2016: A look forward!

Well here we are.  2016.  The future is here.

This post will mostly be a place holder for when I eventually (read: never) update it with my actual goals and aspirations and dreams and fears.

But I can tell you this:
-I joined Redbeard Racing for this year
-Joining Redbeard Racing includes a pretty sweet coaching package with BIG Picture Cycling
-This means I might get fast and stuff.

I have two big goals for this year:
-Win a medal at nationals
-Beat Colin Prensky's kilo time at Kissena.  There, I said it.  I really want to beat 1:11.

And there we have it!

2015: A look back!

I've decided I'm going to try to start blogging a bit again, so I figure why not start with a recap of 2015?

When I first started this post I thought to myself, "Did I even make an annual training plan this year?"  Apparently I did.  So let that set the tone for this season.

My goals, according to my ATP were:

1. Sub 1:11 Kilo

2. Win spring classic and/or states

3. Top 10 placing in NTC Calendar

Let's break it down:

1. As best I can remember, I only did 3 kilos this season.  I did a 1:09.036 in Milton for Ontario Provincials, 1:09.969 at nats, and 1:14.21 at states.  I guess this counts as me doing a sub 1:11 kilo, but really that goal was intended at kissena.

2. I came in 4th at the spring classic and 2nd at states.  I have to say though, that I think I rode the best I've ever ridden at states this year.  Maybe not the fastest, but I want to say tactically I couldn't have done much better without knowing the outcome of the races beforehand.

3. The NTC calendar was all kinds of weird this year, and I'm not sure they even bothered to log results anymore.  I really could only get points at the t-town events, which were dominated by the international stars.

That said, let's look at the highs and lows of the season:

I suppose my season started with the Milton International Challenge, which was the test event for the panam games at the new Mattamy National Cycling Center up in Canada.  When they said international, they meant it.  I emailed the promotor to make sure it was an open elite UCI field and he said "sure, come on up, have fun." so I went.  And I did have fun.  But man oh man did I get my ass kicked.  Really bad.  But I did see some racing buddies from nats and bikeforums and met some new friends, so that was cool.

It looks like the next thing was the second life bikes roller race, which is always a great time.  I think they only had one this year, which I won.  I did manage to get my back wheel caught in the rollers, very likely after my qualifier?  Either way, I raced the whole season on a tubular with a ripping sidewall.  YOLO.  Also, I had a very important mission during these roller races, because my dad had accidentally washed and dried my wool jersey from second life bikes earlier in the year, which made it tiny-sized.  I got a new one, and now I'm happy and wooly.  Amelia might feel different about it.  Regardless, second life bikes is great and I always look forward to these.

Up next was the "six days of kissena" series I helped to put on at k-town, though it was mostly Brean doing everything.  I just helped with the sprints and keirins, or in other words, the events I wanted to do.  It was stupidly cold to start, but by the end of the series the spring hit.

In the middle of this, JoshS and I went back up to Canada, so I could redeem myself.  I definitely did, coming in 3rd in the kilo, 2nd in the keirin, 2nd in the sprints, and top 10? in the scratch.  Good job us.  Josh didn't do so hot, so now he has some redeeming of his own to do.  Stupid canada.

After that Erin got me the invite to race "The Keirin" at DLV, which is an invitational event with good prize money and a great vibe.  I raced the sprints the night before with something like a 5th place seed, but managed to get 3rd overall.  The announcer was impressed by my ability to ride while looking back at the rider behind me.  In the keirin itself, I won a few rounds and ended up in the final, getting third place overall.  My cousin and his wife came out to watch, and so did my old college buddy the richard.  That was a great time racing and hanging out with friends.  Total boost to my morale.

Next came the start of the kissena twilight series and the start of super tuesdays and the world series of bicycling at t-town.  I got some good early results on a tuesday or two before the pros showed up, but the big thing I was interested in was the keirins.  Once again, put up against international talent, I had my doors blown off.  Like destroyed.  Couldn't even hold wheels.  And that was another blow to the system.

EDIT: Right about in here should be tandemonium.  There's not much to write about tandemonium this year.  I think there were only 4 teams to do the tandem sprints, in which Andrew and I came in 3rd again.  We also came in 3rd in the tandem scratch, but I can't really remember the details of what happened.

I think the next big race to happen was nationals? That sounds about right.  Nats were in LA, and were combined with juniors transitioning to elites later in the week.  It was really cool to hang with the star track crowd and see them rake in the medals.  It was also cool to hang with the usual crowd that I hang with.  I think I had a 13th place kilo, didn't get through the keirins, was the first rider to not make the selection in the scratch race qualifier.  Which reminds me.  I should get this off my chest.  Early in the race, I was at the head of the pack taking my pull, and some dipshit blasts underneath me on the cote and attacks.  He's further up in the field than me across the finish line and I assume I'll make it through when they relegate him, but nope, no relegation.  The CR decided it wasn't a serious infraction and didn't affect the race.  Well, you know, except that's the stupidest and most dangerous move you can make and it knocked me out of the finals.  Me being the guy he would have crashed out had he hit me while passing underneath me.  Good job with that one, USAC. I guess I really shouldn't expect anything less from them and their no-fucks-given attitude when it comes to track racing.

Anyhow, team sprint and team pursuit were both lackluster.  We figured we'd be guaranteed a medal in the TP as there were only 3 teams day of, but a fourth team got added and beat us.  That was pretty defeating, but you know what?  All the free time I had after I got knocked out of my qualifiers meant I got to drive around LA with Amelia and have some drinks and a great time.  So I think I came out ahead.

After this was states, which like I say, I was happy with how I raced.  Kieran had a great team working for him, who really saved his butt a few times.  Jurgen looked really good this year, too.

The last big race to happen was Labor Day.  I was on the fence about it for a while, but eventually we decided to go.  I think Amelia and I were at a party the day before labor day, so I felt pretty hung over and beat up.  I didn't really race too well, but whatever.

And that was the season.  It was a real roller coaster this year, with a lot of highs and lows, and not much training in between.  That said, I am feeling really motivated for next season and I'm already doing some weights and roller work.  I'll talk about all this in a different blog post, I suppose.

Thanks for reading.  Thanks for everybody who's supported me this season, especially Amelia.  I can't wait to see you all again!

2014: A Look Sideways!

Well...

So 2014 has more or less come and gone.  I have the CanAmQue challenge next weekend, which I'll be heading to as long as upstate doesn't get blasted with snow again.  I guess that'll be the official end of the 2014 season.  Maybe I'll call it the start of the 2015 season.  Who really knows.

In the meantime, I'll do a recap:

As I'm sure you all remember from my look ahead post that I never made this year, here were my goals for 2014:
-Sub 1:13 Kilo
-Win Spring Classic and/or States
-Get at least 10 Cat 2>1 upgrade points
-Top 10 placing in NTC calendar

Well, how'd I end up doing?  Here are my kilo times from the season:
Spring Classic: 1:16.56
Midwest Challenge: 1:15.03
Marymoor Gran Prix: 1:13.6
National Championships: 1:13.713
State Championships: 1:15.39

As you can see, I still need a little more work before I can give Francois Pervis a run for his money.  Close, but no cigar.

I came in third at the spring classic, but somehow eked out first place at states, so hooray for me there.

As far as I can tell, I got exactly 0.00 uprade points this season.  Womp womp.

And for the NTC Calendar?  I went into the midwest challenge signed up for the enduro events, and added some sprint events on a whim.  Turns out I'm not a track enduro when most of the field are national road pros.  I was halfway not-terrible in the sprints, though, and ended up 19th out of 64 on the sprint standings.  Still not top ten, but a surprise to say the least.

Grand total: 1/4 goals complete.  Shrug.

Let's take a deeper look at the season, shall we?  I did a grand total of four road races in two race days.  I rode two fields at Grant's Tomb Crit and two fields at Orchard Beach Crit.  I got dropped in both GTC races, stayed in the pack with no notable results at OBC.

I attended two NTC events, the Midwest Challenge, and the Marymoor Gran Prix.
MWC:
Elimination: 22/28
Scratch: 21/31
Points: DNF
Kilo: 11/23
Keirin: 5/12
Team Sprint: 2/15

MGP:
Elimination: 27/37
Scratch: 33/40
Points: DNF
Kilo: 11/17
Keirin: 14/15
Team Sprint: 3/15
Match Sprint: 12/21

Note that I created the winning break in the scratch race, but got gapped off our group of three when they announced a prime with a lap or two to go in the race.

I also raced at Nats this year.  I got knocked out of the scratch in the qualifier, 7/10 in the kilo (except every single person who raced the international omnium was faster than me), couldn't get past the rep in the keirin, and 4th in the team sprint.

I wasn't able to race at kissena at all on wednesdays because of no Cat1/2 racing there.  I raced a bunch of tuesdays (forgot how many) in the Pro/Am this year, and started racing Fridays as well.  Andrew Brennan and I got 3rd at tandemonium in the flying lap seeding and in the tandem sprints.  We ended up 4th in the tandem scratch.  Keith Hatton and I raced the final madisons of the season.  Our first madison was tuesday and our second was friday.  I might have almost killed the field, but the number of times we got yelled at as the nights went on decreased, so I think we're making progress, right?

Oh, better not forget I raced at GSVA again this year.  I think just once.  And I did the second life bikes roller races again.

I had the fastest qualifier at the NYVC roller race this year, but I screwed up my first round, which somehow kicked me straight off the podium.  4th.  Womp womp.

I guess that's it.  Stay tuned for next season.

2013: A Look Back

Well with the CanAmQue challenge now over, I'm going to call 2013 done and move on to 2014.  So let's take a look back:

Here were the goals I had come up with:

1. Sub 1:15 kilo

2. Win Opening Weekend and/or States

3. Race Pro-Am (Upgrade to Cat 2)

How'd I do?  Well, at states I had a 1:14.65, so I beat goal 1.  I also won Opening Weekend, so that's two for two.  Finally, I put in for my Cat 2 upgrade and got it as of September 23rd, so while I didn't race any pro-am races, I did get my upgrade.

I think that means I actually beat all my goals for once.  I'm shocked, and yet honestly I feel like this season wasn't all that great.  I don't know why, but I don't feel satisfied or fulfilled.  Maybe it was my poor performance at States.  Maybe it's just end of season burnout.  I swear it gets worse each year, as I suppose it should.  I keep racing more and harder each year, so it stands to reason that the burnout gets more intense, too.  I wonder how long I can keep this up.  I definitely suffered with motivation all year, and despite good results I hardly ever felt on top of my game.  Instead, I generally felt frustrated.  I think this was from a combination of forces, like frustration with not enough training, endless frustration at work, not having team-mates to race with, and just general dissatisfaction with how things are going.

By the numbers, it looks like I wrote 39 race reports, which seems like a respectable number.  Granted, four of those are roller races.

Here's my 2013 palmares:
1st - Pennsylvania Track BAR - Stagiares
1st - Kissena Spring Classic
1st - 2nd Life Bicycles Roller Race Series
2nd - Kissena Omnium
2nd - NYVelocity Roller Race
3rd - Kissena Labor Day Track Meet
3rd - GSVA Keirin Cup
3rd - Kreb Cyclocross #1

6th - State Championships

Fuji Super Tuesdays

Times raced: 9

Omnium placings:

First: 3

Second: 3

Third: 1

Kissena Twilight Series:

Times raced: 15

Omnium placings:

First: 4

Second: 3

Third: 2

Note that a few of the wednesdays didn't have an omnium.

And that's that.  Thanks to my team and everybody else who has supported me over this past year.

2013: A Look Ahead

My start for next season is rapidly approaching, so let's break down my goals for next year:

1. Sub 1:15 kilo
2. Win Opening Weekend and/or States
3. Race Pro-Am (Upgrade to Cat 2)

These are some pretty steep goals this year, but I don't think they're unattainable.  Right now my motivation levels are much higher than last year, so hopefully this will help me keep up higher training levels.  In addition, I'm planning on placing a greater emphasis on proper rest, nutrition and most importantly testing.  I'd like to start incorporating rest week testing including a graded test and a kilo to ensure I'm headed in the right direction.  I'm also going to try to complete more interval sessions and incorporate high geared hill climbing instead of weight lifting.  Off the bike, I'll still keep up with my core work, and throw some plyos in for good measure.

As for A races, same as always, opening weekend and states.  The big thing is instead of top 5 or even top 3, I'd like to actually all-out win.  With the help of the team and my training changes, I think this will not be too hard to do.

2012: A look back

I know I still have a few weeks until my season is officially over.  I might even do a couple of cyclocross races during that time.  But I'm bored, and I figure I might as well get this season review done and over with. So let's see how my year went.

Here were my goals for the season:

1. 1:15 Kilo - nope
2. Top 5 at Kissena Opening Weekend and State Championships - check
3. Qualify for Elite Track National Championships - sorta

Once again my hope for a sub 1:15 kilo has evaded me.  I'll probably give it another try next year.  I have succeeded in staying top 5 for both opening weekend and states, despite my best efforts to screw up at opening weekend.  Finally, there were no qualifiers for elite nats, so I could have gone and done timed events, but the real spirit of the goal was to get to cat 2 and race all mass-start events.  I call this 50%.  Could be worse, I suppose.

That said, let's look at some of the highlights:
1st - Lehigh Laps
1st - Labor Day Meet
2nd - NY State Track Championships
3rd - Kingsbridge Armory Velodrome Roller race
4th - Kissena Opening Weekend

I also was able to race Tandemonium at T-town, and I won money at Kissena (opening weekend), Garden State Velodrome (keirin final), and four times at T-town - once each in stagiares, pro/am (combined with stagiares), friday night (tandemonium), and lehigh laps.

Beyond this, the team has really picked up.  We got some fast new riders, fast new kits.  I'd call this season a success.  Thanks, everybody!

2012: A Look Ahead

The next season is upon me. I look to it with indifference and a lack of motivation. I think it was the extra time off that I took this year, but I just do not even want to begin the training regimen. However, the fact of the matter is here we are, so training must occur. I've decided that my main focus for next year will be track racing. I'm hoping to go to more wednesday night races, as well as a few (or more) tuesday night t-town races. Perhaps if the season goes well, even some Friday nights. Oh Friday nights. The big league.

Here are the goals that I've come up with for this season:
1. 1:15 Kilo - This is the same time as I foolishly chose two seasons ago. Let's hope I can come out ahead this time.
2. Top 5 at Kissena Opening Weekend and State Championships. Don't fix what ain't broke.
3. Qualify for Elite Track National Championships. I have my eyes to the stars this year. Of course I'll have to change this if they don't have qualifiers again. In that case, I'll probably switch to qualify for all races at elite nats (via a Cat2 upgrade).

The A races that I've chosen so far are Opening Weekend at Kissena and NY State Champs. In addition to this, I have the elite international omnium nationals and standard elite nationals dates on my calendar. My training plan is still a little fuzzy as to what I will do to peak for these after opening weekend, but I'll just play it by feel.

2011.49: A look back.

Here we come to the end of the season. I actually still have a few weeks left, but I'm just bored, I figured I would get this out of the way and move on to prep for 2012. So how did I do this year? Let's take a look:

Season Goals:

-1.16.5 kilo

-Top 5 Opening Weekend and States

-Top 10 cat4 road race

As for the kilo, my fastest time was at States this year with a 1:16.11, so hooray for me! 1-0

Opening weekend I managed first overall after winning the kilo with a 1:17.41, the team sprints with Andy and Siraaj at 1:31.33, the points race, and the miss and out. I also had a second place in the scratch and third in the match sprints. Good job me, that's half the goal.

At states I was able to get second overall with a first place team sprint with Colin and Alan at 1:28.28. I also got second in the kilo with the 1:16.11, as well as third in sprints and second in the points race. All of this I attribute to only 8 1/2/3's showing up. Regardless, this means my goals are now 2-0. woo-ha!

Goal 3? yeah, fuck goal 3. I didn't do a single cat 4 road race. I registered for one. But I didn't go. 2-1, I'll still take it.

Notable other accomplishments for this season include:

-Upgrade to 4 on the road. hey, it's a start

-Upgrade to 3 on the track. Riding with the big boys.

-First overall at the International Omnium

All told, I'd say this was another successful season, and I look forward to 2012. Thanks to all who helped me out this year.

2011: A Look Ahead

Alright, well first off, I guess this isn't really a look ahead since apparently this is my first week of the 2011 season. Basically, I just wanted to post my goals for the upcoming season and talk about my A races.

Goals:

1:16.5 kilo - I raised this up from my 1:15 kilo from last year, because quite frankly I think that was a little too optimistic.

Top 5 opening week and states - Self explanatory, should be doable.

Top 10 cat 4 road race - only 3 cat 5 races left. I can do this...

As for the A races, same as last year: opening weekend at the track and states. I'm also tempted to try racing the tour of the battenkill this year, but that's a bit of the opposite end of the spectrum from the training for the track. time will tell.

2010.50 - Part II: Season in review

I figure I should do something like this, so lets see. I'll start with my goals that I set in my 2010 Annual Training Plan:

1- 1:15 kilo

2- Top 10 Opening Weekend

3- Top 10 Cat 4 road race

So, how did we do? My best kilo was a 1:17.94, so there goes that one.

I was 6th overall at opening weekend. That's 1 and 1

Finally, well...I'm still a cat 5 on the road, so the last goal isn't even close to being passed.

In this light, my season was honestly pretty terrible. however, I still think all in all, this season ended well.

Here's the highlights:

-Fastest kilo at opening weekend

-6th overall at opening weekend

-3rd overall in the twilight track series

-4 2nd places at state championships (kilo, points, team sprint, omnium)

So all in all, i'm pleased and hope to continue to grow next season.

2010 Season Goals

Also last week I completed my annual training plan. one of the first steps in completing this is to determine goals. For this upcoming season I have decided they are:

-1:15 kilo at either opening weekend or states*
-Top 10 opening weekend
-Top 10 in a cat 4 road race**

*As it turns out, my brother's wedding might fall into the same weekend as states, so I might only have one A race for this season...in april. it'll be a short season for me.
**I'm not really sure how good of a goal this is. I don't actually have any cat 4 races set into my schedule right now, and if i did, they'd all be B or C races since I'm just focusing on opening weekend and states* this year.