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....

Fall Fling #1 and #2

Judging by the fine headwind and coldness I endured on this morning's commute, fall has definitely arrived. That said, we had a nice weekend for some road racing and it turned out to be mostly good. The organizer has been kind enough to combine the womens and 50+ masters fields (sorting out results separately) which makes for much better racing - especially when the number of women racing is small.

Saturday's criterium went down pretty well - I ended up finishing 4th in the sprint, first woman. Sunday's road race was less satisfying. As usual, I began to see a bunch of guys I'd not seen all day as the final miles wound down and the sprint was looming. Yep - the very same guys who sit on, chase nothing and think they should just be given carte blanche to the front at the end. In the final sprint I was clearly ahead of the 2nd place woman but was bumped by one of the men which caused me to sit up. The 2nd place woman crossed the line just ahead of me and my protest for interference was basically ignored.

I'm not happy because I was not beaten - I got screwed. If I get beaten fairly, fine - I'll take it and move on. Being unfairy impeded and then having a protest ignored is not cool. What is it they say? Revenge is a dish best served cold? I'm looking forward to next weekend...

MetLifeGuy had a great ride yesterday - he rode away in the beginning of the 4th of 7 laps and stayed away to take a well-deserved win. Nice work, Mike. Other fine performances included a win by Brian Harris (PYOC) yesterday and a strong showing at the USGP in Wisconsin by Mike Wakeley - way to go, guys!

Up next is the Maple Park TT on Saturday and a circuit race Sunday. Hopefully we'll get some slightly warmer temps on the weekend - it'd suck to close the road season with soggy or cold weather.

Not 'Crossin' Yet

I still have a few weekends of road stuff to do before busting out the 'cross bike. Yes, I've practiced a couple times but I'm stubbornly holding onto the last bits of the road season before shifting focus to 'cross. Last weekend's Verdigris 40K TT and Kenosha Crit were decent - I posted my fastest 40K time ever (as did most everyone else) and managed to win the field sprint for 3rd overall in the masters 50+ men's race at Kenosha. I've been extremely tired and just 'off' lately - not very punchy, sore, tight legs - typical end of season stuff.

Coming up the next two weekends is the ABD Fall Fling. I'm particularly excited to do the road race in Crete. I grew up not far from there and spent lots of time in the early years of my racing career training on the roads in that area. It'll be good to go 'home,' I miss the open, rolling pavement of the far South 'burbs.

I just finished reading 'Deliverance' by James Dickey which I truly enjoyed. Up next is 'The Rum Diary' by Hunter S. Thompson. Not sure what's coming after that - maybe some John Irving or another classic. We'll see what's on the shelves next time I visit the used bookstore.

Best of luck to all the crazy people heading to Wisco this weekend for the Planet Bike 'cross races, especially Wakes. He loves to get dirty and play in the mud - enjoy it, Mike! Can't wait to hear the post-race recap...

More Tunes

This morning's playlist for class was decidedly old school - some solid classic rock for a hard tempo session that included trips to threshold along the way and finished at or above threshold for the final 10min. Killer - it all seemed easy until the last two songs...

In the Mood - Robert Plant
In Hiding - Pearl Jam
Nice Guys Finish Last - Green Day
Baba O'Reilly - The Who
Dreams - Van Halen
Legs - ZZ Top
Have Love Will Travel - The Black Keys
Rock and Roll - Led Zeppelin
Hail Hail - Pearl Jam
Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue
Althea - Grateful Dead (yes, really - for cool down)

I took out the 'cross bike yesterday for some easy miles and technique work. I'm surprised how much the skillz have stuck around - dismounting/remounting was pretty easy but I definitely need some new pedals. Three gnarly winter's worth of commuting have pretty much frozen the bearings which makes clip-in nearly impossible. This weekend will be the final 40K of the season and then a crit or two on Sunday.

I finished 'One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest' and loved every page - it was an excellent read. Just started 'Deliverance' by James Dickey and have 'The Rum Diary' by Hunter S. Thompson in the queue.

2009 FIAC TTT Nationals

Mike, Tom, Stan and Jim

I think the 4man team trial might be my favorite race of the season - and I don't even touch my bike that day. For the third time I chose to be the 'directeur sportif' for the PACT/DishNetwork 50+ masters team and had a blast doing it. For those of you who don't know, the DS is the person who pretty much spoils the riders all day - pins numbers, inflates tires, fills water bottles, drives the follow vehicle, and basically does whatever the riders need to make the day as stress-free as possible. After being on the receiving end of said treatment for so long, I'm happy to return the favor and I know it's appreciated.

On the start line

This year's team members included 2 PACT guys (Mike and Jim) and two guest riders, Tom Doughty and Stan Watkins - beasts, all of them. I knew that they'd have an impressive ride and be among the top teams on the day. After an hour fog delay, things rolled off the start and the guys settled in for 60K of TT bliss.

Positively machine-like...

Ladies, if you had this view for an hour and twenty minutes, would you complain? Me neither! It was a beautiful day and the guys looked great. Early on we passed by an unfortunate crash in the second turn (hey! those guys aren't even bleeding yet!) and later learned that several others had also gone down in the same place. Fortunately we made it through safely on the way out and coming back.

Post ride - waiting (forever) for the results

It always takes a long time for results to be finalized which allows for ample time to socialize and eat whatever a good DS bakes for her team (brownies and cupcakes, on this occasion). It's also when the ride post-mort happens - always an insightful discussion full of observations and commentary I'm not an audience to while in the car.

Mike, impressing us all with his massive guns. Did I mention there's a lot of post-ride self-deprecation and laughter?

In the end, the guys won their age group and had the third fastest time overall. I was completely impressed with their effort - way to go gentlemen!! For a bunch of self-proclaimed 'old dudes' you're all pretty darn fast!

IL Road Race Championship

The finish - thanks for the pic, Luke!!

I knew from the outset that things would be tough at today's IL state road race championship in Willow Springs - small field, lots of bike poker, a difficult to plan uphill sprint finish, etc. The course itself was not difficult - a three-step hill to the finish but otherwise flat to falsely flat for the remainder of the 10 mile loop. Pavement surfaces were pretty much perfect (thank you TARP funds) save a few small, well-marked potholes. On tap for the day was 5 laps - I paid a lot to race today and definitely wanted to do all 50 miles (get my money's worth). I was happy that the officials did not shorten our race due to small turnout and that the promoter was paying the prize list as published.

I knew that I had my work cut out for me with an ABD rider and 2 BH teammates to contend with. Small fields can often make for negative racing so I was hoping that wouldn't be the case. Things rolled off well enough and about 4 miles or so after going through the start/finish for the first time, Kristen from BH had a flat. I wasn't quite sure what to do - keep rolling and ride solo for nearly 50 miles? Ugh. Didn't really want to do that but that's exactly what happened. It's a race after all, right? I basically settled in, focused, and watched my power meter/speedo for the next 2+ hours as I rode alone behind the pace car. I had no idea what was going on behind me. Turns out (I think) Anne gave Kristen her wheel and Kristen chased but she wasn't able to close the gap alone. I thought for sure I'd be caught - it was still a long way to the finish.

I crossed the line solo, no one else in the picture. In a way, it wasn't a very gratifying way to win. It's a bummer when someone you respect as a racer is taken out of the action by an unfortunate mishap or a mechanical problem. On the other hand, I've had plenty of mishap-curtailed races of my own over the years and trust me, I busted my ass out there to take the win today.

Up next - maybe a time trial next Saturday and a crit in Kenosha or the first cyclocross race of the season at Jackson Park on Sunday. Cross season will be pretty mellow for me - local stuff. I'll be representing for Roscoe Village Bikes and am looking forward to the change of pace that 'cross provides. Track is over for the year - I had a pretty successful season, managing to finish 2nd in the Rider of the Year competition and taking state titles in the keirin, points race and the pursuit.

What I'm reading: 'One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest' by Ken Kesey. In a word - masterful. I'm loving it - I'm finding it difficult to put it down!

Tunes

I haven't posted a playlist for a while. Here's what we're doing at lunch time today:

Warm up followed by 5X3min VO2 intervals, short rest between efforts.

Terminal Frost - Pink Floyd
Cheap Sunglasses - ZZ Top
I Will Follow - U2
Peacemaker - Green Day
Time Bomb - Rancid
Living Well is the Best Revenge - R.E.M.
Everything Sucks - Reel Big Fish
I'd Do Anything - Simple Plan
This Charming Man - The Smiths
Juicebox - The Strokes
Form a Straight Line - Sugar Shack
Shut Your Eyes - Shout Out Louds
Angel - Jimi Hendrix

IL State TT

When I have nothing good to say, silence is the best route. About my performance anyway. In the immortal words of Linda Mastrandrea, multiple time Paralympic gold medalist and member of the Chicago 2016 board, 'silver sucks.' Indeed.

I have to send HUGE congrats to my teammate MetLifeGuy who won the 50+ title. Mike, you earned it in every way and I am tremendously happy for you. After everything you've been through in the past 15 months or so and how hard you've fought to be where you are, I can say that you are a very worthy and deserving champion.

IL State Pursuit Championship

Jim, warming up before the 4K team pursuit.

We nearly froze our asses off last night at the track! It was a special night of IL State Championship racing - events on the schedule were the individual and team pursuits. I only did an individual 3K - no teammates for a team pursuit - but the guys (Jim, Dan, Mike and Ted) did the 4K team event. The pursuit is not a particularly pleasant race - it's basically an all-out, as-hard-as-you-can-go effort. In my case the 3K takes about 4 minutes. The guys did 4K in about 5 minutes.

I'd been under the impression that women had to do 2K. I was bitterly disappointed to find out on the start line that I'd be doing 3K. That additional 1K changes EVERYTHING pacing-wise. But I was there, I paid my entry and just rode it - hard. My start wasn't stellar but things turned out okay. I think the pursuit is by far the most painful, miserable, difficult short effort to do on the bike. I was very happy to be finished when I crossed the line - I had baseball-sized knots in my quads and could hardly pedal fast enough to stay upright. But I was done and my time held up as the best on the evening so I earned the title. Sweet.

The guys had an essentially technically flawless ride and managed to take second - they just weren't quite fast enough. But they looked great - smooth, tight, machine-like. Nice job boys - I wish things had turned out better.

I just finished reading 'Snuff' by Chuck Palahniuk and up next is 'The Rum Diary' by Hunter S. Thompson. Next weekend I will attempt to defend my IL State TT Championship....and get older.

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.

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