http://web.me.com/kmanderz/Site/Home.html
I'm relocating my blogging. This site will allow me to work without internet and hopefully result in more updates for everyone...maybe...fingers crossed!
So use this URL: http://web.me.com/kmanderz/Site/Home.html and then click on the blog link at the top!
Enjoy
4.06.2009
3.20.2009
Working on it....
Ok everyone....I know I have been more than horrible about keeping this up to date...SORRY!
I'm working on starting a new site that I will hopefully be able to post to more easily! I'll keep you posted.
In the mean time a quick rundown:
I'm in Austin now, local race this weekend. Fly to Redlands Wed and race Thur-Sun. Fly to MI for a day. Fly to Europe for a month to race in northern europe and for the US and check out that scene. Fly back to the states and hit the domestic calender for the rest of the summer.
Got lots to do today so that's all for now!
kacey
I'm working on starting a new site that I will hopefully be able to post to more easily! I'll keep you posted.
In the mean time a quick rundown:
I'm in Austin now, local race this weekend. Fly to Redlands Wed and race Thur-Sun. Fly to MI for a day. Fly to Europe for a month to race in northern europe and for the US and check out that scene. Fly back to the states and hit the domestic calender for the rest of the summer.
Got lots to do today so that's all for now!
kacey
2.12.2009
Copenhagen World Cup
Sorry, I have been less than good about updating, but yeah here is a blurp.
Copenhagen, Denmark World Cup February 13-15, 2009
World Cup Whirlwind – from the first timer’s perspective
2/10/09
6:30pm Mountain Time
I’m sitting on my first flight of the adventure (Denver-Chicago) and when I really stop to think, my mind floods and it is hard to sort out all the thoughts, as they seem to scream through my mind with an utter calmness. I feel as ready as I can be for now. I know there is much room for improvement but that serves to excite and motivate me even more. One of the recurring thoughts that comes to mind is of all the people who have supported me and made everything I do possible. The obvious first thought of my parents and sister who have always been there and taken more flack from me than anyone else ten fold. Beyond that however I think of my extended family who have grown with me in learning and support for the sport, thank you! Then I always seem to end up reminiscing about how I got my start in this sport and all the wonderful people who I owe so much of my success to!
2/12/09
12:56pm Copenhagen Denmark
I made it safely to Denmark from Chicago and all my stuff even made it with me! (carry-on, one bag, one wheel case, one huge bike bag!) Everyone is here now, which consists of: Jim Miller (US coach), Andrew Hawkes (Mechanic), the men: Colby Pearce, Daniel Holloway, Taylor Phinney, and the women: Shelley Olds, Kim Geist, Kacey Manderfield. There are a few others here from the US with their trade team, Hawk Relay, but we have yet to connect with them. Yesterday we dropped all the bikes and gear at the track before scavenging for some food. Lucky us there is a marked about 50meters from our front door! Also lucky for us most of our food is taken care of by the host hotel because everything here is expensive. This morning we ventured out into the cold gray air to unpack our bikes and hit the rollers to get the legs going. We did our roller training in the track center while the allotted teams got in their track time. We have our USA Team slot tonight 6-7:30pm so now it is just chill, eat, and drink until our session. Other than my continued ability to get poor sleep everything is going well. Legs feel pretty good and will be even better after a few more painful openers! It’s just another bike race, right? It just happens to be with the fastest riders in the world, and I can’t wait! I’m hoping both the scratch and points race will have heats as it gives me a trial run on gearing and I can then make a rather educated decision on my gearing for the finals. At this point I just have to get my legs open, relax and mentally prepare for the races, which pretty much involves not over analyzing anything…I’m getting better at this! Next the focus with be to race the heats smart and get qualified for the final. Then game on and I better bring my A game to the table plus some!
Copenhagen, Denmark World Cup February 13-15, 2009
World Cup Whirlwind – from the first timer’s perspective
2/10/09
6:30pm Mountain Time
I’m sitting on my first flight of the adventure (Denver-Chicago) and when I really stop to think, my mind floods and it is hard to sort out all the thoughts, as they seem to scream through my mind with an utter calmness. I feel as ready as I can be for now. I know there is much room for improvement but that serves to excite and motivate me even more. One of the recurring thoughts that comes to mind is of all the people who have supported me and made everything I do possible. The obvious first thought of my parents and sister who have always been there and taken more flack from me than anyone else ten fold. Beyond that however I think of my extended family who have grown with me in learning and support for the sport, thank you! Then I always seem to end up reminiscing about how I got my start in this sport and all the wonderful people who I owe so much of my success to!
2/12/09
12:56pm Copenhagen Denmark
I made it safely to Denmark from Chicago and all my stuff even made it with me! (carry-on, one bag, one wheel case, one huge bike bag!) Everyone is here now, which consists of: Jim Miller (US coach), Andrew Hawkes (Mechanic), the men: Colby Pearce, Daniel Holloway, Taylor Phinney, and the women: Shelley Olds, Kim Geist, Kacey Manderfield. There are a few others here from the US with their trade team, Hawk Relay, but we have yet to connect with them. Yesterday we dropped all the bikes and gear at the track before scavenging for some food. Lucky us there is a marked about 50meters from our front door! Also lucky for us most of our food is taken care of by the host hotel because everything here is expensive. This morning we ventured out into the cold gray air to unpack our bikes and hit the rollers to get the legs going. We did our roller training in the track center while the allotted teams got in their track time. We have our USA Team slot tonight 6-7:30pm so now it is just chill, eat, and drink until our session. Other than my continued ability to get poor sleep everything is going well. Legs feel pretty good and will be even better after a few more painful openers! It’s just another bike race, right? It just happens to be with the fastest riders in the world, and I can’t wait! I’m hoping both the scratch and points race will have heats as it gives me a trial run on gearing and I can then make a rather educated decision on my gearing for the finals. At this point I just have to get my legs open, relax and mentally prepare for the races, which pretty much involves not over analyzing anything…I’m getting better at this! Next the focus with be to race the heats smart and get qualified for the final. Then game on and I better bring my A game to the table plus some!
1.08.2009
Me and the Birdie...
On my ride yesterday...
We had two things in common: we were working hard to move forward; I by pedaling and the birdie by flapping its wings, and we were both going pretty much nowhere but rather holding more of a stagnant position. Had we given up we most certainly would have gone backward very fast. Yes, that is what I have to say about my ride yesterday. First of all I really need to find a local weather guru similar to Ray's Weather in the high country because weather.com just isn't cutting it. A forecasted 20-30mph winds was more like a reality of 40-60mph winds. The first 45 min or so of the ride were not too bad, I was just getting out of town and out to the area I wanted to ride in. The wind was strong but it was ridable and noting I couldn't handle. I even saw a few others out, which meant it must not be too bad. Conveniently I get myself all the way out of town to 79th (broadway is 9th) and I start to loop around, headed for a canyon climb to finish my ride. I make my way along the roads and get back to 63rd with no problems. Then it was about 1/4 to 1/2 way across 63rd that I looked out across the open land and thought: "man, that wind looks like it's coming in strong"...but I've been alright so far...right? Yeah! right into the ditch! The wind was picking up and the gusts were mostly unmanageable. Luckily I figured out a trick. Just as the wind would start to blow me off my bike to the right and into the ditch I would unclip my left foot and swing some momentum that way to keep myself upright and just use my left foot as a skidding base to counter my wheels being thrown across the pavement and into the gravel...it was just splendid. I had to literally stop a few times just to get myself back on track. I didn't dare go too fast because I knew that would make the random gusts harder to control and I would probably end up on my face at speed. I thought "if I can just get to the north-south running street I will have a head wind rather than a side and I will be able to control that better". Um...yeah, that didn't work out soo well either. I had a head wind alright and this is when I meet my friend birdie, who was also trying to go North and making very little progress. I found I was semi-correct about the headwind being better for handling the bike. However, every now and then it would have little angled approaches and then rather than just being thrown one way I would get caught in a swerve where my bike would literally basically flip the front wheel back and forth, left, right, left, while I tried to control it without too much force, which would of course result in a crash. I had to stop a few time to wait for the wind to calm down. Dirt and dust was screaming across the fields and at times pelting my face and getting in my eyes, even though I had glasses on. Eventually even I just broke down and put my hand out...it was time to hitch hike back to Boulder. I knew I would have to do this once I made it to the main road because the wind was guaranteed to be strong there and I would be lined up to be blown right into the middle of a main hwy. Lucky for me a nice man in a truck picked me up and took me back to North Boulder where I knew I could make it back relatively safely. It was a good thing because his truck was being blown...I think I might have actually had some take off action with wheels leaving the pavement if I had attempted that. Even once back in town I had a close call and somehow as I was smashed up against a curb I managed to hop up on the sidewalk rather than crashing back in the direction of traffic. Needless to say I will not ride in that again, I will not call MI "windy" anymore and I will find an accurate weather forecaster for this area.
Winds such as there also result in some pretty nasty destruction sometimes. Boulder saw two fires yesterday and at least one of them was very bad. I believe power lines were blown out and that is how the blaze started. After meeting my Uncle Mike for dinner out East of town I could see the blaze in the Mtn on my way back to the foothills and it was an incredible sight. The way fire and ambers can light up a dark sky, the smoke billowing above the mountain range. I hate to say it has a strange beauty to it as many things in nature do, but it's massive destruction of the wildlife and peoples homes can be devastating and hard to recover from. Best thought and wishes to all those impacted and a big thanks to those who spent hours fighting it.
We had two things in common: we were working hard to move forward; I by pedaling and the birdie by flapping its wings, and we were both going pretty much nowhere but rather holding more of a stagnant position. Had we given up we most certainly would have gone backward very fast. Yes, that is what I have to say about my ride yesterday. First of all I really need to find a local weather guru similar to Ray's Weather in the high country because weather.com just isn't cutting it. A forecasted 20-30mph winds was more like a reality of 40-60mph winds. The first 45 min or so of the ride were not too bad, I was just getting out of town and out to the area I wanted to ride in. The wind was strong but it was ridable and noting I couldn't handle. I even saw a few others out, which meant it must not be too bad. Conveniently I get myself all the way out of town to 79th (broadway is 9th) and I start to loop around, headed for a canyon climb to finish my ride. I make my way along the roads and get back to 63rd with no problems. Then it was about 1/4 to 1/2 way across 63rd that I looked out across the open land and thought: "man, that wind looks like it's coming in strong"...but I've been alright so far...right? Yeah! right into the ditch! The wind was picking up and the gusts were mostly unmanageable. Luckily I figured out a trick. Just as the wind would start to blow me off my bike to the right and into the ditch I would unclip my left foot and swing some momentum that way to keep myself upright and just use my left foot as a skidding base to counter my wheels being thrown across the pavement and into the gravel...it was just splendid. I had to literally stop a few times just to get myself back on track. I didn't dare go too fast because I knew that would make the random gusts harder to control and I would probably end up on my face at speed. I thought "if I can just get to the north-south running street I will have a head wind rather than a side and I will be able to control that better". Um...yeah, that didn't work out soo well either. I had a head wind alright and this is when I meet my friend birdie, who was also trying to go North and making very little progress. I found I was semi-correct about the headwind being better for handling the bike. However, every now and then it would have little angled approaches and then rather than just being thrown one way I would get caught in a swerve where my bike would literally basically flip the front wheel back and forth, left, right, left, while I tried to control it without too much force, which would of course result in a crash. I had to stop a few time to wait for the wind to calm down. Dirt and dust was screaming across the fields and at times pelting my face and getting in my eyes, even though I had glasses on. Eventually even I just broke down and put my hand out...it was time to hitch hike back to Boulder. I knew I would have to do this once I made it to the main road because the wind was guaranteed to be strong there and I would be lined up to be blown right into the middle of a main hwy. Lucky for me a nice man in a truck picked me up and took me back to North Boulder where I knew I could make it back relatively safely. It was a good thing because his truck was being blown...I think I might have actually had some take off action with wheels leaving the pavement if I had attempted that. Even once back in town I had a close call and somehow as I was smashed up against a curb I managed to hop up on the sidewalk rather than crashing back in the direction of traffic. Needless to say I will not ride in that again, I will not call MI "windy" anymore and I will find an accurate weather forecaster for this area.
Winds such as there also result in some pretty nasty destruction sometimes. Boulder saw two fires yesterday and at least one of them was very bad. I believe power lines were blown out and that is how the blaze started. After meeting my Uncle Mike for dinner out East of town I could see the blaze in the Mtn on my way back to the foothills and it was an incredible sight. The way fire and ambers can light up a dark sky, the smoke billowing above the mountain range. I hate to say it has a strange beauty to it as many things in nature do, but it's massive destruction of the wildlife and peoples homes can be devastating and hard to recover from. Best thought and wishes to all those impacted and a big thanks to those who spent hours fighting it.
1.07.2009
Only in Boulder...
Just an average day at the new indoor velodrome in Boulder, CO and look who shows up...yeah, I know, they heard I was coming and wanted to be there for the event!...yeah right!
For those of you who may not know the tall kid in the middle is non other than the Taylor Phinney, an average 18yr old who happened to go to the olympics, oh and how also has a world title. Then off to the right is Colby Pearce, my amazing coach and somewhat of a legend to US track cycling, also a past olympian. And next to him is Sarah Hammer, a world champion in pursuit and yes olympian as well! These were the folks I got to ride with my second day at the indoor velodrome!
Colby getting ready to lead me out for an effort
Coach Colby and I!
Sarah was in town enjoying some mountain time and doing a few tests so it was good to see her and Andy
Day after fun at the track Colby blessed Julian and I with a wonderful jog/run and plyo work out...yeah I'm still feeling that and it was 2 days ago!
I dropped by the track to see what was happening and say hi to Guy and Julian came by as well. The urge to be a kid never dies!
Well, I'm about to head down the mtn for the day. Get in a good training session and then meet up with Uncle Mike for dinner! His is in Denver on business so he is going to come visit me!
Thought I was going to be settled in CO for a bit but think again. Headed to CA again end of Jan for camp with the US and looks like there may be some other travels happening after that as well!
For those of you who may not know the tall kid in the middle is non other than the Taylor Phinney, an average 18yr old who happened to go to the olympics, oh and how also has a world title. Then off to the right is Colby Pearce, my amazing coach and somewhat of a legend to US track cycling, also a past olympian. And next to him is Sarah Hammer, a world champion in pursuit and yes olympian as well! These were the folks I got to ride with my second day at the indoor velodrome!
Colby getting ready to lead me out for an effort
Coach Colby and I!
Sarah was in town enjoying some mountain time and doing a few tests so it was good to see her and Andy
Day after fun at the track Colby blessed Julian and I with a wonderful jog/run and plyo work out...yeah I'm still feeling that and it was 2 days ago!
I dropped by the track to see what was happening and say hi to Guy and Julian came by as well. The urge to be a kid never dies!
Well, I'm about to head down the mtn for the day. Get in a good training session and then meet up with Uncle Mike for dinner! His is in Denver on business so he is going to come visit me!
Thought I was going to be settled in CO for a bit but think again. Headed to CA again end of Jan for camp with the US and looks like there may be some other travels happening after that as well!
1.03.2009
Back in CO
Just a quick note...
I've made it back to Colorado after all the Christmas festivities and it is time to get back to business and work! I road the new indoor velodrome in Boulder for the first time yesterday and it was pretty wild. Super small like the London, ON track. It will be good for indoor training although I still by far prefer the Bloomer 200!!!
Other than that I've got all sorts of things floating around in my head and up my sleeves for one thing or another...pretty much the usual.
Today is the "grand opening" of the indoor track so I'll attend those festivities and likely just talk way more than any normal person should. I gotta make up for lost time and meet some new folks!
Hopefully I'll have some more pictures soon.
I've made it back to Colorado after all the Christmas festivities and it is time to get back to business and work! I road the new indoor velodrome in Boulder for the first time yesterday and it was pretty wild. Super small like the London, ON track. It will be good for indoor training although I still by far prefer the Bloomer 200!!!
Other than that I've got all sorts of things floating around in my head and up my sleeves for one thing or another...pretty much the usual.
Today is the "grand opening" of the indoor track so I'll attend those festivities and likely just talk way more than any normal person should. I gotta make up for lost time and meet some new folks!
Hopefully I'll have some more pictures soon.
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