Snowball Crit #1

Hit the rescheduled February Snowball race today. Beautiful 75 degree day with some moderate winds.
After last weeks disappointing effort at Casey, I was determined to get a better finish today. There was about 34 in the field today and the majority was from 4 teams. We had 6 guys and Fat Frogs had about 10 it seemed. The Kitty Hawk guys showed up and the Casey crew were strongly represented.
I got another front line starting position but managed to not clip in and slid my foot out on the first turn. That cost me about 10 positions. The pace settled in and I was mid pack. There were a couple of moves around 15-20 laps in but nothing lasted. The UNCW boys had all three out front trying for a break but that was quickly brought back in.
The rest of the race I just sat in and didn't try a move. The horrible sights and sounds of the first Snowball crashes were in the back of my mind. With 3 laps left the field was all in a straight line but then would check up as we got caught in the headwind. On the bell lap, the field spread out and I either was sprinting harder than everyone else in the mid pack group or they were gassed. I managed to pick up several positions at the last 50 meters and probaly got a top 15. Joe probably got a top 5 and Jimmy probably got a top 10.
I used my AC 350 wheels again this week. Last week I experienced the well-documented "wobble of death" you get from cornering on the 350s. This week I didn't get that feeling at all and I hit the corners pretty hard. My 420s should be in this week and will break those out for the Conte's Classic in downtown next Sunday.

Tom Poo-nen

And you wonder why nobody wanted to help him chase down the leaders at last week's Paris Roubaix.

We Are Hokies...We Are Hokies...We Are Hokies

My prayers go out to my friends at Hokie Nation.

Tuesday Pungo Death Ride

Tuedsay Night GB Cyclery

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

The goal is to make it past Blackwater before falling off the back. Last week I made it almost down to the firestation. Hopefully we won't have the wind as a factor today(which seemed like a headwind no matter which direction we went).

There was a good showing for the 1st Death Ride of the season last week. The usuals tried to rip off everyone's legs (Tim, Bill @ Tripower, Casey guys, etc). AAB had a good showing up on the lead group too. After the first 10 miles, the groups were established and straglers picked up by following groups. I held onto Angie's (Casey) wheel on her tri bike for awhile but they dropped me around Baum. I got picked up by Orlando's foursome minutes after that. Otherwise I would have ended up in NC since I had no idea where I was. It was getting dark coming towards the finish and some impatient mom in a minivan attempted to pass Joe C. while another car was approaching on the oncoming lane and almost forced him into a ditch on Centreville right before the shop.

Post ride report coming later.

Langley Speedway - Racing is a Team Sport

Cycling is a team sport. I'm not thinking of my 30+ finish but being able to help my teammates out by putting in my effort. I was thrilled that Steven and Joe got 3rd and 4th respectively and hopefully I contributed to their placing in the final laps by moving towards the front of the peloton and blocking so the pack won't catch my teammates. I know I was able to slow the pack down to the mid 20's as we were consistently hitting 26-28.
On the final lap as I was off the back and gassed from my previous effort, I threw my hands in the air as Steven crossed the line thinking he won. There was actually 2 other riders 20 seconds ahead of him and Joe. These guys attacked when there was a crash in the field. A guy was laid out and this tool attacks at the first sign of a crash. As I crossed the line, I threw my hands in the air anyway Boonen-style.
There were a few riders out there that couldn't keep a line today. One in particular (bib 635) had a red Costa Rica jersey on. I know he was part of the big crash but managed to stay upright. This guy would twitch and made everyone around him react to his sudden movements. I tried to stay away from him but everytime I looked he was either on my outside wheel. The pace was fast at the beginning and there were some riders that were off the back in the first 2 laps. They ended up being road hazards as some would stay on the inside as the pack was passing. I think they got pulled at the end.