4/6/2003

Hello,

I hope you are all doing well, and that the weather hasn't gotten you down yet! I am staying more busy than I would like having an exam tomorrow that I am completely unprepared for! I want to update you all on the race yesterday at the scenic and beautiful research park.

The 1/2's field started with almost 40 guys which is a really strong turnout considering the course and weather. It was good to see that there are alot of people in the area willing to race bikes regardless of what the weather was. After all of the Iscorp guys paid $17 (!?) and got numbers we had a scheduled meeting to organize things and get all the riders on the same page. We decided to break down the first section of the race into two people covering/attacking for two laps each. we figured that after around ten laps, a legit break could go so our initial plan was to be at the front early knowing that early breaks often are "junk" but we wanted to stay alert anyway. On the fourth lap, myself and Adam Biwan were convering and watching. I followed a guy from higher gear and another guy came with us. We had previously decided that 1 out of 3 was a good ratio to work with, so I "worked". I was not really working as the other two were pulling through at speeds so slow my computer wont even read them. the three of us sort of hung out for a lap or two then we were joined by John Puffer of ABD (a really fast sprinter) and my teammate Nick. this was OK for us as now we had two out of five. the group was quickly joined by three more including brian Shanning of Saturn development, Kenny Labbe of Postal, and our teammate ben damhoff. this was still good for us as we now had three out of nine. the break would not work at all and was pretty much completely disorganized.....however the pack must have stopped for a pee break cause we kept staying away.

About halfway through the race my chain broke. I figured that I was screwed but as I was running to the start line, Craig Heywood had a bianchi with look pedals. I got on and was put back into the break....I figured I would go back to the pack...but wasnt complaining. the bike was about 4cm to small and took a while to get used to....campy eight speed was actually really nice. back in the break kenny labbe started to act like an idiot and attacked three or four times per lap trying to split up the group. he did not go anywhere. we had absolutely no trouble covering him and the attacks were more like him pulling through. Note to self: while riding for US postal, make sure you can be fit enough to show up at local crits and put in a decent attack. The break was now only 7 or 8 and towards the last 15 minutes we dropped kenny. right after that we sped up and caught the feild on the backside. It was at this point that the team really blew it. We just did not get on the same page. for whatever reason, we were not organizing a lead out and lapped guys werent really helping out the guys in the break who were one up. there probably arent really definite answers as to why this happened, but this was our first race together, and it will not happen again. We finished the race with something like 4-5-6th which was pretty much horrible considering our numbers. We would have been better off NOT lapping the feild, but oh well.

It is important to remember that a research park crit is almost pointless in regards to our objectives for the season. We are strong and we have the firepower, when organized to dominate the WCA series.....and hopefully the team will put it together in July when the racing is full on.

Next week we have a big race at Indiana for regionals. this is basically the collegiate conference championship. it will be a fun race, hard race, but for some reason it is only 56 miles.

Training has been good for me, and everything is staying on schedule getting ready for May and the summer. Let me know if any of you guys raced yesterday...? Also, dont hesitate to e-mail me with some comments/questions about whatever.....or especially if you have a copy of my econ 301 exam tomorrow! gotta go for now, have a great week and best wishes,

bryan