Airports always suck, but this one is better because there is free internet and is why I am writing a blog listening to music and waiting for my first of two flights for the day on my way to Atlanta and then to meet up with  the team in Roswell.

These past two weeks have been great.  I got to climb a coconut tree, and then I slide down like a clumsy ape and got all banged up, but I did get 3 coconuts and then they were super hard to open up with the rocks I found on the beach.

Well I have to get on the flight now so untill I get the US of A this is all I can write.

Later

Here are some pictures of the racing in Trinidad. I’ll upload some more pictures and have a report when I get back home next week.

Till then enjoy.

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Well today was a shocker from what I’ve been used to the last few weeks. I woke up this morning at 5am for the super early start to the US Open Cycling Championships and it was snowing and about 25 degrees. Since the past weekends racing in Indio and Ojai was up in the 90’s I knew my body was going to witness a huge shock to the system. And it did.

After waking up at 5am to snow I went to eat breakfast down one floor in the managers room. Then it was time to suit up and get on the bus and drive an hour to Williamsburg from Richmond. Then when we get to Richmond we get the news that the race has been delayed in hopes that the snow will stop by the start, but it didn’t and the organizers delayed the start another 20 minutes, but it was still snowing. So we started in the snow, went the wrong way in the neutral zone, then everyone froze when they stopped us for the official start where they fired off a musket.

At the begining of the race I felt as okay as I could have felt for the freezing temps and snow. So I attacked some into the massive head wind and didn’t really do anything for getting away. I did some fallowing of attacks as well but not that much cause buy the time the race was 20 minutes in I had a stomach ache and stomach cramps when I went hard to attach, follow, or suffer in the cross wind sections. So my day sucked and I was dropped when we entered the circuits and did one lap behind the caravan then pulled out.

But it was really cool having people screaming for me even though I was at or off the back going up the cobbled climb of Libby Hill.

It is a really good race course, but the weather sucked so I hope I’m back next year.

Cody

This last weekend was the first big race of the national calendar and it didn’t go so well for me, but my team rode great. For me I was riding well in the crit and was at the front of the race in the final 10 laps. But coming into the final lap a dumb ass didn’t back off and got half of his spokes riped out of his wheel and the pack yelled at him to slam on the breaks and go back but he didn’t. Instead he moved further up and cause a big crash that split the field right at the front. The good thing is I was in front of it. The bad thing is that I wasn’t far enough in front of it. In the chain reaction of guys sliding out in the turn someones bike slide under my rear wheel and pitched be to the ground at 30mph. I hit the ground pretty hard and then slamed into the bariers. It really sucked because I was getting lead out and the teamate who was leading me out got 4th. I will get my chance to prove myself in the coming weeks and all will be good.

Also big props to Josh Thorton for being in the 2 man break that only got caught on the last lap, and for picking up all the primes in the process.

After the crit on Saturday I was sore and sat out the RR on Sunday cause we had 11 guys and only 10 could ride. Since I was injured it was logical for me to sit out and heal up. So I spent the day in the feed zone helping out our new soineur(spelling ?). I did okay with feeding the team, only one bottle got swated away.  Then for the last lap I hopped in the team car to  see what I was missing. It was good for me seeing what goes on from the directors standpoint, but it would have been much better to have been in the race and not watching. While I was in the car the team went to the front with toyota united and brought back the break. In the finish Dom got caught in trafic but fought it out for 7th place.

In all the team rode  very strong this weeend and I hope we will get the next win soon

The past 2 days have seen me doing my fair share of training. On tuesday I did a 115 mile loop up thru the Santa Ynez valley and again yesterday I did a 110 mile loop in the valley.

Tuesday was by myself and took a full 7 hours with a blistering head wind for the first 4 1/2 hours while I rode up the freeway to Gaviota and Beulton(spelling ?). Then all the way out and up Drum canyon as well as most of Alisos canyon. Once I made it to Foxen canyon the wind turned in my favor and after the climbs I flew back into Santa Ynez in the 53×14 the entire way.

Once I got a bite to eat it was back 154 and up Stagecoach Rd. to get into SB. It was propably the fastest that I have ever riden from Santa Ynez back home.

Yesterday was another 7 hour day but this time I did it with 5 of the guys from UCSB and with 11,000 ft of climbing which included Figuroa Mountain. It started when I met the others at the bottom of Old San Marcos. Once we were over the pass it was a steady grind into a slight headwind along 154 then the rolling Happy Canyon Rd to the base of the climb up Figuroa Mt. About have way half way up the climb Aaron and myself both went down going across a very small creek covered in moss that I didn’t see. So the both of us were a bit stiff for the rest of the ride. On the way down Ted and I but a good bit of ground into Aaron while decending and a lot of ground into the 3 others. At the bottom of the decent it was all tailwinds home and we took full advantage and rode along 154 faster than I had done the day before. Plus we had the added bonus of a tailwind up Stagecoach.

Then it was down 154 and Old San Marcos and out to the bike bath by UCSB where I turned off and headed into SB, but not before I decided to go thru Hope Ranch and up the Meza. After that it was an easy cruise up State Street and on home to finish another 7 hour day.

Today was my first race in the rain of the season, it was the first broken chain ever, and my first and hopefully last crash of the season(seperate incidence). The course was a 6 corner lap with only a small bump between turns 1 and 2. There were painted lines in all of the turns and quite a few manhole covers over the course.

The field was good with 11 BMC guys, a Healthnet rider, Symetrics rider and 3 guys from my team along with all of the Nor-Cal 1’s and 2’s. In all it was about 80 riders of 110 that had signed up for the race but only about 30 finished.

I started with a bad start and ended up close to the back and had to work my way to the front for the first 10-15 minutes. Then after 20 minutes there was a big split because of a crash in turn 1 about 20 riders back from the front. Then later that lap my chain breaks accellerating out of the last turn and I was skiding on my cleats siting on the top tube all the way to the pits. I got back in the next lap on my teamate Jamiel’s bike(who wasn’t racing), I was losing 6 bike lengths every turn and after a lap I was at the back of the group and struglingto keep contact. Then, trying to stay close I took a turn too fast for the training tires to handle and ran into a driveway that was blocked by a banner and I got closelined and hi-sided into some very gravely asphalt.

Again it was too the pits. This time I changed to the wheels that had been I my bike and was again in the group, but now with some good road rash on my ass and back so it hurt a little. Also, since I was riding Jamiel’s bike I was too low and my quads were getting really  tired whenever I was on the front so  I sat back till the last 10 laps.

In the last 10 laps a BMC rider was away with 15-20 seconds so Dom waved to go help Skyler bring him back. I went to the front with 7 laps to go and pulled for 3 laps and brought the gap to 7-8 seconds. Then Roman of Healthnet took over and slowed the chase so the group wouldn’t catch to early and I sliped back to rest.

On the last lap I was leading out Dom, but in turn 2 the guy in front of me opened a 2-3 length gap to the front 5. I sprinted to get in front but couldn’t get there with the gap, so I was shut down in the final 4 back, to back, to back, to back turns. in the last turn somone in front let a big gap open and I let Dom up the inside of me in the final turn but he was shut down by the guy off the front who was getting caught. He got 10th, I got 5th and Skyler was 23rd.

Hopefully I can sleep tonight with the road rash and I’ll be racing Cherry Pie tomarrow. Yummy a cherry pie to the top 3.

-Cody

                 Going…                                           Going…                                       Going…

                                                            … and I’m Gone

                                          My first Pro win in my first Pro race.

Yesterday I had my first win of the season at the CBR Ride Like You Stole It Crit.

Here is a link to my team web site and a brief race report. A full report will be up soon.

http://www.kgsncycling.com/news/2007/january/12807_cody-win.html

Cody

The Echelon Santa Barbara cycling club needs local junior riders/racers for there junior program to actualy work. Curently the number of juniors on the team has droped to zero. So if you know of any kids 10-18 years old that might be interested in giving bike racing a try this club is a great way to start. They have a great coach Rory O’Reilly, my dad, and all of the club really suports the juniors, but they need juniors to suport.

Some great riders have come out of their program winning 7 Jr. national championships, many more Jr. National championship medals, and State Championship Titles. One rider, Adam Duvendeck, even became an Olympian in 2004 when he competed in the Team Sprint on the track.

So if anyone is interested in or knows someone that is interested in trying cycling leave me a coment and I’ll get back to you.

-Cody