Once again I am slacking on my blog. Everyone keeps asking me why I don't write on here anymore and I don't really have an excuse... except 1:-) I am addicted to twitter! haha.. I will be better as more things come along.
Right now I am just chilling enjoying my off-season. Last year was a rough one mentally so I have taken some much needed time off. Time to get healthy and re-focus for next year.
I will update ya when more news comes my way.. but for now im chill-axin!
hope everyone is well! and check me out on twitter!!! @marcoaledia
m@
Monday, November 16, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
I'm here!
Sorry for the horrible lack of blogging lately. Not sure where time has gone. I was driving to a race, raced, then drove home, then drove to another race, raced, then drove home, then repeated. Not much to write home about except I have had some nice form and not much to show for it. Was at Elk Grove, Charlotte, Hanes Park, and maybe another before that.. I can't remember. I had a good ride at Elk Grove the 1st day winning the field sprint for 6th. But other than that I just have been stuck in the wrong spots at the wrong time.
My good friend Rahsaan Bahati has been staying with the wife and I which was great as we wanted to really hit it and gear up for crit nats. Unfortunautly we both caught something in Charlotte and have been sick all week. I am feeling better everyday and hope to be 100% for Sunday. I tested the legs one day this week and they were good so I am hoping they should be great Sunday.
I am in Downer's as we speak gearing up for another run at a title. A nice warm up race tomorrow then the big show on Sunday. Its been a frustrating year but I keep telling myself 1 great race will salvage the season... I'm banking on that race being Sunday.
Time for some rest,
m@
My good friend Rahsaan Bahati has been staying with the wife and I which was great as we wanted to really hit it and gear up for crit nats. Unfortunautly we both caught something in Charlotte and have been sick all week. I am feeling better everyday and hope to be 100% for Sunday. I tested the legs one day this week and they were good so I am hoping they should be great Sunday.
I am in Downer's as we speak gearing up for another run at a title. A nice warm up race tomorrow then the big show on Sunday. Its been a frustrating year but I keep telling myself 1 great race will salvage the season... I'm banking on that race being Sunday.
Time for some rest,
m@
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Good Weekend of Racing
This past weekend we had a couple nice criterium's in Dayton Ohio. Its nice to have some nice races close to home and get to sleep in my own bed every night.
Saturday was the Troy Classic in Dayton, Ohio. Super cool course that was flat with a bunch of turns and a cool round-about to the finish. Kenda was 5 strong: myself, Chad B., Ben Renkema, Tim Swain, and Jim B. Roadhouse had a good team present and Panther had about 10 guys. We tried to ride super aggressive and put 2-3 guys in every move. Eventually Jim and Ben made the decisive move and we were good to go.. at least we thought. As we were patrolling the front we saw both our boys coming back to us... PANIC! Chad and I chased our tails off and got it close but could not bring it back. 3 guys stayed off in the end and I gave it a go but didn't have much legs left after chasing. Was 6th in the end.
Sunday was another cool crit with a bunch of turns and a brick section. We had a bit of a change up in our line-up: myself, Chad B., Tim Swain, Ben, Jake, and Braum were here to mix it up. We came up with a new game plan as things just weren't working with our current way of racing. So we said what the hell. Our plan worked great and in the end we lined it up for a field sprint. We wanted to get Chad, myself, and Ben into the 2nd to last corner on the front.. we thought there is no way we can lose if we do this correct. We lined it up great with 5 laps to go and stuck together great. Jake hit out on the last lap and had Chad, myself, and Ben in tow. The last 2 turns were more like 1 big turn then like 400 meters to the line. Chad hit out going into the 2nd to last turn with myself then Ben. I am licking my lips as I feel great and have the perfect lead out and then.... man down! Chad leads us into the corner and must of hit something in the road as his bike just went out from under him. I slid around him and managed to stay upright but was up on the sidewalk and Ben went down with Chad. Game over. Frustrated day as I believe we woulda been 1-2 but that's racing. The good news is that we rode great as a team and our lead out finally got together. This is great news with some big races coming up.
I am in the homestretch now with big events every weekend and Nationals 4 weeks away. This weekend we are in Chicago for a big show. Chicago Criterium and $25,000 prize list. Lets get some!!
Saturday was the Troy Classic in Dayton, Ohio. Super cool course that was flat with a bunch of turns and a cool round-about to the finish. Kenda was 5 strong: myself, Chad B., Ben Renkema, Tim Swain, and Jim B. Roadhouse had a good team present and Panther had about 10 guys. We tried to ride super aggressive and put 2-3 guys in every move. Eventually Jim and Ben made the decisive move and we were good to go.. at least we thought. As we were patrolling the front we saw both our boys coming back to us... PANIC! Chad and I chased our tails off and got it close but could not bring it back. 3 guys stayed off in the end and I gave it a go but didn't have much legs left after chasing. Was 6th in the end.
Sunday was another cool crit with a bunch of turns and a brick section. We had a bit of a change up in our line-up: myself, Chad B., Tim Swain, Ben, Jake, and Braum were here to mix it up. We came up with a new game plan as things just weren't working with our current way of racing. So we said what the hell. Our plan worked great and in the end we lined it up for a field sprint. We wanted to get Chad, myself, and Ben into the 2nd to last corner on the front.. we thought there is no way we can lose if we do this correct. We lined it up great with 5 laps to go and stuck together great. Jake hit out on the last lap and had Chad, myself, and Ben in tow. The last 2 turns were more like 1 big turn then like 400 meters to the line. Chad hit out going into the 2nd to last turn with myself then Ben. I am licking my lips as I feel great and have the perfect lead out and then.... man down! Chad leads us into the corner and must of hit something in the road as his bike just went out from under him. I slid around him and managed to stay upright but was up on the sidewalk and Ben went down with Chad. Game over. Frustrated day as I believe we woulda been 1-2 but that's racing. The good news is that we rode great as a team and our lead out finally got together. This is great news with some big races coming up.
I am in the homestretch now with big events every weekend and Nationals 4 weeks away. This weekend we are in Chicago for a big show. Chicago Criterium and $25,000 prize list. Lets get some!!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Tour of the Valley
Last weekend was a pretty cool 3 day event in Youngstown, OH. It had a TT, crit, rr, and another crit. I of course skipped the TT mostly because it started super early in the morning and I woulda had to spend another day on the road to do it. Plus I didn't see anywhere that you had to start every stage to be in contention for the overall - more on that later.
The 1st crit was tough with 6 Jittery guys and a ton of Panther guys.. like 8 I think. And I was the lone Kenda rider. I was feeling good and just tried to cover and go across to as many breaks as I could. It was tough b/c every break seemed to have 2 Jittery and 2 Panther in it. I made the decisive move but with 5 laps to go a Panther and Jittery guy got away from me. The rest of us looked at each other and ended up getting caught. A couple more got away and I held on for 7th.
The road race the was absolutely brutal.. at least for me. Over 4000 feet of climbing in 65 miles with a 2 mile climb along the way. I was hoping I could get away early to make the hill easier but I tried and it failed. I was in a group that got caught right at the bottom of the 1st climb but I managed to suffer over that one... The next one I was not so lucky. I lost contact about a kilometer from the top and as I got over the top I almost turned around.. but I thought, ah I'll give it a dig and see if I can catch on. My legs were going good over the rollers and I caught on and suffered through a really hilly section. As it flattened out I attacked again up to a little group and soon we were 7. We started working pretty well and all the sudden we had a minute. I was actually just hoping to get back to the town but we had 2 minutes coming through town.. but with 33 miles to go. We kept working well and ended up staying away the whole race. With about 5 miles to go we split as the official was talking to us.. All the sudden 3 guys were up the road. My legs were on the verge of cramping as we had no feeds but I tried to close it. In the end we worked hard to stay away and I was 5th on the day. Nice ride boys! You know who you are! Needless to say I was pretty wrecked after that one.
The last day was pretty much of the same. I went with moves but missed the winning break and was 10th on the day.
All in all I ended up 8th overall.. even after a "certain rider" protested to get me out of the GC. But the race was done on points and said nothing in the bible about having to start each day. So I protested and proved my point correctly. So in the end I was back in the overall at 8th. Not that I really cared to much about 8th but it was more to prove I was right and YOU were wrong! haha...
This was a super cool race especially for the 1st year.. will be a big one and looking forward to it already next year... check it out at Tour of the Valley.
A couple nice regional races this weekend with good fields. My fitness is right on track for the big races coming up so I'm super stoked about that. Looking forward to riding with the team this weekend and doing some damage.
Here are some pics from the weekend:
Hard to shake the Panther boys...
The 1st crit was tough with 6 Jittery guys and a ton of Panther guys.. like 8 I think. And I was the lone Kenda rider. I was feeling good and just tried to cover and go across to as many breaks as I could. It was tough b/c every break seemed to have 2 Jittery and 2 Panther in it. I made the decisive move but with 5 laps to go a Panther and Jittery guy got away from me. The rest of us looked at each other and ended up getting caught. A couple more got away and I held on for 7th.
The road race the was absolutely brutal.. at least for me. Over 4000 feet of climbing in 65 miles with a 2 mile climb along the way. I was hoping I could get away early to make the hill easier but I tried and it failed. I was in a group that got caught right at the bottom of the 1st climb but I managed to suffer over that one... The next one I was not so lucky. I lost contact about a kilometer from the top and as I got over the top I almost turned around.. but I thought, ah I'll give it a dig and see if I can catch on. My legs were going good over the rollers and I caught on and suffered through a really hilly section. As it flattened out I attacked again up to a little group and soon we were 7. We started working pretty well and all the sudden we had a minute. I was actually just hoping to get back to the town but we had 2 minutes coming through town.. but with 33 miles to go. We kept working well and ended up staying away the whole race. With about 5 miles to go we split as the official was talking to us.. All the sudden 3 guys were up the road. My legs were on the verge of cramping as we had no feeds but I tried to close it. In the end we worked hard to stay away and I was 5th on the day. Nice ride boys! You know who you are! Needless to say I was pretty wrecked after that one.
The last day was pretty much of the same. I went with moves but missed the winning break and was 10th on the day.
All in all I ended up 8th overall.. even after a "certain rider" protested to get me out of the GC. But the race was done on points and said nothing in the bible about having to start each day. So I protested and proved my point correctly. So in the end I was back in the overall at 8th. Not that I really cared to much about 8th but it was more to prove I was right and YOU were wrong! haha...
This was a super cool race especially for the 1st year.. will be a big one and looking forward to it already next year... check it out at Tour of the Valley.
A couple nice regional races this weekend with good fields. My fitness is right on track for the big races coming up so I'm super stoked about that. Looking forward to riding with the team this weekend and doing some damage.
Here are some pics from the weekend:
Hard to shake the Panther boys...
Thursday, July 9, 2009
2nd place!! again...
Last weekend I traveled down to Louisville to compete in the Master 30-34 National Criterium Championship. Tara joined me and we made a nice little weekend out of it. I also got to catch up with a ton of old friends which is always nice.
This was a bit of a last second thing for me so I needed to get down there and register the night before. USA Cycling decided it was so hard to do race day registration that they doubled the entry fee. Not to mention that it is ridiculous to begin with that the entry was $65 and no prize money.. Yep, they charged me $130 to register... If anyone can come up with a good reason for doubling an already ridiculous entry fee I would love to hear it.
Anyway, onto the race... It was 66 laps of fun on a quick little course at Churchill Downs. Same course as last year so I was looking forward to it. The weather turned crap the morning of and by the time I raced it was pouring down rain. The interesting part was I was riding some prototype Kenda's and I had never ridden them in the rain. Of course I had complete faith in them but I needed some piece of mind so I found a nice neighborhood and bombed some corners to get a feel for them.. figured it was better to crash before the race then in it.. But of course the tires were better then I thought and I was basically glued to the road.
So the race started super fast as a handful of us were drilling it at the front trying to get rid of the dead weight. A few breaks went here and there and I was having to do a lot more work than I was hoping but no big deal. Pretty hard race and everyone road super aggressive but in the end it came down to about 10 of us. I sat 2nd wheel for most of the last 10 laps and reacted to every attack. With 1 to go I was still 2nd wheel and on the backstretch a guy jumped from behind. Was straight onto him and exactly where I wanted to be. Through turn 3 and into the last turn the guy decides to pussy foot around the corner and in my head I'm thinking if someone has a run on us I'm in trouble. Sure enough the masters world TT champ who had been ripping my legs off all night got a run on us. He went right and I went left and with only 150 meters to go I closed the gap to him but didn't get around him. They gave us the same exact time and went to the film and he had won it by inches. Never did get to see the tape but def would like to see how close it was.
All in all it was a good race and the fitness is on the rise for the rest of the season. That's 3 silver medals at National Championships now... What do I need to take it up a notch?? Back to the drawing board, coach and I will find it... I"m sure of that.
Good little stage race this weekend that I am using for training so that should be a fun one. 2 crits and a road race. I will keep you updated.
And thanks for all the notes on my 2nd. Its a tough one but you guys all make it a bit easier with your kind words....
much love
m@
This was a bit of a last second thing for me so I needed to get down there and register the night before. USA Cycling decided it was so hard to do race day registration that they doubled the entry fee. Not to mention that it is ridiculous to begin with that the entry was $65 and no prize money.. Yep, they charged me $130 to register... If anyone can come up with a good reason for doubling an already ridiculous entry fee I would love to hear it.
Anyway, onto the race... It was 66 laps of fun on a quick little course at Churchill Downs. Same course as last year so I was looking forward to it. The weather turned crap the morning of and by the time I raced it was pouring down rain. The interesting part was I was riding some prototype Kenda's and I had never ridden them in the rain. Of course I had complete faith in them but I needed some piece of mind so I found a nice neighborhood and bombed some corners to get a feel for them.. figured it was better to crash before the race then in it.. But of course the tires were better then I thought and I was basically glued to the road.
So the race started super fast as a handful of us were drilling it at the front trying to get rid of the dead weight. A few breaks went here and there and I was having to do a lot more work than I was hoping but no big deal. Pretty hard race and everyone road super aggressive but in the end it came down to about 10 of us. I sat 2nd wheel for most of the last 10 laps and reacted to every attack. With 1 to go I was still 2nd wheel and on the backstretch a guy jumped from behind. Was straight onto him and exactly where I wanted to be. Through turn 3 and into the last turn the guy decides to pussy foot around the corner and in my head I'm thinking if someone has a run on us I'm in trouble. Sure enough the masters world TT champ who had been ripping my legs off all night got a run on us. He went right and I went left and with only 150 meters to go I closed the gap to him but didn't get around him. They gave us the same exact time and went to the film and he had won it by inches. Never did get to see the tape but def would like to see how close it was.
All in all it was a good race and the fitness is on the rise for the rest of the season. That's 3 silver medals at National Championships now... What do I need to take it up a notch?? Back to the drawing board, coach and I will find it... I"m sure of that.
Good little stage race this weekend that I am using for training so that should be a fun one. 2 crits and a road race. I will keep you updated.
And thanks for all the notes on my 2nd. Its a tough one but you guys all make it a bit easier with your kind words....
much love
m@
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Grandview Heights weekend
Was a fun weekend with a cool race in Cincy in Hyde Park on Sat and Grandview Heights on Sunday. The fields were pretty stacked this year and we had 7 guys both days. My race ended a lap to early on Saturday night as Chad and I got caught in a crash coming out of the hairpin. Bummer. Was feeling pretty good and sitting pretty.
Sunday was a tough race as it was super fast again. I rode for the team and was trying to help Crater (guest riding for us) and Chad out as much as possible. I covered as many moves and such as I could but I blew to bits a little over halfway. The race finally split in the last 10 laps with Jake and Crater making the front group. Jake gave a great lead out and Crater gave it a go but came up a little short as Emile Abraham (Aero Cat Cycling Team) got him on the line. Emile had a great weekend winning both races.
I am pleased as my fitness is heading in the right direction. Another couple weeks and I should be full gas. Heading down to Louisville to do the Master National Crit Champs on Sat. Should be a fun one.
Here are some pics from the weekend.
Round the Outside! love the sneak attack...
Sunday was a tough race as it was super fast again. I rode for the team and was trying to help Crater (guest riding for us) and Chad out as much as possible. I covered as many moves and such as I could but I blew to bits a little over halfway. The race finally split in the last 10 laps with Jake and Crater making the front group. Jake gave a great lead out and Crater gave it a go but came up a little short as Emile Abraham (Aero Cat Cycling Team) got him on the line. Emile had a great weekend winning both races.
I am pleased as my fitness is heading in the right direction. Another couple weeks and I should be full gas. Heading down to Louisville to do the Master National Crit Champs on Sat. Should be a fun one.
Here are some pics from the weekend.
Round the Outside! love the sneak attack...
Saturday, June 27, 2009
R.I.P. Gloved One...
In case you didn't know I am a HUGE MJ fan. So sad to see this music legend pass. His music brings back so many great memories... Much Love Michael!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tour of Ohio OVER!
Well the last stage has come and gone with nothing to exciting to report. Had pretty good legs the last day but a bit of negative racing did me in for the day. A group of 4 rolled up the rode and I missed that move. They ended up staying away and lapping the field so we were sprinting for 5th. I lined it up pretty good and from what I could tell I was 2nd in the field with a few of the riders that lapped in front of me. But somehow I ended up 9th?? Oh well, not gonna cause a ruckus for 3 places... if your not 1st your last anyway right?
All in all it was a great week for my fitness and I have carried it over well into this week with some more great training. Feeling a ton better and on the up and up. Some nice regional races this weekend in Hyde Park and Grandview Heights. Kenda will be rolling DEEP so looking forward to smashing it up with the boys to!
Stay tuned for updates!
All in all it was a great week for my fitness and I have carried it over well into this week with some more great training. Feeling a ton better and on the up and up. Some nice regional races this weekend in Hyde Park and Grandview Heights. Kenda will be rolling DEEP so looking forward to smashing it up with the boys to!
Stay tuned for updates!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Tour of Ohio stages 3,4,5
Well I found out on the 2nd day that they were doing the sprint jersey completely different this year. Its actually now "the most consistent" jersey I guess as they are giving more points for top 10 finishes with smaller point sprints here and there. So with all the hilly races I decided to not go for any points and just go for wins. I was kinda leaning that way anyway b/c I really wanted to give a go at winning the Worthington stage and not wasting my energy on intermediate sprints.
Anyway, stage 3 was a doozy and I finished off the back. too many hills.
Stage 4 was my hometown crit and with tons of family and friends there I was gunning for this one. The course is a tough 1 mile circuit with a good hill in it. I thought with this being a stage race that the teams would not let a break go and it would be a big field sprint but I was completely wrong. I chilled for the 1st 5 laps but noticed breaks were getting a little more time then I thought they would. So I changed my strategy as I saw a break of 5ish guys get a good gap with another couple trying to bridge. The field slowed down to a crawl and thats when I jumped and got away on my own. I made it across to the 2 and then a couple others joined us. A couple laps later we were 10 off the front with a good size gap. It continued to grow and I was hoping we didn't lap as I was confident I could win if all these guys didn't have their teammates. Jittery Joe's waited to long to shut down the break and we ended up lapping with 3 to go. A ton of chaos and in the end I just got worked over and ended up 4th. Great ride today by Jittery Joe's as they take over yellow.
Stage 5 was another hilly one that ended on a even hillier circuit. I made it close to the circuits and then just rode the rest of the race out. It was blown to bits all over the place like a cross country meet. So I don't even know where I finished.
Today is the last stage and finally a flat criterium! My fitness seems to be getting better everyday so I am definitely shooting for a stage win. Let's see what happens!
Happy Fathers Day to all!
Anyway, stage 3 was a doozy and I finished off the back. too many hills.
Stage 4 was my hometown crit and with tons of family and friends there I was gunning for this one. The course is a tough 1 mile circuit with a good hill in it. I thought with this being a stage race that the teams would not let a break go and it would be a big field sprint but I was completely wrong. I chilled for the 1st 5 laps but noticed breaks were getting a little more time then I thought they would. So I changed my strategy as I saw a break of 5ish guys get a good gap with another couple trying to bridge. The field slowed down to a crawl and thats when I jumped and got away on my own. I made it across to the 2 and then a couple others joined us. A couple laps later we were 10 off the front with a good size gap. It continued to grow and I was hoping we didn't lap as I was confident I could win if all these guys didn't have their teammates. Jittery Joe's waited to long to shut down the break and we ended up lapping with 3 to go. A ton of chaos and in the end I just got worked over and ended up 4th. Great ride today by Jittery Joe's as they take over yellow.
Stage 5 was another hilly one that ended on a even hillier circuit. I made it close to the circuits and then just rode the rest of the race out. It was blown to bits all over the place like a cross country meet. So I don't even know where I finished.
Today is the last stage and finally a flat criterium! My fitness seems to be getting better everyday so I am definitely shooting for a stage win. Let's see what happens!
Happy Fathers Day to all!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tour of Ohio stage 2
Pretty uneventful stage although the leaders did take the wrong route about halfway through. oops. I pretty much chilled all day as it was super hilly again. over 3000 feet of climbing and a big one at the finish. I tried to go with the climbers over the big hill and blew to bits! Blew so bad the field went right past me! haha.. I gathered my senses and chased back onto the field on the flat section and finished in the field. I think 10 guys were away by a couple minutes.
I just don't have the fitness right now to go up hills but its all good training and have to keep telling myself that I am hear for training this year and not to win everything like the past years. Don't get me wrong I will still give it a go but its a bit of a different mindset by myself racing against teams of 8 guys.. Im used to have the 8 man team...
Today is another hilly one with some huge climbs. Just gonna try to survive and get onto tomorrow's crit. Here is a nice article in my hometown paper about me and the race tomorrow. enjoy!
Worthington News Article
I just don't have the fitness right now to go up hills but its all good training and have to keep telling myself that I am hear for training this year and not to win everything like the past years. Don't get me wrong I will still give it a go but its a bit of a different mindset by myself racing against teams of 8 guys.. Im used to have the 8 man team...
Today is another hilly one with some huge climbs. Just gonna try to survive and get onto tomorrow's crit. Here is a nice article in my hometown paper about me and the race tomorrow. enjoy!
Worthington News Article
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