Joe Martin Stage 3

Racing bikes (and to an extent, participating in any sport) is like being a character in a movie. The opening credits are filled with pageantry and custom. There's an explosive beginning, followed by a complicated middle, and a ferocious ending. There's a setting, and there are protagonists, but the twists and turns of the story aren't known until they happen. There's danger and excitement and tragedy and triumph, often in rapid succession. Sometimes, very rarely, you're the main character in the movie, and you win the race. Sometimes you're a supporting actor, and play a major role. Sometimes you're a victim of fate, and meet an untimely end. Sometimes (and for me usually), you're just an extra, a face in the crowd, one body among many, someone who makes the story believable, but doesn't really tell the story. Sometimes you're aware of your role before the finish, and other times you don't know until the end.

In yesterday's stage 3 of the Joe Martin Stage Race, my role in the movie took a wild swing a mere kilometer from the finish line. After a day filled with fetching water, covering moves, and shepherding sprinters over climbs (and loaning them my gloves), I found myself with the best chance I've ever had to win an NRC field sprint, and Team Exergy's best hope for a result. All day long, we knew it was a day for Logan -- he's one of the fastest men in the country, and his mental toughness and hunger for victory are second to none. Once we got over the final climb on the final lap, my teammates and I did our best to attack the field, and keep Logan in position. Three k's out, I wasn't where I needed to be, but the road was wide, and I had a match or two left to burn, so my teammate Matt and I made one final push for the pointy end of the peloton. Just as we pulled alongside the Bissell lead-out train -- a touch of wheels -- and down they went, nearly all of them, like an invisible bowler made a perfect strike. I'll let Krogg take it from here:


HOLY SHIT THAT HUGE CRASH! LOOK LIKE TSUNAMI OF BICYCLIST CAME CRASHING DOWN ON MAINLAND. Krogg no slow down at all. Lucky caveman! Whoah -- Krogg find self in staggeringly good position with 1 kilometer left in race. Krogg get on wheel of few remaining bike racers nearby. Krogg think "oh shit, Krogg must sprint for win." Oh boy, Krogg see finish line. Time to sprint! THEN KROGG SPRINT! 


300 METERS: KROGG WIN RACE!!! 
   200 METERS: KROGG WIN RACE!!! 
      100 METERS: Krogg hear someone come around...KROGG GET SECOND! 
         50 METERS: Krogg think "300 meters too long for caveman sprint" and blow head gasket on heart and lung motor. 
             20 METERS: uh oh -- several other wheel come around Krogg. Krogg top ten?


Finish 6th. Not bad, but Exergy cavemen here to win race. Not get 6th. 


Krogg replay sprint in head 1,000 times. Stupid caveman! Why you no look around before start sprint?! Why you get impatient and start sprint with 300 meters?! Why you look to sides so close to line -- JUST PUT HEAD DOWN, GRIT TEETH, AND SPRINT! Look around after finish line. 


Krogg happy for 6th place, but sad Logan crash with sprinters. Were Logan in Krogg shoes, Logan win by many mammoth-lengths. But as they say: that bike racing. Krogg so happy Logan ok. No hurt (Logan did destroy Krogg gloves though). Trust Krogg: Logan win race real soon. 


Thanks Krogg. For the record, that's my best result at an NRC race. Also for the record, I'd trade that result 1,000 times over to give Logan another shot at that finish.

People Who Get Good

There are a limited number of hours in each day, and a limited number of days in each life. The vastness of human knowledge is such that we can't do everything; we must choose our foci. Some of us are granted more bandwidth than others, yet all of us are limited. Clearly I have chosen to devote a substantial portion of my time and energy to the pursuit of bicycle racing. The returns on this investment have been ten-fold, and I'm completely satisfied with where my hard work and commitment have taken me -- but I can't help but wonder: what if I'd followed something else with equal (or even greater) vigor? What if, instead of pedaling bikes for all those hours, I'd practiced cello-boxing? I still wouldn't be as good as this guy:

To any and all who dedicate themselves to getting really really good at something, thank you.

Strange and Strangers

There's something in the air -- something strange. If you don't believe me, just watch this video:


(I've heard this song dozens of times, but had no idea the music video was so delightfully bizarre. Thanks Matt Jumago for sharing.)

See what I mean? Strange indeed.

Now look at this! I don't even know what I'm looking at!



It appears to be some kind of wind-powered mythological beast, born to roam the desolate beaches and breezy plains of another planet, animate and mobile yet not quite conscious, like a giant virus mixed with a herd of antelopes mixed with a captainless four-masted clipper, merely reacting to its stimuli in an ever-forward trudge towards the horizon. Where there is wind, this creature breathes. Where there is calm, it becomes merely a pile of of balsa wood clockwork and garbage bags. Thank you, wind sculpture, for you have given my dreams nutritious fodder for tonight.


Today we race 110 miles. It shall be hard, and hot, and hilly. Morgan is 10 seconds out of the lead. I predict four and a half hours of chess match, followed by an absolute murderfest into the finish. The final kilometer includes three sharp corners and a couple short nasty climbs, making the winner a worthy champion indeed.

Here's the course map.


Good day everyone -- happy Friday.

Onward to Joe Martin

So Sea Otter was a mixed bag, success, podium time, and a victory mixed with some frustration, crashes, and the knowledge that we could have done better. Podiuminsight did a great job covering the story, so if you're hungry for race details or photos, go there. 

But before we could wallow in our dissatisfaction, the whirlwind that is professional bicycle racing scooped us up, and dropped us off a thousand miles away in Fayetteville, AK for the start of the Joe Martin Stage Race. Our Tuesday was spent bounding from one airport to another (to another and finally, to another), and yesterday got the chance to preview some of the courses. Here's Arkansas. It's verdant: 

Things I don't like: 

1: Having a sore shoulder from when I crashed last Friday. I subluxed it for the first time, and it's been stiffer than an old oak tree. 

2: Seeing people I like too stressed out. Our mechanic Josh had to drive the team car from Monterey to Tulsa, and then get straight to work. TODAY I RIDE FOR JOSH!

3: Losing my Garmin. It broke off in my crash, and I didn't have time to look for it. It has my name on it -- maybe it'll turn up?!

4: Spending an entire day in airports and hotels. 

5: Leaving my wallet in the taxi from the Tulsa airport to the Tulsa Motel 6.


Things I do like: 

1: Going to another race. Another race, another set of chances. 

2: Creating satisfying pieces of art/writing. 

3: FINDING my wallet after leaving it in the taxi we took from the airport last night. It was pure cosmic coincidence that I took the driver's card and could call him to arrange a meet-up. Thank you, universe. 

4: Getting a massage every day. Never gets old. 

5: Symmetry. I was satisfied with four things I like, but clearly not.








The first rider is off at 1 pm, and I start at 1:39:30 (central time).


Time to ride the wind! 




Also, I need to give a special shout out to the sleeping skills of my teammate Logan Loader. Here he is showing off his stuff: 

Angler Fish

I made a video of when I made a drawing:

Things to Share

Whilst roaming the internet this morning, I found the following gems:

See a horribly depressed cat:



Watch mesmerizing things get blown to smithereens in slow motion:



Hear the song that's been stuck in my head:




Then here are some pretty pictures I took yesterday just before the race, after the race, and while on my ride this morning. Enjoy:

Sea Otter!

The one and only Andres Diaz

Logan, being social. 

I'm working off a vicious sun burn! 

Josh, making our machines run like clockwork.

Scott, making piles of chicken and pork chops. 

Our bikes, lounging around, playing cards. 

Just above out host house. 

HOST PETS!

Today we don't race until noon, so what better to do with my morning but drink coffee and take photos of my awesome host pets. 

Dallas has bio-luminescent eyes.

OMG BABY CORGI!

Oliver is a gentle giant. 

The grass is always greener...