Woops where went August?

O the month of august where did it go? All ready it is September 11th and im on a flight headed back towards the mainland, with my bike in tow. The month of August was not as strong training as I would have liked. My motivation and drive seemed to have vanished quickly and fast. The only saving grace was the adtion of a power meter mid month. Luckily this gave me enough motivation to continue on and try and get some miles in on the bike. I also have to thank my fellow team mates on Pac Velo, as the sunday rides gave me a reason get up in the morning.

So, the power meter I know many of asked me about it and how is it working. It has had only slight problems, all related to either the Garmin Edge 705 or the "wonderful" design of the megaxo bottom bracket. My problems with the Edge have slowly dissolved with the latest firmware updates, however there is some kinks to work out. I have had some strange missing data periods on the Edge, this can be extremely frustrating when your are trying to record every detail of your ride to be able to analyze later on. The greatest aspect of the power meter was at Dick Evans Road Race. During the Climb up Kunia road there was a crash that split the field right off the bat. I was in the second group towards the back. Knowing what my wattage limits were, what my "Burning a Match" wattage was I was able to make smart moves. In the beginning I knew I still had the ability to make some jumps and get out of the back of the chase pack and into the top 10 of the chase. I then was able to know when I could offer the group something by pulling and to what extent. Luckily, I was with a great group that organized quickly and we caught onto the lead pack. This turned out to be the best move of the day. All thanks to the Quarq Cinco.

Dick Evans, so we already know that I made the jump and caught on to the main train at the top of kunia. The next 30 miles nothing spectacular, I rode with my fellow teammate David Delong. He however had a mechanical (threw a spoke) and had to drop back. I knew this happened but didn't know when he was going to go back. I found out to late when he was gone and just then the pack picked up the pace. It was a crummy move on the groups part. Everyone in that field knew he had a mechanical and took advantage of it, really shady. Looking back on this event I wish I had known, or wish I would have acted on it by falling back and him back into the pack. Hindsight is 20/20. onwards the race went and I felt strong and was riding up in the main group. Then 25 miles to the finish after a long descent I shifted, my chain dropped as did my sprits. I tried and tried to get it back on to no luck. I had stop and put the chain on. This made me lose contact from the lead group. I tried to catch back on, but 1man against 20 that late in the race isn't going to happen. To my credit I did gain ground but not enough. Mile 99 disaster! I flatted going up a small out and back hill. Halfway up I knew I had flatted but said screw it and kept going to the top, by the top I was riding on the rim. At the top I said flat flat flat, yet the volunteers looked at me like they didn't know what a flat was. Great! no wheel support and no other ideas, glad I packed a spare tube and co2. 6 minutes later I carried on and headed to the finish. Going up Makapuu grade I darn near broke, I had just been passed by two team mates and was unable to hold on. Between the flat and the chain drop, the miles alone I was popped. I did finish the race and in a fairly good time.5 Hours 20 Minutes.... should have been 5 Hours 14 minutes without the flat. Then you think, well if i was with the group I could have gone faster, so realy what should have been my time? Next year next year!

Now its September 11th and Im headed home! Its been 18 months since I have been home and its time to get a break. The plan while at home is to start back my riding and really get some base miles in. I have a race on Saturday the 13th. It is a 10 mile hill climb time trial. The following weekend I get to do the Twin Falls Triathlon. Mind you I haven't trained for a triathlon in over 2 years! Im looking forward to this race, it will be a trip back to the start, the twin falls Tri was my first triathlon. The rest of my time will be spent doing all my favorite hill climbs, and a trip through north-eastern Idaho. 18 days of biking bliss!