The last day before my self-imposed month off, and I'm racing a Wednesday night. I was more excited about the Tokyo Drift League cars setting up for their competition. I have a little malaise at this point, and I was feeling like a training session, not a race or two. Hence the upcoming race vacation.
Seconds into it, a solo xXxer off the front with 3 teammates sitting up at the front. Puh-lease. I chase, but not too ferociously, just stretching it out, maybe 3-4 of us can get up there without too much effort and we'll witness the rarest of birds: a cat 4 breakaway in a 2009 crit. Nah.
You can always count on some fool to reel it back in, and that fool was me. I knew it and it didn't really bother me, and I was experimenting with the "controlled burn" - taking my sweet time without having to jump or hammer. Turns out I spent 9 minutes doing this...uh, that's not part of the plan. Guys were hanging out behind me, then jumping up to the break. Hm, clever, but not on my part. Finally, with 8 up there, and not much gap, I closed the last gap. If one good thing came out of this, it was that the field was neatly split in two. They weren't pulling lapped riders, so at least they all got to stay in their own little B group.
Fast forward to the end: I maintained a top tennish spot, then a couple preme attacks go off. Lou Kuhn and Ben Popper are at the front, and when Lou goes with 2 to go, Ben says "Go for it Lou!" Uh oh...is there some cyclocross brethren pseudo-teamwork going on here? Dangerous. I can't tell if Ben's sitting up, and half a lap goes by. I am NOT pulling again, so I wait. A guy with a hammer and sickle calf tattoo chases (I see this guy everywhere, I have to figure out his name one day) and I'm on his wheel.
We catch Lou, but now there's less than a lap to go. We're on the back stretch. Hammer and sickle realizes he's in the worst spot: the front. He looks back and slows up. No way. I'm not leadiing out anyone to the line. I probably should have jumped, but instead I wait for someone else to do it and insert myself somewhere. A few spots further back than I'd like, but whatever. We hit the corner and all pretty much maintain position through the bends. No room for a proper sprint, so I hang on for 6th, maybe 7th.
Back at it minutes later, my "last" crit of the season, and one lap in I flat. I'm slightly relieved for a second, but I've never DNF'ed in my life and I'm not starting now. Lew gets me back in, I chase on, grab a few spots here and there. My plans to work for Max and (new teammate) Al "Roadhouse" Pearson go into the can.With 4-5 to go I make a big move to get into the top ten and some dippy lapped rider goes off to the right (as instructed), but not by very much. So, is he continuing to fade to the right, and will he pinch me out? or do I be a total ass and blast through the narrow gap between him and the pack? I should have done that, but one little lean into the next turn and he'd have boxed me in at speed. This is why they usually pull lapped riders. This race was filled with them.
So I lose all my spots and that's about it for me. Pack finish. On to a month or so of race-free living.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
ChiCrit
I'm totally disenchanted with crits at this point in the summer, but it's hard not to love this one. Fast and wide, nowhere to hide. All the luxuries of big ticket bike race, so what if it's largely staged to sell our Olympic-hosting capabilities.
Cat 4 starts fast and never lets up. I heard there were rider/pavement incidents but I didn't see any, and thankfully I wasn't involved. Other than picking a line through the 3 manholes on turn 7, I'm not sure why, there was plenty of room everywhere. I suppose people are always capable of going where they don't fit. Pack finish.
Masters' 35+ 4/5: Slower pace, but at least it leaves me feeling like a bike racer and not pack fodder. Hanging out in the top 10, Brean pops up and I'm thinking leadout to the end? - A little early, maybe leadout for preme cash? He takes off (between preme laps, huh?) and the pack picks up with a bit of urgency. Turns out he mis-heard the announcer on lap counts. I lose positions, but on the next lap I go for the second spot in a two place preme. Whole Foods gift certificate...I really can buy groceries with this one, so I go for it.
The top spot is long gone, but a xXx Brian and I go head to head and he takes it. Ah well, I nipped him for a preme at Super Crit, so I guess we're even. The preme winner is dangerously off the front with two to go. This is not a course built for blocking, but of course xXx have the numbers, so you never know. No one's having it, and we start to pull it back.
Not quick enough for my taste, so I decide to personally bring this one in, knowing full well it will cost me in the finish. I couldn't see who it was, but they have a couple guys who can do 4 minutes off the front, and I'm not gonna let that happen today. Brean has way more kick in the finish anyway, so I don't mind. It turned out to be an easy catch, but sure enough, the pace picks up and I'm pack-swimming into the finish again. At least this one left me feeling a little more like a shark, and a lot less like a bucket of chum.
Cat 4 starts fast and never lets up. I heard there were rider/pavement incidents but I didn't see any, and thankfully I wasn't involved. Other than picking a line through the 3 manholes on turn 7, I'm not sure why, there was plenty of room everywhere. I suppose people are always capable of going where they don't fit. Pack finish.
Masters' 35+ 4/5: Slower pace, but at least it leaves me feeling like a bike racer and not pack fodder. Hanging out in the top 10, Brean pops up and I'm thinking leadout to the end? - A little early, maybe leadout for preme cash? He takes off (between preme laps, huh?) and the pack picks up with a bit of urgency. Turns out he mis-heard the announcer on lap counts. I lose positions, but on the next lap I go for the second spot in a two place preme. Whole Foods gift certificate...I really can buy groceries with this one, so I go for it.
The top spot is long gone, but a xXx Brian and I go head to head and he takes it. Ah well, I nipped him for a preme at Super Crit, so I guess we're even. The preme winner is dangerously off the front with two to go. This is not a course built for blocking, but of course xXx have the numbers, so you never know. No one's having it, and we start to pull it back.
Not quick enough for my taste, so I decide to personally bring this one in, knowing full well it will cost me in the finish. I couldn't see who it was, but they have a couple guys who can do 4 minutes off the front, and I'm not gonna let that happen today. Brean has way more kick in the finish anyway, so I don't mind. It turned out to be an easy catch, but sure enough, the pace picks up and I'm pack-swimming into the finish again. At least this one left me feeling a little more like a shark, and a lot less like a bucket of chum.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Superweek: Evanston
Not much to report here. The circuit proved to be a bit less treacherous this year, but they still didn't get the mattresses over the rail at BK until after the first nasty crash of the day.
The 4/5s had been steadily shedding riders, and the core group seemed pretty solid. I wasn't coming into this race looking to shine. The fam was there, my wife was nervous, having picked me up from the hospital more than a few times. Normally I like a technical circuit, but I could smell desperation in the late laps.
Sure enough, the last lap through turn five, all hell. A couple bodies were already on the curb when I saw a rider endo into them. He landed on the pile and his bike cartwheeled up over them all. A couple riders tried to squeak by but spilled out into the road. I just made it through to finish 7th. Two paydays in one week...Too bad a couple of those spots were at the expense of racers on the ground. (2CC, maybe SCW?) I did see what looked like a Zipp 808 broken at two places on the rim. That's a lot of carbon fiber to be snapping under force, hopefully the guy laid out is up and about.
Cat 4 minutes later, I found a spot at the back and just stayed out of trouble. At one point I found Mike in front of me, and I got the idea to pull him up to the front before fading into oblivion. By the time I got into position to tell him the plan, there were two to go. Perfect! The pack surged, sagged, and we shot up the side. Not the side we wanted, but the clock was ticking.
There wasn't any room for him to pass me, and for an instant I thought maybe I could keep this leadout going a bit longer, try to sustain it through the final lap. Unfortunately a crash late in the straightaway send the pack overflowing onto our side...and we were back to our middle-to-back pack position, 28th for me. Oh well, at least I got to look like a competent bike racer there for a second. Frankly that race was clocked at 32 for a few laps, and I wasn't expecting to go the distance.
Ella suited up for a similar race; the 8-9 year olds did half a lap, and actually got to experience the BK Stacker. She was a bit nervous at the start, and a crash sent half her pack tiptoe-ing through the bodies as well, but she made it unscathed. Maybe 17th, 3rd female? Not bad for the first run of the summer.
At Evanston, the #1 goal is to stay upright, so it was a few wins in that regard.
The 4/5s had been steadily shedding riders, and the core group seemed pretty solid. I wasn't coming into this race looking to shine. The fam was there, my wife was nervous, having picked me up from the hospital more than a few times. Normally I like a technical circuit, but I could smell desperation in the late laps.
Sure enough, the last lap through turn five, all hell. A couple bodies were already on the curb when I saw a rider endo into them. He landed on the pile and his bike cartwheeled up over them all. A couple riders tried to squeak by but spilled out into the road. I just made it through to finish 7th. Two paydays in one week...Too bad a couple of those spots were at the expense of racers on the ground. (2CC, maybe SCW?) I did see what looked like a Zipp 808 broken at two places on the rim. That's a lot of carbon fiber to be snapping under force, hopefully the guy laid out is up and about.
Cat 4 minutes later, I found a spot at the back and just stayed out of trouble. At one point I found Mike in front of me, and I got the idea to pull him up to the front before fading into oblivion. By the time I got into position to tell him the plan, there were two to go. Perfect! The pack surged, sagged, and we shot up the side. Not the side we wanted, but the clock was ticking.
There wasn't any room for him to pass me, and for an instant I thought maybe I could keep this leadout going a bit longer, try to sustain it through the final lap. Unfortunately a crash late in the straightaway send the pack overflowing onto our side...and we were back to our middle-to-back pack position, 28th for me. Oh well, at least I got to look like a competent bike racer there for a second. Frankly that race was clocked at 32 for a few laps, and I wasn't expecting to go the distance.
Ella suited up for a similar race; the 8-9 year olds did half a lap, and actually got to experience the BK Stacker. She was a bit nervous at the start, and a crash sent half her pack tiptoe-ing through the bodies as well, but she made it unscathed. Maybe 17th, 3rd female? Not bad for the first run of the summer.
At Evanston, the #1 goal is to stay upright, so it was a few wins in that regard.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Superweek, continued: Holy Hill
Last year my chain skipped with every shift and I blame my 34th place on that, but really I was underprepared for such hills. Not to say I was any better this year, but I hoped that Snake Alley, Blue Mounds and Fox River Grove would count for something.
Lap 1: I feel ok, stay up front, out of trouble. Some junior goes off the front and no one cares but he's caught after 3/4 of a lap.
Lap 2: I see a lot of faders up the hill, so I attack over the top. I know it's easy to catch an escapee on a downhill, but I thought if a xXxer and 4-5 of us got away, we'd have blockers. No one responds. I keep a gap on the eastbound leg, but let myself get caught. For the next 5 miles, I press the pace, get hung out in the crosswind, and take too many pulls...the pack stretches out but no one lets a break happen. On the feed zone hill, my efforts catch up with me, I take it in the wrong gear and get swarmed and start to bonk. Shit. I barely keep pace up the hill, but the pace is steady, so I'm still in the pack.
Lap 3: Trying not to burn matches. Trying to recover, but really just drifting towards the tail end. The junior keeps attacking, but nobody ever goes with him, and nobody really panics, so he eventually comes back in.
Lap 4: More of the same. I keep thinking I feel like shit, and I'm gonna die on the hill, and I have to do it 2 more times. I make it over. I'm at the back, better to find spots to hide from crosswinds.
Lap 5: I'm the last guy in the pack...for the entire lap. 2, 3, 5 guys slip off, I leapfrog them to rejoin. Repeatedly. I'm thinking I'm fucked. The pack has gone from 60 to 40 but I'm still on. The follow car is right behind me, about to pass. At some point xXx Liam is off the front? Textbook xXx, but not my problem right now. The pace has been pretty solid, but nobody's panicking and the blocking doesn't seem to work. He's back in after a couple miles.
We hit the hill for the last time, and I'm waiting for the blitzkrieg. Everybody's dying and I just thank the fucking stars that I didn't get dropped 3 laps in like last year. I don't want to get stuck in a packlet of droppees, so I bury it and go from 40th to 30th. Over the top, again, I'm waiting for the blitz, but it's pretty limp. Everyone's dead. I hammer and get 5 more spots, make the turn, 5 more spots. We make the turn to the finish. I'm in 20th and there's a sprint in the distance that's not for me. I build speed for 300 meters up the hill and get 10 more spots. I finish 10th. It's not a W, but given the situation, fine with me!
The junior won it, and he deserved it, if only for the fact that I wish more people would race as aggressively as he did. Turns out his limited gearing was probably perfect for a climbing sprint. Note to self, when reporting results, it helps to know who the winner is. Oops.
The kids won't let me live it down when I don't win a little something for them, so the cheese castle kept some of my paycheck. Vive la road! Next year, less crits and more of this.
Lap 1: I feel ok, stay up front, out of trouble. Some junior goes off the front and no one cares but he's caught after 3/4 of a lap.
Lap 2: I see a lot of faders up the hill, so I attack over the top. I know it's easy to catch an escapee on a downhill, but I thought if a xXxer and 4-5 of us got away, we'd have blockers. No one responds. I keep a gap on the eastbound leg, but let myself get caught. For the next 5 miles, I press the pace, get hung out in the crosswind, and take too many pulls...the pack stretches out but no one lets a break happen. On the feed zone hill, my efforts catch up with me, I take it in the wrong gear and get swarmed and start to bonk. Shit. I barely keep pace up the hill, but the pace is steady, so I'm still in the pack.
Lap 3: Trying not to burn matches. Trying to recover, but really just drifting towards the tail end. The junior keeps attacking, but nobody ever goes with him, and nobody really panics, so he eventually comes back in.
Lap 4: More of the same. I keep thinking I feel like shit, and I'm gonna die on the hill, and I have to do it 2 more times. I make it over. I'm at the back, better to find spots to hide from crosswinds.
Lap 5: I'm the last guy in the pack...for the entire lap. 2, 3, 5 guys slip off, I leapfrog them to rejoin. Repeatedly. I'm thinking I'm fucked. The pack has gone from 60 to 40 but I'm still on. The follow car is right behind me, about to pass. At some point xXx Liam is off the front? Textbook xXx, but not my problem right now. The pace has been pretty solid, but nobody's panicking and the blocking doesn't seem to work. He's back in after a couple miles.
We hit the hill for the last time, and I'm waiting for the blitzkrieg. Everybody's dying and I just thank the fucking stars that I didn't get dropped 3 laps in like last year. I don't want to get stuck in a packlet of droppees, so I bury it and go from 40th to 30th. Over the top, again, I'm waiting for the blitz, but it's pretty limp. Everyone's dead. I hammer and get 5 more spots, make the turn, 5 more spots. We make the turn to the finish. I'm in 20th and there's a sprint in the distance that's not for me. I build speed for 300 meters up the hill and get 10 more spots. I finish 10th. It's not a W, but given the situation, fine with me!
The junior won it, and he deserved it, if only for the fact that I wish more people would race as aggressively as he did. Turns out his limited gearing was probably perfect for a climbing sprint. Note to self, when reporting results, it helps to know who the winner is. Oops.
The kids won't let me live it down when I don't win a little something for them, so the cheese castle kept some of my paycheck. Vive la road! Next year, less crits and more of this.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Superweek: Arlington Heights
Cat 4/5: 20th.
Masters' 4/5: I met Dr. Steve, courtesy of a seam of uneven pavement on the far right side of turn eight. Nonetheless, I finished.
I had a fantastic Italian beef sandwich and lemon ice from Johnnie's.
Masters' 4/5: I met Dr. Steve, courtesy of a seam of uneven pavement on the far right side of turn eight. Nonetheless, I finished.
I had a fantastic Italian beef sandwich and lemon ice from Johnnie's.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Soldiering On
Soldier Field Series, Race #2, 1 July
Totally not feeling the race vibe...Wednesday night. huh? I didn't even get caffeinated for this one. This is why I never get jazzed to go to the track either.
Get there in time to root for Christina. Molly's out with a little bump and run from work. Christina has a good spot after the back stretch, but Jeannette Rho from French Bulldogs came wide around her and grabbed the win.
Barely warm up, still don't feel the vibe but fortunately it kicked in by lap 3. Waitlisted, pinned up seconds before rollout, back row start. How am I going to get up there in all these curves? Find a secret slot in each lap and grab spots, the pace thins out the field and I'm sitting top 5.
Michael Young and maybe Liam? from xXx were up front. I was convinced they would try a punch/counterpunch with every escape attempt, so I sat in at third wheel and covered every one of their launches. At one point, there were 4-5 of us stretching the pace, I put in a solid dig, and we just about had a gap, but each of these guys didn't seem to facilitate the other getting away. Maybe they don't have a plan after all? Granted the 50 foot wide backstretch wasn't conducive to blocking.
It was raining burrito primes, and I wasn't hungry. Sitting in second for a few of them, little goes off and nothing sticks. Brean up there, second in a prime, maybe they'll slip away, but again, nobody wants to escape, they just seem to be looking for burritos instead of securing a spot in the top 5.
I realize with a few to go that we're destined for a bunch gallop at the line, so I back off. They start throwing burrito primes every lap, two and three deep, and this brings out the piranhas. Still no effort to get away on anyone's part. We're all eyeing each other and nobody gets out the shovel to dig.
One guy in third wheel slides out on the final lap, going into the straight, but amazingly no one goes with him. Usually a half lap before the line I'm going backwards on account of riding aggressively all race, but this time...not so much. Not a bad feeling, but still not in a great position to contend for the podium, so I just focus on staying out of trouble. The last couple corners always bring out the bozos, and I'm not about to eat shit in a battle for 8th. Still had a bit of kick left in my legs after the final turn (also a new feeling) but it's a short stretch and there's a wall of faders in front of me, so I thread the needle for 13th. eh. Not too disappionted about it, since I just came to ride aggressively and press the legs. Mission Accomplished.
Brean gets 11th, but he is banged up, so he's ok with that. Courier/cat fiver Al "Roadhouse" Pearson gets 6th, racing in a PBR t-shirt after putting in a day's work. I like that. His third top ten in four races.
Tequila girls (no samples though), a free t-shirt, zero dollars in gas money. Not a bad race, considering it was a parking lot. Say what you may about the Olympic effort, at least it's making the city play nice when it comes to throwing sporting events.
Totally not feeling the race vibe...Wednesday night. huh? I didn't even get caffeinated for this one. This is why I never get jazzed to go to the track either.
Get there in time to root for Christina. Molly's out with a little bump and run from work. Christina has a good spot after the back stretch, but Jeannette Rho from French Bulldogs came wide around her and grabbed the win.
Barely warm up, still don't feel the vibe but fortunately it kicked in by lap 3. Waitlisted, pinned up seconds before rollout, back row start. How am I going to get up there in all these curves? Find a secret slot in each lap and grab spots, the pace thins out the field and I'm sitting top 5.
Michael Young and maybe Liam? from xXx were up front. I was convinced they would try a punch/counterpunch with every escape attempt, so I sat in at third wheel and covered every one of their launches. At one point, there were 4-5 of us stretching the pace, I put in a solid dig, and we just about had a gap, but each of these guys didn't seem to facilitate the other getting away. Maybe they don't have a plan after all? Granted the 50 foot wide backstretch wasn't conducive to blocking.
It was raining burrito primes, and I wasn't hungry. Sitting in second for a few of them, little goes off and nothing sticks. Brean up there, second in a prime, maybe they'll slip away, but again, nobody wants to escape, they just seem to be looking for burritos instead of securing a spot in the top 5.
I realize with a few to go that we're destined for a bunch gallop at the line, so I back off. They start throwing burrito primes every lap, two and three deep, and this brings out the piranhas. Still no effort to get away on anyone's part. We're all eyeing each other and nobody gets out the shovel to dig.
One guy in third wheel slides out on the final lap, going into the straight, but amazingly no one goes with him. Usually a half lap before the line I'm going backwards on account of riding aggressively all race, but this time...not so much. Not a bad feeling, but still not in a great position to contend for the podium, so I just focus on staying out of trouble. The last couple corners always bring out the bozos, and I'm not about to eat shit in a battle for 8th. Still had a bit of kick left in my legs after the final turn (also a new feeling) but it's a short stretch and there's a wall of faders in front of me, so I thread the needle for 13th. eh. Not too disappionted about it, since I just came to ride aggressively and press the legs. Mission Accomplished.
Brean gets 11th, but he is banged up, so he's ok with that. Courier/cat fiver Al "Roadhouse" Pearson gets 6th, racing in a PBR t-shirt after putting in a day's work. I like that. His third top ten in four races.
Tequila girls (no samples though), a free t-shirt, zero dollars in gas money. Not a bad race, considering it was a parking lot. Say what you may about the Olympic effort, at least it's making the city play nice when it comes to throwing sporting events.
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