The City of Silver.

I just got to Silver City an hour ago, and got my camp all set up. Believe it or not, it's even more plush than last year. I borrowed an air-mattress from Eric on the DU team, and it fills my tent. Plus I have my typical amenities, including but not limited to, sleeping bag, comforter from my bed, pillow, body pillow, electricity, wireless internet, showers, washer and dryer... I guess I almost really screwed up though. The "tent lot" was booked solid for the week of the race, but the nice man at the front desk squeezed an extra spot in for me. I'll try to get some pictures up later, but I'm having trouble locating my cords. Thanks for checking in.

Anyone notice anything funny?

The infamous pump, the second time around.

Look different?

Different again?

Now I know it was blatantly my fault, but why would everyone use different colors and set ups? Diesel on right, left, or middle?

I propose a change for people like me.

They should all look like this.

When you're an idiot, you're an idiot.

So I pulled the DF move of a lifetime. Yesterday afternoon, after carrying on about needed diesel fuel, not gas like everyone else's, I drove to a Sinclair station and sure enough, I filled er up with unleaded. Turns out that's a really bad thing to do. After a AAA call and tow a couple hours at the VW place, and a whole bunch of humiliation, I ended up back in Greeley, not in Durango as I should have been.

Many thanks to my lady friend Jami for picking me up in Littleton, and also to Kari for giving me a ride back down this morning.

I hear my car should be done in 15-20 minutes so I will be able to make it to Durango before tomorrow's road race, although I missed watching the DU guys do the TTT and crit tonight. Hopefully this is my last diesel/gasoline mix-up.

Sorry for the lame posts lately and the lack of pictures. I brought my camera along this trip, so if I do ever get on the road, I should be able to get some photos for ya'll.

On a brighter note, I went to Meet The Robinsons last night and it was really good. That's all for now. Thanks for checking in.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

This one is for Colin Don.

I would've called but you never gave me your number. I'm sitting outside Bruegger's Bagels disgusted. I went to redeem my first free cup of coffee, and guess what... They were out. Out of coffe at 8pm on a Thursday! I went nextdoor to Starbucks just to spite them.

Maybe I should go back in and get the employee's phone number, order a couple pizzas for him.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Just another not-so-manic Monday.

No racing for me this weekend. Boulder Roubaix was postponed due to weather which is sort of ironic but it is what it is. Today I'm working a double at the Rio then maybe clean a little at my apartment I had my friends Kodi, Eric, and Lindsey over for pizza yesterday the we went and watched Blades of Glory. It was pretty funny, probably funnier than any of his older movies. Alright I guess that's all I've got. Hopefully this nice weather holds out for a day or two so I can actually go ride in it. Thanks for checking in.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Mobile blogging?

Maybe this will be easier.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

so it does work

I got a blackberry yesterday after it became apparent that my phone wasn't going to make it. The screen hasn't been working for a couple of months now, an recently it quit ringing when people would call. I finally laid it to rest, but not before a heartfelt goodbye and one last toss across my living room.

Right now I'm on lunch break from a CPR / First Aid class in Ft. Collins. I was suppposed to take this class last week, as well as the week before, but it never quite worked out. Today I get to take it all in one big chunk, 8-4! We're halfway done, so the boredom should be over soon. Tonight Rocky Mounts has a team night at Boulder Cycle Sport so that'll be good, even though it's doubtful that I'll buy anything.

OK back to class. Thanks for checking in.

does this work?

?????

Koppenberg and new car.

So I guess I ended up 18th yesterday at the Koppenberg Circuit Race. The race went alright for me, and I stayed with the front group until the 5th time up the Koppenberg climb. The chase group never really meshed well, but we kept the gap pretty close the whole time, finishing a minute seven seconds back.

I also got a new car a couple weeks ago. Many of you already know this, but I couldn't post it on here as it was part of my mom's surprise birthday present. She got a new car yesterday, it was waiting in the garage for her when they got back from Maui, but in the process, I traded my Subaru for my dad's old (2005) Passat TDI. I'm loving the new ride, but I must say, it was hard to say goodbye to the Subaru after 5 long years behind it's wheel.

That's all for now, I was on call at the Rio this morning and didn't have to work, so I managed to get a bunch of cleaning and some laundry done. My legs are still waxed, so a little break feels nice. Hopefully there will be some Koppenberg pictures up soon. Thanks for checking in.

Busy Week.

Monday I worked in the a.m. at the Rio, took a hand washing class in the afternoon, then finally got to sleep a little.

Tuesday I worked all day at the bike shop, then headed down to Denver for a Campagnolo Technical Seminar. I was thinking there would be cool stuff to play with, but I was wrong, it was a PowerPoint presentation with a room full of bike geeks, myself included.

Today/Wednesday I get to ride my bike! Then I have a CPR/First Aid course in Ft. Collins from 6-10:30

Thursday I'll ride in the a.m. then work in the afternoon at the Rio

Friday I work 8-10 a.m. at the Rio, ride in the afternoon, and get ready for the weekend.

Saturday I go to the Lookout Mountain Time Trial all morning, blast over to Boulder/Superior for the famed Koppenburg circuit race.

Sunday brings a crit in Golden, then skills clinic at Campus Cycles in Denver.

A break on Monday would be nice, but I'll be working a double at the Rio!

I'm not complaining, I like having stuff going on, it makes my life feel worthwhile, but sometimes I just want to lay on the couch for a day. Oh well, I guess keeping active is a good thing if I want to be a bike racer, right? Well, I'm going to go pedal my bike around a little. I'm glad this week is a rest week. Hope you're all doing well, yeah Mom, I know you're doing well, you can stop rubbing it in anytime. (My parents are just finishing up their second week of Hawaiian vacation. Can't wait until I turn 50 and get to sit on the beach in paradise for a few weeks.) Thanks for checking in.

Weekend Update with Corey Carlson.

5th at the Oval Crit today after "racing" in a 5 man field for 29 miles through rain and 40 degree temps yesterday. Today the legs felt good, really good for the first time this year. Unfortunately I turned my head off at the start line, rode like an idiot the first 15 minutes, burning matches like it was no big deal. The latter part of the race I rode better, but ended up using ALOT of energy helping HART pull back a pretty dangerous break. Overall, I'm content with the race, happy with my legs, I'll take the result, but I know I could have done more. Oh well, that's racing. Thanks for checking in, more later hopefully.

Picture of CU Crit.

This was taken a lap or two before I got blown off the back of this group.

This week so far has been great. As many of you know, it was my birthday on Tuesday. I had a spectacular ride on a spectacular day, then finished the night off celebrating with a few people I work with both at the bike shop, then at the Rio. I spent the whole day Wednesday working and wishing I hadn't celebrated quite so much. I was supposed to serve a wedding rehearsal dinner at 7:00 at the Rio, so I hung out from 5-7, got everything ready, then they didn't show up, so finally at 8 I took everything down, and hoped for a least a few tables to make my night worthwhile, but ended up getting sent home. Oh well, I watched the Avs game for 3 bucks an hour, and they got their wedding cursed with karma like that.

Yesterday I got in a solid 3 hours or more with my friend Brian. We did a lot of tempo and cadence work. It felt good to stress the legs a little, although by the end, Brian was a little upset with the loose gravel and I don't think he'll be riding with my again any time soon. I think I'm going to do openers on the mountain bike today. I've been severely neglecting that bike lately. I don't know why I don't ride it more. I have a blast every time that I get on it, and the trails should be in good shape with all the nice weather we've had lately.

I got one of my best birthday presents this year off of Jon Tarkington's blog this morning. Jon (third wheel in the photo above) is a rider that I respect as much as anyone in Colorado, so it's huge compliment to hear him say nice things about myself.

Well, it's time for me to go ride, I've been putting this off too long. Thanks for checking in.

Happy Birthday.

To Me.

CU Race Weekend.

I rode like an idiot yesterday, and according to my power file, apparently couldn't push my pedals that hard on top of turning my brain off.

I felt like I made up for it a little bit today with an 8th place in the road race. The break went and I didn't go with it for a change. I did however get into a good chase with Jon Baker (Vitamin Cottage) and Stefano Barberi (Toyota - United Pro). We chased hard for a lap and a half, then just kept it steady absorbing Jon Tarkington (Vitamin Cottage) and later Blake Caldwell (Slipstream) as the came out of the break. In the finish Baker attacked a few kilometers from the line, and the acceleration popped Caldwell. I tried to jump up to Baker on the climb through the feed zone, but only managed to give Tarkington a good leadout up the hill. It turned out alright I suppose, and I picked up a few more upgrade points which is good.

I'm exhausted and there is some parody show on the Discovery Channel hosted by Mike Rowe. I think I'll go watch it and fall asleep. Thanks for checking in.

Invesco Crit.

I feel like I need a break.

I feel like I've been going non-stop for a week now, and I guess I sort of have been.

Wednesday Scott and I did our now annual pilgrimage to the mountains up through Estes, down through Lyons, and home through the Johnstown-Milliken connection. It's a great day on the bike, but it definitely took a little bit out of me.

Thursday and Friday were spent riding and getting some bike stuff ready for Scott to assure he's riding the finest equipment when he gets to Belgium later this week. Good luck Scotty Boy, and let me know how those wheels hold up. I'm not sure that any Carlson built wheels have been raced on real cobbles before.

I headed up to Winter Park on Friday night to hang out with a bunch of South Dakota boys. Justin, Bob, Scott, Craig, and Katelyn and I all enjoyed some Herdnando's pizza, and got a flavor of the Winter Park night life.

Saturday morning I awoke bright and early to head down to Denver for the Metro State Individual Time Trial. The DU team all rode well, and I felt as good as I ever have in a TT. The time the officials gave me and the time I clocked myself at were a minute apart, but regardless, I felt good about my ride and I'm actually looking forward to another TT this coming weekend. I finally got my position dialed on my borrowed TT bike, and it's FAST!

Sunday was the DU hosted Criterium at Invesco Field. I was supposed to get there at 7, which meant leaving Greeley at 6, factor in the time change, carry the one, I basically had to get up at what felt like 4:30, stand around all day, then race my bike at 3:20. The races went off without a hitch. Great course, great fields, and a decent crowd.

After working my tail off last weekend, and also after watching the races all day Sunday, I decided not to go with the early move this week, as nothing was staying away. The field wasn't huge, maybe 25-30 riders, but at least 7 of them were from Team Einsteins. After sitting in the first 10 minutes or so, I noticed that Einsteins was working the textbook plan of just sending one rider at a time. The field was pulling everything back, and I had no intention of going with anything until at least the halfway point. With about 48 minutes to go in the hour long crit, I noticed two Einsteins guys off the front about 5-10 seconds. It struck me that these two would work together well, being teamates and all, and that a 5th of the field that remained behind would be working to shut it down. I didn't have time to think much more about it because I was at the perfect part of the course to try and get across, so I went. I opened up a good gap from the field, increased it through the section of the course with a few "90 degree"-ish corners, and then caught the two just at the start finish line that was located at the end of a long uphill sprint.

I pulled through and we started rotating and never really quit until Whitey DeBroux attacked at the bottom of the hill with 3 to go. I didn't think I'd have anything left to even put on a real chase, plus his teammate Jack Seehofer was still sitting right on my wheel. I just tried to ride my own steady tempo and see if I could hold on to at least sprint for second. I noticed that Whitey's gap had stabilized, and was even coming down a little bit. I brought him within 5 seconds or so, but then quit chasing as I knew there would be the impending counter attack from Jack. Instead of waiting for the counter, I attacked coming into the hill with one to go, passed Whitey, and kept my head down and hammered over the top, but couldn't shake Jack from me wheel. I coasted the downhill, and the cat and mouse crap began. Whitey was chasing back hard, so I went again just before the "technical" section of the course. Jack covered that one too no problem, but it was enough to secure a good gap between us and Whitey. We came into the climb, and Jack attacked just where I knew he would. I tried to catch his wheel as he came around me, but he kept inching away, 1 bike length opened up, 2 bike lengths, and then it was over.

I was very happy to take second, but of course I've been stewing it over all day today. I feel like I did the right things tactically, but I just keep wondering, what if I would have done this, or what if I would have done that. The only real alternative I can think of would have been to wait and save everything I had for the sprint. I could have kept Whitey dangling another lap, and maybe Jack wouldn't have been able to come around me had I initiated the sprint. Oh well, live and learn, but it's still frustrating.

Brian the birthday boy managed a couple of solid races and still had it in him to get some pictures and even a video of my race for your viewing pleasure. Right now I'm going to bed, but check back for pictures tomorrow. Thanks for checking in.

New Link.

Check this out.

I even got my own profile page. Boo Ya.

The season has begun.

Last friday I headed down to Alkaburgie, N.M. with my new DU team. It was the first race weekend for the team this year, and I also planned on doing my first race of the year while we were down there.

The team rode awesome on Saturday with some top 10's in the Time Trial and Team Time Trial, and I think everyone rode good races in Sunday's crits with a lot of the team doubling up for two races on the day. I hopped into the last race of the day, with no expectation other than a hard workout. Since I wanted to get some good training in, I didn't hesitate when I had the chance to go with the early break. I worked way too hard in the break, but managed to pull off a 4th place finish even after working constantly for the final 43 minutes of a 45 minute race.

The trip home was a blast. I really like the team and we had a lot of fun. I even scored some pictures from one of the kids cameras.





After reviewing the pictures I've decided that I do like the new RM~Izze kits. I was skeptical at first, but I think it looks pretty good after all. Today was an hour of easy spinning, a great breakfast with Scott, and a lazy afternoon. I work tonight at 4:30 so I might try and nap before I head in. That's all I've got for now, thanks for checking in.

Check it Yo...

Sorry the colors are inversed, I don't know why it does that?

Word on the street is that Nat Ross might be running the mic. Should be a fun day!

Real Quick.

A report was received at 5:02 p.m. Sunday of five kids throwing snowballs at two other kids. The children were advised to even up the teams.

A man in the 300 block of Maple reported at 7:26 p.m. Tuesday that a large rock had apparently been hit by a vehicle. There was no damage to the rock.

More later, I'm off to teach a Time Trial clinic in Denver.