As some of you may know, on the last day of Gila, I managed to do a nice little number on my unsuspecting ankle. I’d like to tell it as so… I was screaming down a treacherous descent, when a bear came onto my path giving me no choice but to obliterate its existence… while singing the star spangled banner. Me not the bear, c’mon a singing bear is just not believable! OK, what really went down was me and a handful of other guys while moving briskly, but smoothly over a flat valley road. That’s what happens when someone tries to squeeze where they cannot fit. Such a crash left three other guys with loads of road rash and me, mostly unscathed with an ankle that was broken in 4 places.

With the close observation and high quality treatment from local (Mesa) Podiatrist and longtime cyclist Lewis Freed, my recovery has been relatively quick and surgery was narrowly evaded. After logging 7 weeks in a couple of casts (pink, so hot right now)  its on to a sweet removable boot. Also, knocking out  the physical therapy side of things at Proactive Institute, a little bit of walking and long missed quality time with my friend Mr. Trainer.

What has come over the past two months since the bear incident has been a mostly positive experience. Knowing that I would not be turning a pedal tomorrow, the next day or even weeks from then quickly brings the big picture in to view. As a positive note, there has never been a better time for a good viewing of the big picture. There is also the chance to live a little differently, develop some relationships, read (even a few books without pictures),  do some manual work and drink copious amounts of the caffeinated black gold.

But alas, my time to take to the roads of  Tucson seems to be  steadily approaching. When that time comes to strap questionable light blue helmet back on, I’m going to do so as a rider that will allow myself to enjoy my sport a little more… just have mercy on me when you pass me on Mt. Lemmon!

Its been a few days since the conclusion of the Tour or the Gila in New Mexico, and as with any race there were varying fortunes for everyone involved. For us we had an excellent start with Cookies 4th place finish on the tough opening Mogollon stage.

From there we continued to ride well as a team and rallied around Cooke. The intent being to keep the Rideclean name up in the GC standings as well as top 5 in the Team Classification. As the race moved forward, things continued to look solid through the Time-Trial where we still held top 10 in the GC , then rode smart through the tough 100 minute Criterium. We knew that, as always, it comes down to the final days 105 mile Gila Monster stage that would take us over thousands of feet of climbing. Good for us, as Cooke is about a buck thirty and manages to pull some impressive power from his skinny frame.

This is where it gets weird. Rolling out of Silver City, the group was mostly relaxed when an unexpected crash involving Cam Evans of Ouch, took Cooke down within the first 5 miles. Just like that, the fall resulted in a broken collarbone and the end of the road. From there we reshuffled and came across two more bizarre crashes. The first, taking Scott Nydam out of the break and to the hospital in bad shape, and the second taking myself, Glick and Gilyard down on a non-technical, straight section of road. Fortunately, both Glick and Gilyard were able to get going with minor damage, while I was forced out of the race with a 5 fractures throughout my foot, ankle and leg. The remaining guys were able to finish the race, but as you can imagine we were all disappointed and dazed as to how quickly the race had turned for us.

As I write this, I’ve got the leg propped up pondering how I can best spend the next few months off the bike in order to come back stronger. I do know for sure that with the motivation from a strong team showing at Gila, the support from my awesome friends and family, and with the help of Dr. Lewis Freed, I will be back as soon as possible. Meanwhile, I can’t help but laugh and think: “eh, thats bike racing.”

-Ron

Double day at the Vuelta. Started off with an 83 mile, morning road race, that ended up being a well controlled race all the way to the sprint back into town. Type 1 and Tecos blew it up in the last couple of k’s, so we were a little spread out coming in. Type 1 were rewarded for their efforts with a stage win for Darren Lill.

About 4hrs later everyone was kitted back up, ready to do battle in the 7.2 mile time-trial. The afternoons biggest challenge came in the 45mpg wind gusts that swept the course. With the winds, success not only takes a strong rider, but a rider with the skill to hold it together in the aero bars. Phil Zajicek took the days honors, putting him into the race lead by 31 seconds. Brian Forbes knocked out a solid ride, bringing him up to 19th in GC. As did Kyle Colavito, holding down 24th.

Sundays road race through Tombstone will likely be a hammer fest as Tecos and Type 1 will be looking to take the final stage and overall honors. And maybe a little more wind?

-Ron

Event A; Senior Men Pro 1-2, Stage Two Results Here.

Event B; Master’s Men, Stage Two Results Here.

Event A; Senior Men Pro 1-2, Stage Three Results Here.

Event B; Master’s Men Stage Three Results Here.

Event A; Senior Men Pro 1-2 GC Results Here.

Event B; Master’s Men GC Results Here.

The La Vuelta de Bisbee is now officially underway with the conclusion of the Mule Pass Prologue. I retain my stance on there being something wrong with hurdling yourself at the side of a mountain for 10 +/- minutes… until I can kill it. Unfortunately, the internet connection at the Bisbee Gym Suites is spotty at best, but I can tell you that Vega of Tecos tore it up with a time of 9 minutes 35 seconds. As for us, the times might not have been what we expected, but there will be plenty of opportunities in tomorrows Sulphur Springs Road Race to put the Rideclean name into the mix. For now, It’s off to bed.

Event A; Senior Men Pro 1-2, Prologue Results Here.

Event B; Master’s Men, Prologue Results Here.

Event A; Senior Men Pro 1-2, GC Here.

Event B; Master’s Men, GC Here.

Instead of dwelling too much on my less than ideal ride at Redlands, I think I’d like to throw down a few positive words on how impressive the AZ teams were over the weekend.

Starting with the men’s field, there would be no stick shaking toward the stacked 200 man starting list for Redlands. Nor could you talk down the difficulty of its 4 stages. So when I see the familiar faces of the Rideclean and WM teams, grimacing in pain each day after successfully crossing the line, I can only say that there are some strong and talented individuals coming out of this state.

The same goes for the lone local women’s team Specialized D4w. These normally smiling beautiful faces, were turned to faces of pure focus and often times pain, not unlike any other woman in the field. All in effort to hold their own against the likes of world class team Columbia and highly regarded national/international teams.

Redlands, being one of the hardest stage races you will see in the United States, did not disappoint for ‘09. Neither did our teams. So if you happen to see these riders out on the road, don’t be afraid to commend them on a job well done. Because after battling the strong winds, stacked fields, crashes and leg sapping climbs, these riders deserve it!

As for myself, I’m looking forward to the racing coming up, starting with the UofA Crit and Tumacacori this weekend. Then its back to putting the nose to the stone for La Vuelta de Bisbee and Tour of the Gila Stage Race. The season is only beginning!

- Ron

As has gone for the past few seasons, it is once again time for me and a few others from Arizona to hit the old dusty trail. The National Racing Calendar gets up to speed this coming weekend with the Redlands Cycling Classic in Redlands, California.

This race signals the change from a preparation mentality, to a buckle down and be ready to box mindset. NRC races like this are the places where aspiring young athletes like myself go to put our hard efforts to the test and do our best to showcase our talents. The excitement that arises from the opportunity to do so for the first time this season, is as high as its ever been for me.

A strong winter training base in Tucson, along with a the quality early season races like Valley of the Sun, Tucson Bicycle Classic and the handful of hotly contested Crits have brought me to Cali with the confidence and form to toe the line with the best riders in the nation.

The final touch has been added to my prep with the San Dimas Stage Race over the past weekend. Although it is not an ideal ride for myself, its a perfect reminder of the level that we are racing at, the matches must be burned wisely. In addition, the team as a whole looks like it will be ready to hold its own against a stacked field this weekend.

Hey everyone, This is Ron Jensen and I’d like to welcome you to the best site ever. Okay, it may be a long term goal, and apparently there may be some competition within this so called ‘internet’ thing,   But, I do have to say that I am super stoked to be part of the Velocity Group Cycling site and the passion that these folks share for Arizona cycling.

Having been around Arizona cycling in some capacity for over half my life, I hope to bring a little insight in to what its like chasing the dream of racing as a professional cyclist.