Reflections, Racing the End of the Season Away & Results

I finally have a break to sit down and ponder boredom. Though just as boredom set in, I began to think about how I still don't know my new town of Flagstaff, AZ. I'm in the hospital clique and I'm slightly into the road cycling clique, though I haven't actually ridden with the group in about two months. Racing takes a toll on social life from the large scheme of getting to know a new place and meeting people to the micro level of giving Juanita (my girlfriend) the time and affection she deserves.

I recently read a ROAD article discussing when a cyclist should quit. It talks about trying to devote the amount of time into cycling that the professionals do all the while maintaining as much of a job and social life as possible. Most everyone reading this knows exactly what we're talking about. At a certain point, the author of the article says that it might be better to quit cycling at the high level to salvage other parts of life. This is absurd. I prefer his other suggestion of winding it down in the fall, which is inevitable, and focusing on the neglected parts of life. Many top cyclists, believe it or not, race professionally and work. Look at Michigan's own Tim Finkel who recently moved up to the Gary Fisher 29er Crew to come away 15th at the World Solo 24 Hour Championships this year.

Back to my thoughts on the neglected parts of life. Just as I was trying to dazzle Juanita, she left for a work trip. I have a week off from riding and I'm not working until tomorrow (my regular three 12 hour shifts). This is where that thing I talked about above, Boredom, prevails. It's been a while, approximately four years since I've sat around lazily with no school papers to work on. I'm not going to lie, it is quite nice for a change.

One thing I'm doing is looking into the Flagstaff Biking Organization to see if I can join in on the fun. We will see where that goes. I'd love to see more kids riding road bikes. With a youth mountain biking program in place, the template is set. I won't go too far into this little vision, but I think I might try to give back to this seemingly vein and selfish pursuit of becoming a professional cyclist, by infusing the dream into young ones. It could be a full-circle result. Plus continued support of the youth is exactly what's missing from curative health care, i.e. my job as a nurse. I see the kids to good health and then our short relationship (usually mentor-like and supportive in nature) abruptly ends as they go home. Just a warning, I'm not too great at following through with things all of the time...I need to work on giving more than taking now that school is no longer an excuse.

These are my most recent thoughts. I could talk more about the sacrifices we all go through during the season and the years devoted to our chosen lifestyle. Moving out here and not having too many friends in Flagstaff would be a starter, but I don't feel sorry for myself one iota. I love the adventure and sacrifice. These risks are meant to be taken. You have to put everything into it at first to see some eventual gains.

And now to the gains. I hate to talk about myself, really, but I need to put my results somewhere. Just in case you are a new reader in search of an up-and-coming climber (in the future) for your cycling team, here are my notable results from this year. In addition, I submitted my Category 1 request yesterday with the points required. To make sure it is known, I recently joined a great team called Bicycle Haus Racing (Scottsdale, AZ). From an outsiders perspective, the brothas appear to make up a little shaven legged family from the cat 5's to the cat 1's. The highlights of my 2008-2009 resume are as follows:

Pro 1/2 & Collegiate “A” Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference (MWCCC)

University of Wisconsin Criterium A (pro1/2) 4/19/09 75 minutes 2/45

New Mexico State Road Race Championships 8/22/09 70 miles 2/23

Bernalillo Time Trial Series #4 Albuquerque, NM TT 8/23/09 9miles 3/77
(77 total starters)

CBR CA State Criterium Championships 9/6/2009 9/50
(Chase break with Sergio Hernandez of Rock Racing)

Everest Challenge Stage Race CA/NV State Climbing Championships 9/12-9/13 2009

Stage 1 -102 miles 3/25
Stage 2 -82 miles 3/25

Overall 3rd Place

Mount Charleston Hill Climb (mass start) 9/19/09 17miles 2/17
[Neil Shirley (Kelly Benefit Strategies) 1st, Tinker Juarez (MonaVie Cannondale) 3rd]

Interbike: USA Crits Finals Pro/1 (2 invite) 9/24/09 60 kilometers 28/45

Mount Graham Hill Climb (mass start)- Arizona State Hill Climbing Championships 9/27/09 20 miles
3rd overall finisher
1st Cat 2
(Pro1/2 riders split into age groups or however they signed up)

Tour de Scottsdale Pro1/2 10/4/09 73 miles 2/47

Notes: 1. 2009 Mid West Collegiate Cycling Conference Ranked 15 (individual nationals qualification)
2. I'm working on a full results page

Who ordered eggs?

Commuting to work has been prosperous the last week and a half. For every day of walking or riding, employees of the Flagstaff Medical Center get a $5 food voucher. I've been living large in the cafeteria with my Odwalla bars and stir frys.

Energized to get home and ride, I began to question the clouds as I pedaled in my floppy dress shoes. Monsoon season is upon us here in Arizona, bringing short periods of rain with intermittent to long bouts of sunshine. That's the glass half-full attitude I took while getting dressed for my ride.

Drafting cars in the stop and start traffic on my way through downtown, I headed towards highway 180 which leads to Snowbowl road, and eventually, the Grand Canyon. To give you a little context, Snowbowl road wraps around the west side of Humphrey's peak in switchbacks that rise precisely a few thousand feet in a few miles. Hitting the smooth shoulder pavement of 180, large raindrops began to smack me. These drops fell at a slow rate barely getting me wet. The sky was at first tentative about the whole rain thing. But the rays of sun began to quickly disappear as lightening struck all around the forest. I had a gut feeling to keep going. The bad weather was moving over me, away from the mountains.

Jamming to Thievery Corporation's "Sweet Tides" song, I felt un-worldly as I ascended the gradual hills of highway 180 towards the base of Snowbowl Road. The rain began to soak through my kit and the sky transitioned to a dark gray, adding to that "yea, I'm a hardcore athlete" feeling that we often get before realizing we are just not thinking like a normal person. Putting my rear flashing light onto my jersey pocket, I simultaneously felt something hit my back and ooze. I quickly examined my hand to find egg shell and some yoke dripping from my palm. Looking to the road, I saw a tan Ford Ranger tailgating a mini-van as the driver appeared to be escaping the scene of a crime. This person had to have the intellect of a second grader. Why throw an egg at a cyclist in a misty thunderstorm, speed away before seeing his reaction, and make it look like your running away from him. This person and his egg launcher resembled middle school kids throwing snowballs at cars and then running away, except these clowns were in the car and I was the vulnerable, pedaling one. Were my shaven legs and spandex getup that intimidating?

I hope these people seek help and learn to take out their frustrations in a more productive way. At least ding-dong-ditch someone's house and see their reaction. I did of course throw up my arms like I won a race but with only one finger showing from each hand, I couldn't help myself. But if I could go back I would have simply waved; kill 'em with kindness, right? I wasn't even mad, I actually felt more epic. Is that crazy or what? That's the kind of normalcy I question in myself and other like-minded athletes. Riding through a thunderstorm and getting egged shouldn't make a person happy. I guess nothing can ruin your day when your doing what you love.

Flagstaff Arizona where the Javelina Rome

You likely already know that I moved, but in case you missed the memo, I now live in Flagstaff, Arizona with my lovely girlfriend Juanita. Keeping up with blogging has been hard in the past few months with graduation, heavy racing and the move, but I finally feel settled and may be able to put some time into this. Well at least after my nursing board exam that is. The NCLEX as it is called is currently dwelling on my shoulders and controlling my mind. When I begin to study for it, however, my mind focuses on cycling and I forget the importance of it. Why is this? I began studying after dinner tonight and just couldn't stop thinking about riding (I needed another hour of riding to complete the day's time) so I jumped on the mountain bike and went for a spin in a canyon nearby.

A new buddy from work introduced me to the trail on Sunday. We were subject to ospreys perched in the pines and we were swarmed by gnats in a small cave we explored. I was taken aback by the beauty of the place as I noticed trees growing sideways out of the canyon's wall. Brad told me that he had collectively spent over a year in this canyon as a child; at that point in his life he preferred nature to the BS of his school-aged compatriots.

Trying to recreate the experience this evening, I ended up missing the turn in the trail and riding through the ponderosa pines to find small boulders, rocks and tree stumps covering the forest's floor. Jumping off the bike after almost endo-ing over a tree stump and the rock that succeeded it, I decided to head towards where I thought the trail continued. I saw it and ended up riding the rest smoothly. My ride ended with the sun setting over the mountains and I was reminded why I wanted to move out here again--beauty and peace of mind.

Sleepless Night

Now that I have more time on my hands, it seems more appropriate to be checking out all of the blogs and writing a bit myself. I didn't sleep well at all last night, probably because I stopped riding a day or two ago and have been doing nothing but resting. Darrell mandated a week off of the bike...say what? No really, it is a transition week in my plan right now since I peaked out for nationals. Darrell's words echo in my sleep deprived brain, "It is a long season my young friend and you have to think long term, beyond this year." Darrell's words of wisdom do make sense. If I want to perform all the way until and through track nationals (which I am thinking about racing without being at a velodrome for two months), I need this break both psychologically and physiologically.

I would like to do it all and feel that I'm not making much progress, with a 61/130 in the collegiate national road race and a 32/100 at the criterium, but I must remember that I'm fairly new to the sport. Development takes time and it is pretty exciting to be racing national events during my second season of dedicated training. Sometimes some reflection can go a long way when worrying about results. I have many years of racing left in my legs and if the progress continues as it has been, I should have no problem developing further.

We'll see if I can make it a week. With the time off driving me stir crazy, I might have to race both Thursday and Saturday. Either way, I'm visiting my family on the west coast of Michigan this weekend. It might be my last chance before moving to Arizona.

Twitter & Collegiate Nationals

I haven't posted in a while thanks to school ending, interviewing for a job and training, but I am now chilling out for two months before heading to Flagstaff, AZ for a nursing job.

For starters, be sure to check out twitter at http://twitter.com/cjaten.

Also, check out my first ever VeloNews photo at http://velonews.com/photo/91840. I've gone from a small legged climber to a larger legged criterium racer, at least that's what it looks like. I'm going to have to do some work on my power to weight ratio before heading out to Flagstaff!

I can't wait to get back to Michigan to race with everyone and to start working out at the track. See you all soon.

Denny's Free Breakfast & Living with a Recovered Mind

There's nothing like starting your morning off with a Denny's grand slam breakfast (less the $1.80 for coffee) at 6am. Brendan, Cory Dubrish, Nick Boswell and Sean Murphy (my roommates) got up at 5:45am to head to Denny's and I couldn't fall asleep. I laid in bed, tossing and turning, thinking about how I probably wouldn't fall back asleep since I got up at 5:45 both Saturday and Sunday for clinical and thinking about the fact that Cory would wake me up unintentionally when they all returned. Staring at the ceiling, I saw a line of light beam through the window as Cory's car rolled down the drive towards a table of free grand slams. Then I thought, "What the hell, I gotta live a little," and I began speeding down Catherine street with a half frozen windshield.

The best part of all of this is that I'm starting to feel like a normal person at the beginning of my fourth day off of the bike. It's funny thinking back to how cloudy my mind was and how lazy I became at the end of my last base month. After three weeks of 15-20 hour riding weeks on top of nursing school, I was baked. Throw in family, friends and time with Juanita (my girlfriend) and you're looking at no free time and a lot of "I wish I had energy to do this..." moments.

This time off is critical. Darrell Anderson (my fantastic coach) and I had a long talk last night to figure out what I need to do to fully recover and how my schedule is going to work out with the coming UofM Cycling Team training camp in Helen, Georgia. We've figured out an extra few days of rest before the camp will make for the most benefit considering we will probably ride 20-30 hours with some being race time in Kentucky at the end of the camp.

And, thinking about my goals for the coming season, I've put some thought into not doing as much track sprint work as I did last summer, but instead incorporating some longer, pursuit intervals. With time trial intervals on the road and pursuit intervals (track time trial) intervals on the track, I will be training my strengths. Limiting my time spent training sprints will ensure I have a foundation to sprint from, but will more importantly allow my time trial abilities blossom to the next level. Anyone have any other ideas?

Finally a Moment of Respite

Where did all of the days go? This last month flew by with the start of school and the second month of base training. I feel caught up with school and now that its a rest and recovery week, I feel even better on the bike.

Thinking back to the last season, I felt overtrained twice by this time of the year with a six day a week riding schedule. This year I have felt unstoppable with the diet modifications, less frequent weight training and a greater understanding of training methodology. If you guys are looking for a nutritional plan, again, I recommend the Paleo Diet for Athletes. I also hear that the Primal diet, part of the broader primal blueprint, is a good diet that includes more saturated fats and a more holistic approach. Check it out at http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ (thanks to Nick Bayma who pointed it out).

There is much to be excited about right now in the local cycling world. One thing to be psyched up about is the Bloomer Park International Velodrome and its summer schedule of events. A USA Cycling madison camp will be held at our local track in addition to other events like the Three Day where teams will be coming in from across the country over the Fourth of July holiday; be sure to mark your calendars.

I'm also stoked to be joining the Essex Brass Cycling Team out of Troy, Michigan. Many of you already know this, but I thought I would share the news. We are going to have our first get-together this weekend to meet everyone and to get ready for the season.

With the new team comes a new bike. I'm awaiting the arrival of a Scott Addict R2 Frame. It is ridiculously light and looks pretty sexy I might add. It will be my first bike with an integrated seat mast. This could be a bad thing since I always Merckx my saddle (if you don't know what I'm referring to, check out "A Sunday in Hell" where you can see Eddy Merckx adjusting his saddle and handlebars every other minute before Paris-Roubaix). This isn't a good practice so the limitations of the integrated seat mast may prove useful.

And arguably more exciting than all of this, I will be graduating in May and figuring out where I want to live and work as a nurse. I'm starting to look around now that my resume is dialed in. I'm thinking about heading out to the Boulder or Denver area to find work and cycling. If all goes as planned, I will be able to race most of the season in the Midwest and then move or stay around here. We'll see what the job hunt brings.

Keep up the good work training (if you are)!

Speaking of training, I have to confess real quick that I looked like a huge sketch-ball at the Forest City Velodrome in London, Ontario last weekend. I made the drive with Terry Palmer, Tom Elias and Brent DeRosario. My second time up on the track, I hit the corner too slow and ended up slipping down the track tearing my shorts and butt cheek. Ahh, nothing like the familiar feel of road rash sticking to your pant leg all week. My one crash of the season is now out of the way...