Active Exploration

Yesterday was the 24th Philadelphia International Championship . It was HOT! I mean, 96 degrees out there. The sun was intense. I was sweating like crazy, and I was just standing around watching the race. I can't imagine what it would have been like to race 156 miles yesterday. However, despite the heat, it was a world-class event as usual. The crowds were less than usual, most likely because of the weather, but they were still huge. Philadelphia loves bike racing and I think everyone in the area who has even a slight interest in cycling comes out to watch. Since it was so hot, I was expecting the race to unfold like it did a few years ago in similar conditions. In 2005 , a 3-man breakaway with Chris Wherry, Danny Pate, and Chris Horner got away on the last climb of the Manayunk Wall and held it to the finish. Yesterday, breaks kept going and then getting caught all day long, and it finally came down to a field sprint with Matti Breschel winning. I was happy to see Fred Rodriguez g...

My wife and I went to watch the Tour of Somerville on Monday. The organizers claim that it is the oldest bicycle race in the country, and that it is "regarded as the most prestigious cycling event in America." The last statement is definitely a stretch (think Tour of California, Tour de Georgia, Philly) but it was still a fun race to watch. Basically it is a criterium with lots of fast pro riders. The weather was great and there were a lot of fans lining the course. Slipstream, Colavita, Time, and others were there. Sebastian Haedo won the men's race; he probably has a good career ahead of him if he follows his brother J.J. The women's race was won by Tina Pic, which is amazing because she is in her 40s.

I raced in the King of the Hill Duathlon today. If you live in the New York/Philadelphia area, it is a challenging race that is worth checking out. The race takes place at Round Valley recreation area , one of the best parks for mountain biking in the area. There are big climbs, fast descents, singletrack, doubletrack, rocks, and roots. They also have an X-Terra triathlon that takes place at the same time. Some of those triathlon dudes are pretty fast. The race started out with great sunny, cool weather, but clouds moved in and it started to rain lightly after I finished. The course was a little wet from the rain last night, but it has hardly any mud because the trail is rocky and drains well. The race started on the beach with a 1.7 mile run up some small hills, on roads and gravel. The pace of the group was quick with a couple of guys taking off right from the start. After the transition I hit it pretty hard on the bike leg; my plan was to stay consistent and not burn out on the lo...

I have a lot of respect for pro bike racers. Besides the enormous discomfort and pain they endure in the course of racing, they put up with a lot of other indignities. The doping scandals of the last few years have forced them to be monitored much more than any ordinary person would tolerate. They have to travel around the world frequently, dealing with jet lag, photo shoots, interviews, and other aspects of being celebrities. Still, I had to laugh when I saw this quote in Velonews from Alberto Contador on the conditions at the Giro d'Italia : We’ve been stuck in traffic here for hours. We didn’t get to our hotels until 11 p.m. and hardly had time to eat and get a massage. I know I would be miserable if I didn't get my daily massage.

Back in the day when I was just getting into mountain biking, Tinker Juarez was one of those guys that was always in the mountain bike magazine articles and ads. He stuck out to me because of his unusual name and crazy hair. He's still got both of those and he is still winning races . Image by Ken Conley How can a guy in his late 40s still be winning competitive mountain bike races? Ned Overend, the mountain bike racing legend in his 50s, is the same way. He does pretty well in hill climbs, winning at the Teva Mountain Games last year and usually doing well in the Mount Washington hill climb. However, you don't see any road racers that age still racing, much less winning races. Why is that? Maybe road races are much more competitive and demanding, or maybe a mountain bike racer will years of experience and skill development has an extra edge over younger riders. Whatever it is, these guys give us something to aspire to.