Quick Update

I know it has been awhile so I figured I would update all of my readers on what I have been up to. (Haha)
Unfortunately, my cross season was not as successful as I had planned on. I missed the last 4 races due to a separated shoulder. It happened on Combs road while I was doing some recon for the Gravel Grovel. It is kind of surprising that of all my crashes this year that the one that finally sidelined me was suffered during an easy training ride. I had designs of attempting to win the OVCX overall and at the very least win at least one race. I failed to to accomplish both of these goals which was very frustrating. However, after a lot of racing his year I was beginning to feel the effects of packing up the car every weekend; so in the end, it may have been a blessing in disguise.
As most of you already know I will be riding with Panther p/b CompetitiveCyclist next year. I am very excited and have big hopes for the upcoming road season. I cannot wait to get started. I have been spending a lot of time on the trainer due to the limited daylight. I will ride in the cold but it is tough to find enough hrs to get outside due to work. C'est la vie. I just have to keep the big picture in mind and it will be spring before I know it! Whenever I think about skipping out on a trainer session I think back to the awesome piece of reading that I found on gymjones.com Check it out, everyone should read it here.

I need your help

Please go to facebook and like this video for me. I appreciate it!!

Click here (video of the zipp barriers at the Louisville USGP)

And We're Off!

Well cross season is officially in full swing. I have raced a few times since Kings CX with mixed results. (to see awesome photos check out shrugsmugs.blogspot.com). I ventured up to Madison, WI for the Planet Bike Cup, the first round of the USGP. These were my first UCI races and I now fully understand why these guys are the best. I got a lousy start both days (59 out of about 65) but moved up to finish 38th the first day and 39th the second day. It was about what I expected, but I would like to get a top 25 in a UCI race before the season is up. I have 4 chances left with the Cincy UCI weekend(the Friday race is presented by Panther-my road team for next year! http://www.podiuminsight.com/2010/09/16/ride-fast-its-a-panther-stampede/) coming up and the Louisville round of the USGP.

In other news (photos by Caitlin coming soon!) round 2 of the OVCX series was yesterday and I was privileged enough to get a front row seat at the Ryan Knapp cyclocross clinic. He obviously won. Kersting was second and Andrew Dillman and I battled for third all day. He eventually won. This kid is a stud! He is 16, remember his name he is going to do cool things. I need to minimize technical mistakes. It is a relatively short but very intense season and I still aspire to win the overall. It is definitely going to be a battle though. I am currently 2nd overall and will probably drop to 5 or 6 after the Cincy UCI weekend because most of the guys are doing all 3 days while I can only do the last 2. I am not too worried about it. Blooomingcross is the following weekend with a clinic by the awesome Barry Wicks on the Saturday before! Come check it out.

Its CROSS Season!!

Apologies for not posting anything for a while. I ended the road season on a so-so note with a "solid" 9th at the Indy Crit. Since then I have been preparing for the cross season! There have been some awesome developments. I am fortunate enough to be representing BikeReg.com for the season and could not be more excited. Check it out it's the best race registration website out there. The season has not gotten off to the smoothest start with a DNF at Huber Apple Cross and a not as good as expected opening weekend at Kings Cross.
Day 1 at Kings Cross I ran over a bike and flatted my front tire when 2nd wheel went down on an off camber section. I had to ride 1/2 lap on a flat front before I could get to the pit. I ended up back in 13th but put my head down and chased to end up a respectable 5th.
Day 2 was the first race of 15 in the OVCX Series presented by Zipp and BikeReg. Unlike my previous 2 attempts I got a decent start and was 4th or 5th going onto the cross and was second shortly thereafter. I took the lead when the leader crashed and tried opening it up. I was struggling with allergies and breathing and was not feeling like myself. However, I managed to shake everyone except for Josh Johnson (the eventual winner). I bobbled with a lap and a half to go and he never looked back. Congrats to him. He rode a great race. I ended up 2nd. It was nice to get an incident free race under my belt. It is going to be a great season and I am hoping to step onto the top step of as many podiums and possible.

Next up is the USGP in Madison, WI this weekend. It will be my first UCI race, I am stoked.

Pics from this weekend from my beautiful fiance, Caitlin Coar!

Contemplation

Took another spill at Elk Grove on Day 1. Landed in the grass but ruined yet another tubular and was enough to really bother my back that was not 100% yet after the superweek incident. I am looking forward to CX but want to finish out the road season strong so I am taking a week to rejuvenate and hopefully have a turn of luck at the Mass. Ave crit on the 14th. However, I have also been thinking and I have been fortunate enough to have a good couple of seasons, despite the recent string of pavement surfing. Like Mr. Churchill says..."If you are going through hell, keep going."

So here is proof of my hard work. I have a long way to go to get to where I want to be but the reminder of progress is nice.

3/7/2010 1st -Sumantanga RR Training Series (Birmingham, AL)

03/21/2010 – 4th-Brown County State Park Road Race

04/10/2010 – 15th- 9th Annual Hillsboro Roubaix

05/01/2010 – 3rd-Winona Lake RR

5/2/2010- 4th- Winona Lake Criterium

5/22/2010- 10th-Urbana Grand Prix

06/26/2010 – 14th- Hyde Park Blast Criterium

06/13/2010 -20th- Tour de Grove

6/4/2010-1st-Time Trial- Tour of Red River Gorge

06/05/2010 – 6th – Tour of Red River Gorge Stage 1

06/06/2010 – 5th-Tour of Red River Gorge Stage 2

-2nd Overall in Omnium (Tour of Red River Gorge)

7/10/2010-4th-Bloomington Criterium

7/14/2010-1st- Firecracker 50 Circuit Race

7/17/2010-5th-Troy Classic on the Square

7/18/2010-1st- Cat ½ Indiana State Time Trial Championships

-40k in 52:44

7/20/2010-9th-Bucyrus Classic (ICC Superweek)

2009

6/28/09- Proctor Cycling Classic (Peoria, IL) 2nd

6/21/09- Tour de Winghaven (O'Fallon, MO) 6th

6/14/09-Men's Health Awareness Crit (richmond, KY)-6th

6/13/09- Tour de Olmstead (Louisville KY)-3rd

5/17/09-Nortons Commons Crit (Louisville KY)-2nd

5/09/09-Eagle Creek Traditional Crit (Indianapolis, IN)-4th

4/26/09-Brown County State Park RR-5th

4/26/08 Brown County State Park RR 3rd

Cyclocross

10/04/09- 6th- Tour de Louisville

10/10/09-1st- Java Johnny’s-Lionhearts International Cyclocross UCI (Cat 2/3)

10/11/09-1st-Cincinnati UCI 3 Harbin Park (Cat 2/3)

10/18/09-2nd- Bloomingcross

10/24/09-1st-USGP Cyclocross Derby City Cup (Cat 2/3)

10/25/09-4th-USGP Cyclocross Derby City Cup (Cat 2/3)

11/01/09-5th- Gun Club Cross

11/21/09-5th- Southeastway Cyclocross

11/22/09-5th- Brookside Cyclocross (State Championships/2nd in Indiana)

State Time Trial Championships

Before I headed up to Wisconsin for Superweek I contested the Indiana State Time Trial Championships. I did not know what to expect since it was my first attempt at a 40 k time trial. I knew I had to pace correctly and save something for the second half. There was a tailwind on the way out so I knew the return trip would be difficult. I kept some in reserve and pushed after the turn around. I came in with a 52:44 which was faster than I was hoping. I managed to win the Cat 1/2 State Title which I am pretty excited about. I am going to attempt a lot more time trials in the future considering two of my 4 wins this year have been in said discipline. Pictures from the awesome as always Caitlin Coar .

Superweek

It has been a year of highs and lows for me and my trip to Superweek could not have personified this more clearly. My first day was the Bucyrus Classic. It was considered a road race even though there were primes. The circuit was just short of 4 miles. I rode near the front and tried to follow moves that seemed dangerous. I found myself in a move with the extremely strong Cantwell of Fly V and one other strong rider. Cantwell was adamant about keeping this move clear and was demanding long pulls from all of us. I was struggling to do my fair share with these guys and luckily the move slowly ballooned to around 13 or 14 riders which allowed more time to recover. We stayed clear and I knew my odds of winning a group sprint were small so I tried an attack after the first hill and managed to scrape together about 15 seconds but it was not to be. I got caught at the base of the last hill. I sat in the group and tried to stay out of the wind and start my sprint as late as possible. I went as hard as I could and managed a top ten finish with 9th. I was extremely satisifed with the result partially because I could never have fathomed a top 10 finish at the fabled Superweek when I picked up a bike 6 years ago. I was on cloud nine.....until I was quite literally knocked off.

The next day was the Hincapie Lake Front Road Race. The course had a decent climb and overall suited me well. However, a break went very early into the 90+ mile race and I know it was the move. I was ok because my friend Mike Sherer was in the move and I did not have the legs quite yet after the previous night's effort. I was forced to be content with waiting and hoping to get into a secondary break. With around 6 laps to go of the 5 mile loop I was beginning to come around and found myself in a smaller group. We were descending the one safe, but fast, downhill on the course. I spotted a down rider 50 meters in front of me and the next thing I know the TT1 rider in front of me is sliding and I knew that it was going to hurt. I went over the bars landing on my head and back and coming to a sudden stop. I was in a lot of pain and my helmet was destroyed, that is two in one year. I was going to attempt the next day's race in Racine but it was cancelled due to tornadoes in the area. The day after I was in no condition to race with the pain in my hip and elbow so I sat on the dock of my friend Caroline's lake house, fished and had a few beers. The next day was the popular Downer's Ave crit so I lined up hoping the legs would come around so that I could compete and possibly squeeze out another result. However, it was not to be. My hip still hurt and to top it off the race was carnage. There were crashes everywhere! They eventually stopped the race and restarted and at that point I called it day hoping to keep what skin I had left.

All in all Superweek was a disappointment. I would have been in far worse spirits had I not managed the one decent result. However, it is always frustrating to travel planning on six days of racing and not even complete 2 entire races. But it is part of the game. I have found that this sport is constant peaks and valleys and being able to pull yourself off the pavement time and time again is what keeps things interesting and challenging. If it was easy everyone would do it. I will continue to line up hoping to finish first no matter how many times I crash and/or get beaten to the finish line because when you are able to get to one of those peaks....it is more than worth all the adversity.

RRG Gorge Pictures

Here are some pictures from Tour of Red River Gorge including the thunderstorm ridden, two wrecks and destroyed front wheel final stage. Thanks as always to Caitlin.






Could not be more relieved to be finished. Now the aches and pains set in.

Tour of Red River Gorge

Tour of Red River Gorge

I ventured down to middle of nowhere Kentucky last weekend for the Tour of Red River Gorge. I went into it thinking that I really wanted to win the overall, it would be nice to win stages but in the end the only thing that really mattered to me was wining the GC.

The race started on Friday with a 7.4 mile Time Trial. I desperately wanted to win this because I was in desperate need of a “check” in the W column. I managed to get a TT bike thanks to Mike Sherer and Zipp who supplied me with an incredible sub 9 disc. I got it built mid week but the first real test (not ideally) was the prologue of Red River. I knew the people to beat would be Greg Strock (Texas Roadhouse) and John Eisinger (Cleveland Clinic). I was very focused and the course suited me; fast with some rolling hills. I rode as hard as I could, crossed the line feeling like it went well and waited for the results. After what seemed like forever the taped the results on the door and I won! However, it was just barely (2 seconds) over Strock.

The Saturday stage was a 51-mile rolling stage that was not expected to break things up. Surprisingly at the end of it I found myself in a breakaway consisting of Strock, Eisinger, and the other GC contenders. We barely managed to stay away with me rolling in for sixth. Since it was a points stage race it would have been nice to place higher but I did a ton of work to keep the group away and thus faded to sixth. Tiago Depaula won and since he finished 6th in the TT we were tied atop the leader board with 99 points apiece with one stage remaining.

The final day, a demanding 91-mile stage would prove to be the most epic day I have ever had in a bike race. It started as expected, slowly, with everyone trying to conserve as much as possible for the upcoming climbs. We crested the second brutal climb and all of the favorites were there, minus Taiga, who I had to beat. I wanted to keep it away but could not work because there was a long way to go. Everyone else was thinking the same thing and everyone came back together including Tiago, which was frustrating, but I had to remain patient, which is difficult for me to do. Then things started to get interesting. A rider from Cleveland Clinic attacked without looking and put his rear derailleur into my front wheel, removing three spokes. Clayton being the great teammate he is immediately stopped and sacrificed his wheel and Brett waited and paced me back to the group. I also received some unexpected help from Ryan Kiel, which was great. I got back on and tried to relax. We then encountered a long climb and once again I found myself surrounded by the leaders minus Tiago, another golden opportunity. However, Eisinger took an unnecessary risk around a corner, by now it was raining, and took down several of the lead group including Chris Uberti who dislocated his shoulder. (Although he later popped it back in making him pretty much a badass) I chased back on, once again thanks to my awesome teammate Brett Stewart. However all this confusion once again allowed Tiago to return to the head of the race. Finally, after another brutal climb, we were alone and Tiago was once again awesomely absent. We were descending in a group containing myself, Knapp, his teammate Gregory Christian, Strock, Eisenger, and a few others. Then came a switchback, I grabbed brakes nothing happened and I had one of the worst crashes of my cycling life. I did not once think about stopping but instead picked my bike and myself up and got on with the chase. I could see the group but was having a hard time closing. I saw Tiago, who had been dropped, and came to the sad realization that to get back to the leaders I had to work with the one person I desperately had to beat. It is amazing how quickly enemies can become allies in a bike race. We closed with a little over 10 k left. I luckily had two teammates with me in Brad and Weston who were both riding incredibly. We decided to let Greg Christian roll off of the front to take the 75 points off of the board. Then came a flurry of attacks with one by Eisinger finally sticking. I could not lose to him either so I had my great teammates get on with the chase. When we got close I tried one last attack knowing I would lose to Tiago in a sprint. I got caught before the line, finishing 5th and therefore 2nd on GC. It was a tough way to lose but I fought as hard as I possibly could and could not be happier with the result considering everything I had to overcome in one 91-mile race. Thank you to my NUVO teammates, and thanks to the promoters and officials for a cool race. I will be back next year looking for the win.

Pictures by the wonderful Caitlin Coar to come!

Joe Martin

I realize it has been a while since my last post so here is a very brief recap of what has been happening.

I was 15th at Hillsboro, a little disappointing but I am proud of how I rode.
Cutters won Little 5...again. 4-PEAT!

I ventured to Winona Lake last weekend for a road race and a crit. I found myself up the road with 2 laps to go in the road race with Chris "I'm winning everything" Uberti and Will Nowak. Thankfully Chris beat Will who sat on our wheels for 15 miles to take the W. I was trashed and rolled in 3rd.

The crit on Sunday was wet which made it that much more technical. The break went in the first corner. I bridged and lapped the field with Sherer, Knapp, Puffer and Eisinger. Puffer ended up with the win and I rolled in 4th after narrowly avoiding a last corner pile up.

Now the reason for the post. I just arrived in Arkansas with Sherer and my official photog Caitlin. We got lucky and are set up in a beautiful home. I am so thankful to people who open their homes to strange men with shaven legs. It makes the trip so much more enjoyable. I am going to try and update this after every stage. Check it out here or go to where it is linked.

I am excited for the TT tomorrow. If I have some good legs I am confident that I can pull off a good ride. 8.5 minutes uphill is right up my alley!!

I will check in tomorrow thanks for reading.

Video

Video Courtesy of BVN (Geraint Parry)

Update

There is a lot to report. I will start with the coolest thing. I am engaged! I convinced the greatest girl on the planet to marry me. Thanks for being great Caitlin, I love you.

I have done a couple of races already; the Sumatanga Road Race in Alabama and the Brown County State Park Road Race. The race in Alabama was awesome! It finished up a one mile climb that averaged 12%. I established the break early and rode fairly conservatively since it was the first race of the long season. We hit the base of the climb and I went for it. I won going away! It was pretty cool. Granted the competition was not stellar with Rouge Roubaix being in Louisiana. However, a w is a w and I will not complain. Pics courtesy of the fiance.



Next was the absolutely brutal Brown County State Park Road Race. Every year I swear I am never doing this race again, especially after last years case of Rhabdomyolysis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdomyolysis The race this year played out differently than in years past. It stayed together much longer until the split happened with three to go. It was myself, last years winner (Eisinger), Sherer, Strock, and Kersting. I got gapped over the top of the hill the last time over and had no choice but to pull back Sherer and Eisinger bringing Kersting with me. I jumped to early got passed and ended up 4th with Eisinger repeating his victory. I will win this race one day!!

Post race Frustration (courtesy of Caitlin Coar)

Also I am riding some awesome stuff this year. Huge thanks to Nuvo cycling. It is going to be a great year.



Check out Zipp and Giant. These wheels are incredible and this is the nicest bike I have ever had the pleasure of swinging my leg over.

That is all for now. More to come.

Hopefully a sign of things to come!

I ventured up to do the final installment of the Marian University Indoor TT series on Sunday. My heat was at 9 a.m. so I was up very early. I got there and started warming up and felt pretty terrible. The legs did not want to be awake yet and certainly did not want to do a TT effort. However, my the time the countdown had started they were feeling decent. Once the TT started I made a decision to really go after the hills on the rolling 6.2 mile course. It paid off. However, by "resting" on the downhills I managed to recover but could have lost valuable time. (more on that in a sec). I was in the lead for most of my heat but was not aware that I was putting down that good of a time until near the end. Long story short I missed out on the best time of the series by less than a second!!! Damn, but at least it is held my friend and training partner Ryan "Dr. Steelhammer" Shanahan.His best time is 14:27.5. My time was 14.28.49 for an average of 384 watts. I felt great but should have went deeper into the pain cave. There is definitely an art to riding a good TT on a computrainer and I would definitely love another crack at it! O well next year. Time to focus on the upcoming road season. I have a good feeling about it and am more fit than I have ever been. Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come and not a one time performance. Well gotta go log some more hours in the wattage cottage so I can venture further into the pain cave! Thanks for reading and a bigger thanks to Zipp and Marian University for putting on a cool event. See you on the road!

Winter Update

It has been a while since my last update for no reason other than the fact that there is nothing exciting to report on. After the cross season I took a much needed break before hitting the pavement to get ready for the road season. Unfortunately I have been spending more time on the terrbile trainer than actually riding outdoors due to the cold temps and limited hours of daylight. All in all though it has not been to bad. Hubbell has hooked me up with an awesome training plan that I am confident will have me ready to tear up the 2010 road season. I am very excited for the upcoming season. We have assembled quite the squad at NUVO. I love riding with all the guys and I expect big things. Can not wait to get started. See everyone on the road!

More importantly the Superbowl is this weekend....GO HORSE! I am also planning on venturing up to Marian for the last indoor TT (hopefully I can go deep in the pain cave!)