It all starts with the Beverly Classic. This one was a little different for me because it actually contained people I have raced with. The field was smaller than what I remember, but the pace and primes almost every other lap were the same. I thought that it was impressive there was $3500 dollars in primes eventhough that number was down from a once $5000. Some of the guys I have raced with who were in the field got popped in the first 4 laps, but 3 others hung on to the end. Two of those guys who hung on, I just raced against in the Tour De Villas.
Couldn't do Geneva, worked that day. I heard there were some nasty crashes though.
Homewood: Cat 4/5 Having just got off shift at 7AM, I was a little tired to say the least. Traffic was light and I got there in plenty of time for a change. Seeing that it was a warm morning I didn't want to warm up too much and I'm glad I didn't. Our race didn't start until 45 minutes after the posted time so there was a lot of warm up laps taken before the race. I would rather have a safe race experience with the oil washed down in the one corner and course marshalls stopping traffic from coming onto the course than not having those things done.
The race goes off and I am still having a difficult time clipping in. The new Look Max's I use are so smooth moving that any forward movement gets them rocking more than my old pedals. So I loose a couple of positions, no big deal. Well this puts me behind a Team Mack rider who in turn one puts his inside pedal down and ends up high siding off his bike. I am directly behind him hitting the brakes just waiting to hit him, but his momentum carried him to the outside of the corner with me just avoiding him. So now I am all alone with about 9 guys off the front. I decided right after I regained my speed to go and chase them down, I was finally able to latch back on just before the turns started. Now the group I was in were 10 strong and in 4 laps we swelled 20. I wish we could have worked better to keep it 10. There was communication, but nobody really wanted to pull through. With about 3 to go, another crash in turn one. With 2 to go a crash on the second right after the straightaway. On the last lap I was able to gain some positions in the turns. Everybody took the turn where the oil was tight and I came around wide by myself picking up places and being able to pedal through the turn. Onto the s/f I liked how you could cut real close to the guard rail on the inside of the manhole cover. I was a little surprised that the sprint didn't happen after the turn but closer to the finish line. I came in 6th with some more gas in the tank.
Cat 4/5 35+ For me it was a little too long in between races. I like an hour off in between, but this was more like 2. On the line I marked a couple of riders who I have seen in the past do well, no real big team presence though. I wouldn't say this race was tamer, just safer. A couple of times a guy would get off the front with somebody blocking, but they were all pretty short lived. With 2 laps left a Wheelman trys to string out the field. I knew that on the back stretch I had to move up before the turns which I did. At the bell I'm sitting about 5 back. Around turn 2 (which started to develop loose gravel from the patched hole) I was 3rd wheel. We started the sprint this time right after the last turn and kept our same positions for the finish-3rd.
Richton Park: Me and this course have history. Last year on the last lap I caught the pack sleeping on the bell lap. I exerted all my energy and got off the front by myself. In turn 2 I touched my inside pedal shooting me upright and off the course. The pack finally passed me as I got back on the course. Oh well that was last year. Same course and the start was on time. Had problems clipping in again, but had good starting position. The pace was fast, but I could deal with it. I took an early flier in an effort to string things out early and settled in. Two guys were doing much of the pulling and not asking for any help. I could see these guys were strong, but didn't mind them pooping themselves out. With 5 to go the racing begins in earnest. Luckily I didn't get myself boxed in and each time I was able to get close to the front. On the last lap I moved up on the back stretch a little and on the outside between turn 3 and 4. I was about 5 back after the final turn. The sprint started far back and I was able to come in 3rd. Tony
Monday, July 12, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tour de Villas
I didn't know if I was going to do this one or not, I was a little unnerved after Sherman Park and haven't raced since. Memories of Monsters crept into my head at Sherman and that just took me out of contention in and of itself.
Seeing that some teammates were going I thought it would be a good tune up for Superweek. Also seeing that this was an ABR race, why not race as a 3? It's where I wouldn't mind being so why not test the waters? So Paul and I signed up.
The cat 4 race finishes with Elvis coming in 10th but a crash on the last lap brings out the ambulance. Hopefully the guy is OK. As we are waiting and the promoters are losing time they decide to combine the 3's and the 1,2,3's fields. I think there were only 36 riders total.
My goal was to just hang on and see what it was like to be in a higher cat. When they combined the fields now my goal was to hold on for dear life and see what it was like.
The race starts without any difference than I'm use to. The laps progressed with attack after attack occurring. Nothing that couldn't be covered. Then a group of 6 gets off the front effortlessly. Nothing big, just a progressive increase in pace. I didn't really see it go off and even if I did my goal was to just hold on. As the laps progressed there were a couple of fliers to bridge the gap but they were reeled back into the pack. The funniest was an obvious cat 1 or 2 who missed the break who was doing a good amount of pulling. He was getting upset with the pack hollering at us to do some work. To his disadvantage was the more he hollered the less people wanted to work.
With 3 left there was a prime and I caught glimpse of Paul still hanging in. I did a little pulling at this point hitting 27 to 28 mph. Didn't feel too bad either. I played the last lap poorly pulling a little but knowing the sprint would start any minute. So I eased off and got swarmed. I knew this was too long to be the sprint and just eased in to the back of them. With about 200m left I started to pick off some guys. I knew I was close to picking a guy off at the line but would have to wait for the video. Sure enough he got me at the line. Even though I would have loved to get that guy, he was a 123, my goal was accomplished. I think I came in 10th for the 3's and 21st overall. Superweek here we come rocking our new kits!
Seeing that some teammates were going I thought it would be a good tune up for Superweek. Also seeing that this was an ABR race, why not race as a 3? It's where I wouldn't mind being so why not test the waters? So Paul and I signed up.
The cat 4 race finishes with Elvis coming in 10th but a crash on the last lap brings out the ambulance. Hopefully the guy is OK. As we are waiting and the promoters are losing time they decide to combine the 3's and the 1,2,3's fields. I think there were only 36 riders total.
My goal was to just hang on and see what it was like to be in a higher cat. When they combined the fields now my goal was to hold on for dear life and see what it was like.
The race starts without any difference than I'm use to. The laps progressed with attack after attack occurring. Nothing that couldn't be covered. Then a group of 6 gets off the front effortlessly. Nothing big, just a progressive increase in pace. I didn't really see it go off and even if I did my goal was to just hold on. As the laps progressed there were a couple of fliers to bridge the gap but they were reeled back into the pack. The funniest was an obvious cat 1 or 2 who missed the break who was doing a good amount of pulling. He was getting upset with the pack hollering at us to do some work. To his disadvantage was the more he hollered the less people wanted to work.
With 3 left there was a prime and I caught glimpse of Paul still hanging in. I did a little pulling at this point hitting 27 to 28 mph. Didn't feel too bad either. I played the last lap poorly pulling a little but knowing the sprint would start any minute. So I eased off and got swarmed. I knew this was too long to be the sprint and just eased in to the back of them. With about 200m left I started to pick off some guys. I knew I was close to picking a guy off at the line but would have to wait for the video. Sure enough he got me at the line. Even though I would have loved to get that guy, he was a 123, my goal was accomplished. I think I came in 10th for the 3's and 21st overall. Superweek here we come rocking our new kits!
Monday, June 7, 2010
WONDER LAKE AND OTHER THINGS
First off Wonder Lake. We had two guys in the masters 50+. Actually one and a half. The Chicago fire department started a team for the police and fire games so we as a team are trying to get them to ride for us. Ronnie is that half rider in the 50+. The field was small but both finished in the pack. Unfortunately for the first lead rider of the day into turn 3 there was no corner marshall so he proceeded to go straight instead of turn.
In the cat 5 race we had Tom, Jack who we support, also on the fire department team and Ronnie. Ronnie came in 15 tom in 21 and Jack got lapped. This is the thing with cat 5 racing that I don't understand. The race seemed too fast. I like how ABR has a beginner cat with 10 or less races. It does not seem like we or USA cycling are really fostering new riders. I can only imagine how crushing it would feel to keep on getting dropped week after week, knowing you trained a little and have no good results for your efforts. I could see how it would make people want to quit.
Some other people languish in the lower cats waiting on the USAC rules for 5th place or higher, not being able to cat up. I admit to a point I am one of the people who needs to cat up. Not because of performance mind you, but because I need a change. I'm pretty sure I have my pack finishes. One dear friend of mine, who I admire as a rider and a steward of this sport Mike Seguin xXx told me not to cat up until I get good results. I disagree with him. It is time soon. Why would I want to keep on riding at the level I am without pushing myself with supposed higher caliber riders? Isn't it better to burn out than to fade away? Are my results really going to get any better in cat 4?
Back to the subject. The cat 4 race was next. And guess what? The first 2 guys on the front went straight at turn 3 also! I understand that it is the riders responsibility to know the course, but when you are racing and you have a guy sitting in a chair in front of a barrier lazily waving a flag, with a car sized gap to go straight, you couldn't tell if he was telling us "watch out for this horse and stay straight " or "go left". Some constructive criticism: next time if you can't barricade the whole turn off, please at least have a marshall blocking off the rest of the street. I turned on the power a little too soon coming in 8th.
Next up the 4-5 masters. It was a slow paced race with just a couple of accelerations. This time there was no big jump in speed at the end, just a long windup. I felt I had good postion in about 7th wheel, but couldn't gain ground on the guys in front of me. Next time I got to get a little closer to the front. Nice course, nice people and safe.
Rambling #1: I have been doing more riding in the city lately. My job is 9 miles away from my house so it ecentially takes me just as long by car or bike. Coming home one morning at 7AM from work I went under a bridge and made a nice sweeping right hand turn. I have made this turn numerous times and knew the pavement was smooth without any debris. It just so happened this time I went down. Thank goodness there were no cars by me. What I didn't see while riding was there must have been oil on the ground. No glossiness or discoloration of the pavement to tip me off. So with that being said, eventhough you might think you know your way or the streets, BE CAREFUL!
Rambling #2: I like Chicagobikeracing.com. Luke Seeman provides a host of info on the bike scene of Chicago. The last rambling on there was from a guy about the O'Fallon race and other things. He is a guy who has risen quickly in the cats. If he has a problem with where a race is located, then just don't go. Did he ever ride the course to see how nice it was? Doesn't he have teammates he could ride down there with? Chicago is 1 hour from Wisconsin, O'Fallon is what, 30 min from Missouri? Don't people make the hike down to Hillsboro? I am not trying to inflame, but come on. Keep to racing. Obviously you are a good rider and suck just as much as I do trying to get your point across on paper. Suggestion for Luke: Give people only one chance to pitch their bitch on your site and not allow them any more than that. And as for hosting races JUST DO IT. Stop asking the questions and get your ass to work. We are just a handfull of riders and have put on a time trial, cyclocross race and have sponsored the Beverly Classic and some of the categories in the state road race championship when it was in Oak Brook. Not trumping ourselves up, but where there is a will there is a way. Tony
In the cat 5 race we had Tom, Jack who we support, also on the fire department team and Ronnie. Ronnie came in 15 tom in 21 and Jack got lapped. This is the thing with cat 5 racing that I don't understand. The race seemed too fast. I like how ABR has a beginner cat with 10 or less races. It does not seem like we or USA cycling are really fostering new riders. I can only imagine how crushing it would feel to keep on getting dropped week after week, knowing you trained a little and have no good results for your efforts. I could see how it would make people want to quit.
Some other people languish in the lower cats waiting on the USAC rules for 5th place or higher, not being able to cat up. I admit to a point I am one of the people who needs to cat up. Not because of performance mind you, but because I need a change. I'm pretty sure I have my pack finishes. One dear friend of mine, who I admire as a rider and a steward of this sport Mike Seguin xXx told me not to cat up until I get good results. I disagree with him. It is time soon. Why would I want to keep on riding at the level I am without pushing myself with supposed higher caliber riders? Isn't it better to burn out than to fade away? Are my results really going to get any better in cat 4?
Back to the subject. The cat 4 race was next. And guess what? The first 2 guys on the front went straight at turn 3 also! I understand that it is the riders responsibility to know the course, but when you are racing and you have a guy sitting in a chair in front of a barrier lazily waving a flag, with a car sized gap to go straight, you couldn't tell if he was telling us "watch out for this horse and stay straight " or "go left". Some constructive criticism: next time if you can't barricade the whole turn off, please at least have a marshall blocking off the rest of the street. I turned on the power a little too soon coming in 8th.
Next up the 4-5 masters. It was a slow paced race with just a couple of accelerations. This time there was no big jump in speed at the end, just a long windup. I felt I had good postion in about 7th wheel, but couldn't gain ground on the guys in front of me. Next time I got to get a little closer to the front. Nice course, nice people and safe.
Rambling #1: I have been doing more riding in the city lately. My job is 9 miles away from my house so it ecentially takes me just as long by car or bike. Coming home one morning at 7AM from work I went under a bridge and made a nice sweeping right hand turn. I have made this turn numerous times and knew the pavement was smooth without any debris. It just so happened this time I went down. Thank goodness there were no cars by me. What I didn't see while riding was there must have been oil on the ground. No glossiness or discoloration of the pavement to tip me off. So with that being said, eventhough you might think you know your way or the streets, BE CAREFUL!
Rambling #2: I like Chicagobikeracing.com. Luke Seeman provides a host of info on the bike scene of Chicago. The last rambling on there was from a guy about the O'Fallon race and other things. He is a guy who has risen quickly in the cats. If he has a problem with where a race is located, then just don't go. Did he ever ride the course to see how nice it was? Doesn't he have teammates he could ride down there with? Chicago is 1 hour from Wisconsin, O'Fallon is what, 30 min from Missouri? Don't people make the hike down to Hillsboro? I am not trying to inflame, but come on. Keep to racing. Obviously you are a good rider and suck just as much as I do trying to get your point across on paper. Suggestion for Luke: Give people only one chance to pitch their bitch on your site and not allow them any more than that. And as for hosting races JUST DO IT. Stop asking the questions and get your ass to work. We are just a handfull of riders and have put on a time trial, cyclocross race and have sponsored the Beverly Classic and some of the categories in the state road race championship when it was in Oak Brook. Not trumping ourselves up, but where there is a will there is a way. Tony
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Monster Crash
Another big crash in the 4's field. I was glad to have hit the grass and not the Pave, Because I'm taking the family to Disney this week. It would have put a damper on things if I couldn't move good do to road rash. I put a link to my Garmin so you could see me slummin in the back. All I did was sprint and brake. Then come to a sudden stop.
Thx to the person that collected my things from the road. I lost my glasses, water bottle and the garmin in the crash. You can see who ever picked it up walking around with it.
Bob
Thx to the person that collected my things from the road. I lost my glasses, water bottle and the garmin in the crash. You can see who ever picked it up walking around with it.
Bob
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Vernon Hills 2010
Butting Heads
I felt pretty confident going back to Vernon Hills I had done well there and felt I could repeat that effort. The pre race went great our cat 4 race was last so there was nobody left at registration and it was a breeze to get my number. I quickly got back and started my warm up. I only had about ten minutes or so. Also on the pre-race agenda going over our race strategy I always like to follow the K.I.S.S. formula –keep it simple stupid. Clark was coming of f of a 5th place in Wisconsin on Saturday so I figured he couldn’t have much in the tank. Tony, Sergio and Jorge were also present so I filled them in on the game plan. Everybody was on board and the race was off to a fast start…
Quickly we all got going the pace was fast and the corners 3 and 4 were tight. Sergio and Jorge were getting there lump in the back of the peloton, while the rest of us were trying to mix it up with the front of the pack. Around midway through the race Clarkie decided to test the legs and went on the attack and Tony and I were trying to cover any chasers but it was obvious it was not going anywhere.
It was coming down to the wire and we had two laps left to get some thing done. I look over at Tony and gave him the two finger sign and he acknowledged my hand signal. As I moved up I could sense the pack getting anxious and squirrely. Now was the time to move up and get in position. Before I new it I was passing up all attackers and found my self at the head of the peloton going into to bottlenecking 4th and final turn. It was time to move aside and prepare for the final sprint. I had excellent position and was licking my chops at the position I found myself in. There was a row of about 3-4 riders in front leading out everyone for the sprint and I was in the middle. As I started revving up for the sprint, I felt and heard a bang, I thought for sure I’m going down and there is nothing I can do about it., and even worst I was about to get run over by about 60 riders going about 30+ mph. After the initial shock I was amazed I was still upright, but now an even scarier scenario the rider that bumped me and I were stuck together by our handle bar and some how tangled and we could not break free. Now I know what two rams feel like when they butt heads and get stuck. I knew the only way was to stay cool and not panic. We started wiggling out and finally we broke. But the fast moving peloton was already around us. All I could was try and muster up all my strength and come in with a decent finish. I was not to be!
Clark 15th
Tony 16th
Elvis 17th
Jorge 48th
Sergio 50th
See you next year!
E
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