Mt Hamilton Road Race, State Championships (from the lonely guy riding by himself)

I look around and see 4 other teammates stacked at the front of the race with 1km to go to the summit. Jim Wingert was up there setting the pace. John Piasta attacked hard 1km from the summit to go after the KOM. Evan Huffman, 2012 Gila TT winner of Cal Giant, putting his team on his back at the front of race, went shortly thereafter with Jim and myself on his wheel. When Huffman went, it took quite a bit to stay in contact, that guy has an engine.

Jim and I sat behind Huffman while he chased down John. When Huffman caught on to John on the flats after the summit, I looked at our group containing three of us and Huffman. I looked back and we had a decent gap on the field. I yelled: "Jim, go to the front and drill it" in hopes of getting this group to keep rolling for a advantageous breakaway. We did the work to make sure we were toward the front of the race with numbers the entire climb and it paid off. Our team was in an extremely good position here. Jim took over and without intention got a gap on all of us immediately. Huffman closed it down. At this point, Huffman had been a beast, pushing hard in the wind for over three minutes on his own. I think back to what local racing strategy expert, Roman Kilun would do in this situation. Roman would assess the situation and decide what would strategically put the race largely in the team's favor.

Seeing the field not too far behind I realized our group was not going to maintain it's gap on the descent so I roll up to Jim and told him "sit up and follow Huffman". I fully trust my equipment which is undoubtedly free speed on descents (Specialized SL4, Specialized tubular tires, and Zipp 404s) and years and years of training in the East Bay hills. I have spent over a decade racing and training on twisting norcal roads, also spending much of my available time coaching some of our future's young talents on Tieni Duro Junior Cycling Team how to push extra speed through turns with exceptional comfort and safety. Turning around after sprinting out of one of the corners, I see a large gap opening behind me. This is the point where I get to put those honed skills to use.

I come to the consensus that until there's a time check, I've got freedom to open up some serious time. It's a race to the first time check to establish my gap before worrying about the chase.

I know the training I've been getting from Provantage Sports is working and the fitness is there (a completely self interested plug right there). This is a championship race. Internally I tell myself: "Make it happen just like Paul Mach did in 2008 (report)." I take the corners smooth, feather down the hills, and hit the subsequent flat stretches and small hills with sustained concerted efforts of 400-500W. I could tell this is where training with fellow cycling coach Nate English has been really paying off. My team has my back. If I get caught, we've got some great sprinters who will be ready.

GAME ON!

Mile 20

Mile 25: I get a time check of 2:10. "Ok, not as much as I'd like but let's stay smooth and stay out of sight." Mile 30: I then get a time check of 2:30. "Great! This could really work. Hold back, stay smooth." Mile 35: 2:00. "Oh man, they are coming in but I am getting close to the last big hill. There's still a lot of legs left. The training is timed and tuned to perfection." Mile 40: 1:50. "I am at the 9 minute hill, the last big one of the race. The legs are feeling great so I push it hard to maintain my gap and to ensure I am not seen on the climb's long stretches knowing that it could really work if I maintained the gap over the hill." Mile 45: 1:40. "Only 10 seconds lost on the hill! EXCELLENT!" Mile 48: 1:40. "I'm feeling great, the legs are feeling energized, 40 minutes of racing to go. It's on! This is now a 30km time trial. Pedal it in!" Mile 52: Hamstrings are not happy about this effort and cramp with every pedal stroke. I am not ready to give up. I am pedaling through the seizing muscles. I can feel my legs ripping themselves apart. If there's a pain that is any worse than being stabbed, it's stretching out a muscle that is actively pulling itself into a ball. "HTFU! JUST KEEP PEDALING!!!" Mile 53: 1:10. The descending is so close. "JUST KEEP PEDALING. DEAL WITH CONSEQUENCES LATER." Mile 57: I turn around and see a field led by BHRR winner, Keith Hillier of Marc-Pro Strava. The descending is just around the corner. "Just keep pushing and there might be a lull in the field. If not, your team is still getting a free ride."

Mile 53

I get caught. We are now on the descent and our team is looking fresh with numbers. We had numbers and utilized it well to bring it in for a field sprint. With intentions of keeping it together for a sprint, we covered an attack by Cal Giant's strong climber/TTist that created a group 2:1 in our favor. This isolated Cal Giant's strong sprinter Sam Bassetti to chase it down with our riders in tow. I gave what I had left to keep our guys in place. The team took over. Tyler gets a huge win (can't wait to hear his story).

Nice Shoes

Roman Kreuziger wins Giro Italia stage 19.

County Center Criterium #2

This was the third opportunity, and the second weekend in a row, for NorCal riders to race this course this season.  I had competed in the first two races and placed 3rd and 2nd.  My number was called (the team worked for me to try to get the win) last weekend  during the Team Swift Crit. This weekend we decided Steve Paleaz, our team director, was our team member who we were going to work for to try to get the win.  It was just myself and Hank who were there to help Steve because the majority of Team Mike's Bikes riders were south racing the Modesto and Fresno crits.  Our plan was for Hank and I to mark any dangerous breaks while Steve was to rest as much as possible in the field while at the same time be attentive and not miss any crucial breaks.  On a side note, I wanted to get a good workout and get the team as much swag as possible so I made it a goal of mine to go for every prime if I was in the right spot. The 90 minute crit got started and the pace was pretty manageable.  The first prime lap came and I moved towards the front on the back stretch and was lined up behind two Metromint riders.  I could tell they were also keen on getting the prime.  As we rolled around the final turn and onto the finish straight away, I was able to stay on the wheel as one Metromint rider sprinted and then just come around him at the line for the first prime.  I thought to myself 'that was harder than I wanted to push'.  The race continued.

It wasn't that long though, about 20 minutes if I recall, that a break of about 9 riders got some space on the field.  With a little bit of communication, everyone soon realized we were in a good move and began working together. The gap began to grow.  Steve and Hank were back in the field letting others try to chase to bring them back to the break.  The bell for prime #2  rang.  I found myself at the front going into the final two turns of the lap so I decided to pull a little longer than needed and then jump out of the final corner to get space to win the prime.  Mission accomplished so far and it didn't mess up the break.  Pretty soon after this, to my delight, Steve bridged up and was now in our break.  Then a few laps later two guys got off the front and stretched their gap out to about 7-8 seconds.  Steve soon came to me and said to pay attention because he was going to go the front of our chase group and put in a few good pulls.  When the gap looked manageable then I was to try to bridge up to the two guys up the road.  On Steve's second acceleration, the gap closed down enough that I thought I could bridge up.  So I jumped and went for it. I was able to make it up to the two guys, one rider from Muscle Milk and the other from Metromint, the same guy that I 'duked it out' for the first prime.

We were now three.  I wish I could say we worked well together but one of the Muscle Milk guy seemed to be in a bit of discomfort and wasn't doing many pulls.  At this time I had to remind him that his teammates were counting on him to stay away so he should help us.  Fair enough, he took some pulls but soon dropped back so it was the Metromint guy  and I. We continued to work well together.  I glanced back, without putting too much effort to really gauge our gap, and couldn't see any other riders.  But then all of the sudden, out of the corner of my eye during a rotation, I saw another rider.  Another Muscle Milk rider had bridged up (very impressive) so we were now three again.  This was definitely favourable for us.  We continued working well together.

Now let me reverse this story a bit. I put air in my back tire prior to my warm up.  Then just before the start, or about 30 minutes after pumping it up, I felt my back tire and it kind of felt soft.  I found a pump and sure enough the pressure of my tubular tire had gone from 130 down to 90.  I wondered if I should use my spare wheel or just pump up my race tire again and go with it.  The latter thought won.  When Steve bridged up to our break early on in the race I asked him if my back tire looked soft because it felt like it.  He said no so I forgot about it. But with about 10-12 laps to go in the race I started to feel as though my wheel was soft.  Then with six laps to go, after I bounced on my back wheel and kept looking down at it, the Muscle Milk rider asked if I had a flat.  I said that I thought it was soft.  He looked down and confirmed this.  So now what do I do?  As we rolled over the line with five laps to go, I tried to get the attention of the referees to see if I still had a free lap.  Note to self: pay attention at the start when the referee announces how many laps before the finish you can get a free one.  Next lap around, I happen to see my teammate, Hank, holding his bike telling me I can jump on it.  I wasn't sure what to do.  Do I stop and make the switch and then try to make it back up to the two other guys in the break?  Do I take a chance and hope I can ride the almost flat tire a few more laps?  Well here's where fair play came into play.  My two break companions told me they would let me ride ahead so I could jump on Hank's bike and get back on with them.  So that what I did with three laps to go.  Luckily Hank's bike fit me very well.  As the bell lap rang, I rolled through leading my other two compatriots.  We kept rotating and I was third wheel entering the back stretch.  I could sense some jockeying about to begin so instead of playing any games I decided to make my move.  I got out of my saddle and accelerated hard.  I looked back and had a gap.  But the Metromint guy was digging hard and keeping me in check.  I pushed on and tried to stay as low as possible.  As I turned the final corner my legs were hurting.  The gap had stayed the same and as I got closer to the line I realized the win was going to be mine.

Once again, team work paid off.  If you've been reading our team race reports this year, you've probably heard this before.  Steve was our 'guy' for this race but he ended up helping me get in a break, which ultimately helped get the win.  At the finish we were all psyched to get another victory for Team Mike's Bikes.

QUICK STEP and TEAM MIKE'S BIKES

Quick Step, Boonen, Vader, and Team Mike's Bikes went for a ride to discuss the Tour de France and, more importantly, the Modesto Road Race.

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A Force of Good and Happiness - Mike's Bikes

Thanks to Chuck's post from the Wente Crit, many of us have had a good laugh and fun these past few weeks. And we continued to play on this age old theme of good vs bad, of dark vs light at the Mike's Bikes Cat's Hill Classic. Here's the race video: http://vimeo.com/42036413

Obviously, Mike's Bikes is really a force of good and happiness to all of us. Let me share why:

Before deciding to join Team Mike's Bikes, I did some research and asked around about Matt Adams and the company. I was impressed by all that I learned. Mike's Bikes is the largest and most successful bike shop in the country thanks to the vision of the partners Ken Martin and Matt Adams. Their vision is simple: to bring biking happiness to all.

When you step into any of the 11 Mike's Bikes stores throughout Norcal, you feel this vision at work. The employees happily greet you and cater to your needs regardless of whether you are a novice recreational rider or a seasoned racer. Everyone is welcome. Everyone is treated with the same great customer service. Btw, I'm always curious about people's background and their journey to where they are today. So it's interesting to note that both Matt and Ken started as regular bike employees at Mike's. They are just regular guys like many of us who have worked at bike shops. Except, now they have created a biking empire in Norcal.

But what's even more impressive about Mike's is how they give back. In my book, the true worth and value of a person is measured by how much they give of themselves rather than how much they earn or make. In this regard, Mike's (Matt and Ken) are truly giants. Their bike Africa philanthropy project is impressive.

So before I even joined the team, I already liked these guys. Then, I met Matt Adams and many of the Mike's Bikes employees. I knew then, I had to be part of this team and turn the 2011 creme puff image around. My goal was simple: create a team that represents the excellence of Mike's Bikes.

At first, I simply looked around for talented riders who would successfully represent the company's high standing image. But then I thought, let's invest in the younger riders. However, in order to do this correctly, it's important to create the right peer support structure for the younger riders. We needed to bring not just one but a group of them. But our budget did not support adding (4) U23 riders. So I spoke with Matt, and he generously opened up the budget to support these young guns, the future of our sport.

I even suggested that perhaps, we don't need all these high end equipment to make room in our budget. Of course, Matt Adams would have none of this. If we are truly to represent the excellence of Mike's Bikes, then everything has to be the best. This is why we have the best bikes, the best wheels, the best clothing, the best gruoppo, the best nutritional products, the best coaching. The best training tools (garmin, gopro, cyclops powertap). We are a fortunate group of riders.

Over the years, I've developed the belief that a happy rider is a fast rider. Ultimately, we ride to pursue happiness. And the key to happiness is NOT wins. The key to happiness is feeling purposeful and being part of a community (something larger than oneself). We've worked hard since the end of the last year to create this sense of purpose for each rider (being the best teammate) and to have them be part of the Mike's community, not just with their teammates but with the entire Mike's organization. Interestingly, without the active pursuit of wins but a focus on great teamwork, we've won a lot more than I could have expected. These kids are great.

Also, I absolutely love going to the Mike's stores because many of the employees are genuinely interested and happy with the team's success. I feel that they too share in the team's success. We are after all their team. And it's our goal to be Norcal's most enjoyed and supported team too by bringing you biking happiness every week through our race videos, race reports, and team rides. Hope you are enjoying the show that is Team Mike's Bikes. We're just getting started.

Mike's Bikes is truly the force of good and happiness in Norcal cycling.

Golden State Circuit Race

Golden State Circuit race is a sinuous course as part of a two day omnium. Matt McKinzie and I were teaming up for the second day, with a game plan to save our strength for a field sprint. Lo and behold, Chuck Hutcheson (MarcPro-Strava) made a move that stuck, working with Ariel Herrmann (Metromint Cycling). The peloton mostly shut down except for attempted bridges. There was no organization. Matt who is brand spanking new to category two, handled the final two laps. He pulled the entire peloton, myself included, for over four miles with no other teams assisting. Half the breakaway got caught on the line. I got second in the field sprint, for fourth overall. Photo from Steve Harriman

Mike's Bikes Cat's Hill Classic!

And what a classic it was! It was a beautiful day for a bike race in Los Gatos, California; it was an even better day for a showdown between the dark and light sides of the force. Impressed by the Jedi photo shop tricks of team MarcPro Strava, Team Mike's Bikes suited up in our new white jerseys, hoping for some even cooler storm trooper pics. Come on guys, let’s see them! And fearing that the Empire might be a bit misunderstood amongst the nor cal cycling scene, Team Director Steve Peleaz sacrificed his own shot at racing glory to focus on a little public relations outreach.

The race started out fast. Guys were attacking left and right, but nothing was getting away. I was able to sit back and watch everyone attack during the 65-minute race as my teammates were awesome, following any dangerous moves and even going for glory themselves by attacking. As the race winded down, it became clear the winner would be determined in a field sprint. At 1 lap to go Rainier and Shawn were at the front, a couple guys in front of me, and I told them to drill it. Rainier drilled it to the hill and Shawn drilled it up and over the top. I was sitting pretty with two cal Giant riders next to me and Roman Kilun (Kenda 5 Hour Energy) at the front. I told Roman to go and he did just that. He drilled it all the way to the top and down the hill to the last turn and I was able to get into position behind one of the Cal Giants riders, grab the inside line and sprint to victory! We ended up having 5 guys in the top 12! Benny Swedberg (Cal Giant) was second, Jared Barrilleaux (Cal Giant) came in third, photo shopper extraordinaire Chuck Hutcheson (Marc-Pro Strava) was 4th, and our very own Tyler Brandt rounded up the top 5!

A special thanks to Roman as while he's not my teammate, he acted as if he was and gave an me excellent leadout. Thank you Roman! The rest of the team rode amazing and we executed! Thank you to Mike's Bikes and all of the sponsors! Couldn't have done it without you!

--James LaBerge

City Park Becomes a Sponsor of Team Mike's Bikes 2012

Team Mike's Bikes, one of Northern California's premier cycling teams, is proud to announce that

City Park

will be an integral part of this year's program.  City Park has been San Francisco's premier parking management company for the past 50 years.  The sponsorship provides Team Mike's Bikes (TMB) 2012 with financial assistance for riders to attend key races throughout the season.  In return, City Park will receive brand exposure on the teams kit as well as exclusive VIP treatment at some of the team's key Northern California races.

"I've been extremely impressed with not only team's results so far this year but also their professional approach, dedication and strong commitment to the team," explained Tim Leonoudakis, CEO of City Park. "Just like our business, you need a strong team environment to create success in bike racing.  TMB certainly shares this value, as evident of their results this year."  As an avid cyclist himself, Mr. Leonoudakis also expressed his interest in Mike's Bikes projects in Africa. He hopes to become involved to some degree in one of these programs.

Matt Adams, Mike's Bikes CEO, is also thrilled with the teams new sponsorship.  "It's really nice to have a local San Francisco company like City Park see the value in sponsoring a grassroots cycling program such as TMB 2012.  This is the team's second year of existence and sure, the results have been impressive. But even more important than this is the leadership and skills we are trying to instill in the Bay Area's top bike racers."

Panoche Pass RR

This is a year of first timers: The Viper gets to second base with the podium girl for winning his first bike race, we eat healthy food, we go paint-balling for the first time... and many more to come. At Panoche though... I got to call "sit up and wait for the rider who flatted"... One of these days I'll get to call a pee break.

Panoche's course is a fun one. It is an out and back 67mi course. Go up a hill. Go down a hill. Take a left into a flat crosswind section. Go up a hill. Go down a hill. Turn around. Suffer all the way back in a headwind.

Two things that I am terrified will happen during a bike race:

1) Someone will throw a snot rocket and it'd hit me.

To those offenders (you know who you are), spitting and projecting out of your nose lost its coolness back in the 3rd grade, that year that you realized girls are cooler than earthworms.

2) Someone will pee in the pack and I'd get an unfriendly shower.

I bring this up because 20 miles into the race, I've got to relieve myself. I roll to the back of the pack along the side of the road and try to go. Hmm, not much of a stream going. Ok, there it goes, better.

Wait... why is my shoe all wet. f**k.  I know our shoes are fiery hot... but come on!

Here I was enjoying my ride, just chilling and singing songs in the back with the Mike's Bike's poster child, Rainier Schaefer, and now my shoe is ruined.

I was enjoying my day and now I'm just want to rip Barbie doll heads off and tantalize the youngins for their tears. Speaking of trying to torture the youngins (emphasis on trying), Travis, Riggs, & LaBerge were out fending themselves pretty well from this guy and his green stick.

We are within sight of the left turn into the flat crosswind and I just want to see friendly faces turn to ugly. This guy below epitomizes the latter.

We make the left. GAME ON! Rainier and I tried to make a dent. The field was too strong. I attacked a few times while Rainier had my back. I got off the front and caught the rider who was bravely solo for 32 miles up to that point. I got some stellar pulls from him, we got to the turn around only to see the group a mere 3 seconds behind.

I hit it hard up the up hill in front of me and half way up, I turn around and my breakaway companion was out and in place, James Enright of Squadra caught up with Ranier locked on his wheel. We get over the hill and back on the flat crosswind section. This is where some more fireworks happen.

Have you ever seen a bike racer go solo up the road when everyone (self included) is in absolute agony? It's nothing short of f****g amazing.

If you have raced in NorCal, you'd be lying if you said no. This guy, Rand Miller (Cal Giant), our district's criterium champion, built and continues to build his reputation on the ability to always make a solo move when all eyes are crossed. For that guy, everyone remembers that crossover point in 2011 when it went from "Ah that's cute" to "Ah s**t" and then later in 2012 when it went to "LMFAO, that's funny".

Back to the campfire story... At this point it was Rainier and three others in a group with others chasing hard behind. I attacked and didn't get anywhere. Rainier had my back to make sure I could recover. When the next rider pulled through (his motivation to keep the break rolling), I attacked again. I got caught again. Third time is a charm, right? Either that or three strikes or you're out. This is the one I committed to knowing it was one or the other. I hit it hard and got a quick gap. I got to the point where I knew it was no longer bridgeable but at the same time sitting where I was on a leash. I held that gap for a few minutes holding back a little in case someone put a dig in to bridge. After 5 minutes, I looked behind and a rider was only 3 seconds off my wheel. I put in a deep 1k effort and opened the gap up and kept pushing harder and harder to open keep the gap growing.

At some point I told myself "sweet, this is kickass" and thirty seconds later realizing that there is a long ways home and saying "wtf am I doing, this hurts, and I just want to be done". Wishes were answered. I stood at the finish line eating a chocolate chip cookie the refs were nice enough to give me while getting to watch the rest of the race light up the field sprint. Ranier finishing up with 3rd in the sprint after covering for me all day. Brian Buchholz (Webcore) making a return for 2nd and Joe Dickerson (McGuire) rolling in strong for 3rd.

In my years as a cyclist, all my results were from sprints. My strategy was pretty simple. I sit around, pick my nose, maybe drink a milkshake, then sprint. If I wanted a chance at finishing well, it would ALWAYS be a sprint, no other way. I had always wondered what it would be like to approach the finish line, see the 200m sign and have the luxury to turn around to look off in the distance, seeing nothing but empty roads.

What happened this year? There's some synergistic magic within the team this year. The sponsors are super supportive. The team all wants to see each other win as much as they want it themselves. The team's management is pulling for the riders and making for a great year.

Winte Vineyards Crit Video.

Here's some highlights, a crash, and the final laps I captured with my GoPro last Sunday during the Winte Vineyards Crit

Wente Vineyards Criterium

It couldn't have been a better day of bike racing in Northern California: 80's and light winds all day! I got off work (Jamba Juice) at 1pm and quickly got home, packed everything up, picked up my girlfriend and we were off to the races! We got there and it was hotter than expected but I was anticipating this race and kept thinking about it all morning at work. Before I knew it, it was game time and the whistle blew. Eric Riggs and Travis Lyons were also here representing Team Mike's bikes and our game plan was to save it for the sprint because it almost always comes down to a field sprint here. We did just that, but it wasn't easy at all: there were non-stop attacks and the average speed was about 29 mph! A small breakaway did get away, but we reeled it back in in the closing laps. All three of us got organized and Travis got Eric and I into position for the last two laps as we sat between 5-10 guys back, just waiting to pounce in the last kilometer of the race. At 700 meters I yelled at Eric to go and he went off like a rocket. I kept encouraging him in these desperate moment and told him up once again and he even got out of the saddle! This guy has some raw power! I took off at 200 meters and held it off by a bike length! Chuck Hutchenson (Marc-Pro Strava) and Austin Carroll (Full Circle Cycling powered by Pure Gear) were creeping up beside me but the finish line came soon enough so that I can put my hands up and give Team Mike's bikes another "W" for 2012!

Thank you to all of the sponsors for everything that you do to make this team rise this year!

--James LaBerge

Mega Sale

rainermegasale

Team Mike's Bikes' own Rainer Schaefer beat out all  contenders to take the cover spot of this year's Mega Sale catalog.

Beyond Rainer's rugged good looks, the catalog delivered the scoop on one of the best bike sales around to the mailboxes of households across Northern California.

The sale is on now through Sunday at all 10 Mike's Bikes stores, including the new shop in San Jose.

Find the nearest store to you here.

Everything is on sale. Check out great deals on stylish Capo kits, high performing Specialized bikes and all the accessories you need from Bike Smart.

Sea Otter Crit GoPro Video

Some great footage from Eric Riggs at the Sea Otter Crit.

Town Center Criterium

It was 90 degrees and we were in a parking lot..wait..I mean town center of El Dorado Hills. The course formed a bell shape with many turns and a two block section that rose slightly. With my teammates away winning at Sea Otter, I was left to my own devices. Half-way through the race Peter Graf (Fremont Bank Cycling Team) was alone off the front and a teammate of his was swerving back and forth across the road at the head of the peloton. That was weird so I attacked and bridged to Peter with Chuck Hutcheson (Marc Pro-Strava), Joshua Carling (Michael David Winery Cycling Team), and Peter Knudsen (Team Clover). We cooperated well and held a twenty to thirty second gap to the field, saving the shenanigans for the last couple laps. The five of us finished the race ahead of the chasing peloton with Peter Graf first and myself second. See the rest of Jim Elder’s photographs here.

Sea Otter Circuit Race Win - The Viper Strikes

Team Mike’s Bikes was out in force at this year’s Sea Otter Stage Race, an effort that culminated with Jim Wingert’s win of stage four on the legendary Laguna Seca Speedway. Wingert attacked with 800 meters to go in the 120 minute circuit race and held off the chasing pro field by more than five bike lengths. Check out the finish photo on Cycling News.

Beyond the Wingert win, the team delivered impressive results with Tyler Brandt placing 4th in the circuit race and 9th in the stage race GC. 2012 Chico Stage Race champion Shawn Rosenthall had a strong 8th place finish in the crit on day one, but the then suffered the misfortune of a crash in the road race on day three. Andy Goesling and Eric Riggs played key roles to set up the solid team results, drilling it at the front and keeping the team in good position. Beyond his stage win, Wingert came in 9th in the time trial and placed 8th in the final GC. Find full results here.

The four day event, held in Monterey, California, included some of Northern California’s top amateur racing talent alongside notable pro squads, including Kenda Five Hour Energy and Team Exergy. Check out some great GoPro Footage of the race here.

Chico Stage Race

Friday, the night before the race, I had the great idea of drinking coffee with every meal and as every meal. Surprise. Surprise! When I tried to pass out at 10pm I was still wired.

I had never won a crit and never won a stage race.  To finish it this way, I was in nothing short of shock.

I made the rice muffins w/ chocolate chips in them from the allen lim cookbook with the intention of having some pre-race food and RR fuel. At 12am I was still fully awake tossing in my bed. I decided it'd be a good idea to check on the muffins which were cooled off by now in the fridge. They were ooey gooey. I pulled them out of the tin, placed it on some aluminum foil and put them back in the oven. Pulled them out to put back in the fridge. On the way over, the foil broke and hot muffin/molten chocolate chips all over my feet. That'll definitely help me go back to sleep.

I gave up, knowing I'd have to be up at 4:30am. I took a benedryl which is the WORST medicine you can take to fall asleep. It is an anticholinergic, which inhibitively blocks the neurotransmitters from working. Essentially it's the opposite of having some coffee. Problem is that when you are racing in just a matter of hours, it's still very much in the sytem.

Road Race (Sat 8am)

Roman Kilun gave me a 5hr energy at the race start. I was sooo sleepy and stale for the first 35 miles of the race. When we hit the gravel, the 5hr Energy kicked in. THANK YOU!

Finished the race watching Eric pull out of his pedals in the sprint and finished with the same time as the field, just happy to get done and ready for a serious night of sleep.

TT (Sun 8am)

8am TT start? Really? Anyways, another early wakeup. I don't recall riding mostly because I was still sleeping. All I know is that I got rocked by 40 seconds by Roman (Kenda/5hr Energy) and Teeter (Marc Pro/Strava).

CRIT (Sun 12:30pm)

Started the day nearly 50 seconds back, sitting in 3rd. Roman was sitting in 2nd, 8 seconds back. We both agreed it'd be nice if one of us got the win. From very early on in the race, Roman and I ended up in a move and it looked promising. We got pulled back. Roman attacked with another rider. I sat two wheels back from Teeter who was chasing. The rider in front of me was Dan Heeley (Hagens Berman). Dan attacks and we bridge up to Roman. We were off for several laps. I was really committed to this one thinking that if we broke the leash on the field, we could lap the field and Roman would get the win, I'd move up to 2nd.

It came back. This was with about 45-55 minutes left of racing.

Thinking to myself: "I'm tired, my legs hurt, I over committed to that break and now I'm caught", I thought it'd be a good idea to attack again as soon as we were caught. I sprinted hard and turned around and saw nothing but a big mushroom behind me. Roman and Eric were sitting up at the front of the field. I later looked behind and saw a light blue Fremont Bank kit coming across. "They've got 4 or 5 in the field, SWEET!". It was my friend Julian Martinez. I waited and gave him a few laps of sitting on before calling him for a stretch of help each lap. Eric was back there playing gatekeeper and blocking like a boss.

Within just a few laps, we had almost 40 seconds on the field. I looked to the pits and saw Teeter sitting there with a flat wheel in the pits so I figured he'd have to know what was going on with me gaining a bit of time on him up the road so I gave a hard, hard dig for the next few laps. Roman (2nd in GC at the start of the day) helped me out big time, making sure it was Teeter's job to pull (the GC leader at the start of the day)

With a dead garmin battery, I had no idea how long I had left in the race. All I knew was that the lap cards still weren't up and I was suffering. I was tempted to ask Julian what his computer said but I was legitimately afraid of hearing him say 40 more minutes.

I'm hurting and I finally see 15 laps on the lap cards. (insert explicative here)... that's at least another 20 minutes of hitting it hard. 5 laps later, Craig Fellers (Red Peleton, right behind me in GC) came across and behind I saw two more coming. I chilled for a stretch to let them latch on and hit it hard again knowing we need the speed to get back up and they'd get a bit of rest. They pulled through and I finally got some much, much needed recovery.

At this point, we were getting within closing distance of lapping the field; however, they kept giving us a time gap of 40 seconds to a chase group. I didn't know if Teeter was in this group so had to make sure to keep the time gap up.

Not wanting there to be any slowing down on the last lap, I put my head down coming into the last lap and put in a 1k effort to try to finish the day. Mid lap and I asked for a short pull from Craig. He pulled through and I got back to the front to finish off the day. Coming around the last corner I was burning fumes. I pulled wide looking to see the other 4 pass by in hopes of grabbing a wheel to get the same time, maybe 3rd for some time bonus. I looked over and didn't see it happening so just turned over the pedals through the line to a bit of a surprise to myself to also get the stage.

Santa Cruz Classic Pro12 - Last 2 Laps GoPro Video

A dominant display of team work by Team Mike's Bikes. James Wingert and Andy Goessling were on a break most of the race. The rest of the guys brilliantly covered and blocked. Then finished off the race with an awesome lead out and sprint.

Santa Cruz Classic 2012 from Steve Pelaez on Vimeo.

-Steve P.

Santa Cruz Classic Criterium

I had been at the race since 8am, sleeping as much as I can since I didn't get get home the night before until midnight because I was at the San Francisco Giants opening night baseball game. I finally woke up at about 11am and decided to go stretch out my legs out with an hour bike ride. I found out shortly that it's a love/hate relationship between cyclists and drivers: I got stuff thrown at me and I was being asked questions about cycling. I kept my cool with the driver that didn't like me as much, but it was an eventful morning spin ride in Santa, Cruz, California.

I got back and felt a lot better than last night; I was ready to RACE! The team plan was to get guys up the rode in a breakaway, but after 10 laps of being near or at the front nothing was getting away. Steve came up to me shortly after and told me to sit in and save it for a sprint because it was looking like it and everyone else on the team was going hard, still trying to make a break stick. I listened to Steve's advice and slotted back a few spots, but as I did, I eventually looked back ans saw that I was one of the last guys in the pack!

Eventually, a break of 4 did get up the road that includes Andy and Jim (Team Mike's Bikes), a Webcor rider, and a McGuire rider. It was time to move back up and stop resting completely. I found a sweet spot and sat there, just letting all the other teams attack into the wind trying to chase down the breakaway.

It really started to heat up with 5 laps to go, but that's where Tyler Dibble came in and protected me from the wind and helped me move up into position. The break was now in front of us, but Andy put in a last minute attack on the breakaway with 4 laps to go ad the remaining of the breakaway were done and we picked thm up right away. Unfortunately, Andy got caught with 1 laps to go, but that's where Tyler Brandt went on the attack and he got a small gap! This was an interesting situation because we had Rainier, Tyler Dibble and myself lined up behind one McGuire rider that was on the front chasing Tyler. It slowed up a little bit on the back stretch and I told Rainier to go. Right then a McGuire guy came up and attacked! Tyler was starting to fad a little bit and I told Rainier to just use him as a lead out guy. As we came around the last turn, Dibble clipped his pedal and I had to come around him on the outside on the hill in the wind, but I slotted back in behind Rainier for a couple seconds as we crested the top of the hill. It was all up to me now: I jumped out into the wind and sprinted as hard as I could and came up with the WIN!! I was nervous in the closing meters because Logan Loader (Team Exergy) was on my wheel, but I guess he had some sort of mechanical going around the last turn.

We might not have expected a field sprint, but we definitely put plan B into the fold and executed it perfectly! The entire team rode extremely awesome today and it couldn't have been done with them! This all couldn't have been done either if it wasn't without the support of Mike's Bikes and all of our sponsors!

Thank you for reading!

Read more at Norcal Cycling News and check out some great pics here.

Copperopolis Road Race

On Saturday, most of the Team Mike's Bikes riders raced the Copperopolis Road Race. For those not familiar with the race, it is perhaps the most challenging and classic of the northern california road races. The course is a 22-mile loop on some of the bumpiest roads imaginable, and includes a 1,000 ft climb and numerous other hills and rollers. In the men's pro field, we had to tackle this a total of 5 times, making for a true war of attrition. On the first lap, John Piasta managed to get off the front with another rider on the main climb. When Jim Stemper (Kenda/5 Hour Energy) attacked over the top of the climb, I jumped on his wheel and the two of us made it up to John. The four of us rolled along nicley for half a lap. Unfortunately, John -- who was taking some excellent pulls -- got a flat tire. This took the impetus out of our move, and we were caught soon afterwards. The pace was pretty hot the next two times over the climb and many riders were getting dropped. After the third time up the climb, Shawn Rosenthal attacked out of a reduced group and was joined by Jim Stemper and eventual winner Mauricio Prado. The fourth time up the climb, Max Jenkins drilled it on the steeper ramps, forcing a selection of 9 riders behind Shawn's group of 3. Both Tyler Brandt and myself were able to hang on. We traded some attacks in this group and I started to wear out rapidly. The last time we hit the climb, we passed Shawn, who had fallen off of the lead group. I was dropped halfway up the climb but mangaged to easily ride in solo for 9th place. Tyler hung on with tired legs until the finish for 7th place. There was some drama in the finish that I won't comment on. The breakaway was caught, and Kirk Carlsen was first across the line, but later disqualified, giving Mauricio Prado the victory. Our entire team rode well; it was nice to see so many of us still up at the front later in the race. Dana Williams in particular rode very strongly, and Andy Goessling finished in a respectable 11th place. -Jim W.

Eat Well to Ride Fast

dinner1

As the road racing season heads to longer, tougher courses, like this weekend’s Nor Cal  classic Copperopolis, good nutrition becomes all the more important to riders. Put another way: poor nutrition comes with more clear-cut consequences. While a diet of junk may result in suboptimal performance in a 60 minute crit or 10 mile time trial, not properly fueling the body before a 105 mile hilly road race wreaks a different kind of havoc -- like DNFing* a race at a gas station and bumming money for a Coke from the cleaning staff kind of havoc.

That’s why the racers of Team Mike’s Bikes got together this past Sunday to hone their nutritional knowledge and culinary skills. Hosted by Ken Martin, the co-owner of Mike's Bikes, and led by master chef Ryan Johnson, the squad discussed key topics including the value of refueling the body in the post-ride recovery window and the importance of a balanced diet in bodily function.

Here’s some of what we made:

Recipes and instruction by Ryan Johnson

Plump brown rice

1c rice : 4+ c water

Konbu (or other seaweed)

Liquid aminos to taste

Honey (optional)

- Rinse rice in a strainer under the sink a few times, until water runs clear

- Put rice and water in a large pot with seaweed, bring to a boil

- Once boiling, remove seaweed and cook for ~30 minutes, until rice is done

- Drain and rinse rice to stop cooking

- Mix with liquid aminos, honey (for a sweeter breakfast rice), sesame seeds for some crunch, or whatever else you can think up

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Proper mushrooms

Cremini or button mushrooms, as many as you want to cook (they will shrink in size once cooked)

Fresh herbs (thyme is great, or tarragon, rosemary, dill)

Oil (with thyme, rosemary, or dill, use olive oil. with tarragon, sesame oil)

- Quarter mushrooms, add to a big, dry pan (no butter or oil, for now)

- Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, and watch the mushrooms start to relinquish their water

- Once most of the water has cooked off (you'll notice the mushrooms start to stick to the pan a bit), add oil and fresh herbs

- Cook until mushrooms are tender and no longer rubbery

Chinese Salad

Red Cabbage, chiffonade (chiffonade link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJEQFgfv7iw)

Kale, chiffonade

Daikon radish, julienned (julienne link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YU1IBLypo0)

Carrot, julienned

Almonds, roughly chopped

Sesame seeds

Small oranges, in wedges

Dulse (or other seaweed), torn or chopped

Dressing:

1 part orange juice

1 part sesame oil

1/2 part rice vinegar

Squirt of honey

Glob of hot mustard

Dash of liquid aminos

- Combine and mix.

Thoughts on the choices? What’s your favorite post-race meal? Best pre-race snacks?

Stay tuned for more nutrition posts looking at topics mentioned here in detail.

-Steve O.

*DNF = Did Not Finish in race result lingo. Not to be confused with DFL which stands for something else.