Crookham (soon to be) M.D.

What a great last weekend in San Francisco. By chance, one of the old stalwarts of the Jet Fuel team, Jason Crookham, sent me an email saying that he was back in town, so we hooked up for a couple of rides.

Jason has put in some of the best rides of the team's history. 4th in the 2001 Milk RAS in Ireland comes to mind; Joe talks often about how Jason played havoc with the team leading the race, the Brits, by constantly getting into attacks and going up the road in a bid to steal the lead. Another great ride was taking the King of the Mountain's jersey at the GP de Beauce by being in a day long break the first day of the race.

The best story about Jason though was in 1998 when I first met him on our trip to Keene, NH for a weekend of racing. We arrived the evening before the road race and had just settled into our hotel when Jason decided to pull his bike apart and replace his bars, stem and seatpost. Joe, Matt and I stood there dumbfounded, not believing what we were seeing, thinking that Jason was ruining his chances in the coming race. Road cyclists are often milimeter freaks and Jason was just going at his overhaul with no regard for measurements whatsoever. Needless to say, Jason proved us all wrong, pulling out an impressive win the next day on his new bars, stem and seatpost.

Jason has always been a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy and as we traded tales from the big ring on our ride I told him how great it would be to have him on the team again. There's still two months to the start of the season I said, but it didn't convince him. Oh well, I guess he's got bigger fish to fry, like becoming a doctor.

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Breaking News: Buckbus back in action

After a short 2 hour visit to the “automobile doctor" the Buckbus was put back in action, just in time for the 15 hour drive ahead of Miller and Pozniak. Miller, still suffering from a bad cold was earlier quoted; "It was a tough time, seeing my baby in the shop on the hoist with the hood up, he's brought me a long ways over the years, I'm glad he's healthy again. It's just too bad I'm not.". Pozniak, on the other hand was not as sympathetic; "Yeah, if that thing breaks down one more time I'll ride home, I could use the base miles"

The problem was a leak in the electronic system that happened intermittently, draining the battery. After a series of tests, it turned out to be the ignition key hole light, that couldn't be spotted, as it only happened during the day. Dr.Mechanic quickly removed the light, and terminated all power to that point. The medical garage bill was only $60.

In a matter of days the Buckbus can be seen heading east from Tucson, Arizona to Austin, Texas.

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Down with the Sickness

I'm sick. I’ve come down with a headache, runny nose, sore throat and a slight cough. It's 5:45 am here in Tucson, and I woke up 30 minutes ago. For the past week I haven't been sleeping well at all. It started the night of the Valley of the Sun TT, and it's been all downhill from there. The Monday following the "VOS" I took a rest day, just an easy ride to the coffee shop.

That Tuesday, we had 4.5 hours to ride with 4-4 minute hill repeats at 90%. So we hooked up with David Robinson, a friend of mine I met here in Tucson, and his TIAA-CREF teammate Sheldon Deeny. We ended up doing an extra hour, we didn't mean to, but we were riding a different loop off of the Big Square, and just miss-calculated the distance. It was a great ride, and I felt good the whole day, especially in the last hour. But that night I was a little more tired than I usually am after a ride like that.

The next morning when I woke up, my throat was very sore and dry. I cut the training short by 1 hour, went home, drank lots and rested, but nothing changed. The next day was the same thing, but this time I had a headache, so again, I only did 3 hours, cutting the training short by 2 hours this time! But I just feel horrible.

The worst part is cutting the training. I spoke with Andrew two days ago while he's in California, and he says play it safe, just relax. But cutting training short is hard to do, I feel like I'm slacking. Thing's like this never usually bother my riding, and I often just train and race right through it, but I can't this time. I’m KO'd.

Hopefully a few days easy followed by lots of water, OJ, and vitamin c pills with some sleep (if I can sleep) will get rid of this thing and I can get back on track.

Now I have to sneak around the house quietly as everyone's still sleeping, but I really want a tea, think the kettle will wake'em up?

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Coffee Ride

Went out today with Mark and his four year-old son Ben. Ben was on a trail-a-bike, a kids bike that clamps onto the seatpost. We had a great time going down the valley to the local hot coffee shop... with Ben complaining on the climbs when Mark asked him to kick in some horses and loving it on the descents. At the coffe shop we met Alison, Mark's wife, with his other son Gavin and hung out for a bit. For the ride home Ben went back in the car, allowing Mark and I to pick up the tempo a bit. We did a bit of exploration, finding a new version of an old route, one of the things that I love about cycling.

The weather is supposed to be nice for the rest of the week, which is great. But I can't really complain as I've only been caught in the rain the one day, and even then it was only a drizzle. Tunitas Creek, Old LaHonda and all the rest of the climbs around here are just waiting to be ridden, and it's always more fun in the sun.


click to see bigger images

Don't know if you saw, but sounds like the boys are doing a fine job down in Arizona, Jet Fuel's coming strong.

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Donut Ride

Since I arrived in Toronto a few years ago, after living in Louisiana for three years, the “Donut Ride” has been a very important part of my week in general, and an important part of my training to build fitness (usually my hardest workouts during the week).

Initially, it got me used to ride a bike for more than 1-2hours, and later it provided (more than) enough intensity to make me stronger. For the uninitiated: The "Donut Ride" is a weekend ride out of downtown Toronto; it leaves at 9am and takes the same path every weekend, Saturday and Sunday. The ride runs through various neighborhoods, until it after about an hour reaches country roads. After 2hours the group makes a quick mandatory stop at an excellent polish bakery north on Yonge, before returning downtown again. It is very predictable, some sections fast and intense, and some slow. It was established more than 20 years ago (I believe) by a bicycle club in Toronto (Scarborough). The turn out is sometimes more than 100 bicyclists, especially in the summer, and sometimes as few as half a dozen, usually this time of the year. But, it is rare that no one shows up. And - I have still to see anyone eating donuts (at least the greasy deep-fried ones they served in Louisiana).

This past Sunday, it was -10 deg celsius, when the ride left the city. More than 20 cyclists showed up, something I found amazing for a cold day in February. By the time we returned to the city it was very windy and it was snowing. A classic winter ride, I am sure all of us went home and felt good about what we had accomplished. That is at least how I felt and how I usually feel after the Donut ride – anytime of the year. And I believe that is what this ride is all about, some action and suffering, followed by rest and good sensations (triggered by endorphins I believe).

Sunday might have been my last “donut-ride”. Next week I am moving out of the country, and I don’t know when I will be back in Toronto. I would like to thank everyone I have run into on the ride over the last years, everyone has contributed to making it fun and hard. If I ever get a chance to return to Toronto, I will be out on the donut ride again, and again. Thanks for reading and keep doing the donut ride!

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Valley of the Sun Stages 1 - 2 - 3

Mark and I ,along with Ryan Roth (Gears), drove up to Phoenix for the VOS. The opening stage was a 19k TT in the rain. The course was a false flat out and back. Mark only had clip-on bars, and 32 spoke wheels. My set up was my Cervelo Soloist, a fast bike indeed, but with no clip-on bars and just training wheels, I wasn't looking to break any records. Mark and I rode in with pretty high times, while Ryan managed to crack the top 15. The winner Brian Sheedy of the Endeavour team rode an impressive time to take the GC lead into the road race the next day.

So, with Mark and I a little back on GC we had some work to do in the road race. The rain continued from the start, with only a 10 minute break on the 4th of 5 laps. Mark and I, along with the rest of the field tried to get something off the front, but nothing really worked. Over the only climb in the race, with 1 lap to go, Mark and 3 other riders managed to get a group off the front, with a small gap. Their gap never gained more than 1 minute, and Sheedy's Endeavor team were on the front slowly bringing them back. The kilometers ticked by, and with around 5k to go, Mark's group had only 21 seconds and a 2k climb to get over to the finish. I'm not one to turn down a bunch gallop in a road race, so I was following the wheels waiting to launch to the line. Up the climb we go, and the race starts splitting up, I was keeping the pace fine, as was Ryan. Just ahead of us, Mark attacked the only rider able to stay with him up the climb, Steve Cozza of the USA National Team. He was on his own with nothing but the finish line in front of him, but it wasn't to be, we caught Mark with less than 300 meters to go. I had 50psi in my front tire compliments of a slow leak, and was suffering to hold the wheels, Ryan "I swear I'm not a field sprinter" Roth managed a 4th, and a disappointed Mark stayed in the front group of 30 guys over the line. I felt bad for Mark, he raced smart, and almost got it, but what can you do eh?

Now on to stage 3, the crit. I'm usually in favor of this event, and on a 7 corner crit it's even better! Well not today. I have realized how much I hate crits after this race...for good.

Yesterday's road race was tough. There were 32 riders that didn't finish. And on the last lap, the main pack was split up pretty good. On the start line of the crit are those 32 riders that didn't finish the road race. Call me whacky, call me kooky, but I don't think that should be allowed. In a stage race, if you don’t finish a stage, you're out. There were a lot of those faces "mixing it up" and getting in the way in the crit that ended up affecting the GC big time in the end. The race was coming down to a field sprint, and I wanted to make up for my poor finish in the road race. With 3 laps to go, sure enough, a rider that should not have been there caused a BIG crash that totally re-arranged the top 10 in GC, taking me and another 45 rider's out of the race, and the crash started inside the top 20 rider’s.

To sum the weekend up, I think I was a rabbit's foot in reverse. Mark had a good road race, and seems to be getting stronger as the weeks go by. I'm glad this weekend's over, the "Buckbus" is in trouble, it might need a new alternator. Perhaps I'll start a "keep Buck's van on the road fund".

Till next time.....

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Errands For Arizona

It's 1am and I'm finally ready (well, pretty much) to head to AZ tomorrow for a training camp. I've never been the most organized, but I always find, without fail, that the day before a travel day I am always scrounging to get things together.

Things can't be found (passports, wallets, shoes, left insole, tickets) and bike parts need replacing--always at the last minute. And always, always, something that I didn't count on, occurs. (Today, I couldn't find a sizable cheque that needed to be cashed. After cleaning up the apartment and setting out a few garbage bags to the trash, and admiring my clean room--the cheque was nowhere to be seen. Long and stinky story short: I had to go a spelunking in the trashcan.)

Laundry always seems to be done late--I've never not gone to bed without the thump-thump-thump of the dryer as a quiet reminder that I'm not quite fully packed. And the bike, though cleaned, repaired and ready to go--is still not in the bike bag; this will happen tomorrow after a quick ride.

And now, being a grown-up (sortakindanotreally) means other things--deadlines for articles, paying the rent in advance, email auto-replies and the proverbial check to verify the oven is off--on top of the piddly pack and bikecheck.

But, to think--warm climes ahead! O, doth the warm sun harken me! O, shall I be joyous to garnish my pale skin with sunscreen! Arizona: lock up your daughters and stock your tacquerias--I am him, the time is now--Hansen's a comin'.

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Let the Training Begin!

I've taken off early from University for an extendo-reading week, flying down to San Francisco for two weeks of super training. Looking at the weather before I left I was a little dismayed to see four days of rain forecast, but at 15C that's no big deal; anything is better than -10C.

There were 3 things that were amazing today for my first ride. The first was the warm air hitting my face as I realised, coasting down the driveway, that I was over dressed for what felt like a gorgeous balmy day. Second, was riding up "Old LaHonda", a narrow winding climb that heads over the hills towards the coast. Turning into the climb the trees close in overhead and the air gets damp and dark, just magic. Third, was a stop on the coast to soak in the sea air and take a moment to recharge the spirit.

So, day one was way above expectation with a day that was just perfect for riding. No rain yet, I'll keep you posted.

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Be the Bigger Man

So today on the last hour of my ride, I'm coming up on a light, I'm in the bike lane, and I see a bit of glass. So I look over my shoulder, see a car a ways back, and ride around the glass into the car lane, and quickly swerve back into the bike lane.


I hear an agressive "honk". Not just a quick beep, but a long steady "I'm a mad angry motorist" honk. The light turns red, I stop ;this elderly man rolls down his window and starts swearing at me. I soon had my turn to express how I felt, and let me tell you, that struck a nerve. The light turned green, he floored the minivan up to the closest parking lot, and pulled over. He got out of his car, and was waving me to stop. So, not being to scared of this dude that's older than my grandfather, I pulled over. He starts the swearing again, and tells me to get off my bike.

So I pulled the back of his shirt over his face and gave him the business Canadian Hockey style.

Naw, I didn't really do that, but I though about it—I just shook my head at him and told him to relax. I tell ya, he was an angry, angry old man. Having driver's like that on the road scares me!

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Lost In Translation

So, I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news is I am having some real trouble with Achilles tendonitis so the racing this weekend didn’t go so well. The good news is I made it out alive.

Let me explain...

We had two races on the weekend. Elite races, 150 km each, France to Spain one day and then back the next. The first day started off really hard and the heels hurt from the moment I got out of the van. Sure enough I was in the broom wagon by Kilometer 50. Damn.

Next day I start heel hurt but feeling good and I am moving in the group and holding fine…but damn the heels hurt….Kilometer 28…stuff starts shifting in my heel like stuff is being torn off…OK, not good time to call it quits… we have a follow vehicle but no seats…I will wait for the broom wagon…

Hmm, Spain is nice and hot…riding limp legged so as to keep pressure off my heels…man this wagon is taking a while…oh, here come the Policia to close the course… he assures me the wagon is coming…good because it is not like I know where I am, or any Spanish for that matter, or am in any condition to keep riding.

20 min later…motor bike goes by taking course signs down. “Ah, there is no broom wagon” he tells me. I have to ride out the course with another fellow who is having trouble and should be along in a minute. And he is. Oh, he has no idea where we are either or where the course goes or how to speak Spanish…OK so time to be concerned but what are you going to do…keep riding.

45min later…ah the broom wagon…”Bonjour” and a wave and revving engine as it speeds away…hmmm…strange…but we are on an open highway so he is probably going to stop up ahead so where there is a pull off…one pull off…two…three…a town…a city…hmm. You know, I don’t think he stopped. Well, we have done 70 km…only 85 more if we are still on the course…are we still on the course?? Just head for France then…oh but this junction says that France is in either direction one 25 km on 35 km…it must be the 25…35 would be too long for the course. …hmm, but the 25 is headed straight at some snow covered mountains…with a good sized storm above…I don’t have any leg warmers…hmmm….maybe this roadside hooker knows the way to France…hmmm….

Oh good, the short way changed directions and it is the same border crossing from the day before…I can make it back now…the race still won’t be over for another hour. No one will even know I am missing…hmm, my partner is bonking pretty hard core….my heels hurt but I’ve got a tonne of energy so I will try to drag him home…come on then….


Made it over the border. Good thing it was busy otherwise we may not have been able to just ride right through.

“I know a short cut.” says my bonking French friend…hmmm…bonking men never know short cuts…

5:45 min of locked ankle riding later I arrive, just before my mates are going to get a police search going…oh and 10 km farther than the course…yeah good shortcut. My heel are pretty much numb…it is a good thing the peleton wasn’t a herd of antelope…if it was I would have been eaten by lions in my lame state.

Hmmmm….30 km in huh…I think it might be time for new shoes…hmmm…that was interesting…

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Somethings are just too cool not to post.

I've always liked Volkswagen's ads--can't say the same about their cars--but their advertising is great. This new commercial, which I think is only running in the UK, is really well done. Sure beats the crap we saw on the Apprentice last week.

While were at it, Dave sent the team an email last week with this link that kept the whole team praticing something new for hours on end.

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Ride the Snow Storm

Good times in Toronto yesterday I tell you, good times. There's nothing like getting caught out in a snowstorm on your road bike, it doesn't make for a great day out. Of course, you're probably thinking that I'm a fool for going riding when we were expecting snow. The only thing is that it wasn't supposed to come until the afternoon (isn't the forecast always 100% accurate?) and we were only supposed to get flurries.

I rode north yesterday and the storm came in from the south, over Lake Ontario. I was still a good hour and a half from home when I saw the first snow flakes falling. No worries, I thought, it's just the flurries staring early. The snow was blowing about and not really bothering anyone, that was until I headed a little further south. Every kilometre closer to the lake the amount of snow on the road just kept increasing. By the time I was in the city proper, still thirty minutes from home, I was riding in the wheel tracks of the cars.

What was so scary was not being able to see what was under the snow. The weather here hsa fluctuated a lot and there are all kinds of cracks and chunks of pavenment missing, perfect traps laying in wait for me. Add to that all the ice in certain areas from the recent thaw and you've got one dicey situation. With much allowance from the cars around me, I was after all riding in their part of the road, I was able to make it home in one piece. All the time though I was thinking, if you're going to fall, fall on the right side, just don't smash the left hip again.

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Spinning Round the French Foothills

Just finishing the second full week here in Limoux. Although it seems like it has been more than a month with all that has happened. Including some stories that I haven’t yet related to you from the first week.

First things first, I promised a little explanation of the work we do here. Trips like this aren’t free, and cyclists are poor, as a general rule, myself included. But our gracious host, Chris, was kind enough to offer us some "odd jobs" in exchange for a discount on the price of staying. Right, to the tattoo house then. An upstairs apartment (above a tattoo parlor) that had been used as a butcher shop, complete with meat elevator. Problem is it hasn’t been occupied in what looks like 50 years or more??? So our job was to sort through old furniture and remove it from the house. Well, we did all right. Once we sorted through the rubbish, dust and dodgy floor boards we got most of the small stuff out, only to find out that the majority of the large pieces wouldn’t come anywhere near to fitting down the stairs.

After the blizzard, and my exposure to 50 year old molds, I spent the remainder of last week limping around on my bike fighting off some illness, luckily without having to deal with a French doctor. Then, just as I was recovering I got an invite from the CCA for the world cup in Sydney. What???…I just got here. At first it sounded like a good idea but, after examining the schedule, I decided it would only make me jet lagged and sick. Since I want to be in top form whenever I represent my country I unfortunately had to decline. Ok…breathe…things have been on the verge of spinning out of control. Now I need to focus, I need a good block before the season where I can really “get ready.” And now at least I will have the time I need. Time, something I haven’t had a great deal of anywhere lately. I think the rest of the time here will set me up for much better riding, both on the track and the road, early this season. Racing starts in two weeks with a Saturday-Sunday race that goes into Spain one day and back the next. 320km in two days…that should do the trick.

Things are coming into focus. I think I pretty much have a grasp on my near future now…But fate stepped in to make sure I always have something interesting going on when the phone rang and I found out I am going to be an UNCLE right in the middle of the race season.

Never a dull moment…and with a whole whack of riders due to arrive here in the next two weeks I think things are only going to get more interesting. Training is on track and form is starting to peek out here and there. Talk to you after the races.

Congratulations Sis.

I would also like to wish Cam Evans a speedy recovery from his recent injury. Look forward to seeing you back in the races.

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Usery Pass Race Report

On Saturday, February 6th, Mark and I drove 2 hours north east of Mesa Az to race the first race of the ‘05 season. We decided to drive up Saturday night because the race started at 7:30am, so we packed the van with the double air mattress, pillow's, sleeping bags and a little single burner that runs off propane. Before we left I mixed up a batch of home made pancake batter and a few sandwiches in a cooler for some sweet breakfast and a little lunch after the race.

We rolled into the baron land of a parking lot around 10:30, perfect time to throw the Dodge in park, and jump right into the pre made sleeping arrangements. The only alarm clock we had was my watch, so I set it for 5:15am. Mark and I were both a bit worried about not hearing it, but we couldn’t help that, so we just went to bed. I managed to get up before my watch after a great sleep. The air in the van was cold and sharp as we slept with a window open. It was great. I tell you, having a big old van is priceless.

I got the breakfast started right away, my mom’s recipe for home made pancakes and maple syrup were a great smell that early in the morning; I just wish I had brought something to fix up a hot cup of the Jet Fuel. Mark and I filled up, and it was soon time to get the gear on and head to the start line.

There was around 70-80 guys on the start line. It was still cold, as the sun hadn’t come up fully yet. The plan was for Mark to follow the early moves, and sit on them with the intention of killing them, and bringing them back until I could get in a solid move and start my race from there. Off the gun 4 guys nailed it, and got a gap fast. The pack wasn’t reacting, and there were a few “teams” present. The Subway team had 5 or 6 guys, Trek/Landis had 4 or 5, and the USA Cycling Center had 5 guys lead by a strong Austin King. No one wanted to react to the break, so I thought I would pull an "Andrew Randell" and just lightly attack to get the ball rolling, and hope it would start a chain of attacks that would keep the speed of the pack up and keep the break in check. But no one followed. I had a decent gap, and didn’t want to just sit up, so I thought I would just hang out front for a bit longer hoping someone would bite, still nothing. I thought I would just give it a whirl, and just keep it at %75, I ended up in no mans land 3 minutes in front of the pack, and 3 minutes behind the break for 30k. I called it quits with 75k to go, and rode up the finish climb very slow and got caught. Only small breaks would go, and come back, with no one really strong enough to stay out. The break shed 2 of the 4 guys, and with 1 lap to go, the 2 leaders were still out front. On every climb on that lap, Austin King drilled it, trying to split up the group, and he did. The race shattered, I made the front group every time, feeling very comfortable. With just under 15k to go, I flatted at the worst time. There were riders all over the road behind, and cars waiting to pass all the small groups. The wheel truck was somewhere back there. I waited almost 5 minutes before I got a wheel again the race was long up the road, I put in a hard chase, but fell short of catching the field by over a minute at the finish. 3 guys ended up in a small break ahead of the field. Mark’s day ended with just less than a lap to go, he worked hard all day, but wasn’t feeling too fresh.

It wasn’t our day. But the legs are still there. Next race, Valley of the Sun, we’ll see what we can do there.

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Recovery is a tough pill to swallow...

Rest week #1. The whole month of January was a whole bunch of hard training, and I know recovery is important, but you would think after training like mad for a month, one would be looking forward to a rest week right? Well so did I. Until it actually came. With only around 12 or 15 hours on the bike this week I think Mark and I are driving each other to drink! (Endless amounts of "The Bean" that is.)

Mark is still trying to get over a slight chest cold he's had since the holidays, he's beaten it down to a small dry cough every now and then, but still. So on the rest days, he slams the vitamin c, and likes to just hang out, which I understand. Mind you, he just got the PC game "Cycling Manager 4". It's pretty fun too. The latest trade was Mark McCormack to T-mobile. Where else can you play games with other Pro's you race against? That game makes staying around the house on a rest day even easier.

Me on the other-hand, I can only play guitar until my fingers almost bleed, then I just have to get out of the house. I brought an old townie bike down with us. I fixed it up a bit before we left by banging out the dents in the chrome fenders, new tires, added a basket and a few reflectors. It's a sweet ride I think, slightly over geared, so any uphill is a bit of a task.

So I jumped on it and rode the 5k to the U of A to grab a coffee and read the paper. There were a lot of people out that day, and a church choir rock band (I’m a Metallica fan) so my time "relaxing" was short lived.

On my way home I ran into Mike "So Pro" Jones- soprojones.com- sitting at the Time Market having a "soda". Mike's from New York State, and a 2nd year rider on the Health Net team. We got shooting the breeze about his training camp in Solvang California, and checked out his new ride. Gord Fraser joined us shortly after.

Well, that's how I spent the first rest day, today was a easy breezy 3 hours, and I only have 3 days to go. I feel fresh, and would really rather be training, but it's sure to be a long season. Mark and I are racing the Usery Pass RR this weekend—I'll let you know how we make out.

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