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2011 Wrap-Up
Well it has been a whirl-wind of a season for me and it´s not over yet! Here is a quick look back at my 2011 season.I started the year off with a good rest in November 2010, the longest rest I´ve had in years. Two weeks of easy riding followed, then I got a last-minute invite to the U23 Zurich Six-Day. That went well and I came back more motivated than ever.Unfortunately around Christmas time I came down with what we eventually found to be bursitis in my left knee. This kept me away from serious training for most of January, but thanks to Bobby Livingston and Rose Rotenberger at Livewell Integrated Health I was able to overcome it and start putting in miles in February.In March I rode the UCI 2.2 Rutas de America in Uruguay against a very tough field with a number of European pro teams in attendance. It was a hard race and a really good experience for me. I came home and rested a bit and then had good form for the rest of the spring, grabbing a win in Philly in April and placing in almost every race I rode.June rolled around and it was time to get back on the track. I had a great June, lapping the field with Franco Marvulli at the US 10 Mile Championships and then placing 3rd at the Mike Walter Trophy Madison with Iggy Silva the next week. That night we finished racing around midnight, then drove straight out to the Detroit 3-Day Madison. We stopped around 5am in Pittsburgh for a few hours´ sleep, then drove the rest of the way and two days later came home with the overall win. In July I rode the final week of Superweek, the highlight of which was a 4th place on stage 17 in downtown Milwaukee. Following that I made the trek out to Chicago´s Tour of Elk Grove before returning home for a small break on the Jersey Shore at coach Betsy Davis´ house.At the end of August I teamed up with Ian Moir for Madison Cup in PA before we headed across the Atlantic to Holland and our first professional six-day, the Six Days of Brabant in Tilburg, Holland. As soon as I got home I raced the UCI 1.2 Univest GP the following weekend, before taking a small break as the fall approached.In October I got a surprise invitation to ride the U23 Six Days of Amsterdam. I only had a week to prepare but it ended up going pretty well with us finishing 5th overall and 4th on all but one of the stages. The Europeans liked what they saw so a number of invitations to events later this winter quickly followed. After a short break in November I began serious training again. With the winter rapidly approaching I traveled to Argentina in early December to spend the month training and racing in preparation for the races I will have in Europe in January and February. It has been a long, tumultuous, ultimately fruitful season...and it´s not over yet! Thanks to all of my sponsors for being with me this year, especially to PowerBar for giving me the fuel I need to compete with the best in the world!
Interview with National Cycling Association
http://www.ncacycling.com/video-gallery/?item=8824EA6E44B17D73%20http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/playlists/8824EA6E44B17D73%20EEpnR64qPd0
Zurich Six-Day
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! Here is my look back at this year’s under-23 Zurich Six-Day. Nobody likes to read a long race report, so I will keep it brief and more personal as the results speak for themselves. My partner and I arrived in Zurich on Monday with the racing beginning Tuesday night. The track was a non-permanent velodrome, so it was not finished being built until about an hour before our race began. Fortunately the Dutch guys were kind enough to let us borrow their rollers on Tuesday morning to spin the legs out. I was pleasantly surprised to find my legs feeling pretty good. The first night averaged over 53 kph for 30km and it was a baptism-by-fire of sorts for us. We had some close calls and yo-yo’ed a bit early on, but held it together. We finished with the peloton of 6 teams on the same lap so that was good. The track was coated in sawdust so there were a lot of crashes but we steered clear although I had trouble seeing for the first 50 laps. The second night went about the same way, staying on even laps. We made a move and got a little over half a lap gap mid-way through, but then some other teams caught us and shut it down. The third night I had great legs but we were a bit too far back when the move went very early. We came close but not close enough, however we did move up a spot on GC to 7th overall. Photo courtesy Petter Mettler The fourth night didn’t go well; the race was from the gun and we were trying to move into 5th or 6th place. Those teams got dropped so I went a bloc to try and get the lap but again we were too far back initially. I ended up cracking really badly so it was a bad night. Afterwards we had a points race 4 hours later so we had dinner and I felt a lot better and the points race ended up going very well. So I think I made a small (but ultimately very big) error in my nutrition by showing up to the track a bit hungry to begin with. Blood tests have shown me to be somewhat hypoglycemic so that is something I need to be better about. The fifth night went much better; I got my legs back and we were back in the race. The final 24 hours were tough as we had the Madison at 6:30, then a points race at 1 AM, followed by the final day’s Madison at noon. So we ended up getting about 3 hours sleep the final night…and after 5 nights of racing too! The final day I had a lot of motivation since it was my birthday too. All the riders and officials wished me a happy birthday which was really nice, plus the announcer told the audience during rider introductions as well which was pretty cool. I felt great in the race and a lot of the other teams cracked. Everyone was exhausted but instead of fighting it I just relaxed my body and focused on pedaling fast. In the end we went with the 1st-placed Australians and 2nd-placed Swiss team and stayed away to end on a high note. Afterwards we watched the pro finale and I enjoyed some flan that one of the Swiss guys gave me for my birthday. Then we packed up and spent the night at the home of one of the Swiss riders. It was a quintessential Swiss home tucked away in the hills about 20km from the city – really cool. We were also treated to a traditional Swiss meal of Raclette and celebrated St. Nicholas Day with the family. It was a really cool way to end what was an amazing week in Switzerland.Thanks to all of my sponsors for being with me on this huge opportunity, especially to PowerBar for giving me the fuel I needed to compete with the best in the world!
Off-season, Return to Training, and a Thanksgiving Surprise
My off-season this year was longer than I have had in the last few years but it was certainly busy. I made the move to Trexlertown permanent, got accepted to Penn State, and signed on with a new team. I stayed away from the bike but kept active with some hikes in the mountains and even found the time to travel out to Pittsburgh for a fun weekend with friends. After 2 ½ weeks off my legs were rested and my head cleared, and it was time to get back on the bike. The weather was still pretty warm and some of the trees even had some of their leaves left, so it was easy to get back to it. Usually when I take time off I feel really bad and it takes a while to get back into shape. This time, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I felt great on the bike right from the first pedal-stroke. The big change this year was to add weight training in the gym. I had not been in the gym for a number of years and it was also my first time performing these particular exercises. I have been very pleasantly surprised with the results, however, as they are really helping my back and also adding power to my legs which has always been a weak-point of mine. I supplemented the gym workouts with riding, mostly easy 1-2 hr spins with the odd group ride. After 2 weeks it was time to head home to New York for Thanksgiving. It was my first time back since last Christmas, but I was only home for a day before the phone rang on Thanksgiving morning. A spot had opened up in the U23 Zurich Six Day, and the promoters were inviting me to race. This only gave me 4 days’ notice before the race began and I was not very confident about my condition, but a quick call to a couple of my mentors encouraged me to go after all. By 11 AM I was in the car again, en route to Trexlertown. I got in and packed everything quickly, then left immediately for London, Ontario – home of the Forest City Velodrome. It was 8 hours away, but it had a good racing program on Friday and Saturday to help my legs get going. It was also where my partner for the race lived, so we got a chance to train and race a bit together before going to Europe. The racing went well – I just threw on an 81 inch gear to get my legs going in preparation for Zurich. My partner and I won Friday’s Madison, then went 1-2 in Saturday’s big scratch race. Everyone up there was really helpful and supportive of us too, which was great. It was great training and preparation given the circumstances, and soon enough we were climbing onto an airplane on Sunday bound for Europe. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for my write-up on the U23 Zurich Six-Day. Barry
2010 Season: A Look Back
My 2010 season is in the books and now that it has been fully digested perhaps this would be a good time for a look back. My 2009 season was a bit ill-defined and saw me focusing on the road for the first half of the year before realizing the track is where my strengths truly lie. I moved back to the track late in the summer and experienced some very encouraging results, particularly in Europe. As a result I knew that in 2010 I needed to focus primarily on the track and try to have a consistent year. My winter kicked off very late due to winter track racing plans, and I ultimately ended up taking my “off-season” in late January. It was very brief, and soon enough I found myself back on the bike looking ahead to the spring. After a few weeks of conditioning I packed my bags and headed off to southern California in mid-February. There I was blessed to stay with a family who welcomed me into their home and supported me with everything I could ask for to succeed. ^Above: Racing on the track in March at the Home Depot Center Velodrome in Los Angeles (photo courtesy Pat Benson) Training went very well and after 6 weeks and with good form I flew out to the small Caribbean nation of Trinidad & Tobago to compete. I wanted to make a strong statement right from the gun, and in this I was successful, landing on the podium on my first night of racing. I would stay there for another 5 weeks, racing the 3-day Easter Grand Prix before undertaking the 10-day Beacon Cycling Classic with 7 days of criteriums and track racing. Racing was tough with some of the very best riders in the world taking part, and it was made more difficult since I was riding alone against 8+ man teams as well as multi-team combines. Nonetheless I gave my best under trying circumstances and came away with some good performances as well as the respect of some of the best riders in the world. ^Above: Before the opening night criterium in Trinidad. On my right is 5x world champion, Franco Marvulli, to my left is Roberto Chiappa, also a world champion, and next to him is hometown hero, Emile Abraham, Pan Am Games medalist and 9-time T&T national champion. Five weeks in Trinidad and three months away from home saw me very happy to be home at last in New York in early May. I tried to take some time off, but with spring in full bloom and the racing calendar heating up, I was anxious to take advantage of the fitness I had gained. As a result I probably rushed back into serious training and racing too soon. I felt a bit flat and had some bad crashes and injuries that really hindered me as May turned to June. I kept pushing, though, excited for pro racing to begin on the track in Trexlertown in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. Ultimately I had some good rides in June on the track, but my body wasn’t responding well to the fatigue and in order to race well on Fridays I had to virtually shut my body down on Wednesday, then open it back up on Thursday and hope for the best. This worked for a few weeks but it was only a temporary solution. At the end of June I traveled out to Detroit with my madison partner to race in Detroit’s UIV 3-Day Madison over Independence Day weekend. We stayed with a wonderful host family in Rochester Hills and I was able to rest during the week leading up to it, and my form and motivation began to return. We took a pretty dominant victory after three days of racing, but it was a lot tougher than it looked and I think what made the difference was the fact that we are good friends off the bike and consequently we fight that much harder so as not to let each other down. On the final day we were really hurting although we didn't let anyone see this. Definitely have to give a lot of credit to Powerbar's Power Gels for helping us make it through to the end to grab the win! ^Above: A very satisfying win at the Detroit 3-Day with madison partner, Nik Reinert Please stay tuned for my next entry on the second half of my 2010 season, and as always thanks for stopping by! Barry
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