Boom! 5am, my phone is going nuts trying to revive me from last nights coma. As I struggle to move into reality, I slowly reach over and turn the alarm off, get out of bed and take the stroll to the coffee maker. As I wait for that fresh brew, I can catch some quick Z’s.
This becomes a quick ritual and some wonder, what is the deal with cyclists and coffee? Seems like we are always in our kits at some Java House (Hopefully Supporting the “Local Guy”) pre and post ride. So what is the buzz about?
Personally, there are a lot of great contents of coffee, mainly caffeine. This stimulant has been on and off the hot topic radar for huge period of time, but has tons of great properties for active individuals! Even I had to take some time to really gather all its properties, I am not even going to try to list them… but there are some great resources out there visit http://coffeescience.org/ and http://www.cosic.org/ who can give you the whole story, now all you need to know is what brew you are making tomorrow!
So many brands, so many flavors and too little time! I am whole bean type of guy and enjoy that freshness from the grind-your-own style, with that in mind I would love to go over some great brands and where you can get them.
Kinetic Koffee
• USDA Organic Coffee available at some select bike shops or online at www.kinetic-koffee.com
• Best value and prepackaged beans you can buy
• Great flavors will give you that extra kick in the morning!
Fresh Market
• Organic and non-organic blends
• Fresh varieties from $7.99-$13.99/lb
• The best roasts and flavors keeping you going all day
Whole Foods
• Allegro and 365(store brand) Organic blends
• Fresh varieties from $11.99-$15.99/ lb
• Not quite as fresh and tasty as Fresh
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Ocala Stage... The End of 2008
So its October and we are still racing our bikes in Florida� As we finish the season off I was heading into the final weekend high up in the Florida Points Standings and looking to jump into the 6th spot. We finished in style with a three event stage race which consisted of two road races and a short time trial.
The road race on Saturday started a little mellow, I did my signature early attack hoping to try and bring some people with me. This was a failure. I decided to sit in at that point and see what happens as we had a time bonus sprint in about 5 miles. As we're rolling into the bonus sprint we went up a hill and then downhill towards the line, the last mile to the line were strung out and nervous! Chris (teammate) and I were in great position about 5th and 6th wheel coming into the hill. Suddenly, Chris and another rider began bumping shoulders and next thing I know Chris was on the ground, along with half the field. One of my other teammates somehow got ran over by the motorbike, did a full flip and landed on his feet running! I ended up taking 2nd in bonus to Grant Potter(Herbalife), who is flying coming off Master's Worlds!
Despite some late moves the race was doomed to end in a field sprint. I figured with my time bonus I was sitting pretty, I came up the hill 3rd wheel and was rocketing on the sprint when the wheel in front of me sat up and I became boxed in. Took 7th in the stage, 3rd in GC. Chris decided to pack it up after that since he was pretty banged up.
Next up the TT, which was 5.2 miles� It was hilly so extremely hard to get a rhythm. I ended up losing a minute by the end. I still put in a good time at 10:10� But it surely wasn't the 9:02 Bobby Sweeting(Toshiba-Santo) had posted! So going into the last stage I was 14th in the GC
The last stage was under 50 miles and it was pretty steady all day, a few attacks early showed that not a lot of people were interested in getting off the front. A few times I ended up off the front just when trying to string it out. As the race developed into the later laps, splits started to happen. I found myself into a 6 man group with all but two of the top 10 GC contenders. Another split occurred and I looked at the Herbalife rider since I knew he was protecting the overall lead for Grant Potter and he seemed content letting those guys up the road.
Soon after we got reeled back by the field it was pretty much an all out chase for the next 2 laps by Herbalife and Toshiba-Santo. I was pretty content watching these guys do all the work and stayed towards the top 20 guys to insure there would be no splits. As we entered the road back off the circuit, Grant Potter and Bobby Sweeting were throwing down and the break group was insight. I saw my chance develop when a few other riders including a Toshiba rider and myself attacked. We bridged up to the guys with about 1 mi to go and were driving it. I came into the corner third wheel and was waiting for a massive acceleration to happen, but never did. So I went from about 350 meters out and was able to hold everyone off! Taking 7th in the GC was also great!
Its always best to end the season with a win! Thanks to Robby Ketchell and CPT for keeping me fast all season. I have acheived all of my season goals and more with the best guidance I have had during my career.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Hello 2009! Hello GA! Hello Twlight Zone
Welcome back folks to the 2009 season! The season has started! These means long days and slow or slower rides! This venture started two weeks ago, as we rolled into the fall calendar for the Florida Points Series, with a nice 6 Hour day... This was great as I was able to get into the break on the Saturday Circuit. I kicked an attack with 4 laps to go and slowly got some people to follow to insure we stayed away.
The sprint was very close and I came out at 4th.
Sunday, we had a nice short Road Race and I felt like taking the bull by the horns, as we were in a combined 1,2,3 field and I wanted to thin the heard from the gun. Maybe not the best tactic, but I was able to rock 14th in the end after a long day of bridging gaps and sitting in breaks.
Moving into the next week, I had some back to back 4 hour days after taking Monday off. Then Thursday I went up to Georgia with some Florida mates; Josh Servi and Tom Bargnesi, for the upcoming six gap century. Not knowing what to expect, I rode a crappy gearing and worked hard all weekend. 11-23 was not great for those hills.
After the voyage, we rushed to get a ride in as soon as we arrived in Dehlonga, GA. We hustled and got kitted up and got in a nice 40 miler. As we got back, ate and drank a lot of beers, we got a phone call.... ENTER THE TWILIGHT ZONE
Our friends are on their way, but cannot find gas, and what is going on... there is no gas anywhere.
So we decided to start our trek for petrol... and to my surprise Georgia HAS NO GAS
Suddenly we morph into 1974! I need more beer for this one!
So eventually our mates found a station that had gas and made it to our cabin.... we head to bed and set voyage for our next epic day of riding.
WE wake up and gas seems to be the hot topic all day, eventually it became a joke about finding gas, but I was never far enough back in the group to hear the BS.
SO day one: we hit Niels gap, Jack's gap then right up to Brasstown Bald, then back up the other side of Niels to a nice lunch and some Newcastle.
Just to let you know we were not holding back... Josh and I were firing shots off like we were racing for a tour stage. Josh was definitely the man up Niels and somehow I was able to gas him up the Bald!
Back into town, we head for a night of Terrapin Pale Ale and food...
The next day (Still no gas) OH WAIT 45 mins in line at a station and we find gas!
Supposedly we are having a nice easy ride, but a group of cyclists can never ride easy. We hit up the back side of Woody's gap and start another epic throw down...
Saturday night we ate in and did not party as the century was upon us.
CENTURY DAY!!!!
So there is more people than I have ever seen and I felt awful for the first 40 miles. I came unglued on Jack's gap and rode in small groups the rest of the day. Somehow I felt great the last 20 miles and rode flat out. I came in at 5:40.... Pretty respectable. Josh came in around 5:55 and Tom had a Mechanical. Honestly this was the hardest century I have ever done. 6 epic climbs spread into 104 miles, made this not for the kids. I was in pieces after rolling in.
So this meant tons of food and BEER
We party and Head back Monday.....
20 hours later and 500 miles later... Hello 2009
The sprint was very close and I came out at 4th.
Sunday, we had a nice short Road Race and I felt like taking the bull by the horns, as we were in a combined 1,2,3 field and I wanted to thin the heard from the gun. Maybe not the best tactic, but I was able to rock 14th in the end after a long day of bridging gaps and sitting in breaks.
Moving into the next week, I had some back to back 4 hour days after taking Monday off. Then Thursday I went up to Georgia with some Florida mates; Josh Servi and Tom Bargnesi, for the upcoming six gap century. Not knowing what to expect, I rode a crappy gearing and worked hard all weekend. 11-23 was not great for those hills.
After the voyage, we rushed to get a ride in as soon as we arrived in Dehlonga, GA. We hustled and got kitted up and got in a nice 40 miler. As we got back, ate and drank a lot of beers, we got a phone call.... ENTER THE TWILIGHT ZONE
Our friends are on their way, but cannot find gas, and what is going on... there is no gas anywhere.
So we decided to start our trek for petrol... and to my surprise Georgia HAS NO GAS
Suddenly we morph into 1974! I need more beer for this one!
So eventually our mates found a station that had gas and made it to our cabin.... we head to bed and set voyage for our next epic day of riding.
WE wake up and gas seems to be the hot topic all day, eventually it became a joke about finding gas, but I was never far enough back in the group to hear the BS.
SO day one: we hit Niels gap, Jack's gap then right up to Brasstown Bald, then back up the other side of Niels to a nice lunch and some Newcastle.
Just to let you know we were not holding back... Josh and I were firing shots off like we were racing for a tour stage. Josh was definitely the man up Niels and somehow I was able to gas him up the Bald!
Back into town, we head for a night of Terrapin Pale Ale and food...
The next day (Still no gas) OH WAIT 45 mins in line at a station and we find gas!
Supposedly we are having a nice easy ride, but a group of cyclists can never ride easy. We hit up the back side of Woody's gap and start another epic throw down...
Saturday night we ate in and did not party as the century was upon us.
CENTURY DAY!!!!
So there is more people than I have ever seen and I felt awful for the first 40 miles. I came unglued on Jack's gap and rode in small groups the rest of the day. Somehow I felt great the last 20 miles and rode flat out. I came in at 5:40.... Pretty respectable. Josh came in around 5:55 and Tom had a Mechanical. Honestly this was the hardest century I have ever done. 6 epic climbs spread into 104 miles, made this not for the kids. I was in pieces after rolling in.
So this meant tons of food and BEER
We party and Head back Monday.....
20 hours later and 500 miles later... Hello 2009
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Anaerobic Threshold Aka The Bread and Butter
So welcome back to the next installment of Training with the Whiz, riding at high levels does not always mean putting in big hours. This was a big mistake that I had when I was training myself, and also a big folly that I see with local and national level guys. What happens with the big hours is that you hit a plateau, you will hit this and hold it for sometimes up 6 weeks, then you bomb hard.
So to battle this its really important to get in short intense rides, two hours or under, to work the anaerobic systems and recovery inside of those efforts. Working these workouts will help put more "bullets in your chamber" during a race, or make sure that you have the snap when things start to heat up.
The workout I am going to show is one of the best for the race season (this was highlighted on vs. with Chris Carmichael) 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. Robby prescribed a warm up into a 30 minute straight block of 30s on/off (30 intervals) with a minimum average wattage of 350, 20 minutes of recovery then 10 minutes of 30s on/off with a minimum average wattage of 400.
So when you put that on screen it will look crazy
Here is my download
After a block of time off this was not so much fun, my numbers were pretty low for me in terms of where my heart rate was, and I was pretty close to throwing up about three times. I kept a very high cadence and did a majority of the intervals seated to also help with some core maintenance on the bike.
If we had some hills here, this workout is perfect for climbs, it would also facilitate maintaining higher watts since gravity is on your side. Unfortunately, Florida has rollers at best. So you just have to put your head down and go.
Feel free to comment with questions and I hope to make this blog a tool and resource for all
So to battle this its really important to get in short intense rides, two hours or under, to work the anaerobic systems and recovery inside of those efforts. Working these workouts will help put more "bullets in your chamber" during a race, or make sure that you have the snap when things start to heat up.
The workout I am going to show is one of the best for the race season (this was highlighted on vs. with Chris Carmichael) 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. Robby prescribed a warm up into a 30 minute straight block of 30s on/off (30 intervals) with a minimum average wattage of 350, 20 minutes of recovery then 10 minutes of 30s on/off with a minimum average wattage of 400.
So when you put that on screen it will look crazy
Here is my download
After a block of time off this was not so much fun, my numbers were pretty low for me in terms of where my heart rate was, and I was pretty close to throwing up about three times. I kept a very high cadence and did a majority of the intervals seated to also help with some core maintenance on the bike.
If we had some hills here, this workout is perfect for climbs, it would also facilitate maintaining higher watts since gravity is on your side. Unfortunately, Florida has rollers at best. So you just have to put your head down and go.
Feel free to comment with questions and I hope to make this blog a tool and resource for all
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Training with the Whiz
So now after some much needed time off its back to structured training... Hello agony and suffering. So today's menu was a four hour ride, broken down at 3.5 hours in zone's 2/3, followed by 20 minutes LT then recover, then three sprints 10s 20s ans 30s. I knew that this was going to be great after not doing these rides for 4 or so weeks. Everything was good, speed was where it needed to be, power was a little lower compared to my heart rate, but that will come in a few days of doing training again.
Here is the screen shot of the download:
For me keeping my cadence high and letting my power fluctuate more my main goals. As far as the 20 minutes at the end, I was in town and sort of just suffered through and the sprints were in the rain so power was relatively lower than normal.
These rides definitely help being ready at the end of the race, its a fail safe to train then end the rides very hard.
For coaching, I use Robby Ketchell, he was previously with Colorado Premier Training, but is now under his own banner, www.ketchellsportsscience.com
We have had a great relationship over the years, racing together and coaching. Robby works with a lot of the top echelon riders in the US, Chris Baldwin and Mike Friedman to name a few.
Also, for most of you know, I did get signed by the Colavita Development Team for next season. They were very pleased with me as an individual and rider. Now I just have to get that Cat. 1 upgrade as the team will be all one's next year, with a better budget and more complete calendar.
Keep fighting the good fight..
PS if you ever want to see files directly, just email me and I will send them to you!
Here is the screen shot of the download:
For me keeping my cadence high and letting my power fluctuate more my main goals. As far as the 20 minutes at the end, I was in town and sort of just suffered through and the sprints were in the rain so power was relatively lower than normal.
These rides definitely help being ready at the end of the race, its a fail safe to train then end the rides very hard.
For coaching, I use Robby Ketchell, he was previously with Colorado Premier Training, but is now under his own banner, www.ketchellsportsscience.com
We have had a great relationship over the years, racing together and coaching. Robby works with a lot of the top echelon riders in the US, Chris Baldwin and Mike Friedman to name a few.
Also, for most of you know, I did get signed by the Colavita Development Team for next season. They were very pleased with me as an individual and rider. Now I just have to get that Cat. 1 upgrade as the team will be all one's next year, with a better budget and more complete calendar.
Keep fighting the good fight..
PS if you ever want to see files directly, just email me and I will send them to you!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Back in the Saddle
So I am back, and as per many questions the blog will go on, I am going to share some screen shots of powerfiles and other things involved with my riding and day to day fair.
So long story short, I am back to just being a bike racer. I was sitting in an airport all day, when I found out that my position with Glory Cycles was no longer part of the company schema...
We part ways as friends, so now I am in the hunt for a new job. I have worked hard to build up a network in the cycling community so I am sure that the chips will fall into place in my favor.
Now we got that out of the way, today was greated with pleasant news, that I did earn a spot on the Colavita Development Squad for next season. So that was motivating in my slew of resume editing and emailing people...
Got kitted up and got my roll on for two hours.... It was great to be back in the FL riding... Nice and easy today and some sprints... I am pretty much doing whatever rides for the next week or so, then back to some structured training. Looks like we may be riding the Vuelta a Chihuahua in Mexico in September if the team gets the invite.
Keep Reading... I'll Keep Writing
So long story short, I am back to just being a bike racer. I was sitting in an airport all day, when I found out that my position with Glory Cycles was no longer part of the company schema...
We part ways as friends, so now I am in the hunt for a new job. I have worked hard to build up a network in the cycling community so I am sure that the chips will fall into place in my favor.
Now we got that out of the way, today was greated with pleasant news, that I did earn a spot on the Colavita Development Squad for next season. So that was motivating in my slew of resume editing and emailing people...
Got kitted up and got my roll on for two hours.... It was great to be back in the FL riding... Nice and easy today and some sprints... I am pretty much doing whatever rides for the next week or so, then back to some structured training. Looks like we may be riding the Vuelta a Chihuahua in Mexico in September if the team gets the invite.
Keep Reading... I'll Keep Writing
Monday, July 7, 2008
Fitchburg Stage 4
Welcome back folks...
Sorry for the delay in getting these last two posts up, we have been like caged chickens and now we are getting some freedom...
So I had a nice breakfast of PB and J, then right to the kit, got in about an hour spin to warm up. There were no need to open up after 10 days of racing. I got to sign in and had a great conversation about my crash with one of the head officials, who informed me that the Metlife team, who's feeder caused the crash, was being fined. This made me pretty happy, a small prize for losing 11 minutes in a stage race...
So politics over, our course looked awesome, a nice uphill finish, with a 180 turn at the top and then a long back stretch followed by two left turns, measuring exactly one mile. The race went for 28 laps, at the start my position was bad on the back line, but I made it to the front in two laps.
I made some great early moves again and was in some promising breaks, but nothing was sticking. With three to go I knew it was now or never. I attacked on the inside on the back stretch and an NCCS rider saw me and put me right into the curb on the corner. I bumped him hard to stay upright, came unclipped and was pretty much at the back of the field by then. My sprint started then. I dodged another crash on the last corner and went hard to end up 24th. Finishing 70th overall. Not my best stage race, but the team DS was very happy with how I raced and pleased to see all my efforts and hard work. The team will be using me if they get selected for the UCI race in Mexico in September, or anything else that may come up.
What great trip. The day ended with some beers, a drive to Boston to stay with another teammate. Then a night on the town.
Monday morning came along, with some eggs and toast, then off to a hike in the Blue Hills Reserve, which was beautiful. We came back home, then rode for 2 hours around South Boston, on the HarborWalk trail in Dorchester...
Great times and all to see the world on a bike!!!
I hope you all enjoyed reading these posts as much as I did writing them
I had a great time here and hope to share it with everyone when I get back...
Untill Then
Sorry for the delay in getting these last two posts up, we have been like caged chickens and now we are getting some freedom...
So I had a nice breakfast of PB and J, then right to the kit, got in about an hour spin to warm up. There were no need to open up after 10 days of racing. I got to sign in and had a great conversation about my crash with one of the head officials, who informed me that the Metlife team, who's feeder caused the crash, was being fined. This made me pretty happy, a small prize for losing 11 minutes in a stage race...
So politics over, our course looked awesome, a nice uphill finish, with a 180 turn at the top and then a long back stretch followed by two left turns, measuring exactly one mile. The race went for 28 laps, at the start my position was bad on the back line, but I made it to the front in two laps.
I made some great early moves again and was in some promising breaks, but nothing was sticking. With three to go I knew it was now or never. I attacked on the inside on the back stretch and an NCCS rider saw me and put me right into the curb on the corner. I bumped him hard to stay upright, came unclipped and was pretty much at the back of the field by then. My sprint started then. I dodged another crash on the last corner and went hard to end up 24th. Finishing 70th overall. Not my best stage race, but the team DS was very happy with how I raced and pleased to see all my efforts and hard work. The team will be using me if they get selected for the UCI race in Mexico in September, or anything else that may come up.
What great trip. The day ended with some beers, a drive to Boston to stay with another teammate. Then a night on the town.
Monday morning came along, with some eggs and toast, then off to a hike in the Blue Hills Reserve, which was beautiful. We came back home, then rode for 2 hours around South Boston, on the HarborWalk trail in Dorchester...
Great times and all to see the world on a bike!!!
I hope you all enjoyed reading these posts as much as I did writing them
I had a great time here and hope to share it with everyone when I get back...
Untill Then
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