Thanksgiving is over and so it the wait for Episode 8!
Episode 8 is from the second day of the NACT races in Boulder, CO earlier this month.
Hope you guys enjoy it, it’s one of my favorites so far!
“Behind The Barriers” Episode 8 from Behind The Barriers on Vimeo.
Wow, what a weekend of racing. Before we get to my race, did you guys see the races in Belgium?
If you watched those races and weren’t on the edge of your seat, I don’t know… That was one of the most exciting races I’ve watched in recent memory. I’m sure many of you read about the racing that happened on this side of the Atlantic.On Saturday, it was straight Ghost Busters style slimey mud – zero traction anywhere. The ruts seemed like they would help you hold your line, but then you’d commit to it and your tires would flop over the rut and you’d be on the ground. Speaking of the ground, I should have brought a bagged lunch because I was laid out like a picnic more then one time on Saturday. The moment I got to the race course I was wishing it could have been ANY race other then a USGP. I haven’t trained in the mud since August. I knew it was going to take a few laps to get myself in the groove and, to put it lightly, I had a bit of a rough day. I’m happy I saved it from being a potential USGP title hope ender, however, by being able to put together a decent second half of the race. I never had the course nailed and I wasn’t the smoothest even after I did put it together, but I did manage to get back up to 7th from 12th. Tim ended up 5th, which meant he snagged the leaders jersey heading into Portland, which is where the series concludes in December.
Sunday I felt more confident and in my element, There was still plenty of mud, but the course was tackier with better ruts and more rhythm. At altitude, I always feel limited and although I’ve learned how to not go into the red while I’m high in the sky, no matter how conscious I am of it, I always go a little too deep and have to meter it back. At sea level I love to bring it to the rev limiter, but at altitude, I hate being in the red because it paralyzes you. You can’t keep going, your legs fill up, arms go limp and you’re forced to slow it down. For the first two laps Trebon was smashing us to bits, dropping attacks one after the other like it was going out of style. Then I flatted. I kept my head together, rode the flat tire and got a bike change. The second Ryan saw me in the pit, I felt like the rubber band was really stretched out. I was gassed from riding the climb before the pit with a flat tire. Tim was there, he latched onto Ryan and once I went in for a bike and Ryan saw I was dangling at 10 seconds, the gloves were off and they were gone.
Todd Wells rode across to me and was riding a good tempo. I rode with him for most of the race. He and I were both jumping the barriers, riding the railroad ties, trading attacks and it was a great duel. He would get me in one section, I’d get him in another. He was a little quicker then I was hopping the barriers. I had gone as hard as I could on the climb before the barriers with a couple laps to go and I led into them, I got the good line and jumped them clean. I did have to do a slight kick to keep my speed in the middle, so Todd went to my left to pass me, hit something crooked and slammed himself on the ground. I just about stopped because I felt like, “damn. We were just havin’ fun, beatin’ each other up and now my friend is lying on the ground.” I felt terrible. Yeah, Timmy J, Todd, Ryan, Jamey, Geoff, etc. are competition, but these guys are good friends too. When one of them is laying on the ground injured, it’s tough. Your natural reaction is to want to stop and make sure their okay and in a road race when there is a bad crash, the race gets neutralized. In CX it’s not the case. After I heard the crowd grown as Todd hit the deck, I slowed down, looked back to make sure he was okay. Thankfully, he was moving… I rolled along slowly to catch one last glimpse as the course doubled back and to hear what the announcers were saying. As I was listening to the announcers, I saw Kabush closing in on me and I got back on the gas. My assessment was that Wells was all right. I found out from the specialized mechanics right after the race that he did badly bruise his leg and whap his head pretty good, but that he wasn’t broken. We were all really happy to hear that.
Moral of this post: yes, these guys are competitors, but these are just races, no money, points or glory supersedes that and you never want to look back and see someone just laying on the ground, it’s hard to stomach. I’m glad everything was alright and the weekend is in the books.
Episode 7 of Behind the Barriers from the first day of Colorado is finished and episode 8 is coming this week too!! Thanks for reading and enjoy
“Behind The Barriers” Episode 7 from Behind The Barriers on Vimeo.
Hey guys, it’s time for the second part of the Louisville weekend of the USGP. It was tough out there, but I got the win, and got Tim back a bit for his little trick at the end of Episode 5. Hope you like it and watch out for Part 7 about the Boulder Cup soon!
“Behind The Barriers” Episode 6 from Behind The Barriers on Vimeo.
It’s that time again! Time for Behind the Barriers episode 5! Sam came out to Louisville to check out the year’s second USGP, the Derby City Cup. I took a win, but man was it hot and dusty. Hope you all enjoy!
“Behind The Barriers” Episode 5 from Behind The Barriers on Vimeo.
“Behind The Barriers” Episode 4 from Behind The Barriers on Vimeo.
“Behind The Barriers” will follow cyclo-cross star, Jeremy Powers, through the 2010 season in the U.S. and Europe. Episode 4 features Jeremy’s win at day 1 of the Gran Prix of Gloucester.
Maryland – South Carolina – Vegas – Wisconsin, Boston, Ohio, Switzerland, Kentucky, Boulder… The frequent flier miles are adding up. I’m just taking it one day at a time and trying to get in some decent training when it’s possible and I feel rested. After this last World Cup in Switzerland, I’ve been feeling a little “Fuzzy” for the last couple days… The time zone blitz is the hardest thing. Being in the plane for 6-7 hours isn’t the bad part, its tricking your body into the different time zone. Switzerland was amazing. Gorgeous. Surreal. We stayed in the swiss alps about 40 minutes south east of Zurich near our cyclo-cross pal and former Swiss National champion, Christian Heule. Christian is an awesome guy, he helped us get around and do some great training rides while we were there. After a good ride on Thursday we got to check out Santis Mountain! Imagine clouds and cool temperatures at our house. Then a quick drive into the mountains, a five minute tram ride to the top of this huge mountain and BAM! (like Emerald) the sun was shining and it felt and looked like we were on top of the world. (You-Tube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLEhnYwWQtE ) when we got to the top, locals were yodeling, it was an awesome experience to be above the clouds like that with the locals singing! I’ll never forget that. The world cup was good. I wished I could have had a little better result and a start but I started from the fourth row and after a couple bobbles and bar knockin’ I’m happy with 20th. Yesterday I found out that I’m currently second in the UCI rankings, which I’m pretty excited about.
The view from the top of the world
The new “Behind the Barriers” from Gloucester is here. I hope you guys like it. Sam Smith and I will be in Louisville this weekend recording episode 5, so if you see us, come by and say hi!
“Behind The Barriers” Episode 4 from Behind The Barriers on Vimeo.
Wooooooooooo! Racing is definitely going down and if you’ve been following VeloNews and Podium Insight then you know it’s HOT here in the Mid West! If you don’t know, I’m here in Ohio for the UCI3 Cyclocross Festival. Real good scene here with tons of folks coming out to support cross. Seems like the Sahara desert right now as far as my body is concerned. Today I was REALLY happy the new rule for feeding during ‘cross racing was put in place. It was 90 degrees outsidewith dust everywhere! I wasn’t prepared for the heat at Friday’s race and Ryan Trebon is on his game right now, so we’ve been having some real fightin’ matches on the bike. I had a terrible plane ride from Connecticut to Philly and then over to Columbus on Thursday. I guess I was just really happy to be alive that day when we landed here in Ohio. I was hanging out, playing Tetris on my IPhone when I saw a police with a dog running out onto the tarmac… I thought that was weird, so I went and looked at the TV and some guy was loading bags in the baggage area that wasn’t supposed to be and when the two guys who normally load the bags on the plane said “Yo, who are you?” He started running. Once I heard that, I was sweating bullets. I’m not a wuss, but… let’s be real about it, thats kinda scary. Anyways, i made it here, got my legs under me and looking forward to tomorrrow’s C1 at Harbin Park. Hopefully I’ll be able to report back with good news. I really wrote this post to give you guys this new MIX that I was rocking out to before the race today. DJ AM used to host a night called “Banana Split Sundays” (get it?) Here is one of his live sets from 2008, It’s amazing, enjoy.
We’re back and we’re going for it with episode three of “Behind the Barriers”. Some of you may already know, but for those that don’t, these videos are the rawest form of my life, there isn’t any “ohhh don’t put that in”, this is how it goes down. I’ve gotten A LOT of great comments from people who are enjoying the videos. There’s also been some, well, not-so awesome comments about the videos. I’m okay with that. To those people, I hope that if you didn’t enjoy Episodes 1 & 2, you’re able to enjoy episode three. If it’s STILL not your cup of tea, I apologize and I hope you can still enjoy cross’ and what I’m doing on the bike. WOoOoooOOOO! ENJOY EP3!!
“Behind The Barriers” Episode 3 from Behind The Barriers on Vimeo.
Alright, as promised, here’s the second episode of “Behind The Barriers!” VEGAS! I hope you guys like it. If you’re in Gloucester this weekend, don’t be shy, come up and say ‘helloooo’ to the camera. Have a great weekend:
“Behind The Barriers” Episode 2 from Behind The Barriers on Vimeo.
Alright, as promised, here’s the second episode of “Behind The Barriers” VEGAS! I hope you guys like and it. If you’re in Gloucester this weekend, don’t be shy, come up and say ‘helloooo’ to the camera. Have a great weekend:
“Behind The Barriers” Episode 2 from Behind The Barriers on Vimeo.
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