by Jimmy Davis Last year, 2014 I raced in the Bike the Bluff Road race. Once that race was complete it was on my radar for 2015. I wanted to go to this race in tip top shape and stand on the podium (or at least top 10). PreparationRace DayOn the day of the race I felt really good, except that my stomach was unhappy again and I made several runs (no pun intended) to the bathroom. I got to the line along with my teammates and we waited to be sent off. I was very happy to have so many IC3 members (me, Ken, Greg, JJ, Eric and Michael was in the Cat 4's) in the race along with many JKG racers. As we began the neutral start I felt pretty good. One racer came along side me and said, “Jimmy Davis, Jr…when are you gonna move up to Cat 4, I’m tired of racing against you!” I was glad to see folks that I had raced against in the past. I felt pretty comfortable. As the lead car moved out of the way the race began. My first goal was to get over the hill that I was dropped on last year. It is only about 10 miles into the race and I did not want to spend an hour chasing like last year. I was able to stay with the group without any real difficulty although I knew that we were moving at a pretty good clip. During the race the only teammate that I saw was Greg. I was unsure where the other guys were in the pack but hoped that they were doing well. After getting over the hill that killed me last year I began to focus on saving energy. I had a few rides earlier in the month that had exposed a weakness and Buzz had counseled me on minimizing the issue during a ride. The group was big enough that there was plenty of shelter. In our race there was a break away that went out fairly early. The breakaway had a rider who had some teammates in the Peloton and those guys went to the front of the pack at one point to slow down the Peloton, to which I was grateful. We caught these guys with about an hour left in the race, however. My next goal was to get through the little neighborhood that we had to negotiate. Fortunately, this year they did not take the turns like a crit and we went through pretty safely. This year I paid closer attention to eating and drinking on the ride. A friend of mine had called me prior to the race to remind me to drink plenty of water. I did feel a slight wiggle of the hammy at one point but the cramps never materialized…I backed off a bit to keep the cramps at by. Finally we came to the turn that takes us to the final 3 climbs toward the finish line. I still felt pretty good but once the climbs began I slowly started to fade. I began to look at my power meter and try to ride at an output that I thought I could maintain at that time. I ended up riding near 3 other guys but we really did not work together. I waited for a guy coming behind me because he looked like he had his second wind…he brought me up to two other riders. However, one of them kept riding away from our little group and we would catch him until he’d ride away again…then we’d catch him (like a yoyo on a rope).
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by Margo Chmelik
This was my first event with the team so I was pretty excited. I had lost a lot of training time and even missed a previous race due to a knee injury. This was my first crack at this distance and I do not have a lot group riding experience so I was not sure what to expect. The day started off good. I felt really good the first hour of the ride despite only getting around four hours of sleep. I passed a lot of people. Unfortunately once we got out of town and started some climbing into a head wind I fell off my group. I tried really hard several times to get on the back of a new group as they passed by, but could not keep up. Turns out I was spending too much energy when I was solo so had nothing left to get on the back of a group. Lesson learned for next time! Usery Pass was challenging especially since I was really tired at that point. I enjoyed chatting with my fellow riders as we struggled up the climb. The views were also breathtaking. When things started easing up, I saw my husband, Greg, and our team mate, Jimmy on the side of the road. Unbeknownst to me, Greg had been in crash. They were smiling and waving as I went by. I am very thankful that Jimmy stayed with Greg. The last 20 miles were really tough as my backside was sore and I had some nausea. After taking a break from eating and drinking that passed. I worked with a couple of older gentlemen the last five miles or so which was nice. I would have liked to talk to them when it was over but did not get the chance. I figured out that Greg had crashed and needed to get back to our hotel. Thank the good Lord that Greg was ok. It was a rough weekend as Buzz also had a crash the afternoon before at the state crit championships. God was certainly with our team this weekend! by JJ Schmidt
I have to admit I was dreading waiting at the starting line, I figured I would need to be there 2.5 to 3 hours early to get a good spot. I really wanted to get platinum so I didn't have to get to El Tour de Tucson so early. I was relieved to find out that I wouldn't need to get there as early as I had planned. Then Jimmy sacrificed his platinum pass for me, and I didn't have to get there very early at all. I have to say I really enjoy being part of this team. Jimmy and I arranged to meet Greg and Margo at their hotel, which was right down the street. We were late meeting them, but caught up with them on the way to the start line. I've never ridden to the start line before and it was a nice way to warm up. It made me feel like a true cyclist. The pace started out pretty quick, but right away Jimmy was up with Greg and me. The course was riddled with obstacles and the incessant yo-yo that happens in a big pack, which was made worse by all the construction cones. I saw more than one rider hit a cone, but luckily I didn't see any of them crash. When the rumble strips showed up, I tried to stay on the outside, but it was frustrating trying to stay inside the yellow lines. On the first decent hill I fell towards the back and was glad I had followed Buzz's advice to get near the front so you can fall back on the hills, but not get dropped. I was able to work my way back up to the front, this time sticking to the inside. I made a pretty risky move on the inside and made my way to the very front, just before Usery Pass, then proceeded to get promptly dropped on the hill. As I was nearing the top, I saw some riders on the ground, and as i got closer realized it was a teammate. I didn't know if it was Greg or Jimmy, but as I got closer I saw Jimmy coming back towards us, he yelled at me to keep going and as much as I wanted an excuse to stop I kept going. On the descent I was able to work with a couple of guys, but as we turned back toward town I could tell by the mileage and the time that we were not going to make the 3-hour mark. We worked together for a while, split up then regrouped with a few other riders. I ended up crossing the line at 7.5 minutes over 3 hours and was pretty bummed. It helped a little to learn that I finished less than 9 minutes behind the winner. I felt like I let my teammates down. I was super exited when I learned later that they adjusted the times and my time actually earned me platinum status. Woohoo I don't have to wait for hours in the cold at ETdT. Thanks Team! I wouldn't have done as well without you guys. by Buzz Wright Time TrialI was extremely happy to learn that for 2015 the TBC would replace the dumb TT with a crit. Crits are so much better and... wait, what's that you say? Oh... I see. Well, dangit! So I wasn't concerned with the GC and the TT was short enough that I didn't feel like putting the aerobars on the bike. I went out a little too hard but finished pretty strong and was sub-nine minutes which was my personal goal -- so I was happy even though I was not happy. I placed <embarrassingly high number> out of 52. Have I mentioned that I'm not a fan of TTs? Road RaceThe goal for the RR was to work for Michael (sitting at 10th overall) to move him up a spot or two in the GC. About 5 minutes into the race after hitting an enormous pothole, which jarred a Di2 wire loose, the goal changed to trying to fix my front derailleur so I could shift out of the small ring. Trying to reconnect the wire in the shifter during a race ended up being too tough for me and I ended up riding the entire race in the 39. Di2 and I are not on speaking terms right now. I was spinning like crazy trying to hold wheels when the speed went up and needed to surf around in the group a lot in order to handle the speed changes. I spent most of the time near the back of the pack which was unfortunate because I wasn't able to communicate well with Michael and at one point I got caught behind a crash (luckily I was able to avoid it and didn't go down). On the final lap I moved up to near the front and tried to get close to Michael. There were a couple surges that caused me to fall back some more because I was spinning out and I wasn't able to reach Michael until the final climb. I got to him and told him to follow my wheel and pushed as hard as I could to the finish. At 200m to go I pulled off and he was not there. I continued to the finish in the hopes of grabbing a top-10 finish and was able to hold on just enough to get 10th. That moved me up from <embarrassingly high number> to 17th overall. Michael moved up a spot on the GC which was awesome. It was a fun race but stressful due to the mechanical issue. I'll be switching back to mechanical shifting soon. Circuit RaceI felt pretty good for this race and was excited that I could actually shift into the big ring. We were hoping to move Michael up another spot or two in the GC or at least keep him top-10 and I would also try to get on the podium, something I've been close to a number of times but haven't been able to manage it yet. With the wifey watching from the sidelines I had extra motivation to make it happen. Kyle from TriSports was battling it out for 1st overall so it was a really exciting race to be a part of. An early break formed and stayed away for a lap or two but it was not really a threat and there was no doubt TriSports would reel it back in. Lap three had time bonuses so the pace went up and the climbing was pretty brutal on that lap. A strategic break formed on the 5th lap and I jumped to bridge up to it. It was a strong break with Michael, Mike from Aggress, Ryan from TriSports, and a couple others. I didn't add much horsepower to the break but I did my best to put in some decent pulls. We were able to stay away for a little more than a lap and at one point had a solid 30-second gap -- but the race leader needed to get a time bonus at the end of the race in order to take back 1st from Kyle and he was strong enough to reel us in on his own. It was a bummer to get caught when I really felt we had a good chance of staying away, but I did my best to recover and prepare for the finish, still hoping to get on that podium. I was sitting about 10 riders back when we hit the first little climb to the finish. A couple guys jumped in a sort of false-sprint and I stayed on wheels to maintain my position. I ended up being about 5 guys back when we hit the second climb and the pace quickened to about a seated-sprint. I was on the right sitting on a guys wheel when he stood and started his sprint. It was definitely too early but I stayed on his wheel. He started to fade fast and when he did I went by him and started my sprint. I knew it was too early but I could hear the crowd at the finish cheering and I just had to go for it. It was pretty cool to be in first heading up to the line, if only for a few seconds. I pushed as hard as I could but didn't have enough power and ended up getting passed by four guys. I was disappointed to have missed the podium yet again by just a couple wheels, but still very happy with 5th place. Buzz getting 5th (photo by Evan Robold) Michael moved up to 8th overall and I moved up another spot to 16th. The fellas in Cat 5 did amazing. It was a fantastic weekend for IC3 and a ton of fun racing and hanging out with all our friends.
by Ken Huizenga What a great weekend of racing! I had spent the last year thinking about this TBC race as it was the first one I attempted last year. In 2014 the TBC was a rude awakening of what it was going to take to do well in competitive Road Cycling. The uphill TT was brutal; the Road Race left me dropped and alone for the entire second lap, and the Circuit Race completely destroyed me. What a difference a year makes! The 2015 TBC turned out to be the most fun I have had racing to date. It encompassed an insane amount of personal bests for me as well as our team. Gary Schobel was a podium threat all weekend and we were all involved in being sure he finished well. Time TrialAs often happens in TTs the difficult decision is when to give it 110% without burning out too early. Coach Buzz gave me a plan and I executed it as per his instruction to the letter. My tank was empty when I hit the top of the final hill and I was hoping it would put me at a minimum mid pack. I was successful! I was mid pack and I cut over a minute off last year's time on the same run. Stage one mission accomplished. Road RaceGary had laid down an awesome TT run and was thick in the hunt for the GC podium. This day we planned to protect him and provide a clean delivery for him to the final sprint. Although I wanted to play an integral part in this plan, I had my doubts remembering my demise last year. Putting those thoughts aside, I hung on hard during the climbs and surges and then moved up towards the front to shield Gary and keep him rested. Lap one, I’m still on! Lap two, I almost dropped but simply refused. I was again shielding Gary and Jimmy went to the front and crushed it on the final run down Helmet Peak. JJ jumped up front to help lead the Peloton onto the final stretch. Gary makes his move and takes off. I'm sure Jimmy would have loved to deliver Gary to the 1K to go line but we were all out of gas. Jimmy, JJ and I limped the remaining 1K. We have done what we set out to do. Gary ended with an awesome finish! Wait... did I just finally finish with the pack? Circuit RaceAs I discussed earlier, I was dreading this Circuit Race. After only one lap with the pack last year I just figured if I can hang on for three, I’ll consider it a success. This day I was not going to be about me and my selfish goals. Gary’s podium lingered in the back of my head and Jimmy was not feeling well. I could not fail today. Time bonuses were in the balance on lap three and one of us had to grab those to protect our interest in this race. Gary, JJ, Jimmy, and Ken I completely breezed through the first two laps. Now it was time for the three of us to march to the front. Jimmy, when he arrived earlier, said he came for only one reason. That was to steal one of the time bonuses away from the leaders to help Gary. Knowing he could dig that deep while feeling ill meant we had no excuse to not contribute. We all worked our way to the front of the pack for the last turn to the start/finish line. I really thought I could blow myself up and get to the line; JJ looked like he would make it as well. As it turned out, only our Master Sprinter Jimmy Davis was strong enough to get there. He did as he set out to. Jimmy took the second place sprint time bonus. The pack split in two after the surge and my two teammates and I took turns leading the splintered pack around for the last two laps. We could see the lead pack, but they had a minute on us. I thought we might catch them. I went out front and pulled as hard as I could on the front but my tank ran out with 1K to go. My teammates rolled by me and quite frankly I was nothing but pleased.
On this day, it was not about my insignificant goals but about our IC3 Team. Gary missed the Podium ever so slightly but I know we could have done more to help. I am so proud of him for his effort and determination. If it is God’s will, we will persevere. Otherwise, we will just enjoy working together for the common good of the team. I have to mention something about this awesome Cat 5 40+ group of guys. What a great group of people! Great racing with you all and I look forward to next year. by JJ Schmidt Time TrialThis weekend of racing was extremely exiting and fun! This was my first time trial, my first road race and my first circuit race. I was a little apprehensive after not doing so well in my first two races (crits). I showed up later than I wanted to for the TT, but got to the start line on time. I didn’t know that they launched you off of a platform, that was pretty cool. I tried to get my speed up quickly, and then save my energy for the hills, but when I got to the hills I thought I still had a way to go and didn’t give it 110% like Buzz said. I got to the top of the last hill not realizing that it was the finish line and felt a little confused and disappointed that I didn’t give it my all. Now I know that recon is important, not that Jimmy hadn’t already told me. Road RaceThe next day was the road race, I was pretty nervous. My goal was to hang with the pack for the first lap. I found myself at the front of the pack at the end of the first lap, and was pretty excited, but then I fell to the back of the pack on Mission and then got dropped. I knew I had to get back to the pack as soon as possible. I passed Ken, hoping he would jump on and we could work our way back to the pack, but I never looked back and kept pushing myself till I got back to the pack. Once I got back to the back I had some time to recover, and then work my way to the front of the pack and actually contribute and take a pull. To my surprise, I held on to the pack till the final sprint, but couldn't hang with Gary and the leaders. I dropped back and heard a guy say group on your right, so I started to move over to my left. To my surprise, there was somebody there and I almost took us out. To my great relief I was able to stay up and even sprint to the finish and move up a couple of spots in the overall standing. Circuit RaceThe third and final day is the circuit race. I wondered if I still had anything left in my legs. We went over some last minute strategies and then headed to the start line. It was a good thing we did, because they started us off 3-4 minutes early. To my relief the pack did not take off in a mad sprint. I tried my first attempt at an attack on the rollers down speedway, then waited for the pack to catch me and tried to stay near the front and do what I could for Gary. At the start of the third lap I thought there would be more sprints and breakaways, but it stayed relatively calm. As we approached the turn onto Greasewood I jumped to the front sprinting up the first hill trying to give Gary a lead out, I wish I could have taken him farther, but Jimmy was there to take him to the finish line and grab some bonus points. I was so proud of Jimmy, he did awesome, I don't know that I would have shown up if I had the Flu. After that effort I thought I was done, but I chased down Jimmy and Ken and caught them on the first hill on Speedway after taking the corner too fast, sliding halfway around and luckily not going down. I was able to hang with Ken and Jimmy to finish the last two laps, sprint to the finish, throw my bike and grab 11th. It was a great weekend for me and I feel so privileged to be part of this team.
by Michael Hast Time TrialPraise the LORD for a wonderful weekend at the 29th Tucson Bicycling Classic. The time trail was only 3 miles, but it was quite challenging with the 2 uphill sections. Because it was only 3 miles and we had a tailwind, I didn't hold back anything on the first downhill section. Even though I think I paid a little for it on the last 2 hills, I still think this was the right strategy, putting me in 10th place. Road RaceOn the second day was the Road Race. The strategy was simple. Try to stay in a position in the top 20 to avoid being dropped on any breakaway attempts. And if there were to be any breakaways, try to get with them and stay away. Because Kyle won the TT, team TriSports controlled the race. We had to race 3 laps. The first lap was pretty tame until the crosswind hit on La Canada. A few breakaways happened which were chased down pretty fast. I was in the front on the subsequent uphill ride and dropped back right before Sprint hill. At that time Big Mike launched his attack, but I was unable to catch him because I was stuck behind a few riders. Erik from TriSports chased Mike down, but was unwilling to work at all with Mike because his teammate was in 1st place. That would have been a great breakaway to be in. On the second lap another rider launched a breakaway. He was also chased down by Erik. Both of them were able to stay away for 1 lap. Coming onto La Canada, I launched an attack to bridge to that breakaway and I was successful. All of a sudden Kyle and 2 other riders bridged up to us as well. Now I thought we would be able to stay away, but were caught by the main pack on the uphill. On the last lap I made another breakaway attempt before the turn onto the uphill section, shredding the main pack. I didn't want to go up Duval Mine road in a large group. That cost me some energy which I didn't have when the speed ever so slightly increased towards the finish. Buzz came by and said to draft off his wheel, but I was unable to do so. Even though I didn't place in the top 10 that day, I managed to move up into 9th place in GC. Michael leading the way Circuit RaceThe Circuit Race was on the last day. We teamed up with TriSports to get Kyle back into 1st place. The plan was for him to win the intermediate sprint in lap 3 to gain the few seconds needed by him to win and then for a breakaway to win the race and take up all sprint bonuses. Right from the start the pace was intense. Team TriSports wanted to shrink the field down to a manageable size. From that intense start a group of 3 managed to break away. Kyle and Erik launched an attack chasing down that group in order to follow the plan. They were followed by a few other riders. I stayed put waiting patiently for my turn. I was so tempted to just launch an attack and chase them down. Kyle got his sprint bonus and the breakaway slowed down so that we could catch them. Then at the beginning of the 4th lap (of 5), Big Mike launched an attack and a few other riders followed, including Buzz and I. We gained about 30 seconds in that 4th lap, but were chased down by the pack led by the race leader in the middle of the final lap. It came down to a mass sprint which I timed much better than other finishes. After the last turn I lost a few places, saving some energy for the sprint. I was able to sneak in between 2 riders and launched into 9th place for that race. Overall I moved up into 8th place for GC. It was a well planned and by far the most exciting race this season. Michael and Buzz after the race (photo by Evan Robold)
by Gary Schobel Time TrialAnother good weekend of racing, a time trial on Saturday a road race on Sunday. Saturday morning one the drive out for the TT I just had a feeling it was going to be a good morning. The wind was a little stronger than what I would have liked and the clouds look like they could be carrying a little bit of rain, but I just had this feeling that I was going to do well. Meeting up with the team getting our numbers and encouragement from my teammates is indescribable. One by one we took off on the 20 km time trial course, hoping to catch the guy 30 seconds ahead of you and praying you're not caught by the guy 30 seconds behind you. It was tough going on the way out. The winds were 15 mph in the south-southwest. The hard effort on the way out was definitely paid back with it as a tailwind on your way in. I reached the turnaround in 20 minutes, 20 seconds and made it back to the finish in 11 minutes. I crossed the finish line at just over 32 mph. I finished the 20k in 31:20, which put me in third place for the cat 5 category. It was my first time finishing in a podium position. What a great feeling! Road RaceSecond day was a road race. It was an early start. We rolled out at 7:25 a.m. I was so excited to be one of the five IC3 members racing in the Cat 5 category. I felt I started in a good position to start the race. By the end of the first lap I was falling towards the back of the pack. Just before reaching the finish line of the first lap I heard Buzz from the sidelines yelling, "get up in there!" The second third and fourth lap went much better. I stayed in the top 6. I thought I was playing it smart conserving as much energy as I could. End of the fifth lap on the final hill climb I just didn't have enough left in the legs. I fell from 6th to 14th finishing side by side with Greg.
There was a lot to learn in this road race. I look forward to using it in the next road race. Now that my work was done, it was time to enjoy watching Michael and Buzz race the course with one extra lap. Buzz led Michael out for a ninth place finish. I am so proud to be part of the IC3 Tucson race team. by Michael Hast Time TrialIt was cloudy, it was very windy, a perfect day for a time trial. That is how the Southern Arizona Omnium started with the Flap Jacks 20k TT. We had to drive to Picacho which is about a 40-minute drive from Tucson. We didn't set up our Christian Cycling tent and flags due to the wind. Margo, Greg, Gary and I nonetheless got ready for the battle against time and wind. During the warm-up, I had trouble getting my Wahoo Fitness HR monitor to work and display my heart rate on my Wahoo display. As with many TT's it was an out and back course. The "out" part was into the wind and on the way back we had a great tailwind. Once the race started, I accidentally pressed the pause button rather than the lap button which messed me up for the first couple of miles. I tried to un-pause which didn't work at first, so I fiddled with my device for a bit. Not good when you're supposed to stay in the TT position. About 2 km before the turn-around point I was passed by the rider who started behind me. It felt as I was standing when he rode by. I for sure thought I could keep him in sight to the turning point and then on the way back, which was a fine thought. Reality was different. With the tailwind on the way back, I hammered as best as I could and finished 7th that day. Road RaceThe Colossal Cave Road Race on Sunday was the second part of the omnium. The Cat 5 race was about to finish when I arrived at Pistol Hill near Colossal Cave. They started around 7:30 am, and our Cat 4 race didn't start until 10:53. Praise the LORD, I got to sleep in. After talking to the guys about their race, I got ready and warmed up. Our race was 54 miles (or 6 laps). The 1st lap of the race was pretty casual, even though Colton tried to break away on the 1st lap. We wheeled him in slowly but surely. On the 3rd lap a group of 3 broke away and stayed away for a little over 2 laps. Team Trisports worked hard with the winner of the road race to catch that breakaway. It was very tough to even hang on. After catching the breakaway, there was 1 lap to go. Initially the speed slowed for everyone to catch their breath and position themselves. With 4 miles to go, Kyle broke away and his team was blocking. With me in his tow, Buzz launched an attack to bridge to Kyle, which we did successfully. Kyle was startled when we passed him and I had to laugh out loud. With 2 miles to go, Ryan, another strong Trisports rider, launched an attack and stayed away to the base of Pistol Hill. This time Buzz launched another bridge attack with me, which was not so secret as we had hoped, because I wasn't looking at Buzz. So he had to call out my name. Hey everyone, we are about to launch an attack :-). Well, the gap to Ryan was bridged and the sprint up Pistol Hill was on. It was a tough uphill battle and I placed 8th that day.
On my way home I listened to Pastor Jons sermon "Forgiven!". "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." Psalm 32:1-2 by Ken Huizenga I really had the Colossal Cave RR pegged as a must participate race. I am out at Pistol Hill riding weekly and I consider this my home course. This race requires five laps. I never do five laps around this course in practice as it can be very tough. Today I felt prepared and ready to attack. The race started and I took off with my group. Everything went well until we reached the first turn onto Old Spanish Trail. Traffic was backed up at the stop sign and our spread-out peloton had to narrow and squeeze into the bike lane. I drifted back to allow Gary and Fernando safe entrance around the cars and fell off the pack a little bit. I tried to stay on Greg’s wheel as he drifted back with me. He was able to bridge back up to the group but I was afraid it was a little early to burn that match. This was my huge error for the day. I could not close the gap and this cost me dearly. The next four laps were completely on my own. I passed a few Cat 5 guys and the only other person I saw was Lonnie Poarch. He had an amazing break going off the front of his group, and still said "hi" and was encouraging me to press on. It was a long hard day but I did finish. Bottom line here is that having to work solo for so long took its toll on my back and my pride. This is not how I envisioned this race going at all. I am no quitter, so I did finish this race off. It took all my mental fortitude to do so though. I will certainly be re-evaluating my race preparation and my training schedule. This is the first race that I have had that I can take nothing from. I had no good usable data, no personal bests and not one lap that showed improved fitness or progress. I was ten minutes slower than last year in this race. Now the decision needs to be made to just shrug this one off or re-evaluate my entire training routine. At this point I will try to remain optimistic and press on.
I am very proud of my Team. They all put in hard efforts and had our Cat 5 group well represented up front. I am getting to know a lot of other riders and I have to mention what a great group of people I get to hang with at these events. Carolyn and Scott, Jason, Rafael, Margo, Robert, I heard you guys every lap. Thanks so much for keeping me going. |
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