Tim Doud

One Day:

Poudre Canyon Video Blog

The Next Day:

Stove Prairie Video Blog

OY VEY!

…At Phoenixs Sky Harbor International Airport…

Packed, bound and ready for my flight to Colorado, I sit patiently awaiting at gate 20…made it through security in one piece, passed my ever-coveted leg-shaving razor through in my carry-on, and promptly had a mini heart attack after wondering where my even more coveted cell brick had ended up (i progressively had put it in my phone before passing through)…

So thats it, Arizona ‘08 complete. I’d definately like to take the time to thank the people who made this whole gig possible. First and foremost, the entire Cullinan clan. From amazing hospitality right down to endless cheers from the race course sidelines, they have definately made this whole process a whole load easier. Next, all of the organizers of Team Waste Management…Loren, Maxi, Brian and of course Steve…dang is all I have to say. And thank you. Finally, my teammates. What a team we have put together this year…and Im not even talking about the stellar results we’ve come about on all levels…local, regional, and national. Im talking about all the badass times we’ve had thus far and all of the ones to come…couldnt possibly ask for more in a team.

Some of you may be a bit curious about my current state of mind and physical well-being within the sport at the moment….so here it is: 2008 Half-Season Review…(can you tell I still have an hour and a half until I fly?)

January 1st came around quick after a solid fall semester at CSU, and so did the first team training camp of the year. I think I may have come in a bit hot early on, a little on the light side, but definately highly motivated. The early races came and went, no race win for me but plenty for my teammates….and I was no non-factor in those. I have come to take a great pride in my work as a domestique…attacking every 5 minutes, railing it on the front, and chasing when told. Definately not as glamorous as winning, but somebody must do it, especially at this level….may as well do it and do it well. The first big race of the year came, Boulavard in San Diego. Of 120 starters I finished the climbers race in 39th, respectable for a so called "non climber". Happy with that. On through the Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team training camp and right into the first disappointment of the season…Valley of the Sun and my kidneys. Getting ready to produce some kidney stones is neither comfortable or condusive to cycling, so that sidelined me for a while but didnt stop me completely. Next came San Dimas, another respectable yet somewhat disappointing ride in what most called the hardest San Dimas ever. Then came the downfall…what coaches, managers, teammates, and myself have attributed to my some what miserable past-month….Redlands. It was absolutely aweful, as it was a big goal of mine, and definately very disappointing…

Redlands was about the starting point to most of my problems in the past month…health and mental. I lost a good chunk of form following that race, and a good chunk of brain cells as well. I was constantly worried about my ability to ride a bike and it reflected in my training and racing. Followed by heart issues, the month of April was one I wont be writing home about. But these are the things that make cycling what it is, the hardest sport in the world. Mentally, physically…there is nothing like it, and I have learned that this year more than any, and hope that it has only made me stronger. As a result to a dismal month, I did not go to Arkansas and I will not be going to Minnesota for the 5-day Nature Valley Grand Prix in June. Disappointed? Sure…Upset? No.

Im headed back to Colorado with a clear mind, a clean bill of health, some fresh legs, and a strong desire to bring back the form I’ve had this year. There is about a month and a half until the biggest race of my life…the Tour of Pennsylvania…and I am going to arguably the best place in the world to train/race for it. I’ve got a scooter/motorpacer set up, a revised schedule which includes the Tulsa Tough 3-day, $75,000 crit series in Oklahoma, and the desire to come to Pennsylvania in the best form of my life, building upon the base and speed I have built all year. And Colorado is the place to be…altitude, climbs, friends, and a good environment for solid, happy, effective riding. Couldnt ask for anything better. If nothing else, it will be a great adventure.

Well thats about it…2008, 4 months complete, 5 to go. Hopefully a win in the near future, a good ride at the Tour of Pennsylvania and more riding in support of the awesome teammates I’ve been blessed to have this year. Now I will go and wait for my flight…and marvel at the guy who has the coolest 4-wheel rolling carry-on sitting across from me. Thanks for reading! Next time: the new team whip and a video post from a mile high (or more maybe!!). Cheers!!

Ok, now that I’ve had some time to let things settle down a bit, lets digest a few things….

First up..Bisbee…

Team Tecos is insane, must be that mexican water or something because they were damn near unstoppable…stronger than any pro team I think I’ve seen. Anyways, Prologue and first stage went well, got Kiel (who finished 6th in the prologue) some bonus seconds out on the road with some serious leadouts. The afternoon stage 3 TT…Kiel and Ron killed it, both in the top 4…I went into that TT so relaxed, hardly warmed up, waved at people (as we were told to not go hard), and I still rolled a decently fast time I think. Not bad for having a conversation with the moto official part way through it. Things went wayyyy downhill on Stage 4. Just as we were hitting out on the first KOM of the day, some crazy mexican jumping bean came flying across the road into the echelon and right into my front wheel, promptly breaking 3 spokes in the carbon wheels I was riding. Stop. Wheel Change. Chase. F#*@*@&#&@*@*$&. Up the climb in the cross wind, down the wind in the cross wind, picking off little shattered group after shattered group. There was only 15 riders left in the front group after the KOM, 4 of which were ours. BAH. Anyways, a little time went on, I came around a corner, Kiel and Sean had just been laid out on the pavement and were in some serious pain. Sean was (and still is) covered head to toe in road rash, and Kiel (who was 30sec down in 2nd on GC) jacked up his back pretty bad….end of the day, thank goodness, as it was an awefully awful day. This turn of events promptly sent me into a funk:

The Funk:

I felt off allll week…had a hard time comprehending all the hard work and effort, all just to be ruined by a crash. Call me a wuss if you will, I cant explain why, but it hit me pretty good and cycling quickly became a question mark in my mind. This had never truely happened to me before. With the tutelage of Ron and trusty team leader Steve Cullinan, I was made to understand the brutality of this sport and that burnout isnt an uncommon thing, handling it was key. So I didnt ride for a few days, hung around and got some school work done, installed some racks on the new team van, and decided not to go to Joe Martin (which was a tough decision, as that is my favorite race). I truely came to realize how brutal this sport is, how unforgiving it is…I just never really recognized it before, just saw it and moved past it without dealing with it. So it was a pretty brutal week but after a few days, I was feeling rejuvinated in the mind and even jumped into some races that I swore I was going to skip out on in the name of mental recovery. I got my ass kicked, as I hadnt ridden all week, but I still enjoyed myself and that was key. Feeling much better now, I have accepted a slightly newer outlook on this glorious sport we call life, one with a slightly less stressful, more fun-oriented approach. However, as all this may seem like a mentally hectic week, I also had some nice visits with the doctor that didnt help with the process…

The Heart:

Saw a physician, turn the head and cough…oh jeez, you’ve got a heart murmur. Onto the cardiologist who proptly rolled me into 2343143 different positions…breathe in, HOLD it, ok exhale…following this breathing workout, I was thrown onto a treadmill attached to a wide array of electrodes and IV’s and was made to run. Now for those of you that really know me…I HATE running, it just doesnt work out for me that well…and I had to run hard…170bpm i had to get my heart to before being promptly strewn onto a table for an ultra sound. Result: one of my valves doesnt completely open and close (apparently not a big deal) and the right side of my heart is much bigger than the left…which sounds like it would be good, but its not. Its not necessarily bad either. So i walked outta the docs for a billionth time with round red welts on my chest and holes in my veins feeling OK with the preceeding events. Steve went further for me and met with a doctor friend of his, who also had similar complications, and gave me a list of guidelines to follow while training and racing to fully adjust my heart before going crazy. Step One: no caffeine BAH. Step Two: no attacking from the gun BAH….my two favorite things…oy vey

Whats Next:

Well, Im off to Colorado on Saturday morning. After heading down to Tucson tomorrow with the famous Million Dollar Bill Maxwell to pack up my little humble cubicle abode, I’ll head back to my old stomping grounds in Fort Collins. Why? Because my training has suffered a bit and, with the biggest race of my life coming up, I need a little bit more quality in the riding. Second, I am definately missing all my friends up there big time, and I think getting back to town and being around my supportive group of friends will only help with the riding. Bittersweet? You better believe it. Not so sad to leave smoggy hot Arizona, but definately sad to be leaving the great Cullinan family. If you’ve followed my website over the last year or so, you’ll understand what Im saying when I say these people are amazing. I am already excited for when I get to come back to visit again.

Where After Colorado?

The Tour of Pennsylvania is the primary goal for the coming future. With that being June 24th to the 29th, it is still a little ways away, but definately on the near horizon. Tulsa Tough in Tulsa, Oklahoma comes on Memorial Day weekened followed by Nature Valley Grand Prix 9 days later. What combination of these races will be raced? Im not sure, probably all of them, or at least Nature Valley. I am really looking forward to training in the mountains again so we’ll see. I’ve also got my 21st birthday coming up right before PA…I promise I’ll have one small beverage, but no more.

Thats about it for now. Thanks for stickin with me through this crazy week or two…and for reading this little novel I just wrote. Next time I write I’ll be coming to you straight from the mile high city of Fort Collins…bu-ya. Thanks for reading!! Cheers!

So Im a bit worked on writing these days…been writing a 10 page paper on health care for my public econ online course, so writing is something im pretty well sick of….so here is the past week since Bisbee in bullettssss….

- Bisbee went OK…covered 2042312342 attacks on stage 2, race ended in disarray on stage 4 with a harsh crash for Kiel and Sean (you probably saw the pictures and reports on Cycling News)

- got pretty burnt out on cycling after the horrendous crash, took a week for myself to try and get my head together…just another way to show how hard this sport is…not just physically but mentally too.

- had a doctors appointment…have a heart murmur…ran on a treadmill with some electrodes and IV’s…ultrasound…blablabla…to be continued….

- got back on the bike just in time for yesterdays crit…

- got slaughtered in yesterdays crit…

- raced again today, didnt get slaughtered as bad, but still felt pretty horrendous. Ron did awesome, lapped the field and got 2nd in the end…

- saw the stage profiles for the Tour of Pennsylvania

- wet my pants after seeing said profiles…

- bought a ticket to Colorado, as I will be returning to fort collins for better training, better mind set, and a run at the tour of PA in the proper way…

thats about it i think…i’ll try to get some real posts this week as i wrap up my time in Arizona and head back to good ole Colorado. Thanks for checking in, such faithful readers you all are!! Cheers!!