Road Race and Criterium

What a weekend of racing. On Saturday I went to do a road race. When I went there I thought I would be racing with juniors, and cat 4 and 5 men. I was nervous. But then I found out that I would just be racing with the juniors. I am proud of myself for a couple of reasons. First, I positioned myself in the front of the pack and got into a little break. I was with 2 other riders and we only got about 50 yards ahead for only a few minutes but I was in there. I guess I over did it and when we got caught and the pace picked up to 30 miles an hour I could only hang on for a mile or so. I continued to race as hard as I could for the remainder of the ride. The course was very hilly and when I was done I was as tired as I have ever been from riding. I had my teammate Craig Stewart in the race with me and he did really good. He had crashed the day before and did not think he would ride well, but he finished very strong in the pack.

The next day I did the Salisbury criterium. I was really tired and not sure how I would ride. I didn’t ride very well. Tactically I was not paying attention when the 4 leaders got away. They got away basically after the second corner. I rode hard to the finish and was pretty sad about the way the day went. William and Louis Guillen rode really well and William almost made the top 3 but got 4th at the end. Nice ride William!!

On Monday afternoon I looked at my power numbers from the races. I was really surprised that my numbers were better than I thought. Sunday my power was as good as it has ever been. My dad and I also saw some areas that I can improve in races that will help. So I guess I have learned some things. I really like my power meter.

Hello everybody!

It has been a while since I have been on the computer. It has been crazy. I have finally recovered from being sick and am back to training regularly. The weather has been terrible in North Carolina recently with so much rain that the creek that runs through our land is over flowing.

My dad and I went to Suffolk Va to race on Saturday the 14th. We went up on Friday night and got a hotel. It was crazy. The hotel was dirty and loud, but we had a lot of fun. On Saturday morning we woke up and went to the race...but to our horror the race had been cancelled due to weather!!! What!!! I could not believe it!!! To say we were upset would be an understatement. So we had a long 3 hour ride home (in the pouring rain).

We thought about going to SC for the Sunday race but were both pretty tuckered out and we stayed home. So far my season is not going very well and I am getting frustrated. I read that my teamates had very good results in SC and I want to congratulate all of them. I hope to see all of them next weekend.

I am going to keep training hard and hope that I can compete in the upcoming races.

Good and then bad

I had a very good week of training last week. Lots of intense riding and a lot of fun. Then on Friday while riding I felt a little strange. The next morning I had a fever of 102.5!! I have been sick ever since. I hope I feel better soon so I can get out and ride but also so I don't miss too much school.

Intervals with my dad

Today I rode for about 50 minutes or so. While riding me and my dad did 8 one minute intervals. While resting for about 1 to 2 minutes in between each of the intervals. We did a easy spin back home, and did a little sprint of about 75 yards up a short little hill. We only ran into one dog today, which was unusual because we have dogs running around every where. I am pretty tired because I raced yesterday too. I am starting to really get into my serious training now and hope to get into better shape as spring comes. And also get a powertap.

Early season training...

This is my first time on a blog. It has been cold in North Carolina for a while now and I get home from school around 5 in the afternoon! It is too late to get anything good on the road so I have been riding the trainer a lot.

I ended my season last year pretty early. This is because I really like to play soccer. I made the middle school soccer team and played all season. It was a lot of fun. It got me off the bike for a while, but I was running so much that I think it helped fittness. I then tried the wrestling team and really liked it as well. Then two serious injuries to teammates and my parents and I decided that it was time to do something else...cycling.

I am still only 12 years old and want to try to be more professional in my training. My parents don't have the budget for a power meter so we are doing the next best thing and using a heart rate monitor. I don't really like it too much because it bothers my chest when I have it on, but it is very nice to see my heart rate and be able to ride at the level I am supposed to.

Recently I have started doing group rides with some of the Raleigh Gyros. These are 35-40 mile rides at 15-17 miles an hour. I really like riding with a group. I think I am getting more comfortable being around other riders and everyone is really friendly with me.

My first race is going to be the NC State road race on February 14th. I will ride with the Junior/cat5 riders. This is just a training race but I hope to hang with the pack for at least 10 miles. My dad says he thinks I should be able to do it. I hope so.

After that I will train for a few more weeks and then start my season in March with some races in Virginia. I did this last year and really liked the riders I raced against up there. They were very good and very nice guys. I can't wait to see them again.

I hope everyone is having a great winter training!!