A day in Arlington/D.C....Never will I live here!

I went out for an early morning ride in Arlington/D.C. yesterday with my teammate Cody Stephenson. We left from our host house after I had finished my finger painting for the day (see previous post). After scouting out a loop on the bike route map of the area, we went with a ride that was supposed to be "less traffic and bike friendly". I think we went through 200 stop lights, got the middle finger about as many times, and dodged cars all day swerving around trying to kill us. It ended up being an all right ride once we got out into the old, extremely rich neighborhoods.

Upon our return Cody and I watched the movie "Pro" about the race we will be doing next week in Philadelphia area. It used to be the one day US Pro Championships and is now the Triple Crown. Pro was a descent movie with some good race footage.

At 6:30 we decided to hit up a training race in Maryland on the other side of D.C. We drove up through the gridlocked traffic, which I guess wasn't really to bad, to a state park where the race was held on a one mile circuit. I think we did 23 laps. Big Evan Elken went from the gun. It was a tough little course with no resting and was actually allot of fun. I talked with the locals a bit and that is the one hard ride each week they do. All other training is in another park, just doing laps. These people are tougher than I am that is for sure!

Now it is just resting up, in final preparation for Philly week and the CSC invitational that begins this coming Sunday in Lancaster, PA. More later......

Arlington, VG!

We made it to Arlington after a 3.5 hour drive down through Dirty Jersey. The drive was relatively flawless and I pretty much lounged in the van all the way and read a book. No near misses on the way. Cody and Kinger did however miss a turn in the mini and ended up doing a few extra miles, tolls, and tunnels to get to Arlington. The hardest part was getting through the D.C. traffic! One more reason why living in the middle of nowhere Durango is appealing.

We are staying in some host housing and it is comfortable. My room for the next few days is one of the kids rooms. It is like a time warp to childhood. Legos, art supplies and colored pencils. The walls are covered with drawings from elementary school and posters of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. I might even bust out the little guy's water colors and do a little painting myself. Paint a picture and have it hung up in the trailer for our mechanics!

Cody and I are about to head out on the streets of Arlington. Wish us luck, there isn't a safe road around here. It is so congested and everyone is in a hurry. It will be good crit practice dodging cars, trucks, and pedestrians!

Oh yeah, I have been getting asked what happened in Somerville (DNF in the results), don't worry, I finished! They just can't write down all 198 riders numbers fast enough and screwed it up. I am fine, no crashes, tried to get in the train to help lead out the teammates but got chopped and swarmed. I even threw a little jab at some dude that was coming in on us. Usually, I neve get that agressive, but it is necessary when there are 100 guys that want the wheel you are on and think they can win the race. More later!

On the road to Virginia!

On the road to Virginia! Somerville went good. There were 198 starters. I stayed out of trouble, followed and covered moves. Felt good to race!

Tour of Somerville, New Jersey

I made it out to New Jersey on my Birthday. Woke up at 4:30 a.m. Caught a flight to Salt Lake, then to Pheonix, then Pheonix to Newark. It was an epic day of traveling. Over 7 hours of flying alone plus more driving get from Durango to the East. The price I pay for living in a small mountain town.

It is good to be back with the teammates. I am rooming with Tim Henry (two first names). Tim has been going pretty well and finished 2nd in the Raleigh crit a few nights ago. The hotel we are staying is awesome in downtown New Brunswik, New Jersey.

I don't know what it is about the East, but they love Dunkin Doughnuts. Every single time I ask where a good coffee shop is the answer is always " There is a Dunkin Doughnuts right there". O.K. The key word there people was "good" coffee. Dunkin Doughnuts is horrible. Never fails, every time, Dunkin Doughnuts. Drives me crazy!

Today we are just hanging out in the hotel until we race in Somerville at 2:30. I did this crit last year and it was 99 degrees, and 100% humidity. Pretty much the worst possible climate imaginable. However, I am looking foreword to getting the race legs back and racing with the teammates. Also, whenever I race back East, I get to see allot of former teammates that I haven't seen in a long time. It will be good to catch up with some of the fellers.

Well, wish me luck, I will try to throw up a few photos tonight if I can snag some. Somerville is always a big crowd and lots of guns. I just want to hang tough, finish and try to get into some moves.

Versus to air Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team Documentary

I think I may have mentioned the documentary about Jittery Joe's earlier this season. All of the information is below. Make sure you tune in and watch the drama as it unfolds in the world of professional racing in the U.S. Spread the word!

Versus to air Jittery Joe’s Pro Cycling Team Documentary
Athens, GA—One Of A Kind Films has inked a deal with Versus Television (formally Outdoor Life Network) to air a one-hour TV documentary following the Jittery Joe’s Professional Cycling Team from their training camp in San Diego through the Tour of Georgia and the Athens Twilight Criterium. The documentary will focus on the ups and downs of a small professional cycling team traveling on the North American race circuit and is hosted by race announcer Dave Towle.
“When I started this project I had no idea how amazing it would be”, said Myles Berman from One Of A Kind Productions, “These guys love their job and it really shows.”
“This is a huge deal for our team and for our riders,” said Micah Rice, General Manager of the Jittery Joe’s Team, “we are very excited to be a part of such an exciting and professionally done project like this.”
The TV program is scheduled to air on Versus Television (formally Outdoor Life Network) on Sunday, June 10th at 3:30pm EST. Please check your local listings for times.Jittery Joe’s Coffee Roasting Company is based in Athens, Georgia and has been selling superior quality small batch roasted coffee for over twelve years. Jittery Joe’s is now opening up new franchise coffee shops around the nation. Jittery Joe’s Morning Ride Cycling Coffee is an organic, shade grown Colombian coffee and all proceeds go straight to the Jittery Joe’s Cycling Team. The coffee is sold in over 700 bike shops nationwide. For more information, please check out our website at www.thebeanteam.com.

Angry Sleeper!

I don't know what is going on with me when I am sleeping. The last few nights I have slept horribly. Two mornings ago I woke up and found one of my soft pillow cases clear across the room. My only explanation for this is at some point in the night I got angry and tore the pillow case off and threw it across the room. I must have had some serious night rage or night terror. It was definitely strange! I have been tossing and turning ever since.

I rode into the passes yesterday with Todd Wells and Ned Overend and others. They are both riding really well. Todd was climbing faster than I have ever seen him climb. Ned drove up and skipped one of the climbs and Todd was still out climbing him. As for me, I felt strong, but the top end just isn't there. I think from the lack of racing. So I am on taper mode now. Short hard rides to get the leg speed up and the top end here before next week. I hope my plan is going to work. I have been training hard and it will likely be one of the last blocks of training for a long time.

The mountain bike has been so sweet. I am actually digging the cross country full suspension. The trails in Durango are ripping right now. We have been getting some good rain and the trails are so tacky.

Not much else going on. I am working on my plans for the fall. Trying to figure out what will happen with Cylcocross. I would like to do a full season and possibly relocate to the East coast for a month or two during the season. I am thinking, couch surfing, racing UCI Cross every weekend and possibly even go for a try at the World Championships this year. I have had the opportunity to go the past couple of years, but school was always a problem. Not anymore, so I might give it a go.

Next up on the race schedule: Tour of Sommerville, CSC, and Philly Week. Watch out!

FLC Cycling takes two National Titles in TTT

A picture from the first of the FLC TTT wins! Bowman, Shriver, Troy and Kuhl


Congratulations to the Fort Lewis Cycling team in continuing their dominance. The Men's team won the third straight team time trial today in Lawrence, Kansas. Collegiate Nationals have been there for the past 3 years. The FLC women also won their first ever Division one team time trial title. Congrats! Tomorrow is the road race and I look for a few good results from our home team. Go Skyhawks and congrats on the wins and great start to the overall omnium title. As Joey Thompson said it yesterday "the cream rises to the top!" Nice work!

Working on the climbing legs!

First, sorry for the lack of updates. I don't have any photos right now either. I know, lame updates, but I just can't carry my old tank camera around all the time. It is huge!
I have been hitting the passes allot lately and trying to get the climbing legs back. Last week I made it up into the passes a couple of times. I went up to just under 11,000 feet on Molass Pass. The legs are feeling better, but still, not good enough to hang with Danielson.
Saturday I rode with Danielson and Ned Overend. It was so cold and snowed on us. After about 45 minutes of riding we were cruising through ice water and slush. After flipping it, we hit the Cliffs climb and tried to climb with frozen legs. It hurt badly! We had a better ride the next day and I was able to hang with the old man Overend on the climbs. That guy is going good as usual. I think he could win the Iron Horse this year at 53. Unreal!
How about all the crack down on the Operacion Puerto guys! Finally something is coming of it and not just pointing the finger. Before it was just a bunch of talk and now it looks as though some guys are going to be out of racing for good.
My new mountain bike will be here in a couple of days. I am looking foreword to hitting the dirt and roosting the trails around Durango. They are so good right now. I might even do a mountain bike race for some training if there is one on an off week.
It looks like I won't be doing the Iron Horse this year. Thought I might be around for it this year, but I got a phone call and I am off to race the Tour of Sommerville in New Jersey. Then the schedule is a little in the air, I may do CSC and a couple days of Philly Week, or CSC and all the days of Philly Week. . Anyway, lots of racing soon. I am looking foreword to it. You can only train so much. Long update I know, more later.......