Anthony D. Morrow
ADM
http://www.imadm.com/
Cerritos, CA 90703
USA

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Suds, Couple of Races
THU, 13 MAR 2008
Over a month since my last entry and I finally felt guilty enough to sit and type something. A few things.

1. There should be a law that requires sports venues to adjust the price of beer according to the home team's performance. Bad team = cheaper beer to drown your sorrows. I haven't actually bought one in a long while, but I noticed Staples Center charges $10 for a handheld bucket of suds at a Kings game. The Kings are dead last in the NHL. I don't know who's crazier, them and their prices or us for still making the trip to see them.

2. Racing: Yes I have been, just not with much result. After CBR's rainfest, I did:

10 FEB - Roger Millikan/Brea - Pro/1/2 - Lots of fast guys but it came down to a big sprint. I was happy to finish and stuck to my word of going for a ride afterward for extra training.

15-17 FEB - Valley of the Sun Stage Race - 30+ - I travelled with the team to Valley of the Sun where we dominated the 30+ race. We were the only team with a full squad. After several of our guys time trialed for great positions on Friday (Dave "Meat" Gonyer was our best, 3rd place and 5 second back), we spent the next day of road racing attacking and isolating the GC leader.

Donny Carrol (DeWalt) missed the early break but worked like a madman to try and bring it back. With our blocking, the break stuck and two of our guys, Meat and Peter Andersen, moved up overall. Peter was 3rd, Meat was 4th, and Peter Coulson (2xu) took the win and the lead.

We stuck to plan and did the same at the crit the next day. It was a short 30 minutes of fury. I hounded the GC leader, Coulson, gapping him out and making him chase around as we launched attack after attack. At two to go, a big attack turns into a gap up the road and we get the race win (Michael Williams) and the GC win by 4 seconds. Peter tops the podium, Meat was 3rd, Mike was 7th. My lack of TT skill put me 7:06 behind at 16th.

More to come.

-adm
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Heavy Rain Yields Clean Bike
FRI, 08 FEB 2008
A man ride his bike through a flooded street... ABC NEWSRacing in the rain on Sunday (CBR's RILYSI race) wasn't such a bad thing. Turns out it was the best wash my bike's gotten in about 6 months.

Usually the rain is only heavy enough to wet the ground and cause more gunk to stick on, but the substancial rain washed the bad stuff to the gutters and went on to wash the bad stuff, including gooey sports drink, from my bike.

-adm
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Rock's Cycling Soap Opera
THU, 31 JAN 2008
Rock Racing - Rock & RepublicSome people don't like all the controversy the Rock Racing pro cycling team is drumming up, especially through its opinionated and outspoken owner, Michael Ball.

I prefer to think of it as cycling's soap opera, with plenty of running plotlines: romance (Michael Ball's love of fast cars, beautiful women, and f-bombs), intrigue (who's racing for them this week? in the 2008 Amgen Tour of California?), courtroom drama (Kayle Leogrande's doping lawsuit against the USADA), kill-offs (Frankie Andreu - though he still appears on their website today), and returns-from-the-dead (Cippo's pro career, although the return of the Lion King to racing still hasn't been officially announced).

Forget about who shot J.R. or Laura and Luke's wedding (I LOVE THE 80's!), Rock's reality show has me tuning in for every new episode!

-adm
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Season On!
MON, 28 JAN 2008
The 2008 road racing season is here, so let's get some catching up done.

HEADLINE 1: ADM trades 5 Star Fish salt water for CA Pools & Spas relaxing fresh water!
Translation: I am on a new team for 2008, California Pools & Spas Cycling Team.

http://www.capoolsracing.org/

Why? My time with Team 5 Star Fish was great, but ended with my 2007 contract. I'm comfortable being honest about saying I wasn't asked to return. I'm also comfortable saying I probably couldn't have accepted an offer from 5 Star or any other team asking for a large commitment. With a baby and a job, I need to take the feet off the pedals a bit. I considered taking this year off to regroup, but Ernie Sanchez and the CA Pools Team put together an offer that allows me to race at a good, but less hectic level, with great support and with great comraderie, including three of my familiar 5 Star teammates: Dan Vinson, Peter Andersen, and Lance Coburn.

The team's focus is primarily 35+ events. I'm the "young" guy in the bunch with a racing age of just 34 this year, but there will be plenty of 30+ events for me to join in on and most of the guys will be taking on the Pro/1/2 events I plan to still work into my riding diet.

Oh, and the CA Pools & Spas Cycling Team color match my website better. :) I'll be updating my CYCLING page soon.

HEADLINE 2: CA Pools & Spas Cycling Team Nearly Drowns at CBR Race Downpour
Some guys did the MLK crit last Saturday, but my first race of the season was yesterday's CBR Ride It Like You Stole It Criterium.

Rain was in the forecast but it was dry all morning. At 12:00 PM (as if the clouds waited so we could fairly say "it was dry all morning") rain began to fall. The 30+ race cued up at the line to start at 12:10, and by then it wasn't just lightly raining, it was raining. The race started out slowly, and then it was like the season never ended. Former teammate and current 5 Star Fish, Chris DeMarchi, ended up taking off with Thurlow Rogers (too many former teams to list). Other guys came and went. The difference was the rain, which went from rain to downpour.

My glasses fogged and I could barely see out of them. I took them off, only to realize it was worse to get stinging rain in my eyes than to keep the glasses on. I put them back on.

As Chris and Thurlow rode off into the sunset, Pat Caro (Schroeder Iron) was jumpy and was off in a break with others. Karl Bordine (5 Star) attacked to get across several times. I recall covering three of his moves which was two too few. On his fourth attack, I couldn't match and Karl got up the road to the break chasing DeMarchi and Thurlow. My man Peter Andersen got a ride up from Karl.

And then they called 35 minutes to go. It felt like it had already been forever. The rain sucked. It was cold. I was racing for 12th or something. I considered getting out right then. Silly me, I kept racing.

Then it got funny. Chris and Thurlow lapped us. Their presence kicked up the pace and we caught the other break, so it was Chris and Thurlow +1 lap, and everyone else together again. In the building rain, I got a laugh when I was pulling up tight alongside Pat Caro to move ahead of him and he gave me a shove on the hip. Because I missed picking up my new kits, I was wearing a plain-wrap Performance jersey and other old gear. Pat didn't recognize me and gave me the shove, assuming I was just some random racer dude. I knew it and gave him heck as I pulled up again, and we both got a laugh about it, acknowledging the courtesy reputation and familiarity give and get, or in this case, don't get when not recognized.

Back to racing. The rain came down more. The corners, especially the lowest one (turn 3), started to become rivers. The 5 lap countdown couldn't come fast enough. I was sure before that Karl and Chris would try to attach Thurlow but it never happened. Maybe Chris and Thurlow had an agreement? I figured Chris would be just as happy to let it come down to a field sprint since he'd be the favorite to beat him.

Karl sat at the back and I figured he'd try to launch with 2 or 1 to go. He was more patient than me and remained at the back as I moved up into the last lap. On the stretch into turn 4, Karl launched up the inside, hit the corner first, and went on to win the sprint for 3rd. I tried the same move after him, but didn't make the corner before about 5 guys ahead hit it tight. In dry weather, I would have killed the corner and kept rolling, but with the deep and rushing water there, I eased up and leaned up, losing valuable speed and spots. Past the turn, I started sprinting but could only salvage 9th place. Peter was ahead and took 5th or 6th. DeMarchi won.

Let's do the 100k Pro/1/2 for more miles! NO! Unbelievably, the rain got even heavier. After putting my pit wheels in the car I returned to the official's tent to check results. The 3's race was on the road and Mr. Police Officer rolled up to say he didn't think the race should continue due to the heavy and high water in the corners. The 3's race was shortened and the Pro/1/2 race cancelled.

I rolled to my car, threw the bike in the trunk, and jumped into the driver's seat soaking wet. From 5 Star Fish to CA Pools, to crazy rain in SoCal. It's crazy we all keep cycling. I'm glad I can swim.

-adm
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Happy New Year 2008
TUE, 01 JAN 2008
Happy New Year!

First, let me tell you about how 2007 ended. I was tired and a wee-bit sick over the weekend. It was cold and I decided to sleep in instead of ride. On Saturday, I had gotten out of bed and into my cycling clothes but never made it down the stairs. I stared at myself in the mirror, trying to convince myself I needed to ride, but I wasn't convincing enough. I peeled off my cycling clothes, got back into my sweats, and crawled back into my warm bed.

I didn't even bother setting an alarm on Sunday. I told myself, "if I feel like waking up to ride, I will. And if I dont, I won't." I didn't and I didn't.

I worked on Monday and didn't ride but made the decision to forgo counting down to the new year in the evening in favor of bedtime at 10 PM. I wanted to get a good night's rest for the New Year's Day Ride.

Sleep is good. I woke up refreshed and anxious to get to the ride. The weather was great. It was about 58 degrees when I left the house, a good 10 degrees warmer than earlier days. It was sunny.

I was out the garage by 7:20 AM and made it to the Marina with enough time to grab a large cup of coffee before we rolled. It was windy and in my favor so I made great time down the trail. The group rolled from the Marina right at 8 AM.

I stayed safe and near the front. The quicker pace kept the ride pretty safe since the less-able riders were trying to hang on at the back. Turnout was strong but I never had the chance to turn around and guess a count. It seemed pretty safe. I didn't hear a single crash and the only close-call was coming into Newport when a few guys bunched up and bumped around but no one went down.

A lot of people turned around at Dana Point but the group that went inland was still large. The folks at the front were kind not to throttle it when we crossed the bridges on the bike trail and the pacing over the climbs was also steady. It was fast through El Toro and the wind was causing guys to gap but it stayed together due to traffic lights.

I got in the mix for the sprint at Bolsa Chica but found I had no legs to contest in the end. For some reason most of the guys kept going at 30 miles and hour back to the Marina. I sat up as soon as we crossed Warner and tooled back up PCH and then back up the trail to home.

The last 10 miles was my hardest as there was a headwind and my legs started to shut down. I got home with 108 miles.

-adm
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