Yesterday we did two stages of the Velotek Gran Prix.  It is a just a local stage race, but has a pretty good field this year.  There are only around 30 riders in the Pro1/2 race, but it is a pretty even mix of teams and good riders.  Julie Funk, who is promoting the race, did a super job with the rain in the morning, keeping the race on time.

I sucked at the 2 minute time trial yesterday.  I don’t think I can start fast anymore, but maybe just didn’t warmup enough.  It was raining at the start and it was pretty early.  Garrick Valverde won the hillclimb in a time of 2:04, so he beat me by 19 seconds.  In Joe Martin last week, he beat me by about the same time in an 10:30 hillclimb.  Maybe I lost all the time in the first .75 mile last week too.

Alex Hoehn rode good, like he did last week and was 3rd, 6 seconds back.  Brian Jensen is back on the road after racing a couple gravel road races and a marathon MTB race and was 4th, which is pretty good considering how much different a 2 minute effort is from an 100 mile grind.

The criterium in the afternoon was strange, at least for me.  I couldn’t decide whether it was super easy or super hard.  I know that sounds weird, but I felt it was pretty hard, but could move around at will most of the time.

It was pretty animated and eventually the move went.  Alex made the move and drove it.  It wasn’t good for the Olathe Subaru guys, who had 8 guys in the race, but Benn Stover, who was 2nd in the TT, did a solo move and bridged up.  No one really wanted to work with Alex, the Subaru guys, Benn and Shadd Smith sitting on.  There were 4 other guys and I’m not sure their excuses.  But, Alex kept pulling and the field could never get their shit together.

Alex finished 3rd in the sprint, behind Dylan Postier, Tulsa Wheelmen and Shadd.  So with the 4 second time bonus Alex got for 3rd, he’s winning overall.

This morning we have a 87 mile road race around Lake Perry.  It is a pretty hard circuit, with a few medium climbs.  It is going to be a long race with such a small field.  I feel okay, and Brian will be much better the longer it gets, so hopefully we’ll be able to protect Alex.  I’m sure a bunch of guys are going to gang up on us, but that is local racing.

The race finishes on a pretty good climb off the damn at Lake Perry.  Hard enough that the field will split up at the finish.  Hopefully Alex will be on the same form he was yesterday, and last week in Joe Martin.  He is pretty good going up hills quick.  He only turned 18 last December, so if he was born just a couple weeks later he would be a junior.  He’s getting better pretty quickly.

Tucker is maturing quick too.  Yesterday at the criterium, I got my bike out of the van and let him out to wander.  Next thing I know he is about 1/3 mile up a hill chasing some vultures.  And he was crazy.  Bird crazy.  I walked up the hill, but he was already in the woods, chasing some other birds.  It took me 10 minutes to get him back, which isn’t that long compared to Bromont, but about 9 1/2 minutes longer than any other time he’s been loose.  Shadd Smith’s son, Finn, took care of Tucker during the races.  He had him all over the course, then took him back into the MTB trails at Clinton Park.  He was so done driving back from the race.  More tired than I’ve ever seen him.  But on the night walk, he had just as much energy as the afternoon.  He is a teenager I guess.

Tucker was a traitor after the race. He was hanging with the Olathe Subaru guys at their after race team meeting.

He was like this the whole drive back. Super done.

Last night I raced a criterium in Ashland Nebraska.  It is a small town between Omaha and Lincoln.  I had never been there, but enjoyed my short stay.

The race wasn’t until 7pm, but it was still windy.  And unseasonable cool, like mid 50’s.  The course was great, a figure 8 on a small hill.  There was over 1000 feet of climbing in 25 miles. Nothing crazy hard, but enough to make it challenging.

My only complaint on the day was the corners were a little iffy.  By that I mean they could have used a good sweeping.  Or another sweeping if they were swept initially.  There were a couple small stones in a couple of corners and all the whole pack was a little tentative, which made for a little harder race.  Other than that, it was really great.  An old-time, small town crit through residential area.  Pretty fun.

I didn’t warm up much.  I didn’t ride at home before I left, which I would have normally and then only rode 6 miles before.  I had the time, but wanted to run Tucker, then was messing with my race wheels and before I knew it, it was time to start.

I started too hard.  I got into a 4 man break the 3rd or 4th lap and rode for 4 or 5 laps off the front.  I thought it had the right combination, but obviously not.  When I looked down at my average wattage after 15 minutes it was 370.  That is pretty high.

The rest of the race was just a race.  A few other moves got away.  I made pretty much all of them.  Since I’m racing here alone, I just need to watch the combinations of the guys off the front and when they are correct, then I can jump up to the move.  I was thinking something might work, but it didn’t.

The last couple laps I sort of, in retrospect, blew it.  I got bumped before a corner and went super wide with a lap and a half to go and lost 15 slots.  So I had to use a ton of energy getting back up to good position.  On the final lap, I was planning on jumping on the finish hill.  But I got pre-jumped by Michael Allison, Olatha Subaru, and a couple other guys.  I wasn’t going to chase Michael down so I just sat up.  Shadd Smith was already at the front and they sort of pulled away.

Anyway, I wasn’t in good position going to the last corner to the sprint, which was uphill, so made a big move and got to the bottom of the hill in, maybe, 6th or 7th.  But I was out of juice and floundered up to the finish.  I might have finished 10th, maybe a couple places worse, I don’t know.  I couldn’t find the results online, so will just check them out at the road race later this morning.  I would like to get another chance at that finish.  It suited me, but I’m a little iffy right now, so I don’t know if I was just done or made enough mistakes that I didn’t have anything left at the end.

The people in Ashland were super nice.  The lady, who house I parked in front of, came out and asked me if Tucker needed a bowl of water.  He husband was mowing the lawn on a riding mower, beer in hand, smoking a cigarette.  He didn’t mow by the van because it would have been dusty. Small town neighborly.

Today is a 70 mile road race.   7 laps of a 10 mile course.  I hear it is sort of hilly, which would be good.  And it should be windy, which I like.  Should be fun.

Right after the road race, Tucker and I are heading to the Driftless area of Wisconsin to meet up with Kent Eriksen and some of his buddies.  I did it last year and it was super, so couldn’t pass it up.  The whole area, which is south of Lacrosse Wisconsin, is huge rolling hills that are dotted with Amish farms.  Super picturesque. I haven’t seen Kent and Katie for a while, so it will be good catching up.  I’m going to ride up there for 3 or 4 days and then head back to Kansas to do a  MTB race at Lake Wilson on Sunday.  Lots of travel.

Okay, need to get going, once again.

I’m not sure why my Garmin and Strava have different numbers. This is the summary for my Garmin after the race. Strava said average wattage was 305 and a 330NP. The max is pitiful, but I only went hard at the end and then I was dead.

Tucke likes hotels, as far as I can tell. He isn’t much on going up and down stairs yet. We’ll have to work on that.