Pennsylvania Spring Classic?

Mingo is notorious for bad weather...but yesterday was BEAUTIFUL by this race's standards...as evidenced by 116 racers showing up for a go at the title!

Brian tells how our Cat 1/2/3 race went... so I will let this picture of Sam Morrison (tell the story) of how it went for everyone else!

Bottom line, (my) goal for the Team was for this race to be a (painful) reminder of an exciting new season bearing down upon us. It was :)

...a season where comradary, race animation and PR performances are considered far more important than (most all) mass-start results against a large cast of racing characters who have better genealogy, less demanding jobs and/or no family obligations!!!

"Race Hard, whenever Life doesn't get in the way, and be happy about it"!!!

Mingo Creek #1

It was a nice day and actually warmer than I expected. Ag3r/Indianacycling.com had a pretty good turn out. I think there were 6 of us but I may have miscounted. The race started off in a cluster of confusion like usual. The cat. 1,2,3,and masters were all lined up to race together and they said go. Seconds later someone else yells,"Only 1,2,3!" So all of the masters stop and in the process stop everyone behind them. So the 10 or so of us who got stuck in the back got started again and struggled to catch back on to a rampaging peloton. After the race Henry told me that they eventually just told the masters to go and they all had to try to catch up to the 1,2,3's even later than I did. Anyway, I did catch back up but not until the bottom of the hill on the course and at the pace they were going up I was in a bad spot. I got gapped at the first part of the hill and just about caught back on at the top but it was too late. The group was gone and I was dropped. I chased for 3 more laps and that is when I caught Mark N. and we threw in the towel. I can't comment on how anyone else did in their races because all of the fields were so fragmented that I didn't know which group was which. It was a good day for a race and it was a good race. It just wasn't a good race for me. But, it was fun. Then I had to drive 5 hours home through the mountains of WV and western VA. If anyone would like to go on an excursion to do some amazing climbs that last for miles and have many switchbacks I would recommend Rte. 33 between Harrisonburg, VA and Rte. 79 in WV. That's a stretch of about 90 miles or more and it would be deadly to do all at once but if you come to visit me we can do the section right outside Harrisonburg and that will probably be plenty.

a ride just to stretch the legs

I was out this morning on a short ride just to get my legs moving before Mingo Creek tomorrow. The ride was cut extra short because my mother told me that she was cooking a big lunch for the whole family and I needed to be back and cleaned up by 12:30. I did an easy hour of spinning with one 10 minute tempo interval and a few sprints thrown in just for fun.Once I was headed for home I met up with my dad who headed out the door after I did and came to meet me.

It was a beautiful day for a ride but still a bit cold. That was enough to make us extra happy standing around the fireplace after returning home.
Now it's time to rest up for the remainder of the day and prepare to be dropped tomorrow at Mingo Creek.

Posted by Brian D. Hopkins at 1:54 PM 0 comments

Today's ride

It's finally getting to the time of year that we can start riding outside again. Maybe not every day(yet) but soon enough. I got out for about 2 hours this morning. Temps were in the 60's and the sun was shinning. There was a 15mph wind from the south west that made the trip home a bit more challenging than normal.

IUP Cycling Club Maintenance Workshop

Thanks to Rich for helping us out with an awesome maintenance workshop. A great turnout on Friday led to a bombardment of questions for Rich as he showed everyone proper techniques in bike maintenance. Everyone who attended was sure to learn something and meet someone new with a common interest. IUP Cycling Club is very thankful to Indiana Cycling and Fitness for this event and is looking forward to a great first semester. Check us out on the web at www.people.iup.edu/tkcn.

Spring is here!

I was out today for my first ride of the year on the parkway. It was sunny with temps in the mid 60's in the valley for the start of the ride. Once I got onto the parkway it was still sunny but temperatures dropped into the mid 50's.
It was a nice ride and there were lots of people out on bikes. I think today was the first day the parkway was reopened for cars. I must have seen 25 cyclists (8-10 pros) and only 10 cars. All of the riders were going the opposite direction so I had no one to ride with. I guess maybe I need to switch my loop so I go the same way. If I did that and started riding with those guys they may reverse their loop to get away from me.
I started the ride doing intervals for the first hour and then did tempo for the rest. Overall I rode for just about 2 1/2 hours on a beautiful day.

Oh my...a long, windy, and uphill road it has been to obtain the ability to post to this Blog... but I think I am finally here?

The first races of the year have begun...but only for our token, grits eating Southern-Boy. For the rest of us...we patiently wait for the Mingo Road races to begin...so we can be reminded yet again, that indoor stationary training is meaningless :(

Until then, I leave you with this winter image of us printed in the Butler Eagle Newspaper.

2008 Dismal Dash 40k ITT

I was really looking forward to the race today because I love any excuse to use all of my TT "stuff" and a TT is the only race where I actually stand a chance. The day started off cold. 40* and cold. On my way to the race the temperature went up to about 48* but it started raining. Finally, the rain stopped about 20 miles from the race location and the wind that was in the forecast was almost nonexistent. I had to be at the race by 11:30(that's when packet pick-up ended) but my start time wasn't until 13:00 so I lots of time to waste. I ended up arriving even earlier thanks to Google maps giving incorrect travel time, maybe it's just how I drive. So needless to say I had lots of time to stand around in the cold. I warmed up for 30 minutes on the stationary trainer and stopped at 12:45 to get make all of my final preparations and get to the start line for my start. While I was on the trainer the wind had begun to pick up a bit and by the time I took the start it was just plain windy. The course was on back roads with little traffic but there were some rough sections of broken up pavement. We had a tail/cross wind on the way to the turnaround and a head/cross wind on the way back to the finish. With the tail wind on the way out, I did the first 12.5 miles in 27 minutes 10 seconds. I knew I was going good because I was holding back to save my energy for the head wind on the return trip and I was still 40 seconds faster than I was last year. It's a good thing I was saving something because the return trip didn't disappoint. The wind was tough and it was evident by all of the riders that I ended up passing that they had gone out too hard and were dieing in the headwind. I ended up finishing in 59 minutes 35 seconds at just over 25mph. Not bad for such a windy day and it was my first 40k in under an hour. That's right boys, I'm in the hour club! (but just barely) It was good enough for 5th place in the cat 1,2,3 race on this day. So I'm happy with the result. I improved on my time from last year by 3 minutes 35 seconds.

I'm back!

I finally figured out how to get back into here. I'll be posting more now.

Sonny Hutchins Memorial Criterium

Just got home from the Sonny Hutchins Memorial Criterium. I did the Cat. 1,2,3 race. Normally I wouldn't stand a chance but it was on a 1/3 mile stock car oval with banked turns. The race was 60 laps(20miles) long. I started the race in my usual position, at the back. It wasn't really on purpose, but when we were 15 laps into the race I just happened to look behind me to see how many people were back there and there was no one. I was just happy to be hanging on because I didn't use my inhaler today and my lungs were really feeling it. I knew after the initial rush my lungs would be fine and continue to improve the longer the race went on. I figured it didn't matter very much because this was all gonna come down to a sprint anyway. Eventually I moved up through the field and I must say, I did a fine job. Not once did I ever have to put my nose to the wind to move up. I just followed wheels and waited until the end. I guess I picked pretty good and followed a guy from Nature's Path and he pulled me up the outside of the pack. All seemed to be going well until the last turn when we were riding 3 wide and I was moving up. Then the guy to the inside of me couldn't hold his line and started drifting outwards into me and I was blocked on the outside and didn't really have anywhere to go. I ended up having to not pedal the final corner and slow down to prevent the crash but I then I was going much too slow for the sprint to the line that was only 3oo yards away. I started my sprint and ended up 9th place overall. I don't know where I finished in the Cat. 3's, I'll post that when I find out. Not bad for my first sprint of the year and I'm not just talking about sprinting in race conditions. I haven't sprinted all, maybe I should work on that;-)

My last ride in Florida

Here I am arriving home from my last ride in Florida before I have to leave tomorrow morning at 6:00am to return home to VA.

IUP Cycling Club

Hello everyone! I'm new to the blog. My name is Duane Corbett and I'm the President of the new IUP Cycling Club. I wanted to help get our name out and let everyone know that we're here. Check out our website www.people.iup.edu/tkcn and drop me and email if you would like to become involved, we have a lot of excitement planned this semester. The club is open to students but we do encourage community involvement. Interests levels vary from road to mountain and casual to competitive. We will be also competing in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Club road racing season this semester. Our first meeting will be Friday, February 22nd at 6:00pm in the HUB Susquehanna room. Thanks! -Duane d.b.corbett@iup.edu

Sebring 12 hour Ultra Cycling/ RAAM Qualifier 2008

The race ran from 6:30am til 6:30pm so it started in the dark and ended at dusk. Since we would be starting in the dark the race began on the Sebring International Raceway. It is a road course with a total of 17 turns on the flat 3.7 mile course.
We would be on the raceway for 3 laps and that would give us just enough time that the sun would be starting to rise and then we would head out onto the road. The Raceway was awesome to ride on. It was really fast and it was fun to ride on a closed course. I'm not exaggerating when I say that you could maintain 22-25mph on the raceway with barely any power output because of how smooth and flat it was. By the time we headed off of the raceway I was already the first double diamond bike in the 12 hour race. There was a guy competing in the 24 hour race who was off ahead of me and there were about 8 recumbent. I can understand that the recumbent bikes were more aero than I, and figured that they would be out front by themselves but the guy riding the road bike with clip-on aerobars was just a machine.
He stayed ahead of me for the entire 12 hours and was still going strong into the night. After we finished the 3 laps on the race way we had to complete a large 89 mile loop in the surrounding countryside. The course was extremely well marked and there was never a question if you were headed in the correct direction. It was rolling hills through orange groves and there wasn't much traffic to speak of.
There was very little wind in the morning, which was unfortunate because it would have been at our backs the whole way to the first checkpoint/turn-around point. I had 4 bottles of Accelerade and a whole bunch of Gel so I didn't need to stop at the turn-around, just gave them my number and kept moving. I figured I could make it to the second checkpoint (at 80 miles) in about 4 hours and that would be right about when I needed a bottle refill.

The checkpoint only ended up being at the 76 mile point and I was ahead of schedule so it only took 3.5 hours to get there so I ended up with Accelerade to spare. After a quick bottle change I was back of the bike and straight into a headwind. It started off weak and then eventually picked up a little. I ended up riding into it for about the next 10-15 miles or so. I had to keep telling myself not to try and fight it too much because I still had 8.5 hours to ride. The nice thing was that after we made the final turn of the first large loop we got to finish the loop with 5-10 miles of tailwind. After completing the large loop we returned to the entrance to the raceway which would serve as a turn-around point for the shorter 13 mile laps that we would be riding for the rest of the day.

I decided that I would head out for one lap on the 13 mile loop and then do a bike change to a road bike, just to allow myself to stretch and change the muscle groups that I had been using. I used the road bike for the following 2 laps. These 2 laps were a dark time of the race for me. I felt horrible and questioned whether I would even be able to finish. It was at this point that the guy on a recumbent, with whom I was riding earlier in the day came by and reminded me that there were always bad times in ultra cycling events and that I just needed to ride through it and eventually I would feel better. I guess that is true since eventually you will either feel better on the bike or the race will be over and then you will feel better off of the bike.

Then decided that the wind was getting to be too much and that my TT bike was much better suited to the task of the gently rolling course. When I mention that there were hills on the course I feel that I should explain that these are only hills by Florida standards. With a little effort you could ride up them 23-25mpg and were never slowed below 15mph even if you soft pedaled the hill. The wind became a much bigger problem than the hills ever were. The switch back to my TT bike was the last bke switch of the day for me. first, because it was better suited for the job at hand; second, because I didn't want to have to keep changing timing chips between bikes; and third, because I was so tired that my arms felt like Jello and resting them in the aerobars felt nice. After this point I was figuring in my head how many laps I would be able to complete before the end of the race and I was just counting down to the finish. At some point I switched from Accelerade to Gatorade just for some variety and I made the change from all gel to some oranges, bananas and grapes. After 5 short laps I made the decision only to stop every other lap because this saved me some time and it gave me something to look forward to. At one pit stop my mother was dumping water on me to cool me down and I kept yelling at her that it was freezing and she kept answering that it was lukewarm water so I guess my perception of reality was gone by that point. On lap nine I knew that I could easily complete 2 more laps but there was no way I would have enough time for 3 so I rode with a guy on a hand cycle who was out to break the world record for distance in 24 hours. I let him draft off of me for the whole lap but it took longer than expected so I had to hammer the last lap and that would prove to be my downfall. After riding for 11hours and 35 minutes it was in my last 15 minutes of riding that my stomach shut down and it would remain that way for the next day and a half. At the pit after I finished my last lap, I had to have one person hold the bike and another person hold me because I couldn't lift my leg over the bike by myself and I almost did a face plant into the dirt or the palm tree we were standing beside. Waiting just over an hour for the award ceremony was torture because I was nauseated and freezing (in 60* weather, it had cooled down from 85* during the day). I ended up finishing first in my age group and first double diamond frame with a total of 232.5 miles on the day. I don't care if Florida is flat, that is still a long way. It was fun (sort-of) and now it is check off of my to do list. I don't think I'll be attempting anything like this again anytime soon.

(Ahhhhh, finally finished)

Here I am with my great pit crew

Look mom, I won!

Me with professional triathlete Sven Folmer from Australia (he got second place)

****12 hour results
****24 hour results

Race Ready

My bike is ready to race, I don't know if I am.

Now your not alone....

Ok Brian,

Now your no the only one that will be posting ont this site.

Digital Rbel XTi

Today I got my Cannon Digital Rebel XTi in the mail. This is an upgrade from my other camera, the Cannon Digital Rebel. This really has nothing to do with bikes except most of my race pics will probably be taken with it (that makes this post on topic with bikes).
Anyway, less than a week until I race at Sebring, FL. I'm doing the 12 hour race. Since my longest ride this year was only 112 miles and 5.5 hours long, 12 hours may be a bit of a stretch but it should be fun. I'm sure it will make for good stories in nothing else.

19* and sunny

Who says 19 degrees is too cold to ride? I do! I spent 3 1/2 hours riding in it today. I actually started riding away from the sun and at the 4 mile mark of my ride I turned around and headed home. After turning into the sun I warmed up a little, just enough to make me reconsider and turn back around to finish the ride. It was weird because from then on I was never all that cold. It did start to warm up a bit, it was a balmy 30* by the end of the ride. Just because it doesn't snow much in VA and it is possible to ride most of the winter doesn't necessarily mean that you should.

More trainer miles:-(

I was on the trainer for another 2 hours today doing intervals at right below LT power. Start with a 10 minute warm up. Then 8 minutes on/ 2 minutes off and repeat x9. Finally finish it off with one final 10 minute interval and then a 10 minute cool down. I was suffering by the end but hopefully it will help out later on this summer (or even next month with a killer 12 hour effort). Hopefully tomorrow will be outside.

2 hour trainer ride

It was a fairly nice day outside. Very sunny but also very cold so I was inside on the trainer today. It's been a while since I was on the the trainer for 2 consecutive hours (with my trip to Fl helping me get some longer time on the bike). The first hour were intervals and the second hour was just a prolonged steady effort. Isn't it great that a bad day of riding inside on the trainer is still better than a good day doing other stuff. Think happy thoughts, Spring is right around the corner!

2 weeks in Ft. Myers, FL

I just got back Tuesday from being in Florida for 2 weeks. It wasn't really a training camp but it may as well have been. I really had no plans so basically all I did was ride and rest. On Sunday I got to ride the Tour de Cape (tour of Cape Coral). It wasn't a race, it was a 100 mile bicycle tour of the city. Someone should have told everyone else that it wasn't a race. I started in a really fast group and we covered the first 44 miles in 1hr 40min. We had a really nice pace line going until some guys on recumbents got in. The fact that they were was really no problem except that I got stuck behind them in the pace line for about two trips through so I basically had no break from the wind, and POP there I go off the back. Then I was on my own and that was a bad thing because the course wasn't marked correctly. So, I got lost and ended up making a big circle and would have done it again but I ran into another group being led by a police man in a Dodge Charger. I rode with them for a while but they were moving a little too slow for my tastes so I powered on ahead. The Charger stayed with me and the rest of the group was left with another cop on a motorcycle. Then at some point I was joined by another police SUV. So for the last 30 miles I had my very own 2 police car escort. I was really cool, they were stopping traffic at all of the intersections and I got to blow right through. I ended up riding 112 miles in a little over 5 hours. Riding in Florida is alot different. You get to ride faster because of no hills but I sure did miss resting on the downhills. Anyway, It was a great time and I'm ready for my next trip to Florida in February.

62* and sunny in Ft. Meyers

It's 62 degrees and sunny here this morning. Today is supposed to be around 78-80* this afternoon. I've been getting in 50 miles each day I've been here so far. I've done one loop on my TT bike where I just kill myself for the entire thing and then when I get home I get on the road bike and head back for another 25 easy miles with my Dad. The second 25 miles feels really good after the first 25 that are completely miserable.

Happy New Year!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I'm off to Florida on Wednesday for 2 weeks of riding and basic goofing off. Race season starts soon so I hope all of you have been riding. Unless of course you are in any of my races, in which case I hope you haven't been training and have taken up competitive dough nut eating for the off season.

73* and sunny, nice day for a ride!

Today was 73* and sunny in beautiful Waynesboro, VA. I got up early because there is a chance of rain this afternoon. I left at about 9:15a.m. for a ride up to Bridgewater and back. About 58 miles of rolling country side, a little less than 3 hours, 4 bottles of Accelerade, and 1 gel packet later I was home. It was a really nice day for a ride. Not exactly the December I'm used to.

CX video, a must see!

http://ctodd.tv/blog/

Who says getting hit by a car doesn't pay?

Well here it is, my new TT bike. Still getting things adjusted to fit so there will still be many changes coming. Yesterday I was planning on a 60 mile ride to help the fitting process and 10 mile into it my chain snapped. I really wasn't looking forward to the walk home and luckily I didn't have to. I got some great help from Keven Sweeney, a local cyclist. First he offered to go home and get me a chain tool, which was great of him. Unfortunately he had one of those folding chain tools that never seem to work quite right so I couldn't get the chain fixed. Then he offered to drive me home. I got the chain fixed easily once I was at home and had access to my work stand and tools.
Now to a larger issue. It may be difficult to believe but I've had more broken chains this year than flat tires so it's time to add a new tool to my saddle bag.

Trainer ride today

I spent 2 hours on the trainer today on my new TT bike. After words I went outside and realized it was actually about 60* and even with the rain I could have ridden outside quite comfortably. Oh well, the trainer ride was probably a better use of my training time.

November?

I guess it's November but in VA it really doesn't feel like it. It may snow sometime this winter but at this point it sure doesn't feel like it. So anyway, it's been a while since I posted and I just wanted to give a little update. My shoulder is healing and feeling better everyday. Everything is worked out with the insurance company and I should be picking up my new Giant Trinity Alliance on Saturday. This winter my training will consist of steady state trainer rides on my days of work and long outdoor rides on my days off, at least until the weather turns bad. In January I'll be heading to FL to visit my parents and have a make-shift 2 week training camp. That's right, 2 weeks of nothing but long rides and recovery, with some weight training and swimming thrown in just for fun. Racing season will start early in 2008 since I'm planning on doing the Sebring 24 hour race in February, also in FL. It's a RAAM qualifier but I have absolutely no desires to ever attempt that one. I'll post pics of my new bike as soon as I pick it up;-)

Praise God! Not so good day on the bike

Well, you know how people say, "I feel like I've been run over by a car", I only say that because it actually happened. I was out for a 63mile ride today and was 51miles into it when a gray Hyundai ran a stop sign and I smashed into the side of it. I flipped over the handlebars and landed on my shoulder. So there I was lying in the middle of the road clutching my arm and checking to make sure all of my parts are still around. I eventually crawled to the side of the road and started checking my collar bone to see if it was broken. It wasn't, but still hurt. After seeing the EMTs and the State policeman I eventually made it home. Now comes the long process of trying to get things replaced by the insurance company. The strange thing is that my most distinct memory of the accident is when my helmet hit the ground, the sound and feeling of the helmet crushing and absorbing the impact and saving my life. God is truly wonderful.

Columbus Day

Monday wasn't a very happy Columbus Day for me. I had the great idea that I should do my best impression of Columbus and explore new worlds, or at least some new roads/trails. I went out on my CX bike for what I thought would be a 3 hour ride on a rather cool day. The unexplored trail turned out to be much longer than I had originally thought and wasn't really even fit for a Mt. bike let alone a cross bike. While on the trail I flipped over the handle bars one time too many and ended up hurting my left shoulder and wrist. Another problem was that it turned out being much hotter than expected and my ride took 4 hours instead of 3 so I was extremely dehydrated by the time I got home. I also screwed up my cross bike in the process. Since I now have no bike and an aching wrist and shoulder I decided to skip Ironcross V, which was going to be my last major race of the season. Now I'm going to start focusing on some longer rides to get ready for the Sebring 24 hour race in February. Tomorrow I'm going to do a 70 mile ride on my TT bike. I've never ridden a TT bike that far before but I suppose if I'm going to ride one for 24 hours I better start sometime.:-)