PFM, as it is known, expects to lay down the law.  Lactic acid is not a part of PFM’s vocabulary and VO2max is no match.  Watch yourselves tonight and if the mustache attacks just give up and go home.

We are slightly proud to call PFM a Training Bible athlete.

Rob Kelley

TRAINING BIBLE COACH
www.ROKcoaching.com

Walter Sierra and I began working together a couple of months ago.  He likes the big, gnarly mountain bike races and included in that is the Otway Odyssey.  It is the first event of his season and so always a little dicey when it comes to form.  We are not even into lactate threshold stuff yet!  Add to that 1200 starters and what is essentially a seeding race for Australia and it’s one tough nut to crack.  He did well to finish 566^th in 2011 but given the fact that he has been very diligent in planning and executing his training this year we expected him to much better.

Aussies are rather known for understating physical discomfort, and so this is the web sight’s description:

“The mountain biking fraternity’s favourite marathon event, and one of the toughest. The spectacular Otway Ranges always throws up a few surprises, but always impresses riders with its mix of climbing challenges and enough roller coaster single track to claim more two wheel thrills per kilometre than any other event going. Starts on the Great Ocean Road in Apollo Bay and finishes 100km later in the iconic MTB township of Forrest. Choose from three entry options: 100km, 50km or the 15km Otway Pioneer. ”

Walter chose the 100 km version.  62 miles on tough terrain off road sounds miserable to normal people and like a fantastic day to a guy like Walter.  The goal is top 200 as it then qualifies the rider for other invitational events.  This is straight from Walter’s post Training Peaks report:

“Had my best race ever. Conditions were tough, lots pf crashes, clay, big hills, some trails were unridable and we all had to walk like 40 mins carrying our bikes. I Improved my time by more than 2 hours from last year. I didn’t finish in the top places but the top Australian riders participated ( like the Olympic team and an ex world champion). I only finished ~1 hr later than the big dogs. Rode really strong, never hit the wall, on the downhill sections I was flying @ 60kph! I’m really happy with my riding, it has really come to a new level and it’s very exciting that there is room for improvement. Can’t wait to talk to you during the week and tell you all about it. That race is used to rank riders in the country and I am in spot number 143. With that I have qualified to participate in a new whole bunch of events that require qualifying times/ranking. I’ll send some photos.”

2012 looks to be promising.  We are proud to have Walter as a Training Bible athlete.

Rob Kelley

www.ROKcoaching.com

The cyclocross season was all his.  The Chicago Cross Cup has become legendary in numbers and competition and Eric wanted to rip it up.  Given a full road season he had to take a break to ensure good legs for the races that counted and so the beginning of the series was frustrating for him.  As his coach, I was biting my nails a bit.  We put everything into doing well at the Illinois State Championship in Chicago on December 4th, Resolution Cross on December 31^st and the National Championship race just outside of Madison, WI on January 6^th.  We rode together the week prior to Chicago and for the first time he had some concern on his face stemming from a lack of results to date.

He stuck with the original plan though and in EC like fashion raced tough as nails and made it happen.  While 10^th at Montrose and 18^th at Resolution Cross gave him the confidence to lay it out at nationals, it’s a tough nut to crack into the top tier of a race like that.  4 or 5 crashes couldn’t stop him and he was the first placed guy from the Midwest and 5^th overall!  Given a little better luck with the crashing and 3^rd was a very solid possibility.

2012 is going to be good.

Rob Kelley

TRAINING BIBLE COACH

www.ROKcoaching.com

Back in the day there were only a few of us, including Ara, sporting the BH red, white and blue jersey that really belonged to our sister store in San Antonio Texas.  We did pretty well!  Since then BH continues to grow and now approaches 50 active members.  Supporting the sport and the shop are the only two requirements.  Not mentioning Ellis is also a requirement, but if you’re willing to pay an extra 25% for all purchases then that is even OK.  To date we’ve really only raced to have a good time.  If a result comes up from time to time all the better. 

ABD Cycling put on this year’s annual Fall Fling 4-stage omnium in the last weekend of September and first weekend of October.  Instead of awarding overall prize money per category they decided to give one check for $2,000 to the team with the most points throughout all categories.  This changed our focus.

We owned it!  One race had the 40+, category 1-2 and category 3 fields in one race and scored separately.  BH has been attacking like crazy lately and this was a great example of why it works.  The last was by Eric Christ.  He was a little toasty for the finish and so launched with 2 laps to go to give us that extra little advantage.  Peter Kelly, Andy Kerr, Patrick Fasse and Andy Swims were attacking all damn day.  End result was 3 wins simultaneously as we took every category in the sprint!

So when John won the Leadville lottery, or lost it depending on your take, it seemed plausible that he could finish what has become one of the most storied hard man races on the planet.  He didn’t have the same goal of merely finishing though…..Under 9 hours or bust!  John wanted to win a belt buckle.

1900 people started the Leadville 100 in 2011.  Approximately 1000 finish each year and maybe 150 of those walk away with the buckle.  Unless your name is Levi, Lance or Floyd the possibility of pulling it off in the first try is very, very slim.  With all of this in mind it seemed like a long shot but, if anybody has the stick-to-it-iveness to a least make a go of it, John does.

We sat down at his house in September of 2010 in Ft. Collins and mapped out a plan.  John did everything; the base miles, high cadence, ridiculously long cruise intervals, 8 hour rides with 6 or 7 intervals at lactate threshold for 40 minutes a pop, and on and on.  He just kept going!  Most would get sick or at least lose some gusto but the guy kept getting stronger and more determined.  The goal was, and one that he was fully on board with, to make it or break him.

He walked up to the line in Leadville last Saturday as ready as he could have possibly been.  Food, clothing, acclimatization and a killer taper period assured that the stage was at least set for a run at a sub-9.  These words are from the horses’ mouth: 

“I got on the bike on race day and felt “these aren’t my legs”.  They felt like bands of steel and I could climb anything.  I got to the 40 mile mark (Twin Lakes) and felt like I barely began the race.  Things were just clicking…no problems with nutrition, bike, weather, crashes, cramps.  I descended well, avoiding all the nasty gulley washes, ruts, holes and rocks.  Got in groups and did 30 sec pulls thru all the flat stuff.  Worked like a charm.  Did 3 hike-a-bikes. 

It is quite an event.  What a family of racers…some of them have done it 17 years in a row.    Got my gold belt buckle and would like to shave off 30 minutes for next time around.   Quirky little town, Leadville is.  It is truly a mountain mining town.  Met the mayor, the police chief and race director all in the bar after the race. Got hammered.  

25 countries, 50 US states were represented.  ROKcoaching, that sh$%t works.”

230^th place out of 1900………8:51:38!  I guess we’re shooting for 8:20 next year. 

Way to go John and we are proud to call you a Training Bible athlete!

Rob Kelley

TRAINING BIBLE COACH

www.ROKcoaching.com

The race was very animated with all kinds of moves going off the front.  Our team stuck in and did everything needed to either make the breaks or chase them down….until Scott Knopke launched like a mo fo without us!  Two guys from the always tough Enzo’s team joined Scott and off they went.  10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds and up to 40 seconds off the front. 

Bicycle Heaven did a great job of keeping the momentum up and never lost sight of the fact that we had this guy – Matt Haiduk – waiting behind us in the group like a jilted bride.  A couple of fast, hard efforts brought the break back and just in time with only 2 laps to go. Enzo’s put a few guys on the front to lead their sprinter out and whipped the finale up to a frenzied pace by the time we hit the last turn, just 180 meters from the line. 

Then here comes Matt, following Ara, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes!  What’s impossible for most has become the M.O. for Matt.  The guy can hit the last 150 meters like Mike Tyson. Sure enough, and from about 8 guys back, Matt poured out his great big bucket of watts.  You could feel surprise coming off of the couple of guys that were in contention when the big-light-blue went flying past them.  

After the race Matt was pumped that he won the field sprint, thinking that the break was still off.  When told that he won the race he said “really?”, and when told that he won a jersey he said “really?” again.  So moral of the story is to keep your eye on the prize and Matt’s was to win the field sprint.  Way to go Matt, and you also won the championship! 

Matt’s goal last year was to upgrade to category 3 and he did so without too much problem.  When we talked about his upgrading to category 2 by the end of this season he didn’t seem all that convinced.  Having just beaten a bunch of good 1’s and 2’s you can bet that Matt is at least a little more convinced. 

We are proud to call Matt a Training Bible athlete.  We’re also also proud as heck that Bicycle Heaven (powered by Training Bible) finished 1st, 3rd and 4th in that race!

The Spoils

To say that Michael is a well rounded kid is much the understatement.  He is a current honor student gearing up for college and a future Eagle Scout.  Between school and outside activities his schedule has been challenging.  Last year had some stops and starts on the cycling side but ended up with a very solid cyclocross campaign that finished with Michael as 4^th overall in the Chicago Cross Cup series that very impressively boasted over forty 15-18 year old juniors.  A national champ will come out of that group some day.

He comes into 2011 with a new level of fitness having elevated his game so much during that cross series.  Michael lined up at the Sherman Park criterium on Chicago’s south side this spring for the 15-18 junior race and ripped off the win!  Things have changed in the US.  Back in the day very few seniors knew how to read a race much less juniors.  The sport has grown and now the parents that were racing in the 80’s are introducing their daughters and sons to bike racing of all forms.  Michael’s own words show the patience and poise that come with the knowledge that background creates:

“I got First! It worked out perfectly.  I waited patiently and there were only a few attacks but they were chased down quickly. Also I sprinted to the finish from the inside turn and after the race it seemed everybody told me nice sprint or nice finish. It is nice to win again.”

He then raced against 70 other category 4’s and, complete with restricted gearing, finished 23^rd.  Nice thing is that this is just the beginning…..

We are proud to boast Michael Dutczak as a Training Bible athlete.

I first saw Eric Christ racing in a Chicago area omnium called the Fall Fling in 2009.  He stood out because, in addition to sporting one of those sweet world champion colored Catlike helmets, he was killing it at the front.  You can spot a former triathlete in a bike race pretty easily because they have no fear of being on the front.

It’s clear that Eric is going to be a very good stage racer.  He can time trial as a result of that tri experience and also only weighs 68 kilos.   If you’re a smaller person that has a TT, chances are you can climb too.  These things we knew about Eric going in. 

The surprise has been his sprint at over 1000 watts for 15 seconds.  Because of that we’re thinking that Eric on a tough course and/or from a small group will be very hard to beat.   The problem with this is that we live in Northern Illinois so no climbing and only a few really challenging courses.  That makes it tough for a guy to create opportunities from power and fitness alone.

Bicycle Heaven’s cat 4 team has been so good this year that you have to win just to keep up.  You could see the frustration in Eric as they went from flat crit to flat crit….and then back to go do a flat crit.  This past weekend’s omnium in Iowa City was finally a most awesome exception.  A nice hilly road race on Saturday and equally tough criterium course on Sunday set the table for good things to happen and Eric took full advantage.

He took 3^rd in the road race, which is great, but he rode Sunday’s criterium like a Super Mo Fo Bad Mamma Jamma.   Who goes off the front for 18 laps by themselves these days?  Eric does and then takes the WIN!  It’s rare to see and Andy Swims is also credited with covering pretty much everything and everyone.  In fact a raging bull went out on to the course trying to bridge up to Eric only to be grabbed by the horns and wrestled to the pavement by Andy.

Last weekend solidified the powers of the EC and he’ll be with his buddies as a cat 3 very shortly.  As has become customary, BH also landed another 2nd place finish in the road race and 3^rd in the omnium points competition via the same Andy Swims.  Andy’s category 4ness is also not long for this world.  

We are proud to boast Eric as a Training Bible athlete.

Reidar Bratvold hails from Stavanger, Norway.  He and I began working together at the beginning of the 2010 season and Reidar has been consistently at the front of his age category in both road racing and mountain bike racing.  The goal for 2011 has been to break out even further and, with the exception of a couple of small blips that result from life’s challenges, Reidar’s files have just grown and grown.  The juggling act is the same for all of us – family, work, training, racing…..etc.  Couple that with the fact that Reidar is a coveted speaker internationally for his work as a leader in the field of Petroleum Investment and Decision Analysis and you can imagine him performing with one arm tied behind his back.

The 55km Spinnsprinten last Monday, April 25^th was Reidar’s first real litmus test of this year.  A record 500 cyclists lined up in 2011 making it quite a challenge to do well.  Reidar was able to stay with the front group over the toughest ascent and then hung on while the still large group perfected the accordion effect with it’s strong but nervous first-race-of-the-year peloton.  The legs were a bit spent after 7-8 of these efforts needed to avoid being popped off with others and apparently not quite as spent as some others.  Not only did Reidar win his age group but, since he hung on to that front group, he also finished 2nd overall with a lead group posted a course record!  You can see Reidar’s name and then the list just keep going and going.  Scroll further and you find that the next closest person in the 55-59 age category is waayyy down on the list.  The numbers keep improving and Reidar keeps winning.  This should be a good year. 

We are proud to boast Reidar Bratvold as a Training Bible athlete.

Peter Kelley is really humble.  He hates the fact that you are reading this.  His nickname in local cycling circles is PFK and, judging by the looks on their faces, the two guys behind him in this picture know what the F stands for.  He is the classic tractor/ rolleur/strong man for the classics and if you come out to Bicycle Heaven’s Tuesday night group ride you’ll know the misery he’s caused.

Peter is new to the sport but that hasn’t prevented him from killing it at the front with various cat 1’s and cat 2’s.  It has caused some frustration though because the learning curve with bike racing can be steep and it’ll drive a guy with that much power crazy.  

Now that Peter has it down people are nervous.  They watched him chase down Rob White and Ryan Freund at the Fall Fling last October and know that he’ll be a guy to contend with.  Cases in point are his cat 4 wins at Elk Grove last year and Leland last weekend.  Leland was a long, windy, snowy and MUDDY hell of a race.  Peter executed his plan of being at the front before the first gravel (MUD) sections very well and wound up in a small group at the front of the race.  He eventually rode them off of his wheel and crushed everyone.  Best part is he finally has his upgrade to a cat 3.  Congratulations Peter!

As has become customary with Bicycle Heaven’s cat 4 team they also nabbed third at Leland with Andy Swims.  Our cat 4 team is pretty steadily becoming a good cat 3 team.

We are proud to call Peter a Training Bible athlete.