Soon to come

This is the first time that I am taking a semester off from school. It is honestly not what I wanted to do, but since I am not in school I am planning on making the best of it. I have been putting in some quality riding. I will be starting out as a cat 3 for cross and hopefully it wont be long till I get the points I need to get my upgrade.

I just put my new cross bike together with the following specs"
-Giant TCX frame set
-SRAM Force groupo
-Ksyrium SL Premiums wheels
-FSA K-force carbon seat post
-FSA K-force stem(white)
-TRP Carbon brakes
-Connie Speed Kings
-Selle Italia team seat(white)
It weighs in around 17.2 lbs. and looks fast. I am going to be pushing a 1 x 10 (45 x 11/25) which should be interesting since I know a lot of guys will be using a more original set up of 42/44.

With the time that I have had since I am not in school I have been fortunate enough to be working for Breakaway cycles in Loveland Colorado. If you ever get a chance and want to meet some great guys who know probably the most about cycling in general I would recommend stopping by. They also have some really sick bikes. Who knows you might even see mine around the shop. Breakaway cycles is sponsoring for the cross season which is a pretty sweet deal.

I haven't had time to put up some pics of my bike or anything but hopefully soon.

So, the races that I will be hitting up this season are mainly on Saturdays due to scheduling.

09/13/08CXPikes Peak SuperCross #1 Colorado SpringsCO

09/21/08CXGreen Mountain Sports Cross #1 LittletonCO

09/27/08CXBoulder CX Series #1 BoulderCO

09/28/08CXSchwab Cycles Boss of Cross Series #1 DenverCO

10/04/08CXFrisco Cyclocross #1 FriscoCO

10/11/08CXBoulder CX Series #2 BoulderCO

10/18/08CXBlue Sky Velo Xilinx CX LongmontCO

10/26/08CXBoulder CX Series #3 BoulderCO

11/01/08CXBoulder Cup BoulderCO

11/02/08CXBoulder Cup BoulderCO

11/15/08CXBoulder CX Series #4 BoulderCO

11/29/08CXOn The Cross # 2 Highlands RanchCO

12/06/08CXDBC Boulder Cyclocross Colorado Sr/Mstr Cyclocross Championships BoulderCO

12/07/08CXDBC Boulder Cyclocross Colorado Sr/Mstr Cyclocross Championships BoulderCO

Cross Nationals Kansas December 11,12,13 (I think the dates are something along this time frame)

Also, I will be doing the New Belgium Series starting at the end of this month on Tuesday evenings for some good fun/practice.
I will hopefully keep this updated more once the season starts.

J.

Prep for cross

I am taking the next semester off to work and race cross. Originally I was only going to work but the opportunity came up for me to race. I am fortunate enough to have been sponsored (when time comes you will see by who...). I will post pictures when I get my new bike and kit. Its kind of crazy because I just bought a new specialized tricross at the end of last season and had only raced it twice. For now I will just keep it looking "BLING". The bike I will be riding isn't released till next week so when it is and I get it together it will be up.

I have started cross training with some shorter runs and higher intensity over and hour with a combination of intervals in the mix. I haven't chosen what races that I am going to be doing besides the Boulder series which are more of a priority.

Thats all for now.

J.

Uncertainties and plans changed

At the beginning of the year I thought I had everything figured out. I trained like crazy, planned on being able to upgrade from fours to twos by the end of the season. I started strong. After wrecking in a crit and re-injuring my hip followed by bronchitis things have certainly changed.

My season became no-existent. I finished school (3rd year) with the best grades to date. I recently found out that next semester for me isn't going to be happening. Things fell through and unforeseen bills came. I was fortunate enough to get a job at Breakaway cycles via Ainslie from Gemini Training. I work full time for them and loving every second of it. The owners have opened some doors and eyes for me that weren't there previously.

I am planning on getting my life in order so that I am able to return back to school for the 2009 Spring semester. In that time I am planning on coming back stronger, faster and smarter then I began this year. Skipping MTB season [selling my bike to take care of some things] and concentrating on cyclocross and working I think is a good spot for me.

Its weird to think that I am not going to be in school, but rather working and training. Who would have thought. Its going to take some time to get my lungs back into pristine condition after the thrashing they received from racing two months with bronchitis.

Honestly, I am happy. For the first time I am not stressing even though my situation is probably the hardest in my life to date. Its different. I am able to concentrate on myself and whats really important to me. Rich [my boss] has really been insightful and helping with my individual growth.

Anyways, not sure when I am going to be racing next so in the mean time this is going to mainly be about whats going on in my life.

j.

Happenings...

So, last weekend I did the Primus Mooty crit in Boulder-ish Colorado. The race was a circular road in a research park, roads two lanes wide with no real turns. Basically, the race was an all out power race. The majority of the race I sat top ten just waiting to see if anything would go. I did a solo flier in the first couple of laps and soft pedaled away from the field. I was just testing to see if they anyone would react. No one did so I sat up (didn't want to ride 40 minutes by myself). With two laps to go I was sitting third. I was marked majority of the race by some dentist team??? and with two laps to go I get guttered by one of them putting me in a bad position to be able to finish strong. It was a beginners mistake on my part. I ended up loosing the race due to this move. I learned a lot though(positioning is everything).

I had three exams this past week and finals coming up soon. On top of just being really busy with school I went to the doctors today and found out that I have Bronchitis and have had it for approximately 2 months or so. I knew that I was sick and thought it was just an annoying cough, but it turns out that its slightly a bigger issue. I look back and it makes sense now. there have been so many situations where I was racing and not able to push myself due to lack of ability to breath.

The next week I am on a bunch of meds. (I can't even say their names), studying, and just trying to get through the next two weeks. After that I am going to start riding more and hopefully be able to get some good races in this summer. Also, I have been doing some thinking and I might need to make the decision to head back to PA to finish out my undergraduate degree due to lack of funding, but who knows. I hope all is well and I will keep this updated with whats happening.

j.

Month of April.

This month I made the decision to not to race due to feeling that I was lacking the time, mindset, and overall capacity to race. Recently, I have taken the position as the manager of Velox cycles located out of Fort Collins, Colorado. A lot of my time has been directed to getting the team headed in the right direction, finishing strong with my classes and just getting quality time on my bike.

The plan is to get Team Velox race ready by mid-May, get my college career organized, and get the mental and physical aspects of my riding fine tuned for the main part of my race season starting in May.

In the future, hopefully my hard work pays off and can get some good results. In the mean time enjoy.

J.

Short comings.

This past weekend I decided to skip the collegiate race for Koppenberg which was canceled due to weather. Due to certain circumstances I am most likely not going to be able to race to many more races till this summer. Who knows what will happen but at this moment my season seems to be put on hold.

I guess priorities have their way.

J.

Past Two weeks...

Two weekends ago was the DU Crit. The race started out fast on a course that contained three round-abouts and overall sketchy turns. I instantly got to the top 5 of the race and tried to play it smart. I wasn't supposed to attack till the last 1/3 of the race. We hit the longest, fastest straight away before hitting the last turn before the finish where I decided to make my attack. I step on my pedal and find myself slamming hip first into the pavement at 35mhp instantly getting run over. My teammate swerved into me forcing me into the rear derailler of my other teammate instantly shredding my front wheel. I am not sure what my teammate was doing(he is known for his sketchy handling skills). This crash took myself and teammate out of the race(one that I had a great chance of winning) as well as a rough week plus trying to recover.

It took me about 4 days before being able to get my leg over my bike and another 5 days to be able to pedal semi-balanced.

Last weekend, the Durango, FLC race. Starting with the TTT was my first actual physical test on my leg. With a 4 man team we popped two riders and were forced to take 1min. pulls for the last 8 miles ultimately over stressing my injury. The Crit was the same day 3 hrs later. The start was fast and I felt strong. I soft pedaled away from the group gaining a big gap early. 2nd lap I hit the steep short climb and I instantly cramp/nott my injured hip forcing me to drop out of the race.

Sunday, the FLC road race I was given the job of not letting any breaks go. It was a pain-fest. I sat top 3 the whole race pulling every break back solo. With 6 miles to go I drop my chain after pulling a long break back resutling with me shooting out the back and soft pedaling to the finish.

Overall, it has been a stressful two weeks. Due to a teammates mistake I have been set back over a month with my overall physical fitness. This weekend there are 2 crits that hopefully will be a turning point.