Firestone Classic

This race was both exciting and disappointing in its own way. I have had a questionable two weeks of training with the new job, so I was a little worried as to how much gas I would have. Two make things scarier, the week of the race the changed the length on the website to 30 miles! When I arrived on Saturday to pre ride the course it was a warm 85+ degrees! When I checked in they had lowered us back down to 20 miles.
After riding the course I was super stoked because it was fast....fast....fast! Even though I like a technical course, this was just plain fast! About the time I finished up, my friends Rory and Jen showed up. We found a good spot to pitch our tents and started to set up camp.



I had received a tent for my birthday back in Feb. and this was the first time I had set it up! Luckily I had two engineers with me! I heard a few jokes for my tent being so huge for little old me!( It's the blue one in the picture ) Once we had camp set up we hit the all you can eat spaghetti feed! It wasn't the greatest but it hit the spot after a really hot ride in the blazing sun! After dinner Rory and Jen went for a hike and I just kicked it in my HUGE tent! By the time they got back we were all ready to get to sleep! It was only about 9! As I layed in my tent I listened to people talking around their campfires. We were next to a group of semi-pro's from Colombia and some semi-pro's from Santa Cruz Ca. It was cool to listen to the two groups share their racing stories to each other. They also shared different things about their cultures and countries. They were really cool groups of people and it was great to listen to their exchange!
I had a pretty good nights sleep being that it was my first time in a tent for a long, long, long time! I awoke to a pretty cool morning that gave me hope that the fog and cool weather had rolled into the valley. That hope quickly vanished as I unzipped my tent and saw the sun rising high into the sky. It was about 6am and with each 10 minutes that passed, the heat level rose. I felt surprisingly great as I warmed up! As we lined up, there seemed still to be lots of confusion as to what our actual race course was. I was lucky enough to run into Westlake Cyclery's managers daughter, who was there supporting her boyfriends family and team! She said that she would hand me bottles in the feed zone which was a huge relief with the temperature at about 90!
Then came the always gut wrenching line-up! This is where you see all those whom you will be racing against. You would think this would get easier with each race, but I seem to get nervous even if I know half of the racers! The start was really sketchy as it was narrow for the large group that we were. It was also really dusty! I had a mouth full of dirt after the first 100 yards! The group stayed together for the first few miles. Rory had passed me about 1 mile into the race but never got to far ahead. About 4 miles in we hit the main climb and Rory slipped a pedal and I was able to pull up to him. When we hit the crest we had caught some slower traffic that caused a little bit of a slow down on the first descent. I kept Rory in sight the whole way and thought that I would try to put the screw to him up the last long climb. When we hit the last climb, I stood up and gave every ounce of energy I had to catch him. Knowing that he was in first, I thought if I catch him up this hill, I could take it to the finish. Well, as I fought my way up the hill I caught up to.....well....I thought it was Rory, but it was some other dude that had on the same color jersey! I was bummed! I had no idea how far ahead he was and I had spent myself climbing that hill! As we went through the finish line to complete the first lap, I started to slow a little and catch my breath. The first few miles was very flat and fast so I used it to recoup. I knew where I would attack on the 1/2 lap that we had left, yet as I rounded the vineyard they had roped off the track to funnel us back towards the finish. As I came through they told me to slow down and funneled me off the track. I kept asking if that was it and they just kept shuffling people off that came thru!
Very disappointing! I felt like I could have done another full lap. Plus, Rory had beat me! Aarggh! I was happy for him but very disappointed that I did not fight harder from the start. I realize that I still have a long way to go in this Sport class that I have moved up to. I hope to find a cycling coach that can give me some direction in my training. I feel like I have hit a wall. With my new job, I definitely need to use my time wisely. I also need to find the right balance in my life. I have not made the most wise decisions as it pertains to my time management! I have definitely let my passion for riding overcame every area of my life! That being said, I need to use my training time as effectively as possible!
My next race will be Castaic Lake on May 20th. It is a very tough short course with tons of short steep climbs every lap. I will do my best to be ready!
Peace
Lucas

Speeding Tickets and Thunderstorms

I was looking so forward to the Sea Otter Classic! This is one of those races you read about in the magazines, see on local news, and hear talked about by riders everywhere! I was so excited that when I woke up at 315 am on Saturday morning, I couldn't go back to sleep! So I just got right up and left for Monterey! I was flying low to the ground and came within 20 miles of Laguna Seca when I rounded a slight curve on the US 101 and saw my day change! Hiding behind a tree and tall weeds was a good ol' CHP! Phooooey! I haven't had a ticket in like 8 years! I definately got lucky though. The cop radared me at 81 and only wrote me for 75 so that I may go to traffic school. He was a downhill racer and said that he would be racing as well. He wanted to talk about bikes more than my infraction. He did remember to hand me my ticket though!
Well I got on my way and arrived at Laguna Seca shortly after. I changed into my cycling clothes and headed out to registration and then on to pre-ride the course. As I was approaching the start of the course I saw Josh from Team Sho-Air and he screamed at me to follow him. We tore down to the finish line just in time to see Bernice come across in fourth place. She had raced the beginner singlespeed class! First time ever racing a singlespeed! I think she said this was only here second time riding one! I congratulated her and then took off on the course.
As I hit the course I was super stoked on how fun it was! As I hit about the 10 mile mark, the heavens parted and dropped a fury onto the mountains! I thought I would wait it out under some trees with others that were on the course but it just kept getting worse. It was pretty good weather when I left so needless to say I wasn't dressed all that warmly! It took me a good 45 minutes to get back to my car, and when I did I was soaking wet and freezing to the bone. I jumped into my car, blasted the heater and proceeded to strip down. I dried off and put some warm clothes on. I spent an hour at the Laundromat and an hour and half washing my bike at the gas station!
After a good nights sleep in a Salinas hotel, I was ready to race. It was very cold when I arrived at the raceway and there were racers everywhere! It was a really cool scene. The start line was fairly intimidating as well! I think I was slightly overwhelmed by the amount of racers in my class. We started on the Laguna Seca Racetrack and my goal was to take off with a full head of steam. I had heard that you wanted to get out in front because the course quickly bottlenecks on any and all singletrack. Well, my full head of steam was not anywhere near what others was! I quickly found myself at the back of the pack! This really shocked me at first as I was rolling at about 24 mph on the beginning flats! When we started to climb the corkscrew towards the dirt, I caught up to half pack. Then as we hit the dirt and started down the first descent, I made up a lot of space. I had the leaders pack within sight when we hit the first bottleneck. After that, I am not to sure how quickly they took off.
As my legs and body warmed up, I felt really good. Because the first 10 miles or so had little steep climbing, I was able to keep a good pace and pick off riders. Most of the climbing came near the end of the race and it was pretty steady for 3-4 miles+. My legs really bonked at about 16 miles which mentally started weighing on me. I was not being passed by any of my class,(that I could tell)but experts were flying by as they were finishing their final lap! I was even passed by some pro single speeders! So the end of the race was a little brutal as the climbing seemed to never end! Finally it did an as we started our descent back to the track, I let it all hang out. I had two guys from my class right ahead of me and as we rounded the paved corner to the finish I locket out my fork and hammered as hard as I could! I thought that I got them both, but when the results were posted I had only passed one and finished 1/100 of a second behind the other!
My goal was to break the top 25 and I placed 23rd! It felt really good and also showed me where I need to improve! I definitely need to get longer! And I could always get stronger. The guy the took 1st killed us all! I finished about 14 minutes behind 2nd-5th place! Even though I ride an average of 16 miles per ride, I need to be able to sustain a race speed for at least 24 miles in this Sport division!
Sea Otter was amazing and I look forward to racing there again next year!
Peace
Lucas

Anniversary Vacation....And The Homewrecker!

Sorry it's been a few! Life has been busy in great ways! My wife Kristen and I celebrated our 11th anniversary this past week! We were able to get away to one of our most favorite places, Catalina Island! It is a very relaxing place to spend a few days! Everything is on the beach, and the weather was great. We took our bikes with us and rode everywhere we went! I also got a good twenty mile ride in one morning! It was a paved road ride, yet with all the hills I climbed for over half of the twenty miles! It was a great workout! That was not the highlight of our trip though. The highlight was relaxing spending quality time with my love! We literally spent hours just laying on the beach enjoying each others humor and attention! We also got to enjoy lots of great food! A lot of food!
When I got back to my wonderful job at Starbucks this week I realized why they call it vacation! Boy oh boy! The last three days have been three of the toughest I have gone thru since I started with Starbucks almost two years ago! To top each day off I put in another 4-6 hours at the Bike Shop. The glorious news is.....I brought home my new bike Friday night! Thats right race fans! I am now the proud papa of a Specialized Epic! When I got it home I showed Kristen and asked for her to help me come up with a name. She quickly thought of El Gringo but suddenly said,"no, no, I think you should name it The Homewrecker!" After a good laugh I warmed to the name! I thought more along the lines of all the poor souls that I will someday smoke, and they will have to go home broken and wrecked! J/K! Thought it sounded funny!



I finally got to spend about 35 minutes in the dirt today! I rode until dark and loved every minute of it! I feel a little sketchy as the frame geomotry is very different! I am trying to dial in a the front and rear shock as well as my seat, bars, shifters and so forth! I really need to get it dialed this week since Sea Otter is this upcoming weekend! I would love to do well in this huge race!
I will try to write more about my bike and training this week! Happy Easter to all! I will have a great Easter as I will be going on a morning ride with Rory and Bill. Then Kristen and I will be hitting the movies followed by a great meal at home! Once again, Happy Easter!
Peace

Sweet Redemption...for a Moment

What a weekend! Fasten your seat belts for this will be a bumpy ride! This was my big 2 race weekend! Starting with the finals in Fontucky...I mean Fontana, on Saturday! I had trained very hard for the two weeks leading up to race day, but took the last two days off for a little rest!
Thursday night on my way home from work at the bike shop I pulled into Taco Bell and one of my car tires flatted! What a bummer! $130 later on Friday, I had two new ones. Saturday as I was exiting the freeway in Fontana(about 80 miles from home) I blew one of my rear tires! Unbelievable! I managed to get to the parking lot and decided to wait until later to put on the spare!
I started to warm up and felt a little stiff. I worried that two days off after 12 days of hard riding may not have been the best idea! I decided to try to warm up thru it and felt good by the start of the race. When the horn sounded, I decided to shoot out ahead! I felt good climbing the first ridge and took a peek over my shoulder as we hit the paved road climb! I saw Rory coming and decided to push harder. This is usually the area I feel really cold, but I felt decent. I managed to pass a lot of the slower traffic that held us up in the last race. When I hit the first decent, I knew that Rory was not far back. I quickly caught up to a slower rider but could not pass as we were in the tight singletrack. At a 2 foot rock face drop, the guy ahead of me freaked and went over the handlebars! I was then able to pass and put a little room between Rory and I. Then came the sand! Fontana has always had its sandy sections, but this was unbelievable! There were sections that had to be 2 feet deep! You had to point the wheel and hope for the best! I definitely did not make it look graceful! I weaved thru even more slow traffic before hitting the tough climb on the backside! Rory was gaining again and yelling out the occasional "Here I come!" I decided to hammer the last 1/4 of the climb which was not easy, but I knew I could recover on the decent! That push really hurt me on the next climb though! It really bonked me for 4-6 minutes!
As we hit the switchbacks I screamed for Rory to pick it up! I could see him every time the switchback turned around! We really started to have fun yelling back and forth! As I hit the flats I pushed with all I had in me! I knew I was pushing my fastest lap, and hoped for a last wind. I felt as if I was flying and took the occasional peek over my shoulder. As I came to the last short climb, I jumped off to run up and I heard Rory scream something. I decided not to turn and a guy sitting at the top of the run-up said "here he comes buddy" as I passed. I freaked out and pedaled as fast as I could! As I came across the finish I screamed out "Redemption!" As I turned around I saw Rory come across about 30 seconds back! Freaking awesome! 43 minutes and 11 seconds! 16 minutes faster than my first race! I was so stoked! Even more stoked that Rory had made my race so memorable!
To top off the race finish, they presented the overall trophies for the whole Winter Series! I had managed to get 1st! I cannot explain the payoff I felt for the hard work! Pure joy!


On the way home, after spending another $150 on two rear tires, I stopped at Bonelli Park to register and pre ride the course. I rode it decently slow, but was super stoked on the terrain! It was 100% different from Fontana. Lot's of fast flat sections, and the hardest climbs came near the end of the lap!
Sunday came and I felt really good and rested! People started showing up and it was a lot of people! Super cool scene! I enjoyed watching all the different teams show up and warm up together! As the race approached I started to feel a little nervous! After all I had registered in the next class up, Sport! That meant tougher competition and two laps! I was way excited! I decided that since it was getting hot, I would wear my camelback during the race. I had my Camelback, two bottles of Hammer Heed, a flask of Hammer Perpetuem, and some Hammer Gel. When my class, Sport Clydesdale 34&under lined up, we were also lined up with 35&over as well as expert singlespeeders! So we had about 35 guys in our group! The buzzer sounded and I was off! I took it easy yet seemed to have jumped out ahead of everyone.
On the first bit of incline, some s/s passed, as this would happen a lot over the next long bit of time! I managed to stay in top three of all geared riders that started in our group! I felt really good and managed to pull away from everyone else until I missed a turn and over-rode about 300 yards! It did not look like anyone had passed me, but the two that I had been sticking with disappeared! I then settled into a cadence and pushed along. When we hit the last two climbs, I felt pretty good all the way up! No one was passing me, and that was a good feeling! As I flew down the descent to the lap point I got a small recovery!
As I passed through the lap point I somehow dropped my chain. Quickly I put it on and started the first climb again. About 1 mile into the second lap the pros started to lap me! They started 17 minutes ahead of my group if that gives you any inclination as to how fast they were moving! When we would hit a descent I was able to hang on a pros tire, but if we were on the flats or any sort of climb, they were gone! They really travelled in packs of 3-5 and used each other like roadies do! It was cool to watch. I was starting to feel it a little yet kept pushing hard knowing that I was leading my class.
As I hit about the 16Th of 20 miles, I started up the second to last climb, and that is where my life changed! 5 or 6 peddle strokes up the hill, my whole lower body seized! Maybe seized is the wrong word? Imagine a bungee cord(as my lower body), now imagine that cord stretched tight. If you were to take a sharp knife and just barely cut into the cord, imagine the layers of cord fraying! My muscles felt as if they had snapped and then frayed off into a billion pieces! I instantly fell to the side of the track and started to writhe in pain! As I layed there and stretched I saw rider after rider pass me! I sucked down every single bit of liquid that I had left on me! I believe that I was there for about seven minutes. When I finally loosened up enough to get back on my bike, I had to peddle standing up in order not to re-cramp. I made it up the rest of the climb that way and started the next descent which gave me time to recover a little more. Then we started up the last long climb. I was a 1/4 of the way up when I cramped again and had to spend another 3-4 minutes strengthen! I worried about not being able to finish but managed to get back on and climb the rest of the hill! I hammered as hard as I could all the way through the finish! They called out my name twice as I came thru which was exciting, but all I had on my mind was some sort of liquid! I fell into the grass and rested for a moment before rising to take a swig of some nasty Gatorade!
When they posted the results, I had finished 4 minutes behind 1st place for a second! Very bittersweet my friends! Definitely a learning experience! I am so stoked for the future! I hope to get Rory into this class and have some crazy battles! Even better, it would be nice to have someone to help thru the laps and battle it out at the end! Team Big Bear put on an amazing race and I look forward to the rest of the series with them!
My legs were so thrashed that I had a hard time standing or sitting for the next few days! If it helps you understand how much pain I was in, I finally rode my bike today, Friday, 5 days after the race! I did not even take that much time off when I was sick this winter! Baby, baby, baby! Today's ride was a little painful to both my legs and my ego! The hardest part is that every twinge I feel scares me that it will turn into a cramp! Hope you enjoyed my friends! I will be riding with my friend Mike on Saturday, and Rory an Sunday, so I will let you know what kind of fun that we find!
I also have some big news coming next week! Remember to "Keep on Livin!" and I will hit back soon this next time!
Peace
Lucas

Crash & Burn

Well it was a pretty crazy day of racing! Not my best. We had the biggest division of the year with 10 guys in our class. I tried to not get to excited as we waited to start! A couple of dudes took off like rockets but like always, they fizzled within the first 4 minutes. One of the new guys took a pretty good lead on the paved road climb. We very quickly caught slower traffic and that was the beginning of the end for me! I passed as many as I could before the first descent, but three of us Clydesdales were riding the rear wheels of two brake happy old guys! As we started down the first steep sandy drop I chose the quicker line behind Rory and all of a sudden I hear him screaming at the guy in front of him! It surprised me enough to look up and when I did I spilled over the bars but landed on my feet. As I was picking up my bike I heard him actually apologize to the guy! It was classic. I quickly caught back up and made the mistake of deciding to follow them up the big backside climb.
I should have passed them here but I did not. This will probably be my biggest learning experience as of yet! As I followed them down the quick single-track I newwhere I would pass if all worked out. I also knew that if I passed right before the switchback climbs, I would be able to pull away and stomp towards my 43 minute lap!
Well my friends, as we made the final descent between the two large trees, they went left, I went right....right over my handlebars head first into the ground! I remember my right foot coming out of the peddle as I was somersaulting down the hill connected to my bike. As I came to a stop I felt like there was going to be no skin left on my legs and right arm. With the initial glance, it didn't look to bad, so I quickly turned my attention to my bike. The chain had come off the outside and even out of the rear derailleur. I got it on as fast as possible and jumped back in the saddle. I tried not to look down at my body but rather focused my attention ahead to where my class had gone. I do not know how long I was down, but I saw Rory and another rider starting the descent after the switchbacks. I thought that I may be able to catch them and powered up the switchbacks as hard as I could. I had to pass a couple slower guys as I descended but I thought I was making up ground.
As I crossed the finish line in fourth place every bit of fear, emotion, and pain hit me like a Mac Truck! I kid you not that my first thought was, I have to wait two freaking weeks to race again! Phooey! Then I felt some pain in my wrists, shoulder and head. My legs looked like rarely cooked hamburger! My wife would later tell me that she wondered if I crashed or got in a fight with a razor! Rory and Jen were great moral support as I tried to think thru the crash. I still am not exactly sure what caused me to go down, but it was the same descent that Josh Smith had knocked himself out on two weeks prior.(detailed in last race report)
So did I learn anything? I definitely should have passed as early as possible. Wanting to take it a little easier on the climbs forced me to ride at their pace which was much slower in a couple of key areas. I think that I have figured out that my body has more, even when it is telling me that it needs a rest. I also thought that I had a great week training, yet not riding on Friday may have kept me a little too stiff.
I have been pounding away the miles this week. I tried to ride thru the stiffness Sunday-Tuesday. It was a little rough, but come Wednesday, I was feeling pretty good. Today (Thursday 15Th March) I took a great road ride! I rode from my house down Kanan past the freeway and continued on Kanan towards the beach. I rode up Kanan until I turned right on Muhlholland, took Muhlholland to Decker Canyon, down Decker into Westlake. I then took two loops around the lake on Triunfo Canyon, then down Agoura Road to Chesebro. Chesebro back to Kanan, and up Kanan to home! Whew! 37.5 miles in around 2 and a half hours. Climbing Kanan to Muhlholland was a grind. I think it was about a good five mile climb. Not the steepest, but long steady climbing. I finished the ride averaging about 15 MPH which I was somewhat happy with!
I was using my Hammer Sustained Energy, and 1 packet of Hammer Gel, with plenty of water. I went thru one bottle of Sustained Energy and I can tell the difference very much. I could have used two bottles, but I was out! Bummer is, my new delivery was dropped off while I was gone! I know that their Recoverite is helping me recover very quickly. I have been truly amazed with this system. Their information and resources on their site has been invaluable as well! I recommend checking it out! Let me know what you find, I would love to hear any thoughts.
Peace
Lucas

Ready to Race

Well it has been an interesting two weeks! I have been training pretty freaking hard. After bonking so quickly in the last race, I have been working on my nutrition and fueling regemins. I would like to tell you that I found a way to cut out sugar but that would be a big white sugar lie! But I am working on cutting some out! Before my last race I thought that it would be a great idea to consume a couple different types of energy gel along with a couple of bottles of water.
Let's just say that I quickly learned that that was not the best idea! After doing some research, I have decided to give Hammer Nutritional products a shot. Hammer uses no simple sugars in their products. So using them as a system really should pay off. I have been using Heed, Sustained Energy, Perpetuem, Hammer Gel, Endurolytes and Recoverite in different combos depending on the length and intensity of my workout. I was pretty impressed by the results this week. They have a load of information on their website including a section on "The pre-race Meal." I will let you know how that info works after the race.
My goal for this race is to break under 42 minutes. My stretch goal is to break thru the 40 minute mark. I know that it is possibleif a few things go my way. Along with needing to not bonk, I hope that they start us with the large group again as this will keep us from encountering mass slower traffic. That alone could help me hit the 42 minute lap mark! It is supposed to be pretty hot, and that may play a part. Wish me long and strong legs my friends!
Peace
Lucas

New Job!

I love the end of a work week! Walking out of my store after five long days of making coffee is a great feeling! Today was a little different though! Last Sunday I started working part time at my bike shop, Westlake Cyclery. I realized that Starbucks alone was not getting me to a new bike! So the shop asked if I wanted to put in some time. I worked three times this week and it was pretty cool! I sold a bike my first day and started to learn some new things. Everyone there has been great in coaching me. I spend a lot of time listening as they sell and discuss different things. I feel pretty solid when it comes to mountain bikes, yet road bikes are another story. I just need to spend some time in the product manuals and I will figure it out!
The new job has put a small dent into my riding. Between making sure that my lovely gets my attention and work and exhuastion, I have only ridden every other day this week. I've had a few great rides though! Sunday I put in a very cold 30 road miles, Tuesday another 30 road miles in some pretty stiff wind and then a great mountain ride in Chesebro canyon yesterday.
It was hard to get out yesterday but once I hit the trailhead I was feeling pretty good. I pushed pretty hard for the first 20 miles. I started to hit the wall about an hour and 45 minutes in. I pushed thru and had a fun descent down dead cow on the way home! I ended up at 28.5 miles and about 2 hours and twenty minutes! It was a great ride with great weather! I love those days!
I am going down to Laguna Niguel to the Grand Opening of the newest Rock N Road Cyclery Specialized concept store. They are doing a morning ride with some of the team and all kinds of give-aways. Carmichael Training is also going to be there! I hope to learn a few training tips and possibly win a prize or two?! I will also be riding with my friend Mike Mahoney on Sunday morning. He is always good at blasting my legs to death! It will be fun!
Peace
Lucas