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	<title>Michael Stone Cycling</title>
	<updated>2012-02-22T23:25:13Z</updated>
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	<entry>
		<title>Tour of China</title>
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		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2011-09-18:05f9eeed-1529-4157-8965-a40b8142184b</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2011-09-18T10:44:28Z</updated>
		<published>2011-09-18T10:44:28Z</published>
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&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Well I got up on stage 5 with a fever after being sick all
night again.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I talked to our team
director Pat on what I should do, and he advised me not to put myself in the
hospital, as racing with a fever is reckless.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;He compared it to driving an overheated car.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Now keep in mind Pat knows what he’s
talking about as he has done almost every pro tour race there is…so needless to
say, I took his advise and pulled out.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;Sitting in the caravan all day feels horrible. But I guess I can’t
really help what happened and I fought it as long as I could, pushing the
limits.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;When the body has had
enough the body has had enough.&lt;/p&gt;

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	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Tour of China stages 1-4</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2011/09/14/t.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2011-09-14:26af9d92-eed0-4d8e-8959-d332a9660e0d</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2011-09-14T08:53:38Z</updated>
		<published>2011-09-14T08:53:38Z</published>
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&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Stage 1- Stage one was a 129km circuit race around Xi’an,
and it was pouring rain.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;We
started at 10am.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;The race was full
gas the whole time it never slowed down once.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;It took something like 2.5 hours to finish.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;About half way through there was a
massive pileup of 70 or so riders.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;I went down but luckily I landed on someone.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I checked my bike and got ready to chase.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Teammate Tanner Putt and I chased for a
whole lap before catching the group ahead of us.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;We eventually made it to the front and settled back in. I made
a few moves just to stay warm.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;It
came down to a field sprint; my goal was to finish without loosing skin.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Hard day with much more to come&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Stage 2- Stage two was 181km from Xi’an-Baoji.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Pouring rain again, and about 60
degrees, very cold for someone like me.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;I wore a rain jacket and hoped for the best.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;The rain didn’t let up the whole time, pretty miserable
day.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I sat in, went with some
moves, and rode at the front, back, getting really bored.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Somehow two guys got away and pulled
out 4 or 5 minutes on the race.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;I sat in and let the big pro teams do their thing, but the never managed
to pull the two guys back.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;A field
sprint for 3&lt;sup&gt;rd&lt;/sup&gt; was in order.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;The stage took around 4:15 to finish, I just sat in and got the time of
the pack.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Stage 3- Stage three was going to be a challenge as I had
gotten very sick the night after stage 2.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;Bad food poisoning along with what comes with that.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I was sick all night, couldn’t hold
down any food, just bad.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I got up
the next day at about 6:45 and went to breakfast, eating only rice.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Stage 3 was 112km from Baoji-Feng
County with a cat 1 climb 30k in.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;The climb was about 16k long.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;I was looking forward to this stage before I had gotten sick, but now my
goal was to survive.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;On the way to
the climb I knew I was going to be in for a long day.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;We hit the climb and I had nothing in the tank, so I
struggled up the climb in the Groupetto.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;At the top of the climb there was still 80km to go, I sat in as the pace
got harder and harder.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I just
clung on and finished 4 minutes down on the winner.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Teammate Tanner Putt pulled out a 4&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; place
finish, congrats to him.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Rest Day/transfer day- the rest day wasn’t really a rest
day, as we had an 8-hour (500km) transfer from Feng County-Mianyang.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Driving through China was beautiful and
interesting, we drove through huge mountains and very cool roads.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;It was raining again today, so not
racing was ok! We arrived in our hotel tired of the car and ready for a good
nights sleep.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I am still sick at
this point, trying to fight it off and hold down some food, but still
struggling.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Stage 4- Going into stage 4, a 204km stage from Xianhai,
Mianyang-Suining, I was still feeling sick.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;We started at 10am again after a 20km drive to the
start.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;There were 2 laps of a very
hard circuit, I sat in and didn’t crash.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;I started to feel sick about halfway through the first lap… it was going
to be another very long day as quitting is not an option.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;After the circuits we headed out to the
highway for a throw-down.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I sat in
and felt worse and worse, until I started heaving, not able to hold down any
food except a gel every once in a while.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;We hit the feed zone at 108km in, and grabbed a bag taking what I could
use out of it.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I started to feel
worse and worse as the day went on.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;The last 20km were hell, I struggled to hold down anything, even
water.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I finished in the field cramping
up everywhere you can cramp, literally.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;The stage took 4:40 to complete. &lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;I have never felt as bad as today after a race, I pushed
myself farther than I though possible to finish. I felt like I was going to
pass out/had the chills/threw up/dizzy/migraine/ etc. After riding back to the
hotel in the car, a doctor came to see me.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Sure enough I have a fever of 101, with chances of starting tomorrow
looking slim.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I’m going to get good
nights rest and try to eat.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Ill
take it hour by hour and hope for the best for tomorrow.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!--EndFragment--&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Tour of China</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2011/09/13/tour-of-china.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2011-09-13:5165d0d7-d81b-4a38-81be-7308e5cb516c</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2011-09-13T13:18:56Z</updated>
		<published>2011-09-13T13:18:56Z</published>
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&lt;!--StartFragment--&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Tour of China &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Travel-&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Sep 6&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;- Getting to China was a nightmare.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I was supposed to leave on the 6&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;
and get there on the 7&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;It takes a day and a half to get there if everything goes right.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I left Atlanta on the 6&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; on
a delayed plane, and arrived in Washington/Dulles with 10 minutes before my
connection to Beijing.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I ran
through the airport, looking like an amateur…Missing my flight my 5
minutes.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;My solution from there
was to stay the night in Washington, and catch a flight at noon the next day to
Beijing.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I got to the hotel at 3,
and never left the room.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Ordered
food to the room and everything, felt pretty good too.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Did a little Skyping and T.V. watching,
just chilled.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Sep 7&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;-The next morning was pretty chill, as my
flight did not leave until 12:40.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;I caught a shuttle to the airport and in short, made my flight.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;This flight was so long I started to
not know what to do with myself.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;15 hours on a plane is torture, especially when you only have one seat
with people next to you.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Sep 8&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;- Yes the flight took me to the next
day.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;By the time I had landed, I
had been up for 24 hours with 1 hour of sleep.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Getting through the Beijing Airport was quite an experience,
but I figured it out after staring at signs trying to figure them out.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;My next flight was to Xi ‘an, and was a
2 hour flight.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Needless to say
this one was easy, and I slept through most of it.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Arriving in Xi’an would have been a relief, if I had a ride
waiting on me to take me to the hotel, but, well I didn’t.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;So I walked around the airport looking
for the guy that was supposed to pick me up for a good hour and a half.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Keep in mind I have now been up for
about 32 hours with 2.5 hours of sleep.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;I finally found him, and of course, no English.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Now we have to wait an hour for the
next group to arrive, I am miserable and don’t even feel human by now.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Sep 9&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;- Yep it’s now midnight and the next day,
after an hour and fifteen minutes of more waiting, we leave the Airport.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;The drive to the hotel was about
another hour, but we finally got there.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;Although this should made me happy, I felt no emotion. I was so tired at
this point I couldn’t even fall asleep.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/span&gt;The prologue is in the morning at 10. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Prologue- The prologue didn’t count for anything but you get
90 bucks for staring and it was a good way to open the legs up.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;After 3 or 4 hours of sleep we got up
and ate breakfast, then headed to the race.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;It was flat and fast out and back.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;I think I was 39&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; or 40&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt;, not
sure…but not so bad after coming off that travel. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;Stages 1-3 updates coming&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;!--EndFragment--&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Nationals/Toona/Europe/River Gorge/and China</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2011/08/31/nationalstoonaeuroperiver-gorgeand-china.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2011-08-31:84f3b988-420c-42d0-81e2-9024af4b808a</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2011-08-31T19:05:46Z</updated>
		<published>2011-08-31T19:05:46Z</published>
		<content type="html">So,&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Since last time..a lot of good and bad stuff has happened, so read on if your interested..if not...read it anyway.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;**U23 Nationals** Went great until disaster. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;First let me say something about Augusta Ga, it is literally the hottest/worst place for a bike race, if you have been there...well you know what I'm talking about. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;TT- I was looking for a good ride in the TT, as I have been working on my time trailing for a while. &amp;nbsp;It didn't go quite as well as I hoped. &amp;nbsp;Long story short, I didn't have a great ride and the legs never really opened up. Ended up 25th. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Crit- I skipped the Crit to avoid crashing...why? Because I got an invite to go to Europe and race for the USA National Team. &amp;nbsp;I didn't want to risk getting injured, because Europe had become my new #1 Priority. Well....skipping the Crit will soon become ironic.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Road Race- It was hot, the strongest guys were suffering because of the heat, which was great for the southern teams. &amp;nbsp;We did a couple laps then the break went. &amp;nbsp;It was about 15 guys, we had 3, Tyler Karnes, Alder Martz, and myself. &amp;nbsp;Coming into the 3rd or 4th lap, I grabbed 5 or 6 bottles, planning on handing them out to my team. &amp;nbsp;I turned around and held out a bottle for Alder, then my race ended. &amp;nbsp;I don't remember what happened next, but I know I blindly hit a motorcycle and was knocked out instantly. &amp;nbsp;My face/helmet took the brunt of the fall, but I was skinned/bruised up pretty much everywhere. &amp;nbsp;I was loaded up into an ambulance and taken to the medical tent where they did the vital stuff. &amp;nbsp;Like an idiot, I said no to going to the hospital. &amp;nbsp;Side Note-always go to the hospital if you don't remember the last 10 minutes of your life. &amp;nbsp;I didn't even realize I was at a bike race for awhile. After awhile, I started to come around and felt normal. &amp;nbsp;After the race we headed back to the team house, where I moped around like a crippled old man. &amp;nbsp;FYI for non-cyclists..road rash is the worst thing ever, seriously, taking a shower is like stepping into fire. &amp;nbsp;Tyler went on to get 13th that day, Congrats to him. To add insult to injury, my bike broke...which is even worse than road rash.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Toona Pro Stage Race- By the time Toona rolled around my road rash was just about headed up. &amp;nbsp;But little did I know, my head was not.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Prologe- Not for me, but it went ok. &amp;nbsp;I was on a back up bike, and the course had something like 18 turns in it, and was only like 3k long. &amp;nbsp;I ended up 47th.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Stage 1- Very hard day, because I was leaving the race early to get ready for Europe, I was a work horse. &amp;nbsp;I went with attacks and stayed aggressive all day. &amp;nbsp;We ended up missing the break which was disappointing for us, but sometimes it happens. &amp;nbsp;We rode through hot, rain, cold, wind, mud...Mother Nature was pissed off that day. &amp;nbsp;The race finished on a hard 5 mile climb. &amp;nbsp;I paced blair up it and finished with the grupetto.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Europe- I planned on racing 3 stage races from July 15th-August 16th. &amp;nbsp;A couple days after getting settled in, I started noticing weird stuff happening on rides. &amp;nbsp;First were headaches, which I ignored, then came depression, dizziness, nausea, and panic. &amp;nbsp;I decided to tell Andrew, although it was the last thing I wanted to do. The way I was feeling was so weird i figured something had to be wrong. &amp;nbsp;He took me to the hospital where I got a CT Scan. &amp;nbsp;Turns out my brain was swollen from my crash at Nationals... Its called Post Concussion Syndrome. &amp;nbsp;I was booked a ticket home. &amp;nbsp;I took a break. A couple weeks later I went to the hospital to get an MRI, and took it to a Neurologist. &amp;nbsp;She told me me I had a grade 3 concussion (the worst kind you can get). &amp;nbsp;She said the swelling had gone and I was in the clear. &amp;nbsp;Finally.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;River Gorge- &amp;nbsp;Now, between getting cleared to race and River Gorge, I got an invite to race the Tour of China with the National Team. &amp;nbsp;This provided maximum motivation to train myself sick. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;TT- I love this TT, It is 4 miles long with a climb in it.&amp;nbsp;The start list was stacked with some horsepower, and was very, very strong.&amp;nbsp;I had no idea how my top end would be as I had not raced since early July. &amp;nbsp;I got a great warmup in and headed to the start. Since the race was less than 10 minutes, there was no pacing. &amp;nbsp;I went as hard as I could from the start to the finish. &amp;nbsp;I finished 5th place with a 7:51, and an average speed of 30.6mph. &amp;nbsp;Not so bad. Nate Brown (current u23 national TT Champ) of Trek Livestrong won it with a 7:30...32mph! &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Crit- I was worried about the Crit. &amp;nbsp;After a crash its hard to mix it up again, you just have to do it. &amp;nbsp;Turns out all I needed was a good HTFU pep talk from the Hincapie U23 motivational speaker, Mr. Alder Martz. &amp;nbsp;The Course was a classic 4 corner flat crit. &amp;nbsp;This was the perfect race to get my balls back...A twilight pro crit at over 30mph. &amp;nbsp;I attacked off the line, which is pretty dumb but I just wanted to go. &amp;nbsp;The team worked well together, in every move. Alder Finished 5th, after a long breakaway.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Road Race- &amp;nbsp;This is one of my favorite races all year. &amp;nbsp;Its a 60 mile course with a couple hard climbs, one of them is the finish. &amp;nbsp;I got into a couple moves with all the big names, but they came back because no one was willing to work. &amp;nbsp;Small groups rolled off and ended up forming the break. &amp;nbsp;I missed it, but teammate Isaac Enderline was in it, sweet. &amp;nbsp;More small groups got away, as the first big climb approached. &amp;nbsp;Sand mountain is a hard climb and is about a 15 minute climb. &amp;nbsp; Nate Brown attacked at the base, pulling a group of 5 or 6 of us off the front. &amp;nbsp;He pulled off and sat up, as he had been chasing all day due to an early flat. &amp;nbsp;I took over and narrowed the group down to only 2 of us, Brian Toone, and myself. We flew up the mountain, pulling out a considerable gap on the field. &amp;nbsp;After the decent, we kept driving it. &amp;nbsp;After about 10 miles we had a small group in sight. &amp;nbsp;Having a carrot to chase always makes it easier to suffer. &amp;nbsp;We slowly clawed our way back up to them. &amp;nbsp;Little did I know the group had 2 of my teammates in it...sweet! &amp;nbsp;AJ Meyer, Alder Martz, Tyler Karnes, Brian Toone, Pat Allison, and me. &amp;nbsp;We worked like a well oiled machine. &amp;nbsp;Approaching the final climb, Alder and Tyler pulled off after killing it on the front for me. &amp;nbsp;Coming into the final climb of Raccoon Mtn, I had no idea what I had left. &amp;nbsp;I did a seated attack at the bottom, pulling Brian away with me. &amp;nbsp;He still had a snap, and I didn't. &amp;nbsp;He put a gap between us with an attack, about 10 seconds. &amp;nbsp;It stayed that way all the way to the top. &amp;nbsp;I didn't have the legs to get back up to him. &amp;nbsp;I ended up 11th, 9th overall. &amp;nbsp;Isaac finished an impressive 7th, winning the cat 2 omnium. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I felt good about this race, going into China...Ill post again from there...thanks for reading&lt;img src="http://michaelastone.com/emoticons/smile.png" border="0"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;M. Stone&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>*** Email post ***</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2011/05/07/-email-post-.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2011-05-07:8441d9fc-2d9f-4f2f-9df6-bce51a0f0d00</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2011-05-07T15:12:48Z</updated>
		<published>2011-05-07T15:12:48Z</published>
		<content type="html">Senoia Ga Cup &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;                The weekend started with a TT, but because it started at 8am&lt;BR&gt;and was 2 hours away, we decided to skip it.  Sleeping in and enjoying the&lt;BR&gt;morning sounded much more inviting.  After lying around sipping coffee and&lt;BR&gt;watching cycling videos, in an attempt to get motivated, we (Blair Turner&lt;BR&gt;and I) headed to the 5pm race.  The course was an 8-mile circuit, around the&lt;BR&gt;small town of Senoia.  The course would be easy, flat, and pretty straight&lt;BR&gt;forward, but the 25mph crosswinds complicated things.  Blair and I decided&lt;BR&gt;to get aggressive from the start and try to get away early.  Our plan worked&lt;BR&gt;out perfectly, something that almost never happens in cycling races. The&lt;BR&gt;field foolishly let both of us get away on the first lap together, along&lt;BR&gt;with Big John Atkins.  Big John has some fans in Senoia, as we were deafened&lt;BR&gt;each lap from the their cheers.  The 3 of us worked together flawlessly,&lt;BR&gt;rotating through taking strong pulls.  With one lap to go, a group of 4&lt;BR&gt;snuck up on us and closed our 1:30 gap to 20 seconds.  With 3k to go, the&lt;BR&gt;group of 4 was 10 seconds behind us, I refused to be caught, and went to the&lt;BR&gt;front.  I knew in order for us to win, I had to sacrifice myself for Blair&lt;BR&gt;(selfishness in cycling never pays off) and hope he had the sprint to finish&lt;BR&gt;it off.  I went to the front of our 3-man break and hit it from 2k out as&lt;BR&gt;hard as I could go.  With 1k, it was time to dig, I was chewing on my&lt;BR&gt;Thomson Stem telling myself I could go just a little longer and a little&lt;BR&gt;harder, with 200M I swung off and it was up to Blair.  I saw his hands go&lt;BR&gt;up, we won and I rolled in for 3rd.  it was done perfectly.  The group of 4&lt;BR&gt;finished 7-8 seconds back.  True teamwork at its finest.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The Road Race the next day was pretty uneventful, a break with Tim Stone&lt;BR&gt;(Dad in a pro/1/2 breakaway? Yes!) Got away early and was caught 15k to go.&lt;BR&gt;I was aggressive throughout the day, but the Peloton would not make the same&lt;BR&gt;mistake twice, we were marked out of the race.  This did not stop us from&lt;BR&gt;being aggressive, attacking relentlessly.  With 5k to go, Iron data (with 9&lt;BR&gt;or so guys in the race) had a lead-out train trying to start up.  I wasn't&lt;BR&gt;going to have this, as they had followed our wheels all day, keeping the&lt;BR&gt;field together.  I attacked hard, forcing them to chase harder than they&lt;BR&gt;wanted to, eliminating a few guys from the lead-out. With 4k still to go,&lt;BR&gt;they were to weak to carry it to the finish.  Blair then countered my move,&lt;BR&gt;was chased back, and I went again.  We continued countering and forcing&lt;BR&gt;chase until the line, but were outsprinted by Aerocat (the only team willing&lt;BR&gt;to "race" bikes that day).  A good learning race, we could not have been&lt;BR&gt;more aggressive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Been Awhile</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2011/01/17/been-awhile.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2011-01-17:6546a0af-616b-4e10-8838-9aaf9fcf45da</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2011-01-18T04:39:00Z</updated>
		<published>2011-01-18T04:39:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">I really slacked off on the updates, 595 days since my last post..."slacking" is the wrong word. &amp;nbsp; A lot has happened in 595 days, I wont even try to get into it all, I figure its better to start new and go forward. &amp;nbsp;This winter has been my hardest ever. &amp;nbsp;I am more motivated than years past and am also enjoying spending 3-5 hours on my bike everyday (most don't understand why we cyclists enjoy this). &amp;nbsp;We (Hincapie U23 Development team) Have had our 2 team camps, and I really like the team this year. &amp;nbsp;I have been taking classes at a local college. Balancing my classes and cycling is really a full time job.&amp;nbsp;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="white-space: pre;" class="Apple-tab-span"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;On to racing. The first big race of the year is January 28th, &amp;nbsp;"The Tour of the Bahamas." &amp;nbsp;I don't really know what to expect when it comes to the competition, as i've never raced in January. &amp;nbsp;All I know is, I can't wait to race and look forward to whatever is coming. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;As for the rest of the season, keep checking back for more posts on racing, among other things that I will be rambling on about on this neglected blog.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Edgar Soto Classic</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2009/06/01/edgar-soto-classic.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2009-06-01:cbcadf01-3e93-4d05-8b5a-cec783a09a7b</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-06-02T01:12:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-02T01:12:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">Soto was a nasty one, we started at 3pm, the hottest part of the day.&amp;nbsp; I started at the front and held my position well through the whole race.&amp;nbsp; The first 15 or so miles of the race were really sketchy...tons of aggressive fighting for position.&amp;nbsp; The first 3 climbs were not too hard, but around the fourth, the real attacks started, no one really got away but the field split up a bit.&amp;nbsp; Halfway through the first lap, I attacked, 4 guys went with me, we were away for a while but it didn't stick, I just sat in until the end of the first lap.&amp;nbsp; 1k from the line, there is a huge 20-25% climb, about 600m long, at the top, everyone was breathing pretty hard, I attacked again...4 guys went with me.&amp;nbsp; We immediately got a huge gap and before I knew it, we were up to 1:20 gap.&amp;nbsp; Eventually a Garmin/Slipstream guy and Kelly Benefit guy bridged up to us to make our move that much stronger.&amp;nbsp; Our gap held for about 30 miles, and we were reeled in slowly by the Hot Tubes team just before the final climb.&amp;nbsp; I held on and was still in the front...the peleton was down from 78 starters to about 15-20, I was still feeling good, I sat in.&amp;nbsp; With about 12 miles to go, the feed zone climb came, I was still feeling great, I got 2 full Cold water bottles from Nancy ( the greatest water bottle handeroffer/stepmom in the world) and My Dad.&amp;nbsp; Just after putting my bottles in their cages there was a crash right in front of me, I high sided my bike and slid sideways to avoid it...I managed to stay up.&amp;nbsp; Just as i got back in the groove, I looked back to see a flat tire from sliding, I was done.&amp;nbsp; I got off and waited for the wheel truck...it took him about 3 minutes to get to me because of the crash.&amp;nbsp; After the change I just rode in wondering what could have happened.&amp;nbsp; It was a great race and course, but a bit of bad luck for me.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;At The Start&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 536px; HEIGHT: 361px" height=1394 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/1/5/0/1/118358-110516/DSC_0101.JPG" width=2369&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The Big Climb&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 538px; HEIGHT: 361px" height=1366 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/1/5/0/1/118358-110516/DSC_0126.JPG" width=2109&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The Reason I wasn't there&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 539px; HEIGHT: 372px" height=1419 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/1/5/0/1/118358-110516/DSC_0156.JPG" width=2137&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Illegal climb ride</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2009/05/28/illegal-climb-ride.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2009-05-28:14776335-ff74-48a5-bde7-e10b6a43e392</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-05-28T16:36:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-28T16:36:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">Ive been riding in the rain a lot lately, so I thought I would post a ride when it was nice.&amp;nbsp; &lt;BR&gt;Its about 85 degrees and humid...I love it&lt;BR&gt;I call it the illegal climb ride because we were in FLAT country and found a small "climb" that went up to a transmission tower and a bunch of generators, the climb was fenced off with no trespassing on it I should have taken a picture of it, we snuck around and went up anyways, it was cool and steep, we could see for miles and miles..it must have been the highest point in that area for a looooong ways.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;On Friday I will be going up to TN for Edgar Soto, a Worlds Qualifier...check in soon for updates and news!!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Sporting the new jersey&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 413px; HEIGHT: 534px" height=1434 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/1/5/0/1/118358-110516/Illigal_climb_ride_09_006.jpg" width=984&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;My Kinda Road in GA&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 512px" height=1188 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/1/5/0/1/118358-110516/Illigal_climb_ride_09.jpg" width=442&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The place we were not supposed to be&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 363px; HEIGHT: 290px" height=938 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/1/5/0/1/118358-110516/Illigal_climb_ride_09_002.jpg" width=1099&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;My Dad and I&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 357px; HEIGHT: 488px" height=1146 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/1/5/0/1/118358-110516/Illigal_climb_ride_09_001.jpg" width=616&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Ga RR State Championships  (New Jr. State Champ)</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2009/05/18/ga-rr-state-championships--new-jr-state-champ.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2009-05-18:c63cdff7-6b8a-4750-92c9-0905356f757c</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-05-19T02:30:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-19T02:30:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3&gt;This weekend was a good one, the State Championships was on the calendar.&lt;SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;I didn’t go into this race very rested, was still excited about it. &lt;SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/SPAN&gt;I decided to do the Jrs; the field was a good one.&lt;SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;My main competition was the Fulton Flyers, Matt Lipscomb’s team.&lt;SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;My plan was to get in a break with Matt and bring it to a two up sprint.&lt;SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;We rolled out hot at 12:05, it was pretty uneventful for the fist 15 miles, and then the hills came.&lt;SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;Matt attacked a hill like it was the last hill of the race, I jumped on his wheel and we were gone, I turned around to see the field Exploded on the stair step climb.&lt;SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;We got a pretty good gap and then went out of sight.&lt;SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;From then on we tapped out a sick rhythm, the official came up and told us we had 9min… we were gone… we eventually caught the field that started ahead of us…10min ahead of us!&lt;SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;Before I knew it there was 1k to go, I was glued to Matt’s wheel and just waited for the move… it came at about 200m to go, I was able to come around at the end for the win.&lt;SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;We ended up adv 24.5mph on this very hilly course.&lt;SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/SPAN&gt;It was a great race!! Congrats to Matt, new 15-16 State Champ!!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;New Jr. State Champion (17-18 Podium)&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 482px; HEIGHT: 749px" height=2605 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/1/5/0/1/118358-110516/DSC_0042.JPG" width=1387&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The Sprint&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 587px; HEIGHT: 409px" height=1290 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/1/5/0/1/118358-110516/DSC_0014.JPG" width=2014&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Matt Lipscomb and I...the old papa 1.2&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 662px; HEIGHT: 470px" height=1467 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/6/1/5/0/1/118358-110516/DSC_0019.JPG" width=2220&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Long time no see</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2009/05/10/long-time-no-see.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2009-05-10:0f7c6032-929f-4c08-91a3-bee4deb80455</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2009-05-11T02:03:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-11T02:03:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">Its been awhile since I last Wrote.&amp;nbsp; I have had a few results since then....Ill talk about my main results in the last few months.&amp;nbsp; one of my last good results of 08 was river gorge, I was feelin really good in this Pro1.2 RR, I was well positioned for the win in the cat 2s, I chased all the breaks and ended up 3rd in the 2s on the last climb....it was a good day.&amp;nbsp; I also got my VO2 tested again this winter and I hit the world record!!! 94!!, I was only able to sustain 90.5.&amp;nbsp; I continued to train through the winter weight training and WBLs.. it was a cold winter.&amp;nbsp; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;A big result towards the end of the year was:&lt;BR&gt;Georgia JR. STATE TT CHAMPION&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;2009:&lt;BR&gt;My first race of 09 was Tundra TT, I did the Pro1.2&amp;nbsp; I got 2nd....Great start&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;My next race was Harbins Pro.1.2, I got in a break and held it for a majority of the race, I was caught in the last couple miles and had nothing left, I decided to call it a day...&amp;nbsp; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;My third race of the season was Rome GA Crit, It was pouring rain and 40 degrees, I Was riding aggressively the whole race...I attacked into a corner and slid out across the road at 30 mph....ouch.&amp;nbsp; I got back into the race with quite a bit of Road rash....I finished 7th.&amp;nbsp; It was a good recovery.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Number 4 was Gainesville Omnium.&amp;nbsp; I was a domestiqe for the team in this one...I worked for the guys...Mid pack in the RR, 7th in the TT, and 7th in the circuit( field sprint).&amp;nbsp; We won the race overall and every stage.....Dominance&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;My next race was in Charleston SC for their&amp;nbsp;PRO State Championship Crit...I was riding strong Throughout the race and was keeping it aggressive, I was around 5th wheel when I went into the last lap, I got swamped in the slightly downhill Sprint with my jr gears!!&amp;nbsp; i managed 14th out of about 90 starters...OK result &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Athens twilight was the next 09 adventure for me...I raced the jrs.&amp;nbsp; I won this Crit in an uphill sprint from a breakaway.&amp;nbsp; First win of the year...it was a great feeling and a good one for my resume&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The very next day I raced the Roswell Historic Crit in the 17-18 Jrs....I won this one too...Back to back wins&amp;nbsp; yea!!!&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Things are looking up for the big stage races that are coming up...including &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tour De Atlanta&lt;BR&gt;Tour Of Red River Gorge&lt;BR&gt;Tour De L'abitibi&lt;BR&gt;National Championships in Bend Oregon&lt;BR&gt;Some local Pro1/2 Climbing races and a few state championships coming up......&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;More updates To come soon&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Atlanta Crit Series</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2008/08/31/atlanta-crit-series.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2008-08-31:b604b5a2-5dd1-456d-8c35-c1c6f25712e3</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2008-08-31T17:39:00Z</updated>
		<published>2008-08-31T17:39:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">I decided to race at the last minute.&amp;nbsp; I just went to do jrs. because I will be racing in the 100k tomorrow.&amp;nbsp; We started with about 10-13 riders.&amp;nbsp; One lap in, i went, and got away.&amp;nbsp; I began lapping riders and just kept rolling.&amp;nbsp; It was a fun race and I actually ended up winning all the primes because I was off the front.&amp;nbsp; I won a 45 pack of GU and a $20 gift certificate to a bike shop.....yay.&amp;nbsp; More updates to come after 100k!!</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>River Gorge RR P/1/2/3</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2008/08/27/river-gorge-rr-p123.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2008-08-27:32588aab-9698-4c46-a76e-c951e97c7d4a</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2008-08-28T01:52:00Z</updated>
		<published>2008-08-28T01:52:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">This was one of my best races this season.&amp;nbsp;65 miles and&amp;nbsp;a field of about 65-70 to start with names like Doug Ollrenshaw, Tim Henry, and many other pros.&amp;nbsp; Doug O. attacked in the first 10k and bridged to the 5 man break.&amp;nbsp; He steadily rode them off his wheel until there was only one.&amp;nbsp; The first few climbs were tough, stair steps that were steep.&amp;nbsp; the field was shattered on the first climb and 20-25 riders were dropped.&amp;nbsp; The peleton shrunken, we raced on. Then came the big climb up Sand Mountain, (like a rough Wolfpen if you have ever climbed that).&amp;nbsp; 4 or 5 miles of steady pain.&amp;nbsp; I didnt make the split to the front group, but did make the chase group (3 of us), Michael Lahnam, and Tim Henry.&amp;nbsp; We climbed at a steady rate and once at the top we&amp;nbsp;Started picking up people until the pack was of about 15 ( people also caught on that had been previously dropped), on the decent we hit an insane 57 MPH....."wow lets do that again"&amp;nbsp;I was saying to myself at the bottom.&amp;nbsp; we cruised about 15 miles to the start of Raccoon Mountain.&amp;nbsp; The pack was shredded and I was able to ride most people off my wheel, 2 remained at the end, I attacked them in the last 1.5k and was going hard.....I was caught about 200m from the line and they both outsprinted me...UHHH&amp;nbsp; was all I could think, why didn't I ride harder, but thinking back I don't think I could've gone much harder..haha.&amp;nbsp; I crossed the line in 15th overall and 4th in the cat 2s, A successful day!!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.sceniccityvelo.com/rivergorge_2008results_rr.pdf"&gt;http://www.sceniccityvelo.com/rivergorge_2008results_rr.pdf&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;These are the full results from all fields.</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Nationals Road Race (SUNDAY)</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2008/08/11/nationals-road-race-sunday.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2008-08-11:6e85273d-816d-42a9-9054-a6b082b82eb3</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2008-08-12T00:23:00Z</updated>
		<published>2008-08-12T00:23:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;P&gt;POSTED BY TIM STONE&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Today he had the RR and was sitting in great position until the last turn where there was a crash that stopped him for 16 seconds..he hit the line toward the back of the pack. He was upset, but the upside on the race was he had some PR on his power profile. He rode a full 8 minutes at 6watts/kg 302 watts chasing a break and did that several times (5 minutes 282watts) trying to get one to stick. They all came back… After he finished the raced today, his rear derailleur hanger broke off and the entire thing fell off the bike. He’s lucky it didn’t happen in the race… It was bent from the crash in the crit... Overall a successful week/month of racing for him.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;We head back tomorrow morning for a dose of reality with school and work.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Nationals Update</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2008/08/08/nationals-update.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2008-08-08:646e0770-dc99-4ea2-a930-4c91119d7e09</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2008-08-08T23:54:00Z</updated>
		<published>2008-08-08T23:54:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"&gt;&lt;SPAN&gt;I was 16th in the TT. It was hot and windy that day and I started at 1:16. I was getting chills toward the end, but kept the power on. The crit yesterday was again very hot and on a 1 mile flat course. I was positioned around 5th wheel when another rider tried to go around me and he ended up slamming into my rear wheel and we both went down at 25mph. I landed on top and 120 riders all positioned to keep from piling up. I made it to the pit and got my bike working again. The other kid’s bike was out of commission. Several laps later, I was back in the front, but my body did not respond well to the crash and a few laps later I was sitting in just wanting to finish. The adrenalin burst was debilitating after it wore off. Nancy is working magic on a strained hamstring and I should be good to go for Sundays RR. I start at 7am so the heat will not be an issue. The course favors my me and I hope to do well. &lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://stonejones.smugmug.com/gallery/5653803_TZ4TP#347832014_C93At"&gt;http://stonejones.smugmug.com/gallery/5653803_TZ4TP#347832014_C93At&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;TT Start&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Hammertime&lt;BR&gt;&lt;object vlogId="5056" width="320" height="240" align="middle"&gt;&lt;param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="false" /&gt;&lt;param name="wmode" value="transparent" /&gt;&lt;param FLASHVARS="vidpath=http://media.podcastingmanager.com/6/1/5/0/1/118358-110516/vlog/Michael_Stone_20088820218.flv&amp;the_image="/&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="/vlog/player/flvplayer.swf" /&gt;&lt;param name="quality" value="high" /&gt;&lt;embed src="/vlog/player/flvplayer.swf" flashvars="vidpath=http://media.podcastingmanager.com/6/1/5/0/1/118358-110516/vlog/Michael_Stone_20088820218.flv&amp;the_image=" quality="high" wmode="transparent" width="320" height="240" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" /&gt;&lt;/object&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Nationals</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2008/08/04/nationals.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2008-08-04:503f107d-1b71-4f49-95f7-a21477c2de97</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2008-08-05T01:42:00Z</updated>
		<published>2008-08-05T01:42:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;P&gt;Update---Tomorrow im off for Nationals in Orange County CA.&amp;nbsp; &lt;FONT face=ArialMT size=1&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;13:16:30 442 8 STONE Michael Fulton Flyers Devo USA 19910221 258441 17 Monroe GA--My Start time for the TT&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Check back soon for more Updates from California &lt;/P&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Tour de l'Abitibi stage 5 Final</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2008/07/29/tour-de-labitibi-stage-5-final.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2008-07-29:41a9d39a-cd91-4f04-baee-08fb148261cc</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2008-07-30T02:59:00Z</updated>
		<published>2008-07-30T02:59:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">Final Results&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.tourabitibi.com/resultats_tour.php"&gt;http://www.tourabitibi.com/resultats_tour.php&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Another 90km and the attacks were nasty and once agin the avg speed for the stage was 28mph!! Two big crashes today, but managed to avoid them. USA Nation team lost a guy in the lat 3km in a high speed lead out to the finish. Looked like he damaged his elbow or shoulder. I finished with the pack with the same time and finished the tour in 50th. i WAS 39TH today!!&amp;nbsp;Learned a lot and look forward to next year. This international field is much more difficult than any race I have seen so far, including the P,1,2 race I did last week. We are off to Junoir nationals next Tuesday in Orange County CA. Should have good legs and peaked for this event.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Pic Link:&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://stonejones.smugmug.com/gallery/5570150_VMKf5#341456142_tpEwa"&gt;http://stonejones.smugmug.com/gallery/5570150_VMKf5#341456142_tpEwa&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Tour cycliste de l'Abitibi  Stage 4 Crit</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2008/07/29/tour-cycliste-de-labitibi--stage-4-crit.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2008-07-29:e5960712-2456-4417-957d-602ce46e52db</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2008-07-30T02:36:00Z</updated>
		<published>2008-07-30T02:36:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">Second race today and it was very fast. Course was about 1 mile and had a power climb and one downhill at turn 3. Stayed in the pack the entire time moving up and back. The effort and speed was hard and I finished in the pack. Nothing big happened just a really fast crit. One of my team member bonked at the end and was delirious. Had a good meal and headed 100k back to Valdor. Last stage tomorrow.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Picture link&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://stonejones.smugmug.com/gallery/5570054_wEiHY#341449153_Vv8ZC"&gt;http://stonejones.smugmug.com/gallery/5570054_wEiHY#341449153_Vv8ZC&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Video:&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pT2bdgE0ds"&gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pT2bdgE0ds&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Tour de l'Abitibi TT Stage 3</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2008/07/29/tour-de-labitibi-tt-stage-3.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2008-07-29:bd7eff2e-10dd-4529-a7a9-626b8947af17</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2008-07-30T00:49:00Z</updated>
		<published>2008-07-30T00:49:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;Today was TT day. My start time was 11:40, but I had to arrive about 1 ½ hours in advance. Warmup was weird. We were carted down the mine in a open mine vehicle like a dump truck. We all had out TT helmets on and it looked pretty funny. Once down in the mine we were put in a heated room (temps we about 35 degrees) When it was time they wrapped you in a blanket and you spent 5 minutes on a stationary bike and then 5 minutes on your bike, which was on a trainer. When finished you were off, no delay. The climb was 600 m and about 12%. I felt good and the bike was perfect. I passed my one minute guy at 8km, but 1 km before the finish I was passed by the guy a minute back from me. He was flying .I ended up 63rd/146 and it moved me up another 10 spots to 53rd overall.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.tourabitibi.com/images/doc_1217268841_2497.pdf"&gt;http://www.tourabitibi.com/images/doc_1217268841_2497.pdf&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;Still racing and feeling good. 77km crit tonight after a 100km bus ride! They move us around like cattle and I’m getting used to it. All I have to do is race and eat. Everything else is taken care of. Thank you Ryan and John for your help and effort.&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&gt;&lt;SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"&gt;Here is the link for the pictures&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://stonejones.smugmug.com/gallery/5567138_iUXoZ#341269427_N3bba"&gt;http://stonejones.smugmug.com/gallery/5567138_iUXoZ#341269427_N3bba&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Video:&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJgQR0eKcIA"&gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJgQR0eKcIA&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>tour abitibi results link</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2008/07/27/tour-abitibi-results-link.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2008-07-27:d32ec89f-68d8-4848-8d62-f70ab7996284</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2008-07-28T04:19:00Z</updated>
		<published>2008-07-28T04:19:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">&lt;A href="http://www.tourabitibi.qc.ca/"&gt;http://www.tourabitibi.qc.ca/&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Click on &lt;A href="http://www.tourabitibi.com/index_tour.php"&gt;Tour de l'Abitibi&lt;/A&gt; then select results. It's in French but you can read it.</content>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<title>Tour de l'Abitibi Stage 2 Continued</title>
		<link rel="alternate" href="http://michaelastone.com/2008/07/27/tour-de-labitibi-stage-2-continued.aspx?ref=rss" />
		<id>tag:www.michaelastone.com,2008-07-27:241e90b3-0515-4edb-95ff-dce35393fe02</id>
		<author>
			<name>Michael Stone</name>
		</author>
		<updated>2008-07-28T03:40:00Z</updated>
		<published>2008-07-28T03:40:00Z</published>
		<content type="html">Video of finishing circuit. Riders coming into the turn a little too hot..&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;</content>
	</entry>
</feed>
