TJ Woodruff ONLINE

Lactate Threshold workouts are my personal favorite. Find where it hurts and set the cruise control right there. Doing such workouts up a mountain is even better. This is the current training regime and I’ve been headed up Lemmon the past couple of days. Today was my first ride on the Arizona Cyclist Cannondale CAAD 9 custom build. A deal I couldn’t pass up means a lot of sweet road equipment is soon to hit eBay. Most of today’s ride I forgot I was on a different bike – something that is a good thing. With nearly identical geometry, it was a snap to get the fit 100% right on. The only noticeable ride difference was that this one seemed more stable on the fast mountain descent. It was straight as an arrow at 45+ mph… A hard climb followed by a fast descent is the perfect way to test out a new machine and this one is all systems go.

The ride itself was also a success as I’m starting the LT training at about 5% more power than where I started similar workouts last season. We’ll see if I come out of the month still 5% ahead, but I can only improve from here. Progress comes slowly year to year and it doesn’t seem as if I’m going any faster out there, but it’s good to know that improvements have been made.

Recent rider sightings out on the roads have included Todd Wells, Sue Haywood, Chloe Forsman, Iban Mayo (just his look alike perhaps), and about 30 or so 50-something year olds descending the mountain in matching neon green wind jackets. Everybody in Tucson loves the ride. Enjoy yours, -TJ

With a recent rash of slashed sidewalls on the mountain bike lately, I thought it would be best to step up to the more resilient UST platform. Fewer flats is worth the extra weight, especially for the rocky and rough desert terrain around here.

Today’s race at Estrella Regional Mountain Park was the testing grounds, not only for the bike, but also for the legs and the mind. The first MTB race of the season is always a tough one as finding that rhythm can be a challenge. The start was tough, but 100% manageable as I followed wheels moving my way up to third in line, just behind Paul. Of course we both really wanted to put in good races and be at the front and able to dictate the pace. As our leader faltered a bit, Paul took control of the pace making as I jumped on with him. With a steady increase in climbing grade and our effort the line of riders began to stretch thin.

Through the steep up and downs of the wash section the gaps had legitimized with Paul still leading, me just three seconds back and Kamden on my wheel. My luck ran out as quickly as my rear tire blew completely off the rim. And that was awfully fast! I came to a stop as quickly as possible, nearly losing it in the process. I pulled the rear wheel out and it appeared to be fine – no holes or thorns.

“I’ll just put it back on tubeless� I think. So all of my Big Air is used up in this attempt but the pressure wasn’t enough to set the bead to the rim. Now it’s more like, “I should have put in my tube!� Luckily in the long string of riders rolling by I got some friendly help. Toby had a couple small CO2 cartridges that allowed me to get the tube in there. So after a stop of 5-10 minutes I was rolling again, behind the pros, semi pros, experts and singlespeeders. It was time to chase!

I finished in 2:29 and some change, a full 15 minutes down from Paul, but I did manage to crack into the top 10 with my efforts in passing nearly everyone on the course (sport and marathoners were also en route, having different wave start times, thus staggering riders all over the course). Minus the trailside repair things surely would have been different and perhaps I could have given Paul more than the 35 minutes of company at the front. His win of over six minutes was quite impressive and who knows if I could have matched the blistering pace. Unfortunately, due to a freak mechanical, I didn’t get to find out. Such is bike racing.

So my impression of UST tubeless tires; no bueno…

Keeping it real and hoping for some better luck, -TJ

What a weekend it was in the Valley of the Sun. Paul, Jenna, and I did our time this weekend and all managed to come away better trained in the ways of fitness and tactical prowess. Our mission was to supercharge the training workload while trying our hands against everyone else who is crazy enough to be racing in mid February. This was the first stage race experience for both Jenna and Paul and both came away with some success and lessons learned. I came out alright after hanging with the fast cat 2’s.

The TT was a rough start to the weekend. The out and back course was pancake flat and I was having a somewhat difficult time finding my rhythm. Any concerns about that rhythm however were quickly yielded pointless when I flatted with just less than two miles to go. This was no ordinary flat however. I had a roofing nail sticking through both walls of my Open Pro rim. Ouch… This rim was just laced up to the PowerTap hub about a week ago, so I was sad to it so freshly damaged. I rolled into the finish and received the same time as the slowest rider as this is how the rules work apparently.

The Road Race was long and hot. 90 miles in the near 90 degree temps was equally matched by the strong winds. We had a crosswind going out, a tailwind over the climb and a headwind coming back on the triangular shaped course. About 45 minutes into the race I got popped hard. We had been pounding nails from the gun and I was simply in the wrong spot of the road when we turned into the crosswind. Gaps opened and I couldn’t close them. The rest of the day was spent largely doing tempo while consuming huge quantities of water. I felt strong in the end and dropped the group to salvage 30 seconds or so in a statement of personal distaste for getting myself dropped early on. Granted most of the field also got shelled, but it’s never an easy thing to come to terms with.

Sunday’s crit was largely uneventful as nothing ever really got off the front of the group and we all kept together at a moderate effort around the figure eight shaped course. I would move up towards the front and two corners later I’d be near the back again wondering where I went wrong. I tried inside lines, outside lines, middle lines – you name it, but I couldn’t figure out the right ‘flow’ for the life of me. This forward and back action went on for a majority of the 55 minutes but by the end I decided it was best to play it safe and stay out of the chaos at the front. There were a lot of raised reflective bumped coupled with manhole covers in the corners and with the pace lifting I decided to chill out. After a somewhat rough race opener the last thing I wanted to do was to lose skin in this crit race.

Paul nailed it in the cat 3 RR and finished on the Podium. Not bad for a first-ever legitimate road race… And Jenna came out 12 in the pro women’s field for the RR. Only some bad luck kept her out of the GC competition. She was knocked over from behind while slowing to avoid a pile up caused ahead by those reflectors on the crit course. Paul also flatted in the TT and this also dashed his GC contention otherwise he’d have ended up in the money too. All things considered we all had positive race experiences and came away smarter tactically and now that we’ve rested some, more physically fit to put down the watts.

Next up will be the Estrella Especial MTB race on Saturday. This will kick off the knobby season for me as I attempt to get some race practice before that fast-approaching Norba #1. Keeping it Real, -TJ

Sunday was a big day on the bike for me. An early morning interval workout on the road bike was followed up with an MTB ride that somehow turned epic unexpectedly. Chloe and I were setting off for a 40 mile ride that encompassed two loops off of Reddington Rd that would end with us near our starting point of Agua Caliente Park. I figured that it would be 4.5 hours or so, figuring some time for a couple brief stops and perhaps a mechanical adjustment of some sort. All standard procedure when you leave for such a ride.

I got the first flat of the day, about 20 miles into the ride. I had put a small cut in my rear tire, but the Stan’s sealant seemed to do the trick and I only had to add air. I had to stop a couple times to top it off, but no biggie at it would hold for 20 or 30 minutes at a time. Flat number two also had my name on it. This time I gashed the front tire while turning over an outcropping of sharp rocks. This one went flat quickly and required a tube install, only after I pulled out the 20 odd cactus thorns that were in the tire. The tube was aired up and we were on our way, but not really since my rear slow leak was now also 100% flat. Pumped it up and we were rolling down the Bellota Trail.

With some sweet downhill delight going on, the clouds darkened the skies and rain began to fall. Chloe says, “At least it isn’t hailing!” I say, “You should ask for that.” No more than two seconds later our backs were being pounded with pea sized hail. I could only laugh at the perfect sequence of events. It only lasted for a couple minutes, enough so that we were completely water soaked.

Now we are finally descending La Milagrosa Trail and I’ve got two slow leakers since I’ve picked up multiple cactus thorns in my front inner-tubed wheel by now. More stopping and more pumping. Chloe managed to pick up her first-ever sidewall slash, bringing our cut up tire count to three for the day. It was a good cut and required a tube, which we had. More pumping and we’re rolling again, over many more pointy rocks and cactus debris. With my tire pressure dropping too low without me realizing I managed to bounce off the trail and land my right side into a prickly pear. Of course my front wheel hit if first and received about 20 thorns, all hitting the tube I’m sure. I wasn’t hurt anymore than the 20 or so thorns that also went into my forearm and hand. By now, my riding was pretty much over. I didn’t want to pump up my tires any more and I didn’t want to crash again due to the 15 psi. Chloe’s tube had been punctured enough too that she wasn’t able to ride more than five minutes without needing more air so we started walking it out at hour 4.5.

Over an hour later we had reached the bottom and made it out to the roads. I pumped up my slow leaking tubeless rear and swiped Chloe’s front wheel so that I could go get the car from the park. The sun set on my way and I found that the car had been locked in behind the gate. ‘Park closes at Sunset’ it says on the sign out front. I called a series of phone numbers mentioned on the sign, but the lock companies all claimed to have dropped this particular account months ago. Paul came to the rescue and got us out after our mis-adventures. We had had our fun, but were happy to finally get out of the brush.

All of this happened of course, after nearly spending the night out there just earlier this week. That one was with Paul and ranked much higher on the ‘you’re lucky you made it out scale’. To hear more about this one, you’ll have to read his post – pictures included.

So not much luck with the mountain bike rides lately. Let’s hope the road riding continues to treat me well through this weekend. I’ll be racing the Valley of the Sun in Phoenix. Stop by for the first race reports of 2007. Now I’ve got something to blog about,

TJ

I guess when you turn 24 life goes by at even a faster rate. My days are productive and they seem to go by in a blink lately. Training has remained in full swing and the power is coming along nicely. The routine as of late has been a sequence of double days, done back to back. I won’t give away the specifics but these four rides create a serious training load. So far the legs are responding nicely and my mind is also adapting to a new level of workload. It’s awesome how we can continue to set new personal standards, breaking through with workouts that once seemed off the charts. I love the challenge to continually go to new levels and with adequate recovery built in that’s been the training regime as of late.

Last weekend my mom married Phil at his brother’s place in Phoenix. Chloe and I made it up there for the occasion and it was a great chance to hang out with the family and meet some new family as well. I’m really happy for the two of them and with them the best. Of course another bonus of a weekend in Phoenix was a couple stops at In and Out Burger. That place gets better every time!

My birthday was last Wednesday so my roommates, Chloe and I went out for some Mexican food. It’s hard to beat a good burrito and the company of friends really adds to it. Not having dishes to wash was icing on the cake. We followed up dinner with some RC Car racing on Speedway. We all came home smelling like race fuel, but watching the cars rip up the track was pretty cool. Paul has been flying/crashing his RC Helicopter in the living room, so he found out about the car racing when he was in there buying replacement chopper parts I think.

Race plans are starting to take shape and I’m having a hard time deciding between some of the big events. Unfortunately the Tour of the Gila once again conflicts with the Fontana NMBS event. Last year I did Fontana, but for some reason I seem to have a real attraction to the idea of racing the Gila. I hear that the cat 2 race has a history of success amongst pro mountain bikers that have toed the line. With this as the big question mark everything else seems to be fitting together nicely. The first race will be the Valley of Sun which is coming up soon, February 16-18.

Tucson’s weather turned for the best today as temps hit the 70’s. It was absolutely perfect out there today. Those of you suffering through the sub-zero days in Wisconsin likely will no sympathy, but last week I did ride in the 40 degree rain on four occasions…

Thanks for your interest; I’ll keep the updates coming.

-TJ