December updates

   December is an odd month for cycling, because unless you do cyclocross there is no racing. But there is a lot of base building kilometers. We are using some new stuff for the 2011 season, and is also the first time in years that I have been able to do any training this time of year. I do have some cool news.

    I just got the email from Powertap and I'm in the racer 2011 sponsored racer program. Is exiting for a racer to get any kind of sponsorship because it validates all your work , it means that someone else believes in you besides yourself. So the level of excitement went up even more, now if the wheel peeps sponsor me for the 2011 season is will be complete.

California States final 2010.

   So if I believe in myself and others believe in me,all I have to do is work hard and better things  will come. I would like to thank all the people that helped in 2010.

Cya
Ed
http://www.eellinracing.com/

Happy thanksgiving to all

  I would like to give thanks for my family, friends and girlfriend. Now as far as cycling, I'm very happy with the year after two terrible years this was great. Thank my sponsors Ron at Epic Cameras, Randy atH2ooverdrive hydration, and Steve at Cannondale. I hope that the few of you that are on the face for the 2011 season come on board, I promise you 100% effort everyday on and off the bike

I'm writing this before I go and do a 4hr training ride a lot of base miles left before any racing begins next year.

Best regards
ed

2010 haul

2010 haul
Originally uploaded by cis181ellin

Took a pic of some of the medals, jerseys and trophies that I won during the 2010 season.

Vuelta a Mexicali 2010

The team

Stage racing
         I'm not ready to do any real racing this time of year, and this time
is more poignant since I broke my collarbone about 6 weeks ago and I also have been diagnosed with EIA(exercise induced asthma).


        But some peeps I know down in Tijuana, Mexico are forming a team to race in the 2011 season down in Mexico, and they asked me if could come down and do the vuelta a Mexicali which is a 3 day 4 stage race. The thing been that I have to race open pro, because that's the team.  I expressed my doubts about my conditioning since I have only been riding for about a week and only base miles.

      The answer was don't worry be happy, everything is paid for, will pick you up and drop you off backhome. I asked my coach and he said sure a little quality training would be good for me. The other problem is that I was little under the weather and it was related to my EIA, 2 days before the first day I went to do easy night crit to test out the bike and to test the medicine I was given to help with the EIA(symbicort 320), the medicine test didn't go well, I had a bad allergic reaction. The chest pain was so great that I was sure I was going to die, Thursday morning I was feeling a little sick and my chest still hurt.

Friday came around and I went racing;
Friday morning a 7 kilometer ITT, I finished ok my I wasn't 100%
Friday afternoon a tough 75 kilometer circuit race, we went up an over pass over again and again I was in the main pack the whole time and with 2 laps to go a huge pull came as we were about to go up the ramp again I dropped a chain by the time I got it back on they were up the ramp and gone. I finished about a minute behind.

8 miles of climbing

        Saturday was a Real tough day, 100 kilometers with a 22 kilometer climb in the middle with an altitude gain of 1200 meters. The wind started to blow hard and steady, two of my teammates got dropped of the main pack as we got to the base of the mountain. I took the lead and we started to go up, the wind was brutal, gust around 30 miles per hour and then it got overcast and the temp started to drop first in the 60s, then high 50s. My teammates weren't helping and they guys we caught were dead too. So I just stayed up front, to be honest it was somewhat easy the temp dropped to 49 degrees and the drizzle I kept pulling the bunch.

4200', 13 miles in 56 minutes

       Finally we finished 3.5hr about 5 minutes from the winners, but one of my teammates was top 6 now. Next a killer 1 hr crit on Sunday. The Sunday crit was going to be late around noon, our plan now was to cover all the moves and to bring our guy to the front to see if  we could get him the 20 or so seconds he needed to get top 5.
 The only problem was that the course was pretty much like the Friday circuit two huge over passes and many sprinters, as well as two very organized teams. So we went to war the pace was nuts right from the go, a lead group try to break the  pack and each one of us covering all the attacks, about 35 minutes into it one of the teams got the break to stick, from there on it was chase to get back to them, I was spent my lack of training finally caught up with me.  With about 10 minutes to go I pulled off, the break stuck and our guy finished in 6th place and 2 other guys in the top 10. I think we did great because we came together like three days before and most were already in off season mode. So the plan is for the 2011 season to have a team to race in Mexico, at least 2 big sponsors are lined up.  I told them  that I will try to make as many races as I can but that I going after my mtb Pro upgrade in the states, including the California state championship and racing the mtb nationals in Indiana I think.

Cya next time Ed www.eellinracing.com

Well the past month has been filled with some unexpected happenings

 OK so a few days after getting second place at the California state championships, I broke my collarbone bad enough that it required surgery oh and a nice plate. This was what I would call my first real cycling injury, the good thing is that it was just a freak accident and nothing I did.  I usually pedal alone but that day I had two friends with me. 

So I been having some sinus issues all year and a few infections that we believed were sinus related. About 6 months ago I went to see a specialist about my sinus and it was so bad the he gave a treatment and told me to come back in a few weeks to see if he could see something without x rays or ct scans or a like. Well I didn't go back because I was chasing the southern Ca mtb cup and later the state championship, but now that I had some down time I went back. He scold me a little and then he asked me many questions about how I felt in the past few months, he listen did a checkup and he told me I was sick right know, I explained a couple a episodes  that I had throughout the year in which I couldn't breath at all. After I finished he told me that I have EIA(exercise induced asthma), and that would explain that lack of air feeling that I had during races only also a blood taste in my mouth.

I never ever heard of EIA neither had my dad, the good thing is that it would explain some (lack) of results I had during the year. The doc told me that is fairly easy to control ,so Im already taking some medication.

I already started to pedal again on the trainer and on saturday did a 80 mile ride, my god the neck and rarms were killing me. So after all this I feel that 2011 is going to be  great year, because I think I have all the nagging stuff out of the way.

Now I'm waiting on a couple of new sponsor for  2011 that might come on board.

So thats all for now, need to do a few thousand base miles before next season starts.

Ed.

Cali state championship 2010

    OK this was the race that I really wanted to win for obvious reasons. The September 12 race is to be the king of the hill in mtb in California. I was going to race the Cat 1 19-24 or something like that, I started the year as Cat 2 I won the southern Ca and kenda cup Cat 2 championships. So we get there midday Saturday to do some prerunning, I finally got my 2010 lefty suspension.

On the box

  It was hot in the 80s, first lap easy to learn the course, second lap faster to check lines and settings and the last half lap to cool down. The course is short but tough, the first steep hill had only one line the right side on the left was loose dirt. After that it was like most course downhill and back up. So if hard climbing is not your thing you were done by time you came back up.

   A nice downhill section a fire road and some pavement, you could pass anywhere, the way back was pavement and fire road, but the last hill to the finish was killer, steep and switchbacks. I did an easy 23 minute lap on Saturday, so I felt ok and rested, we left to have dinner and rest.

    Sunday morning had a good breakfast at a local restaurant in San Dimas, by the antique district. My race was late at 1:48pm so I had a light lunch and a lot of H2o overdrive drink, because it was going to be hot and 5 laps is a long time.

California and Kenda for 2010

   I think my wave was the 5th to take off, I tried to see who was in my group I seen at least three of them before, so when we got our start I took off behind the guys I knew, one was really strong we dropped everyone on the first climb, funny thing was that I felt like I still had a reserve so I sat on his wheel, for the whole first lap, as I go by the start finish line my dad yells you are flying, my first lap was like 16:30 we were passing pros and all the other Categories in front. About half way into the second lap I felt that the other guy was pulling away, and I just started to lose time. I cant explain it but I went into survival mode, as I went by all I said was something is wrong. The next 3 laps were a little better. As I finished I wasn't sure of my place, the 30 minutes were a long time. Eventually I got second by less than 2 minutes. So I came little short but all in all I had a great year, great things are going to come in 2011.

So by Monday I feeling a little sick, so I guess I had a head cold or something so on Tuesday I get a call from some friends telling me that they bought road bikes and that they wanted to go riding so I did about ten miles into the ride I crashed and broke my collarbone I needed surgery, somehow the front tire came partially off the rim and the wheel got stuck as it came around, I was going downhill on a curve so I hit the ground pretty hard.

So I been forced to take at least two weeks completely off the bike, will start to do some trainer work in a week or so.

I would like to thanks H2o overdrive, epic cameras and cannondale for the help in 2010 and we will have a much better 2011.

cya
Ed Ellin
http://www.eellinracing.com/

Baja racing

OK went to baja to race this Sunday, I entered U23. The pros and U23 race together and the same course. I was rested feeling ok after a few days off, but the fork and brakes were acting up and it was too late to do anything about it. The temp was just under 90 and about 1200 feet of climbing per lap, our race is 5 laps long about 5 miles each. The first lap was furious going way too fast plus the heat, a tough lap to survive.

After the first 24 minute lap I was 6 overall and 2nd U23, stayed like that for another two laps then I caught another pro which put me 5 overall and 2nd in class.
The heat was really intense I drank about 3 bottles of H2O overdrive drink, so as far as hydration was concerned I had it covered, about 10 pros quit. The bike worked great,I just need my new fork oh yeah a to put my old brakes back on.

By now I was feeling a little tired and the suspension and brakes weren't getting any better, I was making up ground on the 1st place guy but my gearing selection was not helping, so I just settle to finish the last two laps. That's how we ended up, it was a great training race, so the preparation for bonelli park looks great.

I was going to do some filming but I forgot my epic camera, I'll use it Sunday during my track race. I don't have any more races(mtb) until bonelli park, after that three long solo efforts, all endurance's .
thanks
ed ellin