TJ Woodruff ONLINE

This weekend was a great test and I think I passed on most accounts. Saturday was the White Tank Whirlwind, part of the MBAA series. Our field was relatively stacked for a state race. Paul and myself were joined by ‘Rad’ Ross Schnell of Trek/VW Factory Team, Andy Schultz of Bear Naked-Cannondale, two of Japan’s top NORBA racers Keiichi and Raita, and a slew of fast local pros including Kamdeen Reedy. At the start line I knew that it was going to require a lot of focus to keep the pace high for the 35 miles and I also knew that I had what it would take to stay near the front if all went well.

I piloted the Scott Scale 10 to the front at the start and things stretched out rapidly. A quick look back and I could see Ross on my wheel followed by a long string of riders. The pace was kept high, but never too much and this was enough for gaps to start forming behind. Ross passed just before the technical stuff and got a bit of gap. By the end of lap one Andy and I were chasing Ross who was about 20 seconds up on us. Unfortunately I got stopped, as in 20 down to 0 mph, by some lap traffic and now Andy had 15 seconds or so on me. MBAA really likes to make sure that the sport men 12-15 are on course with the pros…

This was the sequence for the first couple of laps as I could see both riders ahead but the gaps remained. On the third lap I really dug deep and tried to close on Andy, but unfortunately he was doing the same to catch Ross. From twenty seconds back I saw Andy make the pass and Ross must have quit racing that very moment because I went by him as if he wasn’t moving. Amped on shedding the ‘factory pro’ I continued to charge hard in hopes of catching Andy, but he was on the same kick and the gap remained for the rest of the race. On the last lap he opened things up a bit and I realized that I wasn’t going to win, though I was still pumped for second place. A good test and confirmation that next weekend’s NMBS opener ought to be a good one. A look at the day’s preliminary results…

Sunday Jenna and I drove south to race the Tumacacori RR. Just 17km from the border this was a really tough course. At six miles in length and over 400 ft of steep climbing, coupled with fast technical descending the race was full on nearly all of the time. 12 laps of the course was a real battle and I succeeded for 9 of them before finally cracking. There were just a dozen or so of us left at this point and I could no longer make the 500 watt spikes required to stay in the lead group. On the day there were no less than 46 spikes over 500 watts. I finished the last couple of laps with Kyle riding at an endurance pace, completing what made for one of the year’s hardest workouts yet. This data comes courtesy of my home-repaired PowerTap fin. The factory sodering job left the red wire was loose, causing some frustration and data loss. Paul’s sodering got it going again.

Needless to say, I’m in recovery mode now before the big McDowell event approaches and I can’t wait. Thanks for following along. There will be more blogging to come so stop back again soon. Enjoy the ride,

TJ

The past four days made for a training stress that is brand new and bigger than anything I’ve done in the past. 17 hours and 4 or 5 of them near, at, or above LT effort. On Wednesday Paul, Wenk, and I did a hard ride out to Kitt Peak and back. We did hard rotations the 45 miles out and also on the entire way back. The 12 mile climb at 7% grade was tough, but the heat was the real factor… I followed this ride up with an hour of LT climbing on Lemmon before tempoing up to mile mark 20 and flipping it back down. Friday was 90 minutes of singletrack ripping at Star Pass on the MTB. Saturday was a hard shootout ride with Madero Canyon thrown in for that extra intensity and distance. That final hard day was when I felt the best and surely set some new PR’s in the wattage department. Of course today I’m feeling quite drained so I’m making the most of the recovery.

Mentally and physically I’m ready for some racing now. The fitness is largely here and now it’s just some fine tuning in the workouts to come. With NMBS #1 in just two weeks, next Saturday’s state series race ought to be a great trial run. Rumor is that the Trek Factory team will be there racing too, so it ought to be a fast one - excellent. I might have to roll out on MTB #2, a new option for 2007. I picked up a carbon hardtail so now I’ve got that sub-20 pound option for the STXC’s and climbing courses… I’ll have to introduce you all soon, but some final components must be assembled first.

Today I did some real shopping and found myself a new tool bag along with a few new items to carry in it. Years past I’ve always carried a small tool box, so this bag will keep my tools nicely organized and it’s also easier to tote. Not to mention that I can fit way more goodies into it. New tools include: dead blow hammer, really long needle nose pliers, side cutters, magnetic parts bowl, and some fresh speed ball metric allen keys. Keep it Real, -TJ

Sunday I rode with a good friend and someone who helped get me hooked on the sport of cycling. Dave Gabrys was the super-fast high school role model for the middle school total-newbie that I was. He taught me that it was fun to hang the number plate on the bars. This is a shot of him and my dad enjoying some post-race watermelon at the Sayner Ridge Rider back in ‘98. Dave and I later worked together at Riverbrook and have been friends since. It’s been sometime since we last met up for a ride or even have hung out much so it was great to have him visit Tucson. A ride up to Windy Point on Lemmon was a must as were the burritos to follow. It was great to catch up and talk about how cycling has remained a staple of each of our daily lives. His work has taken him to the team dinner tables of ProTour teams in France, so obviously he equally enjoys his opportunities within cycling.

Two flats during yesterday’s ride due to glass and another horribly-timed flat on Saturday’s Shootout has spelled the end my rear Hutchinson Top Speed OEM tire. The thing was rolling great for nearly a month, but now it punctures far too easily and I’m quickly running out of tubes. Saturday was my fastest ever non-CO2 flat tire repair. Paul’s SRM clocked it under 4 minutes and the final 30+ seconds of that was for a quick pee break before we chased like mad men, never to actually catch anybody else to ride with. I was grateful to have Paul wait up and I honestly thought the two of us would catch back on, but we weren’t so lucky. At least we both got some quality miles even if it didn’t have all those big spikes and dips in intensity. There is always next week…

As I knew she was prepared to do, Chloe went ahead and won the Pan American Continental MTB Championship in the U23 women’s field. Doing so by four and a half minutes is a dominant performance and a huge display of her hard work and discipline. The best part is that her intense preparations are “fun” and she just ‘’likestobike‘’. A modest champion who absolutely loves what she does – amazing every time.

The week is about to really kick off here in Arizona. We essentially lost an hour to the entire country since we don’t change the clocks, so there is no time to slack now that it’s Monday morning. Enjoy the Day! -TJ

Today was the all-time windiest day on the bike. Not only for me, but also for Jenna, Justin, and Paul. Sustained winds were in the 30-40 mph range with gusts up to 60 mph. We had a four person rotation going at about 8 mph all the way out to the Catalina Hwy. And this was at a tempo effort. Some how we still thought that we’d be able to ride up the mountain even though the first 5 miles would still be straight into the winds. With a sense of adventure and some good camaraderie, we persevered and made the best of the day’s conditions. In the end we each completed our respective workouts with success. I had intentions to do some more climbing post- LT intervals, but beyond mile 10 I could hardly stay on the bike and honestly I didn’t think I’d make it through the next canyon. After having some great LT work, the ascent was called short and I headed back down the mountain. The gusts were still extreme and made for a quick trip down the mountain, through town and all the way to the apartment. Finishing the day out at an easy 30 mph+ is never a bad way to finish a tough ride. Each of us would have likely bagged the ride had we of left solo so it’s cool that we fought the wind out.
It’s been five days since my first LT workout and the power is up 10+ watts as that maximal sustainable effort is found. The tough part is that I’ve got to do today’s effort all over again tomorrow. Such a challenge is a real motivation and makes for great training in the end.

Chloe’s mother, Kris, is in town visiting for the weekend and was ambitious enough to make enchiladas for the five of us for dinner tonight. Needless to say it was by far the best meal ever prepared in this kitchen. Thanks!

With only a month until the Norba opener I’m getting anxious to race at the high levels once again. The people, the events, and of course the competition all have a that irresistable appeal. Tristan has got himself a spot-on approach to the racing this year. I like it! More to come mid-week, -TJ