More Pic's

Had to post some more pics from the week... here ya go!

Me, Mark, and Tim rockin our new jerseys..

Doing a post race interview with a beer in my hand.. as ya do....

Pop, lock, and drop it....

okay onto the fun stuff...

Bennett in the pool at the after party.. you know where the weight room is?

The boys having a few casuals.....

Bennett working his game..."I'm kind of a big deal...."

Jagerbomb didn't settle real well with Josh....

"You Drink!" Tara drops the hammer in an intense game of asshole. Notice: Is Josh passed out sitting up??

Gavic makes it rain with $5 bills ya'll.....

Awesome clip!

Here is a sweet video clip of the finish yesterday... As soon as the bugs clear from the A&F after party last night I will post a full report:-) and tons of hilarious pics from the party....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Xv33qXbu0

Our young fella had a bit of a nasty crash... if your into that sort of thing check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i740hrygToI



Also, here is pic that is on the cover of the Springfield newspaper....

reports on all stages...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2007/jun07/tourofohio07/default

winning the sprint jersey... blowing kisses to the fam! who ever said I was cocky?

on the front......



post it....



nuff said....

Tour of Ohio Stage 4

Today's stage was basically in my backyard so the team met at my place before the race... it was nice to have our team meeting in air conditioning rather than outside in the 90 degree heat. We came up with a plan and the best part of it is that we executed it to perfection. Mark was tied for the lead but we didn't have the yellow jersey so that was our plan.... get it back. With time bonus's on the line at the finish we wanted to put Mark in position to get them and take the lead. The team rode great and I actually scored some more points in the Sprinter competition along the way which was a bonus. We controlled everything as if we already had the jersey and in the end it was all together.. With 5 laps to go we had 4 of us at the front with Mark in tow. The team was unreal and I did my last pull coming to see 1 to go and that was it for me. Josh looked after Mark until Kelly Benefits jumped us. Mark rode them up to the last corner and turned it on to win by about 4 bike lengths and back into the yellow jersey... So tomorrow A&F will wear all 3 jerseys which will be super cool. The race was awesome and it was great to have all my friends and family there cheering us on... Thanks for coming out and your welcome for giving you a reason to drink. 2 more days of racing and the team is on an ultimate high... Today's mission accomplished.

cruising...

The train starts.....

Trains winding up...Do I look like I'm having fun?

End Result.

**Photo's compliment of Blair Fraley... you rock!

Tour of Ohio Update

Stage 2 was a rough one with bad weather and a challenging course that was rolling the whole time and 2 super steep short climbs. One of the climbs was to the finish line as well. We rode very aggressive and controlled the race the whole day. We made the race very hard and in the end there were only about 50 guys of the 130 in the lead group. With about a half lap to go (4 miles) Dewie Dickey got away by himself. We stuck everyone on the front and slowly were pulling him in. I was cramping pretty bad so we decided to set up Josh England for the finish as he had already won the 2 KOM sprints of the day. Coming into the last time up the hill with about 2K to go Hekman was bring Dewie back and I took over as we could see the hill. I put my last big effort in and we caught Dewie at the base of the climb. Josh placed himself nicely and put it too everyone in the sprint winning and making it 2 for 2 for A&F. I crawled in at the tail end of the group to get the same time. Josh and I were tied for the lead and since he had a better place in the crit then I did in the road race he took the yellow. Keep it in the family!

Yesterday was brutal with the hilliest day of the Tour. Our plan was to let our overall guys.. Josh, Hekman, and Gavic, sit and do nothing until the last hard 3 climbs that started at 15 miles to go. Tim Swain got in a break and was gone the entire day and I covered everything behind him being in numerous groups all day. Hekman eventually got away in a group and joined Tim's group. I got away right after that with another rider but we could only get within 30 secs of them and that was it. We got caught in the end and I exploded. Hekman rode a great ride getting his crit legs over the hills. Dickey again bridged to them and out sprinted Hekman for the win. Hekman rode his ass off for 2nd. Unfortunately though Hekman and Dickey are now tied and Dickey takes the jersey from us since he won the stage.

Today's stage is in my backyard in Worthington and after our little tactical error yesterday the boys are super motivated and ready to take the race up a notch. stay tuned.

check out www.cyclingnews.com - Tour of Ohio for reports and full results on each stage.

Tour of Ohio Stage 1

After a long week in California I flew back into Columbus on Sunday and got in about 1 am... and Stage 1 was set for Monday evening.. ouch... 127 riders this year for Tour of Ohio and A&F was fielding 9. The 1st stage was a tight 1K 8 corner course.. sweet! My favorite. The legs were a bit rough from all the traveling and the long flight. We basically dominated the race and everyone rode super aggressive which was our plan. There were 3 sprints for the sprint jersey and we set them up nicely with Hekman winning all 3 of them and I got 2nd in 2 of them... in the end no one could get away so the boyz lined it up for yours truly... Josh did the last big dig for a couple laps and then Hekman took over with me in tow and about a half lap to go. Out of the last corner I kicked around him and won with Hek holding on for 2nd... YEAH! Good start. I also pulled on the yellow jersey as the leader and Hek has the green jersey. Today is a tougher road race with a couple good hills in it.. should be interesting.

Hek and me coming to the line

Summer Solstice

Last weekend was a small stage race in Ohio. Road race Friday night, RR and a TT on Sat and a RR on Sun. I have been training like mad and I trained right through this bad boy. I had a prior engagement on Sunday so I was only doing Fri and Sat. Going in a bit tired and not doing the whole thing I wanted to work for my teammates. A break with 2 of our guys was away the whole race and somehow got caught on the last lap. We set up for the sprint and our leadout train was a mess.. I did some freelancing and in the end was 2nd to John Puffer of Roadhouse... Damn! Legs are a bit heavy and definitely didn't have my top gear. Saturday was a mess with half our team thinking the start was one place (including me) and scrambling to find the race. Me and Tim rode up to the start as they were rolling away... just in the knick of time.. Our other teammates were not as lucky as they missed the start. The legs were rough and I spent half the day chasing a break for the team. In the end 1 guy stayed away and with about 2K to go the attacks started and I went from on the front to the back... with about 1K to go I was about 30 guys back and finally recovered.. I did some more freelancing and came through the middle of the field in the last 200 meters and ended up 3rd in the field and 4th in the stage. So I was sitting in 2nd overall but had to DNF the rest.. oh well.... Tuesday I was on a plane and I sit in a hotel room in San Francisco writing this. I came out here with Tara for my friend Bugs' wedding on Saturday. We decided to come out early and spend some time with Tara's sister Tammy as well as get some good training time in the mountains before Tour of Ohio that starts Monday. My boys fly in on Thursday so it will be out of control. Tour of Ohio starts Monday and the crew is coming to town.. should be a fun week!

CSC Invitational

CSC Invitational has come and gone. This was a tough one as only 8 amateurs were aloud in the entire race. Hekman and I were lucky enough to be chosen to take part of the 8 man "Composite All Star" team. They put Mark and I up in the Hyatt Regency (thanks Arlington Sports), which was super nice. Friday night we bounced out to have a quick peak at Washington DC and get some dinner. Saturday rolled around before we knew it and it was HOT. 100k on a 1k course, the temp was about 95 and sunny, and we were set for a 12:30 start. Our composite jersey was that of the Harley Davidson Team.. which is completely black...nice, make it hotter. Well needless to say I had a shit race. I tried to chill for the 1st part.. then moved up nicely and was feeling pretty good except I was on fire... I basically boiled over a little over halfway and came unglued at the seems. Apparently we had some people feeding us but I never saw them... Oh well, had a shit race, not sure it was the heat, the legs, or that my jersey and shorts didn't match.. prolly the latter (haha).. but either way I was shit and not happy about it. only 50 finishers and Hek did a great job sticking it out for 13th and keeping his overall lead in the Crit Series. We had a good night in DC Sat night and then it was on a flight home on Sunday. Back into some training and getting ready for Tour of Ohio in a couple weeks.



Myself, Liz and Hamblen try to figure out the new space age parking meters in DC


We didn't match very well....


Although the orange matched Mark's hair....