Today was my second Pro 1, 2 race.  I started good i was like in top 10 after the start. I kept on pressing hard to keep up and pass some people. I was keeping up with two people in in the first 4 laps and than i passed them and I moved up to Alex. I got up to alex because he crashed and that made me catch him. He rode with him for almost the whole time till 3 and a half laps to go I slip in a corner and that made a gap between me and him but i could never catch him again. 2 other people came from the back and passed me too but i stayed with them because i didn't fell like loosing more places. One of them rode away but I stayed with the second guy because i couldn't keep up with the guy who rode away. In the last lap I got dropped  from that guy but he crashed at the barriers so i caught back up to him. Than on the paved part he past me and i stayed on his wheel because i thought i still have a chance to out sprint him. When we got on final straight i couldn't pass him anymore I tried every thing but it wasn't enough. I ended up like top 15 in the race. This was my hardest pro race so far but also the best.

Yannick

Weekend race wrap-up

CLIF BAR Devo Team riders headed out into the cold, damp weekend to get some great training in for their upcoming key races, and to test out their cold weather gear from Pearl Izumi.

On Saturday at the 2nd round of the Boulder Series (Xilinx), Zack Gould put in a strong effort in the Cat. 4s; Danny Hiller had his best start of the season before a dropped chain slowed him down for a 34th place finish in the Cat. 3s; in the Open race, Colin Cares (9th), Mitch Hoke (12th), Yannick Eckmann (15th) and Cody Cox (20th) all had solid rides.

Sunday was the first race in the Red Rocks Series. Brady Kappius (TEAM CLIF BAR) and Mitch dominated for 1st and 3rd. Zane Godby posted another great result in the Cat. 4 race, with 5th.

Meanwhile, some of us were enjoying un-cross-like weather in Ohio...80s and sunny. TEAM CLIF BAR's Troy Wells went out for UCI point hunting, since it was a rare Fri-Sat-Sun tripleheader. After strong rides Friday (6th) and Saturday (5th), Troy's form was coming around and he was joined by teammate Danny Summerhill for Sunday's UCI category 1 event (more points available). This was Summerhill's first race of the season, a calculated plan to open the season fresh and ready to score some good UCI points just before flying off to Belgium for a month of hard racing.

As the lead group of 8 formed on the first lap, both TCB riders made it up, with Wells helping set the pace and widen the group's lead, and Summerhill tagging along at the rear trying to get his race legs under him. The 85 degree heat began to take its toll on the group, with several riders falling off the fast pace. Soon it was down to a group of 5: Wells, Powers, Bishop, Selander, and Summerhill. Troy and Danny took a few turns attacking and counter-attacking, but by the final lap, the viscious attacking by Wells, Powers and Bishop left Summerhill and Selander slightly gapped off. Wells tried one more huge attack to shake his group, but ended up fading as they neared the finish - still, a really impressive 3rd place. Summerhill beat Selander in the sprint for 4th. An awesome day for TEAM CLIF BAR in 3rd & 4th, and overall a big weekend for Troy and a sweet send-off for Danny with plenty of UCI points.

Social Change

In the US we have a huge opportunity to do the World and ourselves a favor yet we continue use up resources despite technological advances. We contribute 25% to global green house gas emissions and have only 5% of the world population. As a country we always look to technology or industry to give us what we want in times of crisis. Consider gas prices this year summer. Our politicians wanted to open up off shore reserves for oil for drilling to drive prices down and consumers demand more fuel-efficient cars. What we really need to do is look away form technology and industry to allows us to continue our way of life and look at our lives and decide what we really need. Do we need to buy new cloths every months? Do we need to drive to 10 blocks to the store or could we ride a bike? Does my house need to be 75 degree in the winter with the windows open or turn the thermostat down can I put on a sweater? Our government leaders can never help us with this because they would laughed out off ice like Jimmy Carter. So the US needs social change that comes from the bottom up as well as technological advances like fuel efficient cars and clean energy. Ask yourself how you can make your footprint smaller bye conserving instead of buying that new hybrid car.

After that tell the candidates that climate change is issue and they need to attend the UN conference on climate change.

http://www.350.org/invite/

Mitch