Updates from Rickey Visinski

Pic dump alert. 2 new 09 galleries full of mayhem...

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:09:58 GMT

Pic dump alert. 2 new 09 galleries full of mayhem with Fisher mtn bikes and Echappe Elite Cyclocross

If a picture is worth 1000 words, what is a video ...

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:16:20 GMT

If a picture is worth 1000 words, what is a video worth? I'm in pinstripes dead center... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiIkGHgutqA

4 Crazy Days

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:21:54 GMT

These past couple day have been a blur as I raced Thursday night in MA, and then drove 5 hours to middle of nowhere New York state for 2 National Racing Calendar crits.

Starting off was the Legacy Banks crit. It was absolutely ridiculous. It started at 6:30 pm, capping of the Pittsfield Downtown festival. This meant there were over 1000 people watching the race. The start finish stretch was about 300 yards long, we had half the road, the other half was packed solid with people. As you came through the stretch, you felt the roar of the crowds echoing off the buildings and reverberating right through you. They had a radio station spinning tunes and the local news station around filming. I almost took out a camera because the camera man posted up right on the inside edge of turn three as I was trying to move up the inside.

The kicker is I got the 3rd Call up to the front row. I was the only non Pro/1 called up. I had to get prodded to go to the line because I was so shocked to get called up.

It was a great competition as well with all the top MA pros coming out to tune up for the Chris Thater NRC crits. Hopefully I can find the news story and video.

After the Legacy banks race, I headed off to Binghamton, NY. Thursday had been the test of the legs against the pros, now I got to pick on the humans. I took off the front of the race with 6 miles to go in Saturdays 3-4 race and won with 45 seconds to spare. This collected some attention because there were 4 teams with 5 or 6 guys working for sprinter that got duped. I also got to talk to a couple of other riders as I search for a team.

Sunday, in front of another packed house(we were the race right before the Pros) I missed the break of 5 riders who went on to lap the field. Rather than sit around and mope like the rest of the field, I went on the attack to try to bridge up to the leaders, this didn't quite work, however, I dragged 8 people out of the group to form a solid chase group before I attacked at 3 laps to go for 6th. I was joking with my friends that I should learn how to sprint so I don't have to work so hard. However, I learned that when you see someone open it up and rocket out 40+ mph sprints, the only chance I have to beat them is not sprint against them.

I should also add in the math. In the first race, I beat the field home by over 45 seconds, the second race, the group who lapped the field got 2 minutes up, i made up 1.5 minutes before I ran out of race. I then beat my chase group who didnt get lapped by 35+ seconds.

After this there is the Green Mountain Stage Race and then its CROSS Season!!!

GA State Road Race Champion

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:45:23 GMT

GA State Road Race Champion

Another month another blog

Wed, 21 May 2008 08:21:48 GMT

So I am finishing off my prep work for the season, and I am beginning to realize dealing with something new, even if its better, is a pain in the ass. Now I am not talking about the east coast, it still sux and is generally miserable. As an aside, I have the pet project of being the one man freeride team for saddleback mtn in maine. At least the winter is looking up, I should get a plane though.

http://www.loopd.com/members/rickeyski/Photos.aspx?resourceId=f43dc1b6-79c7-4a4f-b36b-03944d54e18f

Back on task. I am anemic; however, because I do not menstuate, the doctors I had refused to acknowlege it until I finally met a competent doctor in Durango, CO. He was willing to put in the effort to get me to normal blood values for the first time since I have begun getting blood work done 9 years ago. So this means, I actually get 3 hours of benefit out of three hours of training. I used to get three hours of aerobic work, but only one hour of muscular development. All of a sudden it makes sense why I had to train 30-40 hours a week to compete at the olympic level, while my competition trained 20 max.

What this change means is all of a sudden, it is very easy to fry my legs, erg. But sprint workouts will actually have an effect. Well wish me luck. NOw I can sprint, but I can over train. You really cant have your cake and eat it too..

All the best of luck to everybody who actually reads these, and if you avoid them, I really don't blame you.

~Rickey

Moving right along

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 11:45:24 GMT

My last ski comp of the year was cancelled due to fog and typical east coast weather. I was bummed, but life happens. Ski season is winding down and now I am back on the bike. I got a great motivation gift in the mail...a Connecticut State Champions medal in the mail. It is finally sinking in that six months ago, I won a state championship without realizing it. Oops. This is a good lesson on why it is important to go out and race with everything you have even if you don't feel 100%.

This just needs more emphasis...

I AM THE CT STATE ELITE U-23 CYCLOCROSS CHAMPION. I'm super stoked and ready to start killing it on the bike again. Thanks for reading. Peace

Ski comps have begun

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 16:53:20 GMT

Well, my season is officially off and running. Yesterday was the Mad River Glen Unconventional Terrain Challenge. I should have remembered that the east coast doesn't have the same freeskiing comps as we had in Colorado. This was a glorified mogul comp with a cliff section at the end. This is the part where I realize that this comp shouldn't have been my first time back in the bumps in a year. I got tossed 3 times in the bumps, but I stuck all my hucks. Back to working on EC technique. There is the MRG Vertical CHallenge on Friday. At least it will give me lots of time to practice bumping. Good luck to everyone this season.

New Job, New Place

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:16:50 GMT

Well, since I don't need to worry about the Olympics any more, I have moved on and am working on a ski instructor at Jiminy Peak in MA. I am excited to be back on snow, even if it isn't the 211 in base in CO. I am lining up at the MRG Comp, Magic Mtn, and Jay peak. Unfortunately, no comps out west. I'm still saving my pennies to get back out next year. And now I will be gaining all the skill development I could want.

I would tell you about all the great bike riding now, but I'd be lying. Rollers are where it's at now. Nothing excited there.

Hope everyone is having a good winter.

New sponsors

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:58:07 GMT

I would like to thank Six Six One for joining Steel MX in supporting my Freeskiing. This gives me a lot of incentive to try to swing a trip to the Aspen and Taos IFSA comps, and a lot more confidence in competition.

I would also like to thank Odi for supporting my mountain biking. I look forward to hanging on for the ride.

New day, new year, new plans

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:00:39 GMT

I hope everyone is looking forward to a great new year. My main new year's resolution is to get better at networking and being more social in general. I have always been more of a do'er rather than a talker so I am working on putting myself more "out there." On that note, please feel free to drop me comments or critiques on my profile or pics, etc.

On to business. The Olympics is a no go this year, and I am bummed. Not only did this drag me away from Colorado; the worst part is that I can't compete because my coach didn't put through the proper paperwork to clear me for the team. It is one thing to get beat, but not even making it to the starting line really really stings. Oh well, the good part about going to your first Olympic trials at 18 means I have 2 or 3 good shots left.

The flip side to this is I can do a lot more skiing and cycling. Now that I am healthy and training again, the New England racing scene is in for a rude awakening. I am motivated and have a lot of fustration to put to the pedals. My skiing also continues to progress. Even though there are no more 50 ft cliff hucks to 4+ ft of fresh, learning how to mach over the icy crud bumps is good experience for comps. I should be able to add a few more tricks to go along with my generic 3's and a few grabs as well.

My targets for 2008 are now:
    -Big Mountain Freeskiing comps at Magic mtn and Jay Peak, possibly either Taos or Aspen IFSA Comp
    -1 more podium mountain biking to upgrade to semi-pro
    -racing pro/1 on the road to prep for Elite Cyclocross
    -Enjoy the 2 to 3 weeks at Ski Portillo in August since I won't be in Beijing for the Olympics.

Thanks for reading, take it easy

Life on the Ice Coast

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:54:29 GMT

Well, moving back to CT was uneventful. Then I have been sick as anything since being back. I have been luck to have a healthy week without something nagging me. Welcome back to civilization and pollution.

Needless to say, being sick dashed my hopes of a strong cross season. I managed one dash of glory, getting a top 20 as an Elite. In the Verge series finals, I had bad luck to counteract my bad form and thats been all she wrote. Sometimes you just cannot win.

Rowing has been slowly improving. I'm getting smoother and have started beating the other lightweight in my training camp consistently. Now for the hard part of finding a 2x partner. Keeping my fingers crossed for that one. Hopefully I've just been saving all the breaks on my bike for the Olympics next year. I sure am going to need them.

I can't stress enough how much it means to have my sponsors stick with me through all of the ups and downs of racing. Crank Brothers, First Endurance, DPM Sports, Breaking Away Bikes, Zar International, and everyone else who helped me, I appreciate it.

To everyone else, Happy Holidays, Peace

The More Things change...

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:32:49 GMT

Well, it happened. I got dragged back east. It an olympic year and I'm back in the boat. Here I go again.

Oh yea, check out the new cross pictures.

peace

Busy Busy

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 12:22:53 GMT

Well, now that I get a little break from 4 straight weekends of racing, can I remember what happened to clue everybody in?

This block started off with the Salida omnium. It was wet and wild with my opening TT starting in the middle of raining hail. Of course this is the one day I decide to wear just the skinsuit, no baselayer. Also, the start times were moved up 2 minutes due to weather, but no one told me while I was out warming up. Instead of a solid top 10, I lost 2 minutes and finished mid pack. This just wasn't my weekend. In the road race, I made the original selection on the climb, however, I bonked badly and limped in at the back of the field. Adding insult to injury, it started to rain again right as I started my 2nd to last lap. In the crit, I was feeling pretty good all considered; unfortunately, I got chopped with about 15 minutes to go and held the field at 1/2 a lap to finish without getting lapped. At least it didn't rain, and I confused a few of my friends who hadn't been paying attention. They thought I was off the front instead of the back...maybe next time.

Next up was the Hermosa creek classic. Remind me never to do a 4 hour XC race again. Scratch that, it was fun until the final 8 mile descent to the finish where I spectacularly rolled down the hill several times and went from 2nd to 7th. I need to stop using long finger gloves and stick with my Spiuk 1/2 fingers, everything else just slides around too much on my long skinny hands. At least the legs are still working. I finally got to try the short spindle egg beaters from Crank Brothers and I can say I love them. I finally feel like I am riding a bike again instead of a horse when I go from my road to mtn bike.

Back on the mtn bike again. This time for the Snowmass NMBS. I like racing snowmass. I was feeling pretty confident after the Snowmass MSC race as well where I put over 5 minutes into 2nd place over the first climb. This time, I got over the top on the wheel of 1st place. I was happy because as much as I hate to call people out, the kid in 1st won the overall NMBS last year in expert and has won every race so far this year. Unfortunately I got popped off in the new technical section, so I didnt get a good crack at him. I slowly went backwards as I believe I payed for going a little to hard pre-riding the course the day before. More experience in the bank, why couldn't I have just listened to Dave Wiens when he told me to not leave anything out on the course pre-riding that you will want during race day. The next day I raced the super-d. It was completely redonkulous. They cut a bunch of brand new trail for it right down the ski slope. It was definately the fastest I have ever gone down hill on my mtn bike. I scored points for this one, I didnt wad up, and I wasn't last.

This last weekend was the Tour De Gap. I won the queen road race in a 7 up sprint and the TT by 41 secs the next day. It is nice to finally win something this year. Last year I started off with a win in March, but it makes it very sweet to be grinding all year before pulling it out.

I would like to thank my sponsors, Crank Brothers for the short spindled egg beaters so I can climb like I remembered my rocket pants and the multi-tools that put my bike back together, DPM Sports for the Spiuk clothing and Kuips road bike that keep me comfortable and efficient whether I am off the front or back, Maxxis tires and tubes, keeping me rubber side down as much as they can, and finally First Endurance, whose product allow me to finish strong whether the race is a 4 hour XC race, or a 4 stage race packed into 2 days. Thank you everybody, hopefully I can keep winning all the way thru cross season.

Getting Old (birthday related)

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 15:22:01 GMT

Well, I just had my 22nd birthday last Thursday. I am super stoked that I was accepted for sponsorship by Crank Brothers. Things are finally starting to click. I'm glad I am finally building positive momentum. I am looking forward to rocking the second half of my season with the help of Crank Bros, First Endurance, DPM Sports, and Maxxis.

Thanks for reading

Halfway done

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:01:35 GMT

Now that I have finished my first half of the season, I have some time to kill before the fun starts up again. I finally pulled of a podium. I was 3rd in the Deer Valley Expert xc. This is my first expert podium and the first podium this year. It gives me a good boost of confidence to start off the second half of the season. I am super stoked to have gotten myself back to the pointy end of the race.

It is sort of a bummer to have to take a break now that things are clicking, but this is why I'm blogging right now instead of riding. Everything is coming together nicely, and I should only get faster through the end of the summer. Thanks for reading, hopefully I will find something interesting to put up here eventually.

Ft Lewis Race Report

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Hi everyone, For those of you who dont know, I`m not at cornell, duh. I am in sunny Gunnison, CO, so I have the advantage of spying on your rocky mtn competition for you. I took advantage of this to antagonize Ft Lewis at their home race weekend. Sadly, I was relegated to the Pro-3 race rather than collegiate A`s, but there was enough wearing of the Cornell kit to be noticed. I skipped the TTT in the morning and instead focused on the Hill Climb and RR. Being that I was in the Pro-3, I was happy that the team of me myself and I skipped the TTT. Reason being...a team I will refer to as "durango all-stars" decided to come out and lay down a whooping that will not be seen again until the cornell ttt`s at eastern`s. This team consisted of Tom Danielson, Chris Wherry, Mike Creed, and I believe Tony Colby. Needless to say, no one was close and I don`t think any of the four got their HR`s over 155. I roll up to the registration and am greeted with the fact that I am the only 3 in the field and this dynamic foursome is also signed up for the RR. On to the HC. While a 30k tt seemed to fit into said all-stars training ride, the HC did not. This became a race between me and local home-boys Rocky Mtn Choc Factory. I mananged to upset their plans for a sweep of the podium by taking 3rd place with a time that would`ve have won Collegiate A`s. All in Cornell kit I might add. It is worth noting that the RMCF rider I knocked into 4th place happened to be my minute man, Ned Overend. Finally, the RR. Disappointingly, none of the hometown allstars decided to butcher the field on their home turf. Instead, it turned out to be a battle between me and a full 9 man RMCF team. In a 9 lap race up around the campus and down for about 60 miles, seems pretty straightforward. Until you see the climb into Ft Lewis campus. The only thing I can think of to compare it to is 1.5 miles of the bottom section of Kline Hill as you come up from lake, i think. The first 2 laps were pretty tranquil, I sat in comfortable and struck up a conversation with Ned. at lap 3, the fireworks began. RMCF used their strength of numbers to send out sucide riders that pulled off after they finished their job. Unfortunately, myself being young and stupid got suckered by one of these riders right before the start of the 5th lap. As we hit the climb for the 4th time, the RMCF rider who was 2nd in the HC launched an attack leading into the steepest section. I made the mistake of thinking that because he was one of the stronger riders, this might stick, and I would not have the 6 other RMCF riders chasing me down. I guessed wrong, I barely hold his wheel until it starts flattening out. Suddenly, he pulls into the feedzone and I am left gasping for air as the next teammate in line takes over for the poor health-fx rider who tried to chase us and launches another suicide attack. I almost get back on, but after my effort on the steeper sections, i just dont have the gas to stick myself to the group. I watch them hover at about 5 to 10 seconds for about a 1/4 of a lap, before 2 more counter attacks go off and I am stuck by my 1sy. Just to give you an idea of what I mean by suicide attack, i was doing around 27 down the back stretch watching them hover in front of me, people really haul ass when its their last lap. After about 1.5 laps, I am caught by what is left of the field. It is now a leading group of 6 and my caboose of 8. We work well, no one really has aspirations of catching back on, being that there are still 2 RMCF riders policing this group, but the Health-FX rider decides he needs some exercise, and for the next 2 laps, at the flatter section where the split has been made, launches an absolutely nausaeting attack. When asked why he did it, he responded, "i wanted to see if I could make myself puke." to each there own. Coming into the hill for 1 lap to go, I miscalculate in my head and think its the last lap. This was amplified by the fact a RMCF rider decides he wants to attack on the hill. I cover his attack, but when I catch him, he tell me he`s cooked and sits up. I know have 15 secs on my chase group, and being that I think its the last lap, i proceed to increase the amount of space between us. I really didnt want to sprint against the health-fx guy, or risk being unhinged on the false flat again. I thought if I had space I could at least sit up and let them come up and then contest the sprint. Ironically, I get to the feed zone and realize its 1 lap to go. On the bright side, I`m up to 30 secs. So, TTT time. me myself and I go for broke and finish in 7th place 47 secs ahead of the chasers. So, to everyone out there, if your not going to be smart, uve gotta be strong, and I`m not quite that strong. OH YEA, in case you were wondering. I cant think of a race ft lewis didnt sweep. They fielded 18 men`s A riders and had everyone else ready to cry. Needless to say, they swept the men`s A podium as well as the B 1 and 2. I don`t know if it makes you feel any better, but its the truth. Bring your A games, and get ready for some fun. And I need to thank ryan for salvaging my trash talking efforts with a strong performance after getting beat by a rider in PINK kit. I was worried at the hill climb, what was I going to say, you`re screwed because ur kit isnt pink. Thats the only color ryan looses to because its pretty??? Anyway, Sorry about the long report, If you got this far, good job. Im pulling for everyone at Easterns. Keep the rubber side down. -Rickey