OK.  Haven’t been writing much about bike racing lately.  I’ve mainly been moping around the country trying to emulate a bicycle racer.  I raced in Superweek some.  Never finished worse than 20th.  Never better than 10th.  In the Chicago $$$$ Criterium, I was 2 places out of the $$.  Then Tour of Kansas City.  All three days riding worse than mediocre.  5th at Cliff Drive Road Race might look OK on paper, but it wasn’t much of a result.  Now criterium Nationals.  Again.  Elite race. Again.  Anyway, below is a picture of what a nice result would have been. Check the wheel position at the line.  And the form.

Anyway, it was the final result, minus me.  Ken Hansen, winner of the race, on the right,  was most likely always going to win that race if it came down to a field sprint.  He is super fast and has the course dialed.  I was having a pretty bad weekend.  Even comparing it to recent horrible weekends.  I woke up in Chicago early Saturday morning feeling like s**t.  Super achey, flu symptoms.  I was in bed virtually all day and night Saturday.  Didn’t eat anything, but the $55 entry fee for the Saturday night race.  I think that puts me close to nearly a $1000 worth of entries this year of races I didn’t start.  Probably more than the rest of my “career” combined.  I had a fever of 96 degrees most of the day.  Go figure.  Then all of a sudden around 10pm Saturday night, it popped up to 101.8.  I felt pretty bad.  I watched the Olympics until late, then fell asleep.  I woke sometime after 2am, dreached in sweat.  Like a gallon of water.  Pretty much the next 5 hours, that was the situation.  I woke up again around 9am, took my temperature.  96.8.  Aches gone.  Felt OK.  Ate some pancakes, put on my cycling clothes and rode to the course to get my number.  I was super weak, but it is the Elite Nationals.  That race historically has been less than fast.  And that was the case this year.  I never made an effort the whole race.  Never got close to winded.  And below is the result.

Yea.  Going into the last lap, Texas Roadhouse had 4 guys lined up.  I was around 10 guys back.  I dove the inside of the first turn and moved up to the back of the leadout for the 2nd corner.  I started turning left before they had finished swinging out to turn.  I tried, of course, to correct my line, but no.  User error would most likely be the best description of the fall.  I’d have to say I wasn’t 100% at fault.  Maybe closer to 90%.  I wasn’t having the best balance day for sure. I felt pretty weird, and still do, from the flu. I got up and rode back to the 4th corner from the end and Texas Roadhouse was still there at the front.  S**t.  What a drag.  But, Ken Hansen smeared everyone, so the race probably wasn’t winable.  Alex Boyd finished 3rd.  Good result.  So, I’ve only ridden one day in the last 5.  Good rest before ‘cross season?

Speaking of ‘cross, it is coming up pretty fast.    Below is a photo of a weird sign I got a couple weeks ago.  I took Bromont, our dog, for a walk in Lake Geneva, Saturday, before the Chicago criterium.  I came back to the van that I had parked in a residential area and laying there, on the ground, behind the van, was a single inline ‘cross brake lever. Really weird! I went running that night. What are the odds of that being there?  Strange.  Nothing like running when you’re riding like crap.  You thought bike riding was painful.  Not that bad compared.

Did you guys see that they found maybe something like 125,000 western lowland gorillas in a very secluded place in the Republic of Congo in Africa? It made my day. Maybe week/month. I didn’t realize how worried I was about the gorilla situation until I heard of this discovery. It is very rare that something like this happens nowadays. It goes to show you how big the planet is and that there are still places above the water’s surface that haven’t been altered by man’s dominance. There are less than 700 mountain gorillas left in the wild still. Their numbers are being reduced to make charcoal. Anyway, this discovery a good thing.

OK. Behind again. Superweek. Chicago. Home. Not many good results to report for me. It is 1 million degrees in Kansas right now. Training is kind of fruitless, but still attempted. I was looking in my toolbox and realized it is a mess. Then I saw the culprit. Caught in action below.

OK. I’m a couple weeks behind again. But, I need to stick to the chronological order thing I suppose. So, I’ll try to play catch up. Went up to Omaha for a couple criteriums. The guys up there always find fun, technical courses to ride, so I try to get up there whenever I’m around the midwest. I’m not sure what the deal was, but there were less than 20 starters in the 1-2 race on Saturday and Sunday. Whatever the reason was, I wasn’t into it at all. We had 7 guys there and that isn’t fun bike racing for anyone. But, it was. At least for me. It is very rarely in this sport that I am pretty surprised. But, Saturday was one of those days. I had finally felt OK riding for a couple days and was looking forward to riding hard. With the majority of the field riding on my team, I wasn’t sure how it was going to play out. It played out strange. I got into a break immediately with Alex Boyd. Local Omaha guy that is national level. National Collegiate Road Champion a couple times and a good rider all around. Then Bill, Shad and Chris eventually showed up. That is 4 of us, 1 of him. Anyway, the photo below shows the outcome. I could go into a long process how that came to be, but the real answer was that he was riding the best. Maybe, by miles. I’m not sure still. But, I’m still amazed. As a rider, this is a photo that you never want taken.

Sunday was a do over. I don’t think anyone was looking forward to it. It was pretty hot and a pretty hard course. It went pretty much from the gun. Then Alex managed to throw himself onto the ground in a sketchy corner. He took a free lap, but I think he had enough of the jumpfest, so finally let me go. Sundays photos are better from my perspective, but he had the better weekend by far. Up at Superweek now. Update tomorrow. Oh, sure!

I’ve been kind of just hanging around the last couple weeks.  Trying to get going good and catch up on some stuff I put off from travel.  Like hanging some drywall, prunning trees, giving blood ect.  Recovery type stuff!  I’ve been riding abit better in training, so maybe things are going to be OK for the last half of the season.  It’s always nice to have the Tour on live in the morning over breakfast.

I went to the doctor a couple times.  Had a blood test.   I waited over an hour for a 4 minute draw.  They are way more interested in your drivers license/insurance card/bank account statement/prize winnings than actually helping you medically.  It’s amazing how much blood they take.  I thought they took too much, then they took more.  I said to the guy, “do you actually use all the blood?”  he said no.  I said, “shit, I need that blood, can I have it back?”  He didn’t reply.

There have been a ton of turtles on the roads this year.  Maybe because of all the rain, but I can’t swear that is the reason.  I have serious personal rules about encountering turtles when riding. I’ve seen way too many squished in my lifetime to ignore them.   The short list-always move turtles out of the road when training.  Especially box or green turtles.  It OK just to kick a snapping turtle off the road.  I actually don’t mind seeing snapping turtles not make it across the road.  I hate them. They are super mean.   But, if they are alive when you come upon them, then you have an obligation to move them.  Moving turtles when racing is a different matter.  You have to use common sense to decide if you have enough time to spare.  Or enough energy to catch back on, depending on the situation.  I’ve moved a lot of turtles during races.  Most the time everyone will wait for me.  It’s better to be in a break.  Trudi moved a turtle during a time trial last Monday.  She didn’t get her time back though. Bad call by the timers.

I raced twice in Nebraska this past weekend.  I’ll post the results later today.

Catherine Walberg’s cover shot below. Guess there is a photo of me in the article too somewhere. But, it’s always fun getting the cover.

The New York Times had an article today about EPO drug testing. It sounds like a joke. I have avoided addressing drug usage on my website, but this is crazy. So, all these guys that are caught using EPO have an out. Of course, that is if they haven’t already confessed. I figure you can drug test just about any of these guys and tell them that they are positive for EPO. Most of them probably wouldn’t even appeal because, of course, they take it. I do think that the mentality of drug usage/non usage has improved dramatically the last couple years. But, just watch the races and the speeds. Nothing has changed that much yet. But, hopefully we’re on a better track. Story below.

Study Shows Problems With Olympic-Style Tests

Athletes who want to cheat by injecting themselves with a performance-enhancing drug that boosts their blood cell count can do so with little risk of getting caught, a new study indicates, possibly exposing another flaw in what is regarded as the world’s toughest anti-doping program.

A urine test that is supposed to detect the drug, and that will be used in the Tour de France next month and in the Olympics in August, is likely to miss it, the study says. The substance, recombinant human erythropoietin, known as EPO, stimulates bone marrow to speed up production of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. And with more blood cells, endurance athletes like cyclists and distance runners can perform better.

EPO is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, an international group that promotes and coordinates efforts to stop doping in sports and whose program is followed by the International Olympic Committee. The agency defends its EPO test and questioned the latest study.

Although athletes have said EPO is in widespread use, few have tested positive. Most of the athletes who have been linked to doping in recent years have been caught not through drug testing, but rather through criminal investigations. In the August 2006 issue of the journal Blood, the American lab accredited to conduct EPO testing reported only 9 positive tests out of 2,600 urine samples.

The new study may help explain why: the test simply failed.

The study, to be published Thursday in the online edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology, was conducted last summer and fall by a renowned lab in Denmark, the Copenhagen Muscle Research Center. The investigators gave eight young men EPO and collected urine samples on multiple occasions before, during and after the men were doping. The men’s urine samples were then sent to two labs accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and EPO tests were requested.

The first lab found some samples positive and a few others suspicious. (A suspicious result does not bring sanctions for doping.) The lab also declared a sample positive, although the man had stopped taking the drug and it should have been gone from his urine. His previous urine sample, obtained when he was taking EPO, was negative in this lab’s test.

The second lab did not deem any urine sample positive for EPO and found only a few to be suspicious. The two labs did not agree on which samples were suspicious.

The anti-doping agency’s rules say that if an athlete’s urine shows traces of EPO, it must be tested again by a different accredited lab. The athlete is declared guilty of doping only if the second lab also detects EPO. By that rule, none of the subjects would have been charged with using EPO, even though their red blood cell counts rose and their performances on an endurance test improved.

“The paper certainly is an eye-opener,” said Don Catlin, the chief executive of Anti-Doping Research, a nonprofit group in Los Angeles. “It’s quite remarkable.”

But Olivier Rabin, scientific director of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said his group had tested its labs, sending samples of urine from people who were taking EPO and from people who were not. In general, he said, the labs agreed. But Dr. Rabin added that when the agency sends samples to its labs, they are not sent anonymously — the lab knows the samples are from WADA.

The agency does not share data from the tests on its labs, so it was not possible to determine how the organization’s research compared with the latest study.

“I have never seen such a drastic situation as the one reported in this article,” said Dr. Rabin, who questioned whether it reflected the true state of EPO testing.

The findings in the latest study should be no surprise, said Charles E. Yesalis, a professor of sports science at Pennsylvania State University. For decades, he said, anti-doping authorities have claimed they have tests that work and for decades athletes have been taking drugs without getting caught.

The anti-doping authorities, he said, “remind me of little boys whistling in the graveyard.”

Still, the study’s lead author, Carsten Lundby, a physiologist at the Copenhagen Muscle Research Center, said he had mixed feelings about publishing the paper. His concern was that if he laid out the test’s weakness, he was telling athletes that they can probably take EPO without getting caught.

“It’s a nasty problem,” said Dr. Joris Delanghe, a professor of clinical chemistry at the University of Ghent in Belgium. He and Dr. Michael Joyner of the Mayo Clinic wrote an editorial accompanying the paper.

The finding is especially provocative, Dr. Joyner noted, because only last month, another study, by researchers in Sweden, called into question another urine test for a performance-enhancing substance, testosterone. The investigators showed that a substantial number of men and, in particular, Asian men, have a gene deletion that allows them to take testosterone and reap all the drug’s benefits but escape detection. The testosterone test, too, will be used at the Olympics and the Tour de France.

The EPO study involved eight young men, university students in Copenhagen, who agreed to be injected with EPO over a four-week period and have their blood cell counts and athletic performance monitored before, during and after they took the drug. The EPO regimen was similar to regimens used by athletes who were trying to cheat. The men had EPO injections every other day for two weeks to get the process going and then had one injection per week to maintain their increased blood cell production.

The researchers were primarily interested in learning whether the young men’s athletic performance improved — it did, and markedly so. At maximum effort, the men’s performances improved by 9 to 16 percent. But at a slightly lower level of exertion, performance improved by 50 percent, Dr. Lundby said. Athletes taking EPO can go 50 percent longer at that somewhat lower level of effort, which can make a major difference in an endurance event like the Tour de France or a marathon, Dr. Lundby said.

The investigators asked whether the sole reason for the improvement was increased numbers of red blood cells, and it was. But they also realized they had an opportunity to investigate the validity of the EPO test. So, without telling the anti-doping labs what they were doing, the investigators sent the men’s urine samples for EPO testing.

One of the two labs, which the researchers refer to as Lab B in their paper, never declared a sample positive, even when the men were taking high doses of EPO every other day. Lab A was inconsistent. It found EPO during the high dose phase. But in the maintenance phase, it found EPO in only 6 of the 16 samples.

It is not terribly surprising that the labs disagreed, researchers said. The EPO test, like urine tests for other hormones, including growth hormone, is extremely difficult. The lab must look for tiny chemical differences between the EPO a person makes naturally and EPO that is injected as a drug.

“It’s super-difficult,” Dr. Lundby said. “The difference between the EPO you have in your body and the recombinant EPO is not very great.”

The drug, which is used to treat patients with kidney disease, cancer and other illnesses, is made by animal cells, typically Chinese hamster ovary cells. Researchers said there were new forms of EPO and new ways of getting its effects without injecting recombinant EPO, making it even harder to detect doping.

“The list of these substances is growing,” Dr. Lundby said. “From a patient’s point of view, it’s great, but from an anti-doping view, it’s bad. The list of substances you must test for will grow and grow.”

And the possibility of a 50 percent improvement in performance has to be tempting, Dr. Lundby said. “So what do you do? You take it.”

“It doesn’t sound good for anyone who wants a drug-free sport,” he added.

Drove up a little north of Milwaukee for a twilight criteriium in Grafton. It was a great course. About a mile in the downtown area with a slight uphill on the backstretch and slightly downhill on the finish stretch. 6 corners with a tight last corner to a long 500 meter wide open sprint.

The race was pretty active right from the start. Lots of small groups forming and getting reabsorbed. The last corner was so tight that it made the drag to the finish line a nightmare if you were more than 20 guys back. My max speed was 39 mph, which surprised me. It was barely downhill. I guess there was a lot of attrition. Over 100 riders started and I heard the group was pretty small at the end.

Garrett Peltonen, from Bissell, was the strongest of the day by miles. He never missed a move and could bridge to anything that looked dangerous. Grand Performance put their million guys at the front with 5 laps to go. They weren’t going anywhere nearly fast enough to keep it stung out. Garrett took off with 3 laps to go and got an immediate 15 second gap. It was a super move and should of worked. Not quite. He made it to maybe 50 meters from the line before being passed.

I got into pretty good position going into the last corner. Adam Bergman was leading it out with Chad Hartley behind him. I was right on Josh Carter, who I thought was the fastest. But, plans were spoiled. Eric Marcotte came into the corner super hot on my inside and strafed me off Josh’s wheel. He was at the wrong angle going the wrong speed. We ended up all the way across the road up against the curb. Needless to say, a bunch of guys went by. I was still on Eric, but going nowhere. Then I figured out that I was in a 12, not an 11. I shifted and passed a few guys back. Barely cracked the top ten with a 9th place finish. I was correct in picking Josh Carter. He was the only guy to get past Garrett. With Chad Hartley finishing 3rd. I felt pretty mediocre, but had enough to at least stay on Josh’s wheel. Bad luck.

My dog got sick last nite and I had to take him to the emergency vet at 12. Didn’t get to sleep until 3. I’m thinking of just going for a long ride and skipping the Sheboygan Criterium tonight. It’s a long drive and I need to head back to Kansas.

Drove up to Cable Wisconsin to spend the week at Dennis Kruse’s compound. We buildt a garage/apartment up there a couple years ago and it is an awesome place to sleep. On Monday, it was only 54 degrees when we rode. Something close to 50 degrees cooler than the races a couple weeks ago in Oklahoma. I’m still riding like shit. But, that is all part of the territory I guess. It seems like this late spring, early summer slumps are becoming an annual thing. They seem to all start from difference causes, but the end result is the same. It is a course of mental tenacity. I might be flunking.

Sleeping at Dennis’s is awesome. The whole place is in tree cover. Plus, we put blankets over the windows. It is a den. Even my dog Bromont, an English Setter, can sleep until ten. He normally get up with the sun/birds. Pretty cool.

Bromont and I swam everyday in my favorite water place in the world. I can’t reveal where it is. Sorry. But, it is a wonderful spot. The water is so clear you can see your hand outstretched beneath you when you’re swimming. It’s kind of spooky. Plus, there are beavers, bald eagles, etc. making it their home. It’s as close to nature that I have ever came. The water is so refreshing. Right now, the top foot or so is kind of warmish. Then it gets colder in layers. When you’re treading water, your feet are pretty cold. My favorite thing is to swim down deep where it is super cold and dark, then float back to the top. When you get back up, the top layer feels like warm bath water, even though a few seconds earlier, it felt downright cold.

Riding up in Cable is great. There are no cars. Even compared to Kansas. We did a 2 hour ride on Tuesday and I swear we didn’t see one moving automobile. And we rode through town twice. Pretty unique.

Drove late yesterday down towards Milwaukee for a couple criteriums. One in Grafton, the other in Sheboygan Wisconsin. Night time with good prize lists. I have no idea of my form. Not an inkling. I hate that. Guess I’ll know in a few hours.