Taicang Jincang Lake International Bike Festival

This last Saturday was the Taicang Jincang Lake International Bike Festival. This event would would be a road racing event for the whole family. Saturday the road racing categories included the Elite Race, Children's Race, Middle School Race, and Open Race. Sunday would be the team events. These would include the Club Relay, Company Relay, and the University Relay.

The event had many sponsors and they would be able to display their products at the festival. The sponsors included Giant, Specialized, and Trek, along with other sponsors for exercise equipment and outdoor gear

I would participate in the Men's Open Division. This race was a 30 km road race. It would be my second road race in China. From my previous road race experience, I knew this race was going to be very fast. I was not sure how fast I would ride. I did average about 30 km/h in the Shanghai Duathlon, so I was sure I should be able to go faster.

Our race would start at two o'clock in the afternoon. We arrived a few hours earlier to complete registration. Here I am taking the bike to the registration area to pick up my race numbers. I was given No. 3.

The whole day had been pretty gloomy. It rained in the morning and I was wondering what the day would hold. I was definitely hoping to race.

Here Freddy and I are at the starting line. Freddy would also race his first road race. We spend a good amount of time at the starting line. The weather was an issue and the organisers were concerned with safety. Finally after, 30-40 minutes, the race organisers decided that we would race. They had a general announcement that the race would begin and they also announced that it might rain, so we must think about safety throughout the race.

We were all ready for the race to begin. Once the race started, the speed went up really quickly. There was one major accident at the start where I saw one guy go down and another guy flip over him. It's kind of interesting, you see it, you pass it and you keep going at 30+ km/h. We hit 43-44 km/h for the first two kilometers. The main group quickly sped up. I ended up with a group of three foreigners and we were working together for a the first 15 km. We actually were doing pretty good. At the turn around, we could still see the main field probably less than a km ahead of us. Then at km 16. I tried to pick up the pace and got a cramp in my calf. I was forced to reduce my effort and for 1/4 km I shook off the cramp. I got back to speed, but remained a distance away from the group that was working with me.

The last 2 km were uphill. A great Spring Classics's finish. Here I come pulling to the finish line with a nice group trying there hardest to catch me. They had been working together for the whole race at the turn around at km 15, I had seen them. When I my calf cramped up, I was sure they would catch me, but they didn't. I was not going to let them take me out at the finish line. I had raced to hard to lose anymore places.

I put my head down and pulled the bike all the way up the 2 km ride. I keep up the pace 33-35 km/h all the way up to the finish line. They were really going to have to ride very, very hard up the hill to be able to catch me.

They didn't catch me. I made it to the finish with a good lead ahead of the next group of riders. I had completed the 30 km race in 50:59. I averaged 35.3 km/h. It felt good.

I had enjoyed the race. I would like to get in the peloton next time. I need to work harder at the road racing and mountain climbing. I think by next year I should be able to race harder. I would say, not bad for an old guy competing against a lot of younger guys.

What's next? Well Hangzhou Half Marathon!

2008 Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix

This year we had the opportunity to see the Shanghai Grand Prix for the second straight year. The World Championship comes to China with Lewis Hamilton leading Felipe Massa by a meager 5 points. Last year Hamilton crashed out on worn tires. This track has proven to wear McLaren tires and many thought it could pose a problem this year.

The Grand Prix in China is now in its fifth season and is a great place to see the race. Race seats cost at minimum 780 RMB ($114 US) for all three days. You can get into the track area and watch from various grass areas for 380 RMB ($56 US). Unlike Indy F1 which allows you to sit anywhere you want on Friday and Saturday, you have the same seats for all three days; however, Friday the security is a little bit relaxed due to the small crowds. You can sneak around and see the practice rounds from all but the most expensive seats.

This picture shows the main grandstand. In front of this grand stand are the pits. These are the most expensive seats on the track 3980 RMB ($581 US) for the three days. They say you can see the whole track except the hairpin turn where this picture was taken.

Above is a picture of the grandstands by the hairpin turn. These are the only other covered seats on the track. You can see the F1 cars go from 310 km/h to 53 km/h. It almost looks as if the cars are being pulled back by the brakes. It is an incredible site.

Friday was a day spent relaxing, walking around the F1 Village. Also, no kids! Isaac was in school as Sonia and I enjoyed our day. We got to see the morning practice from our race seats. We then snuck into the B seating area beside the main grandstand. These are also good seats, but I preferred my race day seats to these seats.

This is Kimi Raikkonen, the reigning world champion, during the morning practice. He was third fastest on the track that morning. Then, Ferrari didn't show up in the top five in any other practice rounds. They were probably doing alot of testing on different set-ups for race day. It must have helped out. Both drivers qualified 2nd and 3rd.

Jarno Trulli was also one of the fastest on Friday. He was fourth fastest in the second practice session, but later faded in the qualifying rounds to qualify 9th overall.

Between the two qualifying sessions, we walked the village and purchased merchandise and took a few pictures of a few girls of F1. Below are the pictures for your viewing.

I hope you enjoy these pictures. There were many more girls from Coca-Cola, AT&T Williams, Toyota, and a few from China Mobile. These were just a few for you to see. I am sure you can check them out at the f1 live site. Those of you that follow F1 know where to find them.

I know alot of you all are Alonso fans and my blog would not be complete without a photo of the double world champion. He was actually second fastest in the second practice on Saturday and managed to qualify 4th and finish 4th right of the podium. Not bad for a slow Renault, but he is the double world champion.

Saturday, Isaac came to the track. He was not very happy that mom and dad were able to go Friday. He also wanted to go. Below Sonia and Isaac relax on the autograph stage before qualifying.

Saturday after the first practice, I was looking for merchandise from some of the back runners (teams that don't win grand prix's). I thought that there would be some merchandise by the other expensive grandstands. So I took the whole family for a long walk around the track. Unfortunately, I did not find any of the merchandise. What I did find was an unguarded entrance to the K grandstand. These are some of the best seats in the house and we snuck in to watch the qualifying. These seats are priced at 2580 RMB ($377 US). Very nice viewing.

In the above picture, you can see the hairpin turn. This photo shows David Coulthard during qualifying. He had a poor qualifying session and qualified 16th. He did manage to work his way up to 10th in the race. This race was his last race in China. He will retire after this season. China marked his 244th grand prix. He won 13 Grand Prix's during his career.

Williams has not been very competitive the past few years. They have moved from competing for the title to back marker. This year marks there 30th Anniversary as a Team in F1. They have won 9 world titles. I am sure they will be back in the hunt for the title soon. Above Rosberg didn't make it out of the first qualifying session.

Well, who would I be cheering for in the race. As some of you know, I have always been a Ralph Shumacher fan. So I have cheered on Williams and Toyota, but this year he isn't racing. Last year a purchased two driver caps (Shumacher and Hamilton). Since last year with a rookie going to win the world title, I have moved on to McLaren. I also like Heikki. I think he has potential and both are young and will be in Formula 1 for a while. Hopefully next year I can wear Hamilton's World Champion driver cap.

Onto the race! Hamilton started from the pole and completely dominated the race. I have to say, it kind of looked like Micheal Shumacher. Felipe and Kimi could not hang with the McLaren. Could it have to do with stolen Ferrari secrets last year? We will never know. Below are two photos of this years two title contenders.

Hamilton was fast in the Silver and Orange McLaren. It was his race to win and he was able to run the table and show that he does deserve to win the World Championship. I was a little concerned about tire wear, especially after Heikki's puncture.

Massa has been the best in his career. It would be special to see him win the Brazilian Grand Prix and the Championship at his home grand prix.

Lewis enjoys his victory lap. A well deserved lap after two consecutive years starting on the pole position. I hope all of you enjoyed the pictures!

Shanghai Duathlon

This was the third annual Shanghai Di Shui Lake Duathlon. I actually registered for the event over a month ago. I thought it would be good preparation for the double marathon goal of running both the Hangzhou Half Marathon and the Shanghai Half Marathon in November. The event consists of a 5 km run, 42.5 km bike, 10 km run.

My training for this event was decent. I would do my normal marathon training runs. I would add a 26 km bike leg after a short run and sometimes i would run 10 km and do a 26 km bike ride. I also did a few long mountain bike rides and I competed in the 140 km Qing Dao Lake Road Race (another story). Even with this training I felt really nervous. The distance is extremely long, so I put a simple goal of completing the event in three hours including transition time. I figured 30 minutes for the 5 km, one hour and a half for the 42.5 km, and 60 minutes for the 10 km. I figured I should be able to fit transition time somewhere in there without affecting the goal.

Here we are at the race site. Bill, Freddy, and Me ready to compete. The only thing that comes to mind when I see this picture is the lack of pain in our faces.

The race started of with the 5 km. I really wanted to run 8:05 pace. I thought a fast start would be good and set the tempo for the rest of the race. Thanks to my Garmin Forerunner 305, I was able to keep the pace and both Bill and I finished the first 5 km in 26 minutes. I was pretty happy, but already feeling the effort in my legs.

I had planned the transitions to be very quick. I had not really practiced transition before, but from my previous two mini-triathlons and short duathlon, I had learned that too much time in transitions can be very costly. For the first transition, the plan was to put on my bike helmet, stuff a granola bar in the back of my shorts, and change my shoes.

Here I am in the transition area. The plan worked nicely and I was very quickly on the bike. The first few miles on the bike were getting my legs used to the different feeling. After running a 5 km pretty fast and jumping on the bike, my legs take a few to get used to the new motion.

Just info for some of you bike enthusiasts, I now ride a Specialized Tarmac FACT Carbon bike with Shimano 105 components and an Ultegra Rear derailleur. Another interesting fact, the white rear water bottle was actually used in the Olympics by Carlos Coloma of Spain. Isaac picked it up as a souvenir at the Olympics.

I tried to ride pretty fast around the bike course. The wind was very strong in some sections. It would just sap your energy. I tried to conserve energy against the wind and then power when I was with the wind. It was a very hard effort. I knew that I also could not push myself harder because there were still 10 km of running left after the cycling. I averaged 29.4 km per hour over the 42.5 km. I was able to finish the biking section in one hour and 26 minutes.

The second transition also went well. I returned my bike, took off my helmet, and changed my shoes.

The second 10 km went real slow. My legs felt like bricks. The previous two hours of running and biking had taken their toll on my legs. I was pushing legs that no longer wanted to move. I could feel the pain. I was not alone. I would look at the faces of the other runners and see the same pain in their faces. Some had to walk, others would trot. I ran the last 10 km in 58:54.

Here I am running the last 1/4 mile. I always have in my head that once I pass the finish line the suffering will end. It is the will to suffer and knowing how deep you can suffer that helps do these long events. I think this thought is what made Lance Armstrong so good. He had suffered through cancer and cheated death. Suffering through the Tour de France would never equal the pain and agony he went through with Cancer. Simply put, he was willing to suffer more than all the other riders.

Here I am reaching the end of the suffering. It feels good to see the finish line in site. It even feels better to have my son running beside me as I reach the finish line. It reminded me of near the end of the Houston Half Marathon in 2007. I was nearing the finish line and I was getting tired. My son, out of no where, started to run with me and cheer me on in Houston. It gave me that extra energy to pick up the pace and finish strong in Houston.

Family and friend support is very important in these long races. I could hear my wife cheering me on while I went speeding by on the bike. This type of cheering gives you the extra effort to keep it going, especially when the mind starts to tell the body it doesn't want to feel the pain anymore.

All the hard work for a little medal. No it's not gold, but it comes with the satisfaction of finishing the event. My unofficial Garmin time was 2:57:22. The results have not been posted, but I did sign my card after the finish and it was just about the same time.

The official photographer of this race was my dear and loving wife Sonia. She took really good pictures and has made this blog entry come to life.

Yangtze River Adventure

This National Holiday in China, we decided to take an adventure on one of the most famous rivers in China. It would be a three day adventure on the Yangtze River and a one day visit to the city of Chongqing.

Our adventure started with a flight from Shanghai to Wuhan. Once in Wuhan, we boarded a bus for a five hour trip to the beginning of our cruise in Yichang. We arrived like a ghost in the night and boarded the world famous Cruise Ship Splendid China Presidents No. 3. Below is the photo of this magnificant ship!

The first day begin in the early morning, we entered the Xiling Gorge. Unfortunetly I slept through the entrance of this gorge, but heard it was magnificant. The Xiling Gorge is 66 km long and is home to the world famous Three Gorges Project. Our morning excursion was a visit to this project.

The Three Gorges project was done to harness the power of the Yangtze River. Its benefits include flood control, power generation, and navigation improvement. The project includes a dam, a spillway dam, two power plants, a double-way and five-step ship lock, a ship lift, and navigation facilities.

This photo shows the Three Gorges Dam. The spillway is located in the center and the power plants are at each side of the dam.

This is the entrance to the upstream side of the double-way and five step ship lock. It would take us three hours to pass all locks and continue our adventure on the other side of the Yangtze River.

This is a picture of me entering the first lock. Doors close on each side of the lock. Then water fills to raise the boat to the level in the next lock. When the correct level is reached, the front doors open and we pass to the next lock. This process is repeated five times.

Isaac enjoying the scenery in the Xiling Gorge.

Another beautiful view in the Xiling Gorge.

The second day took us to the Shennong Xi River. It was in this river that trackers originally would fight the current and pull their pea pod boats upstream. Originally, these trackers would wear no clothes. The fabric would cause serious skin problems and irritations, so it was not used. Enclosed are two pictures of the trackers pulling us updtream and fighting the currents.

That same day we passed through the remaining two gorges. The second gorge we passed through as we travel upstream was the Wu Gorge. It is 45 km long and has many twist and turns. The most notable view of the Wu Gorge are the twelve peaks.

This photo shows the men of Delphi traveling through the Wu Gorge.

This is another beautiful photo of the scenary of the Wu Gorge. You can see that it seems that the river ends straight ahead, but it is one of the many twists and turns in this gorge.

The last gorge we passed through was the Qutang Gorge. It is the shortest of the three gorges and is only 8 km long. On both sides of this gorge are very high cliffs and the narrowest spot on this gorge is less than 100m.

This particular photo is at the exit of the Qutang Gorge. It is famous because it is pictured on the back side of the 10 Yuan bill. Here Sonia stands in front of those same mountains pictured on the bill.

Once we were through the three gorges, it was safe for a ship our size to sail through the night. It would be the first night and only night we would sleep on a moving boat. The next day included a visit to the FengDu Ghost Town and sailing to Chongqing.

In Chongqing we visited an area of town which makes the local treats. Enclosed is a picture of the busy streets, along with the making of peanut candy.

The cruise was a beautiful adventure. It is a perfect place to relax and view scenery. Just sit on the deck forget about the outside world and let the mountains pass. Take of your watch and let time pass because you are not going anywhere fast.