Barry-Roubaix

Barry-Roubaix

3/23/13

36 Mile Men 11-29

So the goal at this race was just to have fun, get racing again, build some endurance, test it out to see if you still have some race legs, and just generally see where you're at.  The start of the race went well, I easily moved up to the first line of a few riders and could tell I was one of the 3-5 strongest guys in the field. The course had some rolling to uphill terrain, a lot of snow, a lot of ice sections where there really was only one way to negotiate the trail (just respect it and you won't crash)...but truly the only part that really threw you a bit were the deep divots throughout the hard-packed gravel sections as it was really impossible to predict a good line and the result was quite the waterbottle graveyard. Regardless, the race pretty much went like this for me: ride at the front, dropped chain, pace myself back, dropped chain, pace myself back, dropped chain, dropped chain, snapped chain, jump in a nice person's truck and drive back to Hastings.  Not a big deal, I had fun, I knew I had it, it's just time to find a real cross bike for the fall and have some fun on it.  The trip was a blast though. Katie did it, which was her first bike race in nearly 5 years...and ended up getting 2nd in her age group! Definitely far more rewarding to experience than any win or podium I've had. Plus, we hit up the Founders brew tent afterwards and then went to Bells Brewery in Kalamazoo. Pretty tough 24 hours to beat in my book.

Next up - Austin Rattler - 4/13/13

The Afterglow CX

The Afterglow (CX)
12/15/12
Cat 3

It's raining, it's cold and I'm about to race my bike...this is everything I signed up for, a classic Belgian setting.  There were several things I needed to work on from Montrose and before the race I was really honing in on working through these.  Really quickly getting on and off the bike, working with clipping in quickly, carrying the bike properly, etc.

I started off in the back out of respect for everyone else. I knew it would instantly be a detriment in putting up any respectable placing, but again, I'm here to learn and have fun. The course was friggin awesome: slippery, muddy, wet, rainy - a lot of turns and twists, a really neat setup.  I started off way behind everyone else as I was having issues clipping in from the gun, but after that, I was able to pick it up a bit.  I'd eye someone up the road and pick them off on the nearest straightaway as I quickly came to recognize that my road speed from years past proved helpful.  As each lap went by, the course became more and more slippery and it tested my bike handling skills to an extreme.  Even though I crashed about 5x, I think by the end of the day, I learned a ton about how to handle it in sketchy situations, which was the biggest takeaway from the day.  That and having a ton of fun.  I spent a solid 2.5 hours Sunday morning cleaning the bike off...and its still pretty dirty.  Great day, great race, I did much better than two weeks ago, and I look forward to doing it again and doing it well here next year.  Definately among the most fun days I've had on a bike in recent memory.

Montrose Harbor CX

Montrose Harbor CX Race
12/2/2012
Cat 3

So...I knew I was going to suck...this was my first race in over two years, I hadn't trained, I've never done a cross race, I was going up against people who have been flying all year, I was going to start in the back, (insert classic cycling excuse here), and it's the state championships. 

But I wasn't here to win, I was here for fun and the experience, a complete attitude departure from years past.  Maybe the attitude stems from some combination of loving the sport and needing to come back to it and needing to carry a certain level of humility as it's certain that living up to the expectations of years past were far out of the question.  So maybe thats why I have to just have 'fun' with it, having any other attitude would prevent me from ever racing again. 

But maybe I just simply want to enjoy racing for racing...and thats why the casual fun-loving Cross scene is a perfect match. 

The race itself was rather uneventful for me.  It set off with me in the back and it ended with me in the back.  I had brief moments of feeling good passing people in the sand, but far far more moments of learning experience after learning experience.  But in the end it was fun and I was back racing. 

Several takeaways before attempting my next race:
1) Learn how to jump on your bike faster - this isn't Little 5, just get on it.
2) Learn how to hit your pedals quicker
3) Adjust your gearing, you can't have your bike skipping all day again...

And need to improve on...
1) Sand...
2) Bike handling...big time.

Leland Kermesse

Mark that one up as the toughest course I've done to date.

75 Miles long, half the course on gravel, and some serious wind...add being dropped with half the pack 4 miles into the race and you've got yourself one hell of a day.

Race started - I was near the back and forgot to think about wind direction. We made a gingerly right hand turn and instantly felt that I was shielding every guy to my left from the wind and using way too much energy in the first mile. I sneakily tried to move to my left and let someone in on my right to shield me, but no one decided to come through. At about that moment the pace ramped up. It wasn't terribly devastating except for the fact that the riders in front of me started to single file themselves, and then gap themselves. At that moment I tried to go around a few only to find myself diving deep into the red riding straight into a crushing crosswind/headwind. The gap kept growing...

Houston, we have a problem.

At this point I have a few options, and none of them are very attractive. 1) Sprint up to the pack in front of me, pray that it slows down a touch, and hopefully recover - but realize that you likely will burn all of your matches with this one move 2) Keep at a constant pace and hope to regroup with a few others and pace your way back or 3) Sit up and quit. #3 seemed the most logical at the time, but I opted for #2 being too mentally weak to go for #1.

After riding alone for a minute or so, a group formed and started to pace itself back up, but the gap was only slowly diminishing. Every second in that paceline I was having a Strong Man - Weak Man debate with myself. One side saying "those guys up there are stronger than you AND currently working less than you, if you catch them, you're still screwed" and the other saying "keep going, if you catch them you'll have to do less work AND you'll go faster".


I never caught them. The gap diminished, but I broke down just before a guy or two from that line was able to catch on. At that point I would like to think that I pressed on with the next 65 miles solely on will power and determination, but I think in reality I just didn't know how to get back to the car or where the start/finish line on the course was as it wasn't marked well, so I just kept riding.

I caught and passed some riders; some caught and passed me. But I entered a cycling mind-numb like never before. 70 of 75 miles essentially by yourself gets pretty lonely.

*Turn, look at some fields, ouch a headwind, look a big farm machine, pedal, pedal, pedal...pedal, pedal, is that the next turn up there on the horizon?, nope, pedal, pedal...pedal, pedal, there it is, turn, "ooo gravel", stay on the right side of it - got it, pedal, pedal...I see someone in the distance, I might be able to catch them in the next few miles...maybe not...pedal, pedal...lets act like the finish is 10 miles away and count down...10 miles away....9 miles away...8.5 miles away...8.25 miles away...8.1 miles away...*

Maybe one of the things keeping me going was that I was sure Tim was still riding in the 4's race that started right after mine, so I figured, I might as well keep going for at least another hour or two and get a good workout in instead of waiting around. But maybe it was just because I literally couldn't quit. I just kept pedaling. I had merely one decision point: (when I realized where the turn off was for the start finish/line was) make a right or make a left. Go on or quit.

I just kept making rights.

And passed everyone who made lefts.

I finished the race. That final left hand turn was just about as gratifying of a moment as I've had cycling in road races. I crossed the line and made sure the judges new that #12 had crossed.

I finished 25th of about 60 in the 1/2/3 field, Lanterne Rouge position. Last of those who finished. A fighters position.

Excellent race and I definitely got better, but it really put in doubt my ability to finish the Joe Martin Stage Race in 3 weeks. I'll make a decision sometime next week.

Until next time Leland...

Laketrail TT #1

It’s finally nice again in Chicago. Warm weather, sunny skies, and lake paths filled with people, bikes, and roller blades. It makes going outside so much easier.

Anyways, hit up a Laketrail TT this morning with Tim Daugherty. This wasn’t as pure of a TT as last year as I had the help of Tim pulling every now and then. Got a good hard effort in, clocked at 43:15, 2 seconds off my best time last year, which sounds like I’m just about where I was hoping to be at this time. I didn’t feel great or really even good at any point until the last 5 minutes of the ride, so I’m thinking next weeks time should absolutely dip below the 43 minute mark and probably even lower.

Tim, Kuikman, and I also suited up with radios on an evening ride last night. Felt very P-R-O. They should work very well on the Chicago-Bloomington ride (which we’re still trying to figure out the official name of). I also threw new tires on the machine, rode in my new kit, and actually configured a cyclometer that works on my bike (cateye > polar). Now its just a matter of getting rid of those leg hairs that are oh so cumbersome to cyclists and I’ll actually feel like a real rider again.

Anyways, some more hard efforts Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and then a few days off as I’m starting a ‘crash cycle’ per Joe Friel’s book ‘The Cyclist Training Bible’, basically in an effort to prepare myself in the event I do go down to the Joe Martin Stage Race in early May. The training is pretty much go super hard for two weeks straight and then recover for a week. Repeat the process and you should see some decent gains in performance.
Anyways, looking forward to being active outside this week! So nice out.

Kenosha Velosport Criterium

I was bored today, so I decided to race.

Kenosha's only about an hour north of Chicago and traffic was pretty light so getting their and back was no big deal. The bigger deal was that I had worked absolutely zero intensity workouts in up to this point. Its been two months of base mileage and riding as much as I can without ever going into the red. Also, this was my first race back since the Elk Grove crash, so I guess if there were any skeletons left in the closet, I'd shake them out today as I rode the exact same bike setup and wore the exact same outfit (still with blood stains on it) as I did back on that rainy August afternoon.

Anyways, I remembered racing being harder. I don't think I ever hit the red zone save for the sprint, and I was rarely ever even uncomfortable. I sat in the whole race as I was the only xXx guy in the race and there were several other more full teams intact, so pulling just never really made sense. Several breaks went off and I was waiting for one with the right composition to go before I bridged (one with someone from each of the major teams represented). Quickly, every break was reeled back in. However, one guy got off the front and it seemed like all the other teams just quit trying to pull him back. His lead kept stretching and stretching out and before you knew it, he was gone. Just one of those helpless feelings, but again, this was really just a workout for me not an attempt to win.

The last lap came, I swooped up near the front, passed 5 or so guys at the line and placed 7th. Best finish I suppose I've ever had in a P/1/2 race. Pretty happy with it considering I hadn't really put in any effort-based rides in this year. Maybe I'm just better without training (see results early last year).

I felt good today, but then again, I've felt great all Spring. I don't think I've ever been as good as I am right now in mid-March and thats saying something as I used to peak around now for Little 500 preparations. Maybe its me being fresh, maybe I'm just way better after having a full Chicago racing season under my belt. Probably the latter.

This season's going to be a little different being as that I want to be healthy and alive for my Wedding and Honeymoon in July and August. That means no road racing those months. I'm going to focus on track all year and focus on a few road races this Spring. in addition I'm going to do some touring rides. In June I'm eyeing the TOMRV ride with a group of friends as well as a Chicago-Bloomington one day ride with Tim Daugherty and Matt Kuikman (235.4 miles). In addition we're piece-mealing a group of guys together to participate in the Indana Coast 2 Coast 2 day tag-team stage race on August 1st which should be a blast. So a lot of safe riding on the schedule.

Anyways, here's my full tentative cycling schedule for the year (always over-ambitious). Again, less racing, more touring. Also, there will be track racing every Thursday or Friday.

3/21 Kenosha Velosport Criterium
4/17 Leland-Kermesse?
4/24 Little 500 Alumni Race (that's right)
5/6-5/9 Joe Martin Stage Race
5/15 Larue-Denzer Larue? or Monsters of the Midway?
6/6 Spring Prairie Road Race?
6/12-6/13 TOMRV
6/26 Chicago-Bloomington 2010
7/31-8/1 Indiana Coast 2 Coast Stage Race

Lakefront Road Race

Race: Altolab Lakefront Road Race
Where: Milwaukee, WI
Length: 75 miles
Course: 4.5 mile loop with 2 decent climbs

The last race I did of this length was Spring Prairie. And that one flat out sucked.

But today I felt stronger, faster, and more confident than 2 months ago, but still launching into a breakaway in a 75 mile race with hills would be suicide. The plan was to just hang around, mentally act like I'm riding a long weekend ride with friends and see if I felt good at the end to make a move.

I played my plan to a 'T'.

The race started and immediately there was a decent hill. Like always, I climbed it faster than most of my peers leaving me with less 'catch-up' work to do after the hill. The breakaway guys (typically non-sprinters) like to attack up the climbs, so theres usually always some sort of catch-up work needing to be done. That 'catch-up' work is what destroyed me at Spring Prairie. The hardest part of any road race in my eyes, is the 200 meters after a climb. Mentally, you check out at that point thinking"you made it over the climb, time to relax" when in reality the guys up front aren't letting up and you have to get back in your racing groove at a heart rate of 175 instead of 125.

The race continued through residential areas and through a feed zone where I recognized a fellow rider who opted not to race today, but rather get piss drunk and hand out bottles/food to select riders. It was a much needed laugh to start a 3.5 hour race as he was shirtless and hollering every time around the loop. We continued on the course to a fast snake-like descent that we certainly reached speeds in the 40mph range while curving. The first few times down I was rather hesistant with thoughts of Jens Voigt's crash in the TdF the day before in my mind, but gained a lot of comfort in the laps following.

After the descent was one of the more trying parts of the course as the leaders hammered it knowing there was a massive crosswind as we were now almost flush with the lakefront. The pack was always completely strung out for that quarter mile section before everyone gathered up and got ready for the second climb. This climb was much tougher than the first. It was longer with a touch of steepness at the end; still not much to write home about. Immediately following the climb, we actually raced over well paved sidewalk through a park which was rather interesting going 2 and 3 wide through. The rest of the course was fast. Very fast. And straight. Certainly my favorite part as we rarely dipped below 30mph on this false flat descent with a tailwind all the way through the start/finish line.

The race continued, the usual breaks got off and were immediately reeled in. That is, until a seemingly hopeless break of 2 shot off, and the P/1/2 race decided to pass us at that moment neutralizing the peloton of our race, giving the breakaway quickly a 90 second lead without thought. No one was ready to give a huge effort at the front, so the race for the win was already over. A few more guys were able to get off in small efforts to bridge the gap as no one really cared to chase them down either.

The last lap straightaway came, I positioned myself poorly, stuck on the inside with little room out, so I slowed up to the back of the peloton and gunned it to the front, literally taking first wheel. I looked around to see when the first guy to start his sprint would launch. Off to the right I saw somebody begin to wind up and BOOM! Off went the field. I gunned it instandly and felt amazing. Every stroke was as powerful as the last all the way to the line. No one came close to coming around me. Sure it was for 9th place, but had the pack come back together, there's no way I would have lost today. It was a great finish to a race that I had low expectations for and was primarily using as a tune-up for the Chicago Crit.

Stuck to the plan today, felt good, and gave it a go. Next up: Chicago Criterium.