it's been a while

last week, i had 5 tests and an oral report. this week, i've had 2 tests and an oral report. next week so far i have 2 tests. i finished reading the odyssey for school, now i'm on bel-ami for french. having absolutely no homework tonight, i've decided to wake my blog up from the dead and start it up again. currently, my cervelo is in the shop getting a fork replacement, a 3T will be on it now, because of the recalls, 12 forks randomly broke all around the world in a couple months so they did a recall. i'm taking 2 weeks off the bike to rest and it feels really good. i've been doing core stuff for a week now, slowly ramping it up every week. i did the mt. tam hill climb, rode with mike hutchinson, had the team picture day and the dinner is sunday.

Adam Hodes
Mt. Tamalpais Hill Climb
9/27/08
Juniors 15/16 mixed with 17/18
Field: 35 in all
Time: 48minutes
Place: 8th overall, 5th or 6th in 15/16s
Teammates: Kevin, Dylan

I drove to the race and got to Stinson Beach a little before 8. I went and registered and then got on the rollers for a 40minute warm-up. I went to the line, already knowing who to watch out for. There were some 10/12s and 13/14s with our field and the Highway 1 part was sketchy. A team Swift guy attacked and then another bridged up. Andreas (DBC) started brigding so I moved up to the front to keep an eye on things and the move never got more than 5 seconds. Whole Athlete put their team on the front before the turn onto Bolinas-Fairfax and I moved to the front. Tyler Brandt (Swift) attacked first and I got on his wheel and stayed there for a mile or so. He kept whittling down the group until there were about 6 people left. Chris (Swift) and John (Whole Athlete) got a 10 second gap and then out of sight. We moved on to the 7 sisters, 7 painful rollers. It was really hot out on the rollers. Will (Whole Athlete) attacked every time a roller started. On the steepest one, the 4th or 5th, I got dropped from the chase group of 4. Ben Sukys (ETS) caught me and he pulled the rest of the way. Another Whole Athlete guy caught us and we caught the chase group right before the finish, but I didn’t have anything left to sprint. Overall, I’m happy with my time, because I knocked 4minutes off last year’s, but I was hoping for a better placing.


Adam Hodes
Mt. Diablo Challenge
10/5/08
Wave 1
Time: 53:30
Place: 37th overall, 2nd in juniors

I registered and warmed up in a little neighborhood just off Diablo Rd., next to the school. I warmed up for about 30 minutes and then I headed over to the line, with 20 minutes until start time still, but already people were lined up. I had a good spot up near the front, about 3 or 4 rows back. On the start line there were people saying “Oh well, this is the first time I’ve ridden my bike all year” and things of that sort scared me, especially since they were in wave 1. Once we started, it was one big mess. There were people all over the road and people weaving around. There was one group that shot off with the really fast people and then there was a second group, going a little easier, but still hard and I was in that group. It was about 25 strong as we went past the 1000ft. elevation sign. Eventually, we would catch riders being dropped by the fast pace of the front group that was out of sight. We kept charging, going through Rock City, I made sure I had a draft behind a big fat guy. Right after we passed the junction, the pace was lifted. The group of 25 was now down to 5. We went through the steep part and where it leveled out there, I just couldn’t hold the pace anymore. I rode on my own for about a half mile past Juniper and then people started catching me from our original group. I made sure to be on someone’s wheel right after Devil’s Elbow because a headwind had picked up. I passed the parking lot where all the festivities were and I heard Lance’s voice yelling at me. And then Andreas passed me on the wall. I was like oh well, and he beat me by about 10 seconds.