60K of TT Bliss in Garden Prairie

Yesterday was an interesting day. After my solo ride I did something on a bike that I'd never done before - a tandem TT...indeed. My solo ride was fine - I felt okay and actually won with a very average time basically because no one was there. The real story here is the second ride.

I've been racing bikes for (gulp) 17 years and had never been on a tandem, much less raced on one. Earlier in the week we'd managed to squeeze in about 15min on the track so my pre-race experience was essentially nil. My pilot and the owner of said tandem, my teammate MetLifeGuy, hadn't ridden the bike for like 12 years so we weren't feeling so super when we saw the course had a turnaround on it. I was envisioning us slowing, myself jumping off 'cross style, grabbing the rear end and running a 180 with it then jumping back into the saddle for the return trip. I was most worred that I'd do/not do something that'd cause us to end up on the pavement or in a ditch.

The 30K Garden Prairie course is out-and back with a few turns, an overpass or two and good pavement. Conditions were decent - lots of cross/head wind on the way back but otherwise dry and sunny. We got to the start with about 10 seconds to spare before go-time so I really didn't have a chance to be nervous. It was basically roll up and go. We got clipped in and going pretty easily and started passing people. I was concerned about the turns - when do I coast? When do I pedal? When and how much do I lean? Oh, and my favorite - I can't see shit back here!! The self response: just shut up and pedal.

Ends up the cone for the turnaround was placed at an intersection so we had extra space to maneuver the bike. It was a nervous moment for me but Mike handled it perfectly and we were headed back without any problem. It hit me shortly after that I was pretty dehydrated and hadn't brought a bottle - so I was a bit in the pain box. I was a little whiny but mostly okay. We kept passing people and no one passed us - very cool. As it is with any good TT, snot, sweat and drool were everywhere. At one point I actually wiped my nose on Mike's ass. Because I could.

We ended up with a time that was good enough for 2nd to a pair of guys on a full aero tandem with a disc (and they only did one ride!!). Mind you, the tandem we rode was rockin' 40 spoke wheels, an 8 speed drivetrain and some killer 28mm messenger tires (with tread). Nevermind the poorly functioning rear brake... It's a very sweet bike - and bonus, my favorite color. I think we rode well together and I actually had a lot of fun, even though it mostly hurt. I have to thank my pilot for doing a great job of driving, keeping me calm and communicating - he kept me informed of gear changes, course features and checked to make sure that I was okay. Thank you, Mike. I will stoke your tandem again anyday!!

Up next (holy crap!) a weekend of NO RACING. Well, I think so anyway. I haven't looked at the calendar lately. Next Monday (the 31st) is the state 500m and pursuit championship at the track so I plan on doing that stuff. I also see a trip to the driving range in my future.

I finished 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley the other day. A timeless classic. Undecided on what's next. Maybe another classic. We'll see. As always, thanks for reading.

Crit Natz @ Downers Grove

I love Downers Grove - it's not my favorite race but it definitely ranks in my top 5. The course is technically difficult - 8 turns and not much of it is actually 'flat' per se. Most of the time you're going slightly up or down except maybe between the last two corners. It can make for a long and painful day if you get stuck in the back and find yourself riding the tail of the dragon to a DNF. Before the race my feeling was that if I could get top 20 it was a good day. If I could finish in the top 10 it would take a bit of luck but it was definitely do-able.

I had a solid warm up and my legs were feeling good which helped my confidence a great deal. A very cool thing happened while I was waiting in turn 8 watching the Cat 2 men's race finish - my teammate Adam WON it!! Nice job, Adam - you are riding like a mad bastard this season! Standing in the corner I was also able to do some catching up with old teammates and friends I'd not seen for a while - that helped keep the anxiety at bay a bit.

We were called to the line and after some introductions we were underway. My plan was to stay in the front third for the first half of the race then gradually move up as the laps wound down. I was able to do that but did get caught up in a small wreck in turn 2 about 10 laps in. Some dweeb who was riding with her hands on the hoods and touching people who were too close to her hit some of the squishy tar and took maybe 6 of us out. We were close to the wheel pit and rejoined the field on the next lap.

Things were sort of twitchy and tight early on but it got better as riders eased in and got more comfortable in the turns and the field shrunk due to attrition. I was told there were between 70 and 80 starters - I believe it. After the halfway prime I tried to pick up a few positions every lap and found myself in a decent place with two to go. TIBCO and Colavita were keeping things hot off and at the front so I just tucked in and held on. In the end I crossed the line in 13th position - a finish that I am pleased with. There was a lot of high-caliber talent there so I think 13th is pretty respectable.

I may have been able to finish a place or two higher if I'd been more aggressive and taken more risks in the end but on the whole, it was a good performance. Not 15min after we finished and the category 1 men got underway the rain started coming down incredibly hard. I spectated a bit, talked with some friends and was witness to the decimation that was the cat 1 race. Lots of guys going down, getting gapped - I felt bad for them. It had to be near impossible to see let alone go fast and keep track of what was happening in the race.

If I happen to come across any photos from Sunday, I'll be sure to post them. Coming up - a few time trials, some track stuff and a tandem adventure (!!!). Maybe the state road race championship, if I'm feeling the love. 'Cross season starts in about 6 weeks and the bike's getting overhauled right now. Thanks for reading!

IL State Points Race Championship and Other Stuff

Me, Francine and Christina in Turn 4 Photo: M.Ferren

We had an amazing night for racing at Northbrook Velodrome - weather was perfect, decent size fields and the points race state championship on the line. I knew it was going to be a special night when I pulled up and saw Wayne Simon (Mr. Pink) in the parking lot. In the three years that I've been racing at the track, I've never seen Pink out there and had no idea that he raced on the track at all.

We started with a 12 lap tempo for the women - a race that I and most everyone else - cannot stand. It just hurts - a sprint on every lap for points, 2 for first and 1 for second. Whomever has the most points at the end is the winner. I'd resigned myself to sitting in and just rolling around in anticipation of the upcoming 35 lap points race but when things got slow with 6 to go I went to the front on a sprint and basically dragged everyone around for the remainder of the race. In the end I'd accrued enough points to actually win. Very cool.

In the points race I played it safe - my MO of late has been to go off the front solo and suffer a lot. Not last night - I worked a little and was able to snag all the first place points every 5th lap and won the state title. It was a very gratifying win - track is not a true focus for me this season and I'm just trying to make sure it's fun.

The P1/2 men did their 75 lap points race after us. Representing for PACT/Dishnetwork were Dan, Mike, Ted and Adam. I don't actually know how things ended up - the team rode strong and managed to get in a few different breaks. I was busy just watching them work together to advance or maintain position and protect each other in break situations. They're all smart, experienced racers and did a great job last night. Not to be overlooked was Val Brostrom's effort with the men - she rode strong and looked great the entire race. Way to go, Val!

My 'Magic' socks - too bad the Cubs have been playing like ass of late

Things finished with a 9 lap scratch race for the women. We were all pretty tired after the points race so we basically pacelined for 8 laps and then I managed to jump early and hold on to take the W. I really wasn't feeling super last night so I was happy to escape with a solid performance - not quite sure how I managed to pull it off. Must've been the socks....thank you :)

40K of Hate in Wisconsin - and Goodbye

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Whew - I was happy to escape this morning's 40K Double Bong TT with a sub-hour time. It wasn't under by much - and it was very unpleasant! Winds were pretty heinous and temps were in the 90s with killer humidity. I suffered and was blown around a lot. 40K is a difficult distance for me and my goal was to just break the hour, so I accomplished what I'd set out to do. I had the presence of mind to take a bottle of Gatorade along and ended up drinking all of it - because I needed to. It felt as though I was melting (cooking?) out there in the intensity of the day - the wind was equally hot and oppressive. I was very happy to get off my bike.

MetLifeGuy was insane enough to actually do TWO rides. Yeah. 80K of enormous fun. The Double Double Bong. And he ended up winning both the P1/2 and 50+ men's categories. The guy's a monster. So impressive - nice work Mike! Krystian was also in Wisconsin representing for PACT and had a strong 3rd place finish in (I believe) the 30+ category.

I can confidently say that the doing the TT was the right choice for me today - I had the option to do the Glencoe Grand Prix (a race I LOVE) but settled on the time trial instead. I'm preparing to defend my state time trial championship so it was the wise move. My criterium racing has been pretty good and my short term power numbers are solid - just in time for criterium nationals in Downers Grove next week.

Congratulations are in order for my coaching client Greg who earned silver in his category in the Wisconsin state TT championships on Saturday. It was held on the same course - just add some rain to the mix. Well done, Greg!

The goodbye....I'm letting go of my Klein mountain bike. It's a beautiful bike and sweet ride that I just do not use. To Gary in Pennsylvania - enjoy it, ride it hard and take care of it!

Roger DeLanghe at NBV

My teammate Adam hoists the big trophy atop the podium

After three consecutive weeks of rain delayed starts at the track, we had perfect weather for the Roger DeLanghe Trophy race last night. The DeLanghe is a 50 lap scratch race that also serves as the state championship and qualifier for Elite Track Nationals. Women are traditionally allowed to compete but this year (for various nefarious reasons) we were kept out which meant I just spectated and walked around snapping photos while Adam, Tim, Mike, Ted, and Dan represented for PACT/Dishnetwork.

Adam (134) and Ted (88) on the start line

It was actually a very interesting race to watch - Mike and Adam were away in a break for a long time. They were caught and then Adam worked his way into what proved to be the winning break of 3 with Randy Warren and Brian Haas, both very worthy break companions. In the end Adam was able to cross the line first for a huge victory. Congratulations Adam!

The field of 40 P1/2 and a few Cat 3 riders waits for the start

On the women's side of things, I did the first two races then felt that I'd done quite enough for the evening. We started with a 10 lap tempo and then a 15 lap scratch. I won both, picking up some primes along the way. I spent a fair amount of time either sprinting or off the front and was completely cooked - on a day where I wasn't really feeling the track love, I was happy with how things went. A huge thanks goes to Val Brostrom for donating cash primes for the women's race - I fully support and respect your efforts to promote equality for women and women's racing at Northbrook Velodrome.

We had a great team night at the track - Dan and Tim went 1-2 in the Masters race, Tim won a 3s race and Mike and Ted worked their butts off covering moves and protecting their teammates in the DeLanghe and the Masters race - Mike even snagged a prime. Nice job, guys! I love to just sit and watch you all - a bunch of smart, strong racers whose efforts always impress.

Up this weekend - a 40K TT for sure on Sunday and maybe a criterium on Saturday. We'll see... right now I'm more interested in watching some HD golf as the rain falls outside.

Tour of Elk Grove

That's right - I didn't do it. Why? The short answer: the pointless crash-fest U-turn, among other things. Hopefully that will change next year as I'd really like to do back-to-back days of quality racing within 30 minutes of home. Instead, I did a short, intense workout at the track with a couple teammates and then spent a few hours at the beach - it was a darn near perfect day to read and enjoy the sun.

Madison Night at the Track

Man Butt. Mike and Dan before the Madison.

For the third consecutive week weather delayed the start of racing at the track and made for a long night. The schedule was shortened and women ended up doing a tempo, scratch and unknown distance. I won the first two then sat in the bleachers to watch the P1/2 men. The featured event of the evening was the P1/2 elite qualifier in the Madison.

The Madison is an event in track cycling, named after the Madison Square Garden in New York, and known as the "American race" in French (course à l'américaine).The race format is a variation of the points race. Teams of two (seldom three) compete, but only one rider needs to be racing at any stage. Periodically, the teams change riders by "tagging" their teammates, usually performing slingshot action with linked hands to transfer as much of their momentum as possible to the racing rider, though a team-mate may also be propelled into the race by a push of the rider's racing shorts. The non-racing team-mate then moves to the top of the circular banked track to recover before his next stint.Team pairs are ranked according to laps gained or lost on their opposition and by points obtained by performing well in sprints which occur periodically during the race and are signalled by a bell on the preceding lap. Thanks to Wikipedia for the definition...

My teammates, Dan and Mike in the chalet before the Madison. LOVE the magenta jerseys, boys. They make a great Madison team - Dan is a strong sprinter and Mike works to keep position on non-sprint laps.

Dan, warming up.

Watching the race was incredibly cool. The speed on the sprint laps was amazing - NBV is a 'slow' track but those guys are FAST. 12 teams of 2 were on the track and thankfully there were no wrecks. I was so impressed - Dan and Mike finished 5th in the company of some very strong competition. Nice job guys!! I'd sat there shivering for nearly a half hour when I decided to take off the skinsuit and just spectate for the remainder of the evening.

Mike leading out of turn 4 in the Masters race.

Track racing has been mostly fun this season - which is my primary objective for all things racing for 2009. I opted to not do the Tour of Elk Grove for a few reasons this past weekend - most importantly, I don't particularly like the course which would have made for some bike hate if I'd guilted myself into doing it. Instead I did a time trial Saturday (which I won), a hard training session on the track Sunday morning and then spent some time at the beach on a fantastic day. It was definitely the right choice for me.

Next up is a criterium in Grayslake on Saturday and a TT on Sunday. I was torn about doing Glencoe Grand Prix next Sunday but the state TT is coming up and I have a title to defend. The following weekend is Downers Grove - I'm hoping for a good finish there. Crit racing is often a crap shoot and positioning is everything in Downers Grove so hopefully I can race smart, get a little lucky and place well.

I started reading 'The Girl Who Played With Fire' by Steig Larsson, a sequel to 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' which I really liked. So far, so good.