Since NE Championships and Looking Ahead...

Since I last blew myself up at the New England Cyclocross Championships in late December, I took some time off to get my legs back under me and recover from 51 races over 9ish months. Now late January, I have begun building base miles for upcoming 2012 season. There are a lot of projects and plans in the works this year.

With no collegiate season ahead, I have turned my focus to a few early races after a pre season venture to South Carolina for training.  In addition, I have teamed up with Bobby Bailey of 1K2GO Sports to build speed and gain my place on top step of the podium.

January thus far has been building as many base miles per week as unreasonably possible.  In other words, hours and hours on the bike.  Additionally to time spent on the two wheeled battled axe, I have managed to squeeze in some time skiing slalom at Cochrans for two evenings during each week.  The quick and twitchy movements from skiing slalom have managed to make their way in to my cycling.  Cadence has increased with proportional power increase.  Each slalom has had huge benefits to what will be climbing and sprinting muscles.  Come time for racing, I can only hope to hold on to, and build on the new found quick twitching muscles.

Looking ahead to the season, I have my eye on the podium for as many races as I can enter.  A large goal, and a tough one to meet.  Building off of last season, up seems like the right way to go.

On equipment; I have a new battle axe for... well, racing, riding and anything else you'd do with a bike.  Based off some awesome new designs, Flahute has released a brand new more aerodynamic sprinters bike.  Tubing shape has also changed, in addition to a new cut out which allows the stem to sit lower and shrink the effective steerer tube, creating a stiffer cockpit which reacts to all movements that make up that minuscule amount at the line.  Full specs on the new bike to be released in late February after on road testing has been completed.

Super Stealthy Ninja Training

Under the glow of Burlington's street lamps, in the dead of night...

I got the call to meet in a secret cyclocross training location in the middle of Burlington.  Asking no questions I threw on my trusty mix-matched kit and sped at high cadence to the scene.  Bobby Bailey, coach and founder of 1K2GO was waiting to lead me through some choice CX drills to improve both strength and skill.

As to not reveal any trade secret of the man himself (Bobby... not me), the night ended with some simple mounting and dismounting drills to help with the fluidity and comfort of getting on and off the bike and high speeds.  It is important to remember when dismounting to have a stabilizing hand on the top tube before your final foot touches the ground.  That way if the bike hits something after the dismount, you then have the ability to keep control of the bike.  It also decreases the chances of the chain bouncing off the rings and dropping.

Visit 1K2GO for more information on Bobby Bailey and his methods.

Monday Night Cyclocross Clinic & Wednesday Night Catamount 'Cross

Right to left: Bobby Bailey(1K2GO), Amy Miner(1K2GO), Josh Saxe(ORR)

Start together, suffer together
celebrate together.

Monday:  Bobby Bailey of 1K2GO lead riders in a brutal cyclocross clinic at Catamount Family Center with special help from Issac Howe (who even brought a hammer with the sole purpose of dropping it).  The specifics of said clinic are blurred together by dirt, mud and the potential of vomit.
The night began with a small minute sprint loop from a mass start.  With the sun setting, we rushed into the next set of intervals; a 5 minute interval which included barriers and stairs separated by technical switchbacks and fast descents.

Eying Ben before the sneaky sprint for the line.

The final interval was greatly an exercise in running, when we came to the "Stairway to Heaven", which was a long run up after a gradual hill and set of stairs, it was completely necessary to sprint up to the stairs and to the top...  here's the breakdown.  The interval hillclimb started riders 15 seconds apart and lead them from the grassy straight followed by a sharp right hand cranker back through the finish and into the climb.  Once into the climb, there were some brief straightaways into some simple switchbacks.  Once arriving at the stairs.  My account after the long ass stairs is as follows: with two riders in sight, I hucked my bike onto my shoulder and began the long haul to the horizon.  I pumped my legs to sprint in an attempt to catch the two riders ahead of me.  Gaining precious ground, I arrived at the top to be greeted by the other riders from the clinic.

Tailing a healing Amy Miner.  She's still wicked fast!

Wednesday Night: Cyclocross at the Catamount Family Center was an experience to be remembered.  About 30 riders approached the line.  Mountain bike and cyclocross bikes, pros and amateurs, juniors and seniors all riding within the same pack, sprinted off the line at 5:40 and began the 45 minute suffer fest on the newly extended course.  I managed to move up quickly and pass some UVM teammates along the way.  Leading the charge up many stairs and over barriers, my legs burned with the burning of 1,000 suns.  Heart pumping and lungs burning, I made my way through the course with the simple goal of survival.  As the race went on, my survival instincts began to drop and my speed increased.  Sadly, my back began to seize up and my speed significantly dropped.  I am not sure what was different from the weekend, but my best guess would be the slow uphill grinds and perpetual pumping on the spine did a number on my core.  Not wanting to give up, I managed to finish the race and even sprint strong for the line.

We're done... can I puke now?

After the race finished, a bon fire was made in the parking lot where beers were enjoyed, along with delicious sausage shaped foods.  I am not sure many other places have a community of riders who would come out on a Monday evening after work and classes to suffer like we did.  In this case, suffer is a relative and in general to be expected by cyclocross.  I am proud to have such a strong community of riders to suffer and enjoy these experiences with.

Bikeman Goes Eastern - Eastern Collegiate Road Championships at Penn State University

Bikeman and the League of Superhuman Bipedalists ventures to compete at Eastern Championships on the legendary Black Moshannon....

The race before the race at the
Frat Row Criterium, Penn State edition

Day 1 - Road Race - Black Moshannon
To start off blunt, this weekend was both disappointing and frustrating.  After eight consecutive weeks of racing, UVM finished up the season at Eastern Road Championships as hosted by Penn State University.  Our first day of racing was on the mighty Black Moshannon which presented a 20 mile loop for racers to complete.  While some racers did one lap, others did two, three and even four laps.  I however completed one lap after getting shelled off the back of peleton on the third climb.  Not wanting to waste myself chasing back on, I decided to pull out of the race and reserve my energy for the Criterium on Day 2.

Arcing hard, riding fast and closing out
the 2011 ECCC season in green and
gold.  Here's to 2012 racing!

Day 2 - Criterium - Frat Row
Having saved energy for Day 2, I thought I had played it fairly safe.  However in the Crit I was shelled off the back of the pack after a crash at corner one which forced me to come to a stop and almost crash myself.  Without thinking and having just avoided near death, I lept back into the race and attempted to chase back on.  At this point I am realizing I could have taken a free lap, in which I could have reported to the pit and explained there was crash that forced me to stop riding.  I was eventually pulled out of the race because I was getting lapped on the 1km loop.

Overall, the weekend was very disappointing for me.  I am using these poor results as motivation to improve and train harder to get faster.  I will be taking a 3 or 4 week hiatus from racing to specifically train and work specifically on my climbing base.  I found this to be my weakness while I was racing.  I am planning to post at least once a week, a training update for the past 6 days worth of riding or any other cross training.

Arc hard, ride fast, go plaid!

As Naked As A Naked Mole Rat Wearing A Bike Kit.

With naturally grown aerobladed carbon fiber hairs for winter warmth, Bikeman sheds his layers of hair in preparation to face the three stages of THE SCARLET SCURRY....

With less than 4 days until departure for the Scarlet Scurry, hosted at Rutgers University, the layers of hair which built up through the winter for warmth, magically fell off over the course of this past weekend.  While many were stunned and disgusted by the trail of hair left behind, I was simply cold.

Put simply, less hair does not equal going faster.  Not in my book anyways.  Less hair means less to manage and also a more comfortable (temperature wise) ride.  With less hair on my head, and bush on my legs, the average temperature of athlete will drop 34% (this message brought to you by UOJ (University of Josh) an unaccredited, not real University, specializing in not real published statistics).

There is also then the added bonus of understanding why crickets rub their legs together and make wonderful sounds.  BECAUSE IT FEELS AWESOME!

In other news, training this week is a lot less volume, and more intensity for the early parts of the week.  To prepare for the 3 races this coming weekend, I have opted to give myself additional recovery time between rides and a full day of rest on the Friday before the first stage.  While the Tank on Two Wheels will be taking the whole of spring break (next week) off from training, intensity of the decrease in volume has been taken up a notch to make up for time which will be lost to what I would imagine to be the 3 S's of vacation. Sun, Sand and Super awkward tan lines.  While my trainer partner, who is yet to actually come up with an alias (and will thus be called Tank on Two Wheels until further notice) is enjoying said 3 S's, I will be in North Carolina with UVM Cycling.

During our stay in NC, we will be making base on Beach Mountain where rides will start and end.  I'm excited to be able to get out on the road.  It's been too long in doors with too many days on the trainer going no where.

Stay tuned over the weekend for results.  Here's to keeping the rubber side, down.

Arc hard, ride fast, go plaid!

Training for Super Strength

It's a bird! It's a plane!  It's a snowplow?  Bikeman retreats to his Fortress of Solitude within the depths of his humble abode.  Little do the neighbors know what stews beneath the streets....

Snow covered roads outside the Fortress of Solitude

With Vermont currently under what seems like endless amounts of snow, outdoor training has seemingly been delayed by the white evil which has covered and inhibited safe transportation by way of the Vermont roadways.  To compensate for this evil, training has been taken into the dungeon... or basement as many would call it.

With just over three weeks remaining until the opening race weekend at Rutgers in NJ, I have decided to try a new method of training.  During this time I will be incorporating a variety of different training methods which emphasize the strength of the core and legs.

More specifically, six sets, twice a week of 2:30-minute intervals at 95 to 100 percent of max heart rate (the point at which you cannot speak), followed by recovery to 60 percent of max, or until you full sentences are able to be formulated and you no longer resemble a loony toon who's heart is nearly leaping out of it's chest.  


On days between interval workouts, general core sessions and recovery of bike specific muscles will be the emphasis of applied workout time.  Recovery will be consisting of 1 hour spinning rides which will still utilize riding muscles, but at a relaxed pace with only one interval of 4:00 minutes (starting at the 30:00 minute mark) at 80 percent of max heart rate.


I have found it is important to consider a balance of biking and school.  While both take a large amount of time to themselves, it is important to balance both while leaving time to relax and mentally recover.  The best found method for myself is time spent with friends during which time school is not the topic of conversation.  I have also found that riding with a friend makes the tedious and boring chore of sitting on a trainer for 2+ hours much more enjoyable.  


Is it schadenfreude, or just good company?

Arc hard, ride fast, go plaid.