I rounded a corner the normal American way and found myself with a sizable gap. I continued to pedal and was alone for the next 10km. This let me see that the course was not easy. It was super hilly and it was a constant 30-40mph wind. Welcome to France!

I came up the first KOM, and somehow won. Not that it was planned, I just have a knack for going around corners. So shortly after being caught, I seemed to make the front group and then seemed to get blown off the road and stay upright and make it back on the road. But then I was not closing the gap! I rode by myself for a lap, and then was in the 2nd group. 





Eventually that group got smaller and smaller as I decided to use the race for training and really give it gas up the climbs, since I am not the world's greatest uphill threat. This sort of made the group about 3 riders. A little past the halfway point in the race (70km) I got the axe. I would have liked to finish, but I guess it wasn't in the cards. I got back to the car and everyone but Stefan was there. So being the last man standing made me feel a little better about not being in the front group.


Stefan rode great and ended up 4th. All in all quiet the quick lesson in French Racing. I learned that its always windy, the race will usually have rain and snow, the roads are usually about 6 feet wide, French riders do not like corners and the races are that of attrition and selection. Looks like we are racing Saturday, Sunday and Monday; so there is a lot of time for redemption!

Windmills and Licenses

So this morning, I awoke to Albert giving me clothes, and informing me that I was going to be riding with Stefan for 2 hours. Which was awesome, I am all for meeting my teammates. I am not all for waking up and riding sans breakfast and coffee. Especially after a night of not the best sleep. The only good thing was that it was nearing 11am by the time I hit my bike. So I was able to get close to 7 hours of sleep. 


Riding with Stefan was great, even though he didn't speak English, he does speak some Spanish! So I could go beyond speaking half french and hand motions to having a conversation with someone. The route was a little hilly, but for the most part the lid was kept on things except for a few times he tried to turn the screws to me. Eventually the ride was over and I went back home, showered, made coffee and finally ate some much needed food. On the way home, I did see the sickest windmill. 

I was also informed in the afternoon that my license was not going to be accepted by the French Federation. I was proactive, called the Technical Director, Shawn Farrell, who was amazing and was able to make all the necessary changes and email them to me. This was an afternoon project, but when racing abroad for a National Level team, things need to be perfect, the i's dotted and t's crossed.

I also went for a walk looking for a cafe that no longer existed... It was nice to get out, but I was really looking forward to some coffee! Sometimes the internets is not always right!


Sleeping tonight is going to be easier knowing that I will be racing this weekend!

Learning French....

So despite all the anticipation and nervousness of being picked up at the airport with no real confirmation beyond email, things all worked out. Albert greeted me at the airport door, as all three of my checked bags made it over the pond! Surprisingly, there were no customs, I just walked out the door. One thing that I find funny, is that anytime I go overseas the airports all have luggage carts, free of charge. Anytime you are in the USA, its like $4-$8 bucks. I only mention this because of my large amount of luggage, getting through check-in at Orlando International was a dancing act to not mow any kids down, as I carried my bike, bike clothing bag, suitcase and laptop bag. Moving off my soapbox of tangent, Albert was very nice, we talked in half French/Spanish and hand signals on the way to my new home in Nueil les Aubiers. I was able to drive up to this

Definitely not what I was expecting, but then again I had no idea where I was going to start with. I was given the tour and met my new teammates (who were here and awake). I was also given my room, and went to the most important task, making sure my bike was in one piece.

My Room

As I started to unpack, I was glad to see that TSA decided to remove every thing from one of the pockets in my case and move all my well packed items around. I am glad that the Pikaworks Case is probably the best thing ever made, because it was totally fine. My only casualty was a bottle cage that came unlaminated. 

After getting this done and my room set up, I made a trip to the Pharmacy to get some cold medicine. I think its wicked hard to not feel something come on when doing a full day flight. So after that I slept as much as humanly possible. Albert brought me some groceries while I was passed out. My wicked good diet is going to just deal with the food here, pasta, granola, apples, yogurt, eggs, cheese and ham. 

As I got up on Friday, the weather was pretty rough. It seemed like it was going to rain all day. I took it slow, made coffee and some breakfast. I was so glad I brought my french press and 3lbs. of coffee. As the day went on there was some confusion over releases and licenses and eventually I think we sorted it out. Well at least I hope we did, because my French is horrible and I just downloaded Rosetta Stone to try and learn (since we are going to have downtime). Not sure if I was on the roster for the weekend races, I went for an imperative hour spin despite the weather. 

I tried to get lost, but not all the way, I did stumble on some pretty cool looking roads, that were about 8 feet wide. I noticed that it was about the windiest place I have ever ridden and that it was definitely going to make me tough just by the hilly terrain as well. I got back to la masion and everyone was gone. Not sure if people went for a ride or what, I showered, ate and hung out. Eventually no one came back, so I was assuming that I wasn't racing the weekend. Which was fine, it would give me some time to get my legs open and under me after a few days off from travel and near sickness.

I got a good night of sleep and felt pretty refreshed. To my surprise and disliking the weather was still pretty crappy. I continued with the standard breakfast and coffee and decided to wait. Not sure if I was waiting for Albert or the weather to clear, but one thing for sure was that I was not being very productive. 

Finally when the sun came out and glimmered through my window, I kitted up as fast as possible and went out the door with plans to get lost for 4 hours. I had no idea where I was going, no mapping of routes, nothing. My sheer guiding light was to ride to the towns that I thought sounded the coolest. Eventually, I got on path towards Anger, which sounds cool right? Along the way I ran into Brissac-Quince, which had a sick little climb with a church on top of it and it overlooked what was a historic palace. All in wall it was beautiful!

• The Look out to the Palace

• Church a top the col in Brissac-Quince

As the ride continued, I sort of got turned around cutting through Vihiers and turned on the wrong side street, then took another road to cut across back to where I felt I should be. Eventually around the 3:45 mark of my ride I hit the town of Maulevrier and saw signs back to les Aubiers. It was a relief until the signs had me to a virtual U-Turn. I stopped then and I had to summon the powers of the Iphone (which holy crap thank you Mom and Dad) which showed me exactly where I was. The sad fact was that I was 20km north of where I wanted to be. The good thing was that it was all tail wind. Finally I made it home and needed some rest after what turned out to be a very hilly, windy and hard ride.