Silver Star 1/29/2011

Silver Star was the route today; from Shopville. Here’s the map. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/27626684


A Word from JT: Get Out Side!!!!!

A total of fifteen riders showed up to ride the course, and we had to fight for parking spaces as a large archery contest was going on at the Shopville School. No Bother.

The forecasted temps were for 51 or 53… something like that. When I got home from the ride, I saw that it actually got up to 63! When riding in January, it is very hard to know how to dress! It is really hard to trust the weather man! I’ve been riding outside with temps in the teens so I knew I was good with what I had on. Others were either to hot or, well… I heard no complaints of being to cold. There really is no substitute for riding outside all winter in order to gage your dress for the weather occasion.

"No Body Dropped” rides are a hard thing to manage when 60 degree days come in January. Of course, the Guns are all out… the “Front-Enders”; the Vampires (vampires only because they can’t stand any daylight between them and the cyclist leading the pack. Toby’s choice for Silver Star was perfect, and it was most enjoyable for me. I had roughly 22 miles on my computer at 14.9 mph. A great ride.



The ride stayed together (recollected) all the way to Dahl-Elrod Road. At that point, with six or seven miles to go, Barry Garrison launched an attack that nobody noticed for a few moments. I have probably raced in 500 races in my life (probably more, but I don’t have the count) but I have never seen a move pulled off so perfectly as this.



THE END GAME



By the time JT and Jack figured out that Barry was attempting to sneak off the front, he had at least 75 yards on us. Elrod Road to Dallas Grocery – behind the factories… Jack pulled me and it was all I could do to stay on his wheel. I could not pitch in to get Barry back. I have never, ever seen Jack pull that hard. In the mean time, everybody else was caught by surprise as well… Toby, Glenn, Doug. Barry’s sneak attack, and JT and Jack’s almost immediate response left all other contenders chasing in “no-mans-land”, handling 15 mph head winds. The competitors were tore apart by Barry’s attack – left alone to handle the headwind alone… Maybe he planned it that way. (I would have)



Over the miles of Barry’s Long Range Solo Attempt, Jack and JT almost got him in. But as soon as we got within just a few yards, he attacked again, and JT could not go (Barry’s renewed attack killed JT). Jack kept pushing and eventually caught him.



I am not very good at staying in “No Man’s Land” – I never saw the logic of it... If I am not in the lead pack, I will pedal medium until other pursuers come up to organize a chase. The safest, most efficient place to be is inside a collection of “wheels”; either in the lead pack or a chasing pack but never, ever in between (under force). Many times I have lost the lead group, and I just sit up to see what is coming up from behind. It is usually a good chase. But today, shattered by Barry’s brutal attack, there was no chasing group… Just individuals seeking support from what might cave in from the “Garrison” attack.



Anyway, Glenn was not far off the pace and he had been pursuing for quite a little while on his own. By the time he got to me, and I could help, so I “bridge” if he could and I waited for the next “shard” of the shattered Barry-Block. It was Kevin (KMack). Problem was, he had run 4 miles before coming to the ride .



Way up ahead, in the flats of Shopville, we could see that Jack caught Barry, and Glenn was chasing his heart out. KMack and I didn’t exactly sit up, but we relaxed a bit until Vito chased us down, Solo.



Talk about shattering a finish – Barry did just that… Only our most seasoned racer, Jack Evans could bridge up to Barry, but could not beat him in the sprint behind the factories.



With in just a few minutes, less than ten, we had everybody back to the start of what was not an easy ride. Yes, we recollected often, but in between, the pace was hot.



2011 – WHAT I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO



Because I took 2010 off from racing, I am sure that I will have to relearn how to ride in the top ten wheels. I am considering taking the entire year just to do that.



More warm weather is coming – I guarantee it. They say June and July will be warmer (than today). Jack and I are going to race for sure. Kevin and Jeff Parmelee are training for a marathon. Mark Henry, Dave Zwick and Rick Rise will do Multisport Events. Adam Bourne is caught between is adventure running races and cycling.



What excites me most are our newcomers – and we have them every year. I am looking forward to, and praying that Barry Garrison will race some CAT V races this spring. As soon as we upgrade him to CAT 4, so he can race in his age bracket –he’s actually going to be really something to watch. Jack will continue to advance in his TBRA Series Standings (Jack was 11 in 2009, and 5th in 2010). Jack has found a racing home. I would love to see Toby win a few time trials… and then there is Roger – our club Freight Train… Roger will continue to compete in time trails I am sure.



I am most excited about our new comers…. Glenn Olmstead, Doug Vito, AC Donahue and Omar Meer (We are going to ignore Barry Garrison tonight! He sliced most of us from eye-ball to ass-hole with a dull dear antler today).



Cumberland Cycles Team and Club has never begun a year with so many riders who could easily do well at racing in just a few weeks training. In my humble opinion, Vito, Garrison ,Olmstead and Toby are ready now to enter CAT V racing. We will be able to upgrade you to CAT IV after just a race or two, and then you can race in your age category.



But I am most interested in AC Donahue and Omar Meer. These men are up-and-coming. They ride like horses. They are training consistently and have a great enthusiasm. The human body responds to training as the machine that God made it to be. I don’t believe in some people being more gifted than other physically to much extent. I believe that hard work, a determined spirit and an endless heart for the sport are far more important than a persons genes.



For now, AC and Omar are the most dedicated cyclists we have in our club or on our team. Both of them are working very hard, and ---- trust me… it will pay off in Spades! Wait and see. They both will be “front-enders”.



AC and Omar could get pack finishes in CAT V races in the later half of the year, if that is what they want. If that is not want they want, I hope they keep it up, so they can kick some asses on club rides!



I am not a gifted athlete. I don’t have lungs the size blimps. I don’t make muscle in order to buy custom britches. What I do is train. I train my heart out to be mediocre at best. When I see people train like Omar, AC, KMACK, Jack, Jenny, John…. On and on… there is only one outcome.



Jesus himself said, when you plant pea seeds you get peas. You all know what I mean.



I ride my bike in order to race. I apologize if I seems “out of touch” to you. I ride to race even though I have not won a race since I came back to cycling 4 year ago. I still believe. We all ride for our own reasons. My reasons are not better or more important than yours. But I am convicted in my own pursuits.



I do know this… Our dreams can become reality so long as we believe in this hard enough. Believing in something hard enough is hard. Once the conviction is done, the training is the easy part. You might want to ride 100 miles in a day… You may want to race, and upgrade… you may want to ride 2,000 miles or 5,000 miles in one year. You may want to do a specific tour. What ever it is, get convicted, then you will do it.



My dream? I am living it. I rode with AC today, Jason and Omar. They completed a challenging Cumberland Cycles Ride, as did several others. My Dream? To bring the love of cycling, in the form of the individual choosing to who ever is willing to dedicate themselves to it. Yes, I want to race and place well. But honestly, that is not as important to me as this club ad this team.

Beta Fitness Model

Based on my times at Barnsburg Time Trial, the above chart seems to give a good approximation to fitness versus previous 60 day miles.

My club My Team

I came home in 1999, just in time for the y2k. Having lived in Indianapolis for nearly ten years, I was most eager to spend a few years in the woods – in the silence. I did that. Three years. No electricity in a cabin I built myself. I piped water down to the place from a spring up on the hill, I hunted ginseng and I wrote in a journal.


I thought about cycling some, but not much. I endured summer thunder and winter snow…. Nobody bothered me much, and I wrote a column in a local news paper about my life in the woods.

Fifteen years consulting as a geologist and geophysicist; from California to New York, year after year…. Feeling as if my efforts were just a “stage act” – corporate obligations fulfilled…. I desperately needed meaning. I needed the stillness of the woods. And I did that three years.

I was done with the deprived life after three years and I settled into a place with cable TV and lights that came on with the flick of a switch. Not long after, It occurred to me to start riding bicycles again. And I did.

I raced in the 1980’s, but as a young man, I was hyper competitive. After 15 years consulting as a geologist, then three years in the woods, alone – cycling came back to me as a purity – a life-philosophy; a way of life.

I’ve been back racing five years now. And I have not won very many races. I will probably never win many more. And that doesn’t matter to me. I feel strong, and I feel qualified to race in my field.

There are many things that I love in my life. I love my Son most of all. I love the woods, and the memories of my life at the cabin. But my heart and soul belong to the men and women who share a passion with me for cycling.

Cycling and racing is as much a sanctuary as the woods were, those years at the cabin. I probably will never win another race. But I will train my heart out. I do this, because my brothers and sisters on wheels do the same…. They ride, sometimes with me, sometimes on their own…

While I may not be a good enough cyclist to Win the big races, I am fulfilled sharing a love with you, who ever you are.

In so far as I will do well with a pack finish, I race for all of my cycling friends – Jack most of all.

MY BIKE SHOP IS CUMBERLAND CYCLES…. Marc Travis is one of the most knowledgeable bike geeks I know. I will ride for this club, this shop and this club for as long as I can turn a crank.

Let make 2011 a great year!

We are Cumberland Cycles!

Here is some meaningful Physics

The faster you go, the more resistance you have.

photos from this blog

Just ranting and learning about this new blog platform

BLOG HISTORY

Well, gosh!  I found my former cycling blog on the Internet and I decided to pick it back up and get it going again.  For those of you who've had a look, thank you.  For those of you who have not, please do so. (Please note - all of my former entries are here, over on the right side of this page.  It might be entertaining for some of you to look back and read about what we were doing in 2007 and 2008.  There are even photos!)

Gosh, so much has happened since I last blogged.  I think the last entry I did was about our Sinking Valley Ride, in 2008.... Yes, that was the first time Brad Johnson rode with us; in tennis shoes and a $200 bike!  Despite my personal hardships over the past three years since I last kept this blog, I am so happy to have it back.

Thanks to a great many number of people, especially Aaron and Jenny Denney, our numbers have swelled to proportions none of us would have imagined when I last blogged about cycling. As such, in the coming days, I will add some data and other information regarding and informative to, our newcomers (in the past three years).

I stopped blogging because my blogging platform, America Online, discontinued offering that service. But I am back!

My Cycling History

I started riding bicycles when I was a kid.  As a young teenager, I never knew people actually raced bicycles, but I knew very well the freedom it provided!  My father bought me a cheap bike that I rode to the far corners of Pulaski County, usually looking for new caves to explore. It wasn't until the early 1980's that I got interested in racing. My first race was a Coors Series Criterium, and I got my ass kicked. I raced a lot and I had some success and some heartbreaks until 1990.

I started riding and racing again, after sixteen years completely off the bike, on September 1, 2006.  Since that time, I have meet all of you (on our team or in our club). I just absolutely love riding and racing road bicycles, and I love the men and women who join me in this passion. You will begin to note, if you haven't already, that I am a bit of a statition and a "mechanic".... Mechanic is quotes not because I fix things, but I want to understand how things work.... Mechanics!

MY RIDING HISTORY SINCE 9/1/2006

So far this year, that is to say, to date, I have ridden 91.2 miles. Ninety-one point two miles in twenty four days comes up to 3.8 miles per day, but hey, it's been a tough winter.

Since 9/1/2006 (1,604 days ago) I've ridden 23,313 miles. Out of those 1,604 days, I was fortunate enough to ride my bike 1,326 days. That is %83 percent of the days that has past in my total time back.

Even tough my daily mileage for 2011 is only 3.8 miles/day, over all, my stats are 14.5 miles/day on average since mid-late 2006, counting the 278 days I did not ride. On the days I rode, I averaged 17.6 miles/ride.

(Which brings me to an excellent point!  KEEP A TRAINING JOURNAL!!!!!!)

Since I am exploring this new blog format, let me attempt insert a chart of my weekly miles.

As you can see, my miles have been declining over the past five years. But who cares?  Most of you know what i've been through.
Such a dymanic time, these years back riding again. I have had some of the greatest joy in my life, and at the same time, over the same period of time, more heart-pain than I thought I would ever have.

I have met so many great people!  I have raced 74 times since 2007 (I am pretty sure).

I have so much to say about cycling, and life too.

My name is JT and I'm back!

Prayer Request

Please remember Aaron Denney's mother in your prayers.

Main Street Hill

Jack, AC and I took advantage of the warm weather, (35 F) to ride for about 45 minutes on Sunday. We did 1.5 mile loops around town which took us up Main Street Hill each lap. We climbed the hill 7 times for a total of about 10 miles.  It was a very good workout.

AC road his new bike and seems to love it.

2008 Club Photo

2009 Club Photo

I have decided to restart my old blog!  Welcome!