(American) Football Rules!

Reason #1 why football on tv rules: Howie Long. 'nuff said.

Happy New Year and stuff! The past week or so I've spent a fair amount of time working, riding or on the couch watching football - college, pro, whatever's on - and not doing much else I'd consider productive. Some killer respiratory bug thing has been kicking my butt so the couch has pretty much been my destination of choice after work and saddle time are over for the day. I've made some observations that I'm going to share with y'all about football on tv:

The Top 10:
1. Howie Long is a stud. Nothing more to say on that one and I don't think there are many guys out there who will disagree with that assessment. Really, man-love is okay in this situation.
2. The SUNY Buffalo Bulls did something amazing this year in getting to the International Bowl even though they lost - and the story of the 1958 team that refused to play in that year's Tangerine Bowl received much deserved attention.
3. Football is one FAST game - even the really fat guys are fast which brings me to observation number 4:
4. Some of those really fat guys should not be allowed to wear white pants in public. Or anywhere else for that matter. Indeed....
5. The really elite receivers are tremendous athletes - speed, soft hands, unbelievable body control, balance and awareness all while this/close to getting hit really hard which brings me to observation number 6:
6. Holy crap those guys hit each other HARD. No wonder why they can only play once a week. I used to date this loser football player a long time ago and I remember him telling me that getting hit or (better yet) popping some other poor guy really hard "makes you feel alive." I didn't totally get it at the time but I certainly do now. It must be kind of like doing all out, "I'd rather be dead oh my god I taste blood" intervals on the bike. I get it.
7. Many of the players are just plain humongous people - a tight end who's 6'6" and weighs 285? Yeah, that's a lot of powerful humanity to tackle, isn't it? The again, there's the 5'6" 185lb running back who busts through the line and runs 60+ yards for a TD. Gotta respect that. And let's not overlook the 40 something kicker who nails a 50 yard field goal to send the game into OT.
8. The vast majority of commercials are for big manly-man trucks, fast food, financial services and beer. Big surprise there.
9. Football is vastly more entertaining in the freezing coldness with some killer wind and precipitation to make things more interesting. Sunny and 80 degrees with a light breeze from the south is best for golf (observations about which I will share in a subsequent post).
10. WTF are the cheerleaders really doing out there anyway? Most of them don't get paid so what's the point? Maybe they get to keep the uniform and tax deduct the boob job. Oh, I'm sorry, they're all attorneys, accountants, CEOs and physicians who are moonlighting. I get it now.

That's about all for now - not a whole lot going on but for lots of cold weather riding and work.

Hello Cervelo!!

This past autumn I sold a couple of my older bikes in effort to raise the funds to upgrade to a nicer time trial bike. I'd been actively looking for a few months when MetLifeGuy came across a used Cervelo P2c on ebay that was the proper size so I watched it for a few days and was lucky enough to place the winning bid with just seconds to go in the auction. Now that was a rush but not something I plan to do again any time soon - auctions and my anxious nature are not compatible.

Spin class this Christmas Eve morning was tough but a solid group of hard-working athletes showed up and crushed out 30+min of threshold efforts to the following soundtrack:

Somewhere a Clock is Ticking - Snow Patrol
WMA - PJ
Whatever Happened to My Rock n' Roll - BRMC
Suicide Blonde - INXS
I Feel Love - Blue Man Group feat. Tracy Bonham and Rob Swift
Cochise - Audioslave
She Builds Quick Machines - Velvet Revolver
What Difference Does it Make? - The Smiths
Dakota - Stereophonics
The Shock of the Lightning - Oasis
Breathe - The Prodigy
Thirty-Three - Smashing Pumpkins

Not much else to say at the moment - cupcakes are finished, 007 is on the big screen and my feet are up. It's ugly out there - way too much precip but I'm hoping to ride outside tomorrow, my head needs it - bad. The rollers are just not a fun way to spend saddle time.

White Stuff

The Sears Tower Lobby Christmas Tree

Chicago was yet again hammered with overnight snow which necessitated a morning commute on my beloved CTA blue line. Cross-country skiing down Milwaukee Ave. crossed my mind but I wimped out. I have a 5 block walk from the Loop's Jackson Boulevard stop over to the gym which takes me past the Sears Tower and a few other buildings of note. I snapped the above pic while waiting to cross Wacker Drive - nice pile of snow that guy's standing next to, eh? How touristy of me.

Looking North on the Jackson Blvd. bridge over the Chicago River. The light in the center is Boeing World HQ

I was hoping that we'd have a good turnout for early class this morning and we did - everyone worked hard and was very focused. It was definitely a morning where just getting out of bed was a task - as a good friend reminded me the other day, 'champions do it when they don't want to' so that was the underlying theme for class today.

A very cool thing happened on the way home - I saw the prez-elect's motorcade. The federal building where all the transition activity is occurring and where BO keeps an office is on Jackson Blvd. US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's office is also somewhere around there but unfortunately I've not had the occasion to see him...major bummer. I couldn't snap a pic because the secret service or some such clandestine service agent would probably have ended up taking my phone but it was a pretty cool thing to see.

It's time to complete my second round of morning coffee and then head out to finish clearing the snow around my place. Exciting news: the bike room will be welcoming a new tenant next week - I'll post photos when the Cervelo arrives. Until then, I'll leave you with a thought shared via email this morning:

Illinois - where our governors make our license plates.

6ix

Just looked out the front window and I swear this guy was out there.

Uh yeah - that's the outdoor temp (not the windchill which is surely colder) as I contemplate rolling out this morning for work. Do I drive? Do I ride? I'm SO CONFLICTED. I still have a little time before making the final decision. Maybe I'll ride and bring cab fare for the way home, just in case. This might be beyond an HTFU situation. It's a 30min trip each way. Ugh.

The plan for class today is warm up followed by some tasty threshold/sub-threshold work. Should be great fun. Here's the soundtrack:

Not Enough Time - INXS
Poundcake - Van Halen
Black Math - The White Stripes
Twilight Zone - Golden Earring
The Impression that I Get - Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Isn't She Lovely? - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Are You Gonna Be My Girl? - Jet
My Kind of Girl - The 45s
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter... - PJ
Just Like Heaven - The Cure
Read My Mind - The Killers
The Wind Cries Mary - Jimi Hendrix

Congrats to Wayne Simon (Mr. Pink) on his podium finish at Masters 'Cross Nationals. Shout outs are also in order to fellow Verdigrisians Tim, Chris, Scott and David for fine performances at nationals - way to go guys! June Upshaw deserves recognition for taking the overall title in the Chicago Cross Cup. June had a solid season with consistent finishes - she earned the title and my hat is off to her. Well done, Junebug! Not to be overlooked was Mike Wakeley's successful cross season and respectable showing at nationals. Wakes is an expert mechanic, strong technical rider and all around cool guy - dude, you're one of my favorites. I'll be looking for you on the TT circuit in 2009!

What I'm reading at the moment: 'Next Man Up' by John Feinstein. It's a total-access, in-depth insider account of the Baltimore Ravens' 2004 season. I just finished 'Fates Worse than Death' by Kurt Vonnegut - humorous, insightful and thought-provoking stuff.

That's all for now - I have to begin layering for my bitter cold journey to the Loop...

UPDATE: I caved after speaking with some voices of reason and decided to drive only to find my garage doors frozen shut. That necessitated a CTA blue line commute - something just shy of a living-hell experience....Chicago winter just sucks.

NI9E

That would be the air temperature in the big city at commute-o'clock time this morning. No idea what the windchill was. Didn't want to know. It had to be sub zero. I briefly pondered driving into the loop for work this morning and then thought, 'it's only 30min each way. HTFU. You can do it.' When members at the gym ask me how I could possibly ride in such weather my response is always the same: I hate to drive, find and pay for parking my car more than I hate riding in the freezing coldness. It was a near-hateful experience this morning that could only have been worse in the presence of drifting and blowing snow - and that will indeed happen before the end of this winter. The 'cross bike has become the main commuting ride as of this week. Too much debris on the road and the likelihood of skinny tire flats has forced the switch. Changing a flat in single-digit temps? I think not.

It was very cool to ride with a dedicated group of spinheads this morning. Our work was steady and hard with a good playlist:

Dirty Laundry (live) - The Eagles
Walk All Over You - AC/DC
Weapon of Choice - BRMC
Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones
Superman - Goldfinger
How We Operate - Gomez
Everlong - Foo Fighters
She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult
rearviewmirror - PJ
Middle of the Road - The Pretenders
Fortune Teller - Robert Plant and Allison Krauss
Drift and Die - Puddle of Mudd
Deep Seat - Swervedriver

It appears to me that the temps are going to rise enough for me to ride outdoors this weekend - probably near 20 and maybe a little higher. I really really do not like indoor training so I'll do whatever it takes to avoid roller time. Sunday is the state cross championship at Montrose Harbor. Again this year I will be spectating and don't plan to be there for very long - football starts at noon and my place on the couch will be calling. Good luck to all the crazy racers who toe the line that day - I'm sure it's gonna be great fun. I'll have my cowbell(s)!!!

What I'm reading: 'Candide' by Voltaire (in English) at the moment but I'm not sure what's coming up next. A trip to the used bookstore this afternoon for sure.

That's about all I have for now - thank you for reading. I might have some (HUGE!) interesting news to share next week so stay tuned....

KillerSpin

Some of the SpinHeads - yeah, it's an old picture but none of us are tan anymore...

I don't usually talk about work/what I do for a living. I thoroughly love what I do and the people I work with but it's work, my j-o-b. Interesting to think that my j-o-b time is the 'play time' of those I work with but I guess that's the best way to put it. A long time ago I changed professions and have never looked back. To go back would be to regret and I don't in any way regret the change I made, ever. Leaving a successful career in healthcare administration was one of the very best things I've ever done. I've never missed it since walking away - not a single day.

So what, right? It's odd but lately I've been fielding a bunch of thank-you emails from people who regularly participate in the classes I teach and those I work with individually. This has caused me to stop and think more about exactly what it is that I do and why. Sure, there are days where I just don't want to get out from under the covers but I always do because every last day I have the chance to interact with some of the most amazing and cool people I've ever met. Most of them are so much more than just 'clients' but instead true friends who I am thankful to have in my life. They give meaning to my work, provide much-needed insight, help keep me grounded and keep me sane. So as much as they thank me, I have to thank them as well because without them I could still be stuck in my hospital office, despising every second of it.

This morning was a case in point - bloody freezing coldness in Chicago (17 degrees at commute time) and a bunch of people showed up to spin class at the butt-crack of dawn and worked their asses off. It's simply sublime to look around a classroom full of riders pouring their heart and soul into the challenge I set before them - extending the boundaries of their discomfort and discovering something about themselves along the way. And that goes for more than just today - it's every day. It just happens that it all really hit home with me today. It was freakin' killer, in every way and that's the kind of thing that provides me with a reason to get up every day.

Here's the playlist from this morning - lots of sweat and mental tenacity in todays' intervals...

How Soon is Now - The Smiths
Blow Up the Outside World - Soundgarden
Bite the Hand that Feeds - Nine Inch Nails
The Perfect Drug - Trent Reznor
Chains of Love - The Dirtbombs
VooDoo - Godsmack
Session - Linkin Park
Every Day is Exactly the Same - Nine Inch Nails
Uptown Girl - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Breathe - The Prodigy
Transmission - The Tea Party

That's enough of the sappy, emotional crap (ick). No racing this weekend, just some group ride stuff - it's so much easier to suffer and freeze with good company! Something else that's pretty cool - my picture is in Chicago Athlete magazine in the center of page 24 for the November/December issue. If you click through to their website you can view the issue online. That's all for now - thanks for reading!

Lansing 'Cross Recap - Brrrrrrrr Shiver Shiver

Over the barriers.
photo courtesy of PF

Through the sand pit.
photo courtesy of PF

I needed to have a flame lit under my ass to race this weekend in Lansing. Today was the third time that I have so much as even touched my cross bike this year. It definitely helped that Lou at the Pony spiced up my bike with some new white bar tape and a white saddle. I think the last 'cross race I did was about a month ago. I figured maybe it'd be nice to suit up for the Lansing race, seeing as how I grew up five minutes from the course and actually lived in Lansing for a short time during the dark chapter in my life known as 'The Engagement to Bob.' Sure dodged a bullet on that one.

Weather forecasts were calling for 30 degree temps and snow the past few days so I was totally on the fence until I awakened to see that the ground was dry with a morning temp of 28 degrees. No doubt it was going to be a day for Super Strength Greyhound Juice. Have I ever mentioned the fact that I intensely dislike racing in very cold weather? Yeah - hard to believe isn't it? Freezing coldness makes everything seem slower and more painful to me. I pre-rode the course very easy and then basically found someplace warm to hang out until go time and so never really warmed up, per se, prior to starting. I had to wear a bunch of layers under my skinsuit and felt like the Michelin Man.

The Lansing course is 100% pancake flat, 97% of which is grass with some very short pavement sections and a long sand pit. This year it was set up with a lot of twisty grass stuff, a few barriers and two pavement round-abouts. It didn't really suit me - I'm better on wide-open courses that don't require lots of speed changes. There were about a dozen 1/2/3 women on the start with June and I representing for Verdigris. June is leading the Chicago Cross Cup series and so my main objective was to make sure that she got as many points as possible today. I wasn't paying attention when the gun was fired so I was nowhere near getting the hole shot as we rolled off the start. I essentially settled into second position about 30 seconds into the race. My legwarmers kept falling down which was pretty annoying - they're really old and the grippers are shot.

Without a decent warm-up it took me about three laps to settle into some kind of groove where I could stay until the end. I played it cautious and ran the sand pit almost every time. It was actually faster that way. The twisty grass section was killer - it was intermittently into the wind and just seemed to suck the life out of everyone. June hung pretty close for a long time and I kept yelling at her, 'get up here!!' I was planning to literally stop before the finish line on the last lap so she could get the coveted finishing points but the cat 3 men came through us at the finish, so they ended our race on the same lap. Bummer too because I know things at the top of the standings are close. I was happy to be finished - it was a bit of a suffer fest at times as evidenced by the (simultaneously cool yet nasty/gross) copious amounts of spit and snot stuck to the various surfaces of my bike.

Thanks to Mom and Dad for coming out to spectate a bit and to everyone who shouted encouragement along the way - it definitely helped my psyche today to hear your cheers. Congrats to the Verdigris guys who all posted impressive top finishes and also to the Pony Shop boys - well done, gentlemen! Mr. Pink, you are my hero!!

Unless we have some kind of miraculous break in the weather or I have a weak moment it's likely that today was my final 'cross race for the season. But you never know - I might get a wild hair the morning of the Montrose Harbor race in a few weeks and just show up for the heck of it.

What I'm reading at the moment: 'Fraud' by David Rakoff. I just finished 'A Dog in a Hat' by Joe Parkin and before that 'When You are Engulfed in Flames' by David Sedaris - which was hysterical. Not sure what's up next - maybe some classic American literature that I've never read or some Vonnegut. Depends on what I can find at the book store.

That's the story for now - as always, thanks for reading. If any decent pictures from today find their way into my inbox I'll be sure to post them later.

Saying Good-Bye and The Laziest Weekend - Evar!!

Sitting here at this stupid-early hour and seeing that the temp is 28 degrees makes me realize that indeed we are yet again headed for winter in the Midwest. It also makes me question why I live here anymore as I really cannot stand cold weather. I've tolerated the freezing coldness in the past and just rolled with it but I don't know that I can do that so easily anymore - age has changed me.

So, I'm saying good-bye to decent weather for the next 5 months or so and also saying good-bye to two of my bikes. The time trial bike has been dismantled and the frameset will be retrieved by it's new owner in a couple weeks. My back-up road bike will soon be someone else's number one. We know what that means - something new will be making it's way into the bike room hopefully before the end of the year. The hunt to find the perfect replacement TT bike has begun....

I believe there's something to be said for passing a weekend doing absolutely nothing. In fact, there are lots of things to be said for it - we should all be so lucky to do it once in a while just as a reminder of how good it is to not be a lazy ass all the time. This past weekend is a perfect example of how I did next to nothing and felt so guilty about it that the prospect of doing it again is unthinkable. I watched entire football games and only left my place to go upstairs to feed my neighbor's cat. It's a good thing the fridge was empty or it could have easily been an all-day eating extravaganza. My ass is thankful for that.

Okay, so I did ride my bike both Saturday and Sunday (a fine roller session complete with fierce melon Gatorade) but I didn't race even though there was a 'cross race about 30min away. I indeed feel guilty about that - I really need to get out and race again for Verdigris. I intend to do that next weekend in Lansing. I just wasn't into the idea of freezing my face off after suffering in Saturday's killer 20+ mph cross/head wind and temps in the low 30s, never mind the wet pavement. My hands were so frozen that I was alternately shoving them up under my jersey until I could almost feel them again. Not a whole lot of bike love going on at that point.

Of course, I always tell myself, it could be worse - so just HTFU and live through it. It will all be over in a few months. Think I'll just start planning those early 2009 getaways now....Arizona, California, Florida, where do I go? Maybe San Antonio now that I'll have a friend residing there....

This Makes Me Happy

'nuff said.

Not Feelin' the 'Cross Love & an Announcement

Seems like there are rogue squirrels (and Canada geese) everywhere lately - but I prefer the killer bunny of Caerbannog

We in the Midwest had the opportunity to race 'cross this past weekend and I let it go. I just wasn't feeling the 'cross love and I was out of embrocation so I did the next best thing: I didn't race and just did the weekend group ride with the boys. It was definitely the correct choice for me. 'Cross is still fun, I just needed a weekend away. I'll be back at it next weekend, after the daylight savings time change and an additional hour of insomnia. I do, however, need to send HUGE congrats out to my Verdigris teammate June who won the women's race and to the Verdigris guys who owned the (very windy) day - Well done, everyone - I'll see you next weekend in St. Charles.

Doing the Judson ride is not altogether devoid of anxiety - there are a lot of strong boys that come out and like to hurt themselves and each other (you know who you are...). I sort of hang on for dear life and hope to make it to the end at times. I feel guilty about not taking lots of pulls at the front but doing so could end my ride early - this ain't a no-drop ride. In fact, I suspect the goal of some is to shell as many guys as possible before we reach Fort Sheridan on Chicago's North Shore (again, you know who you are). Fortunately I am strong enough to survive to that point and can hold my own pretty much from there on but I definitely tend to have some painful moments along the way.

I suppose now would be a good time to make an announcement of sorts regarding my plans for next season on the road. We all know that I am no longer part of Kenda. Being with that team was mostly fun while it lasted but things have changed and I have changed so the parting of ways is definitely a good and positive thing for me and my racing. It becomes exhausting to always be required to live up to the expectations of others on the bike - that can make it anything but fun. Racing was expensive the past few years and I really no longer care to shell out lots of money to do the same races season after season. I will definitely miss my teammates but I've taken some good memories away from the time we spent together.

For 2009 I will be racing for a well-supported local team comprised mainly of masters athletes - really strong ones including national and state champs, a multiple-time world silver medalist, some monster time trialists and all around good people who prefer have fun with racing the bike and having a real life. I am proud, thankful and appreciative for the opportunity to race on the road with PACT- Dishnetwork for 2009. I may opt for composite team representation in some NRC races but most everything else will be for PACT, a place where I am comfortable and feel valued for my strengths as a rider and as a person.

That's about all I have to say for now - isn't it enough? As always, thanks for reading....

Wow - VeloNews!!

Check it out here. And here too!! That Imelda - she's a PR machine!!

Not So Dirty - Carpentersville 'Cross

The very best, most excellent part of today's 'cross race in Carpentersville was the DRY course - no mud!! That made me verrrrry happy. I've done the Carpenter Park race twice in the past with reasonable success so I was cautiously optimistic that I could have a decent finish, depending on who decided to show up and what the course would be like. Temp at start time was probably in the mid to upper 50s and the dewy grass had dried out nicely after the masters races - my kind of cross weather. We had a fair amount of wind and it seemed to get stronger as the day progressed.

The new Carpenter Park course absolutely does not suit me. It was nice that laps took longer as they'd added a lot of new elements using the same park but many of those 'elements' were u-turns, not good for my current level (read: absence) of technical skill proficiency. There was a barrier/gully combination that forced a dismount and a pair of barriers at the bottom of a short run-up but the remainder was totally rideable - even the sandpit was completely tame this year. New this year also was a short pavement stretch (with a u-turn) and a small off-camber section before a longish grass stretch.

Since I've decided to race 'cross for fun this season I have to admit that my devotion to the tasks associated with warming up and pre-race preparation has been lacking. I was able to take two slow course inspection laps before applying embrocation and spinning around a bit while watching the guys. Oh yeah - I was really ready to go when Marek blew the whistle. June and I were representing for Verdigris today with maybe a dozen others who came out for what was sure to be great fun. Standing on the line with us was the perpetually strong current national champion Rebecca Much who I found out has been added to the development program for the 2012 Olympic team - this is a fantastic thing as she is a true talent and a genuinely good and nice person.

I knew I was in for a battle when I missed my clip in and ended up sitting too far back in the very beginning stages of the 45min race. Rebecca got the hole shot and was accelerating hard out of all the early u-turns. This sort of hosed me - I had to work through a bunch of riders before finally getting clear of everyone somewhere on the second lap. From there things seemed to settle in nicely. I was able to keep the gap to Rebecca pretty reasonable (typically 10-15sec per the guys on the course) and not really torch myself to do it until I dropped my chain on the run up with about 2 laps to go. I lost a fair amount of time when that happened and the gap grew to a degree that I wouldn't be able to close in time for the finish.

So I was first loser on the day. An acceptable finish because really, I worked hard but I didn't bury myself too horribly, suffer that badly and I didn't break a nail or fall off my bike a single time (yay!!). June rode strong and stayed steady, passing Holly, finishing a solid third on the day and holding onto the lead in the series - another fine showing for the Verdigris women. I didn't linger after things were over so I don't know how all the Verdigris guys did today but I'm pretty sure the Pony Shop boys scored some impressive results in the masters races - well done gentlemen!!

I know there were a bunch of cameras out there so check back later in the week for updates, photos and links to the good stuff.

Dirty Things - Hawthorn Woods 'Cross

My bike was really, really muddy after I finished. I was even more muddy.

I had a weak moment and decided that yes, I am indeed going to race some 'cross this fall. Today was my first stab at the Chicago Cross Cup - the third race of the series held in Hawthorn Woods, not terribly far from the city. It needs to be noted here and now that taking my bike off the hook in my bike room yesterday was the first time I'd so much as touched it since having it overhauled at the Pony Shop more than a month ago. That's right - not a single practice or even a pavement ride. I was rightfully nervous given that I understand the competition at 'cross cup races has been pretty good this year. Honestly, my biggest concern was that I not wreck and hurt myself - self-preservation at it's finest.

I was representing for Verdigris with June on the line with 8 others. The course was actually pretty good and it suited me well. Not sure how long it was but it was mostly flat with lots of grass, some pavement sections, a barrier, an off-camber section that turned into a mud pit (ick), and the premier feature - the sledding hill that we had to climb, descend, jump a barrier then climb and descend again. I was stuck starting in the back since I've accrued no series points which turned out to be a good thing - I was able to sit in for the first lap, ramp up the pace gradually then open a gap at the beginning of the second trip up the sledding hill.

After the second and third laps I settled in and was able to keep an eye on what was happening behind me at various points along the course. June shook off Holly and was sitting 2nd which ended up being how we finished. I even got some inches on truesport.com! The Verdigris men also earned a bunch of top finishes - a great showing for our team today!

Dirty girls post-race (yep - that's mud on June's arm - ick).

I only bit it once when with 2 laps to go an unfortunate Cat 3 guy I'd caught went down in front of me - IN THE MUD. Nice. I was covered - there was mud on my face, on my teeth, in my hair, in my ears....you get the idea. The highlight of it all? I managed to finish the day with all fingernails intact (yes, there was mud under them).

The Pony Shop guys were out tearing it up today too - check out their blog here. Also, Chloe Kuhn got some great shots of the 30+, 40+ and 50+ men's races - see those here. Extra special thanks go out to Roman and Mark who sat on the hill eating pizza and cheering us on through the suffer-fest.

I have to send a 'kick ass dude!' shout to Mike Wakeley who had some great finishes in the Cincinnati area over the weekend. He's really hitting it hard this 'cross season and doing well - way to go Mike!!

What I'm reading right now 'Bluebeard' by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. What I finished, 'Fight Club', 'Fugitives and Refugees' and 'Rant' by Chuck Palahniuk. Up next - dunno!! Maybe some Steinbeck, John Irving or more Vonnegut. As for music, I've been in this jazz mood lately but I'll need to come up with a playlist for next weekend's warm up so I'll post it once I've finished it.

Final Road Event for 2009 - Fall Fling Time Trial

Post-TT cupcakes - yum...guys, are you wearing them or eating them?

I'm sort of a lightweight when it comes to racing in cold weather. I don't mind training in the bitter cold but I really don't enjoy racing when it's cold. My last road event for 2009 was Saturday - a short time trial in Maple Park, IL before I begin cyclocross next weekend. Temps were in the upper 30s in Maple Park when we rolled and fortunately things warmed up to the low 60s by start time. Representing for MetLife/Pony Shop were Josh, myself, Mike, Dan and Ansgar. This was Ansgar's first crack at a TT - he was sitting in 2nd position in the overall for the Fall Fling and needed the points to secure a solid place heading into the final criterium on Sunday.

The TT course was about 9.5mi long and mainly flat with a few turns and two 180 degree turnarounds. Wind was definitely present though not horribly so - headwind on the way out, nice tailwind on the way back. Warm up wasn't great for me but not bad either. Once I got rolling it was difficult to find a decent rhythm with all the turns and turnarounds so I never really felt 'comfortable' out there. When it was all over I ended up first with the fastest women's time on the day. I believe Mike and Josh both nailed top 5 times in the P1/2 and their age groups. Sorry to say that I'm not sure about Dan and Ansgar (I haven't looked at the full results) though I suspect they both managed excellent finishes as well.

It's hard to get my head around the fact that the 2008 road season is over - while there was plenty of racing, travel and training along the way it sure seems to have flown by quickly. There were some little bumps and low spots along the way but on the whole I'm pretty satisfied with how things went for me. I won a couple state championships, had my first top 5 finish in an NRC event, learned how to do a pursuit on the track, and nailed a silver medal in the TT at master's nationals, along with a lot of other good things.

Up next is some cyclocross with my new cross team, Verdigris. I'm really excited to be racing with this group of very talented master's men and women - first race is next weekend and I really need to practice or risk making a fool of myself! Beyond that I will also be riding for a different road team in 2009 though more information to that end is not forthcoming at the moment. It's definitely time for a change of direction and my new team will allow for me to explore some other opportunities on the bike - my way.

I suppose this might be the most important part of this entire post - to all the guys I race and train with, Josh, Ansgar, Ted and especially Mike - thank you. You have no idea how much you have helped me be better, smarter, more patient, more confident and mentally tough (HTFU!!) both on and off the bike. There is no way I would have accomplished so much in 2008 without you.

Go-Go White Sox!!
Sorry Cubs - I guess I was wrong on that one....

Stuff: Changing

This spider has been hanging outside the studio window for two weeks. I don't like spiders.

I've been neglecting the blog of late - there's stuff going on but it's too early to type about yet. Suffice to say that there are some important changes happening in the next 6 weeks or so that are good, exciting things that are still developing. Part of that is the fact that I will indeed be racing a cyclocross season, albeit abbreviated as I've literally not even touched my cross bike yet. I need to do a little practicing if I expect to perform respectably for my new cross team.....

Here's the playlist from this morning's spinning session - some tasty 10min threshold intervals on short rest - and then a few other things I've been rotating lately. Enjoy.

White, Discussion - Live
Hey Man, Nice Shot - Filter
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
The Pretender - Foo Fighters
Get off My Cloud (live) - The Rolling Stones
Heavy Fuel - Dire Straits
You - Candlebox
Gamma Ray - Beck
Watch the Tapes - LCD Soundsystem
Emerge - Fischerspooner
Turn My Head - Live

Other good stuff:
On the Airwaves - The Shazam
Can't Stand It - The Greenhornes
My Kind of Girl - The 45s
Gimme That Shot - The Charms
Lost my Motto - Cotton Mather
Put Some Hurt on You - Boss Martians
What Ever Happened to My Rock n Roll - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Straight Shooter - Reigning Sound
I Woke Up This Mornin' - The Mooney Suzuki

I have to give a little time to the Chi-town MLB scene since I am a serious baseball fan. As I predicted months ago, the sorry sorry sorry Chicago White Sox are not going to make the playoffs and will go down in flames due to an inconsistent starting rotation, a weak bullpen and failure to execute the aggressive 'small ball' tactics to score runs and win games. Sorry boys, the long ball isn't everything. The Cubs, on the other hand, are the real deal and I noticed that a long time ago. They've got all the pieces to the World Series appearance puzzle plus some helpful luck here and there - not to mention Sweet Lou driving the bus. Boys, it's your year!!

Okay, I'll start being a girl again now...thanks for reading - I'll be keeping the blog updated as stuff develops.

A Day in the Land of Beer, Brats and Cheese...

Mike Santi's rooster, The Flying Dutchman

Details of the annual Wisco ride are forthcoming....

A Good Day - If You're a Duck...

Josh and Mike - Post Ride

Rain had been falling steadily for nearly 24 hours when the clown car headed for Garden Prairie for a 40K TT, the final event in the Mid America Time Trial Series. Josh and Mike were sitting untouchably 1st in the 50+ and 40+ masters categories and held 1st and 2nd in P1/2 going into today's TT. I was feeling good after a hard week of training and a day of rest - and hoping that the rain would slow a bit before start time. There had been significant flooding throughout the area so there was a legitimate possibility that parts of the course would be affected. Fortunately, that turned out to not be the case.

I found myself sitting in the car as the rain cascaded down the windshield without any motivation to get on the bike - I was not 'feeling the love. 'I've raced in the rain plenty and it doesn't bother me in the least, especially not for a time trial. Something was missing today - odd too, because up until the very moment that I decided to bail I was in a good mental groove and ready to hit it hard.

I think maybe I'm really just ready for a racing break. Don't misunderstand - I LOVE to race the bike and don't want to stop training hard, riding my ass off, getting stronger. It's just time for me to step back from the anxiety for a little while and race because I want to, not because I feel compelled to. What does that mean for cyclocross? Not totally committed either way, really. It'd be hard to blow it off entirely so who knows? I might show up for a race or two or three....

So my sorry, wet ass waited for Josh and Mike to come back in after their rides and tell me all about what I missed. Josh rolled back first with Mike not too far behind. The were both thoroughly soaked and actually had a very good day on the bike. In the end, Mike had the fastest time on the day and earned 1st place in the Pro1/2 category for the series. Josh was right behind with the second best time on the day and 2nd in the series. So impressive - I can't tell you how happy I am for both of them. Way to go guys - you are my heroes.

The latest playlist included some Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, more Kings of Leon, Dead Can Dance (The Ubiquitous Dr. Lovegroove), more 22-20s, The Les Claypool Frog Brigade, Boy Kill Boy and some Elvis Costello, just for kicks. In print I've started 'Breakfast of Champions' by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. so far, so good...

To close I want to wish my parents a very happy 39th Anniversary. Mom and Dad, thanks for everything.

Da Champs - Again!!

Ted, Paul, Mike and Josh - TTT Champions! Boys, you look EXCELLENT in stars and stripes!

* Sigh* I did not ride my bike today. Instead, I got to drive the support vehicle for my favorite masters time trial team for the FIAC 4 Person Team Time Trial. I did it last year and had a blast so I was flattered when I was asked to again be Directeur Sportif for the day. The guys were the defending champs and entered this edition of the 4 person looking to have another winning ride against 10 other teams in their category.

We rolled in the dark to lovely Utica, IL under cloudy but not threatening skies (listening to the soundtrack of my choosing, thankyouverymuch). As the sun came up the fog burned off and we were left with a nearly perfect day. I say nearly perfect only because there was a significant amount of wind that definitely had the ability to suck the life out of the legs on various stretches of the 50K course. The guys were all very well prepared and warm-up went without incident. I ran around pinning numbers, pumping tires, setting up trainers, motivating (take no prisoners!!) and getting the car ready for 'go time.'

In the start house

Things were running a little late but once we got going everything was moving right along - the guys passed the three teams that started before them well before the turnaround point. From my vantage point in the car it seemed that at times they had to work a bit after taking a pull to find the draft but otherwise they were relatively smooth. It all went pretty much without incident - Josh executed an impressive maneuver to avoid a snafu through one turn but other than that it was uneventful.

My view from the car - can't beat that with a stick, eh?

I pulled up next to them a few times along the way just to see how things were going - I must say that to witness how incredibly hard they were all working was pretty amazing. They were intensely focused and totally burying themselves and suffering - going as hard as they could. Shiver. Winning was so gratifying - they EARNED every bit of it. Overall their time was fourth fastest - pretty darn impressive when you're competing against teams with a current National Champion and one with a former USPS pro and a professional triathlete. Guys - you fascinate and impress me beyond words. I can't think of a better way to have spent the last part of my birthday weekend - thank you!!

What I'm reading right now: 'Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad' by Gordon Thomas. Next up: 'Breakfast of Champions' by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. The latest grooves: Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon, Devil in Me by 22-20s, I Will Possess Your Heart by Deathcab for Cutie, and some random Goldfinger and Arctic Monkeys, among LOTS of other things that I don't have time to list right now.

Thanks for checking in....one last thing: CONGRATS to my friend Kurt McDonnell who finished his first ever Ironman in less than 13.5hr. Way to go Kurt!! Now, let's talk about that bike leg...

The Illinois Time Trial Championship (and a Birthday Party...)

At long last the final really important race of the season was here - the Illinois state time trial championship. I was defending champ and was feeling the pressure of having to compete against Leigh Thompson - the very worthy current masters national TT champion. MetLifeGuy and I both had early start times so we rolled at stupid-early-o'clock to Harvard under sunny, cloudless skies. Wind was minor but definitely present and thankfully the corn is up - it offered some shelter at certain points on the now familiar 33.3K mostly flat course.

Warm up went well though not great - my legs were not super so I hoped they'd come around at some point once I got started. I have to admit that my motivation has been lacking of late - I'm mentally ready to be done racing for a little while. Since doing the state TT last season I've gotten my position dialed in and learned a ton about pacing myself - two things that lend themselves to doing a faster time trial. I kept my effort under control for the first half to keep from smoking myself early then kicked up the pace slightly for the way back. I had Pink Floyd and Janis Joplin running though my head along the way and was really focused on passing people and staying steady (that's right - I'm old).

Coming up on the finish was a little confusing - there were two different tape lines on the pavement, one apparently identified a 300m 'sprint' line and the second was the actual finish line. I sat up as I crossed the first line, assuming it was the finish only to be told that the actual finish was the second line - I easily lost 15-20sec if not more because of the screw up but thankfully in the end I still had the fastest time on the day and repeated as state TT champ with a time that was about 2min faster than last season. Leigh was kind enough to inform me of the result as we left before results were posted. We still don't know where MetLifeGuy finished but his time was 1.5min faster than last season - I'd say he probably got on the podium in the very tough 45-49 masters category.

Winning the title again was cool as was the occasion to celebrate the birthdays of my two nieces, Lindsey (who turned one) and Elise - my god daughter - who turned four. My brother and sister-in-law hosted a huge party on their behalf on yet another perfect summer day.

I always brag about my brother's classic Mustang so below are a couple pictures of Richie's 1970 Mach 1. He got the car when he was 14 - it was in rough condition. He and my dad partially restored it so Richie could drive it when he turned 16. About 10 years or so later Richie dropped a new engine in it, hung new sheet metal on the entire thing, restored it to it's original color and started to enter it in car shows - he's won twice this year!

Richie's 1970 'Stang - restored to mint

A sweet, sweet ride - 351 Windsor under the hood....

That's all for now - just kicking back, enjoying what's left of Labor Day weekend. Thanks for checking in - there are a couple of things on the calendar for September so I'll definitely be posting even though the season is tailing off.

Winding Down, Shifting Gears

Wow - summer's almost over and here I am wondering where it all went! Funny how easy it is for a full racing season to go by so quickly when you're training, traveling, racing, working (yes, I have a real job) and trying to recover all while attempting to have a personal life. I did a fair amount of road and track racing this season and am not finished yet - I will be doing a cyclocross season, though not near the level that I did last season where I traveled a bit for some UCI racing. Oh, and soon I'll be hitting the driving range with some regularity.

Last weekend was some track racing in Kenosha - a velodrome I've not ever raced on. Whoa - it's significantly more steep than Northbrook and made me pretty nervous! That said, I did a decent 2K pursuit and jumped into the points race to mix it up with the guys. It was truly a lot of fun - we had excellent weather and the vibe was so mellow it was almost like I wasn't racing. Well, I take that back. I was 'slightly' tense before my pursuit.... The guys had an impressive team pursuit performance - fast and smooth. It was cool just to watch them.

'Cross for me this year will be totally without stress - no anxiety and just try to have fun. It's not going to be about winning but instead just staying fit and being positive. I'm going to try my best to avoid having the ever-present right calf bruise courtesy of regular pedal smacking this fall. Cross is dirty and well, I don't like dirt. And I really dislike mud. Anyone who knows me is aware that when I was a kid I was a really good softball and volleyball player but never played basketball. Why? Because it made my hands dirty. Beyond that, the risk of breaking a nail is ever-present and my risk-averse nature just begs me to keep things low-key and safe.

Coming up is the state time trial championship - something I've been looking forward to for a while. It'll be a fitting end to the 'formal' road season. I'll be doing some local small races later in September with the guys but other than that, it'll be cross until I can no longer stand the freezing coldness.

What have I been listening to? Lots of stuff. Here's a sample:

Gamma Ray - Beck
Electric Uncle Sam - Primus
Only - Nine Inch Nails
The Fool and Me - Robin Trower
Driven to Tears - The Police
Murray - Peter Yorn
Original Fire - Audioslave
The Hives Meet the Norm - The Hives
Every Day I Love You Less and Less - Kaiser Chiefs
Juicebox - The Strokes
Deep - PJ
Jane Says - Jane's Addiction
French Fries With Pepper - Morphine
Get off This - Cracker
Temptation - The Tea Party
Nothingness - Living Color
Sweet Wine of Love - Robin Trower
Right Place, Wrong Time - Dr. John
March of the Swivelheads - The English Beat

Thanks for checking in - I hope to have some good news to share post-TT this weekend!

Crit Nationals at Downers Grove

Things at DG went much better this year as compared to last year's debacle. The temp was perfect, the sun was shining and there were no clouds in sight. I'd had some decent days of training the past few weeks and my legs were feeling really good today so I was hoping to have a strong showing at this season's criterium nationals. My head, on the other hand, was in sorry shape. I've done a decent job of handling pressure and nervousness this year but today was another story entirely. In fact, I'd been horribly anxious the past 3 or 4 days about the race and had slept very little because of it so I was also tired - not a good combination.

I did start to feel better after arriving at the venue and seeing my teammates - they're a great group of girls who are always very positive so being around them before start time was good for my always fragile psyche. That, some groovy tunes, a can of Whoop Ass and some pre-race encouragement from a friend (you know who you are) helped me get to the start line with a better mindset - thanks for that, it made a tremendous difference.

Representing for Kenda today were myself, Catherine, Kat, Kristin, Jessi, Andrea, and Amy - all strong, smart racers. Standing on the start line and waiting waiting waiting in the field of 86 for the 'go' signal just kills me but we were off soon enough and things were hot from the very beginning. The national championship course in DG suits me - an 8-turn mile-long course with tight corners, a couple gradual uphill sections and one very minor bump of a hill between turns 3 and 4. All the big US teams were represented and there was a lot of action at the front with a fair number of primes and a couple small breaks - we really never sat up at any point in the 31 lap race.

Gaining and holding position on this course is the real battle. I always had to be thinking 2-3 turns ahead, deciding whether to use energy to move up only to lose position 3 turns later or just stay where I was. I guess you could say I raced conservatively - safe and protected. I tried to stay in the front third to half as much as possible which worked out pretty well - I was usually able to move up when I wanted to and managed to mostly stay out of trouble.

At 6 to go I was sucked into a wreck just after turn 1 but fortunately got up and was put back in without much problem. Things were starting to wind up and the pace was pretty high. I was happy with my place in the field on the final lap - until someone skipped her back wheel in turn 7 and someone else scraped a pedal in turn 8 - I lost a LOT of positions because of those two things and ended up finishing 23rd. Really, when you think about it, criterium racing is the ultimate crap shoot. You can have the best legs of your life, be exactly where you think you need to be and still end up as an also ran. I didn't check the results very closely but I know Catherine and Amy were just ahead of me and the rest of my teammates finished respectably - well done, ladies.

Thanks to all my friends who came out today to watch the racing - there were so many of you that I can't possibly list you all here - I appreciate your cheers and encouragement. Congrats to Bill - you do belong out there. Also, I had the occasion to talk with Jim Scott who is recovering after a pretty heinous wreck at a Superweek race - so great to see you, Jim. That's a mighty nice scar you have...

Up next, the state pursuit championship on the track. Should be interesting - I've never ridden a pursuit and I understand that they hurt a lot. We all know how much I love to suffer (NOT!) so I'm really looking forward to it!! Beyond that maybe the state road race and then the state TT championship before transitioning into cyclocross season. If I happen to get my hands on any photos or links to photos from today, I will update this post. Thanks for reading....

The Glencoe Grand Prix Post-Mort

I was totally stoked and overly nervous to be racing in Glencoe today. I finished second there last season, winning the field sprint with a rider off the front at the end. I knew going in that the field was going to be small but that the riders present were all good racers which meant there would be a lot of watching and waiting. The organizer had done a fantastic job of putting together a good prize list for the women's field - I wish there had been more of us on the start line. There was even an in-race points sprint competition for a pair of diamond earrings - not something you see very often. This was a chip timed event so at the end we would know the results within minutes which kept the waiting around to a minimum - nice.

The course in Glencoe is completely flat with 4 corners - the first two being 90 degree lefts, the third slightly more than 90 degrees and the last turn significantly less than 90 degrees before the final home stretch. Last year the pavement was pretty bumpy on the back side of the course but I was pleasantly surprised when taking a pre-race lap to see new pavement from curb to curb - verrry nice. I was so happy to see that my teammate Jessi came up from Urbana to race - seems like we haven't raced together in ages. She was feeling tired but worked really hard at one point to haul in a break that no one else wanted to touch - thanks Jessi!

We rolled from the start of our 50min +2 laps race and things were relatively pedestrian until they rang the bell for either points or a prime - I don't recall exactly. Two or three times along the way a solo rider was off the front for a little while but we pretty much hauled anything back in before too long which basically meant it was going to be a field sprint. It seemed like no one was really in the mood to take any big risks after a while - probably a good thing because I was feeling good and my plan was to counter any move that went late, which nothing did. I wanted to test my legs before the end so I jumped late and got a prime along the way which provided some much needed confidence. I had no desire to sprint for the earrings and basically sat on for all of the point sprints.

In the end I made the error of coming out of the last turn sitting 5th behind a bunch of good sprinters - d'oh! I had decent momentum so I just moved left and drilled it to the line - passing three riders and missing out on first by (literally) .03sec. to Devon Haskell who had exited the final turn sitting in first position. This is definitely a case of 'hindsight is 20/20' because I should have known better than to be so far back at the end. It's disappointing to lose by so little but also encouraging to know that my sprint is strong enough right now to make up a lot of ground if need be. I thought all the time trialing I've been doing would kill my sprint but I guess not - there's still some twitch in there.

I heard later on from the guys who did the two person 50K TT and they all just killed it - way to go Josh, Ted, Dan, Mike, and Jim! Up next for me is criterium nationals in Downers Grove on Sunday followed by the state road race and time trial the two weekends after that with a track event thrown in there too. It's going to be a busy close to August - good thing because I'm starting to feel a little burned out.

As always, thanks for reading. If I get my hands on some pictures I'll be sure to post them later this week. Also - thanks to everyone who was there in Glencoe cheering. I heard you all and I really wish the outcome would have been different but as the old saying goes, 'that's bike racing.'

'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"

The TT beasts had to do their first ride on wet pavement. Who said we'd have rain today!?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!

So we rolled at stupid-early-o'clock to Harvard for the Bryce Masters 20K TT. As we approached the parking area the sky was looking ominous and shortly after we arrived the drops began to fall. I whined earlier in the week about a too early start time (that had me going a minute before MetLifeGuy) and was pleasantly surprised when I received notification that my time had been changed - to an hour later, thank you very much. I'd not slept much the night before so it was nice to have the extra time to get my head straight prior to go time. The rain tapered off before long but the pavement was still wet when Josh and Mike headed out for the first of their two rides. I hit the rollers for a little while, got in a decent warm-up and headed over to the start/finish area just as the guys rolled back in for a short break before TT #2.

Things started off oddly for me - I missed my pedal when I rolled out from the start. That is something I NEVER do - it's one of the most basic skills for any decent cyclist to master and I was actually sort of embarrassed... I recovered quickly after marveling at my blunder and settled into the ugly-yet-tolerable place we call threshold. There was a headwind on the way out so I made sure not to smoke myself early by going out too hard. At the turnaround I saw the guys coming up behind me and wanted to just finish without getting passed. It was nice to have a tailwind on the way back but I was concerned that Josh was going to pass me - he started 2min after me. I heard a disc coming up when I was within sight of the finish line but it turned out to be the guy one minute behind me, not Josh (though he wasn't too far behind!). I thought for sure I'd be passed much sooner so I was pleasantly surprised when I crossed the line alone.

In the end my time was good enough - not great but OK. We left before final results were posted but due to the relatively low attendance I'm pretty sure I won. Josh and Mike put up very fast times - both in the top 4 on the day - fantastic job guys!! Their fine efforts were rewarded with some killer chocolate chip cookies (you bet I made them!). Tomorrow both of them are doing two 50K 2-person TT's - best of luck to you guys, you're simultaneously insane and awesome. I'm not as tough as they are - I'm just doing a little criterium in Glencoe as a tune-up for Downers Grove next weekend.

What am I reading now? Two things: Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. A weird combination of things but that's to be expected of me.

As for the title of this post, well, you had to be there :)

Elgin Criterium - Racing With the Boyz

I love to race with the 40+ masters men for a lot of reasons - they're pretty much all nice guys (save a few creeps but that's just how life is), they race hard, they're aggressive, they race (mostly) smart, and the majority know how to race. When the whistle blows, it's go time and there's no screwing around. Sure, things slow down here and there and every once in a while someone f's up a turn but I seem to get more out of racing with the guys at local stuff. The slower guys are usually gone in the first few laps and things thin out nicely. Plus, the added bonus - it's an opportunity to watch man-butt.

I lined up today in Elgin flying Snoopy blue with Ansgar who I found out last night is sitting in 1st place for the 40+ Tour of Illinois and Wisconsin. Yesterday I was sort of on the fence about racing (my fragile psyche has been kicking in for some reason lately) until I heard that. Then I felt like I had to go. The course was pretty straightforward with one small technical left/right downhill/uphill chicane section that had been making things interesting all day. I knew when I saw a wall of hay bales at the bottom of the hill that there might be some action down there...

Warm up was decent and I think we had near 40 on the start line - lots of really good bike racers and some well, not-so-good. The Planet Bike contingent lined up with (I'm not kidding) HELMET MIRRORS!! Gotta love the Wisconsin guys. Stuff started off well enough and before long I got involved with the first of two wrecks in the chicane. I don't really even know what happened to cause the wreck - so many ways to screw up that turn - and it really doesn't matter. I went to the wheel pit and got my free lap and returned to action. Later on some primes were thrown out and a small break was away for a few laps but nothing that caused any concern - they were brought back into the main group before too long. With 3 laps to go I got stuck in another CF in that chicane and unfortunately Ansgar got caught up too. I got a free lap but had to chase to get back in - I was never able to close the gap and finished behind the main group in 11th. Ansgar snagged 9th and pretty much sewed up the 40+ masters TOI/WI points series - way to go Ansgar!!

After I got home I just couldn't stay in the house on such an amazing day so I headed over to the lake and killed a couple of hours reading by the beach - always good for clearing a mind full of traffic. What I'm groovin' to lately - Death Cab for Cutie, Hot Hot Heat, The Raconteurs, Matthew Sweet, Beck and R.E.M. with some Allman Brothers thrown in just because. What am I reading? Total schlock - the Scott McClellan book. I needed some mindless reading and it fits that description just right.

Thanks for reading - up next maybe a time trial on Saturday and the Glencoe Grand Prix on Sunday.

My Next Distraction

A message from the morning Spinheads/Humbled Minions - Where's the love?

It's the end of July and I'm already looking forward to what I'll be doing to keep myself occupied in the off-season. Maybe a little premature but I like to always stay one step ahead. Of course I'll race some cyclocross but I've been thinking that I need something else to fixate on for a while. In the past I used to spend time at the batting cages hitting balls - I was a pretty darn good softball player back in the day (fast-pitch, that is). It was always a good way to clear my head and well, meet boys.

I've grown up maybe a little bit since then and have decided to learn how to drive a golf ball. It's no secret that I love golf - but I've never actually played except for kicking ass at putt-putt when I was working next door to a championship caliber course. We killed many an afternoon playing golf and 'working' before proceeding to the Mexican restaurant across the street for margaritas. My first adventure at the driving range is approaching...

This morning in Spin we did some tasty intervals and the playlist was pretty good so I decided to share it. Here goes:

Piss it All Away - Puddle of Mudd
Mysterious Ways - U2
It's the End of the World As We Know It - R.E.M.
Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
Potion - Morphine
I'll Stick Around - Foo Fighters
Lump - The Presidents of the United States....
Read My Mind - The Killers
12:51 - The Strokes
Bring Me Some Water - Melissa Etheridge
Let My Love Open the Door - Peter Townshend
Slither - Velvet Revolver
Trouble - Coldplay

Other things getting heavy rotation of late - an odd mix as always:
Crossroads - Cream (just finished the Clapton autobiography...wow)
Far Behind - Social Distortion
Cuttooth - Radiohead
Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - Eddie Vedder
I Predict a Riot - Kaiser Chiefs
Little Wing - Hendrix done by Stevie Ray Vaughan
The The - Waiting for Tomorrow
Smoking Gun - Robert Cray
John the Fisherman - Primus
Run to the Hills - Iron Maiden
Think I'm in Love - Beck
Bela Lugosi's Dead - Bauhaus (excellent for threshold intervals)
Temptation - New Order

That's all for now - time to go do some intervals in the scorching heat and humidity...I LOVE it!

Chicago Criterium Recap

Today was the inaugural Chicago Criterium which was held in Grant Park with the start/finish right by Buckingham Fountain. The course was essentially flat, starting on Columbus, heading north to Jackson, turning west to Michigan, south on Michigan, up over Congress Plaza and back to Michigan, east on Van Buren and then north on Columbus to the start/finish. There were three small 'humps' over the train tracks and up to Congress Plaza that were pretty much insignificant and a few small areas of bumpy pavement with some manhole covers but nothing terrible. The wind, however, was ubiquitous as only we would have it in Chicago.

It would have been nice to do this race without having been wrecked/Jones'd a few days ago - I am quite sore and have a lot of significant bruising, swelling and burned skin from Thursday evening's track mishap (see previous post for details). Fortunately I've moved beyond my ear problems and can now hear again. I'd had a good warm up riding over to the course and was feeling pretty decent when things got started. Representing for Kenda were Kristin, Catherine, Jessi, Krystal and myself. Paul was there to support us - thanks Paul! TIBCO (probably one of the very best US women's teams) was present with a full squad which made for a fair number of attacks early on.

Kristin was able to get away in two small breaks and actually snagged two primes before being brought in. After a few laps I bridged to a small break with a TIBCO rider and Julie from Revolution. They rang the bell as we came through the start/finish and we had a decent gap so I figured we'd probably still be away when we hit the start/finish so I decided to go for the prime - and got it! A nice $200, thank you very much. We still had a decent gap after the sprint but we were all pretty gassed and got sucked up on the back side of the course.

Things stayed more or less together until about 35min into the 50min +2 race when Amber Rais (from TIBCO) attacked and no one responded right away. She built a sizable lead over the next few laps until she had about 20-30sec at which time a little action at the front to bring her in started. Like any good team should, TIBCO pretty much neutralized anything that tried to bridge to Amber which made it clear that we were at that point racing for 2nd place.

Kristin, Catherine and I all had good position near the front going into the last turn on the inside when for some reason things got a little tight and we all got pinched. Everyone who took the turn on the outside moved up - sort of screwing us in the process. In the end we scored 18th, 20th and 22nd with Jessi and Krystal a little farther back.

Our team's finishing positions aren't all that impressive but we all did a fair amount of work bringing in small breaks, spending time in breaks off the front and keeping things together. It sort of burns my butt that riders who don't do a lick of work during the entire race end up finishing better just because of some little snafu - but it's all part of the beast that is criterium racing. You might have the best legs out there and do everything you can to have good position when you need it BUT, it can go away in a split second - and all your hard work lands you as an also-ran.

I was amazed by the number of people who came out to cheer and watch the races today - I heard my name yelled every lap! Thanks so much for being there - it means a lot to hear my name when I'm out there on the limit and trying to make something happen. As always, thanks for reading - I have to go ice my ass cheek and recover from the post-race charred Polish and fries....

Crash Crash Boom Boom Part Deux - The 'Drome

An old shot from the 'drome compliments of Chloe

I really wanted to have all of my season wrecks done at NVGP back in June. I figured biting it three times in the same race was more than enough to last the remainder of the season. Then I went to the track on Thursday night. Racing at the track has been sort of an adjunct to this season so far - I'm really not emotionally invested in track racing at all right now but it's good training and can be a lot of fun. I decided to race with the Cat 3 men as the field was bigger than the women's field and the guys are more aggressive, so there's less attack/sit-up/attack/sit-up in men's racing. They just kind of go harder and faster the entire time with more aggressive moves along the way, unlike the women's field which can sometimes be very pedestrian. I usually get my ass handed to me by the guys but was able to get 4th in the second session's scratch race and a whopping $5.

The last event of the evening for the 3's was a points race and everything was going reasonably well. The speed was getting up in the last lap - I don't have a computer on my track bike but we had to be hitting the upper 20's or even 30mph down the back stretch going into turn 3. I was in the sprinter's lane and hanging on when a rider (who shall remain anonymous as I don't want to start any drama) came down the track and shoved his elbow into my shoulder and knocked me down/Jones'd me - freaking hard.

The guy must outweigh me by at least 80lbs and he did not look before coming down - or he would have surely seen me and stayed high as track racing etiquette dictates. On the way down I think my front wheel was clipped by his back wheel and I went over the bars, hit the ground, was hit by my bike as it flew over me and then I continued forward about 10ft until finally sliding down the track and stopping halfway through turn 3. I didn't move right away because I didn't want to get run over by anyone behind us.

I stayed down for a few seconds and then sat up and noticed that my bike was somewhere in the infield. Yeah it hurt like hell but I was really more pissed than hurt so just sitting there wasn't going do do me any good - I picked up my bike and wanted so much to just throw it out of anger and frustration. Fortunately someone was there to take it from me. It was irresponsible of an experienced racer to come down the track without looking and while it might be wrong to think so, I can't say for sure that the move wasn't deliberate. He never came over to apologize.

So I have a ginormous burn and bruise on my right hip and ass - it looks like a third ass cheek. Gross. Yesterday someone intimated that it looked like an alien's attempted exodus. Thanks. My elbow, knee, ribs and ankle are all bruised and burned. My shoulder and neck are very sore and the top tube on my bike is dented. I'm okay, but it could have been so much worse. Thanks to everyone who ran over to make sure that I was alright - it couldn't have looked good.

Don't worry Mom and Dad - I am and will be FINE.

Superweek Evanston Recap

Photo compliments of Luke Seemann, chicagobikeracing.com

Superweek was kind of super-weak for me this year. I've been having an issue with my ear that's kept me dizzy and nauseous much of the time so I only did a couple of the 7 races for P1/2/3 women. During the week I also managed a successful night at the velodrome but I'm still not feeling like myself. The criterium in Evanston is one that I was looking forward to for weeks - the course suits me and the crowds are always fantastic. We had perfect weather and a strong group representing for Team Kenda Tire - Kristin, Anne, Amy, Krystal, Catherine and myself.

There had been numerous crashes in the races held before ours so I decided to pretty much sit near the front as much as I could to minimize the possibility of being caught up in a wreck. From my vantage point things were fast but safe - I only had someone's shift lever shoved into my ass once, so that's pretty good. As for what was going on behind me, I can't say. There were a fair number of attacks throughout the 35 lap race but nothing stuck very long. I tested my legs early when I got off the front for a short time (maybe a lap) with a rider wearing Rock Racing kit and took a cash prime, after which we sat up and were assimilated into the field. Kristin, Catherine, Krystal, Anne and I did a fair amount of work along with the other teams to keep things together which meant it was going to be a field sprint at the end.

As the laps were winding down the sprinters were moving forward so I moved with them and found myself in the unenviable first position coming out of the last turn - which meant I got stuck leading out the final sprint. That's not always a bad thing because I'm pretty good from about 250m but the sprint in Evanston is longer than that, so as I topped out approaching the line I was passed by what turned out to be first through fourth place. I hung on for fifth and I believe I had 3 teammates in the top 15 - not completely sure on that as I haven't seen final results yet.

final sprint (me with head down after leading everyone out...D'OH!!)
photo compliments of Luke Seemann

In retrospect, things would certainly have been different if I'd come out of the last turn sitting maybe 3rd or 4th but it doesn't really matter. We had a strong team showing, I was feeling good and my legs are (somehow) fantastic right now. Can't wait for the Chicago Criterium next weekend....Thanks to all my friends who were there shouting and cheering - I did indeed hear you all and I totally appreciate it. In fact I was teased in the group about it - too funny!

What I've read lately: Night by Elie Wiesel. Wow. Magical Thinking (very funny) by Augusten Burroughs (author of Running with Scissors and Dry). The Sorrows of Empire by Chalmers Johnson - brilliant. What I'm reading now: Clapton, the autobiography.

What I'm listening to: the most recent R.E.M. release titled Accelerate. The entire cd is excellent but the best cuts are Living Well's the Best Revenge and Supernatural Superserious.

A Change to the Blog

It's been about a year now and I have to admit that until just recently, posting on this blog has been a lot of fun. It has enabled me to keep my friends and family informed of what I am up to since I sometimes have difficulty keeping up with everyone given my commitments to personal endeavors and my work (yes, I have a real job). I've written before about how this blog is public domain and therefore open to the scrutiny of anyone who chooses to look at it - both a good and bad thing. The contents of this blog are my personal opinions, accounts, observations and recollections of things from my vantage point. Others are bound to have their own opinions, personal accounts, observations and recollections - that's how it should be and very much how the world works. If we all thought the same about everything what would be the point?

Of late I have had the unfortunate occasion to field a number of unsolicited, bitter and shallow comments from individuals shielded by the anonymity of an internet screen name. I am sorry that those individuals feel the need to snipe and pass judgment - and I hope they can understand that comments of that nature are not welcome here and probably not on anyone else's blog either. As I said above, we are all entitled to our opinions - and very often, depending on individual vantage point, opinions and accounts differ. That does not infer dishonesty or guilt - it's a basic difference of opinion, and we are all entitled to have our own opinion.

While I've not made a permanent decision yet, it is possible that I will be restricting access to the blog - I will have to maintain a list of 'invited' viewers and only those who are invited will be able to read and comment. It's unfortunate that it's come to this, but I feel as though I don't have any recourse at this point. I'm sorry that a few can ruin the fun for many. This is a decision that I have arrived at after a lot of thought and consideration and while my decision is not yet set in stone, I am anticipating that this change will happen soon and adequate notice will be provided to that end.

As always, thank you for reading and sharing in what has been something I've rather enjoyed up to this point.