Bike Boy

VOS

2012-02-14T22:43:00.000-05:00

I have had some ups and downs at VOS.
In 2010, it was my first big result (6th in the time trial). It gave me confidence.
In 2011, I thought I was going to kill it, but I got sick and DNF'd. It deflated me.
In 2012, I was a spectator. I enjoyed watching the race and enjoying the race atmosphere with no pressure. I felt helpless, but I found some positives.
I'm sure next year will bring out another unexpected side of the emotional spectrum.

The Freshman

2012-02-06T21:26:00.000-05:00

It's time for story time with Bike Boy. I get flashbacks quite frequently, and most of them are entertaining to recount.
Last Thursday was 8th grade shadow day at my high school . No, I am not in 8th grade, but I am in 12th grade, so with my air of superiority, I reflected fondly upon my past. Of course if you follow this blog closely, you'll know mostly everything there is to know about my 8th grade. However, 9th grade is a subject very much untouched, so I think I'll utterly defile it.
Folks say that 9th grade is a year of no expectations, but that's complete garbage to me. I spent freshman year building up an entirely new persona. I think it was my therapeutic attempt to change my uncomfortably awkward 8th grade self. In 8th grade, timidity overcame me. In 9th grade, I became the funny man. To some, I was considered the class clown, but I considered myself to posses a more dignified self-deprecation than the average clown.
We must use what we were given. Isn't that the truth? In my case, I was a freshman, the lowest-standing member of a high school society. However, that meant 3 things: 1) I was the youngest person in the high school, 2) I was the smallest person in the high school, and 3) I was a person of which people had low expectations.
I have always thought of high school as a large theater. It is a source of entertainment if you are willing to see it that way. It provides the opportunity, the arena, the characters, for unforgettable moments to occur.
My freshman year was a collage of unforgettable moments. They must be credited to the students of Washtenaw Christian High School. I found my niche: being small, extremely throwable, and willing to be thrown. During high school retreat, I was gleefully tossed into a lake by a jovial mob of classmates.
It was bliss. I spent most of my time with upperclassmen, participating in the craziest shenanigans. At my school, people didn't lock their lockers (ironic, I know). My Junior buddies and I would go around the school to pick out a choice locker. Typically, we would pick out a Senior locker (there was a good-humored rivalry between the Seniors and Juniors, as it invariably is at a high school). We would pick the locker of a senior we knew well (there were about 110 kids in the school, so that was easy enough) and open it. My job was to go inside it and wait for the unsuspecting civilian. My Junior buddies, who couldn't fit into the locker, stayed a relatively close distance from my location and kept me posted on the whereabouts of my victim. Then the victim came and opened the locker. My silent presence was enough to frighten them, so I tended to not say "boo".
Most of the time, my victim was totally cool with it. One time, however, he wasn't. I hid in Mason's locker once, but he had set a trap for me. I had slipped into the locker without Mason noticing, but when he came by, he was suspicious of the group of people surrounding his locker. When the locker opened, and light streamed in, I didn't even have time to duck under the soccer ball. Fortunately, Mason's soccer ball whizzed just over my head and bounced out. I took off down the hall before he could apprehend me. It was one of those hilarious moments where everyone, including Mason and me,was having a good time, but Mason was still going to hit me with the soccer ball if he had a chance. I rounded a corner swiftly and used civilians to block Mason's path. It was desperation at this point.

Somehow, I made it to Spanish class largely untouched. I had no regrets.

I got shot

2012-02-01T21:25:00.000-05:00

I have made some nice progress since the doctor first told me I had a muscle strain. From mid-December to February, I have gotten an ultrasound, a surgeon appointment, an MRI, a visit to the sports medicine doctor, and an injection of cortisone into my hip.
My suspicions have gone from muscle strain, to hernia, to torn labrum, and now, to a strained iliopsoas muscle. I pray that my injury is the latter.

Inside the RV

2012-01-30T00:27:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I made an attempt to get back to my old video-making ways. I tried my best.

Spectating

2012-01-22T21:21:00.004-05:00

I had a great weekend, honestly. I went to 2 Arizona criteriums, watched bicycle racing, and spent time with some dear friends of mine. Sure, I had to explain my injury about 40 times, but the fact that people ask means they care.

(Avondale Crit: Cat 3/4)

It is agonizing to race a bicycle. It is also agonizing to watch a bicycle race. Right now, I am trying to value of the benefits of the latter.

Irony

2012-01-12T22:19:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I've asked myself if I will ever cease to be called "Bike Boy". I have wondered if the onset of college will prompt me to christen myself "Bike Man" or "Man on Bike". Rest assured though, such changes shall never be made. During this period of forced inactivity, however, I have adopted a new nickname: "Boy off Bike".

Recommended Watching

2012-01-08T20:39:00.000-05:00

I think these guys are great.

New Year's Resolutions (Goals for the 2012 Racing Season)

2012-01-02T01:28:00.000-05:00

It may be January 2 in Michigan, but it's still New Year's Day in Arizona.

I have a tradition of posting my racing and training goals on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. While the past years have held a mix of nostalgic to optimistic, this year is truly different. This year, I truly do not know if I will be able to race my bike again.

Of course, I speak with hyperbole, but the thought is in my mind. I have not ridden my bike in 3 weeks. Resting my hip/groin/pelvic muscles did not change anything, so I hope that someone can reveal to me just what is going on. My thinking is that it's a hernia, but I don't know much at all. Time will tell, but I'm impatient.

I can't complain about the injury. I have enjoyed a lot of success with cycling, especially last summer. God gave me incredible legs at certain races, including:

TBC Road Race- I snagged my first upgrade points.

San Tan Crit- I entered three races and finished with the Cat 2/3 field.

State Crit Champs- I won some primes and had fun.

South Mountain TT- I won even though I wasn't happy with my time.

Mount Lemmon TT- I felt super good and finished well overall. That dang Nathan Franklin beat me!

Camp- Thanks to good preparation and fabulous coaching by my dad, I did well on the tests.

National Crit and Road Race- I managed to get two top 50 finishes in a field that intimidated me at first (and still kinda does).

He gave me the opportunity to race L'abitibi, which was a dream come true. I can't complain!

I also had some bad races:

VOS- I went down with the flu and came back just in time to get thrashed in the time trial. I DNS'd, feeling a deep level of despair.

Focus GP- I got beat by the heat and the wind...and bad tactics.

Nationals TT- I raced with no cahonies at all. I couldn't get into a rhythm or make myself suffer.

State ITT- I raced with my back brake rubbing...which became an issue.

As for next year, I do have aspirations. During the off-season, I underlined some goals:

Help Team Winded win a regional stage race- We have very strong riders, and I think I can be very helpful when racing uphill.

Break the South Mountain Junior 17-18 Record- I was a ways off Ryan Zupko's record last year, but hopefully I will be stronger.

Go back to L'abitibi- I would love to experience the pro-like racing that is Tour de L'abitibi, but this time race with a bit more experience.

Most importantly, I penciled out this goal:

Top 5 at the National Road Race- It's one of those lofty goals, but it's worth training for. I pray that I will be able to race it.

I feel a lot of doubt and pessimism (when do I not?), but I am trying to trust God. I lack perspective right now, just as I did when I didn't get to go to Nationals in 2008 and when I moved in 2009. These are only small things in the end.

Time will tell.

Defying Expectations

2011-12-30T22:06:00.001-05:00

I sit in an airport in St. Louis (I'm not so sure of it's name- perhaps the St. Louis Airport or something like that). I just spent a week in the state of Michigan. We stayed at the house of my mom's parents- my grandparents- and drove some 1,000 miles in their Ford Focus.
I'll admit that going into the trip, I lacked high expectations. It had been 2 years since I had been to Michigan, so I expected to feel very unfamiliar. Unlike the last time I visited, Arizona, not Michigan, was now my true home.
The vacation started- as most do- with a plane flight. Mostly due to past experiences, I don't enjoy flying. Being in the plane is alright, but the airport process is a painful one. I had the most exciting experience flying back to Phoenix from the Val'd'Or airport in Quebec. It's really quite intriguing to recount, involving a practical joke from my teammates and a thirty minute detainment in customs. I digress.
The flight to Detroit was good if you want to know. I sat next to a 92 year old woman who got off in Chicago, and I heard her life story.
Upon arriving in Detroit, I felt elation. Here was a place where everyone loved the hometown sports team. I felt the compulsion to yell "Go Wings!" or "Go Lions!" when I passed people wearing the corresponding jerseys. That's what I like about Michigan: patriotism.
My family made our stay in Livonia with our grandparents, but a lot of our time was spent in Mt. Clemens. Grandpa Anderson ended up in the hospital the day before we came. He was alright (dogged by Parkinson's), but he wasn't coming home any time soon. We all had expectations of celebrating Christmas with the Anderson extended family on Christmas Eve, as tradition dictates. We would all watch the Lions and eat a lot of food- or so expectations dictated.
As I sat in the hospital room, squished in between 17 of my family members, I thought to heck with tradition. It was some kind of Christmas epiphany. Is Christmas about tradition? Sitting down for a meal? Gift exchanges? Family? I would contend that it isn't about such things, but that's an argument for another time.
Funny enough, we watched the Lions crush San Diego 38-10 and claim a playoff spot. Was it real? Had the nightmare I had seen all my conscious life finally ended? Could it really be? Certainly that was unexpected.
I am wearing a Detroit Lions long sleeve shirt. Go ahead- laugh at me. Laugh at me now. Mock me for my jealous patriotism. There's one thing you have to admit though; I never stopped believing. Sure, I stopped trusting the Lions, but I never gave up hope. And this time, they made me feel happy. Pick your Patriots. Pick your Steelers. Pick the teams that seemed attractive to you, but the truth of the matter is that their success will never feel as good as that of your hometown team.
I'm sorry; I got on a rant.
Ironically, the trip ended with helping Grandpa Anderson back into his home and saying goodbye. Things felt a tiny bit restored.
We spent time with both sets of Grandparents. We saw church friends. We saw school friends. We even saw Zack. We had some good times, even though they weren't what we expected. That was the trip though- unexpected.

Patience

2011-12-21T14:36:00.002-05:00

A week into my time off. I have not quite yet started playing mind games with myself. I am not sure if my hip is getting better because I have not been riding and giving it the chance to re-aggravate itself. There are so many exciting things going on. The AZ race calendar is hot off the press, and it is very exciting to see. Team Winded is looking quite fearsome with the addition of a new rider from Canada. I hardly care about my results in these races- I just want to be involved. I just want to get better.

Maybe I am playing mind games with myself. I don't know.

The Weekend in Images

2011-12-18T21:37:00.005-05:00

Though I did not attend the team ride, I went to Airpark Bicycle Center and met up with some of my teammates.

I watched this movie and enjoyed it.

The Lions won.

Out For a Bit

2011-12-13T22:37:00.002-05:00

I went to the Doctor for him to check out my hip/groin pain. In my psychosomatic state, I was afraid that I had a hernia. After checking it out, the Doc said he thought my problem was a muscle strain. On the positive side, no hernia means no surgery or any weird stuff like that. The bad part is that healing takes time...off the bike.

Perhaps this will teach me patience.

Pain

2011-12-10T18:56:00.002-05:00

For the past month, I have been riding, but I think it will still be a while until I get back into shape. Through playing a little bit of soccer, I picked up a sore hip flexor (actually I didn't acquire a new hip flexor; rather my hip flexor became sore). Anyway, it hasn't gotten any better. Let's pray that it goes away soon.

Zero Cigars

2011-12-06T18:18:00.003-05:00

I totally missed the playoffs in both of my Fantasy Football Leagues.

Celebration

2011-11-26T23:29:00.001-05:00

Crunch Time

2011-11-25T18:05:00.003-05:00

Two weeks are left in the regular season, and I'm in hot water. If I want to make the playoffs, I need to completely win out. These are desperate times.

A Few Bullet Points

2011-11-22T21:12:00.008-05:00

The play went great. The actors stepped it up and made me look good.

I have started my training now, and I have done two group rides with Team Winded. It has been a great experience thus far.
Here's a song I like (try to ignore appearances)

3 Days

2011-11-15T21:41:00.000-05:00

The tension is mounting

10 Days

2011-11-09T22:38:00.002-05:00

"William Shambles" opens to the public on November 19 at 8pm. That's the only time the public will see it. Admission is free. Come. It's at Gilbert Christian High School. That's all for now.

The way things feel

2011-11-04T19:30:00.000-04:00

I just can't get this song out of my head...and that's a good thing.

Change

2011-10-31T20:42:00.005-04:00

So yeah...if you're reading this post, chances are you've seen the new header. Chances are the new header made you infer that I'm not racing for DNA next year.

That is the truth. I don't want it to seem like I am divorcing DNA, though. DNA Cycles has been awesome. The past two years of racing have been amazing years, and if you know me well, you know that I don't usually use the word "amazing". I cherish my former DNA teammates, but long story short, we needed to move on.

Enter Team Winded. Tisha Suarez is spearheading the operation, along with her husband, Jason. The goal of the Winded Foundation is to promote Asthma awareness. Hopefully, having a prominent junior development team will help the foundation. The Suarezes really care about the juniors, and they are really making it a dream come true for me. Team Winded is made up of 15-18 year old riders who want to race regionally. I think it's gonna be awesome.

To DNA Cycles Racing, please don't have hard feelings, because this is for the best. Thank you for two fantastic years of cycling.

Guilt

2011-10-30T17:55:00.002-04:00

It's not really the Lions' losing streak that has been bugging me. Well, actually, that's the reason, but still, I feel that my team isn't representing properly.

When our coach throws a hissy fit (even if the other coach had no class).

Or when our defensive line has the reputation of being "evil". When they make fun of Tim Tebow it bugs me, probably because I'm a Christian. They're not evil, but they have a really scrappy Detroit mindset.

In short, I have moments of embarrassment with the Lions. At the same time, I am happy that they are no longer the darling of the media. So it's a mixed bag.

Vote for Bike Boy...Please

2011-10-27T21:48:00.003-04:00

So, I'm doing this essay competition, and I NEED votes. Like 1,000 to be precise. So please vote for me. Also, don't read my essay first. Read a couple of the other essays first. Hopefully, it will entertain you.

ACT

2011-10-24T00:24:00.004-04:00

For the last time in my life, I took the ACT on Saturday. I felt as nervous as I did the first time, which was in 2008. I think I improved on the Science and English sections, but the Math and Reading parts went sketchy. Who knows? I won't know until December.

2011 Man of the Year

2011-10-19T23:17:00.005-04:00

Edward Feldhake III

Arizona cyclists know him as "Nippy". He is the promoter of a race that has been alive for several decades. He promotes two state championships and one stage race. When he's not doing that, he is fundraising to support El Grupo Youth Cycling. Of course, the person of the year should have character that is even greater than his achievements, and I think Nippy has that. Nippy is so nice and cool. He wants to help people. So, by the power invested in me, I award Nippy Feldhake the Bike Boy Man of the Year of the Award.

2011 Arizona Rider of the Year

2011-10-17T21:29:00.003-04:00

George Cyrus

Cyrus is the epitome of a REVELATION. Do you realize that he won races in FOUR different categories this year? When he won, he didn't just win, he CRUSHED. He won solo at least seven times this year. That is a lot. And for that reason, I dub George Cyrus of Bicycle Ranch (which gets credit for this photo), the 2011 Arizona Rider of the Year.

2011 Best Ambassador of Arizona Cycling

2011-10-15T19:10:00.004-04:00

Daniel Eaton

The 18 year old Mesa native showed the world his prowess. He took a prestigious win at Sea Otter, cracked the top 10 at Nationals and L'Abitibi, and represented the USA in Belgium and Switzerland. We Arizonans really ooh'd and awed at him. We were quite happy to have him represent us against the World's best.

Bike Boy Awards- Part 2

2011-10-13T19:52:00.003-04:00

Best Breakaway: Does anybody remember watching Brian Rach fly the coop at U0fA? He went all by himself, with no teammates in the field to block for him. He held off the pack to win by a solid margin.

The David and Goliath Award is given to Tulio Weber. He, a 15 year old little'un, beat out the Cat 4/5 field at Avondale. 75 people entered the race, but Tuli came in all by himself!

Best Website: It's unusual that a photography website would get this award, but Kathleen Dreier clearly demonstrated great commitment in keeping her site updated. Everybody frantically checks the site when they get home from a race!

The Day of Insanity Award goes to the State Road Race Championship. Holy pizza, that was a crazy race. It was HOT, HOT, HOT.

The Holy Socks Award (awarded to the best public display of pain) is awarded to Jake Spelman. He went down 3 times within 4 weeks. He really displayed the pain.

The Long Time Cat 3 Award is awarded to- okay, now I know everyone tends to get really offended when I lay this award on somebody. I believe this award is up to snuff, though. I counted up Dan De Mos's points over an 18 month stretch from TBC of last year to the DC Ranch Crit of this year. In that span of time, he recorded 40 points. It was 47 points if I counted TBC as having 50 starters. That's...a lot of points.

The Super Field Fodder Award will go to Darrell Anderson, my own father, for the drubbing he went through at Avondale. He made the hard choice to enter the Pro 1/2 race. It was a brave decision. The field was decimated by the likes of Marcotte, Brown, and Rubelt. During the Havoc, Anderson was popped, yet clawed his way back to finish 12th.

1st Annual Bike Boy Awards (AZ Version)- Part 1

2011-10-12T11:26:00.004-04:00

Thanks for waiting. This post took a long time to make (I got really distracted on Monday night). I hope you enjoy these awards...and remember, there are many more to come.

Juniors

Most Improved: Taylor Skinner. Who could have predicted the Anthem native's meteoric rise from Cat 5 to Cat 3. After serving as the newbie rider of the junior field in 2010, Skinner won 2 state championships.

10-14 Aged Rider of the Year: Dominic Suozzi was a pleasant revelation this year. He won several state championships and was the only Arizona junior to place on the podium of Nationals (he took fifth in the criterium).

Best Crit Racer: Some call him "Big O" or "O Dog", but most refer to him as Owen Graves. Big O got second at the State Crit Championship (17-18), and placed 11th at Crit Nationals. He is one of the danger men in the Cat 3s.

Best Time Trialer: Michael Dziedzic capped off his Summer campaign with a win in the State Time Trial Championship. It was a fitting end to his junior career.

Best Mountain Goat: Statistically, Nathan Franklin went to town on the uphill variety. He won two monuments: Mt. Lemmon and Mt. Graham. Furthermore, he went pretty fast.

Most Consistent: Kenny Polley was always there this year. He placed on the podium of every single individual state championship this year (Crit, Road Race, Time Trial, Hill Climb) and scored 2nd place in the prestigious Tucson Bicycle Classic.

Best Team: I think El Grupo is a good pick for this. They won the team time trial, which was very impressive. They participated in Valley races, despite their Tucson base. All in all, they were a well-ordered unit.

Junior Rider of the Year: Nobody raised eyebrows quite like Danny Eaton. Essentially, he was all of these awards rolled into one (except for "Best Team" and "10-14 year old"). Daniel made a big splash nationally, getting top 10s at Nationals and Europe. He had a year that most kids can only dream about having.

Masters Men

40-44 Rider of the Year: Am I being cliche in naming Paul Thomas? He did some incredible things this year; he won VOS in the Cat 1 category (big pizza-killing deal), hung with the big dogs at Leadville, and rolled a 1:31 at Graham. Big time stuff.

45-49 Rider of the Year: Jim Silverman won took the points series by a good margin. I don't want to be a stickler about points, but I think they really indicated his performance. He won the State Crit and took 3rd at the State Road Race.

50-54 Rider of the Year: Keith Brodhagen rode very fast this year. He cleaned up in the 50+ category and rode some storming time trials.

55-59 Rider of the Year: Obviously, you can tell that I'm not an expert on masters racing. I went to the points for answers and saw Dave Bixby. He really pounded the competition with twice as many Copper Cup Points. Plus, he has a fearsome reputation.

60+ Rider of the Year: Who else but Franz Hammer? He's a living legend. That's all that can be said.

Women

Junior Woman of the Year: It was painful for me to decide between Lizzy Caputo and Kendra Wiebers. In the end, I chose Kendra Wiebers because she seemed to have Lizzy's number when they went head to head. They battled tooth and nail for the Copper Cup; I give them my props.

Cat 1-3 Woman of the Year: I guess I am biased towards climbers, but I feel justified in picking Anna Sanders. She pizza-killing FLEW up the hills this year. She took some great wins this year, including a stage at TBC, South Mountain, Lemmon, and the State Road Race.

Best Team: I give it to Trisports. Jobing.com did some good things this year, but they never gave me the sense of domination that Trisports gave me. Cara Bussell won some race for Trisports, and Sanders did her thing.

Men Cat 4

Best Crit Racer: Gabriel Santoyo. Good grief, I'm glad I didn't have to race Cat 4 this year. Santoyo is scary fast. No, really, he is so fast that he scares me.

Best Time Trialer: Nate Davis. I think when you get the 3rd best overall time at the State Time Trial (55:14), you have a good argument on your side.

Best Mountain Goat: Nate Davis. I also think that when you crush Mount Graham the way he did, you ought to consider upgrading...to Cat 2.

Most Consistent: Jake Spelman. I'm giving this one to my old compatriot. He's been up there in the 4s all year. He got seven top 10s and three 11th places. That's pretty consistent.

Best Team: I think this award was up for grabs between Bhaus, DNA, and Trisports. Each of these teams faded once the spring season ended. Bhaus won lots of races because of Santoyo and huge numbers. DNA was pretty consistent, but didn't necessarily lay the smackdown everytime. Trisports killed it at TBC and Colossal, but they all upgraded. I'll give the award to Bicycle Haus. It was a hard fought victory.

Men Cat 3

Best Crit Racer: Thomas Collins, in my opinion, was fairly devastating in the crits this year. He took 2nd at UofA and Old Pueblo (two of the hardest crits) and 4th at the State Crit Championship.

Best Time Trialer: Matt Duke won every time trial he entered this year. The last one he entered was the State Championship. He is state time trial champion.

Best Mountain Goat: Let's give some R-E-S-P-E-C-T to Mike Radcliff. This year, he went up hill quite quickly. At Mt Lemmon, he beat out Alan Brown and Nathan Franke (two fearsome climbers). He solidified himself at the State Road Race, crushing everyone that got in his way.

Most Consistent: Scott Wall was always there. He was actively involved in the crits. As the season went on, he got better at climbing, and actually got 2nd at the State Road Race.

Best Team: Trisports had the personnel to get the job done. Their performance in the State Road Race was very impressive.

Cat 3 Rider of the Year: Mike Radcliff. End of story.

Men Cat 1/2

Best Crit Racer: I give this one to my neighbor Marcus Hayward. He was an absolute revelation rider this year. He won the State Crit for Cat 2s and podiumed in several Pro 1/2 races.

Best Time Trialer: Paul Thomas gets this one, considering that he won the State Time Trial and was a member of Rideclean's amazing team time trial.

Best Mountain Goat: Dave Glick, obviously. He really really killed Mt Graham.

Best Team: With Aten, Jondall, McCabe, Don, Swanson, Schreiber, and many more talented riders, Landis-Trek cleaned up fairly well this year. But as I reflect on the season, I have to give the title to Rideclean. I just have to. They came away with some big wins, including VOS and the State Crit.

Cat 1/2 Rider of the Year: I saw a lot of hope in George Cyrus. He won the circuit race in Flagstaff and smacked people around at South Mountain. I see great things.