Coming home

Coming home
So Vuelta Puebla is finished and we are at the airport eager for some
tap water.
The final stage was anti climatic as a breakaway went but with no gc
people in it. Andrew was a stud as he made the break and got fourth on
the day.
Alex was third overall and 2nd in the kom. Dan was 8th and I was 18th
and 2nd in the sprints and 3rd in the kom. All in all it was a great
week and it was fun to finally 'make it rain' especially with only
four guys.
I am looking forward to going back to nc for a few days before I head
up to the 'Iron Hill' crit in west Chester PA and then I am going to
be in MI for a while. Uh and I will be up there for a week. I am
already dreaming about founders beer...

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Stage 5: gringos win in Puebla!

Stage 5: gringos win in Puebla!
We went 1 2 today!!!!!!!! It was awesome. Dan Vaillancourt attacked
out of our break with 3 k to go and stayed clear to win!!! It was so
cool. I took the sprint for second and a toshiba 1 2!!!
Today race was the longest day yet. It was 150k with 3 sprints and 2
koms. The plan was for me to make the early break and soak up all the
points. I made the break which went from the gun and then dan bridged
with a couple other guys about 10k later. We were able to sit on the
break and take the points all day because we were protecting alexs
lead. I sprinted for all the sprints and the koms. Unfortunately a guy
in the break took the lead in the kom, putting alex in second but my
efforts netted me third and it pays three deep! The kom comp is over
and 2nd and 3rd is way more money than first although it would have
been nice to get alex that jersey.
Anyway the break stuck and after 147k of being up the road, dan put in
an amazing attack and took it all the way home. It was the coolest
thing ever. Go dan!!!
So as it sits now alex is in third and dan moved up to eighth and I am
eighteenth and second in the sprint comp by one point. Tom is a
circuit in downtown Puebla so it should be a battle to the end with
the sprints.

I have to say congrats to my homeys Marco and Tara who are getting
married today!!!! Wish I was there. Congrats!

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stage 3 and 4

I am currently in THE seediest internet cafe in some random city in mexico and it is awesome. This trip is going quite well so far and the cities we are in are all small little villages in the mountains and the weather here is awesome, its not humid and in the 70s all the time. It is great.
Stage 3 was super flat, I got some sprint points in the first sprint, but then a break rolled off and took the remaining points and so now i am in 3rd. Alex is still in 3rd overall and leading the KOMs and that is the priority so everything is good still.
Today was stage 4 and it was short. We raced 35 miles up a mountain and then descended for 35 miles. There were only 32 finishers in the front group today, but Alex, Dan, and Myself were all in there. A break rolled early and we almost caught them in the finishing straight. I ended up sixth on the day. Alex is still leading the KOM and is still in 3rd overall. We just have one more really hard day tomorrow and then sunday in a circuit. Everyones spririts are high and we are having a great time here.
The food and beer are super cheap here, but the gas is crazy expensive. It is 4usd a liter!! Crazy.
I am going to wash my hands now...

Stage 2 Zataclan to some city at the top of a huge mtn. 110k with only 13k in climbing.

Stage 2 Zataclan to some city at the top of a huge mtn. 110k with only
13k in climbing.
Todays stage was one of the more epic rides I have ever done in my
life. The climbing was out of control. I have never come close to
doing climbs that long or as steep. The descents were the scariest
experience too. I can't tell if it was the tiny mexicans getting speed
wobbles at 50 mph or the speed bumps in the apex of hairpin turns or
the wild horses charging at the pack or the landslides or the other
tiny mexicans not cornering right and launching over the edge or the
dude hitting a huge pot hole and snapping his carbon bars at Mach 4 or
the sections of pavement missing or the Moto crashing in the corner.
Either way it was a frightening day and ridiculously hard and I loved
it!!! It is so pretty riding here in the mountains. We climbed above
9000 ft twice today.
As far as the race goes, alex ripped it today big time. He got 3rd on
the day and is now leading the kom. Tecos went 1 2 and is now firmly
in the overall lead.
I faired well for my size and came in around 25th I got shelled
about halfway and just rode my own pace and caught some people near
the finish.
Rumor has it that tomorrow is flat...thank goodness.

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Stage 1 Puebla to Zacatlan 140 k

Stage 1 Puebla to Zacatlan 140 k
Todays stage was sweet. It had 4 hot spot sprints and 1 kom. The route
was pretty rolly with a big climb at about 40 k in. The field
shattered on the climb and there were 20 people left in the front
group. We had 3 of us in there. It was me, dan, and alex and 5 tecos.
I managed to snag 2 be in a couple of the hot spots and alex got 2 nd
on the kom. The finish was a little hairy and I got 4th. I was hoping
for a little better but I will take it. The team worked so great today
and we now have 3 of us in the top 20 and 21st is about 6 minutes down.
Alex and I both got to go on the podium where they gave us these
framed pictures. It was pretty neat. This town we are in is a tiny
village tucked away in the mountains.
Everything is going sweet except poor gus hasn't left the bathroom in
about 3 hours. Ha! I think I might have just jinxed myself by writing
that.
Tomorrow is crazy hard with 2 20k climbs and then a 5k climb to the
finish all at elevation too. This is a bit different than crit racing
in the states but I am having a blast!

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Prologue

I was super excited for today prologue as it was only 3 k and I
assumed it was flat. We rode our bikes to the course and we went down
this huge hill for a long time and in my head I was thinking uh oh,
this might be an uphill tt. Indeed it was. 3 k of climbing at 7000 ft
was def interesting. I totally started out way to fast and blew up and
held on for dear life. It was Miserable!!!
Anyway it was good enough for 3rd place! Ha!!! I was 8 seconds off the
lead. Hopefully this bodes well for our team for the rest of the week.
The gringo toshiba team is having a ton of fun, now if only we spoke
any Spanish...

.

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In Mexico.

In Mexico.
I flew into Mexico City today with gus and andrew. It was a fine
flight and Delta only charges $150 for bikes now. Crazy!
We are now on a five hour bus ride to the city where the race starts
tom. I have no idea where it is but i will let you know when I find
out. (I just follow the heard)
Mexico City is enormous! Like really really big.
So far so good and I am sure I will have some stuff to tell tom. The
race starts tom with a 3 k prologue.

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Going to MEXICO!!!!

I am typing this as I watch back to back to back to back to back episodes of "whose wedding is it anyway?" The DVR is completely filled with wedding shows...

So not much has been going on. Harlem Rocks was a very sweet race and we raced awesome the entire race until we got boxed into the barriers on the last lap and had to practically stop. It sucks to race perfect for 99.99% of the race and then one wrong line in one corner costs you the results. The good news is that the legs are good and the team raced awesome together.
The finish in Harlem was spectacular as there were 3 crashes in the straightaway and the winner crashes after he wins. Here is the video of it. Major props have to go out to the Time Team for getting a big win in dramatic fashion.
I am flying to Mexico on sunday for Vuelta Puebla, a 7 day stage race with a ton of climbing. I am super excited to go see mexico, but I have a feeling it won't be like going to Cabo--I actually only know what Cabo is like because of watching "Laguna Beach" when they go there on their spring break. So the people going from Toshiba are Dan, Alex, Bobby, Myself, Andrew, and Winston...none of us speak much spanish. It is funny because I went to Joe Martin and I was the only one on the team that spoke english and none of the spanish speakers are going to mexico...
I hope that I will be able to update while I am there...Does Mexico have the Internet?

making up for not calling

I would like to wish my parents a happy 40th wedding anniversary. 40 years may seem like a long time but when 30 of them are spent hanging out with me, I am sure the years just flew by.
I would have called but yesterday was super busy. I woke up, texted, ate, texted, rode, texted while riding, ate, napped, texted, ate, texted, ate, went to a gay club with frank and yosvany, drank, texted, talked on the phone, and went to bed. So mom and dad, I so sincerely apologize for not calling.
Happy belated anniversary.

How does this thing work?

So Philly came and went. It was really really hot and really fast and really hard. I was on bottle duty for most of the day and came off the last time up manyuck. Yosvany was a rock star and got 9th. He is going really so good right now.
We are now hanging out in newtown pa until Sunday when we race round 3 of the USA crits series in Harlem. Newtown is awesome as there is a ton of amazing riding around here. Our host is Brian and he is a home brewer so we are in good hands.
I am looking forward to some food old fashioned criterium racing which will be a welcome change from these epic road races.
Gotta go figure this grilling thing out now...

Paco stole my shorts

Its going to be so hot tomorrow. High of 96 with high humidity. Should be interesting...

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McDonalds in Philly...

I do love McDs but I haven't had that burger yet.

the worst feeling in the world...

Is eating a gel and somehow coughing and breathing in to deep and getting the cola flavored gel into your sinuses and come oozing out of your nose. It sucks... Trust me.
Reading was today and it was pretty tough. I made it til the last time up the hill and then I popped. It was such a sweet course and the racing here is so so fast. It is so cool to be here and i am just soaking it all in.
we are staying at a youth hostel in downtown philly now. It I'd really cool and I will post pictures soon.
I have to say congrats to uhlyza who passed her boards today! She is now OFFICIALLY a PA.
Time to go celebrate bobbys 21st birthday now. This is a tough life...

Senior games

I woke up this morning and was walking to the coffee shop and stumbled across this going on. Its was the senior games home run derby. They had an ambulance and everything on site just in case the excitement was too much to handle.
Yesterdays race was awesome and way way way fast and tough. It is so cool racing against pro tour teams and all the domestic hitters.
The race was 12 laps on a 7 mile course with 3 small climbs each lap. I felt alright and survived although i was just pack fill all day. It is kind of hard to do anything when the pace is mach 8 for 3 hours straight.
I am hoping tomorrow doesn't feel as fast but i have an inkling that is not going to be the case especially since there is a 1 mile climb on each of the last 3 laps. Should be interesting...
I am going to practice my batting now so i can whoop the other seniors when i get that old.

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Csc report

Csc might be my new favorite race. This years race had the most stacked field that i have ever raced against in my life and this whole week is going to be like that.
The race was fast from the gun and within 12 laps, (each lap was 1k) a group of 12 got away. We missed that move and they ended up lapping. It was frustrating to miss that and it just shows that you have to be on your toes at all times.
After they lapped the attacks started again. I got in a move with 3 others with 25 to go (yes we were racing hard for 13th) and after a few laps it was just 2 of us and then there was a ksyrium wheel prime. I won the wheels and i think watching forest gump the night before was wearing off on me because i just kept on going and going and was by myself for the last 10 laps only to be caught inside the final lap and get last! Ha!
We are staying in lancaster pa now for a few days. Our hosts are awesome and this city is so peaceful.Next race is tuesday in allentown pa.

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Carb loading

I am in the van on my way to csc right now. I brought these for lunch and am on a nasty sugar high right now and going stir crazy.
I am traveling with bobby and andrew today so there is english being spoken. Ha!
This trip is exciting. It turns out that i am hanging out for another week after philly for a crit in Harlem. So i am super stoked to spend some time out on the east coast again.
I will try to be good and update moderately frequently but no promises.

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FOR REAL THIS TIME.

So....... Aliza and I are engaged!!!! For REAL this time, no joking around. I pulled out all the stops and gave her a really good sales pitch and she said YES!!!!! HA!! So we are super excited about everything now I am finding out that planning for a wedding begins IMMEDIATELY upon being engaged.

In cycling news, I have been training my behind off trying to get some endurance going for Philly week, all these criteriums are fun and fast but they don't really prep you for a 150 mile circuit race. I have been hanging out in Asheville for the last week training in the mountains. Last saturday I did a long ride, long enough to go through the entire box of these and still bonk to the point where I was tearing up when I walked through the door, don't know whether I was crying from joy of being home or from artificial raspberry overdose...Either way it was weird and embarrasing...

Hard at work at the bike shop

My job is so stressful...


I have been home from the Joe Martin Stage race for a week now and I am just recovering from the drive home. We raced until 4pm and then I drove Carlos back to Athens GA and then drove myself home to Winston...a meer 18 hour drive. I did it straight and proceded to feel cracked out for a week. I must be getting old.
Joe Martin went well, the only way to make up time is in the the TT which is uphill, so the race is practically over after the first stage. It is a wonderful race and AK is really beautiful.

I am home and have been home doing some last minute training for Philly week coming up the first week of June. I am so excited to be able to do these races as they are "Pro" only. I have always dreamed of doing these and now it is really cool to be able to.

Not much else is going on, I am going to asheville for memorial day with UH, who just graduated!!! congrats to her and all her PA friends... I am super excited to just hang out and train in the mountains for the weekend.

Have a good and safe holiday weekend.

much anticipated

If you were holding your breath for a report on USA Crits SPEEDWEEK...here it is, along with a podium shot. Apparently the canadians were the only ones to write a story...
USA Crits Speedweek Final Report - Canada's Langlois 2nd in Final Race

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Hekman, Pic Win Overall - Canada's Trew 10th
release by USA Crits
May 6, 2008 (Atlanta, Ga.) - The final installment of the 2008 USA Crits SpeedWeek series became a race within a race on Sunday, May 4. With a long-standing breakaway out in front of the field for most of the 55 laps that made up the inaugural Global Imports BMW Sandy Springs Cycling Challenge, the race for the overall Speed Week title was being watchfully contested in the pack. The numbers and sheer power of Mark Hekman's TOSHIBA-Santo's teammates, however, simply outgunned Jake Keough's CRCA/Sakonnet Technology squad, which broke the first place series tie between the two and delivered Hekman the overall victory for the week.

"Since we ended up being tied before the start," a breathless Hekman said at the finish,"all I had to do today was watch him and beat him over the line, so it was pretty exciting. Coming in the last corner, I jumped on the inside of him, got a big gap, and then just powered up this hill."

A large crowd lined a hilly course in Sandy Springs to eventually watch Hekman's triumph, but not before they got to cheer on a seven-man breakaway roll away from the main group early on in the race. That split comprised Christian Helmig (Metro Volkswagen), Michael Stoop (TIME), Bennet Van Der Genugten (Team Inferno Racing), Bruno Langlois (Myogenesis.com), Paul Martin (Texas Roadhouse), Rob White (ABD/GEARGRINDER) and eventual race winner Peter Dawson (Rock Racing). With two teammates supporting him in the field, including 2008 Athens Twilight Criterium champion Rahsaan Bahati, Dawson and the rest of his companions in the escape took turns at pulling their lead farther and farther away from the pack behind them.

"We had seven guys up there and, for the first amount of time that we were away, we all chopped off very hard." Dawson said afterwards. "They were taking some pretty hard turns and managed to keep it out there."

As the race for the win wound down, Dawson began to contribute less to the group's effort and storing up the energy he needed to win the final sprint.

"I played it pretty foxy in the end," said Dawson, fairly competent of his turn of speed, having been a multiple world team pursuit champion on the track. "I really had nothing left and, if they attacked me, I probably would have got dropped. But I managed to pull out on the right-hand side when they all fanned out across the course, and ran out of gas in front of me."


Joe Martin is going good...Stage 3 tomorrow, a 90 mile ride at 8am

At Joe Martin

We are currently in beautiful Arkansas partaking in the Joe Martin Stage Race. We are staying in host housing which is really awesome especially when they have a coffee maker like this...

Things are going good, I feel good. Got sick after Speed Week, but am feeling better every day. I always enjoy doing this race and this year we have a really strong team so I am hoping we will pull out some sort of result.