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RVBR 'cross team kit finally arrived - killer design! I love it!

First of all - congrats to my RVBR teammates who raced at Carpentersville yesterday. Way to go, guys! Thanks to all of my teammates who came out last night to kill some time at Village Tap - it was good to meet you and I'm looking forward to seeing you all at the races. Most of all, thanks to Alex and Lesley from RVB for supporting the team - you guys rock!

Didn't race this past weekend - the Jeep was sick with a dead battery and my racing partner in crime was hurting so I opted for the 'double Judson.' Saturday was a day for full fenders and Sunday turned out to be really nice, though the temp at go time was in the low 30s. It was an especially important weekend in the sense that it marked the last time we'll get to ride with Ted as he's moving to Florida at the end of the week. I will miss him, his sense of humor and the pain he so happily dished out on the ride. I've already claimed a week or so of time to live in his screen porch when the weather gets really sucky here.

I've spent the last few weeks trying to be mellow, riding for fun and remembering what it's like to not be consumed by power numbers and mileage. It's been liberating but at the same time boring in a way. 'Cross is a good substitute to some degree but I'm feeling like I'll be ready to get back to work in a few weeks. After all, the holidays will pass and January will be here before I know it. Until then I'll bomb around at the occasional 'cross race (bandit and sanctioned) and the weekend group ride.

I've been reading 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess. Interesting indeed - I'm learning a whole new language and getting a fine introduction to 'ultra-violence.' Not sure when I'll get a chance to post again so I'll send wishes of good luck to Wakes now - he's heading to Louisville for the USGP next weekend. Go get 'em Mike!!

Bar B 'Cross at Dan Ryan Woods

I'm entering this 'cross season with no expectation but to have fun. I've heard this part of the year likened to golf's 'silly season' which is exactly what I am trying to make of this. I did a relatively serious 'cross season 2 years ago that sort of burned me out on the whole dirt/mud/cold thing - lots of travel and expense for not a whole lot of fun. Last year I did maybe three races and this year, who knows? I'm planning to do some more of the Chicago 'Cross Cup but probably not anything beyond that and as soon as the snow flies, my bike changes from race rig to dedicated commuter.

Today's race at Dan Ryan Woods on the South Side was VERY cool - great course and even though it was disgustingly cold to start, things warmed up to a balmy 40 degrees at go time. I rolled to the venue early with MetLifeGuy in order to get in some pre-race recon laps. Good thing - there was a fair amount of twisty stuff, a gnarly run up, a very cool off-camber downhill stretch and some barriers on a course where laps ended up taking about 8min. I wasn't quite sure how I was feeling - hating the freezing coldness for sure but also relatively mellow. My warm up was pretty useless and I toed the line essentially cold for the start after watching Mike take 2nd in the 50+ masters race (nice job Mike!!).

First, the details for those of you who think this is important: Gearing-wise my bike had a 40t single front ring and 12/27 cassette. I was running about 30psi front and rear in 32mm Challenge Griffo tubulars. This was ideal for me, weighing in at about 118 currently, maybe 123 fully dressed in 'cross gear. The tires hooked up and carved everything perfectly through all the loose stuff, the small amount of sticky mud and the off-camber. The grass was wet early on but things dried out nicely as the course was ridden on and the sun (yes, the sun!!) came out.

We got off the line in a hurry and I was able to manage 2nd wheel behind Sam Schneider (Team Type 1) by the time we hit the run up. Things got sort of backed up and the two of us emerged with a small gap that we kept adding to for the first 3 laps. At the top of the run-up on lap 4 I wasn't able to clip in - my toe spikes were caked with mud and grass. Sam knew it so she hit it hard and got a small gap into the off-camber while I struggled to clear my cleats and clip in. That was when I had a decision to make - chase or just let it go? By that point 3rd place was nowhere in sight and I was pretty content to roll the last lap and a half at a mellow pace so that's exactly what I did. Sam never got too far away but I wasn't feeling like a rock star at that point so first loser was just fine with me. For not really giving a rip how things ended up, I'm pleased with 2nd. Sam is a very talented young rider and it was great to have her down from Wisconsin for the race today.

Thanks to the Beverly Bike Vee-Pak guys for putting on a great event and laying out a solid course. I have to send a shout out to my old teammates at Verdigris on all their fine finishes today and also to the Pony Shop team - well done, everyone! Next up is Carpentersville. I've done this race lots of times and am very familiar with the various course layouts that have been employed in the past. Hopefully the temps will be a little warmer.

What I'm reading: 'Survivor' by Chuck Palahniuk. So far it's good. I made a trip to the used book store with Steve yesterday and acquired numerous little treasures. The queue is full of classics and some newer stuff that I'm excited to get through over the next few weeks.

One last shout out to Mike Wakeley who travelled to Cincinnati for a 3 race weekend - nice job racing with the heavy hitters! I miss having you around here on the local scene but I know how much you love investigating muddy stuff in other places...keep it up!

Too Much Coffee

I knocked off the coffee for a while and was feeling pretty good then the warm weather went away and here I am again - powerless, addicted and working on the soundtrack for today's lunch hour class. The very cool people who attend noon class have high standards which keeps me on my toes - new music, challenging workouts, different cueing, etc. They make me work hard. Then the morning class gets the same special treatment. Here's what I came up with for today - It's basically a warm up followed by three separate 'pyramid' intervals that are three tracks each, intensity increasing with each song. Rest is short and we repeat.

Can't You Hear Me Knocking - The Rolling Stones
Fall Back Down - Rancid
On the Dark Side - John Cafferty (yes, really)
Brianstorm - Arctic Monkeys
Get it Hot - AC/DC
Wrong Way - Sublime
Genepool Convulsions - The Hives
Superman - Goldfinger
Brain Stew - Green Day
Mediate - INXS
Someday I Suppose - Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Everything Sucks - Reel Big Fish
The Fixer - Pearl Jam (new, and I like it)
I Want You - Kings of Leon

Not much else to report - first legit 'cross race this weekend on the South Side. I'm trying to be un-serious about the entire thing so hopefully I can have some fun and get a good workout without hating. Looks like a wet ass for this afternoon's ride. So be it - in a month I'll be wishing we had weather this 'good.' The white socks and shoes have been retired for the season and replaced by icky black. Hopefully we'll have a mild winter - last winter kicked my ass and my brain!

What We're Doing in Spin Today

Today's gloomy weather has motivated me to make a new playlist for noontime class. We'll be doing a 3/4min tempo/threshold zig-zag workout. Here's the soundtrack:

Blow Up the Outside World - Soundgarden
I Got Mine - The Black Keys
Cochise - Audioslave
The Fixer - Pearl Jam
Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll - BRMC
Strange Times - The Black Keys
I Woke Up This Mornin' - The Mooney Suzuki
Leash - Pearl Jam
She Builds Quick Machines - Velvet Revolver
Runnin' Wild - Airborne
Devour - Shinedown
Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix

It's not likely that I'll post again til after the weekend so I want to send good luck wishes to Mike Wakeley who's heading to Cincinnati for a weekend of 'cross racing. Go Mike!! Have a great time and race your ass off!

Now that 'cross is where my focus (sort of) lies, the plan was to do some riding at Jackson Park. Depending on the degree of weather hate I experience, that may turn into a (gasp!!) strength workout at the gym. That's right - you heard it here first. I might actually pretend that I'm 'lifting weights.' And my co-workers will probably (justifiably) make fun of me for it.

Fall Fling #3 and #4

So we've arrived at the finish the 2009 road season - a low-stress weekend TT and circuit race to complete the second half of the ABD Fall Fling series. I was sitting tied for first overall in the series after a criterium win and 'second' in the road race (refer to previous post about Fall Fling #1 and 2). I knew I was going to have to win out in order to take the women's overall and at the same time, help my teammate Mike in the 50+ masters circuit race - no small task with the heavy hitters in the men's field.

Saturday's time trial was held in Maple Park and used the same 8mi out-and-back course as last season. I was feeling good after warming up but with Leigh Thompson and Jessi Prinner both racing I knew I would have to have a solid ride to regain the series lead. Jim was kind enough to schlep along his tent for warm-up (thanks Jim!) as the forecast included a threat of rain but fortunately things stayed dry though a bit cool. I had a really strong ride, ended up taking first place points on the day and moved into first overall for the series. The guys also did well with Mike finishing the day tied for first in the overall and Jim taking 5th. Of note was Tom's killer performance - the guy had the third fastest time on the day overall. Interesting here is the fact that he races 55+. Old-man-strength. Indeed.

I have to send a special shout out to Andy Kerr who rode over to say hello - it was so great to see you, Andy!! We've missed you!

Sunday's circuit race was held on a 1.8mi loop in West Chicago. My job for the day was to cover/be in any break that contained the guys Mike was in contention with for the overall and make sure he had good position for the sprint. After Tom and one other rider (who shall remain nameless for a good reason) got away early, Mike tried to further break things up with numerous hard attacks. I was dying but able to cover everything and unfortunately the two 'marked' guys (Fabio and Fleck) were there with every hit. After about 8 attempts it was clear that nothing would stick so the focus had to change and I had to start planning how I'd get Mike in optimal position for the sprint. Everything was going according to plan in the end - Mike was on my wheel out of the wind and the two primary 'targets' were pretty much pinned to the curb on the inside. It seemed perfect and then someone moved...Fabio and Fleck broke hard up the inside (too) early and Mike had to go - NOW. If that hadn't happened, who knows how it would've finished but I tend to think the outcome would have been different.

It was frustrating to have done everything I could possibly do to help Mike to a better finish but because bike racing is far from being 'a perfect world' things didn't quite turn out the way we would have liked. Congrats to Tom for taking the W and to Fabio and Jon for their fine finishes. I was able to cross the line ahead of the other women and so secured first overall. It was a great way to close out the 2009 road season. Special thanks to ABD and ABR - the racing was hard and fun, the courses were good and the entire 4 race series was well-organized and ran smoothly.

Cyclocross season is here! I've missed the first couple of Chicago Cross Cup races but that's okay - I'm just doing it for fun. I haven't checked the schedule so I have no idea what's up next but I'm pretty sure I'll be there.

Spintunes and 2016 Thoughts

The room was full this morning! Lots of good, positive energy as we did the following:

Warm up followed by a 7min threshold effort, 20min of hard tempo with spikes to threshold every 4-5min then an 8min threshold effort to finish. When properly executed, the end is killer.

Not Enough Time - INXS
Poundcake - Van Halen
Black Math - The White Stripes
Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
No Quarter - Led Zeppelin
The Impression that I Get - Might Mighty Bosstones
Isn't She Lovely? - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Are You Gonna Be My Girl? - Jet
My Kind of Girl - The Forty-Fives
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter.... - PJ
Twilight Zone - Golden Earring
The Wind Cries Mary - Jimi Hendrix

Now, a little message from me to all the negative, nay-saying, anti-Olympic creepos: rather than gloating like a bunch of overfed pigs, go find something else to bitch about. Seems like that's what you are best at and surely you won't have to look very hard. Happy people? Carry on - be positive and get the most out of life. There are plenty of negative people who will gladly shoulder what you leave behind. You choose to be an optimist or pessimist. That's right - negative or positive, you have a choice.

I will now step down off the soapbox....