The cold must be numbing my brain. And I have long since reached the age where my brain cells have reached their peak number and efficiency. Normally, by now whether I am living in the northeast or in the Madison area, the roads are not conducive to bike commuting. I always ride on roads that retain their iciness after the first snow or ice event because they are less traveled. And when it is dark, I do not like the chances of hitting a patch of black ice. This year, the roads are STILL clear. I do not need winter tires or fenders. Hell, I am STILL doing the occasional commute on my Madone. I should have long since hung up the good bike to keep it safe and protected from the elements. Last night, I road home from work. It was a big tail wind and was above freezing (barely) so of course I was going to ride. Like I said, the cold must be numbing my brain. Admittedly, I have very good lights, front and rear so do not feel unsafe and it is pretty out when all the stars are shining but really, the view is just as nice and a good deal more enjoyable from our hot tub! And just last night (and this was after I just got home and my feet were still kinda numb and my fingers were still white), I was telling Jan (aka my beloved) that I was thinking about riding BOTH directions Thursday because it was going to be 40F for the ride home - WARM! And then I thought "did I just use warm and 40F in the same sentence?" And to do it, I was going to have to ride IN (my car pool mate was not going to work) and it was going to be cold in the AM - duh! Must be the lack of snow.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
CX Party before Nationals
Machinery Row Bicycles is throwing a CX party the Friday before Nationals. Free beer, frites and mussels. Jonathan Page, Ryan Trebon and Katie Compton are going to be there. SRAM is sponsoring the event and will be bringing quite a few of their star riders as well.
Machinery Row Bicycles
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Saturday's cold podium
45+
Dan Casper on the top step
Wayne Simon right behind him
luckily they still had room for me on the podium...
Monday, December 12, 2011
Badger Cross Saturday
I'm really not sure why I ignored the 10 degree temperature reading before heading out to the Badger Prairie race this weekend. Not only had it been about a month since my last cross race, but I've put in about two real training rides in that time. Darkness, holidays (including deer hunting season), and pre-winter laziness have been interrupting what has been a very ride-able late fall. Sure, some of that happens every year, but it seems like even more happened this year.
Back to Saturday...not sure why the 10 degree reading didn't register. Packed the car and headed over to Badger Prairie park in Verona. It was a cold walk to registration but the warm-up was tolerable and I was starting to feel like the race wouldn't be too bad either. Then I took off the booties and sat at the start line for 10 minutes.
The first lap (of 5) instantly froze my fingers. I thawed them out by lap 3, but the toes were numb for all but the first and last laps. Despite the issues with the cold, I enjoyed the course especially the run up. Unfortunately, not too much racing action to talk about. After things settled down during the first lap I only passed a couple people throughout the rest of the race. Fun time none the less.
It was great to get out for one last race, but with the way that the late fall and summer went, I feel like my season ended in August. Which is a shame, as I've really enjoyed the late season mountain biking and cross racing of the past couple of years. Hopefully next year turns out a little better for my late season training and racing.
Speaking of training, pretty hard to train for that ski race in the end of February with no snow. Someone tell Mother Nature that it's time to flip the switch to winter!
Badger Cross Sunday
sunny, windy, about 40'F
pulled out of my left pedal at the start = bummer!
the video doesn't really do justice to how hard the hills are
with my Garmin it measured at 165' of climbing per lap
and some of the "grease"/mud was actually "brown ice" - more slippery than it looks!
more laps to be posted soon, I hope (we did 5)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whTWStPqjLs
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Jingle Cross Rock, Friday
it'll be a while before I get the rest "published"
man it looks dry!
(after workin' on Sunday and Saturday's GoPro videos, in reverse order...)
and when I get to the laps that occur after sunset? don't worry
the lighting was better in real life than it looks in the video! (at spots on the course)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga7S8OJb0bo
Monday, December 5, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Jingle Cross Rock, Saturday 45+
muddy
windy
maybe 45'F
here we go again!
Part 1 (lap 1) of 4
http://www.youtube.com/user/GregFerg123?feature=mhee#p/u/3/8iZFTdqqI-0sloggin' race, exciting finish...
Monday, November 28, 2011
Jingle Cross Rock, Sunday 45+
"the tortoise and the hare."
It was about 35'F and windy at the Johnson County Fairgrounds in Iowa City; maybe 15 mph out of the North?
And it was muddy
again.
I didn't want to pre-ride
and get my bike(s) all covered in the thick Iowa mud.
Heidi had done so much work for me in the pits Friday night and Saturday morning
that keeping clean bikes (and clothes) seemed like a better idea on Sunday morning.
So I pumped up my tires (to what I thought would work)
warmed up
and went to staging.
I tried to take it easy in the corners on the first lap since I hadn't pre-ridden the course. Turns out that wasn't a problem as I couldn't even hold the wheel in front of me anyway. Pretty frustrating beginning to the race, actually.
As soon as we hit the mud I knew I had too much air in my tires.
So lucky for me Heidi understood my "one pphhhuuuuhhhhh out of each tire!" as I finally went in the pit on the second (of 4 laps).
I felt really slow going down Mt Krumpit
but I was taking it cautiously
trying to keep the bike upright
and on the track; esp. at the transition from grass to mud in the section at the bottom
where we joined the previous day's course.
I gave it pretty hard on the uphill to try to make up time for my slower descents.
Paid off in the end, I figure.
Tom Price is fast. He was gone, as far as I was concerned, by the time we went by the pits the first time.
And Dan Casper is no slouch either.
Dave Eckel was having a great day, obviously. There were several other guys ahead of me, including James Cochran, who I had had a good battle with the day before. (Tim Boundy was missing on Sunday, but he had been super strong both Friday night and Saturday morning.) Leading in to the climb of Mt Krumpit I figure I was 8th starting the run up, and 4th at the top of the ride up. Then I get passed by several of those guys on the switchback downhill, as you can see, in the GoPro/Youtube video; link at the bottom to the first part/lap.)
We started catching 35+ riders pretty quick (by SRAM Pit 1), as you can see by the 700 bib numbers (in the video). Fighting through traffic makes it harder and adds another challenging element to the already hard race.
My sweet new Bontrager Aeolus 5 D3 wheels were light and fast, and with Heidi (and Rich) in the pits I was able to take a clean/light bike a couple times. Plus being able to have my tire pressure adjusted during the race without losing time was super helpful. Thanks everyone!
It was tough sledding, but I ended up in a solid 3rd place - good enough for the podium. Finishing behind Tom Price and Dan Casper is not bad, I figure. I certainly started off slow, but some hard runnin' up Mt Krumpit was enough to undo my slow descents and poor driving, luckily. I absolutely felt like the tortoise as those guys flew by me on the descent!
Thanks to Rhonda for the GoPro, Trek for great bikes, wheels, parts, etc. and SRAM for great components. The Challenge Limus tires were good enough in the mud that my very bad driving couldn't even ruin it, and that's sayin' somethin'!
The folks at Jingle Cross Rock certainly do rock!
Thanks for another great event, Iowa City.
Lookin' forward to next year.
Here is a link to the GoPro/Youtube video from the race. It is Part 1 (of 4, I think it will turn out to be. I had originally thought it would take 5 segments, thus the misleading titling. Oops. Sorry.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InTQYZDvZiw&list=UUb5_mEBxCC0cHKPq9NQsPFA&feature=plcp
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Halloween Cross compilation video
it's just everything we got, blasted together
enjoy!
http://vimeo.com/31330828
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Sun Prairie CX
dblomme
Grabbed a few photos of some friends, teammates and coworkers this weekend at the incredibly fun roller coaster CX race in Sun Prairie.
Thanks for putting the race together, Paul Roltgen!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Beer, Bronchitis, and...Bikes?
Back to the States with a short week before I headed down to Lake Geneva for the WORS race. I was using the race to get ready for the Chequamegon 40. I was able to finally resolve a brake issue I was having, which was caused by a silly move on my behalf during a cleaning session. However, this mistake had kept me busy trying to fix it in the garage...instead of on the bike prior to the Eurobike trip. So after two weeks of pretty much zero riding, I was able to squeeze in a couple of rides before heading to Lake Geneva.
The Lake Geneva race went as I should have expected. I was lacking any sort of real power, which kept me a little further back on the climbs from the start, as well as each time through the climbing section on the first part of the course. The good thing was that during my time off the bike, I hadn't forgotten how to ride singletrack. And there was a lot of singletrack in the second half (or more) of the race. Was able to finish up 5th in my age and 18th overall in Comp class. Not bad, but not the 1st in my age and 3rd overall from a month earlier at Cam-rock.
It would have to do as warm up for the Chequamegon 40. Only fit in a trainer ride and a day-before warm up ride with TMTmates (and boathouse roommates) Jarred Cassady and Todd Heal. The race started out fairly well on the road, but shortly into the off-road sections, I was not able to really start passing people as I thought I should. TMTmates Sanjay Ganju and Doug Bailey came by me and there wasn't much I could do to go with them. I just tried to keep the tempo high without going into the red. Made it to OO in just over an hour, but started to cramp around the lakes. I was able to hold off any complete lock-up in the legs and finish in 2:36. Not what I had wanted, but not bad for my first 40.
Plenty of beers post race. And there was more beer on tap for the next two weekends. I made it up to LaCrosse Oktoberfest and then to Doug Bailey's wedding (congrats Doug!). Mix in almost a week straight of rain between the two. Just as the weather was turning nice at Doug's wedding, I came down with what I thought was a cold or the flue. It kept me home from work on Monday and Tuesday, I struggled through the rest of the week and finally on Friday I went in to the doctor. Bronchitis. And antibiotics. Missing out on the best weather of the fall. Oh well, at least I'm on the road to recovery. The time at home this weekend did at least give me the chance to build up the new 'cross steed. Looking forward to putting it (and my fitness) to the test soon.
CamRock 55+ A good race for me!
After last weekend's poor showing due in large part to tired legs, I havd vowed to come into future races fresher. So while I put in some good commuting miles, I did not beat the crap out of myself - too badly. I had a busines trip to DC-land and decided it was time to give my running legs a jump start. I have been running a bit but just slow and steady. My jump start was to do ½ mile intervals on the treadmill. That made sure I rested some as it took my bike commute to work the stiffness and soreness out. Anyway, I had been planning on going to Grafton on Saturday but I needed to get some stuff done around the house. I elected to go up to CamRock park instead. Jan wasnted to do a trail run and then I could scope out the course a little. It was a good move - the course was going to be fast, fast and more fast (quite a change from last year) and going thru the fast corners without overbraking was one of the things I worked on.
Come race day, it was another weekend of "not cross" weather - I think it was in the 80s - and the trails were going to be really dusty. I was thinking I might get my beloved to hand me up a bottle but there was no slow section where that would really work. So I tanked up and got on the line with the rest of the geezers. Gordy and Diane were in the field as well as the usual cast - 11 or 12 in all. Off we go and I am as usual the last person in the line and yes, it was REALLY dusty back there. Last year, I would try to keep the folks in sight as long as I could (a lap or so) but now I am pretty comfortably sitting on, thinking "I can do this" and wondering how things are going to play out, wondering what sort of a hand I am holding today. Almost immediately, things start to happen. Someone slid out on a tight corner in the woods and I took the inside line and then put the hammer down to bridge up to the next rider. The battle is joined as folks now behind me try to get back in the game while I am looking for more opportunities to move up. Wait! Did I say move up. Me? Yeah, I am quickly finding that not only are the legs decent, I am also sliding thru the fast corners faster than many of the folks. I see-sawed with Gordy and Diane for a little while (and avoided running over Diane's head when she washed out in the pine needles). Then once I got in front on the fast sections, I was able to roll up to Tom Palmer - sweet! He has been riding well and if I could stay with him, I was doing well. And we battled for the rest of the race particularly on the run-up. It was preceeded by a barricade but not so steep that many were remounting and riding up. I was not so confident of my ability to clip in and go and found that even if someone was able to get in smoothly and go, I was not losing much ground if I ran. And if they blew the remount ...... Tom and I exchanged leads a couple times there. With two laps to go, the lead elite woman caught up to Tom and I and we jockied for position. I was wondering what my best move would be when Tom made a strong move to go to the front and I had to go hard to stay in contact. I figured if I could make a move in the woods before the barricades, it would force Tom to try to pass me in the more technical places. And I am riding fast enough that I thought I might be able to outdistance him in the fast sections. So I took an inside line on an uphill turn and punched it, carrying speed over the uphill, tried to recover on the 180s in the technical section without making a mistake, went hard to the run-up, got a good remount at the top of the run-up, and then tried to take the fast section a wee bit faster. And I had to as there was someone on my wheel but was it Tom? I was sure not gonna turn around. I come to the last turn into the up-hill single track before the road and give it what I have left. Was it going be enough? It was not but it was not Tom out-sprinting me. It is the lead woman (Alyssa?) kicking my sorry ass in the final meters. But I have finished 5th! And in front of a lot of good riders - who may have been a bit tired from the Saturday race - but that is not the story I will tell!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Cross the Domes - 55+
Another gorgeous day in WI - sunny and a little on the cool side. The spirit was psyched but the body had not had enough recovery. My own damn fault, too. It looked like Tuesday would be a great day to ride home - favorable winds and slight chance of rain. And that was true enough at the starting point in Fitchburg and the Janesville destination. In between however, I hit a band of cold, pissin'-down rain. It only lasted for about 20 minutes but it soaked me to the bone. I called my beloved for a rescue and TT'ed to the rendezvous point to stay warm till I got to the car - about 40 minutes worth. Trashed me but good as I had ridden fairly hard on the way in that morning and was planning on a recovery ride on the way home. Needing to loosen up the legs with a nice recovery ride, Thursday looked good - SERIOUS tail wind and low chance of rain. I gotta find out who is making those estimates and have a talkin' with him. The wind prediction was correct but the afternoon weather radar showed bands coming thru. But I thought "no problem" - I will just take off from work as a band passes and surf the winds home ahead of the next band. You guessed it - the trailing band caught up to me - fast! And the winds at the leading edge - yow! At one point, I got blown sideways across the road (fortunately I ride little traveled farm roads). Got myself unclipped and stopped to let it pass - just in time as I got hit with a "gust" that felt like 60+! It almost blew me over while I was straddling the bike. It lasted for what seemed like minutes as I looked to see if there were any trees too close to me. And of course the rains followed shortly thereafter. After a few minutes of riding in the rain, I stopped to put my jacket on - and by the time I got it on, the rain stopped. A few minutes later, I was riding in the sunshine. Took off the jacket and thought NOW I can relax. And did just that, surfing the 25 mph tailwind. Until I realized the NEXT front that just 20 minutes ago was a smudge on the horizon was catching me. FAST. SO the hammer was dropped again but to no avail. 4 miles from home, the rain hit - sideways - but at least there were no microbursts. Once more, put on the jacket and once more the rain pretty much stopped by the time I got it on. And by the time I got home, it was sunny again. Crazy day!
And warming up for the race, I could tell that I just was not perky. At a steady state, I felt OK but when I upped the power - mmmm, not good. Oh well - time to ride smooth (for once, I hope!) and try to be smart (again, for once). I pre-rode most of the course but not the start. And certainly not this interesting little 180 degree turn onto a steep off-camber traverse. As I came into it, tight on the folks ahead, I see one rider slide out and I think a couple others got tangled in that as well (it all happened so fast) so I jump off the bike and ran around the 180 and past one or two of the tangled riders, jump back on for a few seconds into the stair and I am thinking THAT was not SO bad. And I am feeling OK the first lap keeping folks close but just not being smooth enough to make up for my sub-par legs. And get back to that section I ran before and thought "I am not going to even bother trying to ride" and just ran thru again. If I had a chance to practice when I was not seeing double, I would have ridden it - maybe - but off camber stuff can just psyche me out sometimes (sometimes?) and the guy who slipped was a good rider. Besides, one guy is right behind me and a couple just ahead - losing a second or so is not worth the risk of a serious screw-up. And then, it was back to the battle. I had hoped to be battling with Bob Schueler and was coming up pretty good but then the legs said "no mas" and then Don from IS Corp passed me. I told him my legs were hosed and was expecting to just fade but after hanging on him for a half a lap or so, some perkiness returned. Enough to pass him, anyway and not get passed again. And enough to not face plant when I ran thru the deep sand, hitting it was a head of steam. But not enough to grab onto Joe King when he came thru (realizing he was one of the folks tangled in that off camber section on the first lap). So lesson learned. If I am going to have any sort of a respectable showing, it will NOT be because my handling skills make up for my tired legs. No more tired legs at races!
Friday, September 30, 2011
USGP Sun Prairie Saturday
It was a bright and sunny morning! Wait! That can't be right! There is a cross race today. I had looked at the weather forecast and I was expecting cool and light rain - much more like cross season. But who was I to argue? Surely by the time my race started at 10:30, the weather would turn crappy. I had gone up to Sun Prairie the day before to help set up the team tent and ride the course. This course was designed for the big boys so I was a tad nervous, my handling skills being what they are - lousy. And sure enough there were a lot of interesting sections but not SO bad. Anyway, I got to the race a bit early, got myself set up, warmed up and when the course was open got out again and then went to the call-up area, just as the single speed guys were getting called up. Hmmmm - where were the old guys? Already called up, of course. So instead of being in the middle of the pack, I was at the back. But I figured if all went as it did last year, that I would be at the back soon enough anyway. And there were only about 30 folks on the line so it did not make much difference. Wrong! The entire first lap, I was contending with all the folks whose handling skills were worse than mine. What?!? Worse? Hmmm - maybe yesterday's practice helped. And stranger still, I was passing people!. Of course the single speedsters who started 30 seconds behind us started passing me pretty soon but I jumped on each and every one and tried to mirror their lines. Pretty soon I was settling in, powering thru the long flat sections and then trying to hit the lines and trying to chase people down. That did not last as long as I hoped - just a couple laps. Then it was on to something I did not do much at all last year - battling with people who were pretty much my speed and trying to either out-handle or out power. It was quickly apparent that my nemesis would be a big guy from the SRAM Factory Team - very strong but had a tendency to overcook corners and slow way down. I would take a better line thru the corner and let it run a little more on the following descent and open up a lead. Then he would blow my doors off on the long power section. I thought I had him when he went way too wide on a corner and a single speedster and I came thru fast. I followed him thru the corners and then traded pulls in the power sections and I was giving it what I had, hoping to discourage the chase. But he was the fitter and the single speedster was running outta gas. He blew my doors off starting the final lap and all the effort I could muster and the diving (for me, anyway) into the corners were not enough to bring him back. But what fun! Better than TTing thru the woods - which is what my races felt like last year. I finished 19th and if I had started where I should have...... yeah, that's the story! Must be the new bike! Sweet!
From there, it was on to marshaling duties and watching the races for the rest of the day. Greg looked good close to the front of the 45+ race despite a cold. And Eric - well Eric always looks good - he was just a bit further back in the same race. And in the AM, David looked good despite a broken butt. And I was thinking, MAN, I gotta race tomorrow but I had prior commitments. Later, I heard about the mud on Sunday.......
And lest you think I did not suffer, the attachment shows me trying to put one foot in front of the other on the "Strangler" run-up.
USGP Sunday Elite Women
the ladies
http://www.velovivid.com/usgp_planetbikecup2011_day2/h1fe2469b#h31a5744f
Thursday, September 29, 2011
USGP!
Check out this bad compilation video of shots I took on Saturday.
The muddy Sunday clips might be next?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN5dcBleuxI
Friday, September 23, 2011
Instruction: Bike Handling Skills
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Cj6ho1-G6tw&vq=medium
hooyer
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Gim'me Five!
dblomme
Some of the fast "cool dudes" from Team Magnus dragged my sorry arse out of bed to ride at 6 am Saturday for some great cross practice. Travis's previous night's tasty, salty wounds were not going to slow him for the early morning ride. As the sun was rising, I also managed to wake a few sleeping scouts with my screeching brakes as they were camping in tents.
Thanks guys!
Monday, September 19, 2011
First cross race of the season, in the books
Made the long drive down to Chicago with Mere P and Mike M to do the 40+ and 30+ races. Field sizes were HUGE. Seventy guys (and one gal!) in the 40+ and 100 guys in the 30+. Crazy. Plus they had not one but two Cat 4 fields of 100 each. Huge fields all around.
Having been in China for 2 months this summer I am heading into cross season in a "building" phase; as in building endurance from next to nothing. So was pretty pleased with a 5th in my first 45 min race and 16th in my second, immediately following the first; especially given the huge fields and starting about 4 rows (of 10) back in each race.
I am older and slower, but my bike is faster!
One minor altercation near the end of the first race and one dramatic crash near the beginning of the second race (that apparently no one I know saw) and after I check out my Cronus CX today I think I will say "no worse for the wear!"
USGP Planet Bike Cup in Sun Prairie this coming weekend.
It's going to be HUGE!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
A new training goal
Cross season already?!?
It seems like just a couple weeks ago that the last race of the road season took place - the Centurion. Since then, I have been doing the bike commute thing, getting in some good base miles, rebuilding my endurance and enjoying getting out in the cool AM. And not feeling like I have to have a certain heart rate or power output. Kinda relaxing! But it has been very clear that the summer is rapidly fading and fall is here. When I first started the morning bike commutes right after the Centurion, I put on the rear blinkies for safety but in truth, I was easily visible. No headlights - I could easily see the road even if the sun had not quite peaked over the horizon. On the ride this AM, however, the sun did not come up till I was ¾ of the way to work and I needed the front headlights to make sure I did not run into a pothole, to say nothing of being visible to cars (and I counted this AM - I got passed by 15 cars in the first 30 miles of the commute - the last 4 - 7 miles are when I get on the busy roads so I never bother with counting cars then). And pretty soon, I am going to need the lights on the way home also. Last weekend, I closed up the pool, harvested apples and should have picked the grapes! Even surer signs that summer is over.
And I decided it was high time I took some vacation time! With work being busy and racing most every weekend, I did not feel like I wanted or needed to take some time off. Normally, Jan (my beloved) and I go backpacking in the late summer/early fall. This year, however, she had burned thru all her vacation time in connection with canoe racing (doing the Ausable Canoe Marathon amongst other things) and so I was casting about for things to do. I wanted to have fun but not TOO much fun (for marital harmony). I thought about bike tours (the busman's holiday), Outward Bound courses, all sorts of things but decided to do a solo backpack thru the Wind River range in Wyoming. THEN I found out about the cross clinic and preseason race the MadCross taking place on the day I was planning on returning so had to rearrange things just a little. It was a solid day and a half of driving. I left after work on Wednesday and after a good dinner in Lander, drove up to the trailhead to spend the night. The trailhead was at about 10,000 ft and wanted to get acclimated as fast as possible. It was a beautiful night and I could hear the elk calling in the distance. The next day the fun began. I like to hike and ended up hiking 6 - 7 hours a day. And in the spirit of poor planning, I "planned" on 6 meals, not the number of calories I might need. So ended up doing the same distance on 5 days and not 6 and just barely had enough food. I had hoped to catch some trout but hopes do not feed the hungry! It was a great trip - good weather 4 or the 5 days and since I was not chatting while walking, I saw a lot more animals than usual. Got back in town Friday afternoon, fried from the road and glad I did not have to drive anymore when I got a call from Eric - "I got your new cross bike!" Honey, wanna drive up to Madison? I'll take you out to dinner. Eric had to put rocks in the bike box to keep it from floating away. And I was SERIOUSLY tempted to put it together that night and race it the next day but I have made THAT mistake before. Still I could not resist building up the bike. How light! How pretty! I have ridden just a little but it is a HUGE step up for me! Pics attached (I have the road wheels on so I can shake the fit out during my commute).
So it was the old Vitus cross bike that went to the cross clinic and race. Trek-mate Greg F was one of the instructors and it was excellent - course, I need all the help can get! Got some good tips and a chance to work the kinks out. And so it was time to race. I was hoping to do OK - the course was not as technical as it usually is but still had its fair share of pain spots including the sand pit. David B shot right to the front. I did not have the gas or the confidence so settled into my usual place towards the back - and then started to pass people. This does not happen with me! I race in the 55+(cats 1/2/3) and I am the only slow guy who insists on continuing to race. There were people behind me for once! I was doing my best to stick on people when BOOM! My front wheel washed out. Now normally, when I go down, there is no concern - no one is behind me! This time however, I had to scramble to get outta the way. DAMN! I was thinking the course felt a little bumpier, not thinking that the temperature had gone up a bit since I pre-road the course. Shoulda let a smidge of air out of my tires! Or maybe I hit a slick spot that others missed. I did not think I hit it too hot! So got up, twisted the brake levers back to where they should have been and got going. The folks who I was trying to stay with were way up the trail but I quickly caught a group of men and women who shot by while I was down. Followed them for a while getting my act back together. A few rode away. A few, I rode away from. And remembered just how mush-like my legs could feel after a week of backpacking - was that just a couple days ago? I was pleased that my remounts were better - I was passing people thru the sand pit by getting moving faster than they. On the run-up over the barriers, I still felt like an old man, though. Will those ever get easier? Will I ever get younger? Finished towards the back but with quite a few behind me and just a minor red spot on my hip where I slid. And so it begins. And cannot wait to get on the new Cronus CX for some serious riding!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Cronus CX
At least 10 of us on the team will be rolling this rig.
Great review here:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/cyclo-cross/product/review-trek-cronus-cx-45230
Thanks Bike Radar!!
Iceland
hooyer
CX is ON!
Helped out my friends at Madcross this past weekend with a CX clinic, followed by a practice race. It was an excellent format for learning, and I hope the students got a lot out of it.
Picked up my sweet new Cronus CX last week and raced it for the first time Saturday. Luckily the bike is light and strong, as my early season fitness is rather "China like". Faded near the end of one race, where I used to fade at the end of the second race...
Wednesday practices, 5:30. Good, hard times. AND educational.
This Sunday? Go to Jackson Park in Chicago, or not? That is the question...
Then it's USGP week!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Dirt
d.blomme
Out at the trails the last two weeks, there have been a ton of chipmunks playing some crazy gang like initiation of "who can get closest to the biker dude's wheel without getting whacked" game. I got stung by a bee in the temple 3-4 times (must have gotten stuck in my helmet strap), almost swallowed a butterfly and came pretty close to a large deer yesterday. Today I hit the trails again with some long time friends and again, it was awesome.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
WCA Road Season Review
The team also had its share of mishaps during the season, with Barney ("what speed bump") Sheafor taking himself out of the whole road season with a broken collarbone during a training camp crash no less, Scott ("barrier, what barrier") Vogelman crashing on the Capital Square, David ("I've got that corner) Blomme taking a dive at Downer Ave, and most recently, Dale ("oh sh*t") Humphrey unable to avoid the pile up at Race the Lake. Thankfully all lived to race another day!
I am sure everyone is already looking forward to next year, but for now it's time to dust off the cross bikes and break out the cow bells!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Race the Lake
As a result, there was a huge front group (and it became even larger due to the second wave catching us!) - probably 100+ riders. I did the race 2 years ago and recalled one section of road where the organizers had placed cones along the centerline, and as riders hugging the centerline veered at the last minute each time they came to a cone, meant carnage behind as whoever was following did not see the cone in time. Well, needless to say, carnage again this year too! I managed to swerve around a couple falling riders, only to hear the large crash as riders in the pack barreled into those who were down. And unfortunately Dale was one of the victims, his knee hit pretty hard, but amazingly his bike was pretty unscathed - man those Madones are tough bikes!
All-in-all it was a nice ride (great sunrise over Lake Winnebago), but not sure I want to do it next year as riding with 100 or so of my closet friends for 90 miles is a bit much (I think they probably had close to 1000 overall)! Although how many of you can say that by 9:30 am you had already driven 80 miles and raced your bike for 90 miles!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Dairyland Dare Grand Fondo
300km 20k feet up.....
50/34 - 13/29
Salted nut rolls -- The riding does not get much better in Wiscoland!
N.E.W. Wheeling Weekend - Menasha, or LAPT & O2 v. Everyone Else
Monday, August 15, 2011
Summer is almost over.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
WI Centurion - More tales
Who was I to ignore the chance to ride the Centurion? Curtis was able to get entries thru Trek (major sponsor) and so the only decision was whether to do the 100 or the 50. I knew I was not fit enough to race 100 miles. I was not even sure I could SURVIVE 100. The last time I had done any significant distance was during early season training in Florida. And after Superweek, while I was starting to get some good commuting miles in, the weather had turned so hot and humid that my commutes were survival rides, just trying to get used to the heat. Still lots of mates were talking 100 and I did not want to be the only one to be doing the 50 on the team. So I was a happy guy when I heard we would have a team for the 50 as well.
The plan was to meet at 6:15 to talk race stuff and queue up around 6:30 to get ready for the 7Am start. With as many people as expected at the start, a good position at the start was a very good idea. Doing the math (drive time, warm up, mucking around), I figured I would need to get up around 4:30 - ouch! And the first thing I heard when I got out of bed was BOOOOOOM - not too distant thunder. Hmmmm - last year they postponed the start. Would that happen this year? I fired up the computer and took a look at the radar map and while there was heavy rain forecast to roll thru Madison, it looked like the rain would stop by 6:45. Nothing on the Centurion web site and I decided I had better go and take my chances. Sure enough, just minutes after I got on the trainer to warm up, Dale came thru with the news that the start would be at 9AM. Coffee time! Bought the Sunday paper and read about dysfunctional politics for a while. And it rained. And it rained. 8:30 rolled around and we were still standing under the hatches of our cars trying to stay dry. 8:45 - the rain is just stopping as we roll over to the start. I had no idea if they would break out the 50 and 100 groups or start us together but I got up to the front and chatted with Shelley and Fo and others lining up. Shelley and I were commiserating about how little sleep we got and how nice a nap would be RIGHT NOW!
Off we go and the roads are wet for a little while. Whether it was that, no warm up for anyone or the notion that it was going to be a long day, the initial pace was pleasant as we rolled off into the rolling countryside west of Madison. And what nice morning - the sun came out, beautiful scenery and folks were on the course, cheering us on. It was a good day to ride! Pretty soon, though it was clear I did not bring my climbing legs. 15 or so miles in was a longer climb and I gradually slipped off the back of the lead group. Damn! I wanted to get sucked along till the groups split. But all was not lost! A group of about 10 of us including most of the Trek 50 mile folks formed up and pretty soon a few of us were driving the pace and the lead pack was coming closer. And we hooked back up after a few miles. Sweet! Back to cruising! At pretty much the half-way point, the packs split and about 20 folks doing the 50 peeled off - and into the KOM climb. On the previous shorter climb, I overextended myself trying to stay on and had to really struggle at the top to get on wheels. I knew this would be a longer climb so I just had to climb within myself and hope to hook up with people at the top. So I waved goodbye to the others and tried to settle into a rhythm. Fortunately, I managed to catch up to one other person at the top and he and I settled into working together. He was stronger on the climbs but I think I was rolling the flats better so it worked for both of us as we pushed thru the countryside. And I started to feel grateful I decided to do the 50 - definitely running low on energy with 5 miles to go. And the temperature was steadily going up. How nice to see the finish line from the top of Airport Road. And finished in 2:12 - sweet! Better yet, I found I was the first finisher in my age group and the others, Shelley, Fo, Jarred and David S all did well though Shelly was the one who cleaned up as first woman overall and KOM - not bad for the lack of sleep! Or was it her new SSL? Now, why we were not the 1st place team for the 50 is beyond me. Our total finishing time was 10:46, a FULL HOUR better than the "official" first place team. There were 5 of us, enough to be counted as a team. Perhaps we were not all recognized as being part of Trek Midwest. Whatever! But by the time the team results were announced, I was the only "Trekkie" still there and I was thinking more about a nap (must be my age!) than challenging the results. A moral victory is enough for me. Perhaps this will be my last race of the season - I have done 25 or 30 races, starting in April and feel like it is time to just get on the bike and ride, rather than train. And if this is the last road race of the season, it will be one of good memories.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Centurion Success!
Congrats to all of our riders who helped make this our best racing weekend of the year. Full results are at http://www.centurioncycling.com/wisconsin/results. Below are our highlights:
TT – 1st overall, Curtis Bice
TT – 6th overall & 1st age group, Gordy Paulson
C25 – 4th overall & 1st age group, Gordy Paulson
C25 – 1st women, Diane Ostenso
C50 – 1st women & 9th overall, Shelley Smith
C50 – 10th overall, Forrest Smith
C50 – 11th overall, Dave Studner
C50 – 14th overall, Jarred Cassady
C50 – 20th overall & 1st age group, Jim Merrifield
C50 - 1st overall King of the Mountain, Shelley Smith
C100 – 4th overall & 1st age group, Dirk Retting
C100 – 6th overall & 1st age group, Curtis Bice
C100 – 8th overall & 1st age group, Eric Knuth
C100 – 9th overall & 2nd age group, Dale Humphrey
C100 – 1st women, Diane Ostenso
C100 – 2nd age group, Gordy Paulson
C100 – 1st overall King of the Mountain, Curtis Bice
C100 – 2nd team division, Trek Midwest Team
Monday, August 8, 2011
Centurion WI
Forrest and I hadn't even planned on doing this until about a week before and when some things fell into place, I found myself contemplating on whether to do the 50 or 100 mile event on Sunday. I wasn't sure I wanted to attempt 100 miles at a competitive pace. I knew both courses had their share of climbing which I looked forward to, yet it had been awhile since I had done a mass start event, so to dip my toes in the water, I decided on the 50 mile race.
Sunday, up early and a stop at Starbucks to sit out most of the two hour rain delay. I went to the car to nap for an hour while some of the guys hung out watching for updates on various websites. Before I knew it, we were on our way to the start and off we went.
To keep a long story short, I really enjoyed this event! Nice change of pace being on scenic roads versus the usual crits, doing the same lap for an hour or so in an office park. I finished first in the women's category and 9th overall which was pretty cool trying to hang with some of the guys. Forrest came across the finish line with me for the 10th spot.
Diane took the win for the women's category in the 100 mile event! Outstanding! She was out there in the peak hours of the sun and humidity along with some killer climbs on that route!
All the guys on the team also had great results! Plus, as usual, they are just a great group to be around!
Here's a link to results....
http://centurioncycling.com/wisconsin/results/
Maybe next year I'll do the hundred. Maybe.
Shelley Smith
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Vive le Tour
45 years ago, has it really changed much? Love the chest pocket jersey's.
Vive le tour! from Bear Thunder on Vimeo.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Why it's called racing.
Friday, July 22, 2011
pics from the state crits
Shelley suffering on her way to a medal
Patrick and I suffering
Suffering pays off but where are the other old guys?
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
What's better than owning a Madone?
Forrest was able to get me a 6.9 SSL. I love it. Absolutely LOVE it! And being the girl that I am, I really am happy with the color scheme. I've always wanted a black and silver pearl combination.
The last race Forrest and I did was the State Criterium Championship in Menomonee Falls.
Surprisingly, we had a very small turnout for the women's open race.
Nine of us were in the race and the group was dominated by one team making up 6 of the nine. That can certainly have an effect of the dynamics of the race, but for me the big challenge was the heat. The air was so thick with humidity I never felt like I could really take full breaths. Nothing like going anaerobic and feeling like you have wet washcloths stuffed in your lungs! I found myself daydreaming a few times as the course went past someone's backyard with a swimming pool. I really wanted in that pool.
Overall it was a great race and the only disappointment is that it marked off the ending of another summer weekend!
If I could only figure out how to live in California during the winter months......
Shelley Smith
Monday, July 18, 2011
Mixing it up
dblomme
military ridge state trail
With temps lingering around 100 degrees on Sunday, I was able to get the carbon cross bike out and hit 40+ miles on the Military Ridge state trail system. A warm and beautiful day.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
What a day! - The HOT version.
Coming off a decent Tour of America's Dairylands series (for me, at least), I was hoping to do OK at the WI state crit championships in Menomonee Falls. Some rest, a couple interval workouts and I felt ready to have some fun. I am finally feeling like I can race again after an abysmal spring. Of course, there are always things to do around the house and after playing with a drip watering system in the veggie garden, I wandered into the house and WHOA CRAP! I should have left 15 minutes ago! Bike is not in the car, bottles are not ready, etc, etc, etc. Good thing there was not much thought in what to wear - 90+ and high humidity = skinsuit weather (and damn little else). Grab a triple ginger scone and fly out the door. Who needs caffeine?!? My GPS got me there about 45 minutes before the race. And I am feeling more relaxed - the course has long straights and wide corners. I will be able to sit in until the legs are ready to go without too much effort if I can not get them moving in the warmup. But no issues in warmup. Not sure if my legs were loose because of the warm weather or I hit just the right combo of spinouts and short intervals the day before but no complaints. Should have brought more water, I quickly realized as I decided that I wanted to do both the M3/4 and the M1/2/3 (no clue why - I have not finished 2 races in one day since EARLY spring). Lined up for the M3/4 and had one teammate, Patrick Callahan who is feeling much better after some lung crud during TOAD. The team plan - ride smart and hope for some opportunities. Team Velocause decided to send people to the front to keep the pace up a bit but no attempts went anywhere. I learned my lesson from TOAD and anytime I moved up, I went past all the riders hoping to be 5th wheel and rolled up to 3rd or 4th wheel. Which is what I did with 2 to go but could not stay there. Feeling stronger but just was not strong enough to insist on staying in the front. And with a few too many people trying to win the race from the back of the pack, I was content to go thru the last 2 corners safe sound. And shortly thereafter, I heard my name being called as one of the podium finishers. I knew there were not too many old guys in the field but....
My main concern at that point was getting ready for the M1/2/3 race. I was hot and wish I had more water to drink during the race though I was not feeling dehydrated. Looking at my skinsuit, however was another story - it was showing a lot of white salt lines. I decided what I needed to do was sit on the windtrainer and DRINK. Keep my legs moving but try not to sweat. I was realizing that in my race out of the house, I had not brought near enough water. I had maybe enough to drink. Maybe. Certainly not enough to wear during the next race. Was not sure what to expect for the race. Superweek had started and a number of the usual suspects often did Superweek. Eric and Forrest were there but would it be a big field or small? It was a very respectable field - looked like 60+ on the line and all the fast folks. Gonna be a long hot race but there was more than enough of a field to hide in as needed. And I had incentive! I had found out just before the start of the M1/2/3 that I was the gold medalist for the M3/4 in the 55-59 group - though in the spirit of full disclosure, I had NO COMPETITION. No one else in my age group (or older) braved the race. Could I be a double medalist? I was gonna try! I saw one guy who was likely in my age group and I would make sure I finished in front of him even if it was second from the end. The gun goes off and I slam my ankle against the pedal as I tried to click in (really starting to hate those pedals!) and it is fast from the start. And hot! One of the houses on the course had an above ground pool and I saw some guy jumping in, thinking I would SO like to be there. At the start, I slid towards the front and tried to ride in good position. A lot of action but no moves that seemed intent on sticking, though there were a quite a few laps where I was holding onto my wheel as the pack was strung out. Not sure if there was chasing down to do or a team was trying to soften up the competition. When the pace slowed I would slide up the side but never stayed there for long as the action stayed busy even if never decisive. By about halfway thru, my bottle was almost dry and I was in serious energy management mode. And the pace was gradually picking up - the pack was not bunching up nearly as often. I was towards the back and not liking it there but never was able to take an easy ride up. I would move up a few wheels here and there and then fall back a few in other places. I was focused on being smooth and not wasting energy, trying not to overheat. I felt like I could have moved up, had the legs but at what cost? The idea was to wait for the opportunity to use my energy to greatest advantage. The opportunity did not come. The pack was pretty strung out for the last 5 or so laps and while I could see the front, it was not within reach. And now the cost to move up was greatly increased. Starting to move on the last lap when BANG - carnage in the middle of the road. Just a few riders down but those behind the pack were essentially stopped. I picked my way thru and made a hard push for the finish and WHEW - now WHERE IS THAT POOL? I was going to ask if I could jump in but was not going to make a guerilla raid. I circled the course once looking for someone watering the grass, hoping I could get them to put the hose down my back for a few minutes. Back to the car to lick out the last of the water - at least I had half a small battle waiting. When I left the house I was thinking it might be what I used to clean off. Nope - strictly for internal consumption. And then I hear my name announced again. Whoa! Another gold medal and this time I actually had ONE OTHER PERSON in my age group (though not the guy I identified earlier - he was in the 60+ group - and finished a lap down.) So there you go - I beat one person and go two medals - pretty damn efficient if you ask me! But I was more pleased that I had two good races despite it all.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Toad finale
d.blomme
The last weekend of racing TOAD was fun despite my first ever road crash on "crash corner" during the final lap of the IS Corp Downer Classic. I really like this race for both the technical aspect and for the huge crowd turnout. Team Velocause was definitely the team to contend with for this series with 10 strong riders showing up in this race. Pre-race, I talked with some guys from Milwaukee Bike to see if they wanted to work together which seemed promising. I ditched that idea when one of them tried a breakaway with Team Velocause. It was a good move, but I didn't want that duo to stick so bridged up and brought that one back. I was in good position for the final lap using Team Velocause as lead out with Tom H. looking good sticking right by. However at about 32mph, I instantly went from leaning hard in the corner to sliding on the handlebars and saddle. My tailbone ended up using the curb as a stop. Road rash is about cleared up but it's still a bit sore to sit in a chair for very long. Doesn't hurt to ride though, so I'm back on! Tom finished 23rd with Jim 63rd.
My daughters did a great job in the kids races showing me up by placing 1st and 3rd in each of their events! I'll be quizzing them for tips.
The overall vibe of Sundays race around Madison's capital was a much more mellow event compared to the previous day. My body felt a little off from the crash so it was mostly just a mid pack race. With 4 laps to go, I got to the front of the pack to see if anyone wanted to roll off the front instead of contest the final sprint (which I knew my body didn't want to attempt), but no one wanted join. Mid-pack finish that day, but still a fun weekend of racing for the team.
Thanks Focal Flame for coming out to get some great pics!
"Photo by Clint Thayer of Focal Flame. Purchase this and many other Trek Midwest photos at http://www.focalflamestore.com/RoadCycling/2011-TOAD-TREK" for each photo.
Friday, July 1, 2011
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The title pretty much sums up my performance at the last 3 TOAD races. Friday, June 24th, I went up to Fond Du Lac. I had not raced at that venue before so was not sure what to expect. It was sweet - a downtown venue, flat and fast. And after a few days rest (no racing since Tuesday), my legs were feeling decent. As with the other TOAD races I had done, another good turnout and we started right on time. Yep, fast. A speed radar was at the start/finish line repeated showed 27 mph. The corners were wide and I was able to slide up places on the inside, outside or sometimes thru the center. And for the first time in a long time, I had the acceleration to easily move up the sides. So I tried to go with a couple moves midway thru the race. Nothing was going to stick today, however, or even get too far away. There were a LOT of very young kids at the race - perhaps someone brought a pre-school group. They were all sitting at the final corner and each time we went thru, there was a high pitched shriek. The first couple times, I thought someone might have gone down - it was that sort of a noise. But even after I knew to expect it, it still unnerved me a little. But at the same time, it sounded like they were having a good time. Anyway, as the race wore down, the field took on its usual pattern - 4 or 5 people in a line on the front and then the entire field trying to be on the next wheel and stretched from one shoulder to the other in the straights. So one either had to be on the front or deal with everyone trying to hold position going into the corners. With 8 or so laps to go, I took a chance and rolled to and thru the front hoping someone(s) else might be thinking to not wait for the sprint. Nope. With 4 laps to go, I actually attacked (something I have not done in AGES!), again hoping to be in the right place at the right time. Nope. Finally, with 2 to go I again went to the front figuring SURELY the speeds would be picking up and I would slot in. Nope again. And though I fought to hold position, I got caught behind someone who ran out of gas or desire and ended up in the top 20 instead of the top 10. But at least my legs felt good, like I could race.
The next day was at Downers Ave in Milwaukee and I was hoping my legs would continue to show signs of life. I have raced there before and knew that I needed to be close to the front to slide around the second corner to avoid the accordion effect. And to the front is right where I went but even close to the front, I had to get out of the saddle coming out of the corner. And despite my best efforts I ended up sliding back in the pack. Whereas yesterday I had good acceleration, today it was bad. And did not get any better. And in the middle of the pack, the second corner was my demise. We were slowing to what felt like 5 mph only to accelerate back up to 25 coming out. I tried to ease WAY off coming into the corner so I could slide up on the wheel in front of me and hopefully carry some speed thru the corner but even doing that I was not able to avoid using the brakes. And while yesterday I felt like I could charge out of corners all day (though did not have to), today, my charge-o-meter was low. A few times, I resolved to move up, knowing that I could not tail-gun all day and so slid the side to get into top 10-15 sort of position but that hosed my legs just enough that I immediately lost everything I gained coming out of the dreaded second corner. Finally, I just plain ran out of enough charge to hold on to the pack coming out of that corner and fell off. Once there and riding steady, my legs felt better fast but so what. Oh well. Tomorrow was to be racing at the Capitol Square in Madison, a fun course. Surely that will be a better day.
It was ugly. And I will be brief. I could not get into my pedal coming off the starting line and was at the VERY back of the pack into the second corner - not good. Worse, I was tired. There is a short climb on the back stretch and were I in the pack and protected from the wind, I would have been fine. Instead, I was back in the just barely hanging on section of the pack coming into the headwind section. 3 laps of trying to move into the pack and I was hosed. Blah! All I could do was hope that after recovering from the 7 days of racing would see me stronger and to have a beer and watch the races. And I was a lovely day to watch the races.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
No Country for Tall Men
whacked my head in the subway, on a trimmed tree walking up to a pagoda; and the wounds are healing. I've also stopped wearing my baseball cap so I can better see the offending infrastructure, and stopped "sightseeing while walking".
Barney - it's real hot here. Don't come over, eh?
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
What a day!
When last I wrote, I had just finished the Waukesha M3/4 crit. And I was feeling pretty good, strength and fitness-wise. And not as tired as I was after Saturday's race though in many respects, Waukesha was harder. On the way home, I was grappling with the concept of doing the Greenbush road race. Hmmm - if I was to continue to be in contention for the overall series in the 55+ M3/4, I would need to go. And my weight is good so climbing should be OK. But, for better or for worse, reality won out. Missing a day of work was not going to be a happening thing. Too much for me to do. And I had promised friends that I would drive the carpool. And I thought it would be better for me to take an active rest day in rather than beat myself up day after day. So, time to steer my thoughts towards the Schlitz Park crit in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
The day started out good. Looking at the weather forecast, it appeared the thunder showers would not roll thru till about 3, well after my race. Punched in what I thought was the correct address into the GPS and away I go. Somehow, I had it in my head that the race was a little south of 94 instead of a little north. And so that is how what I thought was impossible was achieved - getting lost while using a GPS! I knew the cross streets but kept thinking mistakenly that the race was in the opposite direction of where it was. FINALLY got to the race site 45 minutes before my start time - half an hour later than planned. No opportunity to ride the course (something that is not built into the TOAD planning but which I have been trying to do). Wish I had ridden it! The course looks like the other TOAD crits from a map - a rectangle with a chicane stuck in. Only this one had a left-right-left-right kinda chicane with the first left of the series coming off a significant descent. It had the potential for a fun course if you did not slide on the manhole covers scattered thru the chicanes.
A smallish field lined up - maybe 45 riders with of course the folks vying for the 55+ overall. Two minutes before the start of the race, the skies opened up and it poured. It let off just as the race was started and I honestly do not know if it rained during the race - you know how road spray makes it a moot point anyway. I had decided to ride my alloy wheels rather than my carbon tubies because the gearing on the alloy wheels should let me stay in the big ring up the climb. The trouble was, I had the carbon brake pads on and past experience had shown that my braking was "suspect" with this combo in the rain. Anyway, the gun goes off an it is immediately into the climb - steep and the boys are pushing it. I am mid pack and not feeling bad on the climb but there is a LOT of variation in the confidence people are feeling on the turns and the descent. Some are going backwards and some are charging forward. I am trying to move around those moving backwards while not sure how much I want to test my cornering and braking. And DAMN but those manholes are in BAD places. I am not sure how my brakes are doing so I am not taking the lines I normally would. First time thru the start/finish and it is a LONG line and I am not where I was hoping and I can see the gaps opening. I am still riding OK up the climb but not willing to push thru the corners and after a couple laps find myself with a small group. We are all starting to figure out the lines thru the corners and I feel like the pace is pretty good but it is too late for us - the leaders are up the road. The course starts to dry out a bit and we are passing lapped riders (already?) and catching up to a few who could not hang on the climb. Those manholes continue to look as big as tractor tires, however. I watched a couple guys slide sideways on one coming into the finishing straight. And in the end, finish 20th or so. Wish it had been dry but the sad truth was that my climbing was not quite good enough to be with the lead pack. Still, it was fun, especially the bottom part of the chicane once I dialed it in. And on the drive home, I drove thru a storm that was headed to Milwaukee - hope Eric was done before it hit!
Next up - Fond du Lac on Friday followed by Downers and Madison.
Stage 5 of TOAD - Focal Flame Photography catches Eric
Eric Knuth is not an easy one to catch. He's fast, and currently sitting in 5th place overall in the Tour of America's Dairyland for Masters 1/2/3 45+. Locally, that is a very fast category. The racing continues daily thru the end of the weekend so come check it out.
Focal Flame Photography:
www.focalflame.com
www.focalflame.com/blog
www.facebook.com/focalflame
Monday, June 20, 2011
Tour of America's Dairyland - first 3 races
A couple weeks ago, with the Tour of America's Dairyland (TOAD) fast approaching the legs were showing signs of life. On June 4th, I raced at Fitchburg in the M3/4 and felt pretty good for the first time in a while. I was sliding up the sides easily and even got myself into good position for the last lap. And then turned around and did the M1/2/3 field. I was actually feeling better in that race. My acceleration was OK and because the race was much smoother than the M3/4, I was able to use my energy positively. But it was a hot day, the first hot day of the season, training or racing and started to overheat with 6 or 7 laps to go. A couple more laps and I decided it was a good time to have a hefeweisen (one of my home brews, of course) and watch the races.
Friday, June 17th was the start of the TOAD races out in Thiensville. Last year, I won a 6-pack of race entries to the TOAD series and signed up for the first 3 in the Masters3/4 field. It was a tight twisty course and I knew I needed to get to the front to avoid the whip-sawing. About 70 people were on the starting line and well, they all looked too young but perhaps you know how it is - the older you get, the younger they look. Anyway, even with a good start and being up towards the front, there was a LOT of charging into the corners and then hitting the brakes. I tried to be as smooth as I could but too often, someone would jump in front of me and then hit the brakes. I tried to slide inside or out and often passed them back but eventually decided it would be safer to just chill towards the back half of the pack where I did not have to be charging so often. Besides, I have only so many accelerations in me and that number is not nearly what others in the race have. Of course, that puts me potentially behind any crashes and while there were a few dramatic changes of line that got everyone excited, no one went down in front of me. The big mistake I made was with 4 laps to go, I was too timid. No one wanted to be in the wind but everyone wanted to be the 4th or 5th wheel. That meant that coming into the corners, you had a 3 or 4 people at the front and then everyone else spread out across the road. And those folks had to then sort themselves out going into the corner. I had been watching this for the last few laps and with 4 to go, I knew I should have jumped around the group and gone to the front - and I easily could have - but that would have meant fighting to maintain position for the last 4 laps - something I was not sure I had the fitness to do. So , I decided I would do it NEXT lap. OOPS! Should have known better. The folks at the front decided to ramp it up on the next lap and I did not have the opportunity to jump to the front for the rest of the race. So instead, I was content to keep it smooth and keep my eyes open to avoid any last lap crashes.
Saturday, June 18th was at Grafton. I forgot how much I like that course. In some respects it was like Thiensville with an "S" section but much looser and so one could slide up in the corners easily. But I had a lousy start. Could not get clipped in and found myself at about the back of an 85 or 90 person pack. #%$! Then just as I started to roll, got caught behind a crash. I perhaps should have had the presence of mind to "fall down" and take a free lap but instead chased after coming to essentially a standstill. For the next few laps, I was back in the cheap seats and thougnt I was gonna be dropped. Fortunately, there were others behind me and I rode a few of them as best I could and then started to slide the corners to move up towards the middle of the pack so that I was no longer tail-gunning. Still in survival mode but the precipice was edging away. Then, unexpectedly, I started to feel good! I got out of the saddle, charged up the little ride on the back side and sid through on the inside of the next corner and up towards the front of the pack where Tom Hooyer and David Bloome were. With Tom's help, I stayed up towards the front and thought we were in good position with 1 to go but then got blocked in as a bunch of folks came up the side and had to settle for mid 20s position. And good enough to be the top 55+ finisher.
Sunday, June 19th was a different story. This race was at Waukesha, another technically demanding course. Again starting position was going to be important and when they staged the M3/4 field, I found myself at the back. And thoug I had a good start, I really needed to be up further in the field. There was an off camber turn that had a lot of people hitting the brakes coming into and then accelerating out of to make up for the gap they just opened. They might have that acceleration - not me! After just a few times being stuck behind a couple of the strong, timid types, I was hosed. Off the back. At least I was not the only one and got in a little chase group almost immediately and we rolled thru for the next bunch of laps, picking up a few more stragglers. Amazing how much easier it was when I was not braking into the corners!
And I had to finish. I was in contention for the overall prize in the 55+ group. And despite being off the back, there were other 55+ folks behind me and only one in front. What to do, what to do. With a relatively few number of 55+ folks in the M3/4 field, the overall prize is more a matter of showing up, rather than placing as points are awarded 20 for first, 19 for second, 18 for 3rd and so on. If only 3 55+ folsk show up, finishing 3 laps down still gets you 18 points for the race. Despite this, I decided that it would be stupid for me to race today (Monday) in the road race. Time for a rest day. The Tuesday race will be hard enough being a little rested! And we shall see what we shall see for the rest of the week. At least I am having fun, something I was not so sure of when I was getting dropped unceremoniously in the early season.