Why it's called racing.

It's been a while since I've checked in; perhaps I hadn't felt like talking? 

 

As June came to a close and I reflected on how the season had gone, I realized my planned "slow start" had been to effective.  I talked with my coach and agreed it was time for a kick start and ramp up to some good fitness come SuperWeek which, at that time, was 3 week away.  We began intensive days of long and hard efforts and kept the rest active and the off days non-existent.  I was tired but could feel the work paying off.  I had a chance to test my fitness in the WCA UWW time trial where I grabbed 6th overall on the day ahead of a couple fast 1-2 guys.  A week later, with no rest, I felt good in the State Criterium Championships.  A week of grad school class prior to Superweek provided the perfect rest time and recovery.  My training didn't disappoint as I found myself in a break at the Brookfield Crit on lap 2 of 35.  Talking confidence and smarts into my younger breakaway partners, we built up to a 50 second gap.  Slowly our lead dwindled as did my partners and our advantage and laps ticked slowly down.  With less than 5 to go our lead was down to the low 20s and I began to formulate my plan.  Coming across the start/finish I glanced back to see the eyes of the peloton within 30 meters; it was time for my plan.  Rounding turn 1 into the small hill for the 35th time, I attacked-hard.  I pumped it throught the chicane turns at the top which I knew were so critical to the race and hammered down the back stretch.  Keeping the pace high I rested slightly down the only decent then pounded the roughly 400 meter finish stretch not daring to look back.  It had worked.  I crossed the line in that silence that only 1st place can experience and smiled as the weeks and months of work had paid off.  The rest of Superweek also went well with me being in several breaks and right in the heart of contesting sprints where a matter of feet decided 1st through 5th.  A couple mental slips on my part got me 2 5ths instead of higher but I was satisfied knowing my fitness was there.

 

Looking forward to a bit of rest, I decided 4 was enough of Superweek and helped volunteer at WORS Crystal Ridge.  Long story short, I entered my first single speed race being over geared and under prepared.  All was great as I cruised to an overall victory (although admittedly in a division a little easy for me) and more importantly had a blast doing it on tired legs.  I was just so happy to be riding on dirt again and having fun on a course I'd grown to hate.

 

There's no rest now however as I must make hay when the sun shines.  Taking control of 1st in the WCA CAT 3 points race, I'm set on substantiating that place.  With 3 WCA races left to go, I'm hoping to rally the rest of the CAT 3 guys and erase some of the frustration with the early season WCA and watching other teams control the race.  I may also jump into my first 1-2-3 and test the waters for next year. Whatever happens, it will remain a surprise; that's why it's called racing.

Gotta post this one! It sure don't happen often for me!

Jim Merrifield

State crits - this time with pics I hope!

Shelley suffering in the heat

Patrick and I doing the same

pics from the state crits

Jim Merrifield

Shelley suffering on her way to a medal

Patrick and I suffering

Suffering pays off but where are the other old guys?

What's better than owning a Madone?

Owning two of course!!
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

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.

What a day! - The HOT version.

Jim Merrifield

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.

New team tactic for the tour....

Crazy Aussie's.....

One of the easiest way to build base and earn a hall pass....

d.rettig

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.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Jim Merrifield

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.