The Kentucky Derby

This weekend I traveled down to Columbia, Kentucky with the boys to compete in a couple collegiate bike races. As a team representing Indiana University we didn’t do too bad picking up a couple points in all events. It’s hard to compare to derby horses of Marian and Lindsay Wilson but I would say that we didn’t do too bad.

As for my boys I think we learned a lot this weekend. We found out that racing doesn’t always turn out the way we expected no matter how good we are feeling on the bike because of mechanical issues or other competitors being idiots. Kevin picked up some respectable results placing 2^nd in the road race and the win in the crit for the D’s category. Thomas was the unlucky one of the weekend falling victim to a flat within the last mile of the road race and being taken out by a fellow IU racer 500 meters from the line. He was disappointed but he knows that he couldn’t have done anything different and sometimes that’s the way things play out. Dougie fresh ripped out a 19^th place finish in the road race and got pulled while leading the 2^nd group behind the break so for his first weekend racing some very solid results! Samwise pulled out a 7^th in both the road race and crit in the C’s category and was near the front the entire time so he was racing smart and looked smooth on his bike which always is good. I raced A’s for the first time and let me tell ya those boys are there for a reason. Equipped with a handful of pro’s Marian set the tone early and the finishing climb was brutal blowing up the field. I think only 23 guys finished out of 45? The last few places were gutting it out too…I dropped out after the 2^nd lap once I lost sight of the main pack and I’ve been kicking myself ever since. I should have just gutted it out and I probably would have finished around 21^st…should have, would have, could have but I didn’t so I’ve got nothing to bitch about I gave up. This next weekend at Ohio State this won’t be the case.  The crit was pretty much a disaster from the get go for IU. The second lap saw a Purdouche rider gap everyone as he apparently forgot what brakes were used for and went flying off the course. Once that gap opened up it was goodnight for all behind it due to the Marian train drilling it up front. Within 5 minutes the field dwindled from approximately 40 to about 30. Clayton raced well and hung on for 16/17^th or somewhere in there. 

Scott Cantanzaro had a nice 12^th place finish in the road race while Ren-Jay picked up 18^th and the overall points winner for the weekend probably went to Kristen Metherd. Both time trial teams represented well too!

So heading into this next weekend I need to focus on better positioning, especially in the crit! Hopefully my buddy Nate can make it to the races with his girlfriend Emily and grab some dinner after the road race. It’s been a while since we’ve got to hang out so having an in-town Buckeye (Go Blue!) should be good in terms of finding a decent restaurant! Back to cinders for now for the main focus of this whole biking adventure. Hopefully a good solid week at the track and then packing the car again! 4 more days and a midterm until some more fun with IUCC!

Open track

    I was a little disappointed at the outcome of the track this afternoon. It's the first day that everyone was allowed on and many teams were not there. I would have bet money that today was going to be one of the biggest days where half the teams come out tapered and ready to show off. Guess I was wrong. It's nice to see a lot of familiar faces out there throwing their bikes around and I've been pleased by the progress of our team over the past couple weeks heading into track season. Exchanges don't look half bad, everyone is working themselves into the pack well, and most of all we're back on the track. It's funny at how hard sets are on the track in comparison to a road race where you can pretty much sit in and hide. While you can still set up camp behind someone on the track it truly is harder to constantly be spinning. Guess its a good thing we've been doing plenty of rollers.
    Another thing that I wanted to express was how shitty of a turnout we had from Rider's Council members during Rookie Week. On average there was usually 3-4 guys per practice which is downright ridiculous. I know I missed a day because of a funeral but sure as shit you know these guys will find a way around class to attend regular track practice. If you were chosen to represent Little 500 then live up to your expectations. I thought we had a pretty good group of guys but supposedly I was wrong and this definitely rubs me the wrong way. Don't expect to get a wheel from me anytime because you won't get it and if you try and take it I will slam my bike into yours and you will eat cinders. I don't give a flying fuck who you are or what team you ride for because that's disrespectful to Pam, IUSF, the rookies, those who actually went and put work into the schedule, etc. and those not chosen to represent this group for not pulling your own weight.
    Maybe a little harsh in the above paragraph but I don't go for bullshit like that and I'm all about respect and somewhat karma. When you can't show up to something that is suppose to be mandatory you need to call or at least try to inform others. So when you are completing sets out there and wearing your Rider's Council jacket proudly don't come expecting a free ride from me because it won't be there. (There are a few individuals that actually had the decency to inform others of absence and that showed up with regularity)

Cutters started it

A little chilly today in Bloomington made the last and final day of Rookie Week a good one. Glad the men were early in comparison to women today because I bet it was miserable during late practice! Had a meeting for summer racing at the Bakehouse tonight and I'm excited for this summer. Going to try and race quite a bit and see what happens; SIB team should be pretty solid this year so I'm looking forward to it. Until then I'm focusing on training for April first off because let's face it Little 500 is where its at. Speaking of which I talked with our shirt provider and he has helped our team out immensely by making a link off of his home page to purchase Cutters wear of on types. Check it out at dogfishusa.com and follow the prompts to Cutters. The owner, John Merli, is a great guy and does a lot for a bunch of guys he doesn't really know. He is offering free shipping on orders within the US right now as well and our team gets a percentage of every sale to offset costs of race equipment.
     Other than that not a whole lot going on; heading to Kentucky this weekend for some racing so it should be an interesting weekend as I heard tonight that we are renting 3 cabins on a lake somewhere instead of hotels. That always makes for some fun! Being the entertainer I am...looking forward to it.
     Also on my way home from the bakehouse tonight I come up to the stoplight at 10th and Walnut. In front of me I see a Papa John's delivery guy lined up next to a Domino's delivery guy: recipe for success without a doubt! They did not let me down. Roasting the tires out of the stoplight the Papa John's dude (or chick) absolutely owned Domino's, no contest whatsoever! The Domino's driver was trying to; his cavalier didn't have shit on the Camry! American muscle my ass.

Who's Hank

      Just another weekend with not a whole lot going on. I thought about hitting the Bluebird on Friday with some guys from work to see the band, Here Come The Mummies but for $21 I decided otherwise. Really $21? They're good but come on, it wasn't even fifteen cent beer night. Saturday the Bluebird had another good show going on but I was feeling pretty tired so I stayed in and got all my homework done and relaxed. It was kind of nice because my brother went to visit some friends out of town so it was just the pup and I. I also went over to Clayton and Caroline's and got some good work done on my bikes in preparation for this upcoming weekend races down in Kentucky.
      Back to the title of this post. I've had a lot of people inquire about how in the hell I acquired the nickname Hank? The answer: I honestly don't know the exact origin but I'm pretty sure when I first started with The Cutters our coach, Jim Kirkham was asking some general background information and we stumbled upon the topic of baseball. Playing baseball at Manchester College before trasferring to IU and he suddenly chimeed in, "Oh like Hammering Hank huh?" Of course the nickname master himself, Clayton Feldman, jumped all over this opportunity and the name Hank just stuck really really well! It is somewhat ridiculous how well it stuck because there are definitely times when I don't really answer to Zack. My mailbox at work even reads Hank, go figure. There was definitely a point when I would go to girlfriend's parents house and question whether they even knew what my real name was...haha. I don't mind and its funny. I've actually signed a check before Hank that was suppose to be sent to Duke Energy for our electric bill so obviously that one got shredded. Hopefully one day when I'm older I will con some lady to have children with me and (fingers crossed) have at least one boy and name him Hank. I feel like I owe it to the world. Besides the name Hank means business; maybe a little hickish but it jumps out at you as someone who knows what they want and when they want it. When you look up the true meaning behind the name Hank one finds Hank: the ruler of an estate or 'ruler of the household'. Boom bitch! Would you want to mess with a good ole boy named Hank? I wouldn't. So that's the origin of Hank: The Man, The Myth, and most importantly The Legend.

                                                                    Big Magnum

Crazy week

        Sorry it's been a while since the last post but it's been a pretty crazy week. First off I want to express my deepest sympathies to the Kent Family as they lost a beloved grandma/mother this week. Last night I drove down to Bedford to show a little support for the family and what an incredible job they did setting up the funeral home. Old pictures, beautiful flower arrangements throughout the room, and most notably a strong family. I don't know how someone can lose someone so close and hold it together the way they did. I found myself tearing up like I always do at funeral sanctions and of course they were quick to point it out and lighten the mood. I honestly think I have a phobia toward things of this nature because I honestly can't attend something like this and not show emotion. Even if I don't really know the person but more so attend to show support for family that I am closer with...Again my deepest sympathies are extended to the family.
        Classes are going pretty well too which is always a plus. For once I finally have a semester where I don't really mind going to class all the time because its about stuff that I enjoy rather than a general requirement class with no relevance to me whatsoever. Graduate school applications are circulating within each respected school that I applied to so hopefully I will be able to visit for an interview sometime within the next few weeks. Keep your fingers crossed!
        The track finally opened up this week as well and I'll be the first to admit that the men's rookies didn't do half as bad as I was expecting. Of course the first 2 days are somewhat slow getting to know the basics but the last two days have been run more similar to a regular track practice. Rookie miss'n'out was conducted as well and I'm pleased to say that only 2 crashes happened and the guys are alright. One crash held a particular place in my heart though and I found myself drawn to this kid. I have no idea what team he rides for but he's a great kid with an even better attitude. His name will be left out but he is one of the few kids that actually takes the time during free practice to come and ask for help or advice. I admire that! I've seen a lot of guys this week take my advice I've given them because they are clearly doing something wrong (hints why your white t-shirt is covered in cinders) and just put it behind them like I've never said anything to them. Is it frustrating; a little but what can you do if they like crashing than so be it. Back to my buddy. He takes a dig up to me the other day while I'm cruising around the track at a half-way decent speed to ask if I'd stop and help him for a second. We signal out of the pack and he asks if I would mind helping him work on his skid/getting off the bike because he's worried about his team making the race and wants to get his exchange as close to flawless as possible. Again, he wasn't afraid to swallow his pride and ask questions. Within 5 minutes we had him smoking around the track bringing in some hot skids that were ten-fold better than before and he was grateful for just a few words of wisdom and encouragement. Then came miss'n'out and sure enough the wind took its toll on no other than my new friend. Overlapped a wheel (I think?) and went down relatively hard and smashed his head into another back wheel of an opposing rider. I immediately thought, "Oh man, that's my buddy..." He ended up being alright other than the famous cinder tattoo that will probably stay with him the rest of his life. I went up to him while he was sitting at the EMS table to see how he was doing in between heats and exchanged some general information about class standing, age, where he's from, etc and how to brush those cinders out of his arm. Glad he's alright and I'll be looking for him come Qualifications Day and be rooting for him and the team to make the race this year.
    

                                                      Just another day at "The Oasis"

Weekends Go Extremely Too Fast

  Sitting on the couch watching the Grammy's and thinking about how fast this weekend went. Went to Delta Gamma's Crush Dance last night and had a blast! Well at least in the beginning and for the dance but decided against the after party...I'll leave out the major details but the night seemed to blur together at the end due to alcohol consumption; go figure. The dance was a lot of fun and dinner at Bear's was also great! Bear's Place, notoriously known for their famous drink, The Hairy Bear, are seriously under-rated in terms of food selection! I've been there a handful of times and have enjoyed it every time! I ordered the Turkey Po Boy sandwich and it was very good.
    Valentine's Day tomorrow! Hitting up another Bloomington restaurant sometime this week that I haven't tried: Sweet Grass. Heard good things so we'll see. Track is going to be open this week too! Holla

To get to this level...

You must train with the intent of returning to the top and do anything possible to get there. Quiet the critics and train like you're the underdog everyday

A Day of Fairwells

    For some god awful reason I'm been waking up the last 3-4 days at around 5 am for no apparent reason. I proceed to lay there, rolling around restlessly trying to fall back asleep with no luck and I'm just wide awake. It's ridiculous. After about 30 minutes of laying there and realizing that I have 4 hours until I need to get dressed and head out the door for a big group ride honoring the famous Geraint I get up and make a pot of coffee. Surfing the web was nothing spectacular and I decided to be productive again and finished a paper for social psych that isn't due until the 22nd of Feb. Yeah I'd say I'm on top of things too!
    The ride was great today; weather resembled that of a tropical paradise compared to lately and we rolled out with about 70 people I'd guess. Pretty cool! Upon returning home from the ride I listened to my voice mails and heard some sad news that my cousin had passed away. Rest in peace Seth. It's pretty wild how valuable life is but takes news like this for someone to really understand it. Somewhat lost touch over the years as we grew older but my team's cycling training trip took us to North Carolina this past winter break and got to hear how you were doing from your mom and just 2 days ago caught up on facebook and shot the shit a little. You're in a better place now man, take care up there buddy!

TGIF

    Friday, finally! This week seemed to drag on longer than usual. I don't know if it was due to Rookie Week anticipation and never actually being able to get out on the track or what but I'm sure glad the weekend is here! Had class this morning and worked all day with the always fun President's Challenge crew but other than that nothing eventful. Excited to hit the streets this weekend with the warmer weather and I'm starting to get the itch to race here in a couple weeks at Lindsay Wilson College! It's that time of year where the legs are going to transition from big, slow efforts into quick, explosive ones! Can't wait! Pretty productive night today thus far as I've finished one lab report and got a giant start on another one. Long ride tomorrow for GP's going away party/ride/fun.

Another typical Thursday night

     I don't know if you've gazed upon the 10 day forecast for the Bloomington area as of late but if so you better be as enthusiastic as I am about the uplifting of this treacherous cold we've had! We were planning on conducting Rookie week today and actually get out on the track to practice some exchange drills but the girls had early practice and from the sound of it quickly found that the cinders mimicked quicksand fairly well. Who knew? The plan now supposedly is to wait for this warm front to roll through and melt all of this nasty white stuff and hopefully bring the steamroller out to flatten the cinders. Time table is set for Monday but we'll see.
     Since practice was cancelled I had the pleasure to go to the best lab I've ever taken here at Indiana University: Adapted Physical Education (APE). This lab is structured for students to learn about different developmental disabilities and physical impairments that affect individuals but in regard to this class children. Each student is paired up one on one with a child to work with throughout the semester creating lesson plans to promote healthy living, physical activity, and more importantly developing a relationship with a young person affected by some degree of disability. I could literally write a novel on my experiences that I've had since being involved within this class; in fact I've enjoyed it so much as a student that I've been a volunteer and lab assistant for the past 2 years! Those kids bring me so much joy with their smiles and playful attitudes and have pushed me toward one day working in a pediatric physical therapy setting. It's such a life changing experience; I know it sounds cliche but it truly is and words do not give it justice. I've learned so much about others with varying degrees of disorders, families directly affected by certain disorders/stereotypes associated with them, and about myself as a human being. I am fortunate to have a relatively healthy life with a very supportive and loving family comparatively speaking and from these experiences I thank God everyday for this and pray for those affected. So next time when you think you've got it bad take a second and think about those less fortunate than yourself because the odds are it could be worse even though these families would suggest otherwise because they're all fearless warriors of life.
      To cap off the night I headed to Ole Faithful KOK for some quesadillas and a beer! Oh yeah and not to mention the t-shirt that accompanies the cover charge on Thursdays. I've accumulated my fair share of shirts this year and plan on making a sweet quilt out of it upon graduation! What could be better to reminisce about your college days than a reminder hanging in your living room saluting the free bar shirts you received every week? Between this quilt and shitty bike jerseys that I'll hold on to I'm going to have some bad ass stories to tell my kids one day about how sweet IU really was! Follow me to KOK; it's t-shirt time!

Rest Week

     There's just something about a rest week that makes ya feel good inside, literally. Normally during these scheduled breaks, in years past, I always found myself getting sick. Always wondering why I finally came to the conclusion that it was due to the fact that my body went from going a hundred miles and hour all the time everyday to nearly nothing for a straight week. This fluctuation threw everything inside me haywire. Of course I was a tad more tired back when I first starting cycling with the team and when I say tad I literally mean it was hard to get over the pain in my legs every morning! I used to wake up every morning, yes every morning, and my hamstrings would be screaming because they were so tight. Looking back on it now its somewhat funny how awfully terrible my flexibility was.  Strangely enough though I've followed up a few years of training and really understood the importance of stretching and how beneficial it is to not only cycling but everyday health. Should have listen to my old man a long time ago I guess, haha thanks Dad but you still don't know shit about most topics! Speaking of Big Al, that old bitch turned 48 at the end of January so Happy Birthday. Hopefully to shoot home next weekend so he can take me out to eat or something in celebration of his birthday; yet another perk of being a broke college student!
      Rookie week continued with some race tape viewing but tomorrow the track is open for some exchange fundamentals so that should be a good laugh. Today I got in a nice little roller ride with Hazelbear and Samwise followed by some light lifting at the HPER. Nothing spectacular but have to stay loose and keep the blood flowing a bit. Ran into a bunch of the DG girls on my way out and one was especially ecstatic about "climbing" Beanblossom hill yesterday during her cyclefit class and thinks she's ready for a ride with the Cutters. Liz I'm glad you're on board the Cutters train; now just get the rest of the 120 girls in your house to agree to "Pair" with the Cutters for Little 5 and we'll be grand! That would piss some people off wouldn't it? Ha.

Commitment leads to action. Action brings your dream closer.
Marcia Wieder

Rookie Week!

     Waking up this morning was rough. It seemed to be a little extra frosty within the friendly confines of my bed and some muscle soreness definitely didn't make me feel any younger. Walking through campus this morning for a brief 5 minutes I feel my nose freezing together and a great burning sensation in my ears because naturally I would wear a baseball cap instead of the preferred stocking one. Motor learning lab is always a blast where I never learn a thing and constantly complain to my lab partner but my social psych class afterwards got cancelled so back home I went!
    Low and behold a few hours later I make the trek to Bill Armstrong Stadium for the official start of Rookie Week 2K11. Holy Rookies; everywhere! 46 teams registered for this year men's race. So that means if my calculations are right 92 riders + 9 Rider's Council members are eligible to be riding on the track at one time? Over 100 people on the track at one time; that's downright ridiculous this season is going to be insane! This is great for Little 5 though and I'm not complaining, well at least not yet. I'll save that for when they start getting in the way. Props to Jordan Bailey for putting together the rookie test. There were so tough questions on there and word on the street is that our very own race director, Pam Loebig, even missed 3 questions...so with that being said maybe we won't have 100+ people on the track...

Mother Nature take Note

     The last few days here in Bloomington have been completely ridiculous in terms of weather cooperating with my schedule. Ice storms followed by more snowfall is just uncalled for. I heard on the radio a week or two ago that the Bloomington area has already received approximately 6-7 inches of snow over the average for the entire winter season: and there's still somewhere around 50 days left before spring...shattered! Speaking of averages: weather.com reports that the average high around this time of year calls for 40+ degrees and looking at the 10 day forecast I'm calling bullshit.
     Why do I care about the weather so much you ask? This week is suppose to mark the grand opening of the best time of the year: Little 500 track season! To the dismay of everyone involved its not looking very promising that anyone is going to get any facetime on the cinders this week. Bad? Good? Not really sure how I feel about it really. I mean it would be nice to get our rookies out there and I would love to get out there as well considering its been about 9 or 10 months since throwing down a hot lap (35-40 seconds don't be hating) but I'm confident in our rookies and missing track time is just hampering other teams more than ours I'd like to believe so we'll play the cards we've been dealt.
     In other news I had an exercise physiology exam today and did fairly well I think then hit the SRC for a little weights. I absolutely love going to the SRC to lift: nice-looking ladies to gaze at trying to get fit for spring break, occasionally some friends that I run into and chat with, but my all-time favorite: the steroid monkeys that do bicep curls the entire time! Oh yeah I almost forgot another characteristic that fulfills the stereotype that I find interesting: carrying around your muscle milk shaker or even better a milk-jug full of water. Let's be honest with ourselves are you so thirsty that you need an entire gallon of water or think that drinking your whey protein is going to help you move up from the 95 lb dumbbell to the 100 pounder? I doubt it but regardless to all you assholes with the huge biceps and baby legs: work some lower body exercises into your routine because you look like a joke! Not too mention other physiological changes that are specific to men that shall remain unmentioned should stack up nicely next to those big arms of yours! I could go on forever about these guys but I've got a couple lab reports to write and have to go fetch some groceries so have a wonderful days everyone; I'm sure better weather is heading our way soon...

First Post

     After school, rides, and other shananigens I often times find myself surfing the web and reading a few blog posts from friends and finally I decided I would start my own. It's funny when you read people's blog entries you often wonder why the hell they wrote about the things they did but when prompted to start my own I know exactly why. It's somewhat like a glorified Twitter account, even though I don't have one of those either. Anyways back to a little about myself at the current stage of my life. I'm waiting to hear back from a couple graduate schools and then from there a huge decision awaits as to where I'll be spending the next couple years of my life. Somewhat hard to believe I'll be leaving the oasis of Bloomington because it's such an unbelieveable city with so much to offer but it is what it is. Other than that my life is pretty routine in nature: I wake up, eat some breakfast, waste some time on my computer, shower, shave my legs from time to time (yes I shave my legs because its sweet), go to class, ride my bike, homework, sleep, repeat. Sounds kind of boring I'm sure but its what I do and I wouldn't change a thing!
     Why I really started this blog was to throw out what the team and I are generally doing out on the cycling scene. Like I mention in my profile, if I set it up right, was I ride in Indiana University's Little 500 for The Cutters. This year is my final year and it seems as though I am somewhat getting the hang of this riding thing a little bit...well atleast enough to somewhat point my boys in the right direction. I myself am a mediocre rider but I work hard and have fun doing it so might as well live a little before I leave this Earth. The team  is looking pretty strong this year: we've got 4 rookies and 3 vetrans on the squad this year. Somewhat of a mixed bunch considering backgrounds but we make it work and funny enough things are starting to come together. The weather has really sucked as of late with snow and ice storms but we've been getting in some quality indoor training in. I would post on here the details but I wouldn't want to let anyone in on our secret training plan. Actually there's no secret to Little 5 other than passion and for that regard it can be applied to life as well. Our coaches preach this and throughout one's life it seems as though it always finds its way into some memorable speech or whatnot but its true: live life with a passion and your days with be filled will so much more enjoyment. Enough with the preaching because I've got to study for an Exercise Physiology exam I've got tomorrow so I'll leave you with a cool youtube video that a riding buddy of mine (Aaron Pilling) sent me about a guy who was diagnosed with ALS and his devotion to not get in his way! Passion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrEUyIiApus