First crash of 2010 out of the way

So this past weekend, I finally got my first crash of the year out the way. Honestly it sucked, I crashed two laps into a ten lap race. I was in a good position, until some butthead(yeah I said it) decided to grab a handful of brake and ride sideways straight into me. Went down hard, tore my newish jersey, busted up my rear wheel, and killed my ego...so now that my rant is out of the way. Yeah, I haven't crashed in a race in about a year so I pretty much was due one.

This was the Cherry Blossom challenge which is the first big race of the year for the NJBA crowd. It sucked going out so early, I really wanted to do well and my team had the numbers to do make it happen. Oh well, such is bike racing with my track record I will crash again very soon or crash sometime next year. Hopefully it's the latter. Lately my weeks have consisted of splitting time in the lab working on my senior design project which I will post pictures of at some point and practice/training sessions with my awesome stevens teammates. This season has been bittersweet for me. I haven't done nearly enough of the ECCC races I would have liked, but I knew it would happen as my job, schoolwork, and my project basically run my life at this point. Luckily the team hangs out all the time, so I see them plenty and most are old enough to legally get a drink. So during the week after practice we usually head over and grab a few drinks and share some laughs. Again bittersweet, more so because I'm graduating. Good thing grad school is right around the corner so I can keep being a poor college bike racer :)

Next on tap for me is the prospect parks Cup series in two weeks; which has been the focus for me for the last few months. Hopefully everything goes to plan and I can get a few stevens guys out there with me representing the collegiate contingent. For now here's the aftermath of my crash, you can guess how from the pic how much road rash I have

Easterns Recap

Basically this weekend was a crashfest for us at Stevens. Saturday my teammates went down in the TT, resulting in a trip to the hospital(at least we got some vicodin out of it, more on that later) followed by another nasty crash by me on the so called chicane of carnage that resulted in me finishing my collegiate season in a sling. Other than that, I guess it went pretty well...

Saturday's TT saw our Stevens C1 team battling it out w/ RIT TT team. Our guys got caught on the later part of the course which was followed by a nasty crash on gravel. My teammate needed medical attention and could not do the road race, which was an A race for him. I feel bad as he trained hard for the soul crushing climb up Black Mo., on the upside he got some free vicodin. The rest of our team competed in the road race with less than steller results, basically we got pwnd on that climb. I am definitely not the climber I was last year, but that's what happens when you train for the crit central that is the NJBA.

Sunday was the fast and furious Frat row crit, which the now infamous chicane of carnage. There were several crashes, including myself. I left the race in a sling from a banged up shoulder. Luckily my teammate gave me some of his vicodin, and yes it was awesome I felt nothing for several hours. On a side note, my teammate learned that beer and meds don't mix as he quickly felt the effects of the meds after his beer at dinner. The rest of our guys did well, including a 4th place finish for our Men's D team. I didn't have a great collegiate season, but I truly enjoyed myself. Between hosting a race, helping develop the new riders on our team, and recruiting more women I have been very busy. We have already picked up some new riders for next season, and we're already looking forward to our summer season of racing. I will be looking to redeem myself later this month at the NJ State TT, 40km of joy...as always here are some pics from the weekend(disclaimer, my teamate Orlando has informed that he will no longer allow my to 'borrow' his photos for my blog posts)




this last one is my favorite, as it basiclly sums up riding in Hoboken...