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.

Last Week at the Track and Some Tunes

Me, before the Chariot photo: M. Ferren

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BRO!!

I totally forgot to post about what happened at the velodrome last week. It was a rainy start and things got rolling late for the keirin state championship. For those of you who don't know what a keirin is: 5 lap race paced by the moto for 4 laps, speeding up every lap until the 5th lap - the moto pulls off and it's all an all out sprint to the finish. The fields were small - surely a result of the foul weather but a few of us showed up and when the track finally dried it turned out to be pretty nice, but for the fact that it was cold and damp after sundown.

Keirin start (I'm in the middle) photo: M. Ferren

All the scheduled races were shortened - we only did a 5 lap scratch race and then a Chariot (a one lap held start - first to cross the line wins) but that was quite okay. I was cold and quickly losing the love. It turned out that I won all three events that evening and am the Keirin champion - probably something I could not have done if a full field had shown up, so it was a worthwhile trip to the track for me!

I haven't posted a playlist for a while so here's what we're doing at noon today:

warm up followed by this, twice (with a 3min break between):

2min VO2 (accelerate last 20sec)
2min EZ
2min VO2 (accelerate last 20sec)
2min EZ
5min LT

Mary Jane's Last Dance - Tom Petty
The Shock of the Lightning - Oasis
Shadowplay - The Killers
Are You Gonna Be My Girl? - JET
God Put a Smile Upon Your Face - Coldplay
Last one to Die - Rancid
Forever Yellow Skies - The Cranberries
Everlong - Foo Fighters
rearviewmirror - PJ
Arizona - Kings of Leon

At this moment I am without something to read!! I finished 'American Lion' - it was outstanding. Not sure what I'll start next...we'll see what strikes me when I visit the used bookstore.

Chicago Criterium Recap

Turn One
Photo courtesy of Gavin Gould

I've been a bad blogger lately - I meant to provide an entire recap of last weekend's RR and TT and just never really had time to sit down and type. Today was the Chicago Criterium - the short story is that I finished 8th. I'm pleased with the result mostly because I was nearly wrecked going into turn 3 and lost a bunch of position trying to get back up to speed. Had I been able to hold the position I had at that time - who knows what could have been....

I'll do a more thorough post later and hopefully will have some good photos to share. Right now it's time to slip into the Skinz and put my feet up...

UPDATE:
Now that I've had a chance to sleep on and mull over the events of yesterday, here's my summary of how things went down:

It was nice to have a later start - since I typically suck in the morning a 1:00pm start time was good for me. Being able to ride to the race is a big bonus - no parking hassles and no gear to drag along, just show up and race. I was a little bummed when I retrieved my numbers and saw that the field was not huge - only about 20 were signed up at that time and on the line there couldn't have been more than 40. A couple of teams had decent representation which was in my favor - having no teammates means that I can be more selective about what I want to cover or stay out of during the race.

Things were fairly aggressive from early on and I managed to be part of a couple small breaks though it was obvious with the wind and long front straight that most everything was going to get hauled in eventually. Things were pretty smooth for the most part - my legs felt good and I was able to be pretty much wherever I wanted to be. I wasn't so keen on the idea of sprinting for primes and chose to stay near the front but not contest any of them in favor of trying for a strong finish.

I had good position with 2 laps to go and was able to hold onto it. Unfortunately the speed wasn't really fast enough (hello!! where was the leadout train for the biggest team there?!?!) so things got a little bunched up going into turn 3 on the last lap. I had to grab a lot of brake to avoid a potential wreck coming over from the left and lost some position because of it. No one went down but things got shuffled so going over the hump into turn 4 I had to grind up the bumpy right side if I was going to have a prayer in the sprint. I learned a lesson last year in turn 4 - don't be on the inside so I stayed outside and had a much more open line to the finish. I didn't have ideal position for the sprint but at least I wasn't stuck in the back.

As the sprint unfolded things began to push over from my left in the form of HUB Racing so as I adjusted by moving right I started to feel Gina's (Juice Plus) arm. We managed to not get tangled up but Gina lost some position. She's a very talented criterium racer and I respect her a great deal - I really couldn't do anything other than hold my line and hope we separated, which we did but unfortunately it cost her a better finish.

PACT/Dishnetwork was well represented in the men's races too - I don't know how everyone did but it was great to see my teammates, especially Jim who's dealing with an elbow injury and can't race right now. Not to be overlooked were numerous friends who came by to watch and cheer - thank you for being there. It turned out to be a really great day.

Next up is a short time trial on Saturday and maybe Elk Grove on Sunday - depends on how I'm feeling. I don't particularly like the course and may just opt to hang out and do the local group ride.

Thanks for reading - if I come across any good photos from today I'll be sure to post them.

Mississippi Bluffs RR/Cordova TT

This is quick and dirty - won the ABR state RR championship and after a hard hour in some wind I finished second in the 40K TT. Details forthcoming....

Superweek - Arlington Heights Criterium

Tuesday was a pretty busy day - I worked a full day then threw all my stuff in the Jeep and headed to Arlington Heights to race. I was tired before I even got there! Based on results from the previous races it appeared that the field size wasn't huge (maybe 30-40 each day, max) and that Colavita-Sutter Home and HUB were pretty much controlling everything. Having no teammates, this is the ideal situation for me - I can key off of those two teams, work when I need to and maneuver as much as I like without being marked as a threat.

The Arlington Heights course is about .7mi long with 8 corners in an hourglass shape. There was a fair amount of bumpy pavement on the back side and the 8th turn had a pretty gnarly manhole cover but a long sprint straightaway made it possible to make up any earlier lost distance.

Racing started a bit late due to some scheduling miscommunication but once we were underway things were pretty much 'go' from the gun. There was a fair amount of attacking but nothing stayed away for very long - maybe 2 laps at the most before getting hauled in. I was happy to work with Colavita and probably did a little too much early on but I was feeling good so it wasn't a problem. HUB, LipSmackers, UltraLink and Altarum were pretty aggressive and the point sprints every fifth lap were pretty animated. I even got in on the action and managed to snag a few points, just to test how things might go down at the end.

With about 4 laps to go HUB started kicking up the speed and stringing things out quite nicely. I was hoping it would stay that way - easier for me to sprint - but it was not to be. With 2 laps to go things were getting bunched up and I was amazed to see a slew of asses in front of me I'd not seen the entire race. Again, just lazy I guess. I had but one option coming into the final sprint when I found myself sitting about 20 spots back (dumb!!) - hammer up the bumpy gutter between turns 7 and 8, pick through the holes and sprint my guts out as soon as I saw daylight.

I ended up 7th - it's abundantly clear that I need to be more aggressive in the later stages of a criterium. Poaching my way into the Colavita or HUB leadout train would have been the smart thing. Positioning is everything and had I been smarter earlier on I surely could have finished better. Hindsight...

Up next is Thursday evening at the track and a weekend of road racing and time trialing out near the Quad Cities then some more Superweek next week. I'll be missing the Evanston GP this year but that's okay - I'm planning to do at least Kenosha and Racine, maybe Whitefish Bay or the Chicago Crit. There are so many options I can pretty much pick and choose at this point what works best with my schedule.

Short Quick Update - More to Come!

Last weekend I had the esteemed pleasure of sharing 50K of time trial bliss with Mr. Brian Akers. That meant I got to sit behind him half the time. Indeed.... Brian was pretty fried from doing his first ride so we kept it steady and finished a respectable 5th in the Men's 30+ field. Mike and Josh had an incredible ride - aside from a couple of pros who showed up to kill the locals, they had the fastest time on the day. Very impressive. Then Mike and Jim did yet another ride and I believe they finished 3rd in the 50+ masters field. Not to be overlooked was a great time by Ted and Brian Harris - well done, gentlemen.

Today (Tuesday) I worked a regular schedule then threw all my stuff in the Jeep and headed to Arlington Heights for a Superweek crit. The short story - I finished 7th, felt strong and had a good ride. As it frequently is in criterium racing, position is everything and I just didn't manage to have great position when it mattered.

More soon....

Wood Dale Criterium Recap

The coolest thing about the local racing scene is that I can race with the Masters boys. They're super strong and fast so I get something out of it and because they're all cool guys, it's lots of fun. Today I headed to Wood Dale for the ABR State Championship with MetLifeGuy for 40min + 3 laps of enormous fun. I was feeling good - better since taking Friday and Saturday easy - so I was ready to do whatever I could to help Mike to a good finish.

I didn't actually count but it appeared that there were at least 40 guys on the start line - with a lot of firepower in the bunch including Wayne Simon, Mike, Tom Doughty, Stuart Grinnell, Fabio Orlandi, Andy Kerr, Gary Doering (who's riding really well this year), John Fleckenstein, and some other local killers. Not to be overlooked are the guys who come out and end up just getting in the way...maneuvering through that CF can be difficult and scary at times. A break got off the front about half way in - I was too cooked to get to it and a few of the strong guys missed it which meant the work was far from over.

Anyway, Gary and Fabio had teammates in the mix so after the break got away it was hard to reel it back in. Mike and Tom tried a bunch of times to animate the chase and get things rolling but every time they did someone sat on the front and let the gap open back up. With a lap to go, all the guys we hadn't seen for the entire race were suddenly in the front, riding like twitchy, wobbly fools. For the record, it's difficult to respect anyone who sucks wheel the whole race and then expects to drive the front on the final lap - that's just lazy. You know the guys I'm talking about - the slackers - the ones who say. "I'm not fat, I'm a sprinter." At first I was going to just let it go but then decided WTF - move up, sprint and see what you can do. I got a little pinched in the last turn but was able to snag (I think) 10th place thanks to a bike throw on the line. I have no idea who actually won - results weren't yet posted when I left.

It was a good outing for me - I felt good and had fun. Next up is a 2 person time trial with Brian Akers out in BFE Illinois somewhere next weekend. SuperWeek also starts this weekend so I'll be picking and choosing races that I like, are easy to get to and agree with my schedule - because I have a real job and will likely be heading to races right after work.

Thanks to all the masters boys who let me come out and play in their game - especially Mike, Andy, Wayne, and Tom. They are always polite and supportive - they respect my ability and treat me like I belong racing with them. After years of not having fun racing, it's become fun again and a lot of it has to do with them and the fact that they're good to me both on the bike and off.

If I come across any photos from today I'll update the post.

US Masters Nationals - Criterium

My post-race binge...Dr. Pepper and a Moon Pie

Wakes - parked on the top of the FJ with my TT bike watching the action at Churchill Downs. He made the Louisville newspaper! For the record, he is by far the very best race-support/mechanic dude a girl could ever ask for! Thanks so much - you made my week SO much easier!

The quick short version - I'll update with photos and a better summary later on - I scored bronze in the criterium at Nationals. It was a short, flat, four corner course located in the infield of Churchill Downs. On a day where I was feeling completely useless I somehow managed to be part of the 3 rider break that at one point held a one minute advantage over the field. My break companions were current Jazz Apple salary-earning professional Dotsie Bausch and Leslie Jennings from DC - based Cycle Life.

UPDATE: To complete the post....

I knew during my warm up that it was not going to be a great day. My legs were still cooked from the time trial so I decided that I'd just be smart, watch strong riders and try to make the break. There were a few attacks during the first 15 laps but things pretty much stayed together until Dotsie unleashed an attack through the start finish that appeared good enough to stick. I went with it and within about 3/4 of a lap we were away - for the rest of the race. It was everything I could do to just take my pulls and sit on. At one point I was even shelled for about 1/2 a lap but I managed to get back on and stick to the end. At sprint time I hesitated ever so slightly and missed my chance - I wasn't very confident and paid for it, though ended up a respectable third. If I'd been feeling better I'm sure I could've finished higher but my goal was to get on the podium, so it was a successful day.

Huge thanks to Brian Akers and Reed Oliff who rode 2.5hr over to watch and cheer - it meant so much to hear your voices while I suffered like a dog and died a thousand deaths out there. Also - thanks to Nicki who came out to spectate and let me clean up at her place for the ride home. Speaking of the ride home....it never quite goes smoothly, does it? We got stuck in some heinous I-65 traffic (so I played animal cracker games...) then I hit the CF of the Dan Ryan/Kennedy/I-55 snafu. Indeed.

I'm happy to be home - it was a good trip. Friday was a super easy ride with MetLifeGuy on the lakefront path and post-ride coffee. My legs were dead but the sun was up and I was home with two medals from Nationals - it's hard to beat that!

US Masters Nationals - Time Trial Pix

Thanks to a two hour start time delay, Brian was able to squeeze in a second breakfast - Krispy Kremes. Reed was kind enough to jump on his bike, roll over to the grocery store and provide Brian with his sugar fix.

Then Reed got in on the donut action.

Tom Doughty and Jim Host before they headed out on their 110+ tandem ride. Tom had just finished snagging a silver in the individual TT. They won the jersey - congrats guys!!

The Steelman tandem ridden to a first place finish by Jim Host and Tom Doughty. It has this killer dark graphite metallic paint job (looks like one of my favorite nail polish colors...).

Not to be overlooked is the 63/50 tooth chainring combo. I can't even calculate the gear inches. I just know it's HUGE and requires enormous amounts of power to go fast, which Tom and Jim definitely have.

Mr. Pink, Wayne Simon, puts his feet up and relaxes while we run on time delay. He got 6th in the road race on Monday and then scored bronze in the TT. Way to go Mr. Pink!! We're entertaining thoughts of doing the 90+ mixed tandem next year....look out Applegates...

US Masters Nationals Time Trial

Heading out of the start house on my ride. photo: M. Wakeley

This post will be updated when I get home - I'm pirating my host's computer and don't have photo upload capability or full access to the applications I need to publish a thorough post. The short story is that I managed to score a silver medal in the time trial at US Masters Nationals in Louisville, KY today. I was second to Laura Igoe, a pro duathlete who is mercifully moving to the 40-44 age category next season. She had a great ride - my congratulations on her win. Things were a little crazy - start times were delayed two hours for course closure problems. That was fine for me - the later I ride, the better I perform.

A quick rundown of other local talent down here for the fun (that I can recall currently):

Wayne Simon 3rd - 50-54 men

Tom Doughty 2nd - 55-59 men

Leigh Thompson 4th - 45-49 women

Mark Swartzendruber - 8th 45-49 men

There are other athletes here but due to my need to warm down, eat, recover and relax I wasn't able to memorize everyone's finishes. Reed Oliff and Brian Akers (with donuts!!) are here representing ALLVOI/WDT and Mike Wakeley (my travel companion) is here riding for Blue Competition Cycles.

I have to send a huge thank you to my training companions - guys, it is the suffering I endure in your company and your patient, supportive encouragement that have helped me do this. You provide me with opportunities to learn and improve both on and off the bike every day - thanks for that, I appreciate it.

I've had a lot of down time and have been able to start 'American Lion' by John Meacham. So far it is fantastic. Thanks for reading - I'll be sure to update things with photos and full time trial and criterium reports when I return home.

Thursday Night at NBV and a Sub Hour 40K TT

My sweet little Gandalf killing the ALLVOI stuffed shark, Upchuck

HAPPY 40th STEVE!!!

Thursday was a fantastic weather day which made for an even better evening at Northbrook Velodrome. I wasn't really feeling the track love after riding for a while but Manfred talked me into contesting the 30 lap Amy Tremelling Memorial points race. So I tossed him my twenty bucks, muttered an insult, put on my skinsuit and sat on the trainer while I watched my teammates race in the Pro 1/2 points race.

Dan took a crazy flyer from the line, lapped the field (getting 20 points in the process) and then was unceremoniously dropped a little later (losing the points...). Up til then Mike and Ted stayed with the group then with maybe 15 laps to go Mike went off the front with VQ's Dave Sachs, accumulating enough points along the way to take 5th - it was a very fun race to watch. Nice job Mike! It was after that particular race that we named the shark Upchuck. It just sounded good. Later on Ted took second in the masters scratch race - while Mike and Dan sat back and controlled the pace in the field. It was another great showing for PACT/Dishnetwork at the track.

The women's field for the 30 lap points race was pretty small - I think maybe 10? They rang the prime bell on the second lap and I took off with Francine in tow. We shared the work for the next 28 laps and actually lapped the field, picking up points all the way. With two to go they rang the bell again for a big prime so I accelerated on the back stretch, lost Francine and soloed to first place (no one else in the picture). It was a very satisfying win.

Today I rolled with MetLifeGuy at stupid-early-o'clock to scenic Paw Paw for a 40K time trial - my final race before heading to Louisville for nationals. I felt good warming up and was able to score a sub-hour time (59:44) for the distance. I felt decent the entire ride - there was a fair amount of cross wind and a bit of headwind in some areas on the very rolling course. I was pleased with my effort and it was the fastest women's time on the day. Mike scored the second fastest men's time on his first effort - he's a strong boy. Mike, thank you for your company and congrats on an excellent ride today. Also - a shout out to the WDT/ALLVOI guys. See you in Louisville!

I finished 'Pygmy' (so very sick and twisted - it was great!!) and have started 'Are You Kidding me?' by Rocco Mediate and John Feinstein. It's a very easy, entertaining read. Next up is 'American Lion' by John Meacham about the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Should be a dense, compelling read. I'm looking forward to starting it.

Suburbia and Beyond

Lots of this on my ride yesterday - The Old Plank Trail

After a long day at the track on Saturday I decided to get the heck out of the city and headed to the South burbs to visit family for Father's Day. Not only did I get to see my dad, I visited with both of my brothers - also dads. The added bonus of it was that I also managed to get in a near 70mi ride on the day, traveling from my parents' place in Thornton out to my brother's in Manahttan(tucky) - it's very rural out there!

Most of the journey was completed on the Old Plank Trail, which I believe is a former railroad through-way that's been converted into a paved multi-purpose trail. This trail is NOTHING like the lakefront path. There were times on my ride that I didn't see another person for 10-15min at a time. Just a steady, straight, shady, smooth ride. Nice as it is, it was also a little boring - I much prefer to ride with (specific) company, so I took along my ipod for eardrum massage purposes.

It turned out to be a very nice day - warm sun, not a lot of wind and no rain, though it was intensely humid. That necessitated a few stops for fluid which enabled me to see some interesting things. It strikes me that no one in suburbia trains their dog to walk on a leash. I can't tell you how many poor owners I witnessed being dragged along having their arm yanked out by a hyper, choking dog. Oh, and the tandem and recumbent bikes - they're everywhere. The one thing that took the cake - a tandem recumbent. Yes, really. I'd love to see them maneuver through Friday evening lakefront path traffic on that sled. Indeed....

After my visit I was kicked in the head upon re-entry to urban life as I crept along on the moving parking lot known as the Dan Ryan/Kennedy combination. I hate driving and I hate traffic even more. Someday things will change but I'm not ready to leave this rat race of urban life just yet - so I'll keep my complaining to a minimum and make my own happiness until that day arrives.

Allvoi Cup #1

Dan, Cory (work it!), and Jim before the 4K team pursuit.

I've been having bike hate/the big suck for the past week so I took some easy days. I felt good Saturday morning so I headed to Northbrook Velodrome for a day of suffering also known as the Allvoi Cup. It's the first year for this event that includes a scratch race, some short TT's as well as individual and team pursuit stuff. I haven't done any type of pursuit specific training but I figured it was a better option than driving really far for a crit. I was torn about doing the America's Dairyland series - supposedly good racing - but the time, money and energy it would require this close to nationals made it an unappealing option.

PACT dudes (and one stand-in) on the Team Pursuit start

The women's turnout was especially small but the nature of pursuiting and the 500m TT is such that you suffer anyway - it's just up to you how much. I'd completed my pursuit bike set up the evening before with some electrical tape and a Hello Kitty band-aid. Seriously. When I went to the start for my 2K pursuit, Jim was kind enough to carry my bike over - his comment about the absence of pads on my aero-bar armrests: 'you're not really going to ride it like that, are you?' I just smiled and proceeded to ride my guts out to a respectable time, all things considered.

In the 500m TT I learned that I'm riding a gear that's MUCH too big which lent itself to a very sluggish start - but I managed the win, albeit much closer than it should have been. Later we did a scratch race to finish the day (for me anyway) and after a well-timed attack I stayed away for the last 3 laps or so for the win.

The dudes, keeping it tight out of turn 4.

Jim informed me that the appropriate way to refer to them (the boys) at the track is 'dudes.' So there you have it. Jim, Dan and Cory all did a great job representing for PACT - all had impressive individual strong finishes and the 3rd fastest team pursuit on the day. Hanging out in the team tent with them all day really was a blast - and I learned a lot too. The next Allvoi Cup event is July 18th. Hopefully by that time I will have gotten my pursuit bike together and my 500 TT gear dialed in.

Up next is a 40K TT out in Paw Paw, IL where the wind is oppressive and ubiquitous. 40K is a bit long for my taste at this point so my plan is to ride the first half as I would at nationals, then scale it back a bit on the second 20K. It's the final tune up before nationals and then I head out to Louisville a couple days later for the TT and criterium.

I've started 'Pygmy' and it's great - albeit difficult to read as it is written in deliberately broken English. Also - I have to send 'feel better soon' wishes out to Corie who's anticipating surgery for a bad ankle fracture sustained while mountain biking in Alaska last week. Yikes! Hang in there, dirty girl....

The Big Suck

I think 'The Big Suck' is a meteorological term used to describe persistent, lousy weather patterns. I think it's a good description for my time trial performance of late. Because I have no desire to talk about my first loser finish from yesterday, I'm going to let you know what we did in Spin class this morning and afternoon:

Warm up: Gradual build of intensity followed by a few hard opening kickers
Work: 3X8.5min hill efforts done at threshold. Included in each hill effort: 2X40 pedal stroke accelerations and 2X40 pedal stroke efforts out of the saddle.
2.5min rest and repeat followed by easy spin to cool down

Soundtrack:
What it' s Like - Everlast
One World - The Police
I Will Possess Your Heart (long one) - Death Cab for Cutie
Heroin Girl - Everclear
Nobody Told Me - Puddle of Mudd
Fake It - Seether
Brass Monkey - The Beastie Boys
There There - Radiohead
Vertigo - U2
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - Eddie Vedder

I need some rest and a few more hard days to prepare for Masters Nationals. The good thing is that the TT course is shorter than last year and suits me perfectly. It's 24K and my 20K TT performances have been outstanding this season so far. The other good thing is that the person who won the jersey ahead of me in 2008 has moved to the 40-44 age group. I may also stick around and do the criterium - my crit racing has also been good (especially my sprint: +900w) so I think I can do well if I race smart (and ride stupid).

Up next: maybe some track racing in Kenosha tomorrow (weather dependent) and then some easy days in prep for the Allvoi Cup at the track on Saturday. Still reading "The Great Mortality" but I'm almost done. Next up is 'Pygmy' by the very sick Chuck Palahniuk. I can't wait to start it.

I have to send a big shout out to one of my favorite Spinheads Dan who had a great performance at the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon last weekend. Also - nice job to Tim Glinski at the Liberty Tri and Beth at the Elkhart Lake Tri (3rd in her age group!!). Nice job everybody!

Thanks for checking in....

Bike Poker

It's difficult to win a sprint when someone gets a 1/2 bike length on you from behind within 200m of the line. At least I made it close. Photo: B. Cassidy

Not a whole lot to say about round 2 in Winfield. Damp pavement, small field, early break thanks to a prime (which I snagged) and then me and two others playing bike poker on the last lap. I'd been more than happy for nearly the entire race to tow my two break companions from just before turn 3 all the way to turn 1 from where the two of them split the small remainder of the work. Then on the last lap I was shamelessly isolated in the front, nearly track standing to make it happen. It's hard to win a sprint that way, especially over a darn bumpy surface where a smooth line to the finish was hard to find. So my back wheel skipped me along to a very close first loser finish. Boo. But that's racing and it just comes with the territory. As stated very plainly by Linda Mastrandrea, Paralympic gold medalist (multiple times), "silver sucks." Indeed.

PACT/Dishnetwork had a decent showing on the day with Mike taking 5th in the 50+ race after being off the front solo for a long time. Mariusz, Jim, Dan and Andy also came out for the fun and results can be found here. Well done, gentlemen.

I also need to send a shout out to Leah from the Chainlink who just arrived home after doing the California AIDS ride - she killed the hills and had an awesome ride. Way to go!

Winfield Twilight Crit - A 'W'

Photo: Luke Seemann

UPDATE: Wow!! Check this out! And these! Thanks Luke!!

I can't possibly express how much I dislike traffic and we got a sizable dose of it today on the way out to Winfield. What should have taken 45-60min tops took more like 90min - creeping along on the interstate as our warm-up time disappeared. I was co-pilot for MetLifeGuy who was kind enough to chauffeur me and my bike to the race venue (thanks Mike!). When we arrived it was hurry up and register, get dressed and somehow manage to wake up your legs before start time. In the end it turned out okay - we had about 30min to get in a couple hard efforts before lining up.

The Winfield course is maybe a mile long with a gradual rise on the backside and a descent with a few turns before the start/finish - nice smooth pavement and lots of neighborhood peeps hanging out partying. The 50+ men and Open Women's categories were run at the same time, separated by maybe 20sec at the start. I was doing my first crit with the women this season and was actually a little nervous - Kristen, Christy and Jessi are all strong riders so I knew it was not going to be easy. The field was pretty small - like maybe 10 - and things became separated on an early prime up the backside rise. I sort of sat on the first prime - to see who was feeling spunky - and then when the second one was called I decided to take a chance and got it.

The break group of 4 did a nice job of working together, taking pulls up the hill and keeping things smooth - thanks for that, ladies! Jessi executed a couple of nice attacks and I pushed on the hill a little bit a few times (nothing serious) just to see what would happen. It was clear that things would stay together so I had to turn my attention to the sprint. My legs weren't feeling very good until about 5min to go but I was able to get good position on the last lap and sort of waited for the right time to take off, just before the final turn on the downhill section. I accelerated hard, got a gap, held good speed through the turn and then just kept hitting it all the way to the line. Kristin is a very talented sprinter - I kept looking under my arm, just waiting for her wheel to come by but in the end I was able to cross the line first.

Mike takes the 50+ win Photo: Luke Seemann

It turned out to be a great team showing for PACT/Dishnetwork - Mike broke away solo about three laps in and took the 50+ masters race. It was almost funny - at one point I heard the pace car behind us beep the horn and I said, 'that's Mike.' Sure enough, he came through alone and held it to the end - nice job!!

If I happen to see any pictures from today, I'll be sure to post them or post a link. Thanks for reading!

Play. List.

I haven't posted a Spin soundtrack for a while so here's what we're doing today:

Warm up - gradual intensity build with some openers in the third song.

Loop - Three times: 2X1min AP on short rest followed by 4min threshold/VO2 (I'm not a Spin Nazi - I give options...) then a short break and repeat.

Rocket - Smashing Pumpkins
Hollow Man - The The
Black Math - The White Stripes
The New Pollution - Beck
Love Burns - BRMC
I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend - The Ramones
You Know My Name - Chris Cornell
She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult
Brown Eyed Girl - Reel Big Fish
Saving Grace - Tom Petty
Far Behind - Social Distortion
Walking on the Moon - The Police

Bong and a Half: Not Every Day is a Good Day

We rolled to Kansasville, WI at the butt-crack-of-dawn for the 30K Bong and a half - sure to be enormous fun as always. The Bong course is one of my favorites - a few turns, small rollers, a small rise on one side, downhill a bit opposite the rise and usually some wind. Today was fantastic weather-wise: temps in the 60s and sunny skies at go time. I had a solid warm up, not great but good enough. While I was feeling okay I can't say I was terribly confident - I've always had problems with early morning performance and today was no different. I was somewhat dehydrated, didn't plan my pre-race nutrition well and I paid for it.

After about the halfway point it was clear that I was not on a good day. I definitely went out too hard and never felt like I got into a groove. I found myself searching for the right gear, the right cadence, the right mindset - nothing felt smooth and it was a fight the entire time. In fact, at one point I felt like just getting off my bike and lying down on the side of the road. I suffered a lot - mentally and physically - and was very frustrated with my effort today. Retrospective review of my file shows that my average power was off by about 12 watts. There you have it.

So I ended up as first loser to a much better rider today, for the fastest time on the day anyway. Fortunately my time was good enough to win the women's open category - just not the overall. While it burns my ass to lose it also lights a fire under it to get my act together and be more disciplined, especially when it comes to recovery. Really, I ride a bit too much and too hard without enough rest - it caught up with me today and I just plain sucked. So it goes. A few of the PACT/Dishnetwork guys also posted fast times today though I don't know how they placed - turnout was big and a lot of strong riders showed up. We left before all the times were posted. I also have to throw a shout to Mike Wakeley and Tim Glinski - nice work! Update - thanks to Mike, here are some team results (way to go, boys!!):

Bob Burke 4th in 55+, 10th in Cat3
Jim Host 4th in 50+
Mike Jones 2nd in 50+, 4th in P1/2
Andy Tschampa 7th in 40+

Next up, I think I might do a criterium next weekend. There are a couple more TT's to do before nationals so the plan is to have solid performances in Harvard and Paw Paw, be smart and rest so I can be ready to go on July 1.

I just started reading 'The Great Mortality' by John Kelly. It's an intimate history of the black death and while it's morbid and gross, it's also fascinating.

Arriba!!

ABD Masters #3 - Old? My A$$!!

Through turn 1 Photo: R. Delgado

Why do I like to race with the Masters men?

* Lots of them are really good. Like state, national and world champion good. It always helps to race with faster company - it makes you better, and I want to be better.

* There's no drama (well, not really). They all realize that while dedication and commitment are a huge part of doing well, they don't lose sight of the fact this this is supposed to be fun.

* They are all fiercely competitive yet respectful of each other both on and off the bike.

* They're smart, talented, experienced racers - I always take something positive away from racing with them.

* They all call themselves 'old' but I like to think of them as 'of fine vintage' because many of them are stronger than guys who are much younger. How does the saying go? '50 is the new 30?' Indeed.

Me and Andy Kerr - Turn 1 Photo: R. Delgado

So we lined up for 50min +3 laps of fun in Wood Dale today. The course was a combination of Saturday and Sunday's courses - 1.6mi long and essentially flat with a small rise on the back side and another just after the start/finish. There was a fair amount of wind to contend with but temps were comfortable and the pavement was dry. I had a good warm up and was representing for PACT with Jim Host and Mike Jones.

Mike, off the front again Photo: K. Kerr

We'd done a fair amount of standing/rolling around before start time so I was compelled to light things up a little from the gun - just to get my legs open again. Not too long after that the attacking and counter attacking started with Mike eventually getting away by himself - early. Jim moved to the front and controlled the tempo well, pulling things in and sitting on surges. I tried my best to help him while Mike built a sizable lead. There was a lot of firepower in the field but I know a lot of those guys were tired from two days of racing (all of them doing multiple races each day) so while things got pretty hot from time to time, it was pretty manageable. I even scored a prime (thanks, guys - they just let me go).

My favorite quote of the day? Tom Doughty, making an observation as Fabio Orlandi attacks and opens a sizable gap, 'That's not good...'

Before it was over a few guys had taken late flyers off the front (including Jim) and stayed somewhere in the abyss between Mike and the field, all finishing ahead of the field sprint. I managed to finish a respectable 10th, same as Saturday. When you're racing with the likes of Tom Doughty, Wayne Simon, Stuart Grinnell, Jim Host, Fabio Orlandi, Andy Kerr and Bob Downs (oh, and Mike) I think that's a decent finish. I'm pleased with my effort and also with my file from the race - my best 1min and 5min power to date. Ever. No way I could have done that in a women's field.

Me and Jim - in the middle during a slow period Photo: K. Kerr

I want to thank all of the Masters men who welcome my presence on the start line - they encourage me when it's obvious that I am suffering, they respect me on and off the bike and can appreciate that I have talent enough to race with them. Thank you for helping to make racing fun and positive for me. I also need to give a shout out to Mike who a year ago sustained very serious injuries in a racing wreck - you work harder on the bike than anyone I know. You earn and deserve all good things that come to you.

Up next, the Bong and a Half 30K TT. This whole crit thing was a nice change from the steady grind of time trialing but I'm ready to get back on the Cervelo - Masters Nats is about a month away and I have a big goal sitting out there to accomplish.

ABD Masters #1: Oh, Are We Sprinting Now?

For the first time in way too many years I am home on Memorial Day weekend - and I'm loving it! I decided to race close to home this year and am happy to have made that choice. Too many years of Quad Cities high drama has burned my brain. I headed to Wood Dale for the first of 3 weekend races specifically for masters racers (30 years old or older). I did the men's 50+ race this morning and ended up finishing with the field (10th) but it was a good race - and fun!

I'd say there were at least 20 guys on the start line (update: 35) and lots of them are very strong, smart racers - some current and former national and state champions, so it was definitely going to be hard (fine with me!). Things stayed together the first 20min or so with the occasional move getting sucked back in and then following a prime a break of 5 exceptional boys got a gap and held it - Tom Doughty, Wayne Simon, Fabio Orlandi, Andy Kerr and Stuart Grinnell. Old. Man. Strength. Indeed....

Unfortunately I was on the wrong side of the road and boxed in when the separation happened or I suspect I might have been able to make it up to them - though surely dead on arrival, hanging on by the skin of my teeth and quite likely shelled at some point later on. When it was clear that they were away for good I decided that the field sprint was my next order of business so I just sort of stayed near the front, pulled from time to time and waited. The break came through us with somewhere between 5 and 10min to go and all the guys in the field started to co-mingle and screw things up. I wish they'd just let the break go through us - it would have made things much more simple.

I was mistakenly under the impression that the break and the field would finish on separate laps, since the break was up a lap. Guess not. I had no idea we were all finishing together and therefore didn't sprint at the end or I surely could have finished better. It didn't matter - they were only paying out 3 places but I always like a solid sprint finish for a crit, so I was sort of bummed to not have that chance. C'est la vie I guess. I don't know who ultimately won but I have to give a huge shout of congrats and 'well done!' to the break - Tom, Andy, Stu, Wayne and Fabio - impressive work, freakin' animals....

I may or may not race tomorrow and if I do, it will likely be the women's event as I'm planning to do the 50+ men's race on Monday so I'd like to have decent legs for that. MetLifeGuy will be back so I'll have a teammate to support. Either way I'll be happy because at last I get to sleep in my own bed on Memorial Day weekend. If I happen to find any photos from today, I'll post them later.

Barstow 20K TT Double - Perfect

Barstow is situated near the Illinois/Iowa border and provides the perfect locale for a flat, fast 20K course. I abstained from racing Monsters the day before because I wanted very badly to break the course record in Barstow on fresh legs. The weather conditions were essentially perfect - winds were 6mph, no clouds and tons of sun with temps getting into the low 60s after a chilly morning. I knew I could break the record if I had a good ride - the course is completely flat, out and back with a few curves. The race director was kind enough to mark the 1K and 5K points on the way out and back - that helped my head a ton.

Fortunately I was assigned a start time a minute behind MetLifeGuy - having him behind me is a major mindf*ck because it's not a matter of IF he will pass me, just a matter of WHEN. Starting a minute behind him is a good place for me - I could see him on the way back after the turnaround. For some reason, that helps my focus.

I ended up doing two 20Ks and both were good enough to break the course record - the first on by 1:08 and the second by roughly half a minute. It was a good day for PACT/Dishnetwork - Mike also won his category and put up one of the fastest times on the day, well done! Not to be overlooked was a fine performance by Mike 'Wakes' Wakeley who WON THE CAT 4!! Nice job Mike!! Looks to me like you are getting the hang of this time trial thing.

Up next - a Memorial Day Weekend at home for the first time in at least 10 years. What ever will I do???

Monsters of the Midway

Ansgar in the 3s race Photo: J. Gray

No, I didn't race it this year - lots of good reasons for abstaining - but I did head down to U of C after my pre-TT ride to watch friends and gladly be the start/finish 'gear bitch' for my teammates. I've done MoM in the past and won it many times so it was fun to just spectate for a change. The course is one big flat, boring rectangle with a killer dose of fierce wind on the backstretch. The corners can be deceptively tight - especially at speed in a large group so as simple as it seems, there is a fair amount of strategy that needs to go into pulling off a good finish - the sprint is LONG. I arrived just in time to see the 40+ masters race. Dan, Ansgar and Andy were representing for PACT/Dishnetwork and all finished safely in the bunch sprint.

Mike (right) looking for a breakaway companion Photo: K. Kerr

I watched the 50+ masters race from just past the start/finish area. They had a good size field - I want to say there was somewhere between 20 and 30 on the line. Things broke up pretty quickly...Mike hit it pretty hard once and got an immediate response but then tried a second time not long after and was lucky enough to get Andy Kerr as a breakaway companion.

The break in the 50+ Masters race Photo: K. Kerr

The two built a 30sec gap over the next 25min or so and ended up holding it all the way to the end. Andy took the sprint and Mike took all the primes along the way - it was indeed an impressive performance by two very strong guys. Well done, gentlemen. The best part was watching a big chase group with some strong riders attempt to organize and chase multiple times and still not find a way to catch them. So cool.

NBV Opening Night

I have to admit that I have not been feeling the track love for a long time - getting wrecked by the cat 3 men's field last season was the final nail in the coffin of my 2008 mass start track season. I did go on to do some individual pursuit stuff last season but I was so traumatized by a crash at +30mph that it was hard to get my head around the idea of doing it again. So I did it anyway.

Last night was the first evening of racing at Northbrook Velodrome so with an ample amount of anxiety, a nervous head and tired legs leftover from a Tuesday track workout, I went with an open mind hoping to just have some fun. The women's field was small - 4 of us and after the first 10 lap scratch race (which I won) I spent the rest of the night bouncing around with the men in the Cat 3, 40+ masters and P1/2 races. Obviously I wasn't close to a respectable finish but I did have fun and got some good top end work out of it all. In doing a lot of TTs I've lost a lot of my sprint and speed but this is just what I need to get my legs fast again - I'm glad that I went.

PACT/Dishnetwork was well represented - Jim, Ted, Dan, Mike and Andy put on an impressive display with aggressive racing and some top placings. Nice job guys - we had a good team night.

Up next, maybe a crit tomorrow and two 20K time trials on Sunday. I've just started 'The Match' by Mark Frost - it's a golf book and pretty fascinating so far.

In the event I get my hands on any photos from the track, I'll be sure to post them.

2 Person 40K TT Double - Enormous Fun

Happy Mother's Day, Mom

Signing up for two 2-person 40K time trials (the TTTT) is something I might not do again for a while - probably until I forget how it all felt. We drove through rain all the way to Garden Prairie but were pleasantly surprised by dry conditions at race time, though there was a huge dose of nasty wind to contend with. My first TT was with National TT Champ Leigh Thompson - I was looking forward to doing the ride with her, she's super strong and tall which translates to a nice draft to recover in between pulls.

Photo: ABD

As far as 40K TT courses go, the Garden Prairie one is fun - some turns, interstate overpasses, smooth pavement - not boring. There was a killer tailwind on the way out and we held +30mph for a long time before having to grind into the cross/headwind on the way back. It was really tough and we both fought to keep our bikes moving straight much of the way back but we managed the best women's time on the day at 58:13. We worked together seamlessly and exchanges became intuitive very early on - Leigh is a great partner and I'll happily do another team TT with her again any time.

After that fine experience I rolled back to the car, basically fell off my bike, wiped the snot and drool off my face, and sat there a few minutes while Leigh pinned on another number and I whined about doing another 40K. I didn't want to disappoint my partner, Brian Akers, so we rolled back over to the start line (shivering) and did it again. He'd already done one TT (and won the cat 3 men's race - rock star!) and was content to let me essentially suck his wheel the entire distance. I felt really bad for having done that but I was just cooked from the first ride - and we still managed to finish respectably. Thank you Brian - you are also a fantastic TT partner who I will happily ride with again any time (maybe for the first/only ride...). I was trashed after that - everything hurt and I felt completely empty. It was very nice to be finished.

My teammates Mike and Jim also did the double - winning the 50+ and taking 2nd in the P1/2 even with a minor mechanical, very tired legs and smokin' fast times. Those guys are strong! I believe there was another PACT/Dish Network team that took 2nd in the 55+ category - well done, gentlemen - another good team weekend.

Up next, track starts this week, maybe a criterium on Saturday and 2 20K TT's on Sunday - I'm looking forward to it! I'm still reading 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' but am almost finished. Not sure what's up next - I have a few things in the queue but haven't decided yet.

Thanks for reading...

Kenosha Criterium Recap

The winning break in the 40+ masters race

I was able to sleep in Sunday morning before heading up to Kenosha for some criterium racing with the guys - we didn't start until 12:15. I spent some time in the back yard sipping tea and enjoying the morning sun before heading out mid-morning - that was nice.

I lined up with the 50+ masters field for a 45min race on a pretty innocuous flat course - three turns, one of which was a nice downwind sweeper that I could take really fast. Things started off well enough. After a couple small attacks Mike took off and got a gap at about 10min in. He stayed out there for 30min as I worked the front, keeping bridge and catch attempts under control as much as possible. We ended up catching him with 4 laps to go, so I put in a weak attack and was promptly hauled back in. Mike tried again and was also brought back. With two laps remaining I decided to jump and actually try to stay away - no one responded!! I got a huge gap and was able to carry it all the way to the line. It was a very cool win!

I watched the 40+ race - Dan, Ansgar and Mike were representing for PACT/Dishnetwork. Within a few laps Mike managed to get off the front with two other guys and built a gap that held at 40sec for the rest of the race. Dan, Ansgar and one other rider formed a chase group but weren't able to catch the break. In the end, Mike was second, Dan fourth and I believe Ansgar took fifth. I snapped a couple pictures with my lame ass camera phone but was only able to get one good shot - that of the break at the top of this post.

That's all for now - thanks for reading. Up this weekend is a 2 person team TT on Saturday. I'm doing two rides - one with National TT Champ Leigh Thompson and the other with Brian Akers, an incredibly strong time trialist and really nice guy. I'm looking forward to it!

JFMTT Recap

Wakes downing a post-race brownie. He finished 10th in the 40+ men's category.
Nice job Mike!!

"The Frasier" was rescheduled to this past Saturday due to poor weather conditions on the original date and it ended up that the weather was pretty agreeable with temps in the 60s and lots of sun (finally!!). We had to roll at stupid-early-o'clock to get out to Maple Park and I was just not feeling the love. I'd signed up to do two TT's and while warming up for the first one I knew that it was gong to be a difficult day - my legs were MIA and my head was directly connected to them which tends to indicate a sub-par performance was on tap for the day.

Mike and Ted getting ready beforehand - they both had excellent rides

I surprised myself with a decent time on my first ride which somehow ended up to be the fastest women's time on the day, though not by much. We had a pretty killer cross/head wind on the way back on the 8mi course which seemed to get worse as the day wore on. I pretty much just rolled the second one and was happy to finally get off my bike. The most interesting part of the second ride was having to come to a skidding halt right out of the first turn when a big truck somehow managed to be on the course. Nice! My PACT/Dishnetwork teammates put in strong performances in the 40+, 50+, P1/2 and 50+ women's categories as well so it was a good day for the team.

Short Weekend Update

I don't have time for a full post right now but I'll quickly say that it was a great team weekend for PACT/Dishnetwork at Saturday's TT and Sunday's criteriums in Vernon Hills and Kenosha. A full report is forthcoming, with pictures this time!

Shout Out to The Chainlink

I wanted to take a quick second and do a shout-out to a great site called The Chainlink. You may have seen it under Stuff to Surf on the right side, and if you haven't checked it out yet, you should. It was started by a girl in my spinning classes named Leah, and it's a pretty great thing for the Chicago cycling community. It's an online community dedicated to Chicago cycling - a one-stop place for all the rides and routes in the area, and it lets cyclists connect with each other. Let's face it, if you're not plugged into the scene, it's kind of hard to meet other cyclists who ride like you do. This helps connect cyclists in the city and gets them out on their bike! Check it out, sign up and leave me a comment - here's my page: http://www.thechainlink.org/profile/Velogoddess

'Double' Single Bong Short Recap and Other Stuff

Don't ask.

UPDATED 4/30

As has been the pattern of late, Sunday morning in Wisconsin greeted us with pissing rain, blustery wind and temps around 40 for the Single Bong 20K time trial. In a moment of weakness I 'd signed up to race in two categories: Women Open and Women 30+. Last weekend's Cherry Valley TT was made much more tolerable with a dry area to warm up - no such thing at the Bong - so with lots of embrocation on my legs and an 'okay' warm up I somehow managed to put up the best women's time on the day. I'm not talking about the second one...it was BAD!! I haven't seen full final results posted anywhere yet so I can't really provide a full team recap though several of the guys also showed up for the fun and as far as I know, all did reasonably well. Mike won his age group with a really good time though I don't know how his P1/2 ride ended up - the dude's a monster. UPDATE: Final results are posted here. As you can see, PACT/DishNetwork had a great team day. Well done, guys!

While racing was fun, I also went to see the Circus Cats of Chicago on Saturday afternoon. I swear - it was the best, most entertaining $12 I've spent in a long time! These kitties make my two cats look like real schleps! I managed to snap a few photos and will post them later, after I do a Blackberry-to-laptop sync. They've got a few more shows scheduled at Bucktown's Gorilla Tango Theater - 60min of quality entertainment not to be missed!

I just finished 'Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation' by Joseph J. Ellis - it was an excellent read about the relationships, politics, ideologies, and personalities of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and Alexander Hamilton, among others. I just started 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' by Stieg Larsson.

OH!! And how about the Blackhawks?! Kick ass!! The Bulls too, of course but I'm much more of a hockey fan than any kind of basketball fan (though I do like college basketball).

Coming up - another double TT day on Saturday and maybe a criterium on Sunday. Also - I'll be teaming up with US Masters National champ Leigh Thompson for a two-person 40K TT coming up in a couple weeks. I'm very excited about the chance to throw down with Leigh - she's a fantastic time trialist and a very cool person.

I have to send congratulations out to my client Tim Glinski who road tripped to Florida for the St. Anthony's Triathlon. This is only Tim's second season in the sport and he finished a very respectable 14th in his age group which qualifies him to compete at Nationals this year. Awesome job, Tim!!

Cherry Valley 30K TT Recap

Even though he's changed teams, moved up an age group and come back from a killer wreck, he's still MetLifeGuy. And still damn fast. photo: B. Cassidy

By this time in 2008 I'd already raced several times but everything I'd planned to do in early April was canceled so the Cherry Valley 30K was my first event for the 2009 season. The weather did not disappoint - it rained pretty much the entire day and the wind was definitely a factor in the misery and dampness. A huge thank you has to go out to the ABR organizing crew and Team RVO for making the event happen - they marshaled the corners, managed registration, and made sure the course was safe for everyone.

The morning started pretty early after a night of insomnia. MetLifeGuy retrieved me at dark-o'clock - he had an early start time for the first of his two tt's. I was warming up when he came back to the car after finishing the first one and got a pretty good idea of what was in store for me - serious shivering and frozen coldness. Fortunately we snagged some sheltered area for warm up - it made for a much better pre-race routine. The course in Cherry Valley is out-and-back and pretty much flat with a couple turns, some chip-and-seal pavement and a set of railroad tracks to cross twice. It's especially nice when the pavement is dry...

I had a good warm-up but wasn't feeling any of my usual pre-race nervousness and anxiety. My attitude was more like, "just get it over with" when I headed out at 11:01. I didn't really ease into any sort of rhythm until i was 2/3 of the way finished and was generally uncomfortable most of the time, probably because it was difficult to see through my fogged eyewear and I felt like I was fighting to keep my bike going straight through the wind. About the bike - it was my first race on the Cervelo and I LOVE IT!! I still might need to do a bit of dialing in on my position but the ride is sweeeeeet!

We headed out before seeing all the results because I was frozen (my lips were blue!) and didn't feel like hanging around. Based on what we saw posted, Mike won his age group and had a high finish in the P1/2. Some other PACT/Dishnetwork teammates were also there and did well - I'll update this post when the final results are posted. At the moment I don't know what my result was - I only know that based on what my power meter file shows my time was faster than what was the fastest women's time on the day when we left. It is entirely possible that the official timing is different - we'll see...

It was good to see and catch up with Mike Wakeley - he's riding my old Blue TT bike and has pimped it out quite nicely with Red and a set of Zipps. He's a strong cyclocross racer, an ace mechanic and a really great guy - not to mention an aspiring time trialist. Mike, I hope to see you often on the TT circuit this season - be sure to bring your biceps!

Up next, the Single Bong 20K in Wisco on Sunday. I'm planning to do two races which makes it a 'double single bong.' Or something. As of right now the weather will be dry and warm - a very welcome change. I'll take some pictures next time - I totally forgot to bust out the camera in Cherry Valley. Here's a link to some YouTube video from the day.

UPDATE: Final results have been posted and can be found here. PACT/Dish Network had a great showing on an unpleasant day. Nicely done, gentlemen.

The Replacement, Tunes and Hostility

After busting my Zipp 404 a couple weekends ago, Lou rebuilt my wireless Power Tap hub into an Edge 68mm carbon clincher wheel. Because the weather continues to *suck* I haven't had a chance to ride it yet - hopefully this week, after the snow and residual slop have vanished. You know it's bad when the White Sox postpone the season's home opener due to the possibility of snow. I love baseball but it just doesn't feel anything at all like baseball season yet - that means I should be able to snag some cheap tickets before things warm up too much!

Tuesday's playlist (very random!!):
What It's Like - Everlast
My Sacrifice - Creed
Rich Woman - Robert Plant and Allison Krause
Lithium - Nirvana
Good Times, Bad Times - Led Zeppelin
Plush - Stone Temple Pilots
The Hardest Button to Button - The White Stripes
Communication Breakdown - Led Zeppelin
Famous - Puddle of Mudd
I Don't Know - Ozzy Osbourne
That's the Way - Led Zeppelin

In class lately we've been talking about the fact that there's tons of angry, hostile, pissed-off people in the world right now. Seems to me that it tends to carry over especially into people's driving - I've been a party to numerous displays of aggressive, selfish impatience while talking on the phone of late and it just seems to keep getting worse. For a lot of the people who attend class those 60min are sometimes the best part of their day - so we've been using that environment to sort of 'release' and let go of all the anger and hostility in a positive and productive way. It seems to be working - when I have someone say to me, 'I work for AIG and this class is the one thing that has been getting me through the day lately' it speaks volumes about how powerful and positive the whole 'submit' philosophy can be. We can't make angry, anxious people nicer or more patient but we can indeed change how we react to them and their negativity - if only for 60min a few times a week.

OK, now I'm done being philosophical.

This past weekend was lame - the time trial I was scheduled to do on Sunday was cancelled due to poor weather conditions. It ended up not being terribly hateful and we actually managed to get in a decent ride (though we did encounter a little sleet along the way). Seriously, the race should not have been rescheduled - the weather sucked but I've raced and trained in worse. There was also a road race on Saturday that I tend to not do for a lot of reasons, the least of which is the fact that it's a 4hr drive each way for two hours of racing on bad pavement in killer winds. Heck, I can do that without driving anywhere! I'm not too bummed about missing out - there is plenty of good racing to be done in better weather soon enough.

What I'm reading, 'The Soloist' by Steve Lopez - an interesting firsthand account of an LA Times columnist's relationship with a Juilliard-trained homeless paranoid schizophrenic bassist/cellist/violinist. It's a true story and a compelling read so far.

Whoa

I just snagged this pic off VeloNews - it's the German team sprint team from track worlds.

One word: whoa.