Scott's Valley photos

Thanks to Becky Heeley, we have some awesome photos of us racing the Scott's Valley crit.

Santa Cruz apartment floor livin. Thanks girls!

Sleece railing corners

Jamming

Hubby corners like a tea trolley but he's a hitter

The prime tag teaming express

Finishing sprint where's the field? Sleece in the background nabbing some money also.

Post race it was cold!

Norcal race weekend 5/14-5/15

The trip continues! We traveled north on Saturday to race the Cat's Hill Crit in the afternoon in Los Gatos. The course was L-shaped and on bumpy pavement but the real kicker (pun intended) was a 23% 100 meter climb. A little over 100 racers came and the pace was held pretty high throughout the race with attacks. Tactically, the racing was fairly negative. Cal-Giant had the most riders but didn't seem to be racing hard for a breakaway. The winning breakaway of four went up the road with about 8 to go and a chase group of four that held went away with 3 to go. 

Danny's View

I was expecting a steep hill but man this was steep. No big ring for me unlike Hubby who is paying for it with a sore back. I felt awesome all race after the two NRC stage races we just completed. Spent a few laps off the front in groups and won a prime which we were hoping was money but turned out to be just a box of cliff bars. Harsh. With 4 to go Sleece and I talked and we decided to go seperately over the crest of the hill each lap. Sleece went and was gone my turn came around and just as I got off the front and went to shift back to big ring something happened and my chain was off the inside! Double harsh. Not sure how that happened. I ended as the last finisher pretty dissapointed but happy at how good I felt in the race. And Sleece had a solid result.

Sleece's view

I think that hill was the steepest I've ever raced in a crit. It was a fun course and the racing was exciting. It felt good to be leading the bunch and covering moves or attacking after only following wheels and rarely seeing the front in the large NRC stage races. I was off the front a couple times and just missed the winning break. I had good legs and should've been able to bridge but waited too long. After the hill I shifted up and stomped away from the bunch and three guys were able to join me. We worked together some and got close to bridging but on the last lap we started playing games. I should've led into the last corner but didn't and it cost me two positions so I finished 6th. 

Hubby's View

Pretty wicked race today at Cats Hill. The boys rode well going with the moves for the first 20 minutes. Once I was able to get going and find myself at the front of the race I was able to pull back a dangerous move that the team had missed. I am personally enjoying racing the crits again and feeling a little more at home. I didn't contest the final as I was out of position with a couple to go, rolled in mid bunch. I was happy with what had been my first race back in California and on the rode to recover from my health issues. Better everyday! Not a bad day for the team with Steven coming in 6th and Danny looking strong

We stayed with Danny's sister, Becky, at UCSC saturday night since Sunday's race, the Scott's Valley crit, was nearby. It was a flat and fast twilight but mostly night crit that wasn't very technical. Cal-Giant had the most riders again and raced to lead out Reaney so no breaks were staying away. We raced for primes, got a couple, and covered any moves with potential. In the final 8 laps, the 9 Cal-Giant riders went to the front and everyone behind fought behind the train. 

Danny's View

"Skinsuits are for time trials and twilight crits"- Kurt Stockton. It was time to break out the crit skinsuits for Scotts Valley! The racing was fast from the get go, too fast for significant breaks which the course was not meant for. We talked before the start that we needed to make some money tonight or we would be in deep trouble. Guess who one the first two $50 primes NOW-MS with me taking the first one solo off the front and Sleece winning his in a sprint. With 10 to go Hubby took me up to the front to meet up with Sleece since it was obvious the team with the numbers was riding for a sprint. It was sketchy to say the least racing in the darkness with lots of bumping and chopping for position. Cal Giant did a perfect leadout for their man to win and after a big fight for position I entered the last two corners 5th and ended up 3rd at the finish. The crit legs are coming back for Tulsa! Great team effort tonight.

Sleece's view

The last few laps of this race were very scary, some of the scariest racing I've done actually. The course had little lighting and a couple stretches were just pitch black. As danny said, we raced at the front and got some primes but with the speed of the race and the tactics of Cal Giant, no breakaway was gonna stick. The final 8 laps got sketchy as people fought behind the Cal Giant train which wasn't going that fast. I moved to the very front with Danny with two and half to go and he got up just behind the leadout. I intended to try to get him up further again at the finish but was only able to stay up in the group and finish seventh. We raced well together today though and I am happy with the weekend. 

Hubby's View

Better again for me today!Getting excited for what's ahead, as my bad run maybe over on how I was feeling today. Today I was able to really get in the mix of the race following moves and attacking out of moves. The course was super fast though so it wasn't going to be a day for me to escape unfortunately. So as we got closer to the finish I did the job for my team mates. Steven and Danny are really flying at the moment (making dollars!) and its good to lay it down for them as I know they would for me if I was in good shape. A big month on the cards for me now with my training coming up. It will be good to see what I can do at this level with some luck in the coming month! Thanks for reading.

travelling and the GRAND CANYON

Our destination as we left Fayetteville AR was the Heeley household in Hermosa Beach CA. We knocked the trip out in two days, and even detoured to visit the Grand Canyon. The van's odometer ticked up another 1700 miles on this two day adventure.

Sleece's view

This road trip home definitely breaks my PR for amount of time spent behind the wheel. Danny and I split up the driving well but we still had two full days of driving to do. On the first day, we jammed all the way to Gallup NM and found a cheap hotel room. After some deliberation, we decided the 2.5 detour to see the Grand Canyon was worth it so on tuesday we drove up there and had the amazing experience of seeing a the Canyon with clear air and in snowy weather. Even though the pictures are only from a cell phone you can tell it was beautiful out.

Danny's view

The highlight of our drive home was of course the Grand Canyon. Having never seen the Grand Canyon either I was super excited! After our jam session to Gallup we were exhausted but we decided you only live once and hubby might never get a chance to see such a famous landmark ever again so off we went. And what a view. I was expecting awesome but this was beyond that, It didn't even look real. And to top it off it was snowing which made the whole view even better. The view reinvigorated us for our push home to LA to stay at my house for a few days.

Hubby's view

What a way to finish our road trip in middle America having a look at one of the most amazing places in the world, the grand canyon. Being a kiwi I had seen a lot of the grand canyon on the big screen but never thought I would I see in person. It was the coolest thing I think I have ever done! Great way to end the trip. Now time to cash in on all the hard racing we have been doing! 

Dinner in Albuquerque before going to Gallup we found it by accident and it was amazing!

Snowing hard on our way into the National Park

Hubby and Sleece 

group pic

Joe Martin Stage 4 NRC

Today was a 90 minute crit through downtown Fayetteville. The crowd wasn't as big as we had hoped for a uni town! The racing was bound to be fast from the get go as the general classification was still tight and Real-cyclists strangle hold on the NRC was about to be cracked. The course was a pretty fun balance between technical and challenging, with a steep uphill kick to the line. It wasn't long before Bissell had cracked the field forcing a strong 12 man break with all the top team represented. Bissell ended up taking second and third on the stage and one two on the GC. This was the first time this season Mancebo had been beaten in a big stage race.

Hubby's View

Today was about surviving for me and helping my team mate Danny Heeley move up on GC as much as possible as prize money was paid forty deep. After roughly 20minutes I was moving through the field pretty well for me, not being a huge a crit fan. My legs actually felt great compared to where I had been early in the week. But a bad start had me out of position and after working hard to move around guys I wasn't able to help Heeley.  This was a shame as he was only a couple of guys ahead of me when the pace became too much and I was shelled of the back. It would have been good for the team if I could have given Danny some support before I was out of the race. Time for me to take a break as I have been racing and training nonstop from December. Hope to be fighting fit and healthy again and reporting some good results in the near future! Now for the long haul back to California. Thanks for the continued support!

Danny's View

Lining up for todays crit in the heat and humidity knowing that the course was also going to be brutal made me pretty excited today, I like crits when they are nice and hard! From the start the Bissel hammer was down trying to crack the stranglehold that Mancebo has had on the NRC stage races and it was pretty sweet that they succeeded. The hill and heat lead to a rapidly depleting peleton and by the end I unfortunately missed the break of 12 that got up the road leaving only 15 or so of us to sprint it out for the remaining places. I did a so cal crit maneuver to make some places up on the last fast corner before the sprint and started it 5th wheel at the last corner. I got a bit excited and went way to early into the headwind up the hill and lost as many places as I gained but its nice to feel like I am a part of races again after Gila and being sick at Redlands. Pretty stoked on my first NRC points and money at an NRC stage race.

Sleece's View

Today I went for a ride in the morning on my tt bike but had to watch as Danny and Hubby raced. It was great to watch them suffer and do well even though I was really unhappy to be unable to race. I realized that I am ready for a midseason break as I rode by myself this morning. We'll take the next few days to travel home and have a bit of time off of serious training and racing, then of course we'll be at it again ready to come out swinging at Tulsa and Nationals and whatever else we end up shooting for. I'm really excited for the rest of the season and for continuing to get better.



Thanks to the team for all the support and thanks for reading up on the blog. We'll try to post some more pictures from the rest of the race soon. Also, we plan to keep using this blog for racing/travel updates and reports in the future so don't forget about it.

Joe Martin Stage 3

Yesterdays stage was comprised of 4 laps for a total of 105 miles. It was rolling all day with some hard punchy kickers that lead to lots of dropped riders. Everyone took the race to the Real Cyclist team and the first hour we were lined out single file until a large group got up the road and the leader had no more teammates. Unfortunately we lost Stephen to a crash early on, he was fine but his bike didnt fare so well. The day ended with the groups rejoining and a small group of 4 getting up the road for the win.

Sleece's view

Yesterday didn't go well for me. About 20 miles into the stage, I was right behind a crash that happened as we rode into a slight crosswind section. Riders were moving up in the wind on the left and hooking right, a Realcyclist rider ended up going pushed off the road and then someone else in the group went down and I was caught in it. I tucked and rolled and ended up pretty far away from my bike. Unfortunately, my bike was thrashed and the SRAM neutral had to change pedals to get me on a neutral bike. By the time I was riding, the caravan was long gone and I was minutes behind a charging peleton. My race was over. This is bike racing and that's how it goes sometimes, I'm just bummed/angry that I'm missing the chance to get results when I'm on good form.

Hubby's View

The struggle continued for me yesterday. It didn't start to bad as I was sitting comfy in the field that was flying along for the first hour in single file. I made the first real selection of the day with danny but the mix of riders was wrong and we started to coast along until the rest of the field came back to us after ten kilometers of riding super slow. It was good to make to start making the selections again. From here it went downhill though, when I started missing feeds and not looking after myself I went out the back door on the last lap. Disappointed for making a dumb mistake and not giving myself a chance. Crit today hopefully mix it up and continue improving towards where I was six weeks ago.  

Danny's View

I started the day with some heavy legs! I wouldn't have minded extending he neutral for about 20 miles. Everyone knew that the leaders team wasn't the strongest so the attacks started flying as soon as we hit the first climb and a group got up the road that was bigger than the team chasing. This lead to us being strung out for the whole first lap and I barely missed the crash that harshly took out Sleece, coming to a stop about an inch from him. When we finally caught the break the race leader Mancebo had no more teammates left an groups kept rolling off the front that it seemed we would never see again. Then some completely random teams starting working the front, someone must have struck a deal! The race regrouped right before the last feedzone climb and splintered over the top but i felt fairly comfortable making the lead group. The attacks were flying and a group of 4 snuck of the front that we would only see again from a distance with about km to go. I lined up for the field sprint and ended up 17th on the day. My best result in an NRC race so far this year. Still plenty to improve upon though! Also I have snuck into the bottom end of the GC money score! Looking forward to the crit this afternoon.

Today we raced stage 2 of Joe Martin stage race. It was a 110 mile day of rollers and one long but gradual climb about 2/3 of the way through the race. The beginning of the race was very fast as many breaks tried to get established. After a long time, a break of two got away. Realcyclist kept the pace up to the climb. Going over the climb, however, Realcyclist faltered a bit and Mancebo was alone at one point when a breakaway of four went up the road. Realcyclist reorganized on the downhill though and worked to bring the break back in for a sprint finish back in Fayetteville.

Sleece's view

Loved the racing today and I had good legs. Early in the race the three of us went with any moves that looked promising but Realcyclist was pulling anything back that was remotely threatening. Going up the climb I felt good and was up there with the big names. I followed a move by Ben Jacques-Mayne when Mancebo was down to just one teammate on the front but of course they worked to pull us back in. Mancebo is definitely strong but I think today we saw a chink in the armor of Realcyclist as a team. The finish was all power with a couple pitches right before the end. I tried to position well and ended up 22nd on the day which moved me up to 33rd on GC. Again very excited for tomorrow anything could happen. \

Danny's View

We all started today fired up looking for the break. It ended up another one of those races where the break doesn't go for 70kms and it ended up being only 2 guys not threatening at all. The scenery is beautiful in Arkansas with rolling hills covered in green trees and today the race got nice and hard as we climbed back up the stair step hills to Fayetteville. The race leader was down to only a few teammates and the field was down to fifty. All that was left was the 35mile an hour run into town which was awesome fun. Me and Sleece were working together positioning when at 3km to go I hit a bump and ping broken spoke. I tried riding it in but with the breaks rubbing hard I was loosing position all over so I went for a wheel change knowing that I would get pack time.(we are still waiting on that decision) The big plus on the day is that we moved up 4 spots on team GC for only 3 guys thats awesome. Sleece should be top 40 and if I get my time back I will be around 44 tickling the money places! On to tomorrrow.


Hubby's View

I was stoked to see the improvement of everyone today as we all through it down from kilometer zero, trying to sniff out the early move. A big improvement for a NRC race. Looking forward to see what this racing has done to our fitness. Unfortunately for NOW ms nothing went our way today and our attempts were brought back. Once the move of two did go we played the waiting game and stuck together until the final climb when things started to heat up. I was swinging on the back and just made the selection over the top missing my feed. It was a fast run into the finish from there, Danny and Steve were looking great for a top10 stage placing when lining up the field sprint Danny broke a spoke. This was pretty gutting to see as Danny is our go to man for the field sprints. Personally for me I rode better again today and am enjoying the rode back to form!(Better every day) Excited for tomorrow!

Joe Martin Stage Race begins!

The first day of Joe Martin Stage race in Arkansas had us racing a short, hill-climb prologue in the Devil's Den state park. This morning we went for a short spin to turn the legs over then prepped our road bikes before driving to the course. Mancebo posted the fastest time of the day at 8 minutes flat. The field here is smaller than other NRC stage races at 96 riders, but the quality of the field is still very good as most of the most of the pro teams are present.

Danny's View

Uphill TT's are not my favorite thing to do but everyone secretly enjoys time trialing no matter what they say. The pain must be good for us. Before the start we were all chatting about the tailwind that we would have for the majority of the climb, and knowing that our Specialized SL3's were well under the weight limit anyway, Sleece and I thought what the heck we will throw our discs on for the TT. Initially interim director Papa Leece agreed with us but upon arrival seeing we were the only two with discs he wasn't so sure. It was time to throw caution to the wind and hammer that TT.  Since it was such a short effort by the end I had absolutely know idea how I had done. All I knew was it hurt. My time of 9 min 14 sec put me at 63rd overall. Lots of room to move up in the next few days.

Stephen's view

It's amazing how much better my legs felt after coming down 5,000 ft. The weather in Arkansas has been beautiful although we've had a couple quick showers and even some thunder this evening. After a long warm-up, I hit the course hammered all the way up it. I had the privilege of being the last rider out of the gate as papa Leece had the lucky draw in the director's meeting so now I can say I've been the last rider to start a tt in an NRC stage race. Unfortunately I didn't defend my position and ended up 55 seconds behind the winning time. We're all excited for the racing tomorrow as all the teams will be gunning for it and we're ready to be in the mix.

Hubby's view

The talk has already started for tomorrow. The boys are fired up to make the days break and get a good ride in. For me the tt didn't go to plan as it was my dream tt uphill and not to long, unfortunately the legs were absent and I was left creeping for the last 2km when the road kicked up.  I caught my minute but then began to fade. (If I had a disk who knows where I would I could have finished?) Na more to the point I made a big stride in my recover from the poor health I have been having!So onwards and upwards, can't get much worse so only positive and I am looking forward to racing my bike tomorrow with the my great teams mates sleece and heeley. P.S it looked like Heeley was lugging a fridge up the climb today, he has put on some extra pounds!

Mon-Wed transition and travel

Monday to Wednesday have been travel, transition, and fun time days as we prepare for our next NRC stage race, Joe Martin Stage Race, in AR.
We packed our bags and packed our van on Monday morning and hit the road after saying goodbye to Bob and Eileen (our hosts). The road out of Silver City took us through some beautiful mountain ranges and we struck out across country after dropping off mama Leece for her flight from Albuquerque and making a burrito stop there.
A couple driving shifts and hundreds of miles of flatland later, we reached our destination for the day, Amarillo, Texas. Our travel continued early the next morning and we reached Fayetteville, AR by early afternoon, in time to go for a spin and have an extended coffee stop.
Today we drove to the time trial course and rode it few times. It's an 8-9 min hill climb with an average gradient of 6.8%.

more Gila pictures

before the crit with our lovely hosts

at the start line of the crit

DH racing

Sleece on course

post-race

Stage 5

Stage 5

Stage 5 of the Tour of Gila is a 105 mile race containing 5 categorized climbs. The brutal stage had only 89 finishers, less than half the number that started the stage race. It began fast as soon as we rolled out of Silver City and the neutral beginning was waved off. 

Stephen's view

This race drew every ounce of energy from me. I made it through the early crosswind/rollers/first climb and was then confident I could race through the valley. The pace was held high as breakaways tried to form and teams tried to get their sprinters points for an intermediate sprint in the valley. The sprinter's jersey was closely contested. On the third and biggest climb of the day, I couldn't hold the pace of the 20-25 leaders and formed a group with about ten other riders. We picked up some guys dropped from the lead group and were caught by others as we rode tempo up the final two climbs. I was happy to finish 37th on the day and simply to finish this stage race. I'm hoping that the strength gained up at elevation will have me flying at Joe Martin Stage race. We're all really motivated for this race and making an impression on how it goes. 

Danny's view

Well I had a chance to check the scenery on the last day of Gila. 5 categorized climbs was never going to amount to a fantastic day for me! As the field split into 3 groups I was in the 2nd one which eventually turned into the groupetto. More and more guys dropped out until there were 4 of us left and we all decided that we would finish no matter what. We lost a lot of time but got to check the scenery and could see where a wildfire was burning from the top of one the climbs. By the end of the stage race there were about 180 starters and only 90 finishers. That shows you how hard Gila really was. I was pretty happy to finish this year espicially since climbing is far from my greatest strength on the bike. We are all looking forward to Joe Martin Stage race.