Tulsa Tough day 1




So Alex and I headed out for a nice easy stroll along the nice Tulsa roads, we encountered one jack ass who decided to buzz us. The guy was in such a hurry to get to a red light, I made sure he had an ear full tell the light turned green. Sometimes some people just don't get that we too are humans, and that we have families just like them. Once at home we had a nice adventure finding the local Chipotle, and then plenty of time at home to relax. These late late start races are rough mentally, cause you sit around all day for a race doing nothing.

Come race time the legs were feeling okay, and I was starting to get amped listening to Dave Towle announce the other races. I got a nice front row start with settled some nerves, and bang we were off to the races. I led the whole first lap to stay out of the first lap jitters, sure enough there was a crash. I started to slowly float back to begin my wheel sucking, and wait for the finish. Ten or slow laps a nice break formed with the right numbers. I started to move back up to the front to jump across, but once I got there the break had been absorbed and it was the perfect place and time to launch the counter. Devon from strawberry went with me followed by two Toyota boys. A lap or so later it was just me and the two Toyota guys for a couple laps, the Jeff Hopkins bridged up with you guessed it, another Toyota rider. That makes the break three Toyotas, Me, and Jeff Hopkins. After another couple of laps Jeff started to sit on, so now I have to take pull for pull with 3 Toyota guys. NO FUN! After working nicely we lapped the field, I was screwed either way I tried to race. Do no work to lap and get attacked, or lap and have it eight on one.

Once we lapped we got to the front to stay safe, well that kind of worked. Some guys just have no respect, the Toyota guys set up the train and Jeff and I got on the back. Guys kept trying to bump us off the wheels and get in the way. A couple of time it got sketch but in the end all the players kept there skin. I ended up fourth in the race, the Toyota guys crushed the lead out and went 1-6 across the line. Talk about taking candy from a baby, these guys need to pick on someone there own speed.

Now for more recovery time and relaxing before todays race. A longer hill and faster finish today.

No Omnium for me today. I got a funky food poisoning last night from something. I had a wicked head ache, I keep going from freezing to burning up, and made multiple trips to the can. I hoping that this all goes by quickly and I can get my hydration and energy back for the road race come sunday.

Thanks for all support for my medal in the points race.

The madison didn't go to well. Cody got crashed 35 laps in to it and hit his head pretty good. He's doing alright now, just really banged up. With his crash I now do the omnium, 5 races is a short period. 200m, 5k scratch, 3k pursuit, ?k points races, and end with a beautiful KILO! My legs are pretty tired due to the fact I haven't hit the track hard this year, just out there to mix it up. I am going to take it one event at a time and see how it goes. Hopefully I have a decent 3k, the track here is really bumpy and windy. The wind is always changing and at different strengths.

Time to head to bed.

Ya post number 100!

So I ended up racing the scratch race last night. They let 2 per country race, but I was not ready. Not thinking I was racing meant I didn't do the proper day before prep in my training. But no big deal, just do everything I can for my teammate. My warm up went well, the legs started to come around.

With normal South American scheduling our race was started earlier than we thought. I had been sitting around doing some stretching before getting on the rollers for the last time. I was caught dead cold for the start, on the line I was shaking pretty good. The legs turned around pretty quick, and next thing I knew I was off the front with a real good gap. It was too early and I was sucked back in. All race I was attacking and trying to keep the YO-YO effect down for my teammate who rides a bigger gear. In the end we both lapped the field with 7 others. I led it out with about 500m to go and Cody ended up third after keeping it upright getting knocked from both sides.


The points race was today, and it went pretty well. I ended up 2nd after some heavy heavy racing. The first part of the race was a tough rolling a smaller gear than everyone else, but in the end it paid off having a little bit fresher legs than everyone else to take the final sprint and move into 2nd. From the gun I was off the front trying to find the right mix to get the lap. It happened pretty quick, and I started looking for the sprint point to move up. Soon enough I found myself in another break that lapped the field, only 3 of us 2 laps up (big points). After reevaluating my situation I changed up my tactics of following to attacking to see if I could make a 3rd lap. Got 2/3 of the way around but my break mates did have the juice to make it all the way around with the chase. With 20 or so to go I was getting word that I was 3 points behind 2nd place, time to get my gitty up on. No avail until the final sprint where I got a killer lead out from Cody who dropped me off perfect to claw my way to the sprint win and 2nd overall.

Tonight was really good for my own morale and the future. Im just happy that my injury is for the most part gone. I still have to tend to it to make sure it doesn't come back. But another one may have come up, but not for sure we shall see in a few days. Vigo is an amazing masseur and has helped tremendously with everything that has come up.


Time for some sleep to get as much rest for tomorrow's big day. The madison is going to be really hard, Zach Bell and Sven Tuft are just going right now. Plus there are some guys down here that are flying as well, and they don't give up.

YO!

As you should know, I am in Uruguay right now. It took to hops and a skip to get here, 30 something hours later. We almost didn't make the flight to Montevideo, and that is a once a week flight or something. On my flight from DC to Buenos Aires I had the worst stomach cramps ever. For 3 hours I was keeled over pressing in my gut like a mad man. After my 5th or 6th trip to the bathroom and still nothing, a flight attendant saw my troubles and helped me out. At first I was sitting on floor drinking soda water, then the guy called the cockpit after he asked for a doctor on the plane to let them know everything was okay. Then a more experienced flight attendant of 33 years put me on oxygen and moved me to an empty row to relax. From what he said I was pretty pale before and with the oxygen I got a lot more color in me. After 15 min in my empty row I was able to fall asleep cramp free and sleep tell we hit the ground. Which was the only 4 hours of sleep I got the whole trip down.

Once we finally got out of the airport picking up all our luggage and going threw this checkpoint and that checkpoint some one was there to load our bike and bags into a truck and have us wait for a bus. 30 minutes later our bus showed up to take us to lunch. After talking with a South American veteran traveler Sven Tuft, he said that Uruguay was pretty safe and one of the better South American country's. Sure enough our drive to lunch a nice one, right along the river front and some nicer houses.

We are staying in downtown Montevideo, it is just like any other big city. Lots of people, lots of bums, lots of street venders, lots of smog. On our short drive threw the city dropping different teams off at different hotels we saw some really cool statues. I got some pics but I did forget my download cable.

Yesterday we had one heck of a day. The morning was normal like every other morning, but come lunch time everything went crazy. Our lunch bus never showed, but we had a rental car so I took Cody and the boys from the Barbados. We got to the car and it didn't start. A push start got everything rolling, our adventure began to find the big road along the coast. A few blocks away from the big road I stalled the car and the boys had to a quick push start again. We made it lunch okay, on the way back at a stop light a bum handed me a paper with the alphabet in sign language to me and went down the line of cars. I had no idea what to do with the paper, by the time the guy came back I handed him the paper and the light turned green. When I looked in the mirror the guy looked pretty mad. I didn't know the etiquette of what to do, so I hope karma doesn't get me to hard.

When we got back we told Vigo the problem and hoped that was the last of it. The car started just fine when we had to go to the track. But after we loaded it up in front of the hotel it didn't want to start, so Cody and I had to get it going in our cleats. On the way to track the died 2 more times and got started but the 3rd time was a charm, it gave up the ghost. Cody and I had to do another 50 meter push to an open parking spot to park the car. The staff had to catch a cab and load it up with all our stuff. Everything made it to the track finally and we got to rolling, on the bumpiest track ever. Its worse than San Diego, its the worse track a lot of us have been on.

I don't race tell Tuesday, I got selected to the Points and Madison RR and TT. I'm most excited for the RR, but it is a hot dog course up and down the coast. The roads are big and there is a wicked cross wind, that makes for a long long day. The points and madison should be fun, hopefully my legs will be ready to roar by then. It seems that my legs take a long time to get rolling again after long long travel. The TT should be interesting, I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with no TT bike or Aero bars. Hopefully I can talk my way out of it. :-D

As I finish this long post our car is back to life, hopefully it goes strong for the rest of the trip.

So far the food is decent that they are providing. A pasta dish, then mashed potato's and chicken and a fruit dessert. Last night we had a nice dinner a few blocks away.

Hey all,


So everything is getting better on the home front. My hips are feeling better. (I crashed on my right one last weekend) With fantastic help from Dr. Block, I'm almost a hundred percent.

I am about to board a plan to south america to race the Continental Pan American games. The first of the racing is track, I'm nervous of how my legs will go, but I'm excited for the road race. I just hope I don't get some sort of stomach bug, but on the flip side I would loose a bunch of weight.

So time for a nice 10 or 12 hour flight or however long this thing is. I hope I don't get stuck next to someone who can't get settled or behind someone who loves to slam the seat back every ten minutes. Man traveling can suck. Can someone invent the time machine, or can I fall on my head and become a Jumper or something.


Wish me some good luck, I havn't had much lately.