:: seanlangford ::

“Let the bodies hit the floor.” — Drowning Pool

So the Johnny cake this past weekend was going reasonably well for me until I hit the deck. I was half wheeling the guy ahead of me on the climb when he responded to something next to him by veering into my front wheel. I had nowhere to go except down. Luckily it was fairly low speed and the sliding on the pavement was fairly minimal. Serves me right for being that far back in the peleton. Some skin, a front wheel, a right hand glove and right kneewarmer were the casualties; as well as my hope of beating Gerard O’Shea to the line for the first cat3 finisher imaginary prize. All these things were crushed against the cold, hard Coxsackie pavement. This season incidentally isn’t shaping up especially well so far. Lets see: 2 midpack finishes, a DFL (which got logged as a DNF), a real DNF and a crash.   I am going to chalk this up to bad luck because objectively I am in the best form ever.  As coach CM would say, “You are in need of some results, man.” Well, the end result of all this is that I am motivated to bring CCB a good finish this weekend at Turtle Pond. I think I have some anger in the legs I need to work out. I also know I will have some excellent teammates there with me. And I think this course suits me to some degree. Finally, its meant to rain, which is actually a good thing for me as I do well in the rain. We’ll see how this all works out; stay tuned.

Yeah, I’ve been hiding the first half of the day hoping that no one would remember, but instead I’ve gotten a lot of phone calls and emails from friends and family, all of which I really appreciate.  My lifelong buddy John Hirsch even wrote a little birthday tribute too; thanks John!  And thanks everyone else for all my birthday wishes.

Old man Sean signing off…. 

Did the first Johnny Cake and then the Micheal Schott Memorial Circuit Race in Marblehead this past weekend.  The Johnny Cake was really hard; lots of wind and lots of fast men.  Was feeling in control the first 1/2 to the point of even going off the front a couple of times.  Didn’t plan my efforts very well so ended up off the back.  A similar thing happened at Marblehead this past weekend.  Strong at first, covering moves, then tired for the finale.  Definitely feeling some life stress plus I wonder if I’m eating and drinking enough in these races.  Anyways, tomorrow I am psyched for the Johnny Cake finale.  This will be a great race.  Hopefully it’ll dry off and warm up by the 11am start.  Here is a snip of me at Marblehead.   Thanks to MZ and BB of cyclingrevealed.com for the great shots!

Did the Plainville race yesterday. Carpooled down with CM; he is great.  Really helping me out with my game and the guy really loves the sport.  We took a chance as it was snowing and sleeting like crazy here in the morning.  When we got to Plainville though, the course was bone dry and it was reasonably warm.  We met up with AC which was also very cool: getting to race with coach.  The race was super short and extremely fast around a .5 mi industrial park loop.  The course featured a reasonably technical corner right into the finishing stretch where there was a serious headwind.  I found myself botching this corner quite a few times: being on the outside, not carrying my momentum through it fully and opening small gaps, and getting nudged and flicked into the wind.  This cost me a lot of wasted energy.  I thought I was good at bike handling; these guys are REALLY good at bike handling and tiny mistakes really cost a lot at these higher speeds.  By the time I got the corner fully dialed, and started to get my ‘touch’ back, it was only a few to go.  The pace these guys roll at was pretty amazing; very happy with myself that I was reasonably comfortable and aerobically capable at this level, even with my atrophied ’skills’.  Looks like I’ll do Johnny Cake next weekend in Coxsackie, NY.  I’m looking forward to this longer race.

The Spain trip this year was ‘off the (proverbial) hook’. We had a fantastic crew and had a great time. I love getting to know all the campers; having all the meals together creates a unique social atmosphere. The riding was unbelievable. The Pico, The Sanctuary, El Torcal, the Puerta, the Villaneuva del Conception climbs and others were simply breathtaking. The best riding on the planet, I’m thoroughly convinced. Mostly sunny, warm, and hours of riding with maybe seeing a handful of cars (certainly saw more goats than cars on the roads). Food was also amazing. We are lucky to know the Idles and really love their hospitality. After all this adventure, to come back home lighter and with more fitness is particularly great. I am proud of what John, Mandy and myself have built and hope to continue to refine it. I will post some pictures and some ride profiles soon.

Trying to be more consistent with informing ya’ll, my loyal friends and readers, of my activities and whereabouts. Last night, Nate, Chris and myself recorded this little ditty. Let me know what you think (9mb mp3 download).

Today is the 1 week mark for my departure to the fun and sun of southern Spain where I will get to live like a bike bum for 2 weeks with some of my best friends. Stay tuned to this space for updates from the road. Yahoo!!

Saw this post-apocolyptic looking vehicle out on my long ride sunday. Mad max I think would approve.

Raced at Mansfield cross this weekend and was cruising good in 7th place where I hit a course stake on a corner and hit the deck. Multiple injuries unfolded. A square inch of epidermis missing from the upper right leg, a nasty shin bruise, a bruised rib and a sore shoulder. I lost a bunch of places and got all but 3 back and landed in 10th.

A good week of training topped off with the Amesbury cross race.  Had a good start and was somewhere around 4th place when I hit a ‘whoop’ and was completely off balance in the air.  Landed diagonally on the front wheel and tumbled to a stop.  I would like to thank everyone behind me for not running me over.  Hopped on the bike to get my $20 worth and eventually finished.  CCB’s TM, and JB both had very good finishes from what I can tell.   Also it wouldn’t be cyclocross without seeing AD, PC, DK, RP. MS + family, and many others I’m sure.  Afterwards caught up with some of the BOB guys and went for a 1hr cool down then off to home for some chores.  When I got home and muscles began to stiffen, I noticed I tweaked my back, but nothing that Dr. Z can’t fix.  Also add to that pile a bruised hip, rasberried knee and bruised arm.  Yay cyclocross!!!