[For sake of civility, I will declare an important truth about this post: it is NOT a comprehensive analysis of the situation, and the only expertise I claim is as a spectator and participant of the sport. Many stones may be left unturned, and many biases may be present. I am simply adding my viewpoint to the conversation of the greater cycling community. You are welcome to publicly disagree, but please do so in a manner appropriate for conversational arguments. This will be posted on both my personal blog (http://fancyshpants.blogspot.com/) an...
[EDITOR'S NOTE: All pictures are copyright A.E.Landes Photography. Do yourself a favor and head on over to his web-location to view some of the best cycling photos, ever! He also does weddings, though we hope this will soon become his side job.] Monday morning I awoke effortlessly at 6:30 AM. The time certainly wasn't my choice, but after a week of rushing out of bed to chow down on camp food, you begin to pick up a few habits. Even a few days out from the event, I find myself wanting to play the role of Jack from Lost, frantically trying to c...
Am I ready? I seem to be asking myself this question more and more as the event looms. With less than a week before the start of the Trans-Sylvania Epic, I made an empty attempt at preparing for this magnanimous event with a checklist: Regardless of how well I feel I am riding, I can't seem to garner the will to consolidate these items quite yet. It would seem too real, too immediate. I trusted my fitness in the past few months, but do I trust it now? For quite a while now, I resolved to a theory that went something like this: you won't attain...
[Found at our team racing blog:http://thebicycleshopincracingteam.blogspot.com/] We here at TBS Racing Inc. enjoy taking our time when reporting our racing experiences. It isn't that we don't want you to be up to date, it's just that we're pretty lazy sometimes. But alas, we have been racing! Here is a picture to prove that Denny and I [Tim] at least started the Michaux Maximus this past weekend: This picture is a good representation of our different racing styles. Denny likes to hammer from the gun, I prefer to go all Zen on long events. Now i...
[Editor’s Note: The pictures provided may seem incongruent with the text, as they have nothing to do with the writing. They do, however, hold significance for the Trans-Sylvania Epic as an event. These photos were taken during a pre-ride of the incredible RB Winter stage, and it felt sinful to not include them. I will provide a more in-depth opinion of the RB Winter trails on my personal blog, but for a summary just know the area is quickly evolving into a favorite riding spot of mine.] Every year, scientists work diligently to quantify t...
When I began this training endeavor for the Trans-Sylvania Epic, an amalgamation of thoughts surfaced in my head. For the most part, I was overwhelmingly excited. Many years have passed since I followed a dedicated training program, and I yearned for this level of commitment. Chris Eatough’s training plan (found on http://chriseatough.com/) provided the main impetus to reach this commitment. Additionally, it solidified my overall focus of the year towards riding, rather than working. However, a small contingent of my thoughts was doubtfu...
The Trans-Sylvania Epic or: How I'm Learning to Stop Fearing Training Programs
March 9, 2010, 4:17pm
I was not planning on racing much this year, not at first. Being in my final semester of undergraduate education, I have more than a few responsibilities bearing down, and my bank account is still angry at me for going to Cyclocross Nationals. My situation did not seem very conducive to committing to competition. Plus, I am far from a phenomenon, so few people would miss me on the local circuits. Racing is (or rather, was) the last thing on my mind. I soon realized how absurd, and boring, this choice was. Just as your elders will never be able...
There was a lot of build up to my trip to Oregon this week. Everyone I had talked to had only incredible things to say about Bend. From their outdoor athletics to their beer, everything was highly regarded from those who visited. One individual even went as far as to say Bend was nothing short of "Heaven." With all of this build up, Bend had quite a reputation to uphold, and so far it has lived up to every word. The town of Bend is home to about 81,000 people (according to a sign, but this number may vary), and everyone I talk to seems to be p...
Due to my recent victory in CXMag's race report contest, this post has been relocated to their website. Check it out here: http://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/forum/topics/best-race-report?id=1198434%3ATopic%3A41345&page=2#comments If you would like to submit your own report for the next round of competition, post it here: http://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/forum/topics/best-race-report-round-2
Sometimes change is a good thing.If you were to ask me just a month ago what my plans were for the fall, I would have told you I could be found pursuing collegiate MTN nationals. Ask me now, and it would not take long to realize how little I care about collegiate mountain season. I grew tired of the small fields, the limited competition, and the fact that our conference schedule is a complete joke (only one race this season is under a 10 hour drive from State College, PA). At the end of the day, my heart just was not into it.Had this been a yea...
