2009 Year in Review/2010 plans

2009 was by far the longest season I have had so far, not in the number of races I entered, but it all started back in January with roller races and continued on with at least one race a month till November. I feel that by dong that I had peaked really early in the season and in turn had a bad cross season.

One thing I was focused on was winning the Cat 2 overall for the IMBCS mountain bike series, and after the first couple of races it was looking pretty good with myself and Nick Sobocinski going back and forth for the top spot. I did get a gap in the points by going to the race in Ida Grove that only few people traveled out to, great race course, but 4+ hour drives aren't friendly. Then about 1/2 way through the season Rick Blackford came from out of nowhere, started winning races and made for a really tight battle in points, but a few wins from him, and me not traveling to Council Bluffs and the cancellation of Sugar Bottom left me 13 points shy of winning. Such a disappointment on my end, but the stronger rider came out on top.

I did a few road events, and really realized that I am not cut out to be a road racer, I don't understand tactics that are needed to do well, I hear them say start and I tear myself inside out in the first few minutes like I would in a MTB race, and then when I settle into a rhythm that works for me, I get dropped, and it is game over. I did manage a decent result at Snake Alley, thanks to me ability to climb pretty well, but the next day at Melon City I was OTB after 2 laps and pulled not to long after that. The State Crit I tried to help a teammate that went off the front in the beginning of the race, fell off again and never recovered.

Then there was cross season, the one thing that I look forward to the most in the year, and I had a decent first race, but then got sick with some sinus stuff that wouldn't go away, I was sick for well over a month, and once I would start feeling good, I would go ride and right back to feeling like crap. So I took it easy and tried to make sure I was good for Jingle Cross, so instead of the 15 or so races that I could have done, I was down to just 6 for the fall season. I did pretty well at Jingle Cross considering I am a back of the pack Cat 3, and it was a really strong Cat 2/3 race.

Ok now moving on to 2010. I am at a point where I need to start thinking about the other members of my family and what they want to do with their cycling. Both of our kids will be old enough to race in the Junior races, and my wife has showed interest in doing both more cross races, and also trying a crit or 2.

I think it will be best for me then to put any personal major goals on hold for this year and help focus on them and their training, so I will not be competing for the overall win in the IMBCS series but will hit some of the more fun races and try for good results at those events. Road events will be limited to Snake Alley and the race that HBA will be putting on here in the Cedar Rapids/Marion area, oh and if Kent Park happens I will do that. Cross Season will be my major focus so hoping for a late peak in my training so I can be a little more competitive.

Training for 2010 starts next week, I have been on the rollers/riding outside at least once or twice a week in December just to keep the legs moving, but the real stuff starts soon. I hope to see you all out there again, and I will keep this updated as often as I race, maybe some status updates on how training is going and how the family is doing in their racing.