Crystal Cup 3/4 Race Report

So....It took nearly two days to recover from the slaughter fest that was the Crystal Cup. Did they actually give away a crystal cup? Well I wouldn't know as I was in the car heading home before the race finished.

Normally I would rant about how much it sucks getting dropped from a race, but I won't. Instead I would like to report on the really cool things that happened before, during and after the race.

1. I got to meet my cycling hero Rahsaan Bahati. Getting the "good luck bro" before the start of the 3/4 race was pretty damn cool. It might have gave me the extra juice to hang on the group for a lap more than expected.

2. Hanging out and watching the pro's slay each other around the course before our race was damn cool as well. Not the finish I was hoping for. Since the whole Dana Point crash, I've not been a fan of the United Healthcare team and their tactics. Kinda sad to see Bahati without a team. Impossible for him to challenge the United sprint train...I digress.

3. The course. I love fast technical courses. The turns were tight and the group was killing it on the long straight into the finish. At one point I may have hit 30 and the group was riding away. There were two points on the course where I really lost it. The back straight after turn 2 was crucial to be out of the wind. I never found a good wheel to get on. The long run in to the finish was crucial as well. I just don't have the leg speed just yet to hang on to the pack for more than a few turns. We did have a sweet 180 degree turn and some bumps on the road. I had a couple of sweet bunny hops.

4. The fans! It was nice seeing all the fans that stuck around after the pro's to cheer on the amateurs and the women.

5. The heat. Nothing like slugging it out in 90 degree temps.

Well can't wait for the next crit. Looks like it's gonna be the Reston Grand Prix.

I love bike racing!

Adam

Is There Nothing More To Believe In?

The following quote is attached to my signature box through Gmail. As I got the news this morning about the Landis confession to doping, it all came back to this quote from Lance Armstrong...
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
Will the "confession" crack the univeral moral fabric of our existance? Will clergy denouce their faith? Will kids stop believing in Santa Clause? Will O.J. just admit he did it? Of course not..According to the Mayans, none of these things will happen until 2012.
ANYWAYS. So here is what is going to happen over the next couple of weeks...
1. There will be a long series of carefully worded denials from those implicated.
2. Lawyer up! I am an attorney and I hope someone calls me. Lawsuits will be filed and insane legal fees incurred by those accusing and those accused. It's all good for the economy right?
3. If there are teams out there that were close to inking deals with major sponsors, uh sucks for you....
4. Non-cycling fans and media outlets that never cover cycling will weigh in and sound stupid.
5. If you are a reporter at the Tour of California, don't even try asking riders questions about it. They won't comment.
So what do I think? Well I am not surprised. I had this story about 2 years ago. My good friend Joe Praino got the scoop at the Tour de Georgia back in 2008. While out at a local bar in Atlanta at the conclussion of the race, Joe had drinks with a certain German sprinter who rode with Floyd at Phonak. While under the influence of alcohol this certain German sprinter admitted matter of factly that Floyd had doped in the Tour. I know it's not the most reliable source, but it turned out to be true.
I don't own a high horse, so I am going to give Floyd the benifit of the doubt. I am happy he is coming forward with his story. I am looking forward to hearing more from him. I look forward to arguing with my friends about it. I look forward to ranting on my blog about it. I look forward to ranting on the podcast about it.
So now all of the sudden my press pass for the Tour of California just exploded in value. Can't wait to get to the circus!
Adam

Race Report: Murad Road Race, Bunny Hop Criterium

It's damn hot. Tarzan couldn't take hot like this.

If you remember the movie Biloxi Blues, you know this quote. If you know the movie and you raced this weekend, you are probably laughing your ass off right now.


Michael Murad Memorial Road Race; Poolesville, MD
I had no expectations going into Murad. It's a road race. I don't like road races. It's 48 miles and the longest ride I have this season under my belt is 50. Throw in 90 degree heat with 70 percent humidity and you have the perfect recipe for destruction. Only saw a few of the crit guys.
I figured I would give it a go. After all, I am obsessed with bike racing and I never turn away the chance to pin a number on.
The race started with the group waiting in the sun for the whistle to blow. What was only about 4 minutes felt like an hour. We were baking like roasting pigs. The whistle blew, and we were off. The pace was high and the roads were a bit bumpy. I felt good for the first lap, but slowly started going into the red on the second lap. The group surged at one point, and like a Tyson punch, I was out. Instead of suffering another lap with other dropped riders, I packed it up and went home. I figured I didn't want to burn any matches for the Bunny Hop Crit the next day.
It wasn't until the next day that I heard about the horse that came out on the course. Weird...

Bunny Hop Criterium; Suitland, MD
I was very excited about this race. It's the type of course that suits my ability at this point in my fitness level. I have really been struggling to make the adjustment to being a Cat 4. The leap and learning curve has been much steeper than expected. Some races, I do well (Chantilly, Vint Hill) some races I do terrible (Murad,Tysons).
The Bunny Hop crit had a weird feel to it. Again the heat was a killer. On the way to the race, I didn't see any cars with bikes. Usually, while traveling to a local race, you can spot a few other racers on the way. Granted I was driving through, SE DC, so the likelyhood of me seeing cyclists was low, but it still was strange.
My girlfriend Kate and I arrived together and I started my routine. Pin the number, warm up, drink some water, bathroom ect... It was nice having my teammate Reb there racing with me. I was sporting my new Oakley Jawbones with the Gold Fire Iridium lenses. So gangsta....
We went out for a couple of laps for a warm up, and the course was very bumpy. Loose gravel in the turns and holes everywhere. Not a course I felt good racing my nice carbon wheels on.
The race started fast as usual, but I felt good in the group. I knew we were cooking pretty hard the first few laps, but we slowed into most of the corners. I began thinking of my strategy for the race. I figured I would hide out and really start to move up with 4 to go. I was feeling good. So where did it all go wrong?
About half way though the race, I knew I was in trouble. The road was so bumpy, and we were so tight, and the lines were so unpredictable I couldn't reach for my bottle with any confidence. Every lap guys were bunny hopping holes. Like an Indy car driver, I knew I was doomed to run out of fuel. When those Indy cars run out of gas they come to an abrupt stop. It was the same for me. 5 to go and my body quit on me. I ended up on the side of the road laying on the ground in pain. I know this sport is about suffering, but this was bad.
I had a couple of moments when I thought to myself, I never want to do this again. It's embarrassing getting blown out the back of races. Especially when most people know you from a T.V. show. Why am I killing myself for 30th place? Then I woke up this morning, jumped on bikereg.com, Gamjams.net and all of my favorite race sites looking for the next adventure.
I love bike racing.....

Race Reports: Vint Hill, Walkersville, Tysons, Chantilly

Whew, I've got a lot of catching up to do. Lot's of racing over the last month or so. The local racing scene is really heating up. Great races every weekend. This is my first official season as a Cat 4 racer and it feels good to have the upgrade...well sort of.

Let's get this started.

Vint Hill Classic - This course is one of my favorite courses to race on. I did the 540 Development Series races on this course last year with a couple of really good results. It's a classic 2km course with a nice little uphill kicker about 200 meters from the finish.
The race started off pretty fast, and it was clear that the bunch wanted to shell as many riders as they could in the beginning of the race. I was able to find a couple of good wheels to draft on, but it was clear to me early, that this would be a race that I would just hang on to the bunch until the finish. I found a good wheel to hang onto and survived to the finish with the pack.
The biggest lesson learned in this race was to move up to the middle of the group for the good draft. Also I was WAY overgeared going into the turns. Crit racers always sprint out of the turns, and I was in too heavy a gear to stick with the group.
FINISH - Group finish somewhere in the 30's (100 starters)
Here is a video of my race. You can see me about 14:40 into the video.

Vint Hill Crit1 Cat4-5 2010 from Marcus Floro on Vimeo.

Tour of Walkersville - 40 mile road race out in Walkersville MD. The course had about 650 ft of climbing each 8 mile lap. Not typically a course that favors my style of riding, but I need the conditioning and my teammate Joe Praino talked me into it. Joe unfortunately flatted 2 miles into the race and I was left on my own to suffer.
The race blew up after the second crash in the field, and I found myself stuck behind the crash as 24 riders went up the road. I got into a chase group of about 10 riders. There were only 3 of us that wanted to do any work, so we shelled the other 7 riders from the group and I was stuck with 2 riders from Syn Fit who worked together to drop me with about 7 miles left in the race. I ended up finishing the race solo and totally spent.
The biggest lesson learned in this race was to hydrate! I should have consumed 2 bottles. I only went through half of one. Not good.
FINISH - I finished 27th out of 49 starters. Not bad for a course with a lot of climbing.

Tysons Corner Circuit Race - This is a brutal circuit race out in Tyson's Corner. The course is a boring oval with a nasty 800 meter 7% grade climb to the finish. The prospect of hitting this climb 20 times with the group was terrifying. I did this race in 2009 and got lapped by the field. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to doing this race 1 day after Walkersville and now in a new category.
As I predicted, I got shelled pretty early. I wasn't really that bothered by it. I hung in for about 4 laps, then my legs went dead. I am pretty sure I was pretty spent from the day prior racing. My heart rate never hit higher than 160. Chalk this race up to good training.
FINISH - DNF

RGS Chantilly Criterium - New race for me out in Chantilly, VA. The course was a dead flat 1 mile loop with 2 90 degree turns. Dream course for me. I would have liked it to be a bit more technical, but it was a nice course.
The weather was pretty decent. The wind was kicking pretty hard and I wasn't sure if using the carbon wheels was going to be an option.
I got in a good warmup with my team on the trainer. I used a new warm-up workout that got me ready pretty quick. 5 min steady state, 2 min fast pedal, 1 min rest, 1 min max, 1 min rest, 1 min max, 2 min rest.
Got to the start line and the race official said there would be a preme on the FIRST LAP! That is nuts and a guarantee that the race would start off fast and hectic. Much to my surprise the pack stayed together pretty nicely. I found the sweet spot in the pack and stayed out of the wind most of the race. I had a teammate up on the front keeping an eye on the attacks so it was all good.
I knew the race would pick up with 3 or 4 to go and it did. My teammate Gregg was doing some good work and we re-grouped with 2 to go. I really felt like I had super legs and found myself in perfect position coming into the last lap. I had a moment of hesitation on the back stretch going into the last turn and lost my good position. For some reason I didn't have the confidence to make an attack. I had the legs, but not the confidence yet. Oh well. Now I know I can challenge for top 10's in these type of races. Bunny Hop Criterium is next up. I am going to be ready for that one!
FINISH - 41 out of 80 starters.

Getting Dropped For Dummies

Alright settle down folks, class is in session. If you are here for Getting Dropped 101, you are in the right place.

If you find yourself asking the following three questions before your next race, you might want to move to the front row and take good notes.
1. Does anyone know what the average speed is in this race?
2. Do you think I need a triple or compact cassette?
3. Are you really a Cat 5 racer?

Now getting dropped doesn't only happen in bike races. I've been fortunate enough to experience it in other walks of life as well. Note the following experiences:
1. My first girlfriend dropped me when she found out the mixtape I made her had another girls name on it.
2. At the gym the guy next to me on the bench press kept adding weight to his bar trying to out lift me. I didn't know half-wheeling happened in the gym. Needless to say he dropped me by about 50 lbs.
3. The middle school lunch room. My family moved a lot. Starting 7th grade in the middle of the year sucked. Having braces, high water jeans, a Capri Sun backpack, and Michael Jackson Thriller t-shirt = Table for One. Nothing like getting dropped in the lunch room.

In order to truly understand the fine art of being dropped in a bike race, you need to understand and anticipate the critical moments just before the actual drop.
Most riders actually get dropped weeks before they actually race. Here are the pre-race instructions for getting dropped.

1. Sign up for a race twice as long as you have ever been on a training ride.
2. Tell yourself that 4 weeks is more than enough time to train.
3. Two weeks out repeat step 2 and replace the 4 with a 2.
4. The week leading up to the race, frantically scour the internet for race reports on the race. Pay special attention to whether you can "big ring" the climbs.
5. Get sick, miss a few days of training, and find something wrong with the position on your bike. Getting the excuses ready early never hurts.

Ok so now it's race day. You have all of your excuses lined up. Maybe you thought of a few others on the car ride to the race. Pay close attention to the following.
1. Position yourself at the back of the group at the start line. Misery loves company. It's a motley crew of riders at the back of the start. It's usually a nice mix of sandbaggers and fellow droppees. (I know that's not a word)
2. Thank the race officials for volunteering their time, especially the ref on the motorcycle. When he passes you later in the race, you don't want him riding too close to you.
3. Attack early. Right at the start attack hard. The group will let you go, because they know you don't stand a chance. It makes for a good photo opportunity.
4. When you see that last wheel start to ride into the distance and your fate is sealed, you have two options. You can either pull over and toss your bike with your best David Millar impression, or you can slog your way to the finish not making any eye contact with spectators.
5. Look out for photographers. Especially ones that write blogs about being dropped.
6. When you get home post pictures of your race and tell your friends that the pictures of you getting dropped are actually photos of you in a daring solo break.

There is no shame in being dropped. It is a right of passage. I will leave you with the following..."I didn't get dropped, I just discovered a bunch of new ways to get shelled off the back of the pack"

The Classics Gods Must Be Crazy

The Classics. Roubaix & Flanders.

The tales of suffering and epic rides are told in ways that as years pass they age into mythical stature.

Boonan, Cancellara, Devolder, Hincapie, Pozzato, Gilbert, and Flecha. Each of these brave souls battling for dominion over the stones of Roubaix and Flanders. Each rider granted a unique set of skill to unleash on the other on the harshest stage imaginable. Lessor riders scratching and clawing for a piece of glory, only to be left in the gutters of the Belgian burgs, blood stained but applauded by drunken crowds for their valiant efforts.

Do the gods show favor to certain riders? Myth has it that the gods would reach from the clouds and turn the events in favor of the warriors they adored. Ah but not for these modern warriors. Fate shows no bias in this arena. (Unless you are George Hincapie)

Warriors of Flanders, Sunday you dine in hell.

The Mellow Classic Experience

If Lance tweets it, they will come...

Lance Armstrong invited 700 of his closest friends to a mountain bike party in his backyard. How could I NOT go?

Welcome to Austin, Texas. 2 months of training and one practice race under my belt. I made the pilgrimage from Virginia to Texas with my mountain biking partner Kelly. The bikes made it without any problems and we were geared up and ready for a fun weekend of riding and racing.

Austin is my kind of town. Good food, great music, fun people, and good biking. They should have pearly gates outside the airport as you enter the city. Ok, let me stop with the Austin love fest...But really, the city is dope.

The trip started with a visit to Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop. I've been waiting for this moment for over a year now. A bike shop owned by Lance Armstrong that sells all of my favorite stuff? Wow! It is the ultimate adult toy store. After I dropped enough money to qualify for a down payment on the place, I went for coffee. Of course the shop has it's own cafe' aptly named Juan Pelota's. As I was sipping my coffee, I noticed Taylor Phinney looking at magazines right behind me. What kind of place has Olympians/World Champions walking around so casually? Wow. A little later, Ironman Kona runner up Chris Lieto strolls in. If Lance tweets it, they will come.

On to the biking. We made the 45 minute trip out to the ranch affectionately known as Juan Pelota's Ranch. Texas slang for "one ball". The sun did not manage to come out and the rain was steady leading up to the pre-ride on Saturday. I didn't think it was gonna be that bad. I spent a couple of good days with Kelly destroying our bikes in the mud here in VA. No problem. Then we got out on the race course. I've only had a few moments where I've been scared on the bike. I wanted a diaper after the pre-ride. I was expecting a lot of climbing, so that didn't surprise me. The sharp rocks, steep drop-off's, wicked limestone climbs, and wet conditions were spectacular. Did I mention there was a section of Pave'? Not Roubaix, but cool nonetheless. Post pre-ride and I felt like I went to battle with every rock and tree stump on the course. I stopped frequently to try to take in as much of the experience as possible. I left thinking, how on earth are we gonna race this course?


Race day. I went through most of my pre-race routines. Soft music mixed with some Rage Against the Machine right before the start. This was nothing like the road races and criteriums I did this year. I had become very comfortable and confident in those races often attacking and feeling like I could win. In this race I felt like a total rookie. More like a freshman waiting to get thrown in a locker or have his books knocked out of his hands.

My strategy was going to be to go as hard as I could at the start and get to the singletrack in the first group. It worked in my last race, so I figured I would go for it. There were 42 racers in my category. Normally racers just come to the line in whatever order they want. Fast guys go to the front, beginners stay at the back. I was planning on getting close to the front. In this race, the starter had a roll call. Names were randomly called and racers lined up. This wasn't like grade school where I was always first. I think there might have only been 4 or 5 guys that were called after me. Back row and it sucked. Oh well, I get to pick riders off. Sometimes I ride better with people to chase.

The whistle went off and it was a slow messy start. Lot's of mud and a slight uphill. Eventually the race settled into a long snake of riders leading into the first singletrack section. Traffic jam. The slick uphill singletrack left riders jumping off their bikes and running. I'm not so good with the hike and bike technique. In retrospect, I should have spent more time on the treadmill and less time on my bike training.

After some frustrating moments, I settled into a good groove. I took some of the hairy limestone drop off's without blinking and felt great on the climbs. I was in a group of about 5 riders. At about mile 3, I started to notice my foot sliding in the pedal. Not good.

I got to a tough limestone step up, slipped, tried to clip out, and my foot was stuck in the pedal. Luckily I got the other foot out before I fell over. I've had trouble with shoe cleats before. I knew what was happening. The cleat was coming loose and was sticking to the pedal. I made it another mile without problem, and then as I began to catch a few slower riders there was a back up at a tough climb and I couldn't clip out. That was when I fell. And of course I fell on the worse side possible. The side that my foot was stuck in the pedal. I couldn't get up! I lost at least 5 minutes trying to get myself up. My race was over.

Charles Darwin once said "it's not the strongest of the species that survives, but the one that's most responsive to change". It was at this point in the race, that I gave up on racing, and turned to finishing/surviving. After managing to pull myself up with a tree branch, I was determined to finish. I could no longer get my foot clipped back in the pedal. The rest of the course was gonna be hard without clipping in. I managed to make my way through.

The last climb to the finish was tough. Not physically, but mentally. It was a climb I knew I could be strong on, but the race had passed me by, and I was left to struggle with one foot clipped in. I crossed the finish line totally dejected. I guess I should have been proud of finishing considering how many people didn't finish the race. (One Lance Armstrong dropping out after a flat) I literally finished with one leg. It's hard to believe I finished 34 out of 42 riders.

I really felt bad after the race. I have crazy mixed up feelings about the race in retrospect. It was one of the coolest events I have been a part of. At the same time, one of the biggest competitive disappointments. I was happy to hear Lance is thinking of doing a spring race. I must return and exact my revenge on that course.

Well now it is officially the off-season. There are a few mountain bike races in Florida in January that I might race. But for the most part it is going to be long cold rides on my road bike with some mountain biking on the weekends. I'll get some good time in the gym as well.

Looking back, I had a good season. 27 races. 2 top ten finishes. No serious injuries. Met a lot of good people along the way.

Next year is going to be......epic.