Travis punches old man; Sprints to 5th in team debut!

So, I know that it's been a good long while since I've written on here, but now I truly have something to write about, so off we go!

So this past weekend marked the official Team Sonic-Treehouse Racing debut! After months of working to align sponsor commitments, straightening out kits and bikes, struggling through too many nights on that dreaded trainer, we were finally ready to step out into the Tennessee morning air and give it a go. Our first test was the one-day race, The Hell of the South...hmm, sounds benign.

The Hell of the South was a first edition race that was slated as a "classics" style one-day race created to test the meddle of each racer with plenty of rough terrain, some fast downhill sections with lots of decreasing radius turns, a few little kickers and a sweet little pave' section just for good measure. For a small, first edition race, HOS drummed up quite a good bit of buzz throughout the southeastern racing scene and, as such, all of the southern states were well represented by some of the best riders in the region. With 2 broken saddles, hundreds of flats, thousands of orphaned water bottles and a lost saddle pack, the HOS certainly lived up to its name as a rough riding hard-man's course!

The morning was cold and overcast but warm enough to do without all of the bulky winter riding paraphernalia. Since it was the first Tennessee race of the year, the pace was extremely high from the gun as everyone was excited to show their form - or lack thereof. Over the first 10k, we averaged about 34mph while the pack swelled and slimmed over the undulating terrain - everyone anticipating that first pave' section. Just as we thought, the pave' made for a nice place to attack as a group of 5 went up the road over the loose uphill sections. Luke came off the pave' in no man's land and chased the break for a few miles without success and was soon consumed by the field. Thus went the race - up the road. Travis made some very strong turns on the front later in the lap to pull the break back into sight though, it seems that everyone assumed it would come back into the fold...it didn't. While the break dangled at around 10 seconds for a few miles, at some point, the they punched it and we never saw them again.

Speaking of punching, did I mention that Travis punched an old man on the course?! Okay, so, he didn't really punch him and I don't think he was really that old (not Robert G. old anyway...) - just gave him a nice firm hand on the hip to let him where he should have been riding, as opposed to setting up camp on Travis' back! Later on, Travis did the team one better when, sensing the time was right, made a great move to the front of the group coming in to the finish and completely dusted the field for 5th place on the day! The only downside of this is that the old man that Trav love tapped got his revenge and pipped ol' Travis at the line to win the field sprint. I guess Travis' back was the place to be all along! Who knew?! This, though, is how lessons are learned and all in all, the team rode very well for a first effort despite missing the early move. Both Philly and Sam were active at the front of the group to keep the pace high and were involved in several mid-race moves that just couldn't make it work.

Next up, the team will be split this weekend as most of us - Sam, Travis, Philly, Luke, and Lyn will be heading to Tuscaloosa for the aptly named Tour de Tuscaloosa. Bradley will be the lone racer for us competing in an early season time trial and criterium in the Charter Communications Sprung Forward Omnium. Good luck to all of the guys this weekend and stay tuned for more updates!

Cheers!

Team Sonic-Treehouse Racing

give me shelter

So, this isn't necessarily team news and I know that I am behind on reporting some of the recent happenings with Team Sonic-Treehouse Racing. Still, I thought that this was worthy of report.

Tonight was my first night ride of the winter riding season and also my first intentional night ride in Maryville, TN, my home of 4 months now. The night air was cool and the sky was slightly darkened by a thin covering of clouds - no moon to light the way this ride. I kitted up in my garage, applying several blinkies to my bike, 1 obnoxious strobing red light to the rear of my jersey and a magnificently luminous head lamp worthy of a New York Harbor tug. Being seen is the name of the game here. After airing up my tires I hopped on my bike hoping that traffic would be minimal and understanding. It didn't take long for me to remember why I so loved riding in the dark. There is a stillness to the earth and an aloneness that seems to embrace you in a way that reaffirms your belief that this, cycling, is your true calling. No sooner had I silently waxed on about the rejuvenating stillness than an 18-wheeler overloaded with hay flew by me, horn blaring, forcing me off the road to wash the dust out of my eyes and mouth. Sh*t...it's going to be this kind of ride, eh? I almost turned around to head home, content to survive the night, though, stubborn, I decided to head on.

Maybe 2 minutes down the road another car, more high-beams, tailing, WTF'ing...frustration. I turned onto Old Walland Hwy, hoping the lights would continue straight but they hesitated and followed...and followed...I waved, motioning them around and they proceeded to follow. A number of things ran through my head as I turned I made turn after turn only to be followed each time by the same washed out yellow lights. Finally, after about an hour of this, I came to an intersection and stopped, unclipped and circled back to find a smoking 30-something woman staring out a half open window, apologizing for 'freaking me out'. She said that she saw me out there in the dark and was worried that someone was going to hit me, so she just decided to follow me to keep me in the light. I was so surprised at first that I barely managed a thank you. I chatted with her for another minute or two, telling her that how appreciative I was for her generosity and patience but that I was more than comfortable out there and that it would be quite alright for her to head home. She would have none of it.

That lady followed me for about 2 hours tonight, hazards warning those who came from behind of my presence and high-beams on to make sure that I could see the road ahead. She said that a friend had done the same for her when she was learning to ride her motorcycle and that this would be her good deed for the day. Every single one of us, cyclists, triathletes, runners....all of us whose training grounds double as roads...we've all had countless encounters with cursing mad maniacs who spit and yell and throw garbage, but how many of us have had an experience like this one? An amazingly positive encounter with someone who had absolutely no reason to offer me kindness and protection. Sometimes the most surprising and humbling kindness comes when you least expect it....when you most need it.

My chain-smoking guardian angel....Joanna, wherever you are, I am grateful.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers,

Luke

No more unicorns...actual pictures of the new team kit!

So, as promised, here are the first proofs for the new Team Sonic-Treehouse Racing kits! This piece is for the Wind Vest. You'll notice right away that we're not black, red, and white. You'll also notice that we are bright-glow-in-the-dark green and yellow so we're definitely going to stick out in a crowd. I'm really excited about the design and so are the other guys and I know that Deter over at INHAUS CREATIVE / Treehouse Racing worked extremely hard on the details of these kits. (Deter, if you're reading this, thanks for all of the hard work and attention that you paid to these designs....it has definitely paid off!)

It has been an exciting couple of months pulling the details of the team together and we're all really looking forward to racing next year! Stay tuned for more team news.

Cheers,

Team Sonic-Treehouse Racing

New Team Uniforms Are Here!!!

...but for some reason, I am unable to upload the photos to the blog. So, until that issue is resolved, you get a picture of a unicorn....because it rhymes. And they're pretty. More to follow...soon, hopefully.

blinded by the light...

The exact wording of the next line of that song would be the stuff of foggy conversation for decades....and some of you may not know that it was in fact the Boss - Bruce Springsteen, and not Manfred Mann, who wrote those fine lyrics that defied a generation. But that was the old Boss....the Boss of "Darkness...." and not of and "Tom Joad" or "Philadelphia". I think I'm getting ahead of myself.

Speaking of Philly, though - my buddy Phil could tell you a thing or two about being blinded: By the rain, mostly, and his eyeballs.

10th IN THE WORLD, people!!!! Here is his story....

Killer made the 6 hour journey to Concord, NC for the World Duathlon Championships, only to be met with torrential downpour and gale force winds (okay, so maybe not that strong). Where other men would've packed it in, Phil was "moderately amused" by the prospect of racing for 2 hours in unrelenting, stinging rain. From the time that the alarm clock rang at 5:30am, the rain fell continuously and didn't stop for the entirety of the race. Anyone who has ever ridden or run in the rain knows that, while glasses are nice to have so that the rain isn't pinging your eyeballs like mini hammers, the other side of the coin is that you're constantly battling fogging lenses. While most of us choose the comfort of glasses and just deal with the fog, 4 miles into the bike, our boy Philly said "rainy hammers be damned!" and threw his glasses out on the course (...or put them in his jersey pocket). Now, I'll spare you much editorializing here, but suffice it to say that Phil is blind without his glasses. This isn't even hyperbole, Phil really cannot see without his glasses. This fact is also part of what makes the name "Killer" ironic.

One look at the stats and it's easy to see that riding blind didn't hurt Phil at all. In fact, according to Killer himself, it probably helped him out because he couldn't see well enough to slow down for the massive puddles of standing water that had accumulated on the course over the past 12 hours. Like a Jedi rhinoceros, Phil plowed through rivers and lakes with reckless abandon to a final 40k time of about 57 minutes and while this story of riding blindly makes good theater, the real story of the race is Phil's run.

I asked Phil about his 10k run and I could tell that he was pleased by the result, but only because I've known him for a while. Phil doesn't smile, unless he's eating cookies. "I came through the first mile in 5:22 and I was in about 80th place. I'd never seen anything like it before, that many people literally sprinting the first mile, so I just settled in and started picking people off." Phil finished off the next 5.2 miles in a total time of 35:35 and what's most remarkable about this is that while 75% of those runners who were in front of Phil at the first mile lost minutes off of their pace, Phil only slowed by 20 seconds. That's called knowing your strength and running within yourself. Having run with Phil before, I can tell you that if you let him get into a groove, he is an absolute machine. He won't kick you, he won't surge on you, but he'll grind you down...slowly...painfully.

His final race time was 1:53:45 - good for 10th best in the world. I just want to say, also, that Philly and his wife and perennial team mom, Jilly, just had a beautiful baby girl, and like all new parents, have been steady averaging about 2 hours of sleep a night. Ask Phil how that can throw your training off just a smidge. I only bring it up to make the point that next year, Philly "Jedi Rhino" Martindale may just find himself on the podium in Edinburgh.

Stay tuned for more Phil news as he heads to the flatlander fest - Powerman Florida. Before I could even ask him, Phil just pointed to an invisible left field somewhere (not smiling) and said "I'm going there to win the whole damned thing." The End.

- Team Sonic-Treehouse Racing

Philly vs the World....

A man of many names....

This weekend, Philip "Killer/Philmo/Philly" Martindale will test the world's best in the ITU World Duathlon Championship in Concord, NC. Phil made the best of a short 2009 season to rack up several impressive wins and podiums at some of the most illustrious races in the country including a 1st overall amateur placing at this year's Powerman Alabama (seen below). He was also invited to race on the USA National Duathlon Team after an impressive performance at the Duathlon National Championships earlier this year. So, if you see Phil out before this weekend, make sure you wish him "good luck" as he runs-bikes-and-runs in support of the Stars and Stripes!

Additionally, Phil is planning on racing the Atomic Duathlon in Oak Ridge, TN this October 18th as the returning Champion. Phil took the overall at last year's event in convincing fashion - besting his next closest competitor by more than 2 and a half minutes, putting in an absolutely blistering bike leg. Trust me, this dude is the real deal. They don't call him "killer" because he's funny.

Go Phil!

- Team Sonic-Treehouse Racing

It's Official.....

It's official! Team Sonic has joined forces with an amazing new sponsor: TREEHOUSE RACING. These guys are a local business out of Nashville, TN who specialize in making high performance racing modifications to older model BMWs. They do some amazing work to turn these already incredible cars into full-on racing machines. Since they like to race and, well, so do we, it only made sense to join forces. We're looking forward to having a great season for 2010 with TREEHOUSE RACING in strong support and hope to forge a relationship that will continue for years to come. Visit their website for additional information on the company and their specialties by clicking the the title of this blog. Also, check out this picture of the red beast that stormed from the gates of these mates' garage - racing on Road Atlanta, no less. Now, if I can only convince them to let me get behind the wheel...

Cheers,

Team Sonic - Treehouse Racing