Ride of Silence

On May 18, 2016, the Ride of Silence traversed and united the globe as
nothing before it. Cyclists took to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the motoring public often isn't aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.

With the killed and injured cyclists in Tucson earlier this year, this was especially bittersweet for some riders.

Brendon Lyons from 'Look! Save A Life / Arizona' had a display of his accident and what distracted driving can do to a cyclist. He had information about his campaign to make texting while driving illegal in the State of Arizona which is now banned in Pima County.

GABA organized a great Ride of Silence. We had a police escort of 3 motorcycles and 1 car all the way. It was an amazing ride with all riders being silent for the 1 hour event. We rode East on Broadway to Wilmont Road, then back on 22nd Street. The turnout was great, with a bittersweet fellowship afterwards.

Service Worship Sunday

We had another Service Worship Sunday at the Good News Community Church repairing bicycles from church members and members of the surrounding community. As it says in the book of James (2:14-26)

"¹⁴ What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? ¹⁷ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! ²⁰ But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? ²² Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? ²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

²⁵ Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
²⁶ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

Annual Lasagne Dinner

We had a wonderful time last Saturday as 23 of us gathered for the annual Lasagna Dinner.  It was a great time to relax, enjoy friends and family and some great food.  The weather was absolutely perfect and the patio setting was cool and comfortable.  We played some Pictionary and other games as everyone got to know each other better in a setting other than a bike ride. It was nice to see Pat and Cindy... first timers, at the event and we had several returnees.  If you missed it, we missed you too!  We look forward to another opportunity to be hosts again in the future.

Blessings,

Todd and Patsy

Arizona State Criterium Championship (Michael's Report)

El Tour de Mesa Criterium

Friday's race was the Masters Men Cat. 4/5 40+. It was a combined race of Masters Men Cat. 4/5 30+/40+/50+ with a field size of about 30 riders. I had high hopes because the course, an L-shape course with a 180 degree turn, was the same as last year. Last year the acceleration out of the 180 degree turn caught me by surprise, so this year I accounted for that in my training. Jimmy and Jeff (from Colorado) raced together with me, but in a different age category. At the begin of the race it was announced that some riders would be randomly drug tested after the race by USADA. It was important for us to check in after the race, otherwise that rider would have been found positive for testing for drugs.

Before the race, I didn't really strategized with Jimmy nor Jeff. We just wanted to get a feeling for the competition and the race course. My intent was to tire out the competition with attacks and then eventually end up in a break. That only worked to a certain degree, the competition said they were hurting during the race, but not enough to launch a break away. So we ended up with a mass sprint to the finish and I didn't set myself up early enough to place in the top 10. Jimmy and I placed 6th in our categories.

After the race I almost forgot to check in with the race officials to see if I was chosen for the random drug test, but thanks to Jimmy for reminding me. Annnnnnnd I was chosen for drug test. Well after a 30 minute race in the afternoon sun, it was hard pee in the cup. 6 riders were chosen and we all drank at least 3 bottles of water. 1 1/2 hours later it was finally over. I definitely don't envy the pros that have to do this all the time.

Arizona State Criterium Championship

On Sunday was the Cat. 4 State Criterium Championship race. So far this year the Cat. 4 races have been more competitive than the Masters Cat. 4/5 40+ races. So I was looking for some strong young riders to go on a break with. Jimmy told he was hesitant to go to the front of the pack during Fridays race in fear of being stuck up front. I told him our strategy should be that he should go up front and I will launch an attack to relieve him from the front position. Or we would both go to the front and one of us attack.

After the 1st lap we did just that, we went to the front just after the 180 degree turn, but didn't launch an attack just yet. I was waiting for prime to be announced and someone chasing that prime. Someone always does and so the attack was on. The attack after the 1st prime didn't succeed, but there is always another prime. The rider who won the second prime had a decent gap (see video 1:00 min) and after catching that rider, I launched another attack. Adam from Tucson Endurance followed, passed me, telling me we had a gap (see video 1:28 min). From that time I dug deep and wanted that break to succeed. Adam and I worked well together switch the lead every half a lap. Eventually Adam told me, he will dig in one more time and bring me to line for me to take a the prime and them I am on my own. He worked hard and had to drop back (see video 2:18). Adam from the MORE Foundation Cycling Team bridge up to me and brought new energy into the break. At times he put in such an effort that I couldn't hold his wheel. But I dug in deep and said to myself, if this is the last lap of my life, let's give it all I got. With 2 laps to go we had about a 20 second gap which is not much, but after a 35 minute race the chasers are usually tired as well. Starting on the last lap after the 180 degree turn Adam sprinted which took me by surprise, but I stayed calm and concentrated on catching his wheel again. After the last turn we both started our sprint and Adam out sprinted me. I was very happy and give thanks and all the glory to my Heavenly Father for the 2nd Place finish in the Cat. 4 and winning one prime.

I have to give thanks to my wife Tina who cheered me on and took this video, to Jimmy for lending me his backup bike (the team bike ;-)) and both Adams and their teammates who helped the break to succeed.

#togodbetheglory #criterium #statechampionship #christiancycling

Marana Heritage Criterium (Michael's Report)

The Marana Heritage Criterium was put on for the first time by Tolero Racing, GST Racing and ChristianCycling Tucson. Because of our volunteer efforts at the event, I was the only one from our team to race. I approached Colton to work together to get a break going fairly early in the race. We decided to make our moves right after the primes were given. The first prime was announced after the first lap. We attacked, but got caught fairly early on Tangerine. We mixed with the pack until the second prime was announced.
During that prime lap the pace slowed down quite a bit and it came to a crash where Colton was involved. The crash happened behind me, so I didn't know until we passed that area on the next lap that Colton was out. I attacked after someone won the second prime and Noah from Tucson Endurance jumped on my wheel. I rode hard all the way on Tangerine to the turn on Lon Adams and saw Noah fade away. David from Team Santini USA caught up with me and we rode a few laps in the breakaway together. David did a couple of great pulls, but unfortunately couldn't keep the pace. I rode by myself for the last 2 laps and had a gap of 22 seconds. During those 2 laps I managed to win a prime, 2 Schwalbe tires. But on the last lap a rider did a monster pull for his friend, bringing the pack back to me on the finishing stretch. I got caught 200 meters before the finish. Here is a video of the finish posted by Christine Camera Schobel


It was great racing. I loved every minute of it. Let's do it again!!!

#togodbetheglory #christiancycling #criteriums

Tucson Bicycle Classic (Buzz's Report)

Time Trial

The TBC time trial is my favorite kind of time trial. A short one. There are some things that I hope they will change about this TT for next year though -- removing the climb, making the course a loop instead of a point-to-point, changing it from a distance-based event to time-based and having multiple laps of the loop done, switching it to a mass-start style and allow drafting, and for fun including a few special laps in there to sprint for prizes.

Ah yes, now that would actually be fun. The opposite of riding as hard as you can, puking nonstop for a couple hours, and then learning that you placed 40th, almost 2 minutes slower than the leader. Yuck.

Road Race

My legs hurt and I was tired, but at least the road race allowed drafting. The plan was to stay near the front, conserve energy for the first two laps, and then work hard on the final lap to help Gary and Jimmy finish well. Gary dropped a bottle on the first lap so I told him to let me know if he needed fluids and I would share. The first lap was pretty tame until we got to the climb, where the pace pushed me into the red. I was able to fall back through the group though during the climb to minimize the pain.

We were going through the rollers section prior to turning back down Helmet Peak when I realized that Gary was off the back of the group. I looked at him and then looked at the front of the group, then back at him and tried to quickly decide what to do. I opted to fall off the group a bit to give Gary a sort of bridge to get back on. He wasn't too far and I felt a short strong effort would be all that was needed for him to make it back. I sat up and motioned for him to jump up to me. After about 30 seconds I looked back at the group and realized that there was a bit of a surge and the gap between the group and me was growing. I got nervous and looked back at Gary, then back at the group. I realized that my better option would be to get back in the group and try to help Jimmy, but after about a minute of chasing them I decided to sit up and wait for Gary so we could work together to try to catch them on Helmet Peak.

My indecision during that period essentially ended my race. Once we turned on HP I got to work trying super hard to regain contact with the group. We could see them up the road about 20 seconds ahead of us. My hope was they would take the descent somewhat easy (like we did on the first lap) -- but even though we were 30 seconds faster than the first time with the group on that segment, Gary and I were unable to catch them. The gap before we turned on La Canada was probably around 10 seconds. Once on flat land I was pretty gassed and told Gary we wouldn't be able to catch them. We continued to work hard together for the remainder of the race, making sure we stayed away from anyone who was behind us and hoping to be able to pick up a few guys as we went along.

It was pretty hot and with Gary missing a bottle we were in need of more fluids. When we passed through the feed zone on the final lap I yelled out for neutral bottles and was able to get three (thanks Jelly Belly). Turned out that Gary wasn't able to get any bottles so it was a good thing I grabbed three. We hydrated and pushed on, finishing in the same time as the race last year (but doing so without the assistance of the main group) -- the competition this year is definitely stronger.

Circuit Race

The circuit race is a lot of fun and I was looking forward to it. Plan was the same but my legs were pretty much dead so I focused on conserving as much energy as I could with the hope that I wouldn't lose contact with the group. I moved up when the pace was easy and slid back with things got hard. This worked pretty well but on lap three I had trouble holding wheels and ended up about 3 bike lengths back during the rollers leading up to the finishing climb. I knew the pace would be hard up the climb and I was going to blow myself up trying to jump back up to the group so I looked back to see if there was anyone else I could work with. Turned out Stephen with Carlos O'Brien's was there with another rider. I sat up and waited for them and then the three of us traded pulls for a lap to attempt to get back in the group. Stephen and I ended up dropping the other rider and continued working together but without much hope of reaching the group.

Despite being dropped again it was a fun day of racing. Stephen and I worked hard and finished strong, though our placings weren't that great. Michael held onto his 3rd place spot on the GC so that was very cool. I look forward to this race next year and hopefully will have enough fitness next time to be more of a help for my teammates.

Buzz in the circuit race (photo by Damion Alexander)

Hungry Dog Criterium (Buzz's Report)

Cat 4

Both Gary and I were signed up for 3 races and my plan for all three was to work for Gary to try to get him some top-10 finishes and hopefully a few upgrade points. The course was new this year and I really liked it -- smooth and fast. There were a decent number of attacks in the this race, most of them getting chased down pretty quickly. One rider went off the front for a while but being solo nobody seemed too worried. He was left out for a few laps and then caught during a prime lap. With 4 to go I checked for Gary and started to get ready to put in a strong effort on the final lap for him.

Buzz hydrating (photo by Ricardo Arduengo)

We stayed near the front to defend our top-10-ish position and then on the bell lap I looked for the right time to burn my match. On the back stretch I pushed hard on the outside and moved us up a few spots heading into the last two corners. My legs were pretty spent and I wanted to save a little for the next two races so I decided to peel off before the final corner. Gary was able to get 10th place which was awesome but I think I could have pushed a little harder and continued my effort through the final corner to help him out more. Fun race, and Gary got a great result.

Cat 4/5

With the same plan and a lot of comfort with the course I had some high hopes for this race. Gary and I stayed near the front and within sight of each other. I took the outside lines through most of the corners while Gary opted for the inside lines to be more sheltered from the wind. Everything was going great until 2 laps to go when a rider touched wheels and went down. It happened to the left of me and I knew Gary was on that side but wasn't sure if it had taken him out. I checked a couple times and didn't see him so I figured he must have got caught behind it.

Buzz hanging on (photo by Ricardo Arduengo)

Without Gary on my wheel I decided to do my best to finish well and maybe get an upgrade point or two. On the bell lap I was able to get in to a fantastic position sitting 4th wheel, but my legs were screaming. We took the final corner and I put in the best sprint I could muster (which wasn't much). My jump just isn't there right now, not anywhere near what I had last year when I was training those anaerobic zones. I was passed by a couple guys and ended up taking 6th place, which was good enough for one point. I was happy with the result but concerned for Gary.

Turned out that Gary did go down in the crash, but he wasn't too banged up and his bike did not get damaged. He was disappointed but still wanted to race in the third race.

Cat 3/4

My legs were pretty toasted for this race, but I was able to hang on during the rough surges (one which lasted multiple laps) and maintain a decent position near the front of the group. I checked for Gary often and after a while noticed that he had been dropped from the group during that long, strong surge. With 4 to go I burned a couple small matches getting up to the front and with 2 to go I was sitting third wheel.

The guy at the front had done a lot of work and was looking pretty tired so I decided to shift back a couple spots because I didn't want to hit the front too early. I soft-pedaled through one of the corners to give up three positions and then slotted back in as we started the bell lap. During that lap the pace was blistering and I lost a couple positions prior to the final corner. I again had no sprint and was only able to get 13th place, but I was happy with how I had raced.

It was a great day, even though Gary hit the deck. We had a lot of fun hanging out with friends and watching the P123 race before heading back to Tucson.

San Tan Criterium

Cat 4/5

Without teammates my general plan was to stay in the pack and save energy for the finish, with the hope of getting the last two upgrade points I need to move up to the 3's. Lynn and Evan from Tolero were also in this race and we chatted a bit pre-race about working together to get some good results for Tucson. I remembered two things from this race last year: the course is long-ish and the finishing sprint is short. You really need to be in the top 5 prior to the final corner if you want to podium.

Number pinning assistance from the steering wheel

The race was pretty tame to start but after a couple laps some attacks starting going, prompting chases. I surfed the group a bit and moved around to try to find the better sides to be on for the various corners. The course was fun and the pace was high with not a lot of surging, which was awesome. With two laps to go, Lynn went to the front and put in a nice hard pull while Evan and I sat in around 5-10 wheels back. Lynn's effort was great, stretching the group out single file and ensuring that Evan and I would be in good positions for the final lap.

On the bell lap Lynn pulled off and unfortunately nobody took over for him at the front, so as we entered the first of the final 4 corners the group bunched up and Evan and I were slightly swarmed. I knew that I needed to essentially put in 4 mini sprints and when a handful of guys passed me during that swarm I lost some motivation to really put everything I had into the finish. My mini sprints were 638w for 7 seconds, 447w for 3 seconds, 505w for 8 seconds, and then 706w for 7 seconds. I'm still lacking a lot of the jump that I used to have and my sprint is really flat/dull right now. Aerobic endurance comes back pretty quick but the top end takes a little longer.

Evan snagged 8th and I took 13th. Fun race, I really look forward to this one next year.

Cat 3/4

Evan had to head back to Tucson for his sister's gender reveal party. I sort of ruined the surprise for him by telling him that his sister, by definition, is female -- but he said he would pretend he still didn't know in order to not ruin the surprise for (her). Lynn sat out since he and Evan had decided to destroy their legs in the Masters 30+ race that started 5 minutes after the 4/5 race ended. I totally would have joined them in that ridiculousness except that at 23*, I'm not allowed to race with those old guys.

* What? There's no need for an asterisk there.

My legs weren't feeling great and my motivation wasn't very high for the 3/4 race since I was alone in it. But Lynn stuck around and cheered me on from the sidelines, which kept me from sitting up more than a couple times. The pace was faster in the 3/4 race but it was also much smoother, which was great because my legs were toast. Jetset had like 8 guys in the race and so they did the best they could to control the race, sending one of their guys off the front, trying to block a bit, then following moves as other guys bridged up. It never seemed like they really had control though and with a few laps to go I was surprised they weren't dictating how the race would finish.

I stayed near the front, knowing what I needed to do to finish well but lacking the strength to do it. The accelerations out of the corners caused small gaps that I had a lot of difficulty closing. The bell lap really hurt good, my legs were just screaming. I wasn't in a great position since I'd let so many gaps open up but I put in my mini sprints as best I could. On the final corner Ruben and another rider went down pretty hard when Ruben's wheel skipped on a bump and he lost his chain. I slowed momentarily and half-heatedly finished my sprint to the finish, getting 15th. I went back to check on Ruben -- he was fine, just a few scrapes and in high spirits. He'll be back contesting sprints next weekend at Hungry Dog.

I stuck around for a bit to watch some of Jocelyn's race and then headed home. It was a fun day of racing with good friends, some beautiful weather, and that glorious burnt-leg smell driving home.

Southern Arizona Omnium (JJ's Report)

I wanted to do this race last year but decided not to because I wasn't ready.  I wasn't ready this year but decided to do it anyway.  Buzz, Jimmy, Michael, Gary and Greg were registered for masters cat 4/5 35+.  I signed up for the cat 5 race thinking that would be my best chance of staying with the group as long as possible.

We started with the Collegiate C group and the pace was not that bad.  Half way up Old Spanish Trail I heard a guy say, "this is going to be a roll out for the first 35 miles."  Not a minute later, some one attacked and the group took off.  I was not prepared and found myself off the back.  After the hill I started working with Burt and Matt, a couple of U of A guys.  Matt and I took a couple of pulls on Loma Alta, and then Burt carried us around the corner and took a good pull on OST.

We caught another collegiate guy from New Mexico, Josef but lost Burt, who I found out later got sick and couldn't finish. I didn't realize it, but we lost Matt on OST also.  I worked with Josef for the next four laps.  On the third lap I saw Buzz walking his bike and offered him mine thinking that would get me out of finishing the race.  No such luck.  It was a tough race, but I had a good time and was grateful to Josef for working with me.  After the race I had some great fellowship with my team mates and some wonderful food thanks to Ray and Diana.

Southern Arizona Omnium (Buzz's Report)

Time Trial

Uh. Yeah, right.

Road Race

Gary and Jimmy both did very well in the TT so the plan was to try to help them get some high placings to give them not only some omnium points, but some upgrade points as well. Michael and I decided to have some fun by repeatedly attacking the field to see what might happen. Jimmy and Gary just needed to stay with the main group and save their energy for the finish. On the final lap I would do whatever I could to bring them as close to the finish with as few contenders around them as possible. I was really excited to have a race where I could attack like crazy and not worry about blowing up and finishing at the back. Racing with teammates and having a purpose really makes racing all that much more enjoyable.

Buzz at the start, about to light up attack #1 of 30

For the first two laps Michael and I attacked -- and counter-attacked -- and then attacked some more -- causing the field to yell and scream and shout and chase and then yell and shout and chase and on and on. It was fantastic fun. The field even started yelling out when we were simply moving up a few slots. They were hyper sensitive to any motion coming from an orange jersey. It was hard to hold back the smiles.

I had a few more decently sized matches at the ready and was planning a couple more attacks during the third lap when I picked up a thorn in the front tire and slowly, grudgingly, rolled to a stop. Ugh, a flat during a road race with no wheel support. No! Such a bummer. The race was really a ton of fun and I was pretty disappointed that I couldn't continue to be a part of it. When I finally made it back to the start/finish I asked the officials if I could be given a free lap -- road races would be even better if they were criteriums. Oh well.

I watched and cheered for my teammates as they finished the race. Things didn't go as planned but we all had a great time and the lunch afterward was delicious!

Post-race calorie replenishment

Tolero & Avondale Criteriums (Buzz's Report)

Tolero Criterium

Cat 4/5
This is a fun course but with the slight climb every lap and my lack of training in anaerobic zones the past couple months I wasn't expecting much with these races. The plan was to stay near the front and surf the group as needed to conserve energy, and then work for Gary and/or Jimmy in the final laps to give them a good shot at a top 10 finish. For the first time in a race I took forever clipping into my pedals, which resulted in my being at the very back of the group before we'd even completed a lap. That was annoying. I got to work moving forward with the hopes of making it to the front without using too much extra energy, which was harder than normal because the course is short and narrow in some spots, sort of forcing the only "move up" area to be on the climb -- which is where I didn't want to spend extra energy.

I was able to move up here and there, 1 or 2 spots per lap, but with such a large field it took pretty much the entire race to get within 5 spots of the front. With a few laps to go I found Gary and told him to get on my wheel. On the bell lap I planned on burning a nice big match -- hopefully giving Gary a nice springboard to launch from. Unfortunately, a rider went down in the dumpster corner and I had to scrub a lot of speed to avoid joining him. That effectively ended our race so we just sat up and rolled to the finish. I was happy though that my legs weren't completely wasted.

Masters 35+
Different race, basically the same plan. This time I was able to clip in correctly, which was nice. The pace was fast but I felt comfortable enough. At some point (about halfway through I think) Gary was starting to fade a bit and there was a gap from him to the main group. I moved up to fill the gap for him and politely encouraged him to continue the rotation of his pedals (read: I yelled at him). I spent a few laps surfing between the group and Gary, trying to tow him back up in contact with them. We made it a couple times but when the big surges came he fell back off and spent a lot of energy without a draft. I sat back up and waited for him, then tried my best to give him a consistent steady strong pace that would not shell him, but would be enough to drop the other riders that were on his wheel. It worked and we ended up alone together, 10 seconds or so behind the front group, and 10 seconds or so ahead of the guys behind us. I may have yelled at him a couple more times, or maybe a dozen -- which may or may not have been captured on video and posted to Facebook. I have no way of knowing because I don't know what a Facebook is.

With 2 laps to go I felt reasonably sure we wouldn't get caught by the guys behind us and I also felt that unless I dropped my power output by 50 watts I would puke all over Gary... so I peeled off and (politely encouraged) Gary to keep pushing hard to the finish. Fun race, didn't puke (thumbs up).

Buzz working for Gary (photo by Damion Alexander)

Avondale Criterium

Cat 4
I really liked this course last year. It's fast and smooth and I had some great finishes. I was expecting similar racing, even though they changed it up a bit and ran the course backwards. Oddly enough though, the race surged a lot, which was annoying especially since with the new direction I think we really could have flown through those corners. I stayed near the front and nothing much happened except getting to watch Michael go after some primes with some impressive flyers.

With 3 laps to go I was getting frustrated with all the surging so I decided to try to prompt the front riders to start stringing things out in preparation for the final lap. I pulled for about half a lap and then peeled off hoping to have more guys pull through to continue the pace. They didn't, which deflated me desire to stay in position and I ended up just drifting to the back of the pack. Kind of a frustrating race because I know it could have been a lot faster / fun. Oh well.

Cat 3/4
I was alone for this race which was a bit of a bummer for me because I really like racing with my teammates, but it was also nice to just kind of do my own thing. The pace was strong and hard and fast but then we would have the same surging that we had in the 4's race (very annoying). But when the pace picked back up man it was rough. Really rough. More than a couple times I came very close to peeling off and sitting up to go home. I don't know who it was, but there was one spectator that would call out my name every other lap or so and that really helped keep me motivated to push on. Whoever you are, thanks!

I was in a decent position with a handful of laps to go but after a couple more surges I ended up around 20 guys back and with just 1 lap left I didn't have much hope for a top 10 finish, but I poured every ounce of energy I had left into moving past guys. I was able to get 15th and was happy with that.

Buzz during the Cat 4 race (photo by Christy Camera Photography)

Tolero and Avondale Criteriums (Michael's Report)

Tolero Criterium

The Tolero Criterium course at Casa Adobes Church is always fun and challenging. Lot's of turns and an uphill finish. The Cat 4/5 race had 47 riders, so a big field for the half mile course. Initially I stayed in the top 10 of the field and when it was impossible to catch the breakaway from Colton and Lynn, I settled further back in the pack and conserved my energy for the 2nd race. The 2nd race was my first Masters race, Masters 35+, 40+ and 45+. It was more intense than the 1st race and my goal was to stay with the leaders the entire race. With 4 laps to go, a gap opened up in the middle. I took that opportunity and with nobody chasing me, had a decent size break until the last lap. Then the chase group caught up to me right before the last turn and I finished 5th in the sprint.

Avondale Criterium #2

When we arrived at 8 am in Avondale it was cold and I was shivering. But while getting ready the sun came out and it warmed up nicely. The first race was the Cat 4/5 40+. I was a marked man because I won the last Cat 4/5 40+ race in the first Avondale Crit. Any of my moves where carefully observed and any breakaways right away caught. I even won 2 primes without contention, because nobody wanted to expend extra energy, but they saved it all for the finish. So my strategy was easy, let me do a lot of work and try to protect my teammates Gary and Jimmy. Keep the pace high and the group stretched out. I won my last prime with 2 laps to go, but was passed shortly after that and let Gary and Jimmy go at it in the sprint.

The Cat 4 race had again a very strong field. Breakaways were right away caught. There were 2 primes and I made it my mission to fight for both of them. But my legs did not provide the needed sprinting power.

#christiancycling #togodbetheglory #critracing #avondalecrits #tolerocrit

Valley of the Sun (Coul's Report)

The 2016 Valley of the Sun stage race is in the books.  I started the weekend very well, as the race leader, by winning the time trial.  Then came Saturday, which brought me a whole new world of experience: a defense only style of road racing.  With the leader’s jersey on my shoulders, and no team either, I found that I not only had no friends in the peloton, but that no offensive maneuver on my part would be allowed.  There were a few guys, like 2 or 3, that tried to work with me, but anything with me in it was quickly wrapped up by a plethora of blockers whose seemingly only mission on the day was to hold me back.  So, a break away did get up the road.  It was not a group all at once, but an eclectic set of one and two guys at a time…the only ones I didn’t chase.  I chased most of everything, but it wasn’t enough.  In the future, in the same situation, I’d need to chase everything without exception.

Anyway, I stayed with the group until the last climb (about mile 90 or so), when as we started to ascend, another rider took out my front wheel in an aggressive maneuver, seemingly intentional, that slowed my momentum and cost me about 15 bike lengths.  I dug in to catch the momentum of the group and then about 30 seconds later there was a big crash right in front of me which forced me to brake and go around it (still on the climb) and thus had me finish about 39 seconds behind pack.  My 9/10 of a second lead turned to a 1:51 deficit that had me in 14th place overall headed into the final race, the criterium.

I had a good strategy lined up for the crit, and as we were in the opening turns I was making good progress up the pack (having started in the very back), when on our third lap I was on an inside corner and I needed only an inch to get past a curb, but the other rider (who had many inches to give) would not budge, thus causing a large crash with me, him, and about a half dozen other guys.

We jumped back to the pit, checked in with the ref, and got reinserted on the following lap.  From that point on I really struggled, I mean HARD, to stay with the pack.  My wattage was really high, but I couldn’t get past the back of the pack.  So, I finished with the pack (back of the pack pack-fodder) and thus received a pack time, but it wasn’t until after the race that I discovered that both my wheels had been knocked out of true in the crash.  My front wheel was hard on the brake pad for about 90% of each rotation and my rear was also having some rub action as well.  I effectively rode to a pack finish while essentially riding my brakes the whole time.  That’s a good workout.  At any rate, despite sub-par finishes on Saturday and Sunday, I managed to hold on to 14th overall for the weekend which sends me home with 2 upgrade points as a consolation prize.  That, and of course, Friday’s victory—my first win of 2016, AND a leader’s jersey.  I didn’t get the big win, but huge off season gains are evident and I’m excited to be looking down the barrel of a strong 2016 campaign.

It was a great weekend.  I’m thankful for the victory, the experience in the leader’s jersey, the upgrade points, protection amidst the crash, minimal bike damage, my Christian Cycling comrades from Tucson, my wife, my mother-and-father-in-law and my dad who came to see us here in Phoenix.  I’m thankful for solid coaching that has already paid huge dividends.  I’m thankful that I’m not satisfied—I am hungry for victory and I will prepare accordingly to achieve it.  I’m thankful for the salvation that Christ gave me freely, how that so radically changed my life, and that God has blessed me with drive, determination, discipline, and ability to do this and excel; I pray that I use those gifts to bring honor and glory to Him.  Also, I’m thankful, blessed, and honored to have the incredible support of my loving wife and best friend, Collene Hill.

Valley of the Sun (Ken's Report)

This race was a must do for me as I really enjoyed it in 2015 and wanted another chance to mark some improvement in my Cycling. I had my Training Peaks Calendar fully filled out for January to be in the best form ever for this race. VOS was to put this to the test.

The best laid plans do not always work out. I fought a month long cold for much of January and my lungs took a while to heal from it. I did try to force the body to train, but all I did forcing the issue was set myself back. Not being one to quit, I still did sign up the race and gave it a shot.

Time Trial

The weather could not be more perfect. No wind, sunny and 65 degrees. I started off shooting for FTP and focused on steady power. I wanted to be careful to not blow up on the uphill first section. I was 1:10 ahead of last year at the half way point. I made the turn and mentally was ready to empty the tank. My speed increased and I felt ready to push hard to the line. I miscalculated my effort and when I hit the 3km to go sign I had about emptied the tank. I struggle a few more remaining minutes and crossed the line empty.

I was :22 faster than last year and sat 22nd out of 27. Not great and definitely not as well as I had hoped. All I could take from this effort is that I had improved over last year, but again proved that a few weeks missing from my planned training had hurt this effort a ton.

Road Race

The starting line was the first time I saw the group of guys in the Cat 5 group. My first impression was that there was a lot of youth this year. My racing age is 50 this year and the one thing I lack is twenty year old energy. I sensed that I was in trouble.

After a longer than normal neutral start, we were off. I was happy to have stayed attached to the group at the end of the first climb. Upon the start of lap two, they turned it up a notch. I stayed within eyesight of the peloton but slowly started to fall back. I was hoping to have a few guys to work with but seemed I was in the middle of two groups, kind of flying solo. I knew at some point this was going to be a mental game so I settled into a manageable power range and just keep a strong tempo. I finished strong with a guy from the 50+ masters and was happy with my effort. All in all I had some personal bests and enjoyed the race.

Criterium

I was in the first group and racing was to begin at 7:15 am. Many of us were out warming up on the course even before the sun came up. Today I felt strong and confident. The race started and I saw 230 Watts pretty constantly for the first few laps. I faded to the back third of the pack. It was comfortable there. The GC Leader was back there beside me most of the race as he had an 8 minute lead and wanted to stay out of trouble. I encouraged him to get in front of me as I did not want to in anyway interfere with in carrying out his plan. He said he was comfortable with me and to carry on, so with this off my mind I continued to work. About 20 minutes in, the group was pushing 240 watts and things were picking up. I began to think for the first time about what I was going to to on the last lap. This was a different mental place to be for me because i’m usually a little off pace by now. Was I actual going to contend for the final sprint?

The last lap bell rang and I was hanging on the main pack. We were down to the last 4 turns. I felt the pack begin to slip as they put on a surge and off they went. They put about 20 yards on me with a 325 watt burst. I did not have that in my tank at this point. I fell back about 30 seconds and finished strong as I could. This day I was close but the kids did me in. Oh to be young again. I felt good about my effort and the progress I had made. Overall it was a great trip and three awesome days of racing. Thanks to my teammates for their continuing encouragement and congratulations to Coul for grabbing a leaders jersey. Thank You Collene for all the great photos including the one below!

Valley of the Sun (Buzz's Report)

Time Trial

Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love TTs. This one in particular was incredibly exciting due to its complex course design, technically challenging terrain, and the unlimited number of available team tactics that would no doubt be a huge factor.

First, we lined up in numerical order and waited for our turn to climb up some stairs onto the platform. It was really, really, really cool to figure out where my place would be in the line. Once it was my turn, one of the officials held my bike steady while I clipped into my pedals, which was awesome. I clipped into the left pedal first and then the right one, which is exactly how I had planned on doing it while rehearsing it waiting in line. Another official gave me the 10-second warning and them counted me down from five. It. Was. Such. An. Epic. Count. Down.

Buzz about to do what he truly loves

Coming down the ramp from the platform is extraordinarily dangerous but I'm happy to report that I did not crash. Once I was safely on flat road I consulted the TT plan I had taped to my top tube. It read, "Start, ride, turn, ride, stop." I did some quick math in my head and determined that I should be in "ride" mode. So that's what I did.

After [who cares] minutes I arrived at quite possibly the most exhilarating, thought-intensive, tactically challenging portion of this particular TT. The turn. Luckily I had poured over the TT section of the Technical Guide and knew, without a doubt, that I would be making a right turn. This is where things got really dicey for me and I almost made a huge, enormous, gigantic error.

Apparently, in my excitement for the TT I had misread the Technical Guide and did not realize that the turn would be to the left. Fortunately though, there were around a dozen course officials with red flags yelling and pointing for me to turn left. My mind raced as I immediately assessed the situation, made a swift course correction on the fly, quickly re-positioned my body in order to take the turn on the most optimal line, and just completely railed that corner. It. Was. Oh. So. Thrilling.

I checked my top tube notes once again to see if I was at the "stop" part yet or not. I was supremely delighted to find that I still had another "ride" portion to thoroughly enjoy. So again, I rode.

Unfortunately though, all good things must come to an end. And for me, this meant only getting to experience [embarrassingly high number] minutes of this amazing TT. I crossed the finish line to thunderous applause and what appeared to be a penguin marching band.  I consulted the top tube notes once again, and proceeded to "stop" just as I had planned. I learned many new things during the TT and am very happy with my performance in almost perfectly executing my plan to start, ride, turn, ride, and then stop.

All joking aside, TTs are tough and kudos to the guys that actually do well in them. I am very proud that Coul took 1st in the Cat 2 TT.

Buzz really, really enjoying life (photo by Collene Hill)

Road Race

My legs were a bit sore from the TT and after my mediocre performance in the Oracle road race I didn't have much hope for this one. Luckily the climb isn't very long and I thought that I would be able to hang with the group until the last lap. Unfortunately, even though I positioned myself at the front when the climbing began and then drifted back during it, I did not have enough strength to maintain contact and ended up in a chase group of around 15 guys. I was happy though that both Jimmy and Gary where in the chase group with me. We tried for a bit to catch back up to the main group but it became apparent that it would not happen.

I was red-lined again up the climb, losing contact with the chase group but able to get back on during the descent. The final time up the climb I did my best to hold a decent position but didn't have the strength to avoid being at the back when we crossed the line. I figured I would be a few spots up from dead last but to my surprise was 37th out of 53. My lap times were 3% faster than last year and my average power was 26% higher which suggests that the competition in the 4's this year is pretty dang strong this season.

Napping after the road race

Criterium

After a very fun 4th place finish in this crit last year, I had high hopes for a decent race this year. While my fitness/strength is still not back to where it should be, I felt I would be able to hang with the group for the duration. Unfortunately there was some pretty poor decisions made by other racers (one in particular) during the crit, which caused multiple crashes -- one of which took out Gary. I was agitated and frustrated with 3 laps to go but was able to get into a decent position for the final lap. The group slowed and bunched up though and I fell back without much desire to regain my position. I was sitting 15-20 back for the final corner but sprinted anyway, taking 17th out of 47. I was happy that I had done pretty well in the race but was upset with what had happened to Gary.

Overall it was a fun weekend of racing with great friends. It was a blast to see Coul again and I can't wait for this race next year.

Post Carb-loading at Buca di Beppo

Sun Devil Criterium (Buzz's Report)

Masters 35+ Cat 4/5

I've been able to somewhat regain my aerobic endurance the past few weeks but my legs are still pretty weak and I have no jump right now. No jump at all. No sprint either. No power, no speed, no acceleration. It will come back after I get some solid interval training in, but for these races I had little hope of avoiding being pulled again. My hope was to hang with the group as long as possible and I really wanted to see Jimmy gain confidence in crits. The plan was to stay near the front to minimize the surging and have Jimmy stay on my wheel. If I were able to hang on for the finish I would do what I could to give him a leadout for the sprint.

As it turned out, I was able to stay with the group for the entire race which was a nice surprise. With a couple laps to go I made sure Jimmy was on my wheel and worked as hard as I could to keep us in the top 5. I knew we needed to move up to the front on the bell lap but I just didn't have the power to get up there and we remained in 5th place going into the final corner. Out of the corner I tried to give Jimmy a leadout but I had nothing to give. My "sprint" was horrendous, only taking me from 27.7 mph to 30.6 but it was good enough to hold my spot (5th).

Cat 4/5

My legs were done after the first race. The plan for the second one was just to hold on for as long as possible. The field was pretty big, resulted in a lot of surging which just annihilated whatever remaining strength I had in my legs. Lap after lap I lost positions until eventually I fell off the main group, resigning to riding out the remaining time in a smaller chase group. The chase group was never organized enough to avoid being pulled and after a few more laps that's what happened. It was frustrating to be pulled from a race after 20 minutes but it meant I could watch and cheer for Jimmy.

Photo by Nick Wilson

Sun Devil Criterium (Jimmy's Report)

This year during our team meeting to set up our race schedule I selected 26 races to compete in...obviously that is way too many races for a year. I knew there would be some races that I would not be able to compete in but I wanted to make sure I had them on my radar. The Sun Devil criterium was one of those races that I really wanted to do but did not know if I will be able to squeeze it in.

During our team photos and after being assured that Ken would race (not) I decided to go ahead and sign up. I just bought a new bicycle (Propel Advanced SL2) and I was eager to try it out in a race.  Eric and Buzz also had planned on doing the race so I looked forward to racing with them.

During the first race we had a very simple plan; I would simply stay on Buzz's wheel for the entire race, for the most part that's exactly what I did. Buzz and I lined up on the outside because the first turn is a right-handed turn and pretty sketchy and bumpy. Eric lined up on the inside but we were all pretty much on the front row. As the race began we made it around the first corner and soon we were up to speed. I had decided that I would use the first few laps to see how I felt in the corners and whether or not I would be able to stay on Buzz' wheel. This plan worked out really well for me as I was able to gain confidence on the course.

When we came around for the final lap I felt great and sprinted to hold my place. I did make some tactical mistakes in that I was in the wrong gear to sprint but every race you learn a little something.

Photo by Nick Wilson.Photo

The second race we did was the cat 4/5 race. Buzz and I lined up in the second row on the outside so that we would be in position for the first right hand turn. Right after the first lap or so I noticed that the pack was beginning to split up. While there were 56 people in our race I believe there were 72 people at the start line and I knew with such a big group they would have to start pulling riders out of the race fairly early. At some point, I saw the pack was beginning to break apart and I made an effort to get back on with the lead group.

Throughout this race there were many times when the pack broke apart. Each time I would work with other riders to reconnect with the lead group. During one of the laps there was a crash in the first corner, there were many crashes in that corner throughout the day. This crash broke up the pack again and it caused me and several other riders to have to work really hard and long to reconnect with the lead group.

Photo by Nick Wilson.Photo

With about 7 laps to go we reconnected and I knew that it was important to move up. It was very encouraging to hear my teammates yelling, "Jimmy, move up!" I knew that I needed to move up but after doing all the work to reconnect I was nervous about putting out any more energy. Also, I was not willing to risk anything to gain a few positions although I wish I would have been a little more aggressive during that time. Finally, with two laps to go I realized that I felt pretty good but I didn't take any risks in the corners and on the final lap I sprinted and only gained two more positions. I finished 24/56 (72).

Santa Catalina Omnium (Buzz's Report)

Since I am always bugging the other IC3 guys for race reports I suppose I should set a good example and post mine. Even though I don't feel my weekend warrants any sort of publication.

Criterium

I knew I'd be hurting based on how poorly I've been doing at crit practice the past couple weeks. It is awesome to see so many guys gain strength from the Crit Training Series but it also means that my competition becomes that much more difficult. My plan for the crit was to stay at the front to avoid the leg-scorching surges and hang on for as long as I could. I did so and held a top-10 position for a handful of laps, feeling pretty decent actually. But my leg strength is definitely not where it should be and I started having trouble closing gaps. I let the group slowly pass by me rider after rider, trying to keep my power constant and within my bounds. The group was nice and big (60+ riders) so I had a lot of buffer room to try to recover. By the time I reached the back of the group though I was still at my limit and my legs were not interested in providing any more power than what they were giving me -- which was about 30 watts less than what was needed to stay with the group.

I settled into a sustainable pace and after a couple laps joined up with some other riders. We traded pulls and did the best we could, but ended up getting pulled after 17 minutes of racing. I was pretty bummed but all the encouraging shouts from spectators and other racers (as they passed me) really made for a fun race that I can honestly say I enjoyed. The weather was beautiful and even when you are pulled from the race halfway through, coughing and hacking with legs burning... shoot, that's a great day in my book.

It was very, very cool to see so many newer racers from our Crit Training Series racing in a criterium for the first time. I have a lot of respect for anyone brave enough to try bike racing. It can be a very intimidating sport to get into and it takes real guts to pin that number on. If you were out there and I didn't get a chance to say so in person -- congrats and nice job!

Buzz (in the background), about to explode
Photo by Damion Alexander

Road Race

I didn't have much hope for this race. In addition to not training, I added about 15 lbs over the winter and definitely felt that extra weight on the climbs. The plan for the road race was to kill myself trying to stay with the group for the first lap. I surfed the group on the rollers to conserve as much energy as I could and that worked pretty well but soon after we turned on Webb road I found myself steadily slipping backwards as the pace was just too high. I settled into what I could do and tried to keep the group in sight. I was able to pass a few riders here and there and having riders to catch kept me motivated. The second time up Webb I was able to catch up to Gary and David and that helped keep the motivation high enough to keep pushing. Once we were back in town I slid up next to David and said, "let's go" figuring we might as well have some fun with the finishing sprint. It was amazing to see how little power I was able to produce during that effort.

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to gain fitness and strength.
It only took a couple months off the bike to erase it.

The good news is that I know how to get it back.

Buzz, Michael, and Gary
Photo by Damion Alexander

El Tour de Tucson Race Report

Greg Chmelik

El Tour de Tucson. Arguably our city's greatest cycling event and unquestionably the most popular. I first rode it in 2013 and crashed less then a quarter of the way around. Last year I stayed on two wheels but I was so nervous from the previous year that I soft-pedaled to the first wash and totally lost the lead packs.

Speaking of the washes, I hate them. Being a mediocre-on-a-good-day bike handler, those wash crossings are the bane of my existence in ETdT. This year I went out fairly hard but, once we hit the first wash, lost the group immediately. I was determined to catch up. I closed most of the gap but was getting tired. Michael Kothke and one other guy came by and pretty much finished the job.

I don't think the group we caught was actually the lead group, but it was a large group with strong riders and was probably a guaranteed top 50 or 100.

From there, things went pretty easily until the second wash crossing. Same deal. I did tentatively pedal most of the way through the second wash (read: one foot pedaling, one foot pessimistically dragging through the sand. I made it most of the way but another rider went down in front of me so momentum was lost. I had to get off and run up the hill.

Margo and the boys were up in the parking lot with fresh bottles and encouragement. Helpful tip: don't load two oversize bottles before that short nasty climb coming out of the neighborhood - the extra weight does not particularly help. Regardless, the good group was gone. I caught up to a few riders who had made it through the wash but couldn't hang on the climbs. We got a decent group going and scooped up some more riders along the last third of the course.

When we got on the frontage road, my bike started shifting itself up-down-up-down. I tried different gears and fiddling with the barrel but I couldn't fix it. I had to ride the last twenty miles with ceaseless shifting. I figured out after the race that when I had a hit a pothole earlier in the day, my wheel had moved down slightly in the dropout on one side. It was sitting slightly crooked- enough to put the derailleur half a gear off.

Meanwhile that shifting thing was pretty fatiguing and, I think, annoying to the guys around me. It's funny because this was not the first time something like that happened. Earlier this year at Cochise the magnet for my speed sensor had moved itself enough to just barely hit the sensor itself on every wheel revolution. I am the embarrassed owner of the noisy annoying bike that drives everyone (myself included) crazy!

Anyhow, back to El Tour. We eventually made it back to downtown. I was nervous for the sprint because of the shifting thing. I tried to move off to one side and just go really early. Sprinting is not my strength anyways. That worked pretty good. I didn't get away from the group but it did get spread out pretty well. One guy came across the front of my wheel and his back wheel actually scraped my front. I leaned over hard, stopped pedaling, and tried to follow his angle. You could hear the wheels scraping for a few more moments. Felt like eternity!

End result was something like 157th place. A little disappointing after my finish at Cochise. I'm not sure that I will continue doing this event. The washes are just not my thing and, honestly, 104 miles is a long day. I will see how I feel next year. I do thank God for keeping myself and everyone else safe and sound through another rollicking El Tour de Tucson!