Year in Review, Chapter 1

When I first got my blog up and running I thought I was getting about 10 hits a week, which was great. An audience of 10 is better than an audience of one. But after the overwhelming amount of people that have sent me messages to my email, come up to me at races or group ride, made me think that maybe the numbers were skewed. I didn't even do the race at Amelia, but I came out to train there and over 10 people commented on my blog, and that got me thinking. I thought that if you click on "View my profile" it will tell you how many people visited my blog. I decided to do more research.

After looking at Ryno's blog, I decided to follow suit and add a ticker to my blog. It would let me know my true audience. Last Wednesday I put the ticker up, and decided not to go to my blog for 1 week so that I wouldn't contribute to any extra numbers added to the value of hits. I put the ticker at 327, which was the amount that I had on "View my profile". After one week it is 460. Damn! I did not know I had an audience of 130 visits per week. Granted, some of the people are multiple visits, but 130 visits is impressive. I was happy with 10 visit per week. Now, it makes since. Btw, thanks for taking time out of your life to read the experiences of a black dude pedaling a bike the best way he knows how.

I also realize that some people would rather much not even talk to me at all, and read my blog. A person will come to me and say such and such reads you blog, and they gave me the address. I haven't talked to that dude in I don't know how long. I guess it's easier to read what I say rather than me say it in living color. Thanks again.

When I looked back at my year, I realized that is was a big year for me, and in more ways than one a break out year in some places. Out of the 52 weeks of the year, I have sent approximately half of it racing in doing 24 races.

My year in Review

First I want to say I rep the AC Crew. That would be the "Active Cycle" Royal Blue, Black to the white. I love the entire staff, and I get treated like royalty ever time I come in the place. If you go to the darkside (Road Bike), the you should find your way to the shop on Saturday morning at 8am, to participate in the fastest and biggest ride in South Florida. It has been as much as 100 riders, but there is truly only about 40 major players in the ride. I go to this ride to get my high end workout within a fast group ride.

In 2006, I took off most of November and all of December, and my legs felt supercharge one week into 2007 and I thought I could go out and do an Expert race after 2 weeks of training after 6 weeks off. Not! This race was a very violent introduction to racing, and a reminder that you should not go to an Expert race if you have not been training. I fell apart at the end of the first lap at the Coconut Cup race at Markham, and totally fell apart there after and had DNF for not even having the form to finish. Here is a picture of me before I feel apart.

I went back into the lab to get my training charts where they should be before I get back on anyone's start line. I was surfing the net and I found my way to Chris Carmichael's site and I bought 3 workouts that go on my ipod. The one I fell in love with was the One Legged Drill's workout. It is the hardest, and it took the most focus and finesse. After about 1 month I was up an average of 4 rpm's on all my workouts on the road.

All of my training charts were looking better than they every had after 6 very dedicated weeks of training. It was the first time that I started doing more organized long distance mtn bike rides by myself without the influence of anyone trying to up the ante in the singletrack. It was me, my thought, my weaknesses, my strengths, and my aspiration to get it right. I really learned how to find and listen to the Heartrate Voice. By the end of the season I had learned how to obey it in the race. So I decided to do the Hospice 100 with a team to give a test. I convinced Wes to come roll with a playa, but Andres bailed out the night before. So I had to settle for Wes, and 2 first timers to race in the Sport Division.

Lap 1
I actually got a great start and was in the lead after the first 30 yard, but the empty water bottle feel out of the back of my jersey. Having to pick that up and get back to the bike left me in about 20th position. I dropped my chain in Armadillo and got passed by 15 more riders, then I crashed in Area 51. By the time I got to the gunrange I had lost aspiration to do a fast lap as I was behind way too many people in the really tight sections, but still came in the top 8 riders with a 28 min. lap.

Lap 2 & 3
The beginners were riding their best but could not do better than a 33 minute lap, but my boy Wes smashed out a 27 minute lap. I decided to do 2 laps back to back, and when I get into the trail I found a great flow as I had already flushed the acid out on the first lap. I do a 26min, 17 second 1st lap, and I feel great, but did put a little too much on it in the first lap, and I lost about 1min and 10secs on second lap.

Lap 4 would be the last lap for me, so I really went after it. I held back in the first half of the course, then I went all out once I got out of Outback. It was the first time I could remember that I was pushing my legs as hard as I could push them, and I was able to keep the acid bath at bay. I finished that lap at 26mins, and 16 second which was the fastest time of the day. Dave was having problems with the result, and it shows I did a 28 min. lap but it was a mistake. I was feeling better than I ever felt, and was more than please with the 2007 training program.

We managed to win the Sport Category with a combined total of over 125 years.


I felt so good, that decided that I would race the Miami Masters Road Race Series the next day, better know as Rosewood. In 2005 I raced 4 times, and all of them was in service of Chaarl Jordan that was racing for B&J. The best I could set him up for was and 2nd and 3rd place. In 2006 I raced once as a Cat 5 racer at Cycle fest, finished 3rd, and got an upgrade to Cat 4 for 2007. Now I was racing in favor of myself for Active Cycles.

I showed up to the race having no expectation at all. The pace was not unlike anything I had seen before as there were Cat 5 riders in the mix also. But after 15 minutes and going into the first sprint I was lucky enough to avoid a crash. Black and Green uniform dude has totally lost that rear wheel.

That took me from 25 riders back, to 4th place so I just sat in.

Yeap, he is the culprit. For the rest of my season I would avoid him like the plague.

Going to this first sprint noone was doing anything impressive, so I jumped out, and got my first $50.00 Prem. Man, I can get used to this.

We got going, and I didn't even go for the second sprint as I had problems with my bike. My rear skewer came loose and my wheel was rubbing and I had to jump off the bike, clamp it back down and catch the group. I complete buried myself to bridge back. It was a rookie move as I found out later that I could have allowed myself to get lapped. So I turned myself inside out, and 10 minutes after the bell was rang for 3 laps to go. I was so burnt that I sat in until the last lap. I watched super sprint Chris Wright, and around the last turn I just stayed on his wheel. Someone had jumped off the front and took first. I came in 3rd after Chris, but I didn't open up my real sprint, and didn't really challenge for it. I was doing homework still. I was gather infomation and a 3rd place was a great start which meant I would show up for the next race.



I was feeling good about my experience so far and decided it was time to see if I could do some damage at the first SERC race at Razorback. That course has never liked me, but it was different this time. I did 3 laps very long laps at 10 miles each. I'm known for dramatically falling lap times as the race goes on. Not the case in this race, as my laps were the following:
Lap 1: 49mins, 25sec
Lap 2: 50mins, 18sec
Lap 3: 51mins, 10sec

That is the best laps I have ever done to date, and now I'm all over my training program. I do plan to do the Rosewood Series, but I'm not going to make it a priority. I'm going to do the same workouts on the mtn bike that I normally do, and then race the crit on Sunday.
The next race would be tough because now the riders knew who I was, which made it much more difficult to hide or get overlooked. I also had to watch the other riders whom I thought were riders of interest. The day before I did the Sheridian ride, and got caught in a nasty cross wind at the end of the group, and turned myself inside out before I got dropped, and got pulled back to a group by a SUV. I got a flat tire at the end of the ride and that saved me from totally imploding.

The next day I got to the line, and I realized who the major players were. I also noticed that most of them were on real race machines, and I was on a 3 year old Pinarella that was in need of a real upgrade. For the race I was not firing on any cylinders, and I could not get into the mix on any of the intermediate sprints so I didn't get any points, and on the final sprint I could not stay on any of the wheels, but I did managed a 5th place finish.

I went home from the race feeling like it was not me, but I didn't have the technology to really make me competitive, so after about 5 days I decided it was time to get a real machine.

I got the Felt F1C, and what a upgrade it was. Now, I'm ready to battle on a machine that is going to answer my command. I picked up the bike from the shop, and took it for a spin that night, and the bike was responsive as hell. The stem was a little too close, so I decided to take it by the shop to have it looked at. I was so inspired at having the new bike that I decided to do one of the State Road Races. It was an off weekend for Rosewood, and the Spin City Classic was on Orlando so Ms. P and I decided we would take the trip.

It was a State Race, which meant that all the Cat 4 racers would be put together and that would make the race much faster. The course was up and down, so you had to work at all times. And to top it off there were sections of bricks in 2 very difficult places. The first one was about 250 meters from the finish, and the second one was making the first left turn. I got to the race about 90 mins before the start, and I saw a lot of familiars. Some from South Florida and some from the mtn bike scene. Most notable was Chris W. from the Rosewood Series, and Felix Perez and his 4 Preferred Alliance riders. There it is for me. I'm gonna find that Preferred Alliance Train when the time is right.

We start the race and it's fast, really fast. Not enough to get dropped, but definitely enough to knock the full sprint off my legs when the final lap comes. One top of that, in the middle of the first lap I realize that my handlebars were not tighten all the way and they kept turning down. I'm in a State Race and I don't know the rules, so I'm afraid to pull into the pits to see if I can get them tighten because I'm afraid I may get pulled.

There were no sprints in this race, but the constant up and down was really doing a number on the legs. At Rosewood my avg HR was always in the 150's, and here my HR never went under 165bpm. The pace was so fast that I was not even sure what the new bike was good at. I kept an eye on the Preferred Alliance group, but they were not staying together at all. It was very stressful to have the handlebars slide down every 10 seconds. Even Felix rode beside me and said, "Take care of that Pace".

When the bell was rang for 5 laps to go some real attacks started going off the front and the group really started to break apart like a bunch of time trialers doing a Iron Man. I had no idea who to follow. Things came back together with about a lap in a half to go, but the handlebars were getting worse as I had to pull them back up every 5 seconds now. I was contemplating not even contesting the sprint as I thought it was too dangerous.

In the last lap the group stayed together for three quarters of the lap. Around the last turn I found Felix, but he had no train. There was no leadouts being set up, as it was every sprinter for himself. Felix got bumped so hard 250 meters from the finish that one of his feet clipped out of his pedal. What I was dreading was that set of bricks 250 meters from the finish that was surely going to almost turn my handlebars upside down when I hit it at final sprint speed. Felix was gone, and I was around the top 20 when things started shaking up. I held the top of the handlebars until after the brick section, and as soon as I saw an opening I just launched myself.
I thought I got 5th place, but there was some real confusion as the video equipment that would slow mo all the finishes was malfunctioning and it did not record. So you have about 20 riders saying that they finished in the top 10. Everyone is putting their bid in and the placing keeps constantly changing. I go over to tell Ms. P about the confusion and she said she recorded the finish on our digital camera. When I take that over to the control desk, over half the racers clear out when they are not even in contention. But there is still confusing as the spots 4th to 8th can't be figured out. After about 20 more minutes and a dead battery in the camera, I settled for the 6th place money even though I thought I finished 5th. When I got home, it was changed to 7th place.

I got the video, so take a look and let me know what you think.

On the way home from the Orlando race Ms. P said, "I want a dog". I looked over at her and said, "What?" She said if you can buy a brand new bike, then I want a damn dog. I said, "You realized that a dog does not speak english, and it shits as it pleases. Her only response was, "I want a dog". I then had a flashback to a conversation I had with a fellow rider, Alex Zambrana. He said every time he buys a new bike, his wife has to have a new bike also. OK! I'm winning if she gets a dog. I stay quiet for a moment, then I said, "It better be interdependent, small poop, and it better not bark". She opened a folder and showed me a picture of a Yorkie. Damn! I've been set up. Enter "Lance".


The next race in the Rosewood Series went to Vista View, which is also called the dump. There is 2 climbs, and the one on the northside is a beast. I really didn't have any idea how the rest of the sprinters would do, but I knew that the climb was not long enough to really make the group break up. Boy was I wrong about that notion.

We went to the line, and all the major sprinters were at the front like they were going to tear it up.

After the first lap the group had already shattered and were spread down the side of the climb, and the sprinters were doing it godzilla big, and I got a little nervous if the entire race as going to go at this pace. If you look down the hill to a rider in green jersey, that is Expert mtn biker Stephen LaRue getting dropped on the first lap. That let's you know just how fast the pace was.

Lap 3 it got even more spread out as I started to feel good, and I was picking off riders, and slowly moving my way to the front.

On lap 4 we were reduced to 12 riders and "EVERY" single sprinter was "GONE". I looked up to the sky and said "Thank You Cycling Gods".

The great thing about this race is all the points are double, If there is a 3,2,1 point value for normal races in the sprints, then the sprints here are 6,4,and 2. On the first sprint there were 2 riders that had already attacked off the front. Once we came down the back side I decide I would get in on some of this double point values.

I made my charge pass Ross of Bike America and picked up the 2 points for the 3rd place points. After this sprint we lost 4 more riders, and were reduced to only 8.

After that sprint I had a nice flush in the legs and I was buffering off the lactic acid quite nicely and decided I would stay near the front, because I wanted to win that 2nd sprint so I could go ahead and close the door on the green sprinter's jersey for the entire series. When the next sprint came everyone got on my wheel, and I jumped off the front to win it with a nice distance.


My job was done for the moment, so I just sat in the back. Blain and Ross of Bank of America kept attacking to see if they could get off the front, but everyone in this group was very stong and we kept bringing it back. This was one of those times that I wanted to sit in the back of the group. I knew I was by far the best sprinter, and I wanted to make sure I was rested. Roman of Preferred Alliance was the only person that was making it a point to stalk me.

Soon after that Ross of Bike American started stalking me too. I felt good about that, because they would have to come around me at the end.

With 3 laps to go I felt really good about my chances of winning the race and getting a huge lead in the series. For those 3 laps I actually started to feel like I could win the series. Going up the last climb on the north side Ross had made an semi attack and got about 20meters on the group. I moved up to the front and was the second to crest the hill, then I moved into my big chainring. Coming down the hill into the last uphill sprint I got ready to launch my attack. Ross still had 20 meters and that was when I opened up my sprint, and the rest looked like this.





I got 14 points for the lead of the yellow jersey, and 8 points for green sprinters jersey. Man, I know I psst off the sprinters and they are going to be out for blood in 2 weeks.

So I prepared for the the attack on the black dude with the yellow jersey. So for 2 weeks I went interval crazy. I even went to the local park to do some on foot 400 meter sprinting. I came into the race, and everyone knew who I was. I got a lot of comments from shocked to surprised that I was able to win the race because I was not a small guy. I had just spent 7 months living in NC, and the race was hard, but I was never in danger. I knew that would not be the case today. There was a group of sprinters that were out to keep me out of the points this race for the green jersey, and whole different group of yellow jersey riders with the same agenda. I felt like real bullseye on my bike.

On the line Carlos yelled out, "Who is the overall leader", and I raise my hand. He then yells out "Who is the sprint leader", and I raise my hand again. "Noone has ever had both jerseys at this point in the series. You gonna have a tough day". That was when I got nervous, because that was when I realized that it was going to be next to impossible to control this race without one single teammate. He tells me I have to wear the yellow jersey, or the green jersey. I ask him, "What if I don't want either?". He said, you lose 5 points for each classification, then I decided to wear the yellow jersey. I now know that it's going to be a tough day for me.
I have to watch at least 6 different riders, and I only feel good on the first sprint as I get 2 points, and my nearest competitor gets 1 point. If I could get 1 more point then I have it wrapped up for the series. But I don't get any points. So I'm just content following wheels until the final sprint.

Mike Bush walked away with 2 laps to go, and that is how he won the first race. He is not a sprinter, but he can make a move stick. We were so busy watching each other that he got away. My legs were so drained from having to be in every move of interest that I really couldn't get in position for the final sprint because I was boxed in. Once I opened my sprint up it was too late, and I finished 6th. This is Mike cruising in by himself.

This is me already celebrating what I thought was my 5th place finish because I thought I was going to catch the guy in the yellow/black before the line, but I didn't.


Here are some highlights from the race, and when you see the final sprint I'm way pass the guy once we get up to where Mrs. P is. My max speed on that race was 41.7mph, but it was too late.

Now I have kept both of my main competitors in the door in the yellow and green jersey classification. Shit! How in the hell am I going to pull this shit off. I don't have one teammate or familiar face out there. 2 Sun Cycles riders are 3rd and 4th in the Yellow Classification, and 2nd and 3rd in the Green Jersey race. I have 2 weeks to think of a plan on how I'm going to approach the race. I took an relatively easy week, and the next Tuesday before the race I went to do the race at Brian Piccolo Park, and that shit is a real circus. Anyone can race, so there is Cat 1&2 next to Cat 6ers. It is the most chaotic thing I have every seen. I saw some riders get dropped from the main group 4 or 5 times, and then they have the nerve to fight for position with people that have not been dropped once. I sat in and finished about 12th, but I did not try to do anything at all. I wanted a good workout. Here are a couple of pics.



Abdel Salas, the racer 2nd after me in the sprints, essentially asked me to give up one of the classifications. He told me that the Sun Cycles Team is coming out in droves to help him get that green jersey and that I should not waste the effort to try to win both jersey's and possibly lose both. He practically said it was selfish of me to go for both, and I should be diplomatic. I told him I would think about it. I already knew I was not going to give him shit, he was going to have to take it right out of my ass.

I trained smart that entire week anticipating a really tough race. I even did the Sheridian ride that Saturday and felt great, so I knew I was going to walk away with something, and both if things went my way.

I got to the race with 2 jerseys and decided to wear the yellow as it was no way to hide behind the green. I was going to have to show that I was the strongest rider.


Right off the bat, Chris W in the CSC uniform took off and tried to make a selection happen with Mike Bush. Chris never does anything until the last lap. He is in second place in the yellow jersey so I wait about 10 seconds.

Man, having Bush in that group can make the break stick,so I'm going to have to bridge and I don't wait. I jump out of the saddle and bridge and it takes me about 30 seconds. Yeap, the acid burn is there. Not even 15 seconds later, Adbel and 2 of his Sun Cycle cohorts jump off the front and they got a lead. Mutherf@#ker, this is going to suck as I jump right back off the front hot in pursuit. That is Abdel in the Sun Cycles uniform with the red helment.

I bridge back, and Chris goes off the front again. At his time I have not had to create a strategy, they have gave it to me. Now, I know I'm going to stay in the top 10, never take pull, but follow anyone that is a threat.

At this point, Chris retreats back into the peleton where he normal resides, but Abdel was just getting started. So I decided I'm going to have to stalk Abdel like OJ on Nicole. So where you see Abdel, you see me.



2 laps before the 1st sprint, Abdel and Raul jump off the front in an attempt to put me into difficulty, but I just sit on the wheels, and never take a pull until the group swarms all over us. Now I'm ahead of Abdel by 4 points, so I have to win the first sprint and it's over. At the first sprint Raul is giving him a lead out, but he is flat. 2 guys jumps, and I jump behind them and get the third place points. Now I'm understanding that I'm not racing the group, I'm racing Abdel and Chris. Now I'm 4 points ahead of him, and our love affair is over. The Green Jersey is in the bag. Where is Chris?

I sit back in the group and mini attacks go off the front only for them to come back like an achor. Sun Cycles put the group under such high pressure before the sprints, that now the group is out of control. I'm actually hoping for any group to stay away, because I will have the yellow jersey in the bag. Or Chris, Raul, and Abdel will have to bring it back. I like what is going on now. On the second sprint Abdel goes for it, and I don't even contest it as I have it in the bag. But right after the group comes back together, a break is formed with Blain and Dennis of Bike of America.

After 10 minutes they are up the road and have a really nice distant, and I'm cheering for them like hell.

Soon after the other yellow jersey contenders start looking for each other and start to take up the chase. I laugh a little because it was funny to see them stress like that 2-man break was going to make it stick. Now I'm 4 points ahead of Chris, but the point break down for the top 5 is 7,6,5,4,3 points respectively. So with 2 people up the road he is looking at 5,4,3. He needs to beat me by 5 points. Based on USA Cycling Road Racing if you tie the leader, the leader still wins. So in our current situation he needs to finish 3rd, and I needed to finish outside of the top 5.

Mike Bush went to the front and took a gorilla pull with Chris behind him, and Chris pulled through and so did I. After a couple minutes Chris looked over at me and said,"Let's work together to catch them", and I ignored it. He must think I forgot about those attacks in the first 4 laps. Now he is burning some serious matches before the final sprint. Nothing happens, and Sun Cycles decides that the facade is over. In one half lap they get it done, and Blain and Dennis are back. Now we are all togehter, and I'm on Chris's wheel. He then say's, "We have to push the tempo", and I finally decided to speak. "I'm not racing them, I'm racing you". He gives me a look, then he knows what my intent is.

My intent is not beat him at all, it's just to finish right behind him. So I start calling out for his wheel when things get weird in the group. My heartrate is 145 beats and my legs are super rested.

I stay on Chris's wheel right until the end, and I get 3rd place and the Yellow Jersey.






These guys made my life difficult for 5 races.
3rd place Raul Diaz

2nd place: Christopher Wright

Mission: Accomplish. 2 jerseys, 1 cup and $20.00

Abdel tried to spoil my moment by saying that I won the series because of the double point race. Ok, I'm gonna put that statement in the bank, and withdrawal it in the next Series.

I still decided that I was a mountain biker and would not change anything about my training. As a matter of fact I still did really big training rides 3 times a week and it was over 30 miles of singletrack at Markham and Oleta.

Going into the second series I was not stressed at all, as I was not interested in the sprinters jersey as it was way too much effort. I wanted to see how life would be if I just waited for the final sprint. Because I didn't have any jersey at this race I felt like I was starting from scratch kind of how you feel when you walk into the DMV.

This race was quick as I went for nothing. It was nice to sit in, and my heartrate never went over 160bpm, so my legs felt really good.


Felix Perez had his Preferred Alliance team out, so I was going to get another escort to the line. With 1 lap to go, Felix goes for broke on the backside of the course. Only 8 of us can stay with him, and he is not even using his team at all. We are going 34mph on the backside, so I know that they are not going to maintain that. Everyone regroups and with 200 yards to go I decided to make that withdrawal that Abdel all but accused me of not being a true sprinter. I needed to prove this to myself also. So I launched myself and got a huge gap, and it was enough for me to look back, celebrate, then raise my hand in Victory.




Whew! I have waiting to make that withdrawal. Now I can relax, since I got a flat land sprint win under my belt.

2 weeks later I was feeling I could do the same thing, but things got a little nasty on the sprint and we all came in side by side practically like we were in a 100 meters sprint. I only got one photo.

I thought I finished 3rd, but somehow the guy protested for it after I left, and I got 4th. I was winning the series, and this time I knew what to expect. This series I was going to time my sprints a lot better. On the dump ride I had started working on going full bore a lot sooner on the group rides and it has been paying off. I know those guys out at the ride thought I was trying to win ever sprint, but I was training for the series. I had never beaten Chris W. in a sprint, and I have already beaten him twice in the new series.

The next week the race went back to the dump, and I had some goals this time around. Stay with the group when it shatters and sit on the wheels. Go for a sprint if the opportunity presents itself. But I wanted to win this race, because I needed enough points to get a big lead because I was not going to do the last race because I was getting married in Vegas.

The race did not disappoint and it blew apart just like last time.

But I did not have the form this time around, and I was suffering like a dog. Ms. P. thought I look great, but I was on the edge the entire race. I'm talking about the kind of suffering that makes you just pull out because you just can't keep the pace.

This time around there were 2 or 3 news guys that came into the group, and 2 or 3 of the regular guys that got dropped. I didn't even go for any points on the first sprint because I was so deep in the acid bath that I thought I was hallucinating. They would not let me sit in the back this time around, so I had to do more work.

I went for the second sprint to get 3rd place points, and immediately went into firetruck red. For the next 10 minutes I was on the freaking edge about to get drop at every single surge. The group would break a part going up the climb on the north side, and regroup going up the climb on the southside. We have 8 people at this time as Blain got dropped after the 2nd sprint.


When they rang the bell for 3 laps to go, I was freaking jumping up and down for joy. My heartrate was in the high 170's and my legs are numb. On the next to last lap, there is a guy that is in the group with a Columbia uniform, and he is riding with new vigor. And he goes off the front, and I was hoping that someone would pick up the chase, but it does not happen.

With one to go Roman Joa of Preferred Alliance attacked on the approach to the steep climb on the Northside. Ross made move to bridge and attacked turning onto the climb. Mike went and I jumped on his wheel.

Roman had caught Columbia uniform guy at the top of the climb and Mike and I were about 50 meters back. Roman runs away with it, while we are back there about to get it started.


Once I opened up my sprint, Mike was so far ahead of me that I could not see myself being able to bridge to get 2nd, as he got the Columbia guy at the line.



So I got 3rd, and it was the only time that I can honestly say I was completely turned inside out. My hands were freaking shaking, and my heartrate was 194bpm. My max HR is 185 beats, and I had not gotten over 186 in 2007, so to get to 194 meant I went to a place that I thought didn't exist. I later found out that the Columbia guy had jumped in at the end, so he was disqualified out of the race and the rest of the series for 2007. So I got 3rd place, and I was ahead of Mike Bush by 2 points.

Two weeks later we were back to Rosewood, and I was ready to put on the yellow jersey.

My agenda was very easy this time out. Mike Bush and I had walked away from everybody with 21pts for me, and 19 for him. Noone was really close to us. Plus, I was not going for the sprints, so I did not have to put any extra efforts anywhere. Mike can't sprint, but he can time trial like nobody's business. So I decided to shadow him the entire race. That's him in the Orange and Purple uniform

200 meters before the first sprint I got a freaking flat tire at 31mph. I'm glad it was rear, because had it been the front, I would have hit the deck for sure. The guy on the motor cycle told me that I had 2 laps to repair it. It took me about 45 seconds to run the bike in on the grass. I was thinking of all my options. Go get another tube, ask someone for a tire, quit the race. I get to finish line and Carlos says, "You have 1 lap". Shit! I can't get a new tube in that time, so I look around for someone that has already raced to offer me their wheel.

I don't get the offer, so I turn the bike upside down, take off the rear wheel, and I'm about to make a run for the car. Then some yells, "Do you have DuraAce?" "Hell Yes I do, as I turn back around to approach him. He gives me a Carbon deep Dish wheel that has a yellow tire on it. I said "I'm going to have to win it for you" as he hands me the wheel. As soon as I get it on, the group is 30 seconds away, and I get applause from everyone as I blend back into the group of riders. Observe the yellow rear wheel, as I'm about to give the guy a "Thumbs up" for keeping me in the race.

Mike whispered to me, "Glad to see you back". Then we were back to racing, as I told him, "I'm ready for the attacks now". He took the challenge and launched several attacks, and I just jumped in to make sure it was futile. The wheel the guy gave me were very unstable if you surge hard, and when you are turning. I got the hang of it after a little bit, though.

I put the "White on Rice" on Mike, as I was close enough to get smell his fart, see.


I was hoping to have all the major sprinters together at the end of the race, by not letting Mike walk away. He has won 3 races, and they have all been by walking away and staying away. He either wins the race, or he does not finish top 5. The first problem was we lost one of the normal top 5 sprints on the second sprint as Raul hits the deck. Damn that shit looks painful.



Damn! I wish he was still in the race, because he would beat Mike for sure. Things keep going, and Mike is the one that is animating the race, but he is known for time-trialing away, and I'm known for sprinting, so every time we went off the front that move looked way too threatening to let it go, so we got brought back in.

With 3 laps to go, he was still making moves and I didn't let him go as I know my main goal was to beat him. If the other sprinter were close they would get him too.

With 1 lap to go, he moved back to the front and I shadowed him. At the halfway point he starting ramping it up. This is a gangsta ass leadout, "Thanks again Cycling Gods". With 200 meter to go I let it rip.










My cocky ass had over a bike length and I spent so much energy celebrating my victory that I almost lost at the line. No more celebrating for me.

Mike finished 3rd, and I now had 4 points on him, and I couldn't attend the last race as that would be the weekend that I'm getting married to Ms. P. So if he does not walk away, then I got the second series in the bag. I'll have to wait and see.

I was starting to feel the effects of racing hard on the road, combined with 4 hour rides at Markham. So I practically stopped riding for the last 2 weeks of June, but I did want to do the Firecracker Crit at Piccolo Park as the last race before I take a hiatus from the bike. After taking 6 day off the bike, it was not a good idea to do a 112 mile road ride with Bob. It was about 1 hour too long as I stayed cramped up for the last 20 miles. Being cramped up with Bob is like a shark smelling blood as he did not turn down the dial at all. I decided I was not going to get dropped, not on the road bike. So I took my locked up ass home and did not ride until the next week at Firecracker Crit 5 days later.

I upgraded to Cat 3 just before the Firecracker Crit, and I was hoping to get homework on how the Cat 3 race goes. I had been hearing it was different, so I needed to get some pages in my textbook to study. We had 22 on the line, which seems like a nice number to control things. Not so! I got more than I bargained for as B&J had Victor and Flaco out there to give me a real introduction. They are not sprinters, but they can attack over and over. The race was hard, and fast. The attacks Flaco was doing had my legs buckling to get up to max speed so soon. After 15 mins I looked down and saw 186bpm on the HR monitor. Never been there before.


I was on the downside of my form and enthusiasm, but I made it a point to bridge back the first 4 or 5 times they attacked. After that, I started looking for other riders to take up some of the action and about 5 riders were gone. The group back there looked shattered, and were hanging on by a thread. So I went to the back.


The attacks kept coming, and Flaco was the first one to get away with one rider on his wheel. I did a little work, and went to the back again. While I was sitting in the back, Victor attacked and had 2 riders on his wheel, and they bridged up to Flaco and his parasite. I decided to keep taking pulls, but noone really made an effort to bring them back so I just put my head down and got a good workout.

Victor attacked that group of 5 and took 2 with him, dropping his teammate Flaco in the process a couple of laps before the end. I came in 7th place by attacking the group I was in. Only 12 riders finished. I later found out that they were attacking to put me under pressure, because none of them are better sprinters than me. That is why things calmed down after I decided not to chase anymore. Wow! Thanks for respecting a brother that was here to gather info. I'm going to get used to this kind of race when I get to racing on the road in 08. For now, I'm most likely finished with the road. It's time to do it in the dirt.

Now lets rewind back to February and I"m trying to get Ms. P. out of the house to ask her the big question. The problem was, I couldn't get her to go for a walk, she is doing paperwork almost everytime I come in the house, and she is not a morning person. Girl, don't you know I can get a freaking Polar power meter, a new drive train, and some carbon road wheels with this money I used to buy this damn thang for your hand. You making it easy for me to go get my money back. OK, I got to get clever.

On Saturday I asked her to come with me to Piccolo Park to watch some track racing. It was lame as about 8 riders showed up for what was supposed to be the State Championship. One of my table tennis clients gave me a card to play some games at Dave & Buster. So I suggested we go burn the card and play some games. She said, "That place is kind of tinnybop, but ok". My goal was to get her to the beach that was about 2 miles from there.

I really had to work hard to break her concentration as I passed right by I-95 on Sherdian going east hoping I can get to the beach. I'm doing good, and all I need to do is get out to the beach. Those damn train tracks at Dixie Hwy did me in. "Where in the hell are we going Brian?" I try to change the subject, but it wouldn't work. I then say, "Oh baby, I wanna show you something at the beach". "The Beach!" "Brian, it was windy as hell at the Park, you know it's going to be awful out there." I instantly pull out the "Yes Card", and she has to go along but she was sulking.

She is about to be in a pissy moody as I walk her out to this part of Sheridian beach that is very quiet and secluded. This is where I took her on our first date, so I found it fitting to take her back to that same place to ask her to marry me.

We get to the beach, and it's windy has hell and I'm wondering how long it's going to take before she turns and makes a break for the car. I get her behind a lifeguard stand, and I get on my knees. I tell her that since this is the place that I took her on our first date, then it's fitting to bring you back to the same place to ask you if you will spend the rest of your life with me. She is smiling, and speechless. I show her the bling, and she says yes. We sit on the lifeguard stand and I tell her all the times that I was trying to get her out of the house, and she laughed her ass off for a good 5 minutes. She had no idea I was setting her up. "Dave & Buster was my best chance to get you here", I said.

She then said she wanted to go to Dave & Buster, so we did the tinny bop for the rest of the night.

Viva Las Vegas to get married. End of Part 1.