http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss dougswanson@mac.com Thu, 31 Aug 2006 21:30:18 -0500 Thu, 31 Aug 2006 21:30:21 -0500 iBlog 1.4.6 Doug Swanson Dougs Newsline this and that Doug Swanson dougswanson@mac.com Dougs Newsline http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C285045440/E20060824163448/index.html I started a new blog at dougswanson.blogspot.com , check it out. I had to do it, this one was getting kind of old school. Now I can update much easier. I know blogger is trendy and all that, but it does work remarkably well. ]]> Thu, 24 Aug 2006 16:34:48 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C285045440/E20060824163448/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C285045440/E20060814182105/index.html Well faithful blog readers, I am back. It's been a crazy month and I don't have energy to talk about it all on here right now, but I did want to get a brief recap of what has been going on. I am married. It was a great wedding, I really enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks to everyone for their support and love, we have been overwhelmed. Leading up the our big day we were doing wedding stuff all the time. There was a different party every night for a week. Then we went on our honeymoon to Vancouver, B.C. It was a great place, with perfect weather, and we took full advantage of it by hiking and site seeing and a little BC mountain biking just to top it off. The mountain biking out there is for real. I wish we had trails like that here.

I hope to start updating more frequently as I have time. Things are slowly getting back to normal. I've already done two races since I got back last week, Ore to Shore and a TNT time trial last night. Ore to Shore didn't quite go as planned, as in, I didn't win, or make any money. I guess I didn't expect too much since my training has pretty much been non-existant, but I always go for the win no matter how I feel. I got the holeshot and set myself up at the start, but this Simonson dude just dropped us all like a bad habit. I was the only guy to hang with him on the first climb, but then he rode me off his wheel. I kind of sat up because I didn't really have him marked but he proved to be very worthy of the win. I got into the chase group, recovered and then rode hard on the front on and off for an hour or so. No one else really wanted to chase too hard. So I maybe over did a little, but I wanted to win, not settle for second. Unfortunately, I forgot to eat a drink enough, I didn't have enough water with me, and I didn't take enough out on the course. Coupled with my hard efforts, I bonked bad and rode in on my low gears. We had a fun ride back in the VW camper with Scotty and Sara KJ. Sara won the race of course, since she is the best in the midwest at those kind of races.

Tuesday night I hit up the local TT series. It's right by my house so I couldn't resist the chance to hit it up once before the end. I didn't feel great, but I guess I felt good enough to win and set the course record. The times are all screwed up though. I don't know how hard it is to take TT times, but I guess it must be harder than you think because no one ever seems to be able to do it. It was fun anyway since I really like rocking the TT bike. It's still my coolest bike... Well, I need to hit it for tonight. I'm racing Spirit on Sunday, see all you MTB dudes up there. ]]> Wed, 16 Aug 2006 18:21:05 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C285045440/E20060814182105/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C425004726/E20060714165816/index.html After Northfield I didn't ride for a few days. I started to miss it pretty quick and got my 'cross bike set up to train on. Anne's family has a cabin up near Fergus Falls, MN. The roads up there are sweet. Very few cars, rolling hills and lots of neat dirt roads. The only problem is that I always get lost. So I strapped my GPS to my stem with some zip ties. Marked the house as my starting point and went off for an adventure. The only problems I've been having these days is carrying water. Two full bottles barely gets you an hour and a half when it's this hot, and even that is pushing it. I usually don't do a ton of long riding in the mid summer, so I am not well versed in where to refill bottles. I used to find parks with drinking fountains, but they seem to be in short supply when you really need them. I have some work to do before I am fully ready for CX season. My bike fitness is decent right now, but my technical skills are dusty and my running is poor. I am going to start to work in some short intense stuff into my daily rountine. Those that ride with me know that I don't have a structured "program" anymore. For me it's a mix of how I feel what I want to accomplish next. Once my body gets used to the efforts, then I just have to focus on doing it. I don't use a heart rate monitor, a wattage meter or even a speedometer. Sometimes I do look at my watch to see what time it is, but that's all the numbers I need these days. But that GPS sure was nice to help me find my way home...

Who is going to win the tour? How many former mountain bikers will be on the podium? ]]> Fri, 14 Jul 2006 16:58:16 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C425004726/E20060714165816/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C285045440/E20060705185509/index.html Wed, 05 Jul 2006 18:55:09 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C285045440/E20060705185509/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060629163731/index.html Ok , I know I said I wasn't going to update for a while. And I guess that is true. But I had a minute this afternoon and I'd thought I'd post something. I won the MN state road race championship on Saturday. It was an uphill sprint in the end out of a group of about 12. I've never won this race, so it was very satisfying for me to finally put that in the bag. It really is a shared victory with my Nature Valley/Penn Cycle teammates. The reason I'd never won this race before is that I had always been outnumbered by Flanders or GP. But this year we brought a full slate of green guys and kept the race under control to set me up for the sprint finish. Thanks go to AJ, Matt M, Micah, Sickboy, Ian, Mean Dawg and Dano. Everyone gave what they could and it worked out well. I'm proud of our team this year. I think we are really starting to understand each other, and the way these MN races play out. Our A team has won the state champ TT and RR titles, the Opus team title, a slew of RR's, Crits and TT's, and Dano is leading the rider of the year competition at this point. Next week is the State Championship criterium. Originally I hadn't planned on going, but I think I might be able to swing it. We'll see. Ok, that's all for now... ]]> Thu, 29 Jun 2006 16:37:31 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060629163731/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C285045440/E20060617193318/index.html Sat, 17 Jun 2006 19:33:18 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C285045440/E20060617193318/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060616093224/index.html Fri, 16 Jun 2006 09:32:24 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060616093224/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060615115421/index.html Thu, 15 Jun 2006 11:54:21 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060615115421/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C425004726/E20060610141050/index.html Next up on the plan is Nature Valley Grand Prix. I have been anxiously awaiting this race for a few weeks now. I haven't been feeling super this week though, I think I might have over done it a little during my stage race last week. Too much hard riding and not enough rest. I've pretty much been sore and tired since Sunday. I decided the best thing I can do at this point is rest as much as possible and try to recover before the TT on Wednesday. Honestly, I'm not too worried. First of all, I'm pretty much not going to win NVGP. There are too many really good roadies there with strong teams and experience. I have done 2 NRC stage races in my career so I am pretty much a rookie at it. So without the win in mind, I really have to come up with a new goal. There is an amateur jersey to be had, but I don't really think that matters that much to me. Frankly I have no idea who won it last year, if they were good, or if they are pro now. I guess my goal is to try to win a stage, or at least, make an effort to win a stage. Last year, I made so efforts like that and I think they were much more memorable to me than my final GC placing. I went for it at the Red Wing stage, forcing a move that ended up forming the winning break. Granted, I wasn't in it, I wasn't strong enough, but it was fun to actually make a difference in the race, rather than just riding along in it. So I guess that's my goal again this year, I want to make my presence known. I also want to be top 10 in the opening TT. I need to take 30 seconds off my time from last year. I think my new bike will save me at least 10 seconds, so I just need to focus a little and knock off a few more. Who knows? I'll do my best, have fun, and not take any crap from some of the so called "pros" out there. Last year, this guy from Colavita cut me off and forced me out of the line. Oh the Johnny Pro's will be out in full force. It's gong to be a good time... ]]> Sat, 10 Jun 2006 14:10:50 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C425004726/E20060610141050/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060604203354/index.html Today was the final stage of my week-long race. I actually felt pretty good coming into it except for a few weird muscle pains from sitting in the TT position for too long. The course today was really good for me, with a nice little kick of a climb into the finish line. These are the kind of sprints I can usually do pretty well in. The promoters did a great job hosting this event. The venue was very professional and the course was well blocked off and safe. They even had trainers to warm up on and coolers with culligan water. Nice job. The race went down like this : Dan made the first move on lap 2 and got away with a few other dudes. They got chased down about 4 laps later and I countered hard. Hareland and Hanna marked it and we were off. Ian came out of nowhere and joined us, so Nature Valley was in the power position. I was feeling great and was taking hard pulls, especially on the climb. It's been a few years since I lapped the field in a crit, so I wanted to make it happen. Every one of those guys was working hard and making it a great race. We finally caught the field about halfway into the race. As soon as we did I worked my way through it and attacked off the front right away. I don't think we were even in the field for a whole lap. Unfortunately, Ian didn't make it through, so it was just Hanna, Hareland and I. There was another strong break ahead of the main field. With a few laps effort, we bridged up to it and took a breather for a few laps. Timmer was there for Hareland and GP had Fairbanks and Sedgwick, but I was isolated. I tried attacking, but was quickly brought back by the group. Content to wait for the finish, a top three already in the bag, I settled in and waited. With two to go Timmer lined Hareland up. I was third wheel, GP was behind me. On the penultimate corner, Fairbanks started to lead out Hanna on the outside. I was about to get boxed in. I cut hard into the gutter and started my sprint early on the small rise. I was accelerating and downshifting the whole way up. With the line in sight, Hareland was right next to me. We were wheel to wheel. I shifted down again and started to pull away from him. Then we bumped, his shoe hit my rear wheel, and I rolled in for the win. Everyone was saying how sketchy it was, but it just felt like a bump to me. I don't think I moved over on Aric but if I did it certainly wasn't intentional. So it was kind of a funny win in that sense. Hareland was cool about it after the race. It's pretty funny how close we are in every race we do. We have similar racing styles and it usually works out that if he is in a move, so am I, and vice versa. It's fun having good competition, since that's what this sport is all about.

I found out there is a time trial on Tuesday. Dan said it wouldn't count for the stage race since I already took a rest day on Friday and to have another rest day on Monday would equal too many rest days, thus negating the effect of it being a real stage race. I was looking for a Monday race, but there doesn't appear to be one, so I have been declared the GC winner of My Own Personal Stage Race 2006. It's been a good run with 4 wins and a fifth. I though first place was going to be a good nights sleep, but I also got some Dairy Queen cake. My mom said it was for Dan's birthday tomorrow, but I'll pretend it was also part of the prize list... ]]> Sun, 04 Jun 2006 20:33:54 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060604203354/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060603164448/index.html Sat, 03 Jun 2006 16:44:48 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060603164448/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060601231258/index.html Another quick update. I've been too busy with this stage race to write too much! Tonight was a great day for a mountain bike race. The course was fast and loose. No real hard climbs, some good singletrack, but sandy. I had a terrible start and actually missed my pedal for the first time since I can remember. Total beginner move! So I chased Kuzzy, Brendan, Fisher and Hanson into the woods. I started making moves when I could, but it was hard to pass. Finally on the paved climb part I was able to attack and get away. I got a pretty good gap on lap 2 but then a stick got really jammed in my spokes. It took a while to dislodge it. By the time I did I was chasing Brendan. I caught him by the end of the lap and attacked again and got away for the win. The stage race is going pretty well with 3 wins in a row. Next up is a 40k TT on Saturday. I'll enjoy my rest day tomorrow. I'll try to get some pics up on the blog for you folks that just hate reading! Thanks for checking in. ]]> Thu, 01 Jun 2006 23:12:58 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060601231258/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060531225128/index.html Just a quick update before I go to bed. This stage racing is tough stuff! Today's TT went well, but a freak thing happened, I tied for the win with Aric Hareland! That's right, we had the same time 14:18.0, down to the tenth! I have never tied in a bike race, so it was pretty cool. Aric is riding well this year, I actually expected him to beat me, so I was happy with my ride. I was hurting a little at the turn around, but really started going good in the last few K. Casper was third with a 14:37 or something like that. Anyway, fun times at the Dog. I don't know if I'll be able to go to too many more since it takes so long to get there from my house, but it was worth it tonight. Tomorrow I bust out the knobbies for Buck Hill! I didn't think I'd get to race there again, but now it's stage 3! Hollywood hooked me up with a sweet Liger armband. You know, half Lion, half Tiger... It's pretty much my favorite animal... ]]> Wed, 31 May 2006 22:51:28 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060531225128/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060530225957/index.html So I didn't race last weekend. I skipped Nebraska, 10,000 lakes was cancelled, and I didn't want to go to Iowa. So with Anne gone, I need something to do, right? So I created my own little stage race this week. We are lucky to have so many events going on, and rather than pick and choose, I'm going to do them all! Tonight (Tuesday) was Opus, Tomorrow is the Black Dog TT, Thursday is a Buck Hill mountain bike race, Friday is a rest day, Saturday is the State Championship 40k TT, and Sunday is the Capitol Crit. I decided to skip the MTB race on Sunday since I can't do both the crit and the MTB race due to a scheduling conflict and I need to keep racing the road through NVGP for training.

Tonight at Opus went great! I won a whole bunch of points and the final sprint. I was off the front in breaks all day. Some by myself, some with a small group. For the last 7 or 8 laps it was Dale, Timmer, and Adam F. I was feeling better by the lap and managed to hold off a hard charging Timmer at the end. The points I scored secured the individual and team overall wins for us so all in all, mission accomplished.

I'm not sure what to expect from tomorrow's Black Dog. I've been riding the E11 a few days now, but I am yet to put in solid efforts on it. I figure the best way to do that is to give 'er. We'll see how it goes. ]]> Tue, 30 May 2006 22:59:57 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060530225957/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060529091819/index.html Dan reports from Nebraska. Stages 2 and 3 didn't go quite as well. "It was like 100 degrees with 40 mph crosswinds" Dan reported to me on the phone last night. "I just couldn't find motivation to go hard in it." Andy Minier got into a break that finished 6 minutes up on the field though, so it looks like he's due for a high GC placing in the end. I give these guys major credit for racing in those conditions, with no one to feed them no less. "I carried 3 bottles, and someone gave me a plastic one, but I was still without water for the last 10 miles." Dan told me. The truth is, when it's that hot out you need a full bottle every thirty minutes. Without that, you are losing it every minute. I bet Dan and Andy finish each stage 5 pounds lighter than when they started. Good luck in the crit today guys.

Meanwhile, in the race I skipped up north yesterday, sickboy, Micah and Matt M had a go at it as the Sickblogger reports here .

On the home front, it got up to 97 degrees yesterday. This is the hottest it's been in May since the dust bowl. If that doesn't make you nervous, well, it should. I am terrible in the heat. I have a really hard time going hard, or even riding at all in it. But I need to get used to it in case it's hot during the Nature Valley Grand Prix. This race will be my last big race until August, so I am taking it pretty seriously. My first goal is to finish in the top 10 in the opening TT. I have started riding my new Trek E11 daily, and am sore all over from the efforts. My position is so low and forward, it really works different muscles than my other bikes. The good thing is that I can cruise at or above 25 mph. I figure I need to hold 30 for 15 minutes to place high at NVGP. I think once I get my position dialed in a little more I should be able to do it.

After my TT ride in the morning I headed over to Chaska to ride the Mammoth trails. They are in such good shape right now, it's so fun. Those trails are very technical, especially if you try to ride them at race pace. I slammed my hands and bars into several trees while attempting to ride all out down the narrow paths. Unfortunately it was so hot in the woods after about an hour I'd downed all my water and was starting to get dizzy. So I made it back to the car and blasted the AC while shaking my head in disbelief at the amount of sweat pouring off my forehead... ]]> Mon, 29 May 2006 09:18:19 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/dougswanson/C287810719/E20060529091819/index.html