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.

Superweek #1: Richton Park

Being from Chicago's south suburbs made racing the Richton Park Criterium especially fun. I haven't visited the area for a while but I completed graduate school not far from the race venue so everything around there was familiar and comfortable. The area has changed a lot since I was last there but as a new race location for Superweek it gets my thumbs up - a good, fast course through a residential area with smooth pavement and shady places for warm-up.

I was totally stoked to be racing with Anne, Kristin and Amy who respectively traveled in from Canada, Wisconsin and Boston to represent for Kenda. Other teams present in numbers included Team Revolution, HUB Racing, Verducci-Breakaway and HPC/List - all of them very strong criterium teams. In fact, Teresa Cliff-Ryan from Verducci was our national criterium champ a few years back and (I believe) has been part of the US team for some track events - she's pretty amazing. I think there were maybe 50ish women on the start line - I didn't actually count but it seemed to be that many and pretty much all of them were very strong riders which would surely make for a fast, hard race.

We were scheduled to do 55K and things rolled off the line pretty hot from the gun. There was a fair amount of activity at the front and an early crash in the second turn but it appeared that everyone was pretty much put back in a lap or so later without much harm done. We decided as a team to just observe what the strong teams would be doing and sort of feel things out before being very active. Amy and I stayed closer to the front third for most of the race and sort of got on the train whenever things got animated. Kristin put in a couple of strong attacks along the way and Anne did a good job of moving around through traffic and staying safe. The larger teams mixed things up a lot and attacked quite a bit so we just covered moves and helped other teams bring breaks back in or control the speed at the front. I wasn't feeling particularly 'snappy' after a 40K TT on Sunday so contesting the points sprints was not really something I was up for.

55K on a 4-corner course starts to wear on you after a while and I found myself with empty bottles at about 15 laps to go. I knew I'd start to cramp eventually as the temp was in the 80s with some humidity. As the laps started to wind down I decided to just try my luck in the field sprint from whatever position I could achieve without totally cramping. As it was my hamstrings and quads were locking up every time I had to accelerate - and I'm thinking I was probably not the only one experiencing that. In the end Amy crossed the line 13th, me 16th, Kristin 19th and Anne 34th. It was definitely a good race - difficult, sometimes twitchy but that's just part of criterium racing.

I sat out Tuesday's Bensenville Crit #1 in favor of work and was sorry to hear that Jim Scott was hurt in a crash just past the finish line. Jim (otb4evr), I hope you feel better soon.

Yet Another Time Trial

Hey bikerdude, see below....I have a response for your ignorant comment about my previous post. I rejected it, because it was obnoxious and um, well, inaccurate. And as for your second comment in response to your first comment, I have much better things to spend my time on. I think maybe you should start using your energy toward positive, productive pursuits - bitterness never got anyone anywhere so try to be happy, okay?

So I headed across the fine state of Illinois to the border with Iowa to do a 40K time trial in Cordova (population 650). A great way to warm up for Superweek, eh? Not a whole lot of interesting descriptive narrative on this one - there's not much going on over there. Warm-up was going decent until about 10min in, when my power meter died and I was left to warm-up and race by perceived exertion and my watch.

The course was pretty straightforward - out and back with one turn, a few curves and a lot of wind on the way back. The way out was good - I was looking at a great time at the turnaround but suffered like a dog on the way back in. Not my best day by a long stretch - and a finishing time that I was not at all happy with. It was good enough to be the best time by a female on the day but not nearly indicative of what I am capable of. I'm not terribly upset by it - the even really wasn't well attended (even though D.I.C.E did a great job of organizing - thanks Donnie!) and there are plenty more time trials to do in the next couple of months. It was great to see some of my favorite guys out there racing hard - nice job gentlemen!

Up next, Superweek starting tomorrow. I guess that's good, since everyone seems to think that all I can do are criteriums. A bunch of my teammates are coming in for the week so I'm looking forward to some good hard racing and the opportunity to sprint a little bit. While I certainly like it, this time trial thing isn't nearly as exciting as a gnarly fast crit!

The Local Criterium

NOTE TO BIKERDUDE/JERK-O WHO MADE A FALSE COMMENT-SEE MY RESPONSE BELOW. WANNA TALK ABOUT IT? BRING IT ON. YOU AIN'T GONNA WIN.

I liked the previous post so much that I contemplated making it my final post and shutting down the blog. Then I remembered that I needed a forum to blast the Chicago PD and to occasionally blow off some steam, so the blog lives. Today's target of my scorn is the no-name creep-o masters racer with hairy legs who outweighs me by 100lb and insists on pinching me into the corners of a crit - so the story begins....

Yesterday was a perfect day for racing - high in the low to mid 80s, no clouds in the sky and a bit of wind to make things interesting. I rolled with MetLifeGuy and Ansgar to Wooddale for the ABR Illinois State criterium championship - held in an office park. The course was short (maybe 1K?) and smooth with a slight downhill curve on one side and slight uphill between the last two turns. I did the 40+ masters race because those "old" boys are all pretty darn fast - and most of them are decent bike handlers which typically makes for fast and mostly safe racing.

I was representing for MetLife/Pony Shop and had no expectation for myself other than to be aggressive, race hard and try to get one of my teammates into a break. On the line along with me were Tom, Dave, Mike, Ansgar and Dan - all of them strong enough and capable of winning. Things got off to a decent start with a few short-lived attacks and counter-attacks though nothing early stuck. I even got in on the action a couple of times, just for kicks and to hear Kenny Labbe call my name as we crossed the start/finish.

There were a few close calls with twitchy dorks doing stupid things (like the Team Mack dweeb I mentioned above) but fortunately we all stayed upright. At about the halfway point a small break got away that included Dave so I saw it as my job from that point on to sort of just cover things that went off the front and wait for the last lap to come. When we heard the one-to-go bell I moved to the front (THE FRONT OF THE FIELD BIKERDUDE/JERK-O, NOT THE BREAK - PITY. FUNNY HOW NO ONE ELSE THERE DISPUTES MY RECOLLECTION BECAUSE THAT'S HOW IT HAPPENED - YOU MUST'VE BEEN IN/OFF THE BACK. SO GET A LIFE) and drove the pace for about 1/2 a lap then pulled off to let the field sprint go - I had no desire to get mixed up with a bunch of guys much bigger than me doing stupid things. Sure enough, someone bit it hard coming out of the last turn so I just sort of avoided the pile-up and rolled to the line for a field finish.

Bottom line - it was a most excellent day of racing for a few reasons: June and Hank came out of racing hibernation to throw down - it was so great to see them again. I was feeling really good and got a solid crit in my legs before Superweek starts next week. Post-crash MetLifeGuy returned to criterium racing with a respectable effort. MetLife/Pony Shop put (I think) 3 guys in the top 10 - I'd say that's a pretty good day.