Spokes

I forgot how much fun bike racing is. I also forgot how much I hate waking up at 4:30 in the morning. The alarm rang in the silence, and I slowly got out of bed and managed to open my eyes sometime after I had already made it across the room to the bathroom. Fortunately I had thrown all my stuff together the night before, so all I had left to do is get dressed, get some coffee, and drive to meet my carpool. Exactly one year ago I raced my first official crit. I am amazed at how fast time has gone by. Driving up the 405 to the same course in Compton was déjà vu. The good thing about morning races in Compton is that all the gang members are still sleeping. A bunch of white boys from SD made it in alive. It had been so long since I had raced that my nerves were really pumping as I warmed up on the trainer. I wanted to race hard for my teammates so they could grab some points, but it had also been a long time since I had ridden in a pack with 100 other guys at 30 MPH. I knew that my co

The chaos of what has been my 2010 triathlon season finally drew to a close this past Saturday up in Santa Barbara. It is exactly one year ago that I finished Ironman Canada, and I still can’t believe that I ever competed at that distance. This year has been a year marked with chaos, injury, inconsistent training, and an overloaded work schedule. I guess that’s life sometimes. Santa Barbara is a special place for me. It is the home of college spring break vacations and one of the first places I ever visited in California. I proposed to my wife there on a starry night in 1999 overlooking the city from the pier. The beauty in the city is unmatched as the mountains nestle up to the ocean in a postcard panoramic shot. I love it there. This is the second time I have raced the Santa Barbara Long Course Tri. The 1 mile swim, 34 mile bike, 10 mile run course tests your top end limits through numerous hills, sweeping bends and coastal bliss. I didn’t really have major expectations of perfor

Injuries suck. You never know how you are going to recover after a crash like I had one month ago. Especially when you have to start from ground zero to get ready for a ½ Ironman event. I was starting to build up a decent base going into the San Diego International. My run was coming along, and even my swim was showing promise. And then the crash…. Not that injuries and sickness should be used as an excuse for mediocre race performance, but in this case, it is exactly what prepped me for a mediocre race in Boulder. Missing almost three weeks of key workouts and run volume set me up for a subpar ½ marathon. The swim started off OK. I was able to find a little room and get into a rhythm that made it OK. The refreshing Colorado reservoir water was a nice 71 degrees. About 200 yards into the swim, my body started to realize that there was a lack of oxygen going in due to the altitude. My every-third-stoke breath turned into an every-stroke routine and killed my momentum despite my bes

It has been 10 months and three days since my last triathlon. You would think that I would have been prepared well in advance of the San Diego International Triathlon this year considering all of the time I had to train. Life seems to have a way of sneaking up on you sometimes, and about two weeks ago I realized that I needed to start swimming again if I expected to survive 1000 meters in San Diego Bay. 14 days, and 5 swim practices. Not really the sort of preparation that it takes to win races, but it would have to do. This race was really just an opportunity to determine where I was at fitness wise anyway. It helps to go in with low expectations to avoid disappointment. I figured I would be OK on the run, as I have been running somewhat consistently over the past month or so. My pace has been around a 6:15/mile for shorter efforts so I estimated that I could push out 6:45’s for the race if I felt good. Obviously the bike would not be an issue after all the cycling I have been doi

Triathlon is now getting in the way of my bike training. Yes I know I did a freakin' Ironman last year, but for some reason this year, swimming and running seem like painful disciplines I can live without. What has happened? Perhaps life is just getting in the way. Scheduled training session--sinus infection. Scheduled century ride--phone call from a friend "Hey Tim, I've got a free ticket to a 3-day cruise this weekend! You want to roll?" Dang it. Who can turn down a free cruise? Well, perhaps next year will be more consistent. For now I guess I will board the cruise ship bound for Mexico.

Sometimes bike racing is the most demoralizing sport there is. Just about the time you start feeling confident and good about yourself, the pack pulls away and drops you on the climb. You consistently place in the top ten as a Cat 5, and suddenly you find yourself in the bottom tear of the Cat 4s. I’ve been racing TT’s now for over 5 years, and I am pretty fast when it comes to smoking the other tri geeks. Today I learned that this speed was all an illusion as I put up my personal best lap times at Fiesta Island to take a sad 18th out of 24 people. I got beat by people that had never ridden a TT bike until today. It’s a bittersweet sport, but at least I know what times I need to post the next time around to build my ego to a respectable level. It’s a school of hard knocks, but for some reason I keep suiting up and getting out there. Just about the time I do well enough in the Cat 4s, I will be set to upgrade and get slapped around a bit in the 3s. I doubt it will ever end. Now on to

To my sweet carbon Cherry. You did nothing to deserve this fate. I promise I only put you on the roof of my car to protect you from the crazy drivers on I-15. I cherish all of the time we spent together. Before you came along, I had only dreamed cycling could be this fun. We spent the hours together climbing Cabrillo, sprinting out those other guys on the SDBC ride, and just enjoying God's creation. I cleaned you every week to show off your brilliance. When you got nicked, I repainted your skin. When you felt sick, I nursed you back to health with new parts. You took me from Cat 5 to Cat 4. You always stayed upright, and you never asked for anything in return. I will never forget you. I will always regret my stupid mistake and lapse of judgement. I am so sorry it is my fault you lost your life. The carport was the assasin, but I was the one to put you in arms way. RIP my old companion. You were a great friend.

I can’t tell you how many times I have seen Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Too many. The telephone booth falling out of the sky into the small town of San Dimas California is an image tattooed on my brain forever. It was a strange coincidence that Julie and I wound up moving there more than ten years ago for a short stay. No telephone booths to speak of, but there was a Circle K right off of Bonita Avenue that deserved a photo or two. This past weekend, Julie and I embarked on a most excellent adventure to the homeland of Bill and Ted Esq. to do the San Dimas Stage Race. Touted as one of the most challenging and well organized stage races in So Cal, we were full of anticipation as to what the weekend would bring. The weekend kicked off with a 4 mile uphill TT with over 1,200 feet of climbing. I was feeling good about myself as I rode past numerous other riders. That was until I got passed by the guy who took off after I did. The effort at the top put me in 14th overall, well

My internal clock is still a mess from this past weekend’s stage race in Tucson. Losing an hour at the border of Arizona on Thursday night was an unexpected treat. Even more than that surprise, was the realization that we would never get that hour back due to DST. Arizona just has to be different, and ignore the farmers of the world I guess. I had a great race and I felt like I was firing on all cylinders. The time trial put me in 5th place and I never let go of the spot in the overall. I worked my butt off on Saturday. Chased down a couple of early breaks, and the pack worked together well on the front end to make it happen. I did cross wheels with a guy, but managed to stay upright. Also made a rookie move that almost caused a crash, but after being yelled at, I settled down to finish with the front group. We shed about ½ of our group on the climb into the finish. Sunday was another day of hard work, and I worked with the top 3 guys to dictate the pace of the race. I led an entir

It has been a while since my last road trip. Conversations amongst four guys on a six-hour road trip can go downhill pretty quickly. When you throw in driving through the desert oaisis known as Vegas, you can only imagine the jabber. While driving, I would zone out, drink my red bull, and count the little reflective things on the road in an effort not to play Pac Man with my truck. A virgin to stage racing, Callville Bay was the perfect spot to break my cherry. Beautiful rolling hills, a pristine Lake Mead, and a small field of Cat 5’s was gravy to being able to race my bike three days straight. Through the weekend I learned that there is still a lot to learn about racing and riding bikes. My 12th place finish was my best finish so far, and I am beginning to feel much stronger and more confident as the year clicks by. Looking forward to the next race in Tucson where it starts all over again.

Once again I found myself at the Compton criterium course. It is pretty sad that I know my way around the streets of Compton and Long Beach now. My three-month streak of heading up to this course is hopefully over after this Sunday. I will have the upgrade points I need after next weekend. This non-USAC Sanctioned race has fields packed up to 125 riders and simultaneous races that become a huge clustered mess in the end when they eventually overlap. The race directors there leave much to be desired. My packed race of 125 kept me fighting for the front most of the race. The corners were tight, but I felt more comfortable than in the past leaning into them at 30 mph two inches from riders on either side. Thank God the roads were dry. I saw a bunch of crazy stuff in this race from people punching each other to people leaning into each other in the corners. I still have a little ways to go before I am gunning it through the turns. The couple of times I pulled to the front, I was passed a

Once again, rain is in the forecast for this weekend. Once again a bike race in the forecast for this weekend. It seems like this is starting a trend. I'm not saying that I don't love rain, and I am not saying that I don't love racing, but two good things can lead to a bad combo. Hoping the roads dry out before Sunday where Julie and I will racing at the same venue for only the second time this season. May God command the winds to cease, and may the pavement stay dry in Compton on Sunday.

A new chapter.... While I have migrated my other blog site to its own resting place at http://weeklythoughtsblog.com/ , this is the new place for Mr. Tim Barr to personally call home. No deep religious thoughts to ponder here, just a bunch of random postings about seemingly random life events. The Journal I have titled so cleverly as 'Spokes'. Could it be any more obvious that I enjoy cycling and I have decided to name my own blog after my greatest hobby? Spokes are the events of life that hold the wheel together. There are no endings and no beginnings, but the wheel can't exist without the spokes. These are the stories about my spokes.