New Road

I know many time I have posted here that I will keep up with my blog and I have not. For those who still visit in order to be enlightened on what I am upto, I apologize. Over the past couple of weeks I have been spending much time at the beach surfing with a good friend of mine Jason Comstock, along with spending more time at the shop getting more of the time slots punched on my card. Pretty much just enjoying some time off and well I am ready to get back on the bike, and begin my preperations for next season.


Matt ~~

Time Off

I am now home. This picture was taken from the backyard while grilling dinner tonight.

M-

POST PARTY RIDE

For those who were at the suprise party for James at Jack and Adams. I made it to Josephs house just fine while trying to ride my bike and balance a large tinfoil container of yellow rice, black bean and lettuce in one hand. The hard part was probably the large hill just across the street from Austin Java. The funny part would have to been when I reached the top and there was a girl there who also had just climbed the hill on her bike and became very happy when she saw me with the tin container, this is because she thought I had brownies and figured it would be interesting if I had some because she was on her way home to make some herself.

long time no updates

I apologize for just a laxidasical approach to my updating of this blog. I have run into two people in the past week that wanted to let me know that they read my blog and have followed my adventures over the past year or so. This means that I need to keep this updated a whole lot more often.
So here we go, I have been riding my bike alot and traveling in the car just as much





Just kidding, I would not do that to you. Such a vague story. Over the past few months the racing and other dealing that come and go have created ups and downs, mostly enjoyment. The past couple of months, I have spent a few weeks in Colorado Springs, where myself along with the rest of the team had a chance to do some altitude training in order to prepare for Road Nationals, all the while getting a three week break from racing. After this trip we headed to Seven Springs, PA. for Nationals. Here I had a hard go with the individual time trial with 21st place, and the road race was one of attrition and struggle, yet still managed to fight my way into the winning break and finish 15th on the day. The day after Nationals I found myself in the car with Shane and Thomas heading for Wisconsin for a week and a half of crits also known as Superweek. Here I was riding strong but did not manage the results I would have liked, yet I did a road race while there which was one of heat, hills and attrition where I again finished in the top 15, solid! Again in the car for another long drive this time to TX yes that is right back to TX for the state time trial championships, where I ended up 2nd only 5 hundredths of mph off the pace, crazy. The next day the team pulled at 2nd out for the team time trial title so this came out to be good weekend for the team.
Now I am in Austin heading home for a few days then back on the road to finish the season and hopefully bring some more wins to Corpus Christi.
Now I bring you the down side of the recent events. Back home in Corpus Christi, there was an incident where one of the driving forces of the cycling community is no longer with us.
Donny Kloster was taken from us one week from the day for which he was to compete in the Texas State Time Trial Championships. Donny is someone who will be dearly missed, for everything that had to do with cycling, triathlons to needy children receiving bicycle for Christmas that would not otherwise get one, he was involved. He was one of the first people who I made befriended me when I first started to ride my bike and one of the first people to ask how I was doing when I would come home and meet up with local group rides.
Donny you will forever be in our hearts.

Come back soon, for I plan to update like the days of old

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Re-play

OK, so I figure some of you guys are wondering just how Valley of the Sun played out. The TT was pretty much a standard TT, in that there was not rain or technical sections that played a big role in preparation. With this said, the course was just more than a false flat up on the way out and the opposite on the way back with a descent cross wind. The Rig I rode was pretty quick. Faster than I was on the day. Which is good because I know that once I get myself in better fitness for a solid TT that the rig will be more than capable to help display my effort.
After all the riders did their effort for the day I ended up 13th on the day and 58seconds out of the lead. This was better than last year where I was something like 32nd and 2.5 minutes down. So I was happy with the fact that I was over 1.5 minutes faster this year.
Now going into the road race, my plan was to try and pickup as one if not two of the two time bonuses on the course. That ended up harder than I would have liked. I went with the small group that was trying to get the time bonus, but was nipped at the line by three other guys putting me one spot out of a bonus. This happened one more time. Ok, so I don't sprint as well as the true sprinter, but I was pleased with my ability to freelance my way to the front and almost get a sprint. After going with a couple small breaks and getting reeled back in. When in these breaks I played it safe and did not wear myself out. With about 2 laps to go a break got off the front and with one lap to go a chase group formed and I was in nether. The main group rolls past the start line which is halfway to the finish line on the last lap and I told myself I need to be in the break if I want to win. So I jumped as hard as I could. Now at the same time the main group was catching up with Nate who was a slightly off day, and he yelled into the earpiece "GO MATT GO MATT". Once I get my effort set I sit down and make it across to the chase group which was probably 300 meters in front of the main group, and go straight to the front to try and motivate these guys to work harder. This does not work well, so I take off again. This time I don't stand up, I just accelerate in the saddle and shift to a harder gear and sit back in the saddle and mentally go into my "Belgium" mindset and bridge across to the front break.
Now that I have made it to the front break I take survey of who is there. I see two rider from the pro team rock and republic (Napatalino and Clinger) along with Bobby Lea from Toyota United and a handful of other riders I don't remember. I was looking for Clinger and Lea that is why I spotted them first. After trying to get this group to work with me and failing I have to figure out what I am going to do. At this point we are at the base of the final climb with Clinger on my wheel. So I say quietly to Clinger so only he can hear "Clinger come on lets go." I said this because I figured I would be better off taking him with me than him chasing and bringing the whole group with him, but he declines. I see my opening and instantaneously stand and accelerate out of the saddle until about 100 meters later and then sit and begin to grind out the last climb. I take a glance back and and see the gap I have created. So I continue on up the second part of the climb and take one last glimpse back and see no one coming. At this point I say to myself "get to the finish line as fast as you can so the pain with stop." So I decide go as hard as you can through the feed zone then use the final false flat down to increase the gap if possible. so when I get to the final 200 meters I think to myself shift and stand, now sprint. The next thing that comes to mind is that I am doing this I am actually winning the race. Then the other half of me says no you have not won the race yet, because the line has not been crossed yet. So you better hurry up and get there.
Once I can visibly see the line within 15 meters of my I make a couple more hard pedal strokes then sit up and zip my jersey, and give the "salute." At this point I am in shot and stay sitting upright on the bike just coasting for about 200 meters with a huge smile on my face.
After making my way back to car to get food and something to drink. Since I threw my last bottle about 4 miles before the finish to lighten up my bike as much as possible. Shortly after, I see Nate coming over the climb and he looks at me with a look on his face that said "how did you do" so I yell "I took it with a gap", which I knew would help him get through his final lap.
When the day was all said and done I was happy, no matter what the GC standing were, which I would not find out the details of until the next day around 10am.
I will continue the next entry with post road race and crit stories.

Matt

This is of Nate and myself riding to the criterium on Sunday. The first day I have officially been wearing a leaders jersey for 2007. I was happy yet nervous for what the other squads in the race had planned for trying to take it away.

The picture is of me eating after the road race. I was very tired yet excited because this was my firt win of the year and I did it with a gap over second place.

Friday

Today is Friday, two days out from Pace Bend Road Race, in Austin, TX. Pace Bend is on Lake Travis, about a 45 minute drive from where I am staying. Since the race does not start until 12:30, this means that the morning of the race will not be too hectic. Yes, I will still have to wake up early and start my pre-race process a few hours before putting my front wheel on the start line.
I am looking forward to the race because, I will be playing a support role to the other riders. Which is a good thing, in that this allows a couple of other guys on the team to go for upgrade points to become a Category 1. Since some of the bigger races that the team attends will have Pro 1 races and then a separate race for the category two cyclist. So the more riders we get into the pro field the better our chances of earning a top result. Also having riders play different roles throughout the season helps to keep the riders on the team working well together. This is because a guy knows that if he works for someone on one race, that he will get a chance to be the GC or lead rider at another race.
For those of you who are able to be in the Austin area this weekend and see the race it should be a good one, since there will be some other pros from the area and other regions of the U.S. to have a go at putting a "W" in the results slot for the season.



Matt "how many bottle do you want" Seagrave

Fotos

Here Are A Couple Pictures From The Race.

very late

I have to say Sorry to the 25th power. I have had some troubles with my blog and have not been able to keep you guys up to date on what has been going on. Well to get to the end of the story first. I will have to say that I finished on the top of the podium for GC (General Classifacation) at Valley of the Sun Stage Race.
I am working on getting some pictures posted from the race. So hopefully that will happen later today.


Matt

Valley of the Sun Stage Race!!!!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Ok, this has nothing to do with Sunday or a big blow out sale. I have another book to reccomend "The Lincoln Lawyer" by Michael Connelly.
Today, I found out that my cell phone has a pulse. That is right. I was getting out of the shower and my HR monitor was sitting next to the phone and beeping because the pulse was too low. I thought this was pretty interesting. I didnt think my phone sent out electromagnetic fields.
Other than that not a whole lot else is new around these parts. The season starts in a couple of weeks for the team with Valley of the Sun.


Matt

Books are back!

I have brougth the book section of my blog back, and wanted to tell you about another book I just read. The title is BLACK ICE by Matt Dickinson. This book takes place in the Antartic. Where a well know explorer comes in contact with an small research group. This is a fast paced read. The story is fiction, but alot of the information about the area and what could happen is based on truth.


Matt

Tah Dah

Yes, you are reading a new entry on my blog. First I need to let someone know that Nathan is safe in Grapevine. Ok, now to buisness. The team is about 38 days away from the first race. Which happens to be Valley of the Sun, in Phoenix. We will be staying with Sean and Stephanie Stepheson. This is the family that we have stayed with for the past two years. Which means we will get some killer lasagna.
Team camp was a little over a week ago. I have to say there is a good group of riders for this season and I look forward to racing with the guys. We have a kid named Parker who is the youngest rider on the team (15), yet I have to say caught my attention pretty quickly. Mostly because on the third day of camp we went to Oklahoma and about 5hrs into the ride, Nathan told me to give Parker a challenge so I attacked him and he responded. Then attacked me, once I got upto him he asked if he could attack me again. That attitude is great.
While on the topic of camp, I would like to thank everyone who had the riders over for dinner. We greatly appreciated meal and getting to know some of the Club members better.


Till then,


Matt

Update

Hello everyone. For those who heard my audio update I posted a while back, and are wondering why i did not post another one, when I said I would. That is because Blogger has discontinued that particular service. Yes, I know that is a bummer.

Today I wanted to tell you guys about a program down here that I am pretty psyched about. There is a group of athletes here in Corpus Christi call STARRS (South Texas Area Runner, Riders and Swimmers) that every year they donate bike and helmets to needy kids that would not otherwise get a chance to have a bike.STARRS


Matt

Many things have happened since last time I updated my blog. The picture here was taken about a week ago in Colorado Springs Colorado. when I went to visit my sisters, and watch the Air Force versus Notre Dame football game.

Cool Air

I am in Austin for the weekend. In order to get things in order for next season and visit some friends I have not seen or trained with in a while. I rode with some friends down to San Marcos and back. Another thing I have not done in a while is city limit sign sprints. Which we did today. This means that I had Todd "the buffalo" Gerlach as my leadout man. Since it has been a while since I have done this I did not remember where all the signs were.
On another note I have a new recipie for peach cobbler that I will have to give you guys. Ok I will just give it to you now.

1 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 stick of butter
1 large can of peaches with juice

melt butter then mix in flour and sugar.
Mix all the above together, then add peaches
put in the oven at 350 degrees
bake until top get caramel brown.

when done put ice cream on it then eat. When done get up and put more in your bowl or on your plate. This is not meant to be eaten as left overs.

Hello

This weeks has been different. I have not spent as much time on the bike, since the season ended for me a week or so ago. I have however been spending more time in school. The different part about that aspect of my week is that I have been playing the role of teacher, not student. for a couple of days this week I will be or have been a substitute for a first and second grade class. Also Today I was invited to speak to a class about energy. In its various forms and how it relates to my life as an athlete. I have to say that the week has been a really cool experience.

On the cycling side of my week. I had my first ride yesterday when I rode, when I rode to the shop (The Pedal) where I work when in town. I was happy to be back on my bike since the day before I was getting the itch and beginning to miss my bike.


Till Next Time

Matt Seagrave

funny stuff

I had to post what I just saw this morning. There was a guy in my neighborhood that was walking his dog. The funny part is that the man was on his bike and the dogs leash was tied to his seatpost. So when ever the dog wanted to run somewhere else he almost knocked the man off the bike.

Matt

Slow down

Click here!

Cool video

Must See (click here)

More Belgian team pics

One more update

You are probably wondering why are there so many updates on my blog lately. The answer would be that I am finally living in a house where I have internet access. Which means that my feet are firmly on Texas soil, more specifically, I am in Corpus Christi.
I want to say I am happy to be home for a while and look forward to seeing you guys on the road either training or racing. I have plenty more stories to share with everyone.


Matt "everything here is so far apart" Seagrave

More Pics.

Trying to bridge across the gap.

Europe Pics.

race photos

This pictures are some friends on the team
Just few pictures from this year. I will add more over time

The last race.

Good Day

I finished on the Podium again today. This has been a good week. I will fill in the details a little bit later. I will say this I attacked in the first 1.5km and was gone for the rest of the race. So it was a very hard race.

Cheers

Matt

Details

Ok, well the race in Baldagem was interesting. A majority of the guys caught a ride out to the race, something that is not usually an option. Myself and a few others decided to ride out that way we got a solid hour of riding before the race. Once we arrived we went to inscription then to the change room to put on the clothes that we were going to race in. On the way to the race it began to rain pretty good. The temperature was cool so the rain made it cold. So once dressed everyone was looking for newspaper to a under the jersey wind guard. I pulled out the flash Compliance Depot shoe covers. The race started in the rain and continued to rain pretty much the whole time (cant complain this is what the weather is like here). There were some spots on the course where the puddles actually caused enough drag on the bike you felt it slow down. This course had one short and steep muur at the start and finish of ever lap along with a long 1km climb which played to my advantage. The race was 13 laps.
Now with all needed info the races played out like this. On the first lap the group split and all nine of the kingsnorth riders where in the group. Later on the second lap everything came back together. We had a rider off at all times for the first few laps. On the 6th lap I was descending down the very narrow road after the star/finish and said to myself if I want something to stick I will have to attack from about 100 meters after the long hills begins to rise. I was sitting fourth or fifth wheel, while the whole group was strung out on the right side of the road and then jumped as hard as I could and did not look back until I was at the top of the hill to see if anyone was on my wheel, because there was a sharp right then left down hill series of turns at the top and did not want to cause a pile up if someone was there and pulling through. There were two guys. One former CSC professional and a rider from the Sean Kelly Cycling Team on my wheel. We now have 6.5 laps to go and need to work to get a gap that will not be brought back after 4 laps we had over three minutes on the field. So all we had to do was stay upright on the cobbles and other slick turns on the course. Coming into the start/finish there is one last prime. I grab it and then am attacked by the other two riders and the fight is on. We are all just doing everything we can to stay with each other and then weardown each other. I come across the line 3rd. Pretty happy, since before the race I really could not wrap my head around racing that day. O yes, I forgot the lead vehicle was playing music through a loud speaker the whole race so we had that as a motivating factor during the race. I had a smile on the face a couple times because they played some old Janet Jackson and some of my favorite beach boys tunes. There were some faster beats also.
The next day I lined up for another race in a small town just outside Evergem. Just sat in and played the waiting game once we got one of our guys in the front break. I was able to pull 15th out for the day. The best part of the race for me was when I got a lead out for about 2km for a prime. I got the prime I was pretty excited. The racing here has made me have to learn to sprint and move around in such scenarios.
Today is a day off from racing, and will be going again tomorrow. This race starts about 1km from the house and comes down the street where the farm is. I have done this course earlier this season and in 22 laps there are something like 300+ turn (17 per lap) on a 5.5km course.

Matthew

Race Results

I finished on the podium yestarday. I will update again in the next day or so with all the details of how it played out.

matt

Rain Rain go away and just leave

Get this I rode in the rain again today. Yes, that is correct, rain is falling in Belgium. All joking aside, it has been raining pretty much everyday for the past almost two weeks.
I have some new things to add to this blog. My must read list. No I am not stealing this idea from Oprah. My list includes the John Grisham books "The Bretheren" and " The Last Juror". I have some other books to add to the list once I get the proper name of the authors I will post them.
Updates on the farm. We received a clothes dryer today, which comes in very handy when trying to dry thermals and jumpers, since they take so long to dry on the line. There are now about 50 baby chicks, which are really cute to watch try and navigate the tall grass. Along with more baby ducks. The baby rabbits are now pretty big and roaming in their very large pen. Also there are now only 7 guys living in the house. There were 10 for a while. I am the only American with the rest being from New Zealand. So I will probably come home with some new words in my vocabulary.
On a whole other note. Inspiration can come at odd times and sometimes from people you would never suspect. For instance the older gentleman in about his 80s riding on the canal road when the group ride came past him. As we passed he got a smile/look of determination on his face and began to hop on the back of the group, which happen to be doing about 23mph. Now, this gentleman was not on a road bike but a town bike (heavy beast of a bike) with a rather large basket on the back with stuff inside. So I think to myself, man no matter what happens, I really love riding my bike and I can do it for a very long time. While I sit here writing this I am again listening to my brother Andrew Seagrave. His music seems to touch something inside me when I listen to it. For some reason even though it is pretty slow, I can listen to it before a race and get just as pumped but with more determined mind set than if I listened to something more traditional (i.e. eye of a tiger, or rage against the machine). Probably because I know that his music is a direct product of hard work and determination.


Till Next Time
(Something that gives you good goosebumps is worth chasing)
Matthew Seagrave

Cobbles and Mud

Well yesterday we raced in Lovendegem (low-ven-dehem). This was a really good course. With the final 1km or so of each lap being solid cobbles (22 laps). There was also the rain factor, which is not such a problem since we have had this factor off and on all season. The team got a couple guys down the road and in contention within the first couple of laps. So from that point on it was my job to just catch rides across or help split the group and make it difficult for anyone to chase our guys down. The group split and I ended up bridging across to a chase group and then came across the line 16th. I tried to attack with about 1.5 km before the finish, since I knew my sprinting on cobbles was not great and that usually I can ride over the cobbles a bit better then the rest of the guys in my group. My attack got me a gap and was caught just at the line, since somehow three cars ended up on the finishing straight with about 200 meters to go and pretty much shut me down. I still don't know quite what happened, but I was happy with my ride in that I was a little more conservative in the race.
I am planning on trying to take a few days off from racing since I have not really had more than three days between races in the last 4 months. On the note of off the bike happenings the team had a party for the sponsors and friends at the farm. This was good. I ate way too much sausage and other meat with potato salad and bread. I did get a chance to meet Willie Plunkard. A gentleman who won the green jersey for the tour de France back in the seventies and his brother Eddy won it in the 80s.

Matt

sorry for the delay

Well, I am sitting here writting this entry with two things that I missed. One being my little brothers music in my ears. If you are interested go to

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=27113912

the other being the keyboard with the key configuration from home. The only problem being that I am having to get reaccustomed to it. I ended up at the computer cafe this evening because I was going to ride to the track and watch some of the New Zealand junior track riders get ready for junior worlds that starts here in a couple of days, but got about 2km from the farm and it was raining and thought, that you guys had not heard an update in a while so I diceded to stop here. So I did it for you not so I didnt get wet, but so you would not have to wait any longer for an update. Some other non cycling related news. My older sister Jill and her husban just had there second child. No you dont understand this means I am an uncle again. This is a good thing.
Ok, so you are wondering just what I have been upto in relation to cycling. I raced in Holland a couple of days ago and my final placing was not what I wanted but I was able to pick up three primes. So I am pretty happy with that. I will be racing tommorrow in a town called Deerlijk (deer lick). O yes, well the ksyrium front wheel saw its last day of action for a while. That is I broke a spoke about 17 minutes into the race in Holland, changed wheels and got back in.
Enough about racing back to other things I have seen and experienced here in Belgium. I saw a lady the other day with a fully packed down mule walking along one of the canals, this is something I would picture in the grand canyon style hike. Also the other day I got a chance to ride with a former wold champion for cyclocross. O yea, he accomplished this three times. Some of you know that when I left I was working on a mohawk. Well that has turned into a Euro-mullet. Yes, you read correctly, the work mullet was in there. In the world of food, since I have been asked that question a few times by some of you guys. The food is really good. Waffles that tastes like dougnuts. also beer, now those who know me well, know I dont drink. Since being here I have tried one or two different beers, just to say I have had Belgium beer. Kriek (cherry style beer, no wheat) Leffe (good dark beer) Augustijn ( team sponsor). The Frits (fries) here are pretty good, but I have not had many of those either.

Till next time

Matt

Racing with the big boys

I have some good news, I now am in the process of doing all the paper work to begin racing with the full fledged professionals. So in the next couple of weeks I should hopefully have some stories to tell you of racing with some of the riders and or the teams for which you see on television and in the magazines. Cross you fingers everthing worksout. I will be representing the same team I am on now just doing the bigger races available more often.

Till then

Matt

Exploring

Steve and myself went out exploring yesterday evening. Since it does not get dark here until almost 11pm, this means that we had plenty of daylight to use. We had heard of a place where the locals go swimming, so this is what we went in search of. After not looking too hard we found this small lake type body of water. Along with a zipline that was made for kids of a slightly lighter weight than myself, but don't worry I did no harm to the ride. There is a trail going around the lake so we ride it to see what all the park had to offer, there was a putt putt course. On the way into the park there was a few signs for athletics fields etc., along with a sign for a velodrome with Eddy Merckxs name on it. After a little bit of looking we found the building which housed the track. The front doors were even unlocked, so we made our way inside and had a seat and watched some smaller kids riding. I have to say for kids of about 12 they were very good bike handlers and quite quick. Next month the Junior World Championships will be held there so I am looking forward to having a look at those races. I have also been told that there will be a post Tour de France Criterium, that will include the yellow jersey and other riders from the tour in it, talking place on Monday. This should be fun. Even if the results are staged.

Till Then

Matt

Rest and sight seeing

I have taken the past few days to recover from the last few months of racing. I went into town to see a castle, but did not get in. So I walked around some more and ended up going into Sint Baafs cathedral. I have to say if any of you come to Belgium and end up in Gent. One place you have to visit is this cathedral. There are some world renowned paintings that have been around since the 1500s. The Architectures is unbelievable. There was even a man playing a harp for the visitors. After this I strolled around to find a bakery (brood and banket), since the usually have some really good food to snack on (i.e. chocolate croissants, £1 pizzas).
Now that my self imposed break is coming to an end tomorrow, I will be racing again. My legs have been feeling better over the past couple of days and should be back to feeling good.

Matt

Second Interclub (UCI) Race

So we pull up to the parking lot set aside for the team cars, of the teams that will be participating in the race. What do I see the Davitamon Lotto car parked next to the Quickstep car, which just happens to be a little way down from the Unibet team car. In all there were about 6 pro teams involved in the race. This was probably the most difficult terrain I have raced on. when we were on traditional roads they were good, but when we were on cobbles they were bone shaking. I raced over the MUUR which just happens to be included in the Tour of Flanders along with some other long rough sections of cobbles. The Muur is really steep and windy. The scene was just like on television when you see people lined on both sides of the road cheering and trying to keep the riders moving. I have to say that I was more worried about not getting caught on the wrong side of the split, but I did not have any luck on the part so I went on a solo mission on the other side of the climb to make it across to the front group. Luckly the team car came past and handed me two fresh bottles and a coke to keep me going. I only had a couple of swigs of the coke and ended up just throwing it because I was trying to chase and could not with the coke in my hand. After a little bit a few guys came across to me and we made it to the caravan just behind the frong group. With a little daredevil riding we made it to the middle of the caravan then the next few cars did not want us to pass. Now you are thinking how is that the road should have plenty of room for both the cars and riders, and I chuckle saying no the road was barely wide enough for just the car. Since the cars were blocking up and a gap was opening up between the cars they excellerated and we lost the caravan. So once we got on the next cobble section they just disapeared out of reach and our official bid for bridging across was gone. Which was not so good because I was feeling really good and just sat in the wrong place at the wrong time and missed getting a really good result.

Till next time

Matt

Still cool and raining

Hmmm. I am sure you are curious about what experiences have occurred off the bike here in Belgium. Periodically someone will get bored and want a haircut, so one of the guys will usually volunteer to cut hair. Well one guy was getting his haircut and ended up with some bald spot on the back of his head. The even funnier part was that he did not want it to be fixed and has left it for the past couple of weeks. I am not sure if I have told you this yet, but four wheelers are legal to drive on the streets here, which can look quite funny when you are accustomed to seeing them on the road. I have had a chance to make a trip or two into town to see different sights. I have to say I have never been to a place where there are so many churches and very large and artistically designed. Sint Barths Cathedral has one of the oldest and largest oil paintings surviving today that is made up of I believe 13 panels. Due to my trip getting extended I hope to see more sights in my down time.
Now to the racing. I have had some good rides lately. Yesterday everything was panning out to be a good result. This was until we came through the roundabout and I hit the ground pretty hard and slid, due to the fact that it has been raining for hours and the surface on the roundabout was slick. I got away with scrapes on my hip, knee and torso. The only real damage to the bike was the cap on my left shifter cracked and came off. I have today and tomorrow off from racing and then on Wednesday I will be racing in an interclub. This is supposed to be a brutal race with more cobbled climbs and roads. I thought having done a race called Rouge Roubaix in Louisiana I would be a little prepared. Man was I wrong. The first time I raced on cobbles my hands were tingling for about a half hour after getting done. I will give you guys an update when I get back from the race on Wednesday.

Matt

Whats new

Here goes the last couple of races. Two days ago I raced in Holland again, which was not so bad because the ride from the farm to the start line on the bike was only about and hour or so. The race was quick and windy. The race schedule says it was a criterium, well I beg to differ. Since the course was over two miles long. The next day we had another race that was optional, but I rode to the race just to see how I felt and decide if I would race or not. I rolled to the pub where you sign in and decided that I was probably not ready to that days race, but Staf Boone decided that I should have a strong coffee and see how I felt after abit. I ended up feeling pretty good in relation to the previous thirty minutes, which was probably not 100 percent. I went ahead and entered the race and had an agreement with Staf that if I started to feel under the weather I could pull out. The race was 16 lap and 8 euro primes on every lap well after a couple laps I found myself off the front and with about a minute gap. I ended up with 4 primes. I ended pu getting reeled back in by two guys Patric and Mario. Patric who rode for CSC and finishe top ten and top twenty in races like Paris Roubaix. When they caught me with the rest of the peleton I expected a counter attack so I prepared and was luck because the whole group went with them and I jumped in the middle, then they attacked on the cobble section and my scewer came loose to they are off the front and I am losing contact with the main field since I am laying on my bars and trying to adjust my front scewer. I tried to get the guys on the team to slow the field downe for one minute and I would get back on, since I was still feeling good, but they did not get my signal and rode away. I ended up 15th on the day.
Matt

Whats up?

Well; I did my first interclub two days ago. The race was 160km with cobbles sections that rattled you to the bone; there were broken wheels and flat tires all over the place. We go one man in the lead break and I was in the chase group. There was a 70+km loop with a 10km loop that we did 7.5 times to finish the race. The pace was just as fast as the kermess races, but this lasted for 4hrs. So I was pretty tired by the end. My placing was 35th, not the best but I am happy for my first interclub. I have been told that they tend to be harder than some of the pro races just because a large number of the guys are bidding for a contract or are ex-division one professionals.
Yestarday I lined up for another race, with 11 laps (rondas}. My plan was to just sit in and roll with guys but not put in my own attack and use the day as a solid training session. About 2/3 of the way through the second lap, I found myself off the front with 6 other guys. This break ened up staying away for the whole race and I crossed the line in 6th. Just did not have the snap needed to close the deal in the final 250 meters, but I think my sprint is getting better.

Matt

Late Update

Everything is going well right now, I am racing againg later today. I have had a few races in the past week. They have gone well in that I am riding stronger and more intellegently. The last race I finished 13th and finished 3rd for the bunch sprint. This was good because we got two of our riders down the road. I got nipped at the line by about half a wheel. The race before that was a hilly race in relation to Belgium. Still even with the hills all the guys here still ride in the big ring. On Sunday there is an Interclub race with some cobble climbs, should be interesting.
Sorry for a short update, but I need to get ready for the race.

Matt

Evergem

well I raced yestarday in Evergem. The race was not real long, but still a good race. We; the team had been told that one of the riders needed to win. So this we were able to do. The course was really windy, and only had one corner you could not pedal through. The guy who on the team who ended up winning did so in a sprint off the front a little bit. I was able to pick up a prime (intermediant sprint for money} wich helped to aid in the food buying process for this week. I was very pleased that the whole team worked together to pull a break back pretty quickly whe Staf Boone gave the order. I ended up 24th on the day wich would have been ok, but i was much further up when i was nudged off the road and on the sidewalk so i sprinted down the sidewalk until i found an opening and jumped back in just before the barriers started and i would not have been able to get back on the road. Depending on the weather we may race tomorrow or not until thursday. We were supposed to race in France on thursday in a pretty large Criterium, but the race director backed out of giving us start money and taking care of expenses, which he had orgionally promised the team. I had a chance to go on a new ride today out to a town called Brugge with a few guys on the team.
Other than racing, everythingis good the farm is now full with 8 riders. I have had a chance to see some of the historical Cathedrals here; which are really ornate in design.

Matt

First Flat

I raced in Ter Hand yesterday and got a pinch flat (hit a hole in a corner @ about 30 mph) with about 5 laps (18 in the race) to go. This would not have been so bad, but I was in a break wich would have guaranteed me a top top finish at least. No worries, there are many more races to come seeing as we race just about every other day.

Matt

Wondelgem

Races yestarday, in Wondelgem. About 1km from the house. The course was 5.4km with 17 turns. The race had a hand full of ex pros, the FDJ development team, Marco Polo cycling team amongst others. So the race was fast. When it was all said and done the top speed was 48mph. We started with 100+ riders and finished with about 40. the course had pretty good roads. I race again Sunday, so the number of races has picked up quite a bit. There is a race on the schedule for the 25th of May in France. This is a pretty big Criterium, so it is a good place to be seen, also a race in June that has a prime on ever single lap. So I am looking forward to what is to come.

Matt

Hello,

Well I had this week of from racing because the only people who are allowed in the races this past week are Belgium nationals. I will race again tomorrow; wed, then sat. So far things are going good still. we finally got our heater and hot water back today, it was off for the past 6-7 days. not so bad, since the shower is in the kitchen {keuken}. So when someone is cooking this helps a little bit. Also found some hair clippers left over from last year, so i can keep looking clean cut. I am really liking the fact that the bikes have right of way over cars and there are real bike lanes everywhere ane the bikes have there own traffic lights also. Cars will literally stop at a corner to let you go by before they turn and will back away from the exit of a parking lot etc. when you are coming down the street so you have enough room before they enter the street. So there is a much different feel to things here. Emily no i have not had time to go to the museums but plan to on my next complete day off. There is also chocolate everywhere, and the good stuff. Also the other day a friend and myself found a baker that gives us bread baked that day that did not sell, so we get fresh baked bread daily for free. That goes well with the farm fresh eggs every morning.

Yesterday was another race essentially this one was like the Joe Martin Crit, with the big hill and everthing, along with the 40mph {60kmph} speeds just to stay with the race, there were a couple of times where we tried to get away and one of the guys was pulling at those speeds and then shook his elbow to singal for me to pull through, I first smiled then gritted my teeth and began to move through, luckly the next guy pulled though shortly after. Divitamon Lotto had one of there scouts out watching the race, so that is very exciting to know these guys are showing up for the races already. I race again tomorrow, and this race goes past the farm where I am living.


till next time
Matt

Dronger II

The detqils for the race. The course was about 10km from the "farm", so the ride to the race was not so bad. Other than the fact that it was raining. We found the pub where registration (inscription) takes place. For this race the change room a little different, in that it was a boat hanger. Once I got dressed and ready for the race the rain stopped but the thermometer did not get higher. Once the race started everything was good. After about three laps there was a break with two guys that have won 12 of the races so far this season. So I jumped and got in, after about 7 laps or so in the break we gained such a lead the main field was pulled from the race, and our break was left to duke it out for the win. When everything was sqid and done I came across the line 9th. So I am happy with how things are going so far.

Dronger

Last night we raced in Dronger. I was able to get into the winning break in the first three laps of twenty. I was able to pull out 9th, so my first top ten here in Belgium. Also the first cold and wet race.

Matt

more racing

well I had another race on sunday and was able to finish 17th so that was not so bad, my legs are coming around, the race was in Merelbaker (sp). the race was pretty much single file the whole time. I ended up in A two man break with some lithuanian continental team rider. Then last night again we raced? I finished one or two spots out of the money, just to keep my spot in the line a few times I had to ride at 36mph. Just missed the winning break, but still had a good ride and getting accustomed to the racing here

Holland

holland race

holland race

first race

well I had my first race in europe and it went pretty well, how does it compare to races in the state? Well it was 80km, 50 laps, we averaged 31mph. It had a little sting in it since I had not toed the line in about a month. I almost pulled out a top 10 but let q guy push off the road with 3 laps to go. That ok, just the first race, and I had been dive bombing under many riders to move up and I think one guy just did not feel cofortable with me do this at such speed, since we did not slow down for the corners.
there were some pictures taken and i will try and fin them for the blog

Matt "I am learning the metric system" seagrave

New Rig

countdown

Well, it is just about that time, for me to get on the plane and make my way to Europe, more speciifcally Ghent, Belgium. For those who read this blog and live in Corpus Christi, at the wednesday ride the Channel 3 news will be there to film parts of the ride so the more people who show up the better for the cycling community.
On another note I will post up pictures of the new rig and its saddle in the next few days. The saddle will be something you will want to see. This is because there is a gentleman who lives in Corpus that makes custom carbon saddles.

Till then

Matt Seagrave

Funny Stuff

You thought getting hit with a regular sized rubber band hurt!!


Seagrave

Whats been going on

Whats up? Well I came across a bit of information. If you were looking for Nathans race reports just click on these words.
Well I have some news to share with everyone. Now the team riders have been informed. At this time it appears as though Compliance Depot will have three of its riders racing in Europe for part of this season. Ryan who is already there with the U23 National Team, Shannon with the Womens National Team and myself with a Belgium based team. I will be leaving in a few weeks to go try my hand at Euro racing and hopefully come back stronger and ready for Elite Nationals on the road. I will keep everyone upto date via my blog here. So at this point I would like to Thank everyone that has backed the team upto this point. I have greatly enjoyed racing with everyone and look forward to racing whith everyone again once I return home.

Matt

Pace Bend

I apologize, I currently done have a laptop so I really only get a chance to update my blog once I make it back home, where I am now.
Well, we did. The team put together a good race and took the "W" on the Texas turf. After multiple attemps by our riders along with other teams to make the race come down to a solo victory. The race ended in a sprint. So that means one of our sprinters got a chance to shine and cross the line with his hands in the air. I have to say this was only possible because everyone worked together and made the other teams have to work.


Segrave

First Trip

You will be able to read all about the actual races so I will only breifly touch upon that aspect of our trip and tell you about the other situations we got ourselves into during the past week or so of being on the road.
Everything started out in New Braunfels. Everything went well during the TT. The road race did not go as well, this is because I ended up doing more work during the race, due to the fact that there was a little mix up on what I was supposed to do. The Criterium went a bit better and the team was able to pull a top ten finish for the day. On the Girls side, they were able to pull a 1, 2 finish in GC. After all the racing was over Shannon, Stephanie, Shane, Nate and myself climbed into the van and began to drive towards Arizona. This is when all the interesting stories begin and interesting photos from the Arizona part of the trip will also be appearing on the other blogs from the team. I will add the Arizona parts tonight when I get back from work.

Matt "got to stop on the freeway" Seagrave

Pics on Sock Guy

Check this out and this this is from Rouge Roubaix 2005

Something New

someyhing different

IT'S A GIRL!

That's right. There I have a new addition. My parents are even cool about everything, they said we could share a room. So I am pretty excited I get to see her every morning when I wake up. Her name is Lapierre for now, until I come up with something a little more permanent.

Police Escort

Yes, I did get a police escort today, no I did not get to wear any fancy matching bracelets with the nifty chain that connect them. I was out doing a ride today and a police officer rolled up on me. I looked over and recognized the face as a gentleman who has come into the shop where I work. Since it was raining the whole 6hrs that I was on the bike. He ended up being my follow car and then proceeded to block all the intersections so that cars would have to stop and I did not. This did not last the whole ride so while I was in his patrol area, but was nice while it lasted. The only thing that could have made this better would to have been able to get some motor pacing off the squad car.
On another note I would like to welcome our new rider tracks Akerhielm.


Matt "I got the law on my side" Seagrave

feeling good

I have finally made a full recovery from the illness I caught at training camp. We (the team) are about two weeks away from our first team race and about three weeks away from out first race out of Texas. For those racing this weekend I say good luck.

Update

He might not have told you guys, but Troy is in the top 3 for both division I and II rankings for TXBRA Cyclocross Cup Points.

State Cross Race

My boy Troy was second at the State Cross Race yestarday. So Good on ya.

update kinda late

Sorry for the fact that my update is kinda late. Well, you see I got back from camp and got back into the swing of things and something started to make me feel not so well. So ever since then I have pretty much just been in bed and on the couch.
Other than that the week prior to this one was pretty good getting all the new and some of the old riders together to see how things are possibly going to be. I have to say that I have a feeling that there will be more togetherness this year. All the riders seem to have a common goal in mind. I will goin into various other stories later. Just wanted to stop in and say that I am still here.

Matt

Training Camp

I just arrived home from training camp. i will update the blog here tonight and tomorrow. Trust me there are some stories that you will not want to miss.

Matt "how am I getting home" Seagrave

Something New

A little something new.

pictoral update

I wanted to share a picture of me and my niece Julia. This picture was taken about a month or so ago at my parents house.

cheers

Matt

Bird day

I am back from Colorado, and will sign back on tomorrow to give you the low down on what I did.

Matt

New Additions

Whats up? just thought I would drop in and give you a little bit of an update. Training is going pretty good. Work has been keeping me busy, especially now that the holidays are getting ready to be in full swing. It was crazy the other day we sold 15 bikes and the day was only half over. Crazy stuff. I have recieved a little more help on the nutrition side as of three days ago "mm mm good" so I am looking forward to this for 2006.
There is not really anything else new going on right now, but I will keep you guys updated when I come acroos anything.

Video you should watch

click here

Funny video

Click on the link and watch the video

Interesting Day

Whats up everyone. Well yestarday was an interesting day, in that I was mistaken for a native South African. Yes, that is correct you did not read that incorrectly. Today was a jam packed day. I went for my ride and when I got home found that the school where I substitute teach called. The maintnance man needed some help around the school. I said I would be glad to help him out for a while. After a few hours of that I realized I needed to get over to the bike shop where I usually work. It is kinda funny because when I show up at the shop business usually slows down in relation to what it had been previously in the day. Still trying to figure that one out.
To give you guys a little idea of what may be appearing on my blog in the next couple of weeks. There is a guy here in town that shapes surfboards, and had begun to make custom carbon fiber saddles. When he is done with his latest one I told him I would post it up on my blob.

Matt "I dont really write about training as much" Seagrave

Something New

As I promised something interesting happened to me at work today. Have you ever thought of someone you have not seen in a long time and wonder what they are upto yet never run into them so you keep wondering. Well that is kind of what happened to me today. Except I had been wondering what had heppened to a good friend of mine that I met back in highschool. Now the last time I remember seeing her was probably at least 8 years ago. While I was at work and helping on of the customers with a bike I noticed someone over on the far side of the store and so I looked over quickly to see if they had been helped. This person looked familiar but I could only see the side of her face and that was from an angle, yet the first thing I thought was "That is Jennifer." "No it couldnt be" about two minutes later she walked in front of me on the other side of one of the racks that holds the bike and looked over and we both realized who the other was. The situation was cool.
Ok, Ok, I know that was a long explanation for something that could have only taken a couple of sentences, but those who know me know I do like to tell stories. Which some of them can get long and in much more detail than needed.
O yea, the training aspect of an update. I rode today, I went down this one street that is by my parents house then turned around and came back to the house. Then I went to the gym and lifted heavy metal objets and grunted. well the grunting was not needed because I am not lifting real heavy weights yet, but i wanted to fit in with the other guys in the gym.
All in all it was a good day. I hope the blog has added a little entertainment for you.

Matt "random updates" Seagrave

Whats up?

Well, I dont really have anything exciting and fun to tell you guys. Yet, I knew you were probably tired of checking back over the past week or so and seeing that my blog was unchanged. O yea, you are probably wondering about the entry I had that was in a couple forgien languages. I can explain. I found this really cool translator and was playing with it for a while and thought I would integrate it into my blog one time. I guess that is all right now. Keep checking back, because who knows something very exciting could happen and day now and I will post it for everyone to read.

Matt "my news is bland" Seagrave

Breaking News

Check it out. Shannon had updated her blog. just click on "shannons blog" on the right sidebar.

matt

In full swing

The weather is cooling off and the time has changed. I am getting back into the full swing of training again. Today, I woke up at 5am and drove to Austin with my dad. He had a buisness meeting so I figured I would catch a ride up there and do some riding, where the roads have a little more undulation to them than Corpus.
When I arrived I called up Ryan Keels (new guy for 06), and we met up and rode for a few hours together. with about 5 minutes left in my ride it was time to go meet up with my dad and head back down south. The day involved alot of driving but was worth getting a chance to get out of town for a few hours and ride in some hills.

Matt "I like to go up" Seagrae

The base season begins tomrrow

行だLe demain est le premier jour de la nouvelle saison et everthing va être commencer frais. Vérifiez ainsi en arrière plus des mises à jour comme les jours roulent dessus.。更(Tomorrow is the first day of the new season and everthing is going to be starting fresh. So check back for more updates as the days roll on.)新があるように確認するそうたくわえ。行っているか。

Almost time to start back

Mi dos interrupción de la semana se acaba y estaré volviendo en la bicicleta y empezando al fuerte preparado la 2006 temporada que compite. La interrupción ha sido agradable, pero soy más que listo para obtener yendo otra vez.

Off the bike

Well the decision was made today. I am officially off the bike and doing other activities to keep myself sane. I have to say that all in all this season was productive for myself in that I came back stronger this year than I left the year before and had a few good showings. Today I also began working on some of my side projects that I have had to put off until the off season. So I will be trying to work diligently over the next two weeks to get those in gear.
I will keep you posted on how things are going for me over the winter.


M g
a a r !
t e a e
t s v

Over

Well, Now that my season is over. I am able to take a couple days and ride for as short or long as I wish. So today I woke up and rode my bike to church and back. That took about ten minutes round trip. Then wen I got home I installed a new digital thermastate in my folks house. Later in the evening I rode down to the seawall and rode my bike on that for a little while. I will be getting into the gym here really soon to begin the whole process of grunting and looking at myself in the mirror.
I would like to thank Andre for feeding us during the race this past weekend.


Matt "base miles" Seagrave

Celebrity Classic #2

Well, Sunday was different then Saturday in that it was dry the whole race. Sunday I wanted to have another good day but make it better and try and get into the top ten. The end result was good, in that I was able to achieve that goal. Yet, not without a bit of hard work. As usual the race took off pretty fast and so I sat towards the front and went with different moves and eventually ended up in a break that almost lapped the main field. While in the break I attacked a few time really hard from the opposite side of the road just to try and widdle the number of guys down since our group was racing for 5th place on the day. I was right in it until about the very end when I just did not have a sprint.
When the race was over, I had some of the riders from some of the pro teams I was in the break with come up to me and let me know they thought I rode really strong and put a good bit of pressure on the break. This meant alot to me.

Celebrity Classic

Saturday was the first of two days of crits in downtown Van Buren, AR. The course was a large "L" shape. I will give you the race stories in the order for which they occurred.
We arrived to the race course about 1.5hrs prior to the start of our race. I had ridden down from the hotel earlier in the day to spin out my legs and see the course at the same time. Shannon was in the midst of her race not to mention she just about to lap the field when I arrived. I did not get a chance to see her breakaway catch the field but I heard it on the speaks a block away, I thought to myself, that has got to be an awsome feeling. She ended up finishing 3rd on the day.
Now for the guys race. The clouds were looming while we were warming up. I did not think too much of this because there have been plenty of training days where the clouds showed up yet the rain never fell. We rode the course a few times before the race was officially stages.
The pace was quick from the gun and I was able to get towards the front from the gun. After about 20 minutes or so of the 90 minute race it began to rain and a large number a racers began to exit due to the speed and the wet roads. I got a message from Nathan over the radio to just take my own line and sit on the back, because the race was not a priority. This is exactly what I did, then when we came to the front side straight with about 35 minutes left the group bunched up and I kept rolling along with three other guys and then I put the hammer down and got our break off. I know I was supposed to sit on the back but I wanted to race. This four man break was sticking then a small group bridged up to us and we were now about 8 strong. Coming into the final straight my whole bike slid to one side due to the wet road so I decided since I wanted to be upright across the line I would not contest the sprint and take my top 20 placing.
When the day was said and done I was happy with my racing.

Check back for the second day of the Celebrity Classic

Arkansas

First I would like let Mrs. Rogut know that Nathan was in Arkansas with us and is now back in Dallas.
The racing started on Friday with the cavanal hill climb. This is a 5mile climb with some of the climb at 15% grade. We arrived at 4:30 thinking the race began at 6pm, well this was incorrect and it started at 5pm. Yes, we were in a hurry to get warmed up and ready to go. When it was all said and done I finished 3rd overall behind Scott Moniger and another rider from Oklahoma.

Georgia #3

The 100K Classic race report and other interesting happenings will be posted in the next day or so. So check back on the blog. Maybe I can dig up some pictures from the race.


Matt

Georgia #2

Ok, so the next morning we did not have to race until 11a.m., which is good since we did not get done racing until 10p.m. and off the bikes until 10:30 or so. This way we could sleep in a little bit and actually take advantage of the hotels breakfast. Instead of having to leave before they begin serving. As you probably guessed, no we did not get much sleep at all, since after getting back from the race, taking a shower, getting food and everything ready for the next days race we did not get to bed until around 1a.m., that right no need to rub your eyes and look at the time again, I typed 1a.m. This race was a 110km race, which meant that we had to do 10 laps of the course (whoo hoo!) Those you know me, know that I do not enjoy multiple loop coursed except for crits, because after a bit of time on a crit course everything runs together, but on a road course this is not so much. Well in the race we were working for Joe Miller because he was sitting the highest in the Omnium. That did not exactly exist, which we found out later on in the day when it came time to pick up race winnings. During the race I got myself into a break that lasted about 40-50 miles or so. This way Joe could sit in and not work so much. This worked and he was able to keep his legs fresh for the end of the day.

Check back

Matt

Georgia #1

We left for Atlanta on Thursday and drove straight through arriving around 2:30 in the morning and then slept for quite a while. Because the drive took about 15 hours instead of the usual 10-12 hours. You are probably asking yourself. Why did it take so long to get to Atlanta. Well, when you are driving through parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama where they are on a gasoline shortage it takes just a little longer. This is because when you do find a gas station that has gas we had to wait in line for at least 30 minutes just to get to the pump, then we had to cross our fingers that that pump was working correctly. We you got to the pump the limit was $25. When driving a Suburban $25 dollars worth of gas at $2.49 a gallon is not going to get you down the road very far. So this ended up happening a few times when trying to get to Atlanta. Now I am not saying this was negative part of our trip. No this was very entertaining, because you got a chance to see and be apart of something I thought I would not see for a very long time. That is having to ration gasoline. There was once when a couple of people pulled up to the pump after having waited a good while and then said had no money for gas. So the people next to them reached into their pockets and handed them money almost as fast as they could say they needed help. This was pretty cool to see.
Ok, well we finally made our way to Atlanta and the next day we had a twilight crit, with Shannon racing at 7:30pm and Nate, Joe and myself racing at 9pm. The races went well. Shannon put in some good attacks to try and breakup the field and get something going. While in the mens race Nathan took a flyer early on and I later in the race tried a couple time to get off with no real success. The last break a made was sticking for a while then my partner in the break broke himself. Joes was able to keep himself safe and came across the line in 8th for the evening.
One more little story and I will stop for the day. At the end of the crit I was very hungry and needed something to eat. Joe went to check results Nate later went and followed to check them out also. I was on my way to the same area when I found a very large Submarine sandwich that someone did not want. So I grabbed it and rolled off to check on the guys. I see Nate talking to someone so I roll up and don't say a word. Just sitting on my top tube eating my newly found sandwich.

Check back later

Matt "Can I have some of your sandwich" Seagrave

Georgia and Florida

Well, we are back from racing in Georgia and visiting Nathans family in Florida. I have some good stories from the race and everthing that went on around the racing. I will be filling you guys in over the next few days.

Matt

The Fam. 

Columbus Part 2

I did not mention that Columbus has a leaders jersey this year. Shannon had the chance to ride in yellow for the womens p1/2/3 road race. The only draw back was all they had was large so she had to pin the jersey so that it did not flap all over the place in the wind.
Okay, well here comes the part of the race where I walk into the door. The individual TT was about 3.5 to 4 hours after the finish of the road race. Seeing as I did not get much sleep the night before I tried to get some in between the road race and TT. Due to the high humidity and sheer heat we all did the bulk of our warmup in the hotel room. This helped cut down on the fluid loss. After warming up we rode over to the start and did our thing. I took off feeling good and kept my 30 sec. man in sight the whole time then I felt the roughness of the road with about 3 miles to go. Then I looked down and sure enough my tire was going flat. Watching my speed I noticed that it was going down, while my percieved exertion was going up. So I kept going but after a mile of flat, my 30 sec man was further down the road than before. I ended up losing time to the second place guy in GC, which moved me to 2nd in GC.
Sunday morning, the crit. well, I got alot more sleep for this race and I was happy. My legs felt good and I had some of my oatmeal (glue as nathan calls it) which keeps me from getting hungry. The race started off good. I just stayed up in the front 5 the whole race which kept the accelerations and decelerations to a minimum. Nathan helped out when a situation arose, where the guy in 3rd (GC) got down the road and I was blocked out of the attack so could not react. Nate helped to real the guys closer to the pack. I was feeling good all the way to the end, Carlos countered on of my last attacks and I just could not get up to him. Keeping me in 2nd overall. I have to thank those of you who were there cheering us on during the race. This definately helps.
O yea, Shannon was able to pull the "W" for the womens crit.
Hopefully there wil be some pictures that can be posted from the race.

Matt "I cant sleep" Seagrave

Columbus Stage Race

Well, I am back at my folks house. This weekend was like walking down a dark hallway that has closed door. Yes you will get to your final destination ok, but for the short time when you walk smack into the door it hurts.
Fridays evening was the Prologue (1.5miles). Everything was going good then fourth pedal stroke into it I pulled right out of my pedal. I made it into my rhythm and was moving well then on the fourth or fifth turn I started to take the turn too much speed and about took a small group of people out so I had to grab my brakes, (and for those of you who are familiar with my TT, yes I did have my brakes set so they would grab for the prologue) after that I got my self back up to speed and was off and was able to secure a descent finish and within striking distance for tomorrow.
Saturday, this was interesting seeing as I did not get more than three hours of sleep. So when I got up for the road race I thought to myself. Well, I really hope I don't let the guys down today. I was feeling good, but just questioned the lack of sleep. Since we were staying just down the road from the start we rode there. From the gun everything was good and staying together with a few breaks. I never initiated anything but would just sit on wheels that rolled. With about 1.5 miles to go in the 4th of 5 laps troy was on the front with me on his wheel just cruising at about 22mph when I hear on the radio "you have a gap" so I half look over my shoulder and then tell Troy we have a gap so I jump instantaneously. This last mile of the loop goes through winding roads of downtown Columbus so I think get a gap and out of site. So I make it through this section past the feed zone and am able to get a bottle. Then put my head down and go and tell myself "it is only 30km" I pretty much rode scared the whole time. Taking a mental survey of how my body was doing every 5-10 minutes and made adjustments accordingly. When I came back into town I told myself get to the bridge, when I got to the bridge I stood up and tried to get to the line as fast as I could. So with the gap I had over 2nd place and the main group I was now the leader of the race.
I will finish this in another installment tonight or tomorrow.

Trivia

Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?

you can put your answer in the comments section, and I will post the correct answer in a couple days.

State Time Trial Continued

Ok, so Saturday mooning we get out the course around 7 a.m. and begin to unpack and get everything ready. My body was not waking up so I grabbed a Monster out of the cooler and took a sip. After a couple minutes on the bike and I was ready to get my warmup rolling. The warmup I do is anywhere from 45 to 55 minutes depending on the temperature outside. Nathan had figured out that from the car to the start line was about a ten minute ride. This was going to workout perfect for my warmup plans. With about 15 minutes until my start I get my bike off the trainer and put the disc on that Nate let me borrow for the weekend. Put the aero helmet on and put a fresh bottle in the cage and one more laying on my aerobars for the ride to the start line. Once I get to the start line I see I have about 8 minutes to go. So I double back and do two last very short pickups and then go to the start line with two minutes to go and wait. I am called up and ready to get this going.
I am off. 200 meters later a massive wind and downpour hit. I can not see a thing and my bike is being pushed all over the road this lasted about 12km or so. Once it stopped and I could read my computer I looked down to see my heart rate, I was good so I kept going at that intensity. A couple minutes later I looked down at my speed, because I was feeling really comfortable and saw 33mph. I was happy and at this point getting ready for the turn around. After the turn around I was able to catch a couple people. One guy I caught, I ended up going back and forth with for the rest of the race.
When the race was over a small group of us were asking each other what times we had posted. After checking with a few guys I had an idea that I finished top three, but was still not real sure. So the team waited around to find out what the official results were. I ended up taking the win. This what I had wanted, mostly because I have been struggling with getting comfortable on my TT bike and Saturday was the first day this year I was able to put a good ride together.

Matt

State Individual Time Trial

Today was the State Time Trial, and I have good news to share. Both Troy and myself took the state title. Troy in the U23 category and myself in the P12. I will give the detail later on when I am done eating.

Matt

A Wise Old Owl

A wise old owl sat on an oak,
The more he saw the less he spoke;
The less he spoke the more he heard;
Why aren't we like that wise old bird?

-Edward Hersey Richards-

Ponder!

He who knows not and knows not that he knows not,
He is a fool--shun him;
He who knows not and knows he knows not,
He is simple--teach him;
He who knows and knows not he knows,
He is asleep--wake hime;
He who knows and knows he knows,
He is wise; follow him.