Crit racing is fun...

This is a video of a criterium race we did a couple of weeks ago. I came in second place. Fun stuff.

Sunday Criterium Race...

Did a criterium on Sunday and it was the first time I have ever won any money at an event! I came in second behind my buddy Billy and raked in $300 cash combined!  It was a good race, and we planned it out perfectly.  Before the race we did a rundown on what we were going to do.... I told Billy that right off the bat we sprint to the front to get position and dictate the pace, CHECK!  Then our plan was to try and drop as many people as we could then level out the pace so it can be safer... After 3 laps it was just me, Billy and one strong kid left.  We worked together and eventually lapped everyone more than twice!  We felt strong. 40 minutes later of pulling and rotating, Billy took the sprint as I secured Second place trying to block out the kid.  Great race!

I even won a helmet on a prime lap!

Raced this weekend, wind fights back...

The dreaded highway 48!

Well Saturday I went out to Brownsville for my second race in the valley. It was going to be a 54 mile suffer fest that I signed up and paid for.  I should have figured something out when I started hearing guys signing up for the Intermediate category that should have run open. I signed up for open anyways, I came out here to race and getting a beating on the road will only make me a better faster cyclist.  Well the pain began from mile 1, these guys are no joke, they start attacking doing 34 mph speeds.  I took my place upfront to try and catch any attack I could cause these guys take off from the way back and by the time they get to the front, I only have to haul for a couple of seconds.  That worked out great until we got to highway 48, all the pulling I had done finally took its toll on me.. I felt great one second and the next second I was dying.  At that point they did three quick attacks and we hit two hills.. On the second hill I popped.  Thats all she wrote,  I tried to latch on but my heart was going crazy...  I just made my own group of people and we brought it in at a normal pace....   Hey I'm new to racing, and there are lots of strategy that needs to be done....I'll figure it out soon!

Mid-Valley Crits - It's getting good...

This weeks crits were very fun having one of the largest beginner groups to date. We have started something big. We got a few visitors wanting to check it out before taking a dip.  Next week things should be even bigger.  I felt  good on the crit yesterday, this video shows me in action. I'm the larger dude lol... Hey I give it all I got!

Here is the video of the beginners in action. If you have a chance to get your feet wet in racing, it will make you even more addicted to the sport!

Mid-Valley Crits - I think we started something big...

So that little idea we had on our trip home from a race in San Antonio has really took off... We just wanted to get together to do a little mock criterium so we could get used to taking the turns and accelerating but now it has become a event of it's own.  These are the kind of things I love to do.... Make and impact, Make others get out there and get into something fun, this is a good example of what a little bit of action can do. We are getting more and more people to show up at our little Tuesday rides.  We are on our third week hosting the event and we are getting more spectators, more racer, more divisions.  I set up a Facebook account to let everyone know when we have events, I make sure to get video of the events, I even bring my sound system so people can experience the atmosphere that others have up state.  I think we are doing something great for our local cycling community.  I even give credit to this ride for my recent PR on the time trial.  Doing a 30 min crit is the same as doing a 30 min interval.  It has made my heart get used to the abuse of hammering hard.  Tonight is the third one, let's see how things turn out!!!!!

Another PR at the Time Trial...

How can it be?  How can I keep getting faster?.... These TT show exactly that. Every month I have been getting new personal records on my time.  Am I stronger, am I working harder, am I in better shape.... Well yes... I think I earned this new record, it was the hardest I have gone of the three. I felt good even though the day before I had the Mercedes Race.  My legs were in sync with my breathing and I took off at an ever increasing pace.  All this work is paying off.  My heart rate is beginning to follow at a speed that my body want to preform.  Before now I could only go as high as 164 bpm HR, now it is maintaining at 178 which is helping me pump the power through my veins! lol  I ended up with a time of 24.15!  Awesome feeling!  Goal for next month.....under 24!  Will I do it..... YES!!!!

When you set goals, it's not about the goal at end, it's about all the things you need to do to get there that will make you the man you want to be!!!!

Jalapeño 100 done...

Wind. Heat. Lots of work. 100 miles done.

 The day started off real nice, not like last year where it was wet and muggy.  Last year my truck got stuck in the mud as we were parking in the field.  This year it was nice and dry, the wind was already blowing but not that bad.  I knew that as the day went by, the wind will get a bit tougher.

Everyone was ready at the starting line. Waiting to do 100 miles. Waiting to take on hours of wind, sun, and more wind.  What are we thinking? lol  Well off we went, I had decided to go with the fast group with Sergio before the ride and we took off.  I was in a group with lots of Wally's Group riders so I just stayed in the group not noticing that Sergio had left with a group that was in front.  By the time I saw that he was not there I saw that they were a good distance away so I said to myself maybe we will speed up a bit and catch them later one.  That was not the case, we took an easy pace and cruised along. I was not disappointed because I would rather take a nice 100 than a 100 where I would be dead at end lol...  Slowly the large group I was in started to break apart leaving only the stronger riders.  Me and a couple of cycling buddies, Karen and Lauren, had to push hard to catch the faster group ourselves because we were the only ones left.  These are some strong girls pulling at 23 against the wind is some speed that some guys can't even do.  I managed to help them out doing my fair share of pulling to catch up to a bigger group where we could rest.  Later on we left that group too and took the rest of the way back on our own picking up another Wally rider, Pepe, and Wally himself whom was on mile 145 of his 200 mile journey that day!!!   It took us a good 5 hours and 28 minutes to finish my second Jalapeno 100 which shatters last years time almost in half!!!!  GOOD TIMES!

 Cindy and Justin ready to get riding. They finished their second 100 30 minutes faster than her last time.

 Arlene ready to attempt her first 100.  She did 60 mile which is still an awesome feat.

Adrian finished his first 100 miles!~

Wally's Bike Shop Hell of the South Race...

Jan 2, 2011 -  Just the second day of the year and we started it off with a bang!  This was one of the wildest races that there is going to be in the coming years in the Rio Grande Valley.  It consists of paved roads, dirt road, pot hole caliche pits, sand and everything in between.  50 Miles of HELL!  Made for one hell of a ride! This was the first race made by Wally's bike shops owner to test the grounds for a new classic that he wants to introduce to everyone next year. He made it invitation based only this year.  Very well planned with Sag vehicles and a great meal after the race back at the shop.  The race started off in a standard peloton cruising down the paved roads. We did not know what to expect once we reached the caliche roads so I just wished it was like I had envisioned, a nice smooth hard packed dirt road.....

OHHHH! How I was wrong. Once we hit the dirt roads, I freaked out! My poor baby was getting thrashed. Felt like I was riding on rail road tracks over and over and over!  We got the sense of how it feels like going through the cobbles in the Tour de France.  I immediately just slowed down a bit trying to avoid the bigger rocks in order to keep from getting a flat.  After a while I just said screw it! I got to get through this and when I would go faster the bumps felt lessened.

This was when I really had to work to get back to the group, I had dropped a considerable distance.  I just kept on pedaling, passing another rider that had flattened out I just hoped my tires would last.

This was a tough section of dirt and sand in which you would lose control for a bit.  At this point I would hear rocks hitting my frame and rocks would get stuck in my breaks making loud grinding noises. 

Finally I caught up to a couple of racers.  Wally and Sergio.  It was a good ride after this since we started to share the load of pulling making a nice echelon.  Here Sergio shows that he does not know that when told to go straight, it means to go straight not turn! lol

We hit it hard. Making mountains look like speed bumps! Here we are tackling a 15 percent grade rise! Well it was the highest climb we did over a canal... The valley is verrrry flat.

On the turn around Wally and I stopped to check out that wicked noise that my rear tire was making. We figured that it was the hub bearings that were jacked.  In the background you can see my riding partner Sergio taking off, WOW could not wait a bit to help a fellow rider! lol

Sergio tried hard to drop me but as we all know I am a beast on the bike and I easily made up the time he had gained on me.  Sergio is here seen suffering the sandy roads huffing and puffing wishing he had a person to draft off of.

Caught up to Sergio and we took off again, trying to catch up to the two leaders ahead of us.  In this picture

you see me making Sergio work a bit. If I always pull I would just be hurting him, he needs to work too in order to be as fast as me.

We took it in in third place after one heck of a ride. Great start to another great year.  Get ready because now the training begins.  I have put in the miles in the off season, now it's time to work harder on losing more weight and building up the leg speed!   ooh and I just poke fun at Serg, he is a great rider but he is the first to read this blog lol

Fiesta Marathon Spectator...

Running a marathon is a goal in which many runners strive to attain.  Spending months and months of doing training runs in order to build a good base to finish the 26.2 mile punishment.  Not many people can say that they have finished a whole marathon, only a dedicated few.   Well today I went to my first marathon and well.... I did not run it lol....I am not crazy!!! lol

I have always said that I hated running, I have never been good at it.  I take horribly short steps, my ankles hurt, my back becomes tense and for some reason I can not control my breathing.  I'm just like a fat kid grasping for air when I run...plus when ever I do run it is usually at a track and it is not always the most fun filled experience. Well I know that all I need is training and miles on my legs to get on the ball, and it is something that I can do.  I have alway had that fear of not wanting to.  Well I'm gonna make a commitment to my buddies that next year I will be running out there with them.  I will at least take a leg of the relay and make it worth the run.  Not gonna say I will run a marathon anytime soon but who knows...

Today I went to support Cindy, Billy, and Sergio as they attempted the Mixed Relay Marathon, where each one would take a leg of the marathon and hand the baton off to the next runner.

Billy started it off finishing close to the front of the pack

Cindy ran the longest 4.8 miles in her life.

The second exchange

Serge always means serious business!

Serge taking the last turn before the finish line