Race With Ryan Baumann

Much to come

2009-11-04T12:56:00.000-06:00

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bahati-names-15-rider-roster

Bahati to race alongside Clarke and O'Neill

The Bahati Foundation Pro Cycling Team has announced a 15-rider roster for their debut season in 2010.

As part of the announcement, Team principal Rahsaan Bahati has confirmed that he will race as part of his newly formed team. Yesterday he had confirmed that he was still looking for a rider contract.

"I'm blessed to have a talented group of individuals who can deliver the message for the Bahati Foundation while winning races at a professional level," said Bahati.

"I’m truly excited to know my future is in the hands of people who are dedicated to the sport and want to give back to the communities that are lacking structure and resources."

Australia's Hilton Clarke will return to the US racing scene with Bahati after a year with ProTour squad Fuji-Servetto. Clarke's compatriot Nathan O'Neill has also been named in the team and will mark his comeback to racing after he completed a suspension for a positive drugs test last November.

The USA's Jason Donald will be the team's other former-ProTour recruit. He leaves Garmin-Slipstream after three seasons. Bahati's former-Rock Racing teammate Cesar Grajales has also been confirmed as part of the team's inaugural line up.

The full 2010 Bahati Foundation Pro Cycling Team roster is:

Rahsaan Bahati
Nathan O’Neill
Hilton Clarke
Jason Donald
Matt Rice
Cesar Grajales
Ryan Baumann
Corey Collier
Bobby Lea
Alex Hagman
Peter Carey
Phillip Mann
Evan Hyde
Ian Burnett
Lanell Rockmore

Congrats in order

2009-10-08T10:24:00.003-05:00

Check out Cyclingnews article on Bjorn and Sam moving up to ProTour team Radioshack.

Along with Bjorn and Sam, congrats are in order to Matt Busche for making the lead to Radisoshack in one year. Cat 1 on IS Corps - Kelly Benefit Strategies Pro Team - Radioshack Pro Tour; all in one year. That's gotta be some kind of record. He's earned it as much as anyone, evidenced further by his throw-down at the Vuelta Chiwauwau this week - Results here.

Not sure what I'm up to in cycling yet...maybe the stars will align this week. I knew I had a poor season, results wise, with only 1 win in and no podiums at NRC. However, I'm still quite motivated for 2010.

I will be out of the U23 ranks - and therefore off the U23 Trek/Livestrong program - for 2010, which is dissapointing. The team has been instrumental in helping me develop into a complete racer this year. I truly appreicate the opportunity Axel gave me this season. I know I will capitalize on the experiences and growth this year and excel in future seasons.

In the meantime I'm uber busy trying to finish up this Mech Engineering degree at Madison. It's crushing my soul into little pieces lately - exactly the way the program was designed, I'm sure.

At least I will know some fairly interesting material by the semester's end. Today I'm working on evaluating the performace of a refirdigeration system in the Energy System laboratory. It's a mathmatical challenge, but for once, things seem to make sense. Perhaps the last 8 semesters are finally paying off? Find out soon enough.

Off to the Saris Gala Friday night for good times and looking for a cycling contract.

-b-

The Chequamegon show

2009-09-20T21:13:00.006-05:00

Every midwest racer who has hit the mountain bike wants to win the Chequamegon 40 one day. Such a cool race set in northern Wisconsin can't be beat.

The 2009 edition was super dry, well groomed, and FAST. Coming from road racing all season long the hills don't seem so big anymore, but the trails are still difficult and you can put down as much hurt to yourself and the peloton as your legs can dish out.

The leadout was sketchy as usual with 1700 eager racers trying to get to Rosies Field first. Well, Cole House nabbed that honor for the second year in a row with the ATV motorpacing session after the neutral. I was comitted to staying in the front and not getting swarmed into Rosies Field because of the headwind on the road. I took it from way too far out, but I lead the peloton over Rosies about 10 second behind Cole.

After Rosies, I just kept a nice steady tempo about 80% and rode the front through the opening 5 miles of Birkie Trail. It was good to stay in the front, but prolly should have backed off even more as the miles to come were much more difficult.

After the first long dirt road on Phillips Fire Lane Road, Cole and B Matter punched it and I went with. Tilford, Mike Phillips, Chris Peariso, Jeff Hall, and my teammate Bjorn all made the lead split.

After that the lead group was made and Tilford, Phillips, and I traded pulls at the front. Cty Rd OO came and went, and I missed my bottle feed. Whoops.

Things pretty much stayed the same until the base of Firetower. I kept the pace steady at the front with the plan that if I faltered, Bjorn would take over on the climbs in the final Birkie Trail section. Coming into Firetower I could feel I was getting dehydrated and starting to cramp. Tilford took front wheel into firetower and I was 2nd.

Tilford and I gapped most of the crew up to the final pitch in Firetower, but I faltered over the top and Cole lauched past me right up to Tilford at the top. Eventually B Matter, me, and Bjorn made up the few second gap on the downhill and the race was on!

I told Bjorn to go....he tried, and cramped. I told myself to go...no way, I can't stand up right now without my legs involuntarily locking up! Oh man, there goes B Matter, Cole, Tilford responds too...that's all she wrote. It was all I could do to make it over the remainder of the Birkie, get into the chase group with Marko, Dewy, Olheiser, Bjorn, Tristan, and Hall and sprint for 4th.

I was fighting so many leg cramps going up to the finish bowl I didn't know what to think. Somehow I turned on the gas to get a gap before the descent, came down well...and blotched my sprint. I gave it what I had, but Marko took the best line in the uphill sprint and got me at the finish line. 5th place.

Congrats to a great win by B Matter and a really strong ride by Cole and Tilford.

I'll be back next year!

Chequamegon on the horizon

2009-09-06T22:08:00.002-05:00

Lacking road races to do after the team nixed Tour of Missouri (various reasons)...

The focus has switched up to some mountain bike racing. I have the Trek Top Fuel 9.8 all set up, and I even got its feet wet at the Ripon College race this past Saturday at Mt Morris. I managed 2nd place even though I ran into some mechanical issues. A great day and a great venue to retun to the off road scene at. My teammate Dallas Fowler crashed, I hope he recoveres quickly to use his good form for Nationals and the 40.

The legs feel great and the technical skills, well, lets face it, they never existed! But I hope to acquire some new confidence in the bike over the next 2 weeks and be ready for the big show in two weeks.

Lake Geneva WORS weekend on tap, then off to the Telemark Lodge.

Gotta love September in Wisconi,

-b-

Racing has nothing to do with powerfiles

2009-08-08T20:38:00.007-05:00

But I've been aiming for this one a long time so I'm gonna post it anyway. Its always been a personal goal to see that 4-0-0 watts on the computer for an hour.

This is the state TT course, a shade under 40km, ridden on my road bike. Fun course in the pouring rain! Had a blast but got beaten by Busche and Bean...by over 2 minutes each. I guess they make TT bikes for a reason?

Time was 53:40 according to the computer, although the results show 57:30. Not sure whats up there. Fun either way.

Tour of Utah on tap. Yeah. More altitude

NW Coast

2009-07-19T19:13:00.002-05:00

Headed to Bend, OR early tomorrow...it's the first time I will visit the northwest coast and I'm excited. Trek/Livestrong has both the Cascade Cycling Classic and U23 Nationals on tap.

Let's get it on!

-b-

What happened to "blogging?"

2009-07-12T18:04:00.002-05:00

Is blogging still "cool?" ---------------- Yes.

Am I going to blog anymore? ---------- Yes.

Where the hell have you been? -------- On the move.

Win any races yet? -------------------- I won a practice race. I called where the finish line was.

Next race? ---------------------------- Cascade Classic and U23 Nationals in Bend, OR July 21st.

How are the legs? --------------------- Feeling better!

Rest of the season? -------------------- Just thinking about Cascade and Nationals right now.

What happened mid season here? ------ Overtrained like a boss.

Why'd you do that? -------------------- I like pain and suffering. Love it.

Lesson learned? ------------------------ Recovery is the key. Always.

Who's gonna win the Tour? ------------- Ohhhh I think #8 is more than possible for Lance.

I'll be back,

-b-

Hiatus

2009-04-23T19:18:00.002-05:00

Back in action after some ups and downs the previous three weeks.

Redlands was a wash after getting sick, then crashing into a car on the first road stage. Luckily I was not seriously injured, but my body was out of whack and I was unable to finish the race.

Life came at me quickly in the following week, where I flew back to Tucson, packed my things, and drove solo back to Wisconsin over the course of the next three days. Feeling really out of focus and just terrible all around, I went to see the doctor the week after my crash and found out my shoulder was separated and I had some horrid inflammation on the left side of my body.

Down but not out I began training again shortly after in Green Bay. Currently, I'm in back in Tucson staying at Curtis Zimmerman's place of the esteemed missingsaddle.com website. Starting to get some good feelings in the legs again before Tour of the Gila next week.

Life has been good the past two weeks, having good riding company with Rebecca Much of Team Webcor, joining in with Chad Beyer, Tyler Wren, and Dan Vallencourt for a few spins up the infamous Mt. Lemmon.

Trying not to sweat too much in the heat. Excited to get back to racing--

-b-

"Are you serious?"

2009-03-11T22:18:00.003-05:00

5km into a 15km climb...cobbles!

"Dude you need to stop talking during races"

2009-03-07T17:56:00.005-06:00

Stage 7 - Short. 135 km. Windy, big rollers. Made the breakaway. Finally. Hamilton, Landis, Milne, Carlsen, perfect group. Flatted. No team car in sight. Another day on the bike.

Back in the peloton. Dude gets all up in my space. I've got nowhere to go. Give him a love tap back to his place. We lock bars. Down we go.

Stage 6 - Cobbles. Real. Big. Cobbles. Front derailleur gets all jittery on me. Then it decides to just fall off. Nothing like chasing back to the peloton at 60 kph motorpacing over Paris-Roubaix style cobbles and Belize style speed bumps. Could never forget that one if I tried!

Bridging up to the break. Stetina joins the bridge. Good move. Motoring now. Shift. Chain wraps around my crank. Twice. Back to the peloton. Give the front derailleur some "precise adjustments" courtsey of my foot. Back to good....

Bad luck hits all at once!

One day left in downtown Mexico City - and finally back to civilization. And by that I mean Starbucks.

You can thank Travis Brandt for that one.

-b-

Mexican endeavours

2009-03-03T19:48:00.002-06:00

So far in La Vuelta Mexico....

Pulled over by one traffic cop. Axel played it cool and got off with a warning. Act like you don't speak Spanish.

Hotels = amazing. 5 stars. Crazy views. Lovin' it.

200+ km stages. Never trust the race bible, the race is whatever the race director decides on the day to race.

Crazy crowds. Signing body parts and clothing daily at the starts and finish venues.

Crazy strong Mexican racers. Not many pro teams in Mexico, but a helluva lot of strong riders.

Crazy cobbles and speed bumps. Sketchy gets a new meaning down here.

Crazy saddle sores. You just don't wanna know.

Can't believe it's only stage 4...hump day tomorrow, only 4 more to go.

Adios,

-b-

Can't fight the feeling

2009-03-01T14:22:00.002-06:00

Racing is in the air finally...you can smell it, taste it, feel it in every part of your body. Anxiety. Excitement. Nerves. It all comes together at the start of the race season. But somehow we always get over it and down to business.

Stage one of Vuelta Mexico today was 100 km of circuits through downtown Oaxaca, 12 laps of 8 km. One nice climb each lap and some nasty ass cobbles and dips made the race harder than I expected, not helped by my stale legs from the lack of riding the past couple of days. You see, AeroMexico airlines neglected to get my bike to me before 9AM the day of the race...we start at 10AM. Needless to say, it was a bit close but at least I was on my own bike and not the neutral.

Lance was in the follow car today with Axel...I guess they got a lot of excitement in the first couple laps of the circuit with Reohei and Julian both crashing, followed by some flat tires courtsey of Phinney and Reohei. The bumps dips were fun enough on a bike, I can't imagine how much air the caravan car got chasing back to the peloton!

Anyway the clmbs were not too bad but I was having one of those days, so I sag climbed each lap and cruised in about 15 seconds down on the main peloton after 100km of racing. Ready to fight another day, looking forward to some of the longer stages--oh yes, such as tomorrow's 205 km stage in the mountains. Hello altitude.

-b-

Oaxaca, Mexico

2009-02-28T10:22:00.002-06:00

Enjoying the views from the top of the Hotel Victoria in Oaxaca right now, wishing we had more time to vacation here in Mexico instead of begin eight days of racing tomorrow! The racing would probably be easier if any of the team had our bikes and luggage yet--after 15 hours of travel yesterday we arrived in Oaxaca sans any luggage. So at least now I have an excuse to sit up here on the hotel balcony, enjoy the view, and not think about bike racing for a while.

Viva Mexico-

-b-

Viva Mexico!

2009-02-25T15:41:00.002-06:00

Off to the Vuelta Mexico - Telmex this week for eight stages of bike racing goodness and Mexican food consumption. Could not ask for a more perfect race at this time of year, between the great weather, high altitude, and long stages. Should be a great race to test the legs and start the season off right. Starting in Oxaca and ending up in Mexico City on March 8th.

Follow the race on cyclingnews.

Plus I can brush up on my extremely rusty Spanish skills.

Hasta luego,

-b-

Santa Rosa camp recap

2009-02-08T20:20:00.002-06:00

We're finally finishing up the second Trek-LiveSTRONG team camp here in Santa Rosa, California after a solid 8 days of training, sponsor meetings, massage, and of course eating. The staples of any cyclist's diet should include plenty of rice, fish, pasta, and oatmeal - and I've no doubt consumed my share of the works this week.

On top of all the experiences this week, the one most prominent in my mind is Axel Merckx's guidance on a daily basis. The guy is a class act in every way, and I'm honored and proud to work for him. Axel keeps us U23 guns in line every day with a mix of good natured Belgian humor, friendship, and laying the verbal smack down on us when need be. Luckily that hasn't been often!

Second on my list of cool experiences was the riding company. Between Levi, Lance, Contador, Bart, the Saris guys, SRAM, Beaker Concepts, and the rest of the Astana team we have been in the best of company all week long. Lance laying down the law the first day got the hard efforts out of all our systems, and really prepared us to work hard "in our zones" the rest of the week long.

Of course I can't forget to mention our title sponsor Trek in all this buisness - they really stepped up to the next level and made this camp phenominal for us. I just packed my bags of gear - almost half of what we get for the year - and I'm astounded. The kits are top notch, the bikes are better than ever, and our staff is dedicated to our success.

Back in Tucson tomorrow, recovering and training until next weekend's Valley of the Sun stage race in Phoenix. Looking forward to the next challenge,

-b-

Riding with the boss

2009-02-04T19:47:00.002-06:00

First the meet and greet.
Then putting the hammer down on Spring Mountain Road.

1) Lance is fast. Very fast.
2) Levi is going to win Tour of California.
3) I'm the geek on the team - It's only taken 1 week of training for the team to figure that out.

We rode Kings Ridge today northwest of Santa Rosa. Probably the most amazing ride I have ever done on a road bike. Legs are tired today after hammering with Lance yesterday and 6 hours today. But still lovin' every minute of it.

-b-

Sunny side up

2009-01-30T15:19:00.002-06:00

Of all the things in Tucson I like the most....

...home would have to be the most spectacular.

Really. I do like Wisconsin. But Arizona is quite nice at this time of year too.

Off to Santa Rosa to get the final touches on our training before racing starts up at the Vuelta a Mexico in a few weeks. Hopefully Astana doesn't rip our legs off too much; it's becoming difficult to reattach those legs after each hard training ride--especially with Jon Chodroff, Cam Evans, Kirk Carlson, and Curtis Gunn lighting it up on the Shootout each weekend.

Tuna and brown rice....mmmmm....lunchtime.

-b-

Teammates winning more world cups

2009-01-21T14:12:00.002-06:00

Damn son!

One of our new teammates, Jesse Sergent, won the individual pursuit with a time of 4:17 in Beijing yesterday...the second fastest time ever on that track I believe. Congrats -- can't wait to meet him in Santa Rosa at our next team camp in 10 days.

Team looks to be shaping up good! This afternoon I have a final fit appointment with Bill Peterson at Foot Fitness to get my new orthodics and Bontrager RXL shoes. Exciting stuff.

Oh yeah, school started this week...I guess I have lots of stuff to do now. No slacking, eh?

-b-

This guy is a genius

2009-01-18T20:40:00.002-06:00

If you have any bike fitting issues that you just cannot seem to solve....this is the guy to go to. Bill Peterson, a podiatrist that runs the Foot Fitness store in Tucson here, is an absolute fitting genius. In 5 minutes of looking at my feet he described to me all the issues I've had with my bike fit the past several years. And 1 hour later, I was pedaling more symmetrically and smoothly on the bike than I've ever been before - even without the custom orthodics he's making for me this week. It turns out I was pretty messed up on the bike, but now, I look like a bike racer. And feel like one too.

Seriously, give this guy a call and set up an appointment if you are in town. It is well worth your time and effort.

His website is www.wedofeet.com

Austin - are you sure this is Texas?

2009-01-09T07:53:00.002-06:00

Sitting at the origional whole foods market in Austin right now...what a cool town! Not what I expected at all. We are staying at a hotel downtown right next to Mellow Johnny's bike shop. Trek and Livestrong have come out in full force to support us - and the effort shows. Camp so far is top notch from the Trek bikes, to the vo2 max test I have to nail down in an hour here. Let's pray dinner doesn't come up, or the 30 hours of riding in my legs the past 8 days.

Off to the show,

B

Taking a trip

2009-01-07T22:47:00.002-06:00

Always on the move here lately...tomorrow I fly from Tucson to Austin, Texas for the first team camp of the 2009 season. After logging some solid miles on the trusty old Slingshot cross bike, it's time to retire the beast and move on.

How shall I retire the bike? All ideas are acceptable. Keep in mind the steed has only one chainring, cantilever brakes, and one pink chain ring bolt.

Back from camp next Tuesday looking a little less ghetto than the days before-

Ryan

And I'm Out

2008-12-28T18:04:00.003-06:00

Working hard, riding the trainer, hitting the skis a bit when the weather agrees (read: does not snow too much) the past two weeks. Enjoyed Christmas with the family another year and we are thankful for it.

Tonight involves packing up everything I own and making the grand old trip down to Tucson with fellow Green Bay native Cole House. Straight through to Tucson, AZ is about 29 hours....how fast can we make it?

Oh yeah, the Ipod Touch.....great invention. I will be blogging and enjoying life that much more now.

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Acceptance

2008-12-18T08:18:00.005-06:00

Sunny:

-9°F

Feels Like:

-25°F

It has taken 21 years for me to accept it--Wisconsin is too cold for me.

I gotta get out of here soon.

The rollers, the weight room, the 15 minute preparation time to survive 15 minutes of walking outdoors to class:

I've had enough.

December 28th it's time to get away.

To the desert of Tucson I will go.

Ride with ryan baumann

2008-12-11T21:48:00.000-06:00

http://www.ridewithryanbaumann.blogspot.com/

Still the best site ever. Waiting for an update these past two years...

Perspective

2008-12-10T12:28:00.003-06:00

After all the shenanigans this off season, the dust has settled and all the team rosters from the USA have been announced. Now considering the state of the economy and all that jazz, I consider myself and friends to be extremely lucky--this is a terrible year for a lot of bike racers.

Trek Livestrong has a solid U23 roster for next year including lots of track champions and olympic medalists. Guy East won a U23 6-Day race just last month, we all know Taylor Phinney went to Bejing for the individual pursuit, and the two Kiwis were part of the bronze medal team pursit squad at Bejing. The final roster:

Trek LIVESTRONG U23 Team (D.S. Axel Merckx)

Ryan Baumann (USA)
Sam Bewley (USA)
Benjamin Bradshaw (USA)
Cody Campbell (CAN)
Guy East (USA)
Ben King (USA)
Ryohei Komori (JPN)
Taylor Kuphaldt (USA)
Taylor Phinney (USA)
Bjorn Selander (USA)
Jesse Sargent (NZL)

The first team camp is on January 8th in Austin, Texas at the "Mellow Johnny's" bike shop. The team will meet for the first time, break the ice, get some gear, do some rides, and prepare for the season.

In the menatime I try to ignore my excitement and focus on real life...riding the rollers and knocking off finals one by one. Real life is absurdly boring.

Also check out the Two John's Podcast. Good times to be had there each week--and great entertainment for the soon-to-occur road trip to Tucson, Arizona at the end of the month.