Jingle Cross Rock #1 Photography

See the previous post for the race recap. Here are some fantastic photos - courtesy of Paul Forsythe - to check out...looks like great fun, doesn't it? No, that's not an "I love this!" smile.... oh, and here's another darn cool shot but i'm to cheap to pay for it, so follow this link. Fast, eh?

Jingle Cross Rock #1

The whole day started with a "what the hell am I doing here?" moment and continued on an upward curve from there. It was damn cold at get-up time, a whopping 18 degrees with the prediction being a high of about 40 by race time. Note: One of the best things about UCI races? Elite Women don't start until 1:30pm. My teammates Monique (Mo) and Kristin were up early to head out for Mo's master's 35+ race and I decided to stay back in the hotel for a little while longer. No sense in freezing before I really had to, right? It was a prime opportunity for my mental demons to start their dirty work, eating away at my fragile pre-race psyche until I finally just left and headed to the race venue.

I arrived in time to see Mo and Tammy head out in the masters race. I'd missed the earlier races where Deb and Brooke were representing and both did quite well in the freezing coldness. As I stood there and shivered, Mike informed me that he and Mary had brought and set up their tent - and it had a HEATER! Those were the sweetest words I'd ever heard - a tent with wind sides and heat source to change and warm-up in about 200yds from the start line. All I needed at that point was to get the lizard working in my favor, no small task.

It was at that point I pretty much figured out that there was no way I was going to have a shot at pre-riding the course before race time so I changed and headed out to inspect what I could before having to warm-up. As the temp climbed, course conditions changed immensely. The grass run-up (with nicely positioned log to jump at it's base) had become a slimy, muddy mess. The course also featured a set of barriers, a sand pit that ran through a building and out a doorway, a few patches of loose gravel, a steep uphill (yes, I used the 27 tooth cog, thank you very much...) and a screaming fast descent before heading back to the start finish area. The conditions demanded toe spikes and well, I just didn't have any (sorry John....I know....). My shoes didn't actually accept them anyway so I was in for a lot of slipping and maybe even some falling.

Representing for Kenda on the start line were Kristin, Andrea, Catherine and myself. I got a front line starting position and actually had a moment of clarity and confidence about 5min before the gun went off. Weird how that happens. I have hours of brain swirling anxiety and and soon as it's go-time, I'm good. I need to figure that one out. Anyway, off the line I was sitting in 3rd position after the barriers and the long grass stretch to the run up, feeling damn good. I had a good dismount at the log and as soon as I hit the run-up I felt myself go slipping backward trying to find traction as everyone passed me. That's where my race essentially ended. I fell back to 9th position and it never really changed from there except for a couple of back and forth passes along the way. Lesson learned the hard way: buy the freakin' toe spikes and use them. It can mean the difference between a podium finish and a top 10. With the run-up being 3 times as long on Sunday I decided it was best to head home early instead of suffering the same fate. That, and I was experiencing some knee pain that didn't subside after ice and advil so I thought it best not to further aggravate it.

I have to thank Paul, Mike and Mary for being there and supporting us. It was great to have Brooke, Mo, Tammy and Deb around after their races - thank you for all of your positive energy and for yelling HTFU the hill. You have no idea how much it helped. I posted some of Paul's photography separately - excellent stuff.

I have to say that I kept the race report pretty concise - so many things happened that I didn't include basically because you'd be reading all day. Suffice to say that I had a great time hanging out with my roommates Kristin and Mo and that we all had a great team weekend.

Up next, Wisconsin state championships - gotta support the team and help get Kristin a WIN!!

Photos from Lansing

Clifford and Carolyn Golz took some great phots at Lansing and I felt is most appropriate to make an entirely separate post with some of them. Included are pics of some of my most favorite guys who happen to be really strong, talented athletes - enjoy!

SCW Lansing 'Cross Report

So I'm foregoing watching one of the best freak-out flicks ever made (Seven) to post this. Today I did the South Chicago Wheelmen 'Cross race in Lansing, IL. I really had to go, since I grew up in the town next to Lansing and actually was a Lansing resident during a brief, unpleasant episode in my life (and I'm leaving that right there). It was good though, because my parents, my brother Chris and his wife Michelle, the puggle and their friends were able to come out to spectate. It was cold-ish but not intolerably so and the sun was nowhere to be seen.

The course was entirely pancake flat with a sand pit, a single barrier and a set of three barriers. Everything else was pretty much grass with a few short paved sections and some wet leaves to make things interesting. The Women 1/2/3 field was small (6). I had a good warm up and was ready to go at start time, legs were excellent. Things took off fast as usual and I was having no problem staying right on the wheel I wanted, in second position. Problems started when I clipped my toe on the first of the three barriers (how embarrassing - the auto-jones) and hit the ground - hard. My bike was lofted at least 10 feet and everyone passed me. I briefly considered abandoning right there, I was hurting, embarrassed and had a big hole to dig out of. I remounted and proceeded to claw my way back to within 10 seconds of first position but wasn't really able to close the gap after the effort I was forced to do after becoming separated from my bike. I lost a few seconds here and there and ended up finishing second/first loser on the day. Not too bad but second still sucks, I guess. At least I got my entry fee back and did some hard work on the bike. I'd like to give June Upshaw some recognition here too - the girl's been sick for weeks - she fought hard and took third today, nice work, June.

I also have to give recognition to the most amazing, kickass effort put in by Lou Kuhn of the Pony Shop today - he ruled the 30+ race and made it look easy. Nice job Lou! Also not to be overlooked was Mike Trulson riding for 2CC (who works at the Pony) crushing the junior field today, and Mike Jones (MetLifeGuy) again doing 2 races consecutively and finishing in the top 10 in both. The Verdigris guys did a great job and pretty much owned the 40+ race and Imelda was representing Kenda in the Cat 4 race, finishing 4th.

I also need to thank a bunch of people who were present and ever-supportive: Paul, Mike and Mary, my family, Josh, Amy D., Brian, and the Verdigris guys by the sand pit. I'm sure there were more and I just can't think of who right now so if you were there, I heard your cheers and thanks. Hopefully there will be some decent photos - I'll post them later, when they become available.

Right now, I have to spend some quality time with a bag of ice. Coming up, UCI Jingle Cross Rock in Iowa City next weekend....

Chicago Athlete of the Year?

Some of you may recall that I was named Chicago Athlete magazine's Athlete of the Month back in September (which was very cool). Well, I could be Chicago Athlete Magazine's Athlete of the Year if you vote for me (only if you feel that I am worthy). Check it out here: www.chicagoaa.com/. The catch is that votes need to be sent via email to the editor, Amy Rushlow (editor@chicagoaa.com). I realize that sending an email to Amy is a pain but I suppose it makes sense, given that in an online poll I could just sit there all day and resubmit votes for myself over and over. Anyway, I guess what I am asking is for you to decide whether I am worthy of this designation and if you think I am, please take a few seconds to drop Amy an email that says so.

I'm certainly not the very best athlete in Chicago and I can't say that results are necesarily the indicator of how the Athlete of the Year should be selected. Athlete of the Year, to me, is not entirely about me or my performance. Instead, I like to think it's more about my passion to motivate and inspire the athletes that I coach and people I've had the occasion to work with to develop their own athleticism to it's fullest potential. While racing my bike is darn awesome and I absolutely LOVE to do it (for myself and my team), it's incredibly satisfying for me to see other athletes who I've worked with do amazing things - stuff they never knew they could do. To me, that's a pretty damn cool thing and in part what the award is about.

Now go vote for me!! oh, and forward it to your friends....

- and thank you, in advance....

More Estabrook...

I knew there were lots of cameras out there but whoa.....photos keep coming in, so I'll keep posting them since they all do a fantastic job of communicating how much I love to race 'cross (yes, you should detect some sarcasm there). In case you weren't aware, cyclocross is sort of a two edged sword for me - it's kind of fun but it really hurts. Since the fun currently outweights the hurt, I race. Otherwise I'd be sitting in the la-z-boy eating ice cream and watching ESPN most of the time.

Wisconsin - Estabrook Park Recap

Photos Courtesy of Amy Dykema

So I spent yesterday catching up on a bunch of stuff and ended up not racing in St. Charles. Good thing...I actually got a lot accomplished. That lent itself to a bit less anxiety compared to my normal pre-race mind traffic, which is typically somewhat out of control. No, it's typically very out of control. On the drive up to Milwaukee the sky was looking quite overcast and when we arrived at the race venue it was actually raining a little, so the course was a bit muddy in some places. Oh, and it was cold. WTF is up with Wisconsin? It's always cold there - even in July!! Fortunately we were running ahead of schedule and as the day's racing progressed the weather improved and the course dried out.

The Estabrook Park course is decidedly flat with a lot of grass, one short run-up that requires a dismount, a lot of twists around trees, three sets of barriers, a short single track section before the run-up and a few short pavement sections. I was able to take a few laps before our start which provided a small amount of confidence before I hit the trainer and blasted some Pearl Jam, Velvet Revolver, Nine Inch Nails, Led Zep and Perfect Circle through my otherwise fragile, anxiety-filled psyche. Representing for Kenda today were myself, Kristin, Monique and Susan in a field of about 15. I have to mention that I love racing with the Wisconsin contingent - they're all strong athletes and just really great girls to ride with. I'm fortunate to have them as teammates.

Things went off the start line rather fast and before I knew it two other riders and I had established a gap by the end of the first lap. Interesting also was the fact that the three of us started picking off members of the men's 30+ field along the way. We pretty much rode together the entire race, sharing the work at the front and letting things be decided on the last lap. I knew that both of them were strong enough to close any gap that an attack would create so I was content to sit and see how things would be at final sprint time, since I have a decent sprint and was feeling good. As the pace ramped up we started riding through some man traffic and I got nearly Jones'd by a guy on the run-up which created a gap that I could not close. In the end I finished 3rd, a few seconds off the lead. A decent finish and a little money too - the post race coffee was perfect since I was freezing!

Thanks to all the hardcore 'cross fans in Wisconsin who cheered and encouraged us to ride hard and work together. It was a good, positive race - no broken nails, no new bruises, no crashing. Thanks to MetLifeGuy for driving and providing entertainment - the guy did two races today, AGAIN. Makes me tired and sore just thinking about it. I also want to recognize Kristin, Susan and Mo - awesome job today ladies!!

Up next - a weekend off (well, from racing anyway) and more Chicago Cross Cup on the 18th....

Team Kenda Tire 2008 Race Announcement Made

So I'm sitting here watching the end of the Notre Dame/Navy game (which was a freaking amazing game, I must say) when Marek calls to tell me that I made cyclingnews.com. Well, the team announcement made it - very cool. You can follow this link or read it below:

Team Kenda Tire for 2008
In it's 10th year, Team Kenda Tire will bring its mix of seasoned and newer female racers to the US peloton with the goal of higher placings in 2008 National Race Calendar events.

New to the team for 2008 will be Jackie Kurth (2006 Junior National RR Champion) and Jacquelyn Crowell (5-time Junior National Champion). The team also picked up several new sponsors, including SRAM, The Allen Group and their Dallas Logistics Hub in addition to Plant Solutions.
Team Kenda Tire 2008: Kathryn Clark, Jacquelyn Crowell, Debbie Dust, Lee Farabaugh, Anne Guzman, Kristin Keim, Jackie Kurth, Amy McGuire, Andrea Myers, Yukie Nakamura, Catherine Walberg, and Kristin Wentworth.

We also got some print (and my picture!) on the truesport.com website - here's the link.

2008 will prove to be an exciting year for us - we have a strong roster and are looking forward to an excellent season of competition at the very highest level. We'll have a new look for 2008 - gone are the red flowers and in their place will be an interesting print....I'll keep that under wraps for now. Just know our team kit will be very green - and since green is my favorite color, I'm all good with that.....especially now that the all-over print shorts have been deep-sixed and replaced with a sweet looking mix of black and green with a little red and white here and there.

Some Vintage Velogoddess Coming at Ya....

So Imelda was digging through some old stuff and found this vintage photo from 2005 at Carpenter Park and I found one from Montrose Harbor when it was literally like 15 degrees for the state championships. Jeez that takes me back....I seem to recall that the dweeb I was dating at the time accompanied me in Carpentersville that day. God - the things you remember.... Anyway, thought I'd share a couple piecees of VG nostalgia. I'm happy to say that the Trek XO1 I was riding is now the property of John Schultz at the Pony Shop (thanks for dialing in my SRAM - it's the bomb) and that Imelda is now riding the Redline I was on at Montrose. Too weird.