crashes, dirt roads and golf ball size hail

My week of traveling and racing came to a close this past weekend. It actually ended a lot earlier than i had planned and it didn't even come close to the way i had hoped it would go. The much anticipated Nature Valley Grand Prix pretty much turned out to be a big black mark on my racing for 2006, at least that's how it feels anyway. I was coming off a pretty exciting week. Philly was good to me. Even though i should have had a better result, it felt good to finish that race and know I rode a solid race with some of the best in the world. Fast forward to the first stage of Nature Valley which happened to be a 5 mile flat TT.

I was scrambling last minute trying to find anything remotely aero i could throw on me or my bike. I did end up using a disc rear wheel, a tri spoke aero front and a freaking aero as it gets LASER TT helmet. See the picture attached. NO I AM NOT SMILING, I am hurting. The TT wasn't as bad as i thought but it still didn't feel good. I finished up 69th out of 133. Since it was only my 2nd TT of the year I wasn't too disappointed. I figured there was plenty of racing left in the week to make up GC spots.

Boy was i wrong, the second stage of the race was a RR in Cannon Falls, MN. Nobody really had any information on this race. It was a new addition from last year. I went into the race feeling confident and not worried at all. The race started out on a QOH (queen of the hills). The pace went from the get go but i was sitting comfortably in the pack. I had even moved up to the top 20 or so. Shortly after the 10 mile mark, someone on the left side of the pack did something stupid and caused a huge pile up. Unfortunately I was on the wrong side of the pack and got caught right in the middle. I did not go down but had to unclip and maneuver around people on the ground. By the time i got through and looked up the road, Webcor had attacked and a group of 20 were way off the front. This led to one hell of a strung out train trying to catch. Not only was it so freaking windy but everyone was gutter riding AND there was a 2 mile stretch of dirt and gravel road that the race proceeded through. Somewhere during the crash or right after I tweaked my hamstring. While we were riding as hard as we could i began to feel a sharp pain in my left hamstring. Shortly after that i could barely turn the pedals over. I was not generating any power. It was the worst feeling. I have not felt anything like that yet this year. I pulled out of the train and let most the riders go past. I had to stop or at least slow down and get a grip on what i was feeling. After the feed zone which was 27 miles in I hooked up with a group that was chugging along at a pace that was tolerable. I knew that out here on the prairie with no help we would more than likely not make the time cut. The last 30 miles were miserable. My only motivation was to get off the bike and go lay down. This was definitely my lowest point of the season. Once I arrived at the finish I went straight to the medic tent to have my hammy checked. This place was more popular than the finish line. So many riders were lined up waiting to have medical attention. It made me mad. WHY does every race seem to have a bad crash and why do we keep racing knowing that we are going to crash? I really needed some time off. Time off i got.

I was time cut from the race. The next morning i went to TRIA medical center and had an MRI done on my hamstring. I was praying I did not tear a ligament. That would have been worse case scenario. Instead I got a report of a strained hamstring with fluid around it. The doc said it needed rest, ice and stretching. Since i was out of the race i was sure i would have plenty of time to do those things.

Nothing is harder than being at a race and not being able to be in the race but if i had to pick one stage I am glad i got to miss, it was the downtown Minneapolis criterium on friday night. As the girls were warming up on their trainers all the sudden the skies opened up and a huge storm blew in. This wasn't your typical storm. The streets were filled with water and golf ball size hail began to fall. Lucky me i had just made a visit to the beer tent. I figured the only was i could handle the agony of this horrid weather and not racing was to numb myself with a few beers. Great idea. I found it most humorous that i didn't have to go diving into corners with the fastest girls in America on that Friday night. In retrospect i look back and wish i could have been there.

It's now Wed. There is a local crit going on in Nashville tonight. It's the www.nashvillecyclist.com crit series. It's a great way to get that midweek intensity and hang out with some cool bike people. I am feeling better. The hamstring injury is not as bad as i first thought. I did discover today that I rode with my saddle 1 INCH, THAT IS HUGE, too low for philly and nature valley. I knew something wasn't right...

I also received my new BLUE Time Trial frame today. Go to www.rideblue.com and check out the T12 and see what you will now see me on. I am in serious training for TT and Road nationals which take place on July 6 and 8th in Seven Springs, PA. Took a couple of days off and now it's back to the bike with a new improved attitude.













Here are some pics that were on cyclingnews.com from the nature valley grand prix while i made my short race appearance. DON'T laugh at my TT helmet. I borrowed it from a CANADIAN. She couldn't help it! The announcer for the race said it was the fanciest aero helmet of the day! The one where my head is buried, well yeah I am probably crying at this point in the race or pretending to so the photographer wouldn't take my picture but he did anyway.