Jeremy Powers

Getting the Job Done!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Doesn’t it feel good outside? It’s not so hot, like it was 2 weeks ago (at least in Massachusetts). The fall is coming, which means ‘cross season is coming… which is the best! My website got hacked into or spammed or something like that. Anyway, this post would be longer, but I’m going to keep it relatively short and sweet for two reasons: one, I’ve got some content I’m going to use for my VeloNews.com journal later this week. Two, I broke my freakin’ finger on the last day of the Green Mountain Stage Race. Yes, the rumors are true. There will be a full disclosure on how that happened on VeloNews as well. Regardless, I did WIN the Green Mountain Stage Race, which is awesome! I seriously can’t believe it! I told my friend Alec a couple weeks ago that I really wanted to do well at green mountain. Whatever that meant, I knew I was riding a lot and the yellow thing on my bike was saying nice things to me, so I knew I was on the up and up with my training, but to win was really special. Thanks to everyone who made time to shoot me a line, I loved hearing from you all, it made my month. Thank you.

The first yellow jersey of my career!

Lately, I’ve come to a conclusion and that is that my days of just racing bikes and training are long over. Lots of projects, ideas and random things start a conga line upstairs, which pretty much takes over the main frame (my brain) on long bike rides and day dreaming sessions. I feel the weight on my shoulders to make those ideas into reality. So a bunch of those ‘ideas’ are finally becoming reality… let me shoot off topic for a second:

A while back, I read on Tyrese Gibsons blog: “Will Smith once said something to the affect of… Ideas are physical, if they stay in your MIND, you’re robbing the world of experiencing them.” The whole entry here.

But, but, but there’s only so many hours in a day! For me, I ride a couple hours, have a intelligent conversation with my girlfriend, stay in touch with friends and family. Whatever, my point is that, the day is short! I love reading stuff like that because it motivates me and makes me think I need to ‘get the job done,’ be more efficient, expect more and be better! And that’s why I used that as the title of this post. So sticking with that theme, I try my hardest to make cool things happen besides getting results on the bike.

Something new that I’m doing starting right now is letting you guys know what I’m listening to and training with every week. This will be front and center on the home page. At least once a week I get someone asking me what I’m listening too. So this is for you guys!

Right now, I’m training with the new ‘crossover mixtape’ with DJ Vice and his crew (its awesome)

I’m also excited to tell you guys that this ‘cross season, I’m taking along the beast, the legend, the boss… Sam Smith. Sam created a lot of early cyclocross documentaries that are sitting underneath your television set. Well, this year we’re doing something that hasn’t been done before; stuff that will keep you on your bike this fall, motivate you, inspire you, help you, make you laugh. Look for it, because it’s starting next week.

The J.A.M. foundation that my friends and I started, that put on the Grand Fundo (www.grandfundo.com) ride in July is growing and while I can’t tell you everything that’s going on, know that in 2011, the grand fundo and J.A.M. is going to be bigger and better!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the 'cross camps!

I didn’t even mention the ‘cross camps that happened throughout August, but with my broken finger, I’m typing like a mummy and this post is over.

I’ll link a couple of the great articles that were written about the camps

Be safe out there, wear your helmets and have fun! OooooooW!

Photos

Readings:

CyclingReporter.com: http://cyclingreporter.com/2010/08/19/what-j-pow-taught-me/
http://tinyurl.com/3a3q7k9

Videos

Gone Camping

‘Cross camp season 2 is coming FAST. This year I’ll be in Chicago, Maryland and Massachusetts to preach cyclocross and its coolness!

If you haven’t been to a camp before and are thinking, “Why would I go to a ‘cross camp?” Well because we can all learn something from each other and it gets us all out on our ‘cross bikes in August.

Who want’s to show up to the first races of the season with no practice? Lets be honest, none of us have been practicing on our ‘cross bikes… ‘cross camp gives you the best excuse to get on it and actually learn something.

What happens at a ‘cross camp? We talk about everything cross: pre-race rituals, on and off the bike techniques, barrier hopping, dismounts, running, sand, mud, equipment, the list goes on.

Most importantly we’ll teach the beginners how to not kill yourself on the race course so you can actually compete in your first races without being scared to the back of the pack.

For the folks who’ve raced ‘cross already, a camp helps you refine and step your game up for the upcoming year. At what other point in the season will you be able to have someone watch and critique your… dismount style?

There isn’t one!

So!!!! To be great season and smash all your friends at the races this fall, come out to one of the camps I’ll be at this month. Learn from my mistakes (as pictured below) and see you guys soon!

CAMPS:

Sunday — August 15th in Chicago

Sunday — August 22nd in Massachusetts

Friday / Saturday — August 27/28 in Maryland

If you’re still on fence, check out this article that cxhairs.com wrote

Sometimes, even I need to do some camping

Stage 4

GRANDFUNDO 2010

Ladies and Gentlemen mark your calendars and get your wheels ready, July 17th is coming! What is on July 17th? The first event to benefit J.A.M. a fund created with my friends Alec and Mukunda. What is J.A.M? In pop culture, the word jam describes something AWESOME. For example: “Hey! That’s my JAM!” or “Mannn I JAM on that!” This isn’t any different. J.A.M is an acronym for Jeremy Alec & Mukunda, good friends, brought together because of a passion for cycling back in 2003. The goal of J.A.M. is to help motivated, young cyclists reach their potential both on and off the bike, all while not being limited by finances. This will be reached through close mentoring and involvement in the cycling community. Grants will be issued to young cyclists in and around the Pioneer Valley who show the interest, determination, and desire to be their best. It’s also our goal to showcase the amazing cycling that the pioneer valley offers. Our first adventure into this is what we call, a Grand Fundo. NO. not granfondo. A FUNDO. On July 17th we’re riding 70 miles on some of our favorite roads on a loop that’s barely traveled by cars. Packed dirt, beautiful views and twisty roads will all be on tap. After the ride we’re going to have a pig roast, bonfire, music, beer and some other cool stuff that I’ll leave to surprise. I hope if you’re in the area you can make it. check out the official flyer on www.grandfundo.com along with the course route and more info on the famous riders that will be coming out for the Grand Fundo 2010. Look forward to seeing everyone there!

Register HERE!

Still Learning

Tour of California is done and, as always, I’m still learning. Every year, every race, every ride I’m learning more about my body, how it reacts to different stresses I place on it and tweaks I make to it. Bike fit is a constant evolution over time.

Most of you probably know, but if you don’t, I made a long 100+ mile breakaway on stage four of the Tour of California last week. It was longgggg break-away attempt. There were a lot of great things that happened that day, but the best one came last when I was able to sit down on my couch with some friends and analyze my body language / pedal stroke. We sat and watched the live coverage my buddy recorded and we started to notice some of my inefficiency on the bike. I’ve been a pro for a while now and I’ve never gone out and had someone video me on my bike after 4 hours of riding to see what it looks like. The bottom line is my upper body is moving around, A LOT. The good news is that thankfully I can make some adjustments to work on it.

So what’s that mean? Well it’s consistent with a lot of things we’ve noticed in my power numbers. Sometimes I’ll train with friends and constantly over the last couple years I’ve had numbers that are >30 or more watts higher for averages than my training buddies who weigh the same etc etc. So we’ve always said there must be something going on with my stroke or my power meter. But we’ve switched power meters, used different models, head units etc etc and it’s always the same.
Because of an injury back in 2007 with my Achilles, I’ve always run my saddle really low to prevent that from ever coming back. But after watching that day of racing we’re back at the drawing board to bring my saddle up a dribble at a time and keep my upper body from thrashing around now that we’ve identified a problem.
My advice to everyone reading is to take in everything you can about yourself, listen to your friends and work on each part of whatever it is, one issue at a time. As a pro athlete I’m constantly changing small things as they come to my attention and I thought you guys might like to read about my latest ‘discovery’ of how I look on the bike.

I want to thank everyone who came out and introduced themselves at the Tour of California, it was amazing to hear so many people screaming and cheering and meet a lot of people who follow along on twitter and read here. Thanks for coming out.

Check out my interview with Mike Zellman from SRAM on what’s poppin’ in the clubs and how to not embarrass yourself in front of Lance: