In Memory of Jillian

Jillian Drow - front

My friend and teammate, Jillian Drow passed away in a tragic hiking accident earlier this week.  Jillian was a hard-working, fun loving person...and she was a better mountain biker than I.  Her charisma and love of life caused the whole team--not once, but twice--to go swimming in frigid Lake Superior in late September.  Jillian was a joy to have on the team, and an even greater joy to have as a friend.  You will be sorely missed, J-bug!

Race Time at the Track

Last night, I truly got my feet wet at the track.  I entered 3 races: a scratch race, a match sprint, and a points race.  This is a photo of me single-handedly pulling in the breakaway during the scratch race.  Even after all that work, I still got third in the scratch race...but I was breathing fire from it for the next 20 minutes.  The match sprint was a little more cut and dried for me.  I just dropped below the red line from the start and cranked out 600 meters full throttle for a decisive win.  The points race didn't go so well though...the food in my stomach was disagreeing with me the whole race.  All in all, I see a lot more crack track in my future!

More photos to come...

Michigan Cycling Team Trail Work Day

Today's trail work day went off without a hitch.  We got quite a few miles of trail cleaned up between eight of us.  Two mowers broke...bush mowers (photos after the jump).  My mower was fun to work with because there was no chute to direct the grass...and rocks...and sand and sharp sticks.  It was fun though.  I'm happy that the team is actively making contributions to the local community. 

Check out Michigan Moutnain Biking Association for more on local trails.

Importance of Base Building

Although I got a late start with it this year, I have built up an extensive aerobic base since May.  With several sessions lasting over 5 hours and two peak weeks of 15 total hours, I feel like I could ride all day when I get on the bike.  I require less food and water on the bike, and I can push well over 200 Watts for 5 hours or more.  This is a result of my body adapting to favor fat burning over carbohydrate use.  These adaptations are caused by trudging through those long days in the saddle before the season starts.  Now that it's time to start getting in race shape, I can do more intervals than I could last year, and I can recover in less time!

Starting a New Volunteer Position

This morning I met the staff of a local cancer support organization.  It is called the Wellness Community Southeast Michigan.  They provide support groups, tai chi and yoga sessions, and educational classes for cancer patients and caregivers.  When I read about what they do through TakePart.com, I realized that it would be a great opportunity for me to take care of others above and beyond being friendly or opening doors for people.  From watching my father go through chemotherapy, I understand how scary and confusing it can be when you are diagnosed with cancer.  I will start volunteering here as a greeter Wednesday.  I hope that I can help to comfort at least a few people in their suffering.  I'm sure they could use more than just my help though, so check them out if you would like to contribute...

Michigan State Time Trial Championship

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to manage the turnaround at the Michigan State Championship Time Trial.  It was a pretty interesting experience.  Everyone coming through my turnaround had already spent 20km in the pain cave, so almost nobody had the presence of mind to slow down and execute a smooth turn.  Generally you use the brakes starting a few meters away from the turn and let them go by the time you start to actually turn.  This allows the bike to be more predictable through the turn and it helps you keep traction on the road...well after 20k, very few people remembered that.  I nearly got run over at one point.  Next time I do a TT, I will definitely respect the turns a little more.  That said, everyone made it through safely.  Even the tandems. 

Photo above is just for reference.

First Time at the Track

Saturday, I went to the velodrome with some of my teammates from U of M.  It was my first experience riding on a cycling track, and it was nothing short of amazing!  The track banks at 44 degrees at the corners, and you can (not me) safely ride around it upwards of 40mph.  At their 10am class, we learned how to safely navigate up and down the track in pacelines.  By the end of the session, we were doing flying 200m scratch races.  I managed to squeeze out a 14.1 second lap...I hope to tear it apart as soon as possible.  Here's a Wikipedia article about track if you want to learn more.

As a coach, if thought it necessary to ride the track just to experience it so I could better help my athletes understand it...but the track was like crack.  I will definitely be back.