Sunday, November 24, 2013

Back to Base Training 이제 다음시즌 준비시작!


After the disappointment of racing poorly at Iceman I took a week off biking but I started up training again soon after.  I realized that I always have problems with my asthma every fall but luckily it isn’t a deterrent to being able to go for normal rides or lift weights.  So  I’ve started up with my winter base training which basically follows a pretty simple plan.  I lift weights twice a week and then go for long rides on the other days when I have time.  Luckily the weather has been pretty ok the last few weeks and I have been able to get some good rides in.
IU doesn’t have many group rides but I did manage to get out on a ride with the club president Paul a few weeks ago.  I wanted to do dirt roads in the Hoosier National Forest south of Bloomington but Paul was on his TT bike.  Lucky for me he said he was ok as long as we avoided roads with lots of loose gravel.  We ended up having a really epic ride and discovering some awesome roads to ride.  We also crossed a closed down bridge that was built in 1893!  We finished up our ride at Steak and Shake to refuel.  I think Paul may have broken the world record for longest dirt road ride on a TT bike.
This last week I had a great solo ride too. I went out on my mountain bike and rode some of the forest roads in Yellowwood state forest in Brown County.  These roads were awesome with nice long gradual climbs and basically no cars.  I road for almost 3 hours on these great forest roads.  The one disappointing thing about living in Bloomington though is the lack of single track that you can ride too.  There are tons of hiking trails and horse trails around but almost all of them are closed to bikes.  It really makes me miss Korea where almost every hiking trail is open to mountain bikers.  For Thanksgiving I’m in Colorado with my family.  It’s the first time we have all been together in over a year! We are going to go to Steamboat springs and go skiing.  Should be a great break!  Happy Thanksgiving!
나 이제 베이스트레이닝 다시시작이에요.  마지막대회 천식때문에 잘못탔지만 일주일쉬고 다시트라이딩시작.  내천식 가울에 심하지만 그냥라이딩이랑 웨이트트레이닝 할수있어요.  내 베이스트레이닝계획은 매주 두번 웨이트트레이닝하고 시간이있으면 다른날에 긴라이딩해요.  11월에인디에나날씨 괜찮았어서 좋은라이딩 몇번있었어요.
우리 대학교자전거부 같이라이딩 많이안하지만 지난주 나 회장 이랑 너무재미있는라이딩했어요.  우리대학교근쳐 임도같은 도로 많은거있어요, Hoosier 국립숩.  거기안에 Dirt Road(임도같은거)너무많아요.  나회장이랑 거기서 50키로정도 dirt road에서 싸이클탔어요.  그데회장이 티티바이크타고갔어요.  이라이딩 아마도 새계최고 긴 임도 티티바이크로 라이딩이였어요 ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.
이번주도 나 혼자 재미있는코스탔어요.  옐로우드 주림숲에서 너무 좋은 산악자전거 길있었다고들었어서 그쪽 으로 갔어요.  3시간반동안 임도 타고 왔어요.  이길너무 아름답고 사람찐자없었어요! 근데 여기 싱글많이없어요.  그래서 한국조금그리워요!  한국에 등산로있으면 자전거탈수있는데 우리대학근쳐 사람이없는 등산로 많지만 산악자전거금지ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ.  나 양지 살때 좋은싱글너무많았어요 여기 임도만탈수있어요. 
이번주 미국 추수감사절이에요 그래서 일주일학교 방학이에요! 나가족만나고 콜로라도에서 놀거에요.  우리 유명한 Steamboat Springs 스키장가서 스키탈거에요.  우리가족일년동안 다같이 못만나서 너무즐거울거같아요!  햎피 땡스기빙!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Iceman Cometh: Last Race of the 2013 Season 아이스맨대회: 2013마지막시합 후기


I competed in my first ever Iceman Cometh over the  past weekend.  Its actually the biggest race in America with over 4000 racers!  Unfortunately it didn’t go as well as I had hoped it would.  My riding was significantly slowed by my asthma which flaired up in a race for the first time in over 4 years since I didn’t have many problems with it in Korea.  Everything surrounding the race was a lot of fun however. 
The race and its proximately to Halloween provided the impetus for a small Purdue Bike house reunion.  In attendance were Greg, Chris, Joey and Alan(from MSU but still a biker).  I got to show Chris, his GF and Greg around Bloomington on Thursday before we headed up to Purdue.  I had a great time at Purdue catching up and seeing people I hadn’t seen in a long time a surprise visit from Doza and Zach. 
After enjoying Purdue Greg, Alan and Jess headed up to Traverse City for the Iceman.  The weather was pretty good for the race and despite starting at the back of the field I had a pretty good start and was briefly in the top 30 riders going onto the trails.  I quickly developed problems breathing however and couldn’t muster much more than a tempo pace.  I ended up just riding most of the race by myself and trying to enjoy the nice course.  It was disappointing but not completely surprising since when I was at Purdue I constantly had problems with asthma especially in the fall.  The Iceman is probably my last race of the season so I’m going to take a week or so off the bike before getting back into base training and weight lifting for the spring collegiate road season. 

나 지난주 미국 최고사람이많은 자전거대회탔어 아이스맨.  4천명참석하는대회에요.  엠티비 마라톤대회에요 코스 50키로.  근데 나 천식문제때문에 잘못탔지만 재미겟탔어요.  나 원래 미국살때 가울에 천식 많이 심해져요 근대 4년 동안 큰문제없었어요.  한국공기 나한테 좀더맞나봐요 ㅋㅋㅋ. 
지난주말에대회말고다른재미잇는거있었어요.  우리 대학친구 몇명 만낫어요  같이살았는친구 3명 그리고 다른 친구 도 많이만났어요.  우리대학에서 도같이놀았고 퍼듀에서 하로윈파티도갔어요.  내친구들 너무 오랜만에 못봤어서 너무재미있어요.  
이제 내시즌끝나요.  일주일동안 쉬고 다음주부터 대학부 싸이클대회 준비시작이에요.  나 웨이트트레이닝 하고 베이스 마일스 많이할거에요.  

Monday, October 28, 2013

Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals 전국대학부산악자전거대회 후기


I just got back from my 3rd ever Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals.  It was a great week with some wild weather, fun racing and new friends.  I decided I wanted to do this race back in the summer when I realized that being in the US for the second year of my MBA program would allow me to compete in collegiate mountain biking for one last time.  Also since nationals were held in North Carolina at Beech Mountain it meant that they were within a days drive for me.  Nationals also happened to coincide with my weeklong October break.  The only problem I had was that no one else from the IU cycling club was interested in racing but luckily I found some great guys to stay with from Michigan Tech and University of Wisconsin. 
I started my trip out on Wednesday and in the middle of my drive I went for a ride on the new single track at French Lick Resort in southern Indiana.  This is one of the best built trails I have ever ridden and I highly recommend taking a trip down to ride it.  After my ride I continued my drive and I stopped to stay with a friend in Lexington, KY.  The next morning I got up and finished my drive.  Upon arrival I went for a preride of the course which had a huge climb and a lot of muddy rooty single track.  It was not an ideal course for me but I was looking forward to the race anyway.
I woke up on Friday to half an inch of snow on the ground and below freezing temps for my short track XC race.  This is usually my better event compared to XC so I was looking forward to it.  I had a good start and was riding in the top 20 for the first few laps.  I then settled in in about 22nd place but on my last lap I broke one of the cogs on my cassette and couln’t pedal my bike up hill so I lost several spots.  I still ended up finishing 30th though which I was happy with. 
The temp continued to drop and it was 20 degrees F for the start of my cross country race on Saturday.  The cold temp however meant that the snow covered course was frozen and not muddy however.  I had a decent start and was riding in the top half of the field but then I wiped out on a corner in the single track and got passed by about 15 riders.  I spent the rest of the race getting the flow and finally got a good rhythm on my last lap.  I had some late race passes to finish 43rd which was exactly in the top half.  I was very happy to achieve my goal of finishing in the top half of both races (there were 86 racers in Men’s D1). 
Following the XC race I watched the down hill which was a good time and Saturday night out whole cabin group went out to an awesome BBQ joint at the base of the ski hill.  Overall it was a great weekend.  Its good to know I can still compete on the national level even though I’m not training as much as before too.  There is one more big mountain bike race to go this weekend.  The Iceman Cometh in Traverse City, MI.  My old roommates from Purdue Joey, Greg and Chris are coming back for it so its going to be a nice reunion for us as well. 
지난주 나 미국 대학부전국산악자전거대회탔어요.  너무재미있었지만 날씨랑 코스때문에 너무 힘든대회이였어요.  지난주수요일 나출발했어요.  8시간반동안혼자운전하고왓어요.  이대회 노스캐로라이나 비치마운틴리조트에서했어요 (해발 1800m).  나우리학교에서 혼자갔어서 다른대학팀 2개랑 콘도같이썼어요.  나미치간공과대학교랑 위스콘신이랑있었어요.  새친구 많이 만들었어요. 
목요일에 나코스 답사했어요.  이번크로스콘트리 너무힘들었어요 머드많고 오려운싱글도 많고 근대 목요일밤에날씨너무추워졌고 눈한2쎈티정도왔어요.  금요일 아침에 쇼트트랙 XC 경기있었어요.  이거 내가제일 잘하는 산악대회에요.  20분동안 크라이테리엄같은산악코스타요.  나 시작에서 좀잘탔지만 점점 나뒤로갔어요.  마지막바귀에도 나카세트 불어졌어요ㅠㅠㅠ 근 얼마안남았어서 끝까지 탈수있었어요.  결과 30 (86명탔어요). 
토요일아침에 크로스컨트리 대회있었어요 3바귀 (1바귀10키로).  나 잘탔지만 싱글에서 오름너무많아서 몇번 너머졌다.  그리고 날씨너무추웠어요 (-5C).  나첫바귀좀못탔지만 3번째 싱글아주잘탔어서 몇명 잡았어요.  결과 43 (86명탔어요).  나 이번대회 50%안에 타고싶어서 기븐 좋았어요, 나 옛날보다 자전거 많이 못타지만 전국챔피언쉽대회에서 아직 좀잘탈수있어요 ㅋㅋ. 
토요일오후에 나다운힐대회보고 친구들이랑 맥주한잔마셨어요.  일요일은 다시 인디에나로 8시간반동안운전하고집에왔어요.  이번주말에 시즌 마지막대회있어요.  아이스맨 산악마라톤.  2000명타는대회에요 그리고 내가 대학교때 같이 살았던 친구 다올거야서 너무 재미있을거같아요.  


Going up the ski hill to watch the downhill race with Max from the University of Wisconsin.  

Monday, October 14, 2013

Collegiate Mountain Biking 대학부산악자전거대회



Since I’m back in school at Indiana University  now.  I decided that my goal for this fall would be to qualify for an participate in Collegiate Mountain Nationals.  To do this I had to do at least 3 conference races and be one of the top 4 individuals not on a qualifying team which lucky for me ended up not being very hard.  I raced at Marian’s race weekend in Indianapolis and again at Lindsey Wilson in Kentucky last weekend and now that regionals are over it looks like I can go to Nationals in two weeks in North Carolina. 
The racing scene in the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference has definitely changed over the 4 years since I graduated from Purdue.  Its not dominated by 4 teams that have varsity programs and barely anyone from other schools raced including Purdue which is kind of unfortunate.  I’m also the only rider from IU who raced mountain bikes and so I’m the only one going to nationals.  The level of riders has also increased with Marian, Lindenwood, and Ripon now fielding lots of really strong riders.  Lindsey Wilson has plenty of fast riders like they always have. 
The 4 races I participated in didn’t go as well as I had hoped they would but since I have the week of Nationals off from school I figure I might as well go give it my best shot.  I placed in the top 20 at each race but I never cracked the top ten.  I’ve got in some big rides this past weekend though so hopefully I will be in better form for nationals.  Here are a few pics of some of my races. 

나 여즘대학부대회타고있어요.  나 지금 인디엔나대학교경영전문대학원다니가있어서 탈수있어요.  미국에 대학부 모두대학생들탈수있어요.  이번가울에 내자전거 골 전국대학부산악자전거대회 qualify하고싶었어요.  그래서 4번 인디에나근쳐에 대학부대회탔어요.  근데 내가학교다닐때보다 좀달랐어요.  여즘 미국중부에서 장학금주는학교좀많아졌다.  그래서 너무 잘타는에들좀많아요. 근데 나 매대회20등안에탈수있었어요.  나하고싶은만큼못탔지만 전국대회 탈수있어요.  
2주후에 나 노스케로라이나 에서 전국대학부탈거에요.  그때까지 열심히훈련 할거에요.  거기서 레이스 두개있어요 산악크라이테리엄이랑 크로스컨트리.  다운힐도있지만 나 자전거없어요!  여기및에 내대회사진몇개있어요





Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Riding, Riding, Riding! 라이딩,라이딩,라이딩!


2 weeks ago I arrived in California to visit my parent in Santa Barbara.  It turns out that this is one of the best, if not the best, place to ride bikes I have ever been.  During my visit I went out for several road rides with my dad and even got to go for one with an old teammate of mine from Purdue, Stephen.  The weather was sunny and 75F every day which was basically perfect for riding.  The days I didn’t road ride I did some epic mountain bike rides. 
Behind Santa Barbara is a huge mountain ridge with a road going to the top of it (7 miles with a 10% average grade).  It’s a pretty painful climb but the riding and the view of the ocean on the top of the ridge is definitely worth it.  I road my mountain bike to the top a few times as well and each ride I got to go down a different single track trail to the bottom.  The trails were super technical but I definitely got some of my skills back that I will need to race mountain bikes this fall. 
In the middle of my time in California I went to Indiana for a few days to go to Jae and Rachel’s wedding.  I was a grooms man and had a great time (but it wasn’t so great for my training). 
After returning to Santa Barbara from the wedding I did some more riding and then my friend Niu Niu came to visit with her friend Charles.  We did a surfing lesson and went for an awesome hike. 
Unfortunately my time in California is over and I’m now in the middle of a cross country road trip to Bloomington, IN.  Right now I’m staying at my friend Joey’s house.  We raced together at Purdue and Joey moved down here to Tuscon after graduating.  The weather is super hot but I’m looking forward to doing some great rides here.  Tomorrow we are doing a 40+km climb from 2000ft elevation to 9,000ft!

2주뒤에미국왔어요.  부머님이캘리포니아에서살고있어서 캘리포니아산타바브라로갔어요.  지금 부머님이있는거  내가살는것이중에자전거타고한태최고이였어요.  집에서 자전거10분타면 바다옆에탈수있고 집뒤에 15분타면 15키로 산얼어가는길있어요 그길얼어가면 내려가는 싱글 8-10키로자리 10개이상있어요!  그래서 매일 자전거타고 놀았어요. 찐자어려운싱글많이타고 좋으도로도많이탔고. 우리 아버지도 싸이클좋해서 같이 많이탔어요.   날씨도최고에요 매일 20도그리고 썬니!  
켈리포니아시간중간에 나 인디엔나갔다왔어요 왜냐하면 친구결혼식있어서.  나 그룸스맨이여서 좀재미있었어요그리고 미국결혼식끈나고 큰파티하니까 너무재미겟놀다왔어요.  
결혼식끝나고 내친구두명캘리포니아왔어요.  이친구들이랑 서핑수업받았어요.  서핑너무재미있어요!!  서핑하고등산하고  산타바바라시내에서 놀았어요.  
이제 내캘리포니아시간끝이에요 나대학원으로가야해요.  근데인디엔나너무멀어요 4000키로정도 캘리포니아에서.  나 지금 Road Trip하는중이야  월요일에 8시간동안 운전하고 투싼 엘리조나왔어요.  내대학교친구 조이  여기살고있어요.  조이도 자전거 대회너무좋아해서 우리 매일 자전거 타고놀거같아요!  목요일에 나도 운전하고 뉴맥시코주로가야해요!  


 This was my view most of the drive to Arizona.  엘리조나가는길에 아무것없다!
 In front of my parent house before embarking for Indiana.  인디에나가기전에 부머님집앞사진.
 My dad and I did some nice rides together while I was in Santa Barbara. 우리아버지랑 자전거 많이탔어요.  여기내자전거랑우리아버지자전거.
 View of the ocean while riding at the top of the big ridge behind Santa Barbara.  산타바바라뒤에있는령정상! 대박아름다웠어요!!
Tons of sweet single track in Santa Barbara too.  I see why people buy trail bikes with 6+ inches of travel now out here.  산타바파라에서 재미있는싱글너무 많아그래서 여기살은사람들 다 다울힐바이크같은거타요. 

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Big Changes Coming Up 곧내생활많이 바궈겠네요!


In 2 weeks Im going to move back to the US to attend Indiana University for the second year of my MBA program.  This means big changes for my racing since I will be going back to collegiate racing and probably not doing any regular races.  Also I will be racing for my alma mater Purdues rival.  Its going to feel really strange the first time I race or even wear an IU jersey but Im looking forward to hopefully getting another shot at collegiate nationals both on the mountain bike and for road.  Im also looking forward to the riding in Bloomington which has lots of nice hills and quiet roads.  Hopefully there are some good placed to ride mountain bikes too. 
My final race in Korea was the Yang Yang MCT race and I DNFed because I didnt feel good and wasnt going to place well.  The race was held on a super difficult course and I wish I would have just stuck it out and finished now.  If I come back to Korea to work after graduating then I will definitely have to be in better shape if I want to race that course again!  That was my last race here and I wont be racing again until September when the collegiate mountain bike race season starts. 
Hopefully I will be back in great shape by then.  My parents recently moved to Santa Barbara, CA and I will be spending 10 days there in August.  It should be a great place to train with nice weather and lots of climbing.  Im hoping to be able to do some epic mountain bike rides there too.  I need to get some of my mtb skills back after living in Seoul and not being able to ride single track for a year.
Im looking forward to going to the US to study for the year but Im definitely going to miss everyone here in Korea.  Especially my Cannodale-Neowood teammates who Ive raced with for the past 3 years.  Hopefully I get a chance to come back and work in Korea again in the future.
2주후에 미국다시가야해요인디엔나주립대학교 2학기동안공부할거에요 그래서 내자전거타는것도좀바궐거에요.  9월부터 나 산악자전거 대학부로 탈거에요인디에나근쳐에 대학교 챔피언쉽 프리테스트 같은대회몇게타야하고  10월말에 미국 노스케로라이나에서 대학전국챔피언쉽탈거에요봄에도 로드 대학부대회도탈거에요
근데 이거 좀이상할거에요 왜냐하면 내 대학원  내대학교랑 라이벌이에요.  Purdue 대학교학생들  인디엔나대학교생 안좋아했어요 하지만 이제 나도 곧 인디엔나대학교져지입고대회뒬거에요
나지난 양양MCT 대회 DNF으로했어요나 잘못타고있어서 그냥 끊었는데 지금생각하고 끝까지타야했어요ㅠㅠㅠㅠ나 그대회부터 자전거 안탔어요미국가면 다시시작할거에요그때부터 대학부 산악자전거시합준비열심히할거에요
몇 달전에 우리 부머님 캐리포니아로이사했어요.  10일동안 켈리포니아에서 자전거많이탈거에요부머님사는거 자전거천국같은거예요산이많고 산악자전거 싱글도많고 1년동안서울에서 살았어서 산악자전거 싱글타기너무 그리웠어요켈리포니아 가면 많이탈거에요!
미국가는거 재미있을거야지만  나 한국인 친구 많이 보고싶을거에요케논데일 네오우드 팀원들 그리고 다른친구다 9개월동안 못만날거에요대학원 절업하면 한국 일하로 다시 와볼거에요!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

HongCheon Mountain Bike Race Report: 3rd Place 홍천며느리재대회후기 3등!

Last Sunday I got to race on my favorite mountain bike course in Korea.  Its my favorite because I won the first edition of the race overall in 2011.  Last year the course was made a bit longer though and its not quite as well suited to me as before.  Anyway there were 6 guys in the Top Category group racing with me and my goal was to get top 3 in my group.
The start went well and I was at the front of the group going into the first climb.  Then my old teammate Ji Haeng attacked and I decided to try to jump on his wheel.  This proved to be a bad idea though as I was only able to hang with him for about a minute before I blew up.  It took me a bit to recover and at that point I had been passed by a bunch of guys but I was still sitting 3rd in my group.  I got on a guy from JiHaengs teams wheel and drafted him over the next few miles of smooth rolling double track.  At this point the race was about half over when I noticed that Yong Su who was also in my group was right in front of me.  I bridged up to him dropping Hyuk Jin in the process and hit the next climb with YongSu. 
This same situation happened last year as well and on the last climb YongSu managed to drop me.  I was determined to put up more of a fight this time.  I couldnt quite hold onto his wheel up the next climb though but I caught and passed him on the rocky descent into the final climb.  We hit the final climb together but unfortunately for me he had more in the tank than I thought and he attacked hard up the climb.  I fought to limit my losses but he was gone and I couldnt catch him on the ensuing descent.  I still ended up 3rd in my group though so I was pretty happy with the result.  This was the best Ive ridden my mtb all year but unfortunately its going to be my last mountain bike race until September probably.  This weekend is my last race in Korea its the 5th stop of the Korea Masters cycling tour and should be a good opportunity to score points toward the series ranking. 

지난주일요일 나 홍천며느리재자전거시합타고왔어요이코스 한국산악자전거코스중에 내가제일좋아해요 왜냐하면 2011년 여기서 전체일등했어요장년은 코스좀 변경했지만 좋아해요이번에 상급자탔어서 그냥 3등안에하고싶었어요출발하고 첫언덕에서 지행형 페이스 다다해봤지만 너무 힘들었어서 혁진형이랑 탔어요몇키로동안혁진형뒤에타고 리커버리했어요첫언덕내리고 용수형 봤어요 그래서 좀빨리타고 용수형이랑 2번째 언덕시작햇어요혀페이스 못다다했지만 다운힐에서 다시잡았어요마자막언덕같이시작했지만 용수형 너무 빨리탔어서 다시 못잡았어요 근데 상급자 3등했어서 기븐좋았어요 두디어이번시즌 산악자전거 좀잘탈수있었어요이번대회는 한국에 마지막 산악대회이였어요 9월부터 미국에 다시 산악자전거대회시작할거에요하지만 양양 MCT 남고있어요 MCT 6차랑7차 못갈거에서 양양에서 포인트많이 받아봐야해요

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

100km MTB Race and Grand Fondo Report 박달재 100km대회 및 그란폰도 후기

2 weeks ago I participated in my second 100km mountain bike race.  The course consisted of about 70% double track and 30% road with a little bit of single track mixed in too.  Having not performed well in Gapyoung 2 weeks prior I wasnt expecting much but I definitely wanted to use the race to get in better shape.  Lucky for me too the course is pretty easy for the first third of the race.  The gun went off and I was able to stay with the lead group for the first 40km or so.  After that the first really long climb started though and I was quickly on my own just racing to finish.  I ended up completing the course in a little under 5 hours which was about 15 minutes slower than last year.  I still had a great time overall though.  Big thanks to my friend Matt for letting me stay with him and his family in Jecheon before the race.  I think Im starting to get into better shape though since I felt a lot better the next week at the Pinarello Gran Fondo.
Last Saturday my team and I participated in what was my first ever Gran Fondo ride.  Gran Fondos are basically big timed rides that have a podium for the top 3 overall finishers. Usually the courses are really tough and most peoples goal is just to finish.  This event was held in Muju in the south west part of Korea which has really big mountains.  The event started at 7am but my team decided that since we were there just to ride rather than race we would start about 20 minutes late.  This actually proved to be a pretty good idea because as we rode the course and caught and passed people I was able to catch up with lots of people I know and meet some new ones.  The course was a lot of fun but it was also pretty brutal.  There were about 7 climbs on the course one of which had cement sections that hit over 20%.  About half the people in the ride walked up it!  The course finished with a pretty long climb too and I was pretty worn out by the end of it. The total course was 130km and took me well over 5 hours to finish. 
I got to meet some one pretty interesting on the ride too.  As I was riding up one of the gradual climbs I saw two people with number 1 and 2 so I went up and said hi and started a conversation.  It turns out that I was talking to Fausto Pinarello the son of the founder of Pinarello and the current CEO of the company.  We rode for about 20km and talked about the bike market in Korea and other things.  That was definitely the highlight of my Gran Fondo ride. 
There are no races this weekend but my last 2 races in Korea are coming up fast.  Next weekend Im racing a mountain bike race in HongCheon and the last weekend of June is the last race of the Masters Cycling Tour.
이주전에 저 박달재 100키로 산악자전거대회탔어요장년탈때 몸조그좋았지만  가평대회 잘못탔어서 이대회 그냥  훈련하로 했어요하지만 나 열심히해봤어요40키로 동안 나 앞그룹이랑탔어요하지만 첫 킨 언덕 페이스 못마췄어요마지막60키로 그냥혼자줄겁게탔어요기록 5시간 정도 나왔어요하지만 상급자에 2명박이안왔어서 2등했어요! 박달재타고 몸좀올로갔나봐요.
지난주토요일 무주 피나레로 그란펀도 타로갔어요나 첫그란폰도이얐어요 그리고 생각보다 재미있었어요시작은 7시이였는데 우리 팀 720분정도에 출발했어요이번에 대회아니여서 그냥 재미겟타고싶어서 늦게출발했어요코스타고 나 오랜만은친구랑 많이 얘기할수있었고 새친구 도마났어요코스 너무어려웠지만 재미있었어요내기록은 5시간반 넘었어요
하지만 제일 재미있는것는 나 혼자타고있었고 배번1,2번가지고있는사람봤어요외국인이야서 나 하이하고 얘기했어요그사람 피나레로 자전거 CEO 파우스토 피나레로 이얐어요!  20키로 동안같이타고 얘기했어요이것은 그란폰도 제일좋은추억.
이번주 자전거대회 없지만 다음주홍천 산악자전거대회신청했고 6월말에 양양 엠씨티 탈거예요.   
 

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Gapyoung and This week's Training 가평대회후기랑 이번주 훈련

Last week I had my first mountain bike race of the season at Yeon In San in Gapyoung north east of Seoul.  I had raced the course 3 years ago and knew it wasn't really a great course for me mostly because it has a really long hard climb (like 10-15km of uphill).  But I wanted to do the race anyway since now that I live in Seoul I never get to mountain bike.  In addition to the course being pretty tough I got sick last week with the flu for about 3-4 days.  I was feeling better but my legs weren't really responding well to my efforts.  The race started an as soon as the climbing started I lost the front group.  So I just rode steady to the finish line.  Except for the huge tough climb the course is really pretty fun with some nice rolling sections and a nice fun downhill. 
Since that race I got some good long rides in and hopefully I will be in good condition for the 100km mountain bike race in Jecheon next week.  That course is a lot more suited to me since it plays out a lot more like a road race than an mtb race.  June wil be a pretty busy month of racing with a grand fondo race/ ride the week after the 100km race and then two more races at the end of the month. 

지난 주 나 가평 연인산 산악자전거대회 탔지만  결과 별로이얐어요.  3년전에 나 가평탔어서 이코스 내코스 아니에요 알고있었지만 나 지금 서울 살고있으니까 엠티비 못타요 그래서 그냥 신청했어요.  그리고 지난 주나 3일동안 심한프루거렸어요.  그거때문에 대회 시작할때 달리 잘안갔어요.  그냥 템포페이스타고 완주했어요  하지만 재미겠탔어요. 가평코스 다운힐재미있었어요.
이번주는 훈련조금했어요.  몇번 남산북악산타고 그리고 토요일에 장흥유원지 코스탔어요.  그리고 오늘 남산탈때 정성인형 만났어요.  그형 같이 타는사람 타이어 에어 없어서 펌프 빌요졌어요.  다음주일요일 나 박달재 100키로 대회탈거에요 그래서 이번주 도 한번 길게타야해요.   박달재대회 가평보다 탈수있으면 좋겠어요!! ㅋㅋ

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Incheon MCT Race Report: 2nd Place! 인천 MCT대회 후기

Last Sunday was the 4th round of the Korean Cycling Federations Amateur Cycling series (MCT) and it was held on Ganghwa Island north of Incheon.  Having pre ridden the course the week before with my team I was excited for the race which consisted of 5 18km laps and contained 2 intermediate climbs per lap.  The rest of the course was up and down rolling and was sure to produce some fast fun racing.  The finish was at the top of a 1.5km long gradual(3%) climb which I thought I could do well in if it came down to a bunch sprint.
The race started off pretty fast with lots of small attacks but nothing was sticking until the start of the 3rd lap.  Hyung Mo Lee, my teammate Hwan Geol and a rider from the Scott team were off in a small breakaway and I had a feeling it would stick since it had most of the major players in the race represented.  I attacked going into a corner and bridged up and we were then shortly joined by some more riders bringing the group to 10 with my team having 2 and our rival in the series Scott having 2.  After this we worked together smoothly to gain a pretty good advantage on the pack.  Going into the last lap I was expecting our group to be attacked a bit but luckily we worked together pretty well until the last 2 climbs.  Hyung Mo attacked and was quickly joined by the 2 Scott riders while Hwan Geol and I struggled to catch up.  With 2km to go they were about 5 riders were about 10 seconds in front of us but we couldn't close the gap.  I finished 6th overall and HwanGeol 7th good enough for 2nd and 3rd in our age group.  Not a bad finish but both of us were hoping to place a little bit better.  Hyung Mo ended up winning and the 2 Scott riders got 2nd and 3rd. 
After the race our team went out for lunch with Arnold Kim, the Hed Wheels rep in Korea and he treated us to some super nice Korean Beef.  The whole day was going pretty well until I got home Sunday night and came down with the Flu which I've been slowly recovering from all week. 
I should be ready for this weekend's mountain bike race in Gapyoung though!

지난일요일나MCT 4차 인천 투어 탔어요.  이대회코스 마음들었어요 언덕 조금었었고 완전 크라이밍코스 아니얐어요.  원래 이코스 브레이크어워에이 할수없을거같았지만 생각보다 좀어려웠어요.  경기 시작하고 첫2바귀그냥팩이랑탔어요.  3번재 랲시작할때 땡모형, 환걸형, 스캇님1명 좀앞에있어서 나 갔어요.  3번재박위부터 10명이랑 같인 븦에이크어웨이탔어요.  우리 그룹중에 땡모형있었고 나랑 환걸형, 스캇팀2명있어서 팩에서 체이싱 한사람 별로 없었어요.  3바귀동안같이탔도 마지막 5키로에 땡모형 어텍했어요.  나다다해봤지만 힘이 없었어요. 앞에 5명있었지만 1명도 못잡았어요  그냥 나 6등환걸형 7등으로 왔어요 하지만 우리 종목에 2등3등했어요. 

경기끝나고 우리 팀 티에스 스포츠 Arnold Kim 사장님이랑 맛있는한우먹으로 갔어요!  너무 맛있었어요!  하로동안 좋아했지만 나 집에올때  몸이아팠어요!오늘 까지 플루 거렸어요!!  하지만 이번주 일요일있는 가평 시합 탈수있을거같아요! 


Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Naju MCT Race Report: 2nd again! 나주 마스터즈 후기

Last Saturday I participated in the 3rd race of the Masters Cycling Tour(MCT).  This is the national series that is being put on by the Korean cycling federation for amateur racers.  I was excited for the race because the course was fairly easy meaning there was a high likely hood for a sprint finish.  I was also a bit worried though because the race had 300 people in it and unlike in Gapyoung there wouldn't be any hills to split the field up making the possibility for crashes high. 
My team had a good group for the race though with 9 riders and my teammate HwanGeol currently sitting in second place for the series.  The weather for the race was great with sunny skies and just a little bit of wind.  The pace was pretty fast but like I predicted the course was too easy to break up the pack or allow a breakaway to go very far.  There were multiple crashes each lap but I was lucky to be in a good position for most of the race and avoid them.  I decided after the first lap that I would sit in the whole race and wait for the field sprint.  The next few laps were pretty uneventful and with 3km or so I moved my way to the front with my teammates Hwan Geol and Yeon Deok.  All 3 of us are good sprinters and if we played it right we had a good chance to sweep the top 3 spots.  The finishing straight was pretty straight and I decided to start sprinting first with about 250m to go.  I got a good gap and thought I had it but with about 30m left another rider just edged past me as I was running out of steam.  I started the sprint just a bit too early but I was still pleased with second overall and first in my age group.  Just behind me were Hwan Geol and Yeon Deok too meaning we swept the podium in our age group.  The guy who won is a former professional Keirin racer named Jong Chul Kang, who now owns a bike shop in the south part of Korea.  He definitely had a good sprint and I'm hoping for a rematch in 2 weeks at the MCT race in Incheon. 
The race wasn't all great for my team unfortunately though.  My teammate and our team's only female rider Myo Jin crashed hard and has a small fracture in her spine now.  It looks like she will make a full recovery but she won't be able to bike for a while.  I'm sure she will recover soon though!

지난주토요일에 나주 MCT 대회다녀왔습니다.  금요일 팀들이랑 내려가고  우리 리트칼턴 모텔에서잤어요 ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.  토요일 아침에 대회준비하고 시작.  나주 코스가 내마음들었어요.  큰언덕없어서 라스트사움 될거같았어요.  하지만 300명이렇게 쉬운코스 에서 대회하면  너무지는사람많알거예요.  나 조심히타고 마지막5키로 까지 기다렸어요.  3키로남을때 나 환걸형이랑 연덕형이랑 앞에있었어요.  우리 다 스프린트 잘하니까 1,2,3등 할수있을거같았어요.  250m 남을때 나 스프린트시작햇어요.  1등할거같았지만 30m남을때 누구 내옆에 왔어요.  일찍시작했어서 힘이 없었어요 2등했어요 그리고 내뒤에 환걸형이랑 연덕형있었어요.  우리 cat 1종목에서 1,2,3등!  하지만 우리 팀 다좋은결과안나왓어요ㅠㅠ.  우리 묘진누나 넘어졌어요 그리고 허리 많이 아파졌어요ㅠㅠ.   누나 빨리나면 좋겠어요! 
이번경기에서 너무잘탔어서 다음주있는인천대회기대해요!  다시 라스트사움하면 1등해볼게요! 


Monday, April 15, 2013

Trek Race Report: 2nd Place 트렉 레이스데이 후기: 2등했어요!

Last Saturday I participated in the Trek race which was held in Tae An on the west coast of Korea.  Tae An is one of my favorite places to race and I have a pretty good record of racing there.  In 2010 in my first race there I won and then last year I finished second.  I was hoping to step back up to the top of the podium this time. 
It was a super windy day and I was racing in the Men's Senior (age 20-30) MTB road division.  On the start list there were nearly 100 riders listed but there were a lot less who actually showed up and due to the wind the pack broke apart really quickly.  After just a few miles it was just me, MunSu Jin (a really fast rider in just his 3rd year racing) and Yujin Jeong (a rider from the Giant team who I am usually close to in races).  I thought I had the best sprint of our group so my goal was just to maintain my energy to the finish but Munsu had other plans.  There are 2 hills on the course and going up the second one he attacked hard.  Yujin and I were unable to follow and he opened a gap up.  We continued to chase on the flats and finally caught him with about 10km of flat windy road to go.  Also at this point my old teammate Ji Haeng who was racing in the veteran category had caught up to my group and began pulling us at a pretty high pace.  With one K to go he told us to start sprinting for the win in our group and backed off the gas.  I sat back and then Munsu attacked.  I waited for Yujin to chase but he couldn't get on MunSu's wheel.  At this point he had a few meters on us and then I went.  I had let the gap get too big however and couldn't close it.  I sat up and got back in Yujin's draft then passed him again right at the line.  I was happy with second place but disappointed that I didn't immediately follow MunSu when he attacked since I think I maybe could have gotten him on the line.  Second was still a great result though considering I'm not in as a good of shape as I was this time last year.  This weekend I have a break from racing since I have final tests next week and in 2 weeks I have a flat road race which is the next stop in the Korea Cycling Federation's Amateur race series. 

지난주토요일 태안에있는 트렉레이스데이 다녀왔어요.  저 태안에있는대회 좋아요왜냐하면 나거기서 좋으결과 나왔어요.  2010년TDK 프리테스트에서 일등하고 장년 2등했어요.  이번에다니 일등으로 올로가고싶었어요.  나 이번에 남자시니어 MTB타로왔어요 그로기 이거 내새캐논대일산악자전거 첫경기이얐어요.
토요일에 바람너무 열심히 불렀지만 날씨좋았어요.  스타트하고 5분타고 내그릅에 3명 남고있었어요!  나 진문수랑 정유진형이랑 같이피니쉬까지 타면 나 라스트치고 할거예요 햇어요.  하지만 문수가 다른계획있었어요!  두번째언덕에서 문수 어택하고  나갔어요.  나 유진이랑 잡아봤지만 차이있었어요.  하지만  평지 나오고 우리 10키로 정도 남을때 잡았어요.  그리고 지행형 우리 3명 잡았어요.  지행형 앞에타고 너무 빨리뒤였어요.  1키로 남을때 형이 안녕하고 우리 3명 스프린트시작!  나 뒤에 다다하고 먼저 문수갔어요.  유진형 잡아봤지만 못잡고 나 좀다다하고 나갔어요 하지만 나도 못잡았어요그래서 다시 유진형 다다하고 마지막 50미터에 갔어요 2등하고. 아쉽지만 2등 하고했어서 좋았어요.  문수 스프린트 시작 할때 꼭 가야했는데 기다렸어서 못잡았어요.  문수 이번시즌 너무 잘탈거같아요!! 
대회 타고 다시 만리포 혼자 자전거타고갔어요 그리고 주형형이랑 승용이랑 낙지복음먹고 집으로갔어요! 




Monday, April 8, 2013

Gapyoung and New 29er 가평이랑 첫 29인치라이딩 더보기

I had my first race of the season last weekend.  It was a 60kmish road race in Gapyoung north or Seoul.  The pack was 300 riders but luckily the course had a pretty big climb that we did 4 times that thinned out the pack pretty quick.  The race also finished with a 3kmish climb meaning I didn't have much confidence for a good finish since I'm normally more of a sprinter than a climber.  My goal was to hit the final climb with the lead pack and then just ride steady to the finish.  I also wanted to help one of my teammates Hwan Geol who had won the first race of the 6 race series this was a part of.  Unfortunately though he was suffering from a cold and didn't have great legs. 
I acheived my goal of making it to the final climb with the lead pack and finished 39th.  Hyung Mo Lee, a super strong rider who consistently beat me when we were in break aways together last year, broke away solo and finished more than a minute up on the pack.  But the best finish of the day came from my two teammates Myo Jin and Sang Jun who both won their age categories.  Sangjun is a high school student who joined my team last year and is a really good climber but doesn't have much power for the flats yet.  He was riding well and stormed the final climb to win the under 30 age group and finish 6th overall.  It was a pretty amazing result considering he is only 16!  Myo Jin is our star girl rider and it wasn't a big surprise that she won the women's category.
This past weekend I finally got to take my new Cannondale 29er off road.  I went down to Yongin near where I used to teach to ride some fire roads and was very impressed.  I climbed a hill that I never cleared in 3 years of living in Yongin.  I think the big wheels help keep traction better when climbing steep stuff.  I'm looking forward to taking it out for some mountain bike races soon.  This weekend I'm doing a 50km road race on it which should be pretty fun. 

지난주못썼지만 나 가평 마스터즈 대회 갔다왔어요.  가평 코스 너무 어려워서 내 하고싶은거그냥 마지막 언덕까지 앞그룹이랑타고싶었어요.  환걸형도 도와주고싶었는데 코스 너무 힘들었어서 잘못도와졌어요. 나 39등하고탔어요! 첫대회이야서괜찮아요.  내결과별로이얐지만 우리팀 막내 상준이 너무 잘탔어요.  상준이 원래 언덕잘타니까 이코스 너무 잘탈수있었는거이얐어요.  마지막언덕에서 상준이 너무 빨리타고 전체6등하고 시니어 1등했어요!! 묘진누나도 여자부1등했어요! 
이번주 나 두디어 새 캐논데일 29인치 오프로드 코스 타로갔어요.  용인에 친구 파티있어서 자전거 가지가고  묵리 임도코스 탔어요.  29인치 바귀 찐자 생각 보다 좋아요.  원래 못타는언덕 잘올로갈수잇어요!  큰바귀 grip 너무새요!  첫 어프로드대회 기대해요 하지만 이번주말에  트랙대회 엠티비로드로 나가요!  아마도 가평이나 무주 첫  찐자 엠티비대회이얄거같아요. 

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Riding with the Korean Pro Team LX Systems 엘엑스 선수단과함게라이딩후기

Last Sunday my team got a pretty cool opportunity.  We went for a ride with one of the Korean professional road teams and then went out for lunch and coffee with them.  The team consists of just 6 riders but they were all really nice guys.  It was a really great opportunity for me to ask some questions about how pro cycling in Korea works.  The team Captain Seon Jae Jang was really good at English and helped answer a lot of my questions.  Pro racing in Korea is much different than the US. 
First all the distinction between pro and amateur in Korea is very strong.  The pros have a completely seperate set of races they do and amateurs are not allowed to participate.  There are about 100 registered pro riders in Korea so they still have ok size fields at most of their races.  Also they only have pro racing about once a month which is usually a road stage race or a set of track competitions.  Most of the pro riders do both road and track as a result of this.  Finally the biggest difference is that even though most of the teams aren't registered as UCI continental teams all of the riders get paid a decent livable salary and as a result can focus on nothing but training and racing.  Also their races don't give prize money but if they do well they will get a higher salary the next year.  Definitely a big difference between many of the continental pro racers in the US.  Also basically every pro rider started biking in middle or high school at a sports high school and were basically brought up through the Korean pro development system.  There aren't many riders who are pros who didn't participate in an organized high school racing team.  It was interesting to finally get a lot of my questions answered about how pro racing works!
Overall it was a really fun and informative day and a nice ride with some great guys.  The pros are doing a 3 day stage race that starts tomorrow in Gapyoung north of Seoul.  Following this race there is a one day race for amateurs that I will be riding in.  I can't wait to get my season started! 
I didn't take many pictures but my teammate Myo Jin did so I'm putting a link to her blog here if your interested in seeing them.  She writes really nice detailed blogs about every team ride and race.  Click the picture with the rider in the red jersey to see the blog about our ride. 

http://blog.naver.com/miao333

지난주 일요일 너무 특별한라이딩있었어요!  우리팀 LX 시스템 선수단이랑 같이달렸어요!  나 한국 프로선수들에게 물어보고싶은거 너무많있어서 신났어요! 장년 투르두코리아에서 장찬재선수 한번만났지만 이번에  찬재선수형 장선재선수만났어요.  선재선수 영어너무 잘할수있어서 얘기 많이했어요.  한국 선수 생활은 미국 프로 선수 보다 많이 달라요! 
우리 자전거 40키로 정도 타고 칼국수 먹으로 갔어요!  너무 맛있는 가평 칼국수 먹고 유명한커피샵왔어요!  이커피샵바리스타 몇년전에 월드바리스타 대회 일등했어요!!!  선수들이랑 우리팀과함게 너무 재미있는하루보냈어요. 
이번주  토요일  내 올해시작이다.  가평에서 열심히타고 환걸형 일등다시하기위에서 좀 도와지봐야해요! 
나 이번에 사진 많이 안찍었지만 묘진 누나 브로그 보면 좋은사진이너무많아요. 


Thursday, March 21, 2013

Getting back in shape 자전거 몸 좀좀 좋아지고있어요.

첫 라이딩 보다 여즘 몸이너무 많이 좋아졌어요!  2월마지막주 부터 훈련 조금했어요.   매주 월수금 나 학교에있는 헬스장에서 웨이트트레이닝 하고 다는 날 시간있으면 자전거 탔어요.  이번주는 나 내친구 어익선 우리 동내로 라이딩 하로 왔어요.  익선 1년동안 호주에있어서 오랜만에 만났어요.  우리 화요일 오후에 성대에서 송추, 장흥관광지로 탔어요 그리고 마지막에 부각스카이웨이 올로갔어요!  자전거 타고 우리 내 같이 공부하는 외국인친구들이랑 밥먹었어요. 익선 호주가기전에 보다 영어 많이 늘었어요! 
다음주 내시즌 시작이에요 그래서 좀 탈거에요! 가평 부터 대회 많이 나갈거같아요! 
그리고 저 지난주 모델링 했어요!  바이크온 자전거 옷회사 여름 옷 입고 4시간동안 사진 찍었어요!  재미있었지만 너무추웠어요!!  밑에있는사진은 나익선이랑 일영리에서 찍었어요, 내새로 받는헬멧입고있어요! 

I'm in much better shape than I was for my last post!  I've been lifting weights 3 times and week and riding when ever I have time.  I had a really great ride on Tuesday since Ik Son, a Korean friend of mine from Suwon, came to visit me up at my school.  He was the first Korean bike friend I made who was my age.  I met him at the first club I rode with in Suwon.  He just spent the last year in Australia working as a bike mechanic and traveling and his English has gotten way better.  We did a nice 3.5 hour ride north of Seoul on some new roads I discovered that have some nice long gradual climbs.
 The first race of my season is next week.  Its in Gapyoung north east of Seoul and the course is pretty hard. Its a 20km loop with a 4km ish climb each lap and a finishing climb of about 3km.  There are going to be over 300 riders in the race though so having a pack that big will make the climbs seem a lot smaller.  I need to get out and do some more climbing this weekend to get ready for it.
Also, last week I got to be a model for a Korean bike clothing company.  Its called Bike On.  We did a 4 hour photo shoot in a park north of Seoul.  It was for their summer line and it was only about 45 degrees so was freezing.  Once I get some picks back I will post them on here.  The pic below shows me and Ik Son plus the new helmet I got from Bike On. 

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Back to Training! 이제 훈련 다시 시작이다!


Sorry I haven’t updated the blog in a while.  I had a long and eventful winter but it did not involve much training.  School was really tough for the past 7 weeks and I had an awesome trip to China 10 days too.  I also spent a lot of time skiing and organized a ski trip for my classmates in January.  Its time for a new semester at school though and I’ve arranged a pretty good schedule for training.  Also the snow that has stuck around most of the winter has finally melted making it a lot easier to train outside. 
The first race of the season was actually last week but since I haven’t been training I decided to skip it.  My teammates Hwan Geol Lee and Myo Jin Kim won the race though for the men and women overall though so for the team it was a big success.  The race was the first in a 6 race series that is being promoted by the Korean Cycling Federation.  Other than the Tour de Korea this is their first foray into organizing amateur races.  Basically they have pro stage races in Korea about once a month and along with every pro stage race they are going to have an amateur road race now.  These races are a points series and serve as the qualifying process for the Tour de Korea which is being moved to October for the amateurs this year.  The courses all look pretty tough and there is another race at the end of the month, which I will do.  Its exciting to see amateur racing in Korea progress like this. 
April has a lot of races too.  There is either a road or mtb race every weekend for the whole month.  I’m hoping to get a lot of good training in for the next few weeks to be in shape for the April racing. 

오랜만에 브로그 쓰고있어요!  이번겨울  자전거 안타고 너무빠브고 안썼어요.  하지만 재미있는거 많이했어요.  설날때 중국 갔다왔어요그리고 스타힐리조트에서 스키랑 보드 많이탔어요.  하지만 3월부터 자전거 훈련시작햇어요.  이번 학기는 일정 너무 잘됐어요.  화목금 자전거 타는시간 너무 많아서 훈련 많이 해볼거예요. 
지난 주 올해첫대회있었지만 훈련안했어서 안나갔어요.  가평대회 부텨 열심히 달릴거예요.  나 안갔지만 우리 팀 너무 잘탔어요.  환걸형, 묘진 누나 둘이 일등하고왔어요!  대한싸이클 연맹 마스터즈 시리즈 만들었어서 올해신난다!  그리고 4월에 대회 너무 많아요.  그래서 3월동안 너무 열심히 탈거에요!  매주 산악이나 싸이클대회있어요.  훈련 잘하고 4월달 대회 잘타면 좋겠어요!  

Friday, January 11, 2013

India 인도여행

I had a great winter vacation visiting one of my best friends from college Naveen John.  The trip was basically two parts: the 9 day Tour of Nilgiris and then a 10 day trip with Naveen around central southern India. 

Tour of Nilgiris
This was a 9 day tour/ race.  Everyday we rode anywhere from 60-170km and on 5 of the stages there were individual time trials that were fairly short (all under 30km).  Since I'm not a very good time trialist I wasn't expecting anything spectacular from the race but I was still hoping to do ok.  After the first 2 TTs I was sitting in 6th overall and thinking I could move up a bit but then disaster struck!  I got food poisoning and ended up spending all night on the toilet before the one of the big stages and I couldn't ride it.  I was pretty sick for about a day and a half and then I stared recovering. After missing one day I was out of the race classification and just rode the other 2 TTs for fun.  My friend Naveen (who is a really good time trialist) ended up getting second overall to his teammate Lokesh.  Other than getting sick the tour was a lot of fun. 
I met some great new friends and got to ride on some amazing roads in addition to seeing a lot of southern India.  The riding was half in an area called the Nilgiris which was a mountain area that sat at about 2000m.  The mountains however were basically 99% covered in team plantations which made for some pretty scenery and allowed you to constantly have a great view of the terrain around you.  The rides we did on the middle stages of the tour definitely rank with some of the best rides I have ever done in my life with awesome roads and tons of climbing.  The second to last day finished with a 40km+ long descent which was by far the longest downhill I have ever done. 
Riding in India was nice too as all along the road there are little shops selling snacks that are super cheap in addition to other people selling things like coconuts and fresh fruit.  The roads were pretty bad in some areas but overall they were much nicer than I expected.
I was impressed by the organizers and volunteers of the tour too.  They really put in a lot of effort to make sure everything ran smoothly and we stayed in some really nice places also. 

After the race we headed back to Bangalore which is where Naveen lives and got ready for our big road trip!  Christmas was nice too, we spent it with Naveen's parents and had a lot of amazing food.  Naveen's mom and dad are both great cooks and every day we spent at their house we were completely stuffed from eating all of the amazing food they would make for breakfast, lunch and dinner!  The best food I had in India was definitely had there!  They also taught me the fine art of eating with my hands which is how most people in India eat! 

We set off on our trip together first by taking a night bus to Kudremukh National park.  The park is north of Banglore about 9 hours on really bumpy twisty roads.  Needless to say neither of us slept very well on the bus however when we arrived at 7am we were ready to go.  Kudremukh national park is an old iron ore mining area that has now been turned into a park with great hiking.  After arriving at the park office to get some more information we were informed that we could stay at a guest house at the start of the trail.  We then took a local bus and an auto rickshaw (three wheeler taxi) up a crazy dirt road and arrived at our accomodation.  After dropping off our bags we headed off on the hike to the top which was about 10km each way.  The hike was on a pretty tough trail but Naveen and I kept our pace up to make sure we would make it back before dark.  The whole hike was on these huge hills covered in knee high grass making for really nice views in all directions.  The top of the mountain was amazing too and had about a 1000m drop off one side!  We also got to see some wild buffalo along the hike.  After arriving back at the house we cleaned up by swimming in a waterfall!  For dinner the wife of the owner of the house cooked us the spiciest chicken either of us had ever eaten.
There is a lot more to write but I will have to write it in my next blog!  Look at my Facebook page if you want to see some pictures too! 

이번 겨울방학나 인도갔다왔어요!  여행부분주개있었어요: 9일동안자전거투어대회타고 10일동안 친구랑그냥여행하고했어요.  내친구 이름 나빈이에요 그리고 방가로루 살고있어요.  친구인도 사람인데 우리 우리 대학교 자전거 동호회에서 만났어요.  

자전거대회는 이름투어어브 닐그리스 이얐어요.  닐그리스 가 인도 남쪽 유명한 산 이름이에요.  이대회는 완전 대회이니얐어요.  매일 60부터 170키로 타고 5번 개인 타임트라이얼 있었어요. 나 원래 TT 잘못타지만 이번에 그냥 좀해볼거에요햇어요.  2번재 티티 끝나고 나 6등하고있었지만 그다음날  장염 걸렸어요ㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ. 배완전 아파서 나 대회날 하나 바졌어요 그래서 내결과끝났어요.  36시간정도 쉬고 자전거 탈수있었어요.  이투어 생각보다 좋았어요.  인도 산이 찐자 아름답고 도로 도 재미있었어요.  7번재 스테이지에 40키로 자리 다운힐있었어요!  이렇게 킨 낼이막 길 처음탔어요.  인도 산에서 타도 왕승이 많았어요!  나 야생왕승이 처음보는거이니까 너무 신났어요!  이투어 너무좋았고 새 친구 도 많이 만날수있었어요  여시 투어 하는사람들 다 영어 잘할수있어서.   
나대회 결과없었지만 내 방문하는친구 나빈  2등했어요 나빈 팀메이트 도 1등했어요!  자전거투어 끝나고 우리 다시 친구 집으로 갔어요. 
친구 부모님 크리스쳔 사람이야서 우리 특별한 크리스마스 저녁 먹었어요.  내친구 부모님 요리 너무 잘할수있어서 우리 매날 배 아플때 까지 맛있는음식 먹었어요.  그리고 인도 에서 사람들 그냥 손으로 음식먹어요!

크리스마스 끝나고 우리 여행하로갔어요!  첫가는 거 쿠더묵 국림공원이얐어요.  9시간동안 밤에 타는 좌석 버스 타고 아침7시 도착했어요.  도착하고  공원 사무실에서 안내 좀찾았어요.  이공원입구에서 괜찮은 게스트 하우스 있어서 고기서 자야해요 음식 준비도할수있었요.  숙소 도착하고 우리 20키로 왕복등산갔어요.  이공원 원래 철광석 단지 야서  나무 많이 없었어요.  지금 풀많아요 그래서 360 뷰있었어요.  항상 아름다운 언덕 볼수있어요.  정상에도 엄청 큰 cliff 있었어요 한 1000m 낼리막!  정상에도 야생 buffalo 봤어요!!  우리 등산끝나고 숙소옆에 폭포 수영하고 너무 맛있는 인도식 불닭먹고 잘잤어요. 

다른 쓸게 너무많아서 다음 브로그에서쓸거에요!  사진 보고싶으면 내 페북으로 가보세요!