Getting back into it

Tour de Ephrata

It’s been a while since I’ve been on this thing. I guess the past year was uber busy so I never really had the time to write anything. All summer I worked at NASA, and tried to get decent riding in… When it’s all said and done, working 40 hours a week and trying to ride at the competitive level takes a lot out of you. To get you up to date, I am now working at Endorphin Fitness bike shop in RVA, and riding for myself. I am no longer part of RichmondProCycling, excuse me…RichmondCyclingCorps. Don’t get me wrong, working with the inner-city youth, tutoring, and riding bikes with them was awesome. I just have other aspirations.

Now that it’s May, I am starting to get into the swing of things. Right about this time last year, I was in solid fitness shape from racing collegiate cycling for 3 months. Instead of having a good 25 races under my belt, I have 3 races. Two of which occurred in the past 24 hours~ Tour de Ephrata.

Yesterday was an 81 mile RR, that included a windy, but scenic course, with rollers and kickers, and 1 hard 9% climb. Each lap was 9 miles, so it seemed rather long. Through the first half of the race, I felt solid and was pushing some decent meat. I got out on a breakaway in lap 2 and was away with 6 others guys for a good hour until we got caught. About that time, Bobby Lea (2 time Olympian) attacked hard and I jumped his wheel, with Kyle Wamsley following. We were rolling good, bringing back the 2 man break that was 2 minutes up with road. With 18 miles to go, I started getting horrible cramps in my legs. On the last climb, in the 9% section, I locked up and pulled out of the Lea group and drifted back to the chase group following a minute behind. I had my best friend at the race to feed me, but somehow he got caught up in the excitement and took pictures the whole race instead of give me water! Lol. All good though, the water would have helped, but I think what I really needed was electrolytes. Being out of the race circuit for 7 months almost made me forgot how to race. Live and learn, and I definitely learned that race. Of the 81 miles, I raced a good 73 of them and was in contention for the money. Had I not cramped, I would have been in the lead breakaway, but instead, I decided to pull out and try to save myself for the TT and crit on Sunday (Today!).

The TT was this morning on a rolling course, that was 4 miles flat, 2 miles of steady climbing, and 2 miles of steep climbing. At the finish, I realized why the race promoter called it “Pain Mountain TT”. I rolled the first 4 miles fast, and caught my 30 second, and 1 minute man within 9 minutes. The next 2 miles were not horrible, but the last kilometer killed me. I managed to almost catch my 90second man, but alas he stayed away! In the end, I ended up with around 22:45 for the 8 miles. Im not sure where that placed me, but hopefully I was in the top 8 so I can get a little gas money/ race entry back. I guess I’ll find out later today and put it on my next post, talking about the TDE crit. Insha3allah the rain will hold off for it. Crit + rain + 60 guys = crashes, and I think I would rather save myself for the speedweek crits of Beaufort and Walterboro, SC.

At least I get to look forward to bbq, brownies, and ice cream tonight. There’s always a bright side to racin bikes!

OhhhCala- Day 1 Stage 1!! --Ocala Stage Race

Another late blog. Oops. Things have been extremely busy for me, and I’ve had trouble finding the time to actually sit down and write something constructive. Working 40 hours a week at NASA, as well as trying to ride bikes/ racing at least 3 races a week really takes its toll on me. Yeah, im not superhuman, but pretty darn close. 2 weeks ago I went down to the good ole’ sunshine state to race the Ocala Stage Race in Ocala, FL. Let me tell you something, I now know why they call it the sunshine state…I actually got tanlines THROUGH my jersey it was so sunny down there. Yeahh Budday. Anyways, I left Friday and drove straight to Jacksonville, FL, where I stayed with my girlfriend and her family. I definitely had to eat Panera when I got there… (Black Bean soup and bread bowl, just for you Shane!! Plus, it’s always a winning combo!) and Erin met me at the Panera close to her house. It was great seeing her, obviously, and we just chilled for a bit before going back to her house to crash. The next morning I had to wake up at 630ish to drive 2 hours to Ocala for a 60 mile RR, and later that day there was a 5 mile TT. This stage race was legit; complete with timing chips, AND time bonuses on certain laps.

The first race was at 10am. I suited up and was talking to a kid parked next to me, who was apparently a Cat4 (I thought he was going to race my pro12 race the whole time…he looked decent). I was moving around nonstop trying to get all of my bottles and food ready, as well as throw a pair of wheels into the wheel truck. When I left to throw the wheels in, and came back to my car to grab some chamois cream, the kid next to me said “Hey, you have a fan club.” I was confused, yet excited at the same time. I looked around and saw a few cute girls standing around…and I asked him who it was. Turns out, he wasn’t sure…He just knew that there were some other racers talking about this fast guy who came down from Virginia to race…and I was the only one from Virginia there… cool stuff! I headed toward the line and got a spot in the top third of the field. I was actually quite surprised how big the race was. There were about 75 guys in my race, and I bet 50% of the could speak Spanish.

The first lap was basically a feeler for the course. 12 miles of rolling terrain, with a powerful sun, and 100+ heat index. It was like racing in Africa…or at least how I would image Africa being if I ever did race there. The roads were all smooth, except one. There was a minefield of potholes scattered in random spots on the road, and with 75 people riding 12 inches apart from one another, you could not see them until it was too late. I was extremely anxious the first lap, being use to the crit racing up North. I kept forgetting the race was 60 miles, and would take a little bit longer than 90 minutes… (sarcasm). I watched as a few people went off the front for breakaways. It took all I had to hold back and watch, but I knew it was hot, and anyone trying to suffer out there that long is crazy. At the end of the first lap, I started moving toward the front because there were 3 time bonuses: 6 seconds, 4 seconds, and 2 seconds. I was able to snag the 2 second bonus, and boost my confidence just a little more. Coming around the 2nd lap along the minefield road, I nailed a pot hole. The hole jarred my bottle loose from my bike, but somehow I pulled off a miraculous save and caught the bottle with my foot. I was able to use my cat-like reflexes, and jam the bottle between my shoe and my down tube. Woooo that was a close one!! No sooner did I take a sigh of relieve, I went through another pothole because the guy in front of me obscured my vision. This one totally pillage me. I heard the worst noise a cyclist could hear while racing(other than a crash)… the sound of air coming out of a tire. Then I felt that little ‘skip’ which happens once you get a flat. Ohhh man. There goes my race, right down the drain. Being a stage race, this was a do or die moment. I definitely wanted to do, but I felt like I was about to die.

I waited for the wheel truck to come up behind me so I could grab a spare. It took a few minutes to find my wheel since there were only 40 other sets in the back of the pickup… Once I found it, I did a nascar speed pit stop, and jumped back on the bike. While I was changing out the back wheel, the man driving the wheel truck said he would pace me back to the peloton!! Oh Yeahhhh! My race was saved, almost. We were flying down the road at around 35mph, and I was sucking wind as hard as I could. It was definitely scary though—riding a matter of 2 feet behind a pickup truck, not knowing what is in the road in front of you, or if the driver would suddenly swerve or slam on the breaks… At that moment, I was too focused on getting back up to the peloton and back in the race. It took a good, hard, 10ish minutes to get back up to the field. Once I got there, I just sat in and caught my breath. It definitely took a lot out of me…

While sitting in, I met this guy named Roger. He was a great dude, and knew about me already/ he had heard my name. I guess he follows usacycling and saw my name as a collegiate national champion…but at the time he couldn’t remember where my name was from. I asked Roger if there was a break up the road, and he wasn’t sure—but thought there wasn’t. Also, Roger offered his couch for me to sleep on that night, but I had already gotten a hotel room so I couldn’t take him up on the offer. Oh well, maybe next time!! After sitting in for exactly 1 lap, I moved to the front right before a kicker. There was a guy in front of me who lifted the pace so hard that we just broke off the head of the exhausted peloton. So then it was the two of us, chasing a 3 man breakaway already up the road. Both of us were Big Boi’ing the watts, and caught the break within 4 miles. It was a hard effort, and the worst part was, half the race was still left! We managed to keep about a minute gap on the chasing peloton, and on the last lap I turned around and saw they were closing up on us fast. Time to work!

The 4 remaining people in the break started hammering, and we had an awesome, fluid paceline rolling. In 5 miles, we turned the 30 second gap into 70 seconds, and then we knew that one of us would come out the winner. Everyone eased off the gas in the last mile, and it started to be a cat and mouse game. I rolled up the hill half a mile from the finish on the front of the paceline, and then rotated off. The other 3 guys came up, and rode 3 abreast. So here is the situation now…3 guys, all in front of me, all riding next to each other, with the finish line .3 miles away. I waited for them to all look at one another to see who would be the first to jump. When they did, I launched an attack that left 2 of them wondering, and 1 of them chasing. Unfortunately, the chaser was able to get in my slipstream and come around me at the line. I was happy though—I got another time bonus for 2nd place, and I put 2 and 4 seconds into the other two riders in my breakaway in the last quarter mile. I was also glad the race was over. I was extremely dehydrated, and overheated. All I wanted was to find a Panera, and chill out before I had to do the time trial…

Wilmington Grand Prix

Wilmington—

RPC left the morning of, to go up to Wilmington, DE to race the Wilmington Grand Prix. This is my first huge race with the team, and I was pretty excited about the whole thing. Wilmington was a good 4 hour drive, and the time was spent in the team car with Jeff Buckles and Craig Dodson. This was also my first race back from Nationals in Wisconsin 2 weeks prior. Wilmington was a NRC race—National Racing Calendar—so all the big name teams were there, and the field was about 120 riders I think. There were a few things that had me nervous: 1. The field size. I am use to the ACCC races that have a max of 30ish riders on a good weekend. 2. The caliber of racers. These guys are fast, unlike the ACCC races which is a mixture of Cat1,2, and 3s. The grand prix was all Pro, 1…

Nonetheless, I told myself it was like collegiate nationals crit to mentally give me a boost. Man, could I have ever been more wrong? From the gun, it was balls on the wall as hard as you can go. The race was 35 miles, and was composed of an 8 turn loop. The start/finish was a long uphill, that the peloton was railing at 28mph. After what seemed like an hour of racing, Iooked down at my watch to see how long we’ve actually gone…. 9 minutes. Crap, are you kidding me??

Buckles, Dodson, and Matt Spohn were already in good position. Buckles and Spohn got the prestigious call-up because of previous race results. I focused on them and started moving up person by person each lap. It took forever to get anywhere, or at least it seemed that way. I would pass people, a lap later take a peek behind me, and no one would be there. They would pull out of the race, and it seemed like I was always last. Around the 3^rd mile on the course, I hit a gnarley bump and sent my front wheel out of true. I continued to race on it for another 30 minutes until I looked down and noticed that the wheel was rubbing my front brake. That lap, I stopped and got a free lap, switched out my front Kazane wheel for a Zipp 404.

When I jumped back in, I found myself sitting comfortably in the mid pack range. I maintained my spot for about 10 laps. Going around a corner, a guy in from of me bumped wheels and he ended up going down. I had the OS syndrome—“Oh Shit” and swerved around him. “Phew” I thought…but no sooner did I think I was safe, a guy came from behind me and took me out. There I was, laying on the ground with 4 other people. Luckily, no one was seriously injured, and I rushed by to the start finish to the wheel pit to get another free lap. This time when I jumped in, I was sitting top 20. Also at that moment, a small cloud came overhead and let out some rain. Not a lot of rain though, just enough to mix the oil to the top of the road… danger!! Going down one the hills, 15 guys in front of me all fell over at the same time. I’ve never seen anything like it before. They just all fell, at the exact same time, without even hitting one another. I found myself now in the top 5, and I was freaking out. There were 8 laps to go, and I was in a perfect position!! At the lap counter kept ticking down, I was having a harder and harder time maintaining my spot. I kept drifting back, slowly, until I found myself in the very back of the field. I didn’t understand what was going on. My fitness is good, I was mashing down the gears, yet I was going backwards??? With 4 laps to go, I pulled out. After inspecting my bike on the side of the road, I noticed my back break was rubbing. It wasn’t a soft rub either—it was a rub that wouldn’t even let the wheel spin around when you free spin it with your hand. I guess the crash ended up knocking my brake out of alignment, and consequently put an end to the 1^st big race of the year. Things are coming together though, and I’m learning quite a lot from the guys on RPC. Definitely a great group of guys, and I’m exciting to be riding with them this year. We’ll see what comes of it!!

Ps. Sorry this blog is a late post. I started writing it and never finished… now its done though, so yay.

Graduation!

This will be short, sweet, and to the point...since it happened last week. Apparently I graduated? Wow. Hard to believe that there is no more college, unless I decide to go back for some higher education. I dont even know what im going to do right now with life. This summer I will be riding bikes, and doing my last internship at NASA. After August, who knows. I'm definitely going to be making some trips to WiMa to see some of the cycling guys, and other special people that go there. Anyways, cool stuff--- Neuroscience and Kinesiology & Health Science degrees. Now, to figure out what to do!!

The Fastest Hour of My Life

After winning the National Title from the previous day in the Road Race, I was pretty tired. I slept with compression socks on in hopes of speeding the recovery, which I assumed worked. I woke up at 8am to my phone ringing… it was my dad. He forgot about the difference in time zones, and consequently feasted on my sleep. I was going to wake up around 9ish anyways to go to the continental breakfast which ended at 10am. Surprisingly, I was not that sore, or tired. I looked outside, and it was nice and sunny, but the downside was the wind blowing 20mph and the temperature being 35 degrees. Later in the day it was suppose to warm up to 50 degrees.

I ate breakfast and had my morning cup of Joe. The crit was not until 17:00 that evening, so I had 8 hours to kill before the race. I ended up chilling in the hotel room listening to music, and talking to some friends online. Before I knew it, lunch time rolled around, and I went to get a Subway footlong oven-roasted chicken. Its always my favorite before a race because I feel like it digests fast. Maybe I just tricked myself into thinking that, but nonetheless it does the trick. I went to the subway in the City Center where the race would be held. USAC was just starting to get things set up for the day, and there were tons of people there because a farmers market was going on at the same time. Also, I had to go purchase a banquet ticket because I now had a reason to go. I figured I might as well enjoy my only collegiate national championship event, especially since I was getting some bling bling.

After getting food in my stomach and emptying the wallet for the ticket, I went back to the hotel for a pre-race nap. It was hard to fall asleep, but I managed to pass out for 20 minutes. My phone was going off left and right with text messages, and every time I was about to be out, it went off again. I should have put it on silent, oh well. I ended up waking up at 15:00, made a few adjustments on my bike, hydrated, listened to some “pump up” music, and then went to the course. The temperature was still pretty cold, and I had to wear knee warmers along with arm warmers again. When I got to the course, I went to scope things out and watch what was going down around the corners. The course was run around the Capital Building, and looked pretty fast and smooth, almost scary. I was waiting for a crash to happen in the Womens D1 race, but it never occurred… kudos to them. 25 minutes before the race I finally went back to my car to sit inside and get out of the cold/ get dressed for the race (its how I warm up…). Afterwards, I proceeded to empty the remaining contents in my bladder. I was freezing riding up to the start line where the johnnyhouses were; and was shaking trying to stay warm. I actually camped out in the johnnys (as gross as that sounds) just to stay warm before the race. Once I heard the announcer say there were 3 laps to go in the Women’s race, I exited my campsite to continue the shivering on the sidelines.

Capital Building

After the course was clear, the next race (my race! Mens DII) were allowed to pedal around. I made it a whole lap before they stopped everyone… kind of a bummer because I wanted to take the turns at full speed and get a feel for everything. Also, I wanted to make sure the bike was still in good working order after 3.5 hours of rain racing the previous day. All the guys lined up 50m before the start line, and the announcers were getting things prepped for the race. I got another CALL UP to the start line for the crit, and I was the first one they called up. My head was a little big, but whatever. It has never happened to me before and I enjoyed it. “Cory Scott of the College of William and Mary. Your ACCC conference winner” …and then they proceeded to call the other conference winners, and then to follow, the rest of the collegiate racers. We stood on the start line for a couple of minutes, and then the countdown began: “THREE, TWO, ONE (at 1, everyone took off) GO!!!!!!!”

All you heard for 5 seconds was cleats clipping in to the pedals, and then the horsepower was let loose! If you can harness 75 guys power, sprinting as hard as they can, we’re talking about big numbers here. To put that in perspective, in general, a single cyclist has a greater power to weight ratio than a small car! Immediately a guy went off the front. I chased him down…not sure why, but it was stupid. Definitely way too early to do that crap in an hour long race. I thought since the early break in the road race worked the previous day, then maybe it would work in the crit?? Wrong. The course was concrete pavement, with 2 downhills, 1 uphill, and 1 straightway at the finish line…and lots and lots of cracks and pothole-ish stuff. Weird surface, but very fast. I think we averaged somewhere around 27mph, probably a little faster. Jeff Buckles from RPC gave me a strategy: basically wait until 30 minutes (half way through) to attack. The race was intense. Every rider was fighting for a top spot. Occasionally I would move to the back without realizing it, and then have to fight to get a position back. It was extremely hard moving up, and the only opportunity I would get was on the uphill. At some points in the race, I drew a complete blank and chilled. I wouldn’t pedal hard; 10 people would pass me and it would be a kick in the face, and things would start working again. It was great racing and having people cheering for me though. I had John Crow’s parents hollering, as well as some Navy people that were yelling at me. Very encouraging, and definitely helped keep me going. Around the 5^th lap in the race around turn 4, I went on the inside to make up ground. Bad idea. I hit a groove in the concrete and sent me squirreling. Once I gained control, I sprinted to keep up with the few places I lost. From then on, I was focused on moving toward the front.

The primes in the race threw things off a lot. I really wished I was up front when the bell was rung so I could counterattack, but I always seemed to be mid-pack, chasing to stay onto the lead group. At the 25^th minute, I launched a solid attack that even the announcer called out: “Now ladies and gentlemen, this is how you attack a field…” and then I couldn’t hear anymore. I was roped in after a lap, but did lots of damage. I turned around and saw a long line of riders in the drops, trying to grab a wheel. My attack actually set up for a counterattack, which I jumped in on. It went nowhere though, and soon the remaining peloton was together again. For the last 30 minutes of the race, attacks were being launched nearly every lap, and none would succeed. I knew with 5k to go, it would be a sprint finish, and I started to move up through the peloton, fighting for a spot. It got nasty. Every person in the top 20 thought they could win the race. With 3 laps to go, around turn 1, a MIT rider swung wide and pushed the Army rider into the curb. I was right next to him, and he bounced off the curb and started to come into me. Luckily, he saved himself, in addition to my wellbeing. Still, too close of a call for that point of the race. I told myself that since I had made it this far through the race, I’m damn well going to finish the best I could. I didn’t let off the gas for the remaining 5 minutes.

Mesa State was on the front with all their guys driving the peloton hard. We were churning the laps around 30mph, and once you throw in some bumping with other riders and corning, everything gets sketchy. The bell lap rang, and I was in 8^th place, still fighting to get higher up in the paceline. It was nearly impossible though. The guys weren’t giving up their spot, and I had to sit in where I was. With 2 turns to go, the last Mesa State rider pulled off the front and led their German star, Geng to fend for himself. This turn led us up the hill, into the last turn which was 150m before the finish. I knew that whatever place I was in around the last turn is more or less what place I would stay in for the overall race. I managed to sprint up and push my way into 6^th place, and didn’t gain or lose anything after that turn. I did all I could, and honestly was a little disappointed with 6^th place. When you put it in perspective though, 6^th in the Nation sounds pretty good. Additionally, I finished 3^rd place in the omnium at Nationals—which is a combination of points in the road race and crit.

Geng winning, me coming in 6th. Average Lap speed for final lap was 55kph

All in all, a decent weekend at nationals. Thanks to all of you who were following me on Twitter/ facebook and supporting me while I was on in Wisconsin. I cant express my appreciation enough!

Off to Collegiate Nationals/ Road Race Report.

My trip began heading to Richmond, VA Wednesday night for a RPC sponsored event of the showing of Bicycle Dreams in the Byrd Theatre. It was a pretty touching movie, and we had around 330 people show up to it, which was awesome!! After the movie, Jeff Buckles and I went out to get some Mexican… it was cinco de mayo, as well as $1 enchilada night. No brainer, we had to go. I ended up getting 2 chicken, and 2 potato enchiladas, and then headed back to the apartment to finished sorting my bike box for the 6am flight out of Richmond International the following morning. I slept on the sofa that night, basically because I did not want to get too comfortable and be in such a deep sleep that I missed the alarm. The sofa worked great!! I woke up every 90 minutes, until 4am, packed my car, and headed to the airport. Off to Madison, Wisconsin I go!!

From RIC I flew into Detroit, and from Detroit to Madison was only a 16 minute flight (16 minutes because of the time zone differences. It was really over an hour). When I got to Madison, the bike made it in 1 piece, which is always great to see. I went over to the Enterprise car rental stand and got my vehicle. Toyota Corolla FTW!! The back seats fold down, so everything fit nicely. I was starving by then, and went to eat Panera –black bean soup and bread bowl with whole grain bread. Excellent stuff!! Once I finished, I went inside the grocery store (Copps) which is an awesome store!! I killed about 40 minutes walking around. They had a nice organic section, and they also served beer, wine, and liquor all in the same aisle!!!! Screw the ABC stores, I’m going grocery shopping!! From Copps, I ventured down to the heart of the city where the race hotel was to grab my number and turn in some paperwork. The registration opened at 14:00, and it was 13:30. I walked over to the crit course, scoping it out. It’s a perfect rectangle, about .6 miles long with 2 downhills, 1 flat, and 1 uphill. Of course, if I walked the opposite direction, it would be 2 uphills, 1 flat, and 1 downhill… I have no clue which way the course will be run on Saturday… By the time my walking festivities were done, I got the packet and some free stuff (Gatorade bottle, towel, stickers, Flex Power.. ect) and went to find my hotel. Im staying in the Grand Hotel, which is really nice. I checked in and was told of all the amenities in the hotel… 24 hour pool/hot tub, free popcorn every evening, coffee 24/7, awesome continental breakfast, and my room has a king size bed, with a sofa, fridge, coffee maker, microwave, andddd is on the top floor. I feel kind of legit…

After checking in, I put the bike together, and made sure all the workings were in fact working. I then went out to ride the National Road Race course to get a feel for what was coming. Most people were gone by the time I got there. I saw very few riders, and a few Navy chicks. Some guy for UCSC was on the side of the road with a broken rear derailleur. It was Sram Red….That’s what you get for riding that crap, Tiagra FTW (j/k!). Initially I was going to ride the course twice, and get in about 30 miles. Something happened where I took a wrong turn, and I still rode 30 miles…except it was only 1 loop, oops. Luckily I found my way back to the mountain where the start/finish was. The frustrating part was I could see the mountain the whole time I was lost…I just couldn’t find the right roads to get back!!!!! Ugh.

After riding, I was debating whether or not to go eat oatmeal or subway. Having a head cold and a stuffy nose, I decided to go for the foot long oven roasted chicken with lettuce, tomato, green peppers, and jalapeños!! The jalapeños were for the nose to become unstuffed. Luckily, it temporarily worked. That night, the nose issue came back and I could do was hope that rest/sleep would fix it.

The wake up call came at 5:40am Friday morning. The race was at 8:40, and I wanted time to get some food/coffee in me, and have time to get stuff out of my digestive system. For breakfast I had a packet of honey nut oatmeal, 1 packet of maple brown sugar oatmeal, 2 slices of wheat bread, 2 cups of coffee, and a yogurt. Num num num. I was ready!!

2010 Collegiate Road Nationals RACE REPORT!
First off, this is from Velonews talking about road nationals... "The Blue Mounds course, which would have been home to the Olympic road race had Chicago won their recent bid, may be home to the ascension of another crop of collegiates-turned pros."
Now for the report!

At 7am I left for the race. It’s about a 40 minute drive to get to the course because it’s in the middle of nowhere—Blue Mound State Park. There was a $5 entry fee to get into the state park…which I had to go get from the ATM machine in the convenience store at the bottom of the mountain. The car in front of me didn’t pay and I asked the ranger person why. She said that they were USADA (“You-Sad-uh”)--- The drug testers. I thought it was BS that they didn’t have to pay…I mean, sheesh. I’m a college kid, that’s a good enough reason too!! Anyways, I drove to the top of the mountain. It was 40 degrees and raining. I was not about to do anything for warm-up. The first 10 minutes of the race were all downhill, and I was going to freeze. I put on 2 sets of arm warmers, a tech T-shirt, and borrowed gloves from a fellow ACCCer, Reid Beloni. (Thanks Reid, truly a life saver!!) At 8:20am, I realized I should start getting ready because they were lining up the racers at 8:30ish… I still had to pin my numbers, put my bike number on, and put on all my “warm” clothes. I was kind of freaking out… Time goes by fast when there is a deadline. I have always wondered why this occurs, and I’m sure I will never find out. Anways, I got to the line at 8:35, 5 minutes before the start, I was in the back of everyone…what a bummer. How the heck was I suppose to maneuver around all these national caliber athletes to even have a shot at controlling the race?? “Cory Scott from the College of William and Mary”. What the hell? The announcer called my name. I got a CALL UP for NATIONALS!!! SWEEEEEEET!! Basically, all the favorites of the race were brought to the front so we can have a big target on our backs, and so people know who we are. I wasn’t complaining…I got a good start spot The rest of the racers lined up behind the 8 targets, all shivering from the cold rain. I was shaking like my life depended on it. I was ready for this thing to get started!!

There was a neutral roll out down the mountain to the stop sign. It was only about .5 miles, but it was a brutal .5 miles. Very very steep, with grades kicking up to 15%....and we had to finish up this darn thing! Once the neutral rollout was no longer neutral, the testosterone was unleashed. Balls on the wall, we beamed down the rest of the mountain at speeds around 70-80kph. Some of the turns were sketchy just because there were so many people, the roads were wet, and the speeds were insane. Nonetheless, no one crashed, and I was still at the front end of the peloton. About 2 miles into the race, a group went off the front, but they were brought back within a minute or 2. Once they were reeled in, a counterattack happened. 3 dudes went off the front and nobody responded! They were all just looking around, and once the group was a good .5 km ahead, I launched an attack that left people looking once again. “Awesome” I thought. Just drive it until I get into the break. I chased on for a good mile before I finally caught the group of 3. One guy was from Mesa State, another from Whitman College, and the last guy I didn’t pay attention to. He was a being a douche, and wasn’t taking any pulls. His excuse was “I have teammates back there…” We were like, “seriously dude? You are in the lead break?!?” Whatever. We dropped his a$$ on the first climb of the day, and never saw him again. So then there were 3.

On the last climb at the end of each lap, there was a huge group of dedicated spectators giving out water and yelling for us to go faster. I also somehow had a support crew…not sure who it was, but it was definitely a girl’s voice that said “Go Cory!!” hmmm, maybe a secret admirer?? haha . Whoever you are, thanks!! At the top of the hill, we turned and started the loop over again, which meant descending for a few miles a high speeds. My front derailleur was acting up, and whenever I stopped pedaling, it would shift into the small ring and make things kind of sketchy. This pillaged my descending abilities, so I always got in the back of the breakaway to avoid problems. Usually they descended faster, and I had to chased on 50m to get back with them. Oh well… fun times.

The break stayed that way for another 3 laps of the 5 lap course. We put about 3 minutes into the main peloton, and had a solo chaser a minute back. The chaser was the teammate of the Mesa State guy already in the break… They were both Germans, and one of them was predicted to be the overall winner of the road race. I wasn’t sure which one…they looked exactly the same, talked the same, and were both beastly. The solo chaser caught us, and looked to be in good form. I mean, if you can bridge up to a breakaway for 2 laps by yourself, you have to be an animal. Also, you have to be pretty dang tired, and I knew this. On the 4th lap, the German Mesa dude that was in the original break dropped off due to what his German counterpart (Richard Geng) called “fatigue.” I had to laugh, and I told Geng at least we traded one for the other! I was happy. The less people in the breakaway, the better the shot at placing high. I noticed on the 4th lap both guys were struggling on the climbs. I was dancing around on the pedals, feeling the best I have ever felt… minus the hypothermia I could feel setting in (The temperature remained 40ish degrees, and the rain NEVER let up. Talk about Belgian style racing! Epic). It would be weird, one moment I would be burning up, regretting wearing 2 sets of arm warmers. 5 minutes later I was telling myself, “darn I’m so glad I have all these layers on.” At some points in the race I was shaking from the cold, especially on the descents. I was glad I was in the breakaway working the whole time. I cant imagine being stuck in the peloton the whole race. At least not today. Anyways, on the last hill of the 4th lap (which is a good mileish climb), Geng and I dropped the Whitman College kid. He would catch back on for the descent on the 5th lap, but I now had a mental edge on him. The moto official came up to us and said we had a chase group of 3, ninety seconds behind, and the main field was still 3 minutes back. I knew then I was guaranteed top 10 at nationals! Especially having the Shimano Support Vehicle following us the whole time…if I needed a new bike I could just wave them down and trade real fast. Talk about a comfortable feeling! Woooo.

The last lap was fast. I was driving hard, to ensure our 70 miles of effort stuck. The other 2 guys in the break were doing the same, except not as hard. I knew I was the strongest rider of the 3 riders, and I knew my only competition was Geng, because Whitman said all he wanted to do was stick with us until the last climb. The final climbs approached fast. The moto official came up to us and said there was a chaser less than a minute back!! Ohhh man, I was not about to get caught after being out for over 3 hours. I increased the intensity, and noticed a gap on Geng. I then put my head down and drove hard for a minute, turned around to take a peak, and to my satisfaction he was about 150m back. Wow, I was actually doing it. I continued to drive on. Spit was running down my face because I was breathing so hard, and was so fatigued I couldn’t control it, nor did I care. The rain was washing it away anyways. I made the final turn and headed up the entrance of the State park where the park ranger ripped me off $5. By then, I couldn’t even see the competition. I kept hammering though, just in case. The 15% grade killed me. My numb legs and arms started to cramp, and I was ready to be done. Luckily, close to the top spectators were cheering me on. Awesome! The road flattened out, but was pretty bumpy. I turned around to take one more glance to see what was coming. Nothing!! I put it in the big ring, and did the 2 arm pump across the finish line. I won Collegiate Road Race Nationals!!!!!!! 30 seconds after the finish, I was told I had to go get drug tested…and from that point on, my shadow had a new best friend. An official stuck to me like white on rice. I had to drive in the car with him, change into dry clothes in from of him, if I needed something out of my car he had to come. This is a very specific protocol we’re talking about here. Still, the drug testers were nice people nonetheless. I was too tired to care…

On my last note, I just want to thank a few people in particular. Reid Beloni for the gloves. I would not have made it through that grueling race without them. WiMa rec sports for sponsoring this trip. And Richmond Pro Cycling, because of their awesome support with everything. Lets not forget to mention all the shoutouts I got from all those cool kids back at college!

Satisfying my 'noms'

Man, what a rough week. I don’t even remember it all due to lack of sleep, studying, and cramming in 30 hours this week at NASA. I finished my Spring internship on Friday, and had a technical paper that was due. I hate writing papers, especially scientific ones. Also, this week was the last week of class. Hard to believe I am done with undergraduate school…forever! Wow. I finished on Thursday, but did not participate in any festivities since I was finishing up my internship. On Friday, I had the ‘end of the year’ meeting with my area director for ResLife. That was fun…it just made me realize how fast time really goes by. I also realized that it’s a lot easier to tell someone you are going to stay in touch, then to actually do it. My A.D. and I were talking about how very few of the old RA’s stay in touch once they leave. Out of the 60 people in the past 3 years… maybe 10 still drop by an occasional ‘hello’. I try to keep in touch with the people, and it’s definitely hard. From high school, I haven’t talked to anyone in a year, and I wonder if it is going to be the same for college. I feel like that is the way of life though. You make temporary friends to get through situations, and have someone by your side when you need them. Once you leave that environment, you don’t need that people anymore so you look for other connections. Right now, I still stay in touch with a few people from college—Mike Orciga (who came to visit me this weekend!!) and TJ Storm. There are definitely others, like guys from the WiMa cycling team, but these two are probably the highest on my priority list. Upon graduation in 2 weeks, I intend on keeping up with the cycling team here. They are a great group of guys (every one of them!), and I can’t even find the words now to say how appreciable I am. Being in Richmond next year, I’m excited that it’s only a short 3 hour bike ride to Williamsburg…or a 1 hour drive. So I’m definitely going to be making some trips down, and be that kid who never left…whatever. Crashing in rooms, ridin bikes, and drinking beer. The good life…

Also, this week was pretty stressful. People get too pissed, too easily. Maybe it’s the stress from the approaching finals… I don’t care though. I’m definitely not going to be seeing them after 2 weeks; just have to make it until then!! In 4 days, I will hopefully fly out to Madison, WI for collegiate cycling nationals. I’ll get on that paperwork on Monday. Super pumped for that!! My fitness is decent right now. It could be a lot better, but I have all season to improve. I mean, the really big races are in the summer anyways, so there is time. This weekend, I rode out in Surry with Greg Grosicki. It was about 90 degrees, and we had an eternal head wind. Which was nice in a masochist way—we rode 120 miles!! (I ended up doing a loop when I got back to Williamsburg and make it around 132 miles.) Fun times. Greg did really well. It was his 2^nd century ever, so kudos to him. I’m use to them by now. Last year during the summer I would hit up a 5-6 hour ride at least once a week. This is why bikes dominate my life, and I’m not complaining about that at all. It’s what makes me happy… I would much rather go on a 3 hour ride, than hang out with friends. It gives me a chance to get away from the real world, think about the day, and the following day. It’s my time to plan the schedule, which is why I never write anything down-- It’s all in my head. Usually that plan works, and I feel like if something is really important, I will get reminders about them prior to the event. Sometimes there is that one moment in a day, and on a bike ride, that everything is perfect. I was talking to Greg about it on our 6 hour expedition the other day. It’s when the tailwind is blowing at just the right speed and direction, and everything is quiet. All you hear are the tires whooshing along on the tarmac, and the churning of the crank 90 times/minute. In an awkward way, its peaceful. Even if you feel like complete crap, it makes everything better (until the head winds hits you again).

Anyways, let talk about the upcoming summer…wow! Talk about CRAZY! I’m interning at NASA, as well as doing Richmond Pro Cycling, and volunteering- hopefully as a tutor in juvenile development center. (RPC is all about civic leadership). And then I have to add in the 20-30 hours of training per week (riding bikes), as well as driving to Richmond to do RPC stuff every week, AND racing bikes in various locations on the weekend. Sleep? Eat? Maybe, if there is time. Right now, it’s looking to be 90 hour work weeks, by the time I do everything I need to do...

I really wanted to go down to Kill Devil Hills or Cape Carteret to stay with my folks. Not sure if there will be time for that. Maybe one weekend if there is no race, the RPC guys can come down to the OBX and chill/surf/ ride bikes/ eat good food. We shall see!

Lastly subjects… coffee and bikes. This week, Greg and I made a new invention…kind of. We get a bag of chocolate chips, melted them over a double pan, and threw some whole coffee beans in...num num num. Talk about le jitters. That stuff works awesome!! Each piece of candy has about 20-30 beans, which is around 2 cups of coffee. Great news for final exams coming up this week. Also, I just pick up my Kazane frameset from RPC and spent Saturday night building it up in the Duty Office with JOA. Good times, and a great friend. Thanks for the help!!