Saturday's race was grade-A euro mudsling'n of a race. The parcours, 123,3km which looked like a cardiograph on paper. Unfortunately, cardiographs can't display the hellish winds chimed throughout the day. After losing Markus Jahn to a crash on Friday, all remaining resources were to make sure Marcus Kühn can retain the sprinter's jersey. Several riders were very close so it was going to be difficult. We had to drive 30+km to the start upon arriving, the rain came. Not much of a problem until you see the cobblestones and you think, Scheiße! Fortunately the rain let up but it was quite cool, only around 20C. The race started out under neutral, and don't be foolish to think that the neutral isn't a race. If you aren't going full gas, then you might get dropped even before the flag falls. The wind was in full force and the attacks started immediately. I was doing well covering the first few moves then set tempo on one of the climbs as a non-threatening rider went up the road. After doing my time, I drifted back to recover then we started rolling down a long stretch of road that was quite picturesque with the trees lining the road and the farm vistas surrounding. Then the ultimate scheiße moment...a puncture. Front tire nearly rolled off as we went into a turn. I feel back to get a new wheel from team support. Heinz came by first but signaled me to wait for the van which unfortunately for me was in the very back. So I got the wheel changed and a nice push from die Latz and I was off. Ohh yeah, the wind is über scheiße now as it is blowing in the face or on the nose. No bueno when you are alone and the field is jettesoning away from you. Latz made it back up to me and provided a nice draft behind the van. The last 6-7kms then it was trying to make my way back into the field as the commissar was close and wasn't going to allow any tomfoolery from me. Normally all autos are encouraged to keep a small gap between the car in front when riders are coming up b/c we are allowed to use them as a draft and rest 20s behind the cars. Well these gaps weren't the 5meter ones, more like 20-30m. And that is a big no bueno when you are redlined already. Finally after leapfrogging fwd and bkw for 20km I finally caught back on. Heinz and Markus weren't quite proud and it helped to have their encouragement on my journey up. Let's just say that I pretty much burned the book on that one. The rest of the race was absolutely brutal. Rain, wind, up/down, down/up...it had it all. You want to now what is different about racing here than in the US? It's stage 4, GC is pretty much set 30% of the starters in the race are out, and you are riding single file at the +55km/h only to be seated in 78th position. What the hell is wrong with this? 78th position is no in-the-money position but if you don't hold it, either A) you go to 79th or worse B) you fall off the back and don't make time cut. When I was alone I was doing everything I could to not think B. I joked with everyone that I probably lost 5 years of my life with the effort. Fortunately it paid off b/c the 10 or so others that I had came up on while I was chasing never made the jump across to the field and their race ended that day as they missed time cut.
Later on I was nourishing myself and getting the fluids in b/c I still had 80km of racing when I got back in. And it was going to be hellish. At one point the field split as one race vehicle went straight and the other went left. Total catastrophe as nobody new what was going on. Finally they neutralized it and we came back together and had a nice little 4min picnic while the commissar pulled his hair out. Unfortunately that means your legs get cold and the human cyborgs at the front are going to make them cry like a baby without its pacifer.
When we made it into the finish town, I fell back and did what I could to conserve. And I was pretty much cooked, not a shade of pink you could say, only 1min50 down on the stage.
Unfortunately, die Kühn lost the jersey on a tie for points.
I did enjoy some Eis that night which was a nice recovery =)
chow,
Matthew
31 August 2009
Mecklenberg Rundfahrt Day 3
29 August 2009
Mecklenberg Rundfahrt Day 3
Mecklenberg Rundfahrt Day 3
Sitting in 80th something place. My GC(general classification) position can be attributed to doing quite a bit of work to put my teammates, Markus Jahn and Marcus Kühn in the White Sprinter's jersey. Thursday was the first stage, a 83km jaunt with lots of action. I have been feeling much better recently, and motivation to help the team goal of the sprinter's jersey definitely was motivating. I worked with Daniel Hartmann, Oliver Hager, and Elmar Burke chasing down every attack and move in the first 20km. I was able to get into a few moves that lasted a few kms but nothing was going to sit as the peloton was riding aggressive and hoping for a field sprint. As long as we could represent ourselves in every move and not let anything go then it would put the pressure on the other teams and save the energy for the Kühn and the Jahn. On km 58 or so I put in an attack about 3km from the sprint, I got about 10s. I was hoping to put the work on the other sprinter's teams to drive the pace and thwart attacks coming into the sprint. After getting caught about 1.5km from the sprint, I was drifting back holding my line when some wanker came by and chopped my front wheel. Spoke broken, and I was no bueno. Fortunately, Heinz was driving support and was 2nd auto in the caravan. Wheel changed, the real race for me began. Heinz did a super job at motorpacing me back to the field. After putting in a hard effort just prior to getting chopped, I was not too ready for the effort of getting back. Sure riding inches behind a car is fast, you still have to put in the effort. At times I had to signal Heinz to slow b/c I was blowing up quite spectacularly. Heinz brought me up to about 5 cars deep and then the BDR(German Cycling Federation) gave Heinz the evil finger and quite a bit of words. Heinz played it cool and I was able to use the rest of the auto to make my way back into the field. At this point it was just conserving and saving as much as I could for the rest of the week. I ended up falling a little bit off the pace of the field. I guess my tactic of conservation got a little too aggressive but I managed to only lose 1:10 to the winner, which is quite a bit considering the race is pretty much a sprint finish each stage. But my GC chances were given up prior to the start when I was directed to ride for Marcus and Markus. Cycling is a team sport, the winner is always supported by a great team and a win for one is a win for the team. Well after finishing we pedaled 30km back to the hotel with Heinz motorpacing. I thought I was okay and recovered but the future would tell a different story. Next comes dinner in the hotel. You would think that I would be super motivated to eat but eating was a low motivation as I was feeling the efforts of my work and chasing. I was trying my best to hide the discomfort erupting in my stomach but it was nearly as difficult as the race itself. Upon leaving, I found myself slowing falling behind the group on our way back to the house. Let's just say on the way back I emptied my calories the supermodel way. Doing so is no bueno in any situation but I did feel much better later. But, when you are stage racing, calorie intake and recovery are über important. So going into severe caloric deficit on the first day can wreck the entire race. So you could say that I went a little past my limit in my efforts for the race but the team recognized my efforts and that made it all worth it and we got Markus Jahn into the sprinter jersey.
Yesterday morning, I awoke to feeling better not 100% but better. Able to put in a proper breakfast. Being the last place finisher, I had the privilege of being the first in the individual time trial of 11,3km. Rode it in 16:06. Good enough for 60 something I think. The team gave me strict orders of not going to hard in order to save for the race later in the afternoon and for today. They specifically said they don't want me putting myself into the condition I was the previous night. After some good down time following my race, we all ate some pasta and got ourselves ready for battle in the afternoon. The course was pretty tight with lots of wind and super fast speeds. At each sprint we were hitting over 60km/h with tops at 65km/h! On a wide road this is not so much, but on these narrow country roads with autos lining the roads and partly on the roads, positioning was über critical and sometimes just downright dangerous. Markus Jahn took a big hit on the first sprint when he got pushed off the road and into the sandy side. His race unfortunately ended as he was sent to the hospital. Fortunately no broken bones, just cuts and a huge hematoma on his leg. I tried to do what I could in the next few laps in the sprint but I had difficulty getting close enough. On the last 2 laps I was pulling back breaks and setting tempo on the front. Felt good again. Efforts were rewarded with Marcus Kühn sprinting well and taking the sprinter jersey. Sad to see the Jahn out.
So today is the longest stage at 123km....lots of up and down and the wind is howling. With 4 sprints, our day is going to be very difficult as we have only 1 point above the 2nd person in the sprint jersey competition. Legs are holding up well and motivation is high so we have a lot to prove but I'm confident we can hold it. We got in some good pool time yesterday to help with the recovery. Waterslides are muy important for proper recovery, atleast I hope that theory holds =)
Chow,
Bearclaw
24 August 2009
23 August 2009
Zu Viel Kraft atleast that is my story
After powering up with some muesli and coffee in the morning i boarded the train to Fellbach. All was good, motivation was high and legs were ready to take on the Kappelberg. First round, sitting perfect in top5 as the field was already in pieces. 2nd round, 200m after passing start/finish, the plates on my chain blew apart. My day was done. Scheiß! Ohh well, that is racing. Happens even to the best pros, with the best equipment and the top mechanics. After 5 years of racing, I have had 3 flats in races and that is it. Not too bad. Now I have a broken chain to add to the list. I did get a nice shoutout from Freddy, the announcer. He spoke about my recent good form and how well I looked in the race then mentioned my day ended with a broken chain. Bike racing is not without much frustration followed hopefully with a few joyous moments that make all the work and suffering worth it. Frustrated yes, upset, no. It's racing...mechanicals take out the best in the world. To win a race everything has to go your way. Winning ain't easy and it's only steeper at the top...
Now, it's on to Mecklenberg for the 5-stage rundafarht(stage race). All resources are going for helping Marcus Jahn in the sprints and Markus Kuhn in the overall. I think it will be really good for me to have a specific role of only doing work and not worrying so much about finish except for time cut.
I did make some awesome videos from my van excerpts with Kai while we shuttled people up and down the mountain for the race. I will get those up later today. Must hit the training shortly with the team.
Meow!
Bearclaw
21 August 2009
Layin' Rock and other Weekly Happenings
So this week has been characterized by cutting plants in the garden pond, followed by falling into the pond, to be followed next by breaking the Communistesq sickle while chopping down the pond plants to be continued the next day with garden scissors, mowing grass, going to the dump and today laying down concrete with Heinz for the course tomorrow. Ohh yeah, I climbed a pretty steep ladder and drilled some holes. It definitely made me feel like home. The work we all put into the garden this week makes it look really nice. It also brings dark reminders of what owning a home with a yard requires. The pictures they paint of home ownership don't seem to describe too well the hours of work that go into maintaining your lawn. I suppose we are lead to believe that the picture at the garden store is static and no work is needed to maintain. The course for tomorrow's race is going to be quite a little dandy. Heinz and I laid concrete on the public street today, b/c you can do that here in Germany, to alleviate the potential damage the surface might cause.
So what is this race? It's the Baden-Württemburg Bergmeisterschaft, that translates to the state hill race championship. To appreciate the beauty of this course, you need to close your eyes then imagine this...You are surrounded by beautiful wine vineyards, there is a tiny road, wide enough to host one auto...this fairytale lane wanders up the mountain before taking some sharp turns to take the rider over a glorious view of the region, shortly later, this beautiful image is flushed down the toilet as a 23% golf cart path has arrows pointing up it...so you next slug your way up hoping that you don't get stopped by those too exhausted to make it up....then it's put on your seatbelt but then you remember that you don't have one on this bicycle because the descending is probably even more physically demanding than the climb up...the golf cart paths and tight turns don't give you much room for error. So then you cross the fine craftsmanship of myself and Heinz only to repeat this 10 more times or 13. Right now, I'm doing the C-klasse race unless my teammates convince me to throw my hat into the full monty 14 lap KT/A/B/C race. It's going to be hard no matter what but I have chance to do well in the C, with several big teams coming in the other field, it's likely to be rolling off the back and suffering.
On the food note, Gretel and her sister came by yesterday and made dampfnodel with vanilla soße and fresh apfel nuss(apple sauce). It was hammer! It was a tasty dinner treat following my day at the swimbad with die Kuhn and die Lagler. As I was walking to the pool, I got fingers and laughs from many, especially the young girls. What was it? As my brothers would say, "did you forget to take off your shirt?" Yeah, cycling tans on me are pretty intense. The young girls laughs were anything to worry about, it was the older dudes with more muscles in their pecs and arms than brains that bothered me.
Meow,
Bearclaw
17 August 2009
Rockin' the Summer
The summer was rockin' me yesterday in Ruhlzheim...37˚C is no cat's meow for my American peeps, that is 98.6˚F. It was 93 in the shade. It was so hot that when you were in the field protecting yourself from the wind you are unknowingly entering the Rheinland-Pfalz inferno. I remember going into a turn on the 2k circuit safely protected from the wind only to blasted by hellish streak of Death Valley badness. I never thought that riding in the wind would actually keep your core body fresher. I tried to test this theory by following several attacks in hopes of getting into the breakaway so that I could spend more energy in the legs and get myself in the wind some. It finally worked out on the 6 lap to go when I went solo after countering the prime sprint. I was making good headway and keeping my body cool with all the wind in my face on the 2 leaders up ahead. With 5 to go, 3 riders had bridged up. There wasn't much cohesion and after riding in the wind and in the break for 3 more laps we were swallowed up. At this point, motivation was pretty low and the energy I had just a few moments ago was quickly abandoned. I gave it a go in the finale but motivation was low and body was done. So what did I get? Top 25 with 160+. Nothing too spectacular. I've been trying to get into the break every race. Unfortunately every move I go with or counter I make is kabushed, but that is racing.
So how do you make amends and re-energize after a death march criterium? Well, you roll down to the ice cream dealer and get a double-scoop in a waffle cone. One must eat fast b/c 37˚ is no cats meow. Then you follow that with an concentrated carbohydrate liquid. It is referred around here as "Weizen" and for all you people out of the loop, that is a white yeast beer. Particularly delicious if it is from the town brauerei such as the Bellheimer Brauerei. Sorry no fotos but it was quite delicious.
Today, Marc gave Heinz and I the route tour for this Saturday's Ba-Wü Bergmeistershaft(mountain race). It's going to be all giggles on Saturday but not before I throw down on the Kappelberg, or maybe get thrown down. Depends on how well the muesli powers me through the race =)
Chow,
Bearclaw
15 August 2009
Preis der Stadt Ladenburg
Rolled myself into a 5th platz last night in the criterium in Ladenburg. 105-110 starters, 60km on a 1km oval. I was 10th in Points and 2nd in the field sprint after again I chose every break to follow that didn't make it. New tactic, wait till mid race and dangle off the front but don't put in a huge effort. Then be a clandestine agent and slowly increase the pace and the gap before tailgunning it behind the lead vehicle. I will have to try it out tomorrow. A Top-5 was one of my original goals before I arrived here. But I am so close right now and I know my fitness is above the rest in the field. I just need some good ju-ju to pull it all together. Marc and Christian Schröder did a great job last night setting tempo. I just didn't deliver in the way I really wanted to. But that is racing I guess. I think I am being marked as a rider to watch because no one gives me an inch. Next time, I will just unleash some good 'ol Tennessee power and no let them even think about following. Pocketed €25 for my effort with a €5 going to start money.
Chow,
Bearclaw
14 August 2009
12 August 2009
11 August 2009
10 August 2009
The Week in Review Part 1
Kind of slacked off the last week in writing. Not that I had nothing going on up in the idea machine. It was more I was just unmotivated to write. Returning back to the US in 3 weeks is both exciting and a bit stressful. Most of my internet time has been dedicated to finding a place to live and finding a way to support the man, me and supporting The Man. Hopefully less of the latter. But I have had some exciting experiences: bäckerei touring, Tour de Ländle riding, a little racing, and some Eis essen.
On to the first topic...Mildenberger Bäckerei. This is the local bäckerei here in Backnang. It started in the 1950s out of a little shop nearby but has sense grown into many locations throughout the northern suburbs of Stuttgart. It routinely ranks among the tops in bread tasting and pastry making. Heinz set up the visit for me as he will tell you that I only think about food, probably true =) I rolled up to the central office and "factory" which is 300m from the front door, pretty sweet. The cafe attendents were extremely pleasant when I told them I was there for the tour. I had to wait a little bit because I was part of a larger tour group, a young school kid group. After I introduced myself to the kids in my best Deutsch possible, the teacher asked if they understood me. They nodded in unison. So I guess I have made some progress in my learning. They were very excited to learn that I was an American and was going to go on the tour with them. After donning our bakers caps we set off for the kitchen and some proper handwashing. First on the agenda was some brezel making(pretzel making) and derivatives of the brezel. The masterbacker(master baker) was the tour guide and a very engaging man that truly understood how to make the experience great for the kids, and the big kids like me. We each were given a roll of dough which we had to make a brezel. There is some technique if you weren't aware. After the first one we made different designs which have different names based upon how they are rolled. See the pictures below. The 4th and last one was baker's choice. I tried to be creative as possible and I definitely got some questions about my design. Next it was on to the konditorei(pastry) backer. The frauen(woman) gave us each rolls of marzipan which she demonstrated to us on how to make a marzipan mouse. My pastry rolling technique needs some work. I decided to create a mouse with flowing long hair with the dark marizpan she gave us also. I ate the little mouse the next day and it was good. After the konditorei, we went on a tour of the whole facility and the kids got to taste different stuff. It was foodie nirvana you could say. After we had scoped the facility, we all sat down on some bread crates and the masterbacker gave us brezels and getränke(drinks). Food and drink in any tour are awesome but fresh brezels are even better! Lastly we each got a back to take home our freshly baked goods. When the kids left, I was taken on a super-secret tour of the Mildenberger factory. Got to see some Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory-like secrets. I even scored a fresh roll of schwartzbrot(dark pumpernickle). Very delicious. Now I need to learn some basic bread baking techniques, and perhaps opening up a German bäckerei or bread distribution in Boulder might be up my ally along with granola and müsli. Stay tuned...
Thursday was Tour de Ländle day here in Ba-Wü. It's a 10-day bicycle tourer trip. We did the 9th stage from Großaspach to Bretten, 70km. Over 2800 hobby riders and the two strong horses, Heinz and myself. If you can imagine 2800 hobby cyclists then you can understand complete chaos and danger. Heinz and I got a perfect starting position, not that it was a race or anything. I think some thought it was because they tried to circumvent the starter's loud yelling and ride ahead of the start. It was quite comical to watch this early 30s man in full red riding kit using his bike as a barricade to prevent the old people from going in front of him. The arguments that ensued provided many laughs while we sat comfortably in our 2nd row starting position. Finally the gun was off and we were rolling. The danger would continue until we got on board the train in Bretten back to Backnang. I say dangerous because most of these riders were all over the place on the road and the red jesery'd "polizei" were too busy making sure no one crossed the line. I got yelled at a few times. Below are some statistics from the ride. After starting out we road 11km and we met our first pause of the day, an hour long pause with refueling for the people. I was dumbstrucked that we were stopping but I failed to remember that this is a hobby tour. I had the impression that it would be similar to US century rides were you can stop if you want. Nope, everyone had to stop b/c the police escort said you must. So I rolled over to the village square to see what was going on. Lots of free water and apfelschörle along with nourishing fruits and vegetables: cucumbers, carrots, apples, bananas, and tomatoes. Cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots offer almost nothing in terms of energy. It was also quite funny to see such thing offered. But when stuff is free, you know the people will stuff their mouths and pockets, and that they did. Looking back I should have taken a cucumber because when the heat set in later in the day, and warm, mushy jersey-stored cucumber would have been perfect. The next pause was at km 33, this was our mittagpause, 2hrs. Heinz and I had a nice sandwich at the bäckerei and scored some great seats in the shade. I dozed off a little. I said I was recharging my system for the push ahead. The start after lunch was pretty busy. At the start line I noticed a woman having problems with her v-brakes. Being the mechanic and nice guy that I am, I asked what was wrong then told her I was a "mechaniker." I broke out my multi-tool and fixed the problem in about 60seconds. She was very excited and appreciative. After about 2miles out of town, we had our first casualty, a young guy tried to be cool and took a corner too hot on his hybrid. Result, lacerations on the face and a very confused look. The guy had no helmet. Pretty stupid given the crowd one is riding with and his own experience level. The last pause was after another 15km. At this stop, they had alcohol-free beer, mineral water, and apfelschörle. It was 34C at this point and no clouds in the sky, so pretty hot. There was a pretty steep climb too which probably put most in the hurt locker because half were walking. The last section of the ride covered many farm roads and included many stops because of the "hills" that put everyone into the hurt locker. There was a woman from the die Schweiz with a tri-wheeler and so much shˆt in her baskets. Some guy had to push her up the hill. Keep in mind this is a two bike wide road so go figure what happened to the rest of the people. Finally, we arrived in Bretten. Heinz asked if I wanted a würst. I said I'd prefer Eis(ice cream.) So I put my Eis radar on and we found our Eis local with great seats in the shade very quickly. The Stadt(city) of Bretten is very nice. Lastly we boarded a special DB train direct from Bretten to Backnang. Just as I was getting on the train, danger struck or rather stung. I got stung by a bee in my right ring finger. No it wasn't just a sting, the whole damn stinger and flesh were embedded in my finger. After initially feeling the pain I looked down and was quite curious to see it. Of course this only led to more pain and a wound that has yet to heal. But the bee had it's last day so I got that going for me.
Stats:
Distance: 70km
Ride Time: 4hr30min
Avg Power: 74watts
Total KJs of Work(~calories burned) 1158
Total Time(start-finish): 8hr10min
Tough day at the office you could say =)
chow,
Bearclaw
03 August 2009
Gonso Ba–Wü Meisterschaft 1st Place!
My new hardware! I've never won many trophies, let alone 1st Place! I didn't know what to expect before I came to Germany. My last experience of racing in Europe was quite a challenge. After lots of hard work and great support, I made it back here. I couldn't be more happy with the support I have received from the team and my great teammates. We proved too all of Baden-Württemburg is that we are the best despite our youth. It's an an amazing experience to be part of team where we all can laugh, joke, and race hard together. I even received a new nickname from Herr Sebastian Spengler...Jabronie =)
Apart from my teammates, the support from our Betreuers(support crew) would not have made our season as successful as it has been thus far. So thank you! And all the great sponsors that provide us with the tools to make it happen.
Just to put this all into perspective...Baden-Würtemmburg is one of the largest states in Germany. It also is one of the toughest(if not toughest) bicycle racing leagues in Deutschland. Winning the LBS Gonso Ba-Wü Liga Meisterschaft is saying to all of Germany that we are the best team. Pretty cool stuff.
chow,
Matthew, aka Bearclaw, aka Jabronie
