Backhoes, bulldozers, and plywood...oh my

Basically wanted to delete all that I put about the State RR. It was an interesting course and a difficult and frustrating day for many with regards to the construction. I felt like that last post was a bunch of complaining...yes I was frustrated, but I do not know the complete story of the event. Overall it was great to see those amount of numbers out there and we had beautiful weather.

Plus the weekend was still a success even though I double flatted out on the first lap. I got to see Coldplay at Verizon the night before. My gf Casey scored some awesome tickets where we were like 25 feet away in the pit (what an amazing girl!). It was an incredible show and awesome to share it with her! I'll never forget that one for sure!!!

Also, just wanted to give a shout out to Casey. She does so much behind the scenes to help me not just on race days...I'm blessed to have such amazing support!

Hope everyone out there is doing well...keep on keepin' on!

HE'S ALIVE...haha

Wow, that was some hiatus. No I was not captured by Bigfoot, but man that would some amazing story if I did (on that note I did get my pic taken with a guy dressed up in a "movie quality" chewbaca outfit...more to come on that in the next post). My apologizes to my 2.5 followers for the suffering they must have endured...checking my page daily to see only to be disappointed day after day after day.

Well no fear...the blog is back and going to get a re haul soon. I realized a few things about my blog:

1) Picture-less posts are not really my thing...I guess I am more of a visual kinda guy

2) I need a new banner pic...seriously, how long ago did I graduate???

3) ...keep it updated

Anyway, I'll share some new stuff soon. State RR Champs are this weekend and we should have a pretty full squad there. I'm looking forward to being a super domestique and just getting back to racing...plus Coldplay on Friday...in the front pit!!!! I'm pumped!!! Pics to come.

I'll leave you guys with this pretty cool pic of the sunset from my vaca in FL

Gettin' Brown in the County

Oh the 'ol Brown County State Park Road Race was this past weekend. Yes I had planned to target this race and no it did not go as planned. Here is the ever perplexing thing about bike racing. Training can be going great, sensations can be right on point, power numbers can be signaling good things...and you can still have a complete shit day on the bike. This day on the bike was a complete crap shoot...I don't know why things were as bad as they were. I don't know what was wrong. Numbers in training were great...legs on the race warm up ride the day before were really solid. But I just flat out sucked...by lap 2 I was feeling the pain. Was hanging on to the lead group when some was having trouble with skipping gears on the switch back climb only to slow to a crawl forcing me to dip off the road, back on the road, and do one of those fun but completely scary inadvertent wheelies...haha. Had to unclip, fix the chain, and luckily got a push to start back up. This didn't cause my poor result...I was already hanging onto the pack, but it sure didn't help since I was out of gas to chase.

My buddy Cody climbing like a champ...glad to have him back!

Oh well, I'm really not all that bummed. Legs don't feel sore at all (which is weird considering how much I suffered yesterday) and I'm confident my form is coming along great right now. It is just a brutal course...in my opinion the hardest in the state. I gave it a go but just maybe syked myself out too much. I needed to just enjoy the day and not put so much pressure on the race...geeze it's just bike racing anyway. Guess I have some mental hurdles to work on.

Overall though...a super weekend. Casey and I got to fly kites Friday and Saturday. What a blast...even though we were fed up with tangled string by the end of it. We even nearly disrupted a plane since we tied 3 kites together to obtain maximum vertical sweetness. Weather was great, and I was stoked to catch up with the guys. We are destined to get that elusive Indiana win soon enough...Winona this upcoming weekend...maybe then? See everyone there!

Happy B-Day Momma Earth

Yup it is Earth Day...a special holiday of sorts for me and our team especially. It is sometimes confusing to see so much "pro-green" talk in the media today, then forgotten tomorrow. Well I guess our team will just need to work to keep the message strong, and hey at least today everyone is very pumped about making a difference...that's never a bad thing. Hopefully the team can organize an event sometime soon, i'm really itching to get my hands dirty and give back...grassroots style.

In other news:Blog Week sucked. I will try again sometime and make it much more uber sweet.

Since that is out of the way let's move on to new stuff like...Ceraland.

Not the biggest race by any means on the racing calendar, but a key race since we are a Columbus based team. We lined up 7 in a mighty large field...61 strong. The team was active all day long at it was great to see us making the race tough. Our leadout got a little disorganized in the last lap and we missed catching a little group that snuck away in the last couple laps by 25 meters. I rolled in 4th...ok, but not super.Overall it was one of the best days for the team as a whole. Everyone was active and playing a key role. Still it was a little tough to stomach watching someone else raise their hands right in front of you. Oh well, bike racing is funny like that...sometimes the cards just don't fall your way. And I am sure we will iron out our leadout even more as the season progresses.

Next weekend is Brown County Road Race. Tough course...hope the form is there this year.

BLOG WEEK...Day 3

Well it's hump week here for BLOG WEEK...and I'm kinda feeling it. Not like this is hard or anything (gosh, I'm just typing thoughts) it' just that this is a super busy week for me. Not so much actual 9-5 work-wise but it is a big time training week plus I am organizing a team presentation for this upcoming Friday.

So there it is...I cracked. Maybe I can try and bring BLOG WEEK back to life, but for now I have focus like a crazy skillful powerpoint ninja to get the presentation for Friday done. I'll be back in blog world soon...so don't miss me!

BLOG WEEK...Day 2

Welcome to day 2 of the event that's taking the country by storm (haha, I wish)...BLOG WEEK!!!

Blog Week Post 2: The "Real" World...

Life can get expensive...and to fund said "life", I have choosen to sell my soul to corporate america (for the time being...haha). Anyway, I thought I'd give you a little insight into what I do from 9-5...MY "Real" World.

So living in Columbus working in corporate america means you work at one company and one company only: Cummins. I started their in August of '08 working in the marketing communications dept. for all On-Highway applications (basically big ass trucks and anything that avoids the dirt)...oh yeah for all you non-Columbus people, Cummins is one of the world's leading diesel manufacturers...I know this job sounds uber sexy...haha.

So anyway, I reside in my own little cube world
(pictured below...sorry phone picture quality is pretty bad)


So, I don't want to bore you with all the duties (or lack thereof ) associated with my job so I will just share with you a pretty neat trade show I got to work. It's called the Mid America Truck Show and I guess it is the biggest truck show in the states. You know what that means...hill billy, country bumpkin central. I literally talked with one guy who stopped in the booth for 15 min and probably understood all of 5 words...two of which were Cummins and engine. Oh the characters that came out for this show...they were one of a kind. Here are some pics from the show cause I know everyone loves pictures.





Some sweet murdered out truck I saw


The show was in Louisville so Casey came down to keep me company when I wasn't working the show. We found a cool little area called 4th Street Live just a couple of blocks from our hotel. Great restaurants and what looked like some cool bars...a generally cool street atmosphere that I recommend to anyone in the area.





So overall, I guess I really didn't accomplish much with this post. I do marketing...'nuff said. It's not glamorous, but it's a job that provides the skrilla.

P.S. This may or may have not been brainstormed at work...haha

Tomorrow's post...sneak peak...my own "green" team

BLOG WEEK...

Definitely not as badass as Shark Week...I know...but...

Starting today I am going to try and make 1 post a day over the next 7 days...even if it is lame or I have to make up some super sweet elaborate story. Think of it as my reverse lent...not giving something up, but doing more of it??? (ok that makes pretty much no sense but it works in my head...maybe?).

I've been wanting to write alot of stuff 'bout bike racing, training, work, and life in general...so get ready fans(or maybe just my 2.5 blog followers...haha), you're sitting shotty as I take you through my adventures over the last couple of weeks.

Blog Week Post 1: "A finished bike...finally...I think..."

Well...it is that time. I am officially declaring that I have finished my bike build. I know that no cyclist is ever truly finished with his/her bike...but for now, enough is enough. I'll keep entry 1 short and just provide you with some pics of la mia bicicletta!

This little surprise arrived at my door...


...And look what was hiding inside!


View from the upgraded cockpit


Finito!!!



Tomorrow's post...sneak peek: the "real" world...

Single's anyone???

This little guy can be spotted everywhere...in every town, no matter how big or small will feature this beauty off the side of most interstate exits and busy intersections...and now bike paths (whaaaa???). So I was heading out to Grandview for some sweet hill action (or the best we have here in Columbus) and I eye balled one of these little dudes. Kinda funny since I had a discussion with the gf that they are everywhere on our trip to the Lousvillle race (I'll get to that in a bit). So I continued on thinking not much about it only to stumble upon another about a mile later...seriously, that's a little much.

On another note: bike racing. Well anyone who was at this race can tell you it sucked. Barely 40 and a steady rain was note cool. Mother nature decided that my carbon soles were not adequate so she installed some water ones...that cm of water in my shoes on lap two never helps the stiffness...ha. My teammates looking for upgrade pts hit up the 4/5 where Blake took 2nd and Ryan did some solid work (seemed I always saw him near the front keeping an eye on things) and finished in the pack. Props to both guys for just enduring the conditions and not checking out.

My race was next and EJ and I nearly missed the start by taking a little warm up lap. Race went with one team showing up with 12 guys. I thought it was going to be one of those days you always hear that Roadhouse does to the 1/2s when they show up with numbers...but no, this was no Roadhouse style team...more like pack fodder. They didn't even send a soul up the road! I hovered around the back the first couple of laps trying to even see...yeah I was kinda blind during this race (now I know I need some clear lenses...or maybe I'll just race in a bubble...a euro one of course). I guess like 3 laps in there was a surge on the backside hill and I looked back a couple minutes later to see half of the field gone...yikes. EJ missed the split and in a "hard man" style bridged up burning match after match, but hell, he was determined. Unfortunately he too suffered from some abdominal cramps, basically shutting down effective breathing, completely understandable why he stopped. All I have to say is that he is riding great and you should all expect to see him flying in upcoming crits.

I tried to attack a couple of times since we were all just riding around but no one wanted to go and I didn't have the power to stay away by any means. Oh well. I tried to go with about a lap and a quarter to go...nothing. So I tried my best to recover for the sprint...drifted to far back, bad position, you know the result. Notched a top 10, but I was so happy to get the the car. I have never been that cold and wet in my life, seriously! I feel like the form is coming along. Confidence is up and we finally get to race with numbers on our side this upcoming weekend at Hueston Woods. Hope we can pull out the W.

In other news...I just made a pretty big bike related purchase...more to come once it arrives.

Bikes, Birds, and...Brrr, no wait it was actually warm!!!

Who would have thought that I would get to spend the last 4 rides in shorts and short sleeves including 1 race day?!?!? I mean come on...talk about spoiled, I've never been able to have race 1 sans the 8 layers of clothing we always had for collegiate season. Yeah it felt like hurricane season here, but I'll take 20-30mph winds if that means temps in the 60s any day!!!

So on to this race...it went well, I won't lie...kinda a surprise. Myself and my teammate Eric made the long drive to Columbus, OH. The course was nice minus the piles (yes piles...dudes ate it on the first corner...sketchy) of gravel on the corners and the people who had a freakin' farm on the climb. Hmm, you ask yourself, "Spencer, what's the big deal with a farm on the course?" Well, when you are in the red on a half mile climb that gets up to 18% and you have to dodge chickens, roosters, and strange unnamed birds in the middle of the road...it gets a little crazy. Not to mentioned the crowing of the roosters each time up the climb. I got some great laughs.

So the race was pretty standard. 2 teams present and we had 2 guys. I covered one of the first moves and spent 3/4s of a lap with a Trek Columbus guy. The group brought us back but some dudes were shelled. With 3 to go 2 guys got off of the front and one of the teams was represented. Legs were feeling good and I thought this might be THE moves of the race so I called Eric up to the front and had him set a great tempo up the climb. I attacked near the top and bridged up to the break. We dropped one of the guys and myself and a Trek Columbus guy named Pete rode to the finish together. Coming into the last climb he sat up and kinda gave me the win, said he was gassed. I shook his hand, thanked him for the effort in the breakaway and rode away to finish solo for the win.

The start


EJ and I post race


She did me well this weekend


The classic bikes on the rack photo...I know it is overdone


Can anyone say PRO...


I don't want to boast at all with this win since I didn't know what to expect with this being the first race. All I know is that I have trained harder and smarter than any year before so I guess it paid off. Anyone who knows the frustrating season I had last year knows that I had a little extra motivation to get back to where I think I can ride. Let's hope the rest of the year can follow suit.

P.S. I wanted to give a shout out to my coach Aaron Hubbell...great guy who really listens to me and has created a race winning training program!!!

It's christmas in February???

I know...every cyclist describes the time when you get your kits and new gear as a little mini extra Christmas, so of course I followed suit. The kits came in from Champion System on Wednesday and I am really impressed. They are definitely a bold look that follows our "green" theme to a T and I really like how they turned out...mad props to our designer Fink!

I like

Anyway, training has been going pretty well. We just got hit with another round of mother nature's voodoo and are forecast to get some more "anti-ride" precip. I'm getting sick of the trainer so it may be time to invest in some rollers, who knows. Body is starting to reject the indoor training as well. There is a mysterious pain in my left calf that is really annoying...maybe some MOB squad homie is knowing how strong we will be and has some voodoo doll...or maybe I've just been watching too much creepy shit on tv to think that up. Well, I'm getting a bike fit next weekend so hopefully i can ride pain free from then on out...I'll keep everyone posted on how the fit goes as it will be my first experience.

Racing is 15 days away...starting in Ohio. The question is: am I ready????


Podium shoes anyone???

My new rig

This should be a fun one to ride





Couldn't resist the custom name badge...it's just too PRO

Racing vs. Riding

I have a large number of friends, co-workers, and family (including my gf but she is learning...) that don't fully understand my cycling so I thought this might be good to clear the air. I've had the idea for this post for some while now, just hope I can do the topic justice...

Yes I ride my bike and yes I race my bike...but for the sake of what I do in this sport, they are defined differently. One who just rides a bike in a racers mind is a recreational cyclist. Mostly out for longer group rides on the weekends to get some physical activity. They relish in the mass start "touring" events such as R.A.I.N and the Hilly Hundred. Now before I go any further, I have nothing against these types of cyclists, and I commend their commitment to what I believe is the best form of exercise outdoors. I am just defining this to show the difference between racing cyclists and "riding" cyclists. Most of my extended family thinks that this is all that I do, but there is so much more...

A cyclist who races started as a rider first and foremost. We got hooked on the freedom of roaming the beautiful countryside on 2 wheels that we were powering! I remember seeing nature in a completely different light once I started riding a bike...I gained an appreciation that I will never lose. Having said that, I still enjoy riding. I relish those days where speed, heart rate, and intensity level are all thrown out the window and you ride because you love it, but ever since my first race I was hooked. There is something about the competitive nature of this sport that sucks you in and never lets you look back.

Racing requires a passion and dedication for this sport that often makes a cyclist look obsessive and down right crazy at times. Countless hours spent training...monitoring everything from avg power to heart rate zones and time spent in certain interval intensity ranges. Yes it is a science...training intensity can be measured in watts or kilojoules and bike measurements are taken down to the millimeter. Still, we do it because we love this sport. Everyone knows the sacrifices we make...less time on your feet, planning weekend events with friends around your training schedule, limiting your partying and drinking...it can be a lot to achieve what some would say is a little. Any cyclist would argue that is is worth every minute you put in. There are sensations that we are addicted to...masochistic feelings. We love the feeling of tired and tight legs as we push on a few more miles or climb that one more big hill. We enjoy that feeling of being so "gas-ed" that you can't quite see straight or you might just fall off your bike because your body is so weak. I have heard stories of professionals saying that they have gone so hard that they literally get tunnel vision and their fingers and toes go numb...because their heart is pumping every bit of blood possible to the major muscle groups in the legs. I have never thrown up on my bike from going so hard but in a sick way...I dream of doing it.

This is OUR sport. A sport often overshadowed by what mainstream considers to be the "American sports", but a sport of pain, sacrifice, and glory nonetheless. It is a sport I hope never gets fully popular because I would hate to see it completely commercialized. There are so many little nuances and traditions rooted in the European history that makes this its own unique subculture. We ride because we love the bike...we believe in the bike! We race because we love the sport...we believe in the sport!

So I offer up two bits of advice for two different audiences: First, if you know anyone who races their bike...listen to them. Try and understand their sport, their passion...and if nothing else, respect this sport known as cycling. Secondly, all you racers out there...don't forget where you started. Remember that at one time you loved just simply riding your bike. So take that ride where you remove your speedometer, powermeter, or heartrate monitor and just ride!

Sorry that was a long one...just really wanted to share my thoughts.

Kowabunga!!!!

Yup, just finished watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the movie (oh yeah, the first one for all of you fans out there). I actually think there is a mini marathon on abc family right now...to bad I need to hit the roads for a nice long ride today. For some reason these movies are a blast too watch...I don't know if it is the throw back to the early 90s or the fact that every boy wanted to to be one (usually Leonardo...cause swords kick ass).

Well back to the bike stuff...ride was nice. It was wet, but nearly 50 degrees outside! I'm really glad I finally got to get some outdoor miles in...they always just seem to be that much more beneficial. Today was one of those days that even though I had a specific workout to accomplish it was just nice to see nature. Even parts of a midwest winter can be beautiful...just the fresh air and activity of the surrounding area were a nice change of pace.

Looking ahead: I get my new bike on Monday and believe me, I can't wait!!!! Also, our team clothing should be here real soon in the next week or two...it's about time to stop rocking mismatched gear...time to look "pro"...haha. That's all for now peeps.




I'll leave you with this pretty funny youtube video that I'm sure many of you may have already seen...I still crack up at this kid

"The winter crack"...and it's abrupt end

It happens to the best of us...the inevitable "winter crack". Here in the midwest we have been fortunate enough to have been blessed with a crap ton of snow (insert sarcasm for all you slow people) and just when I thought it was all going to clear up and I could sneak out on the roads, more came on Tuesday...bummer. As cyclists in the Midwest, we are accustomed to hours spent in front of a tv watching our idols duke it out on the world's stage as we sweat in small rooms on the trainer or rollers going no where.

I try to look at the positive as much as I can. I mean the trainer offers you the chance to get a very structured workout with no outside variables like wind, terrain, or weather having an impact. Great idea...a little harder to practice and last week that came true. I tried to hop on the trainer last Thurs. for 2 hrs...I made it 25 min. Go ahead and call me weak, but I was just done, sick of it...I took a couple of days off to regroup mentally and a blessing in disguise came: my coach!

I finally got a chance to connect with my new coach Aaron and discuss the training plan for this year. Boy did I need that! Once I got the new training plan that weekend I was back!!! Training has never felt so good and I am inspired again to hit things full force. He's a great guy who has a great philsophy. I know it's still early, but just after a couple of his prescribed workouts I was feeling some great sensations. Let's hope all this work now pays off some serious dividends come late April!

What we get to enjoy in the Midwest...

Where the pros get to train...yup, i'm jealous

How to ruin your bike in 5 seconds

Well here it is...my venture into the blog world. I feel kinda left behind the times actually. Like the kid that gets a new macbook literally 2 weeks before they unveil a new design (yep...that was me). I've been a fan of reading other blogs, you know, scanning what's going on throughout the cycling community...and man are there some funny ones out there! Anyway, I thought I'd take a stab...I've started my own new team so I'm sure I will have plenty to say just not sure who will read...haha, but hey, that's what everyone says when they start up the new adventure known as: Blogging!

So I have been pondering what my first blog should be about...the new team, my training progress, a funny story, but alas this weekend created a perfect first post topic: How to ruin your bike in 5 sec. Hmmm, you may be asking yourself how could I do that...I'll put it simply: You forget your bike is on the roof rack and proceed to drive into your garage, making carbon fiber eat garage door opener! Not a pretty sight. My bike launched itself off of the rack onto my driveway taking with it my will to carry on. Let's just say I drowned my sorrows in "grandpa's cough medicine" that night at our team training camp weekend. I showed up to my teammates cabin sans bike...way to start the season off. Anyway, enough reliving the horrible experience. I have attached some photos of the carnage and after all is said and done, I am glad my bike is insured. Moral of the story: Insure your bike if you can and have an expensive one...it totally pays off if it is destroyed!!! Oh yeah...and remember when your bike is on the roof rack!!!

Below is my old bike (RIP)




And this will be my new beauty (Specialized S Works Tarmac SL2)