Sunday, December 30, 2007
Remembering
Columnist Julie Deardorf has an article in the Q section (page 6) of the Chicago Tribune print edition today (Sunday) in rememberance of regional athletes who died in the past year. She mentions both Beth and Pieter of XXX-Athletico racing, who each died racing their bikes in 2007.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Watch this
I just got an email telling me to watch this video before it gets pulled from YouTube. I have not heard about this before, and I don't know how much truth there is to it, but it's worth watching.
It's the little things....
Like finally finding the seat pack tonight (Thurs.) that I thought I had lost at cx nationals. I couldn't figure out how I had lost it, but since it wasn't turning up anywhere I figured I must have lost it when I took it off the bike to race. I'm so glad not to have to replace the stuff that was inside, including a nice Pearl Izumi super lightweight wind vest. Now if I could just find the gloves that I misplaced on Christmas evening!
Also like the day after getting home from Nats getting a box in the mail with my new brown Fisher sweater inside! I got a large back in September because that was all they had, but it was too big. So I have been waiting for a medium.
I thought I would have lots of time this week to get stuff done, since all of my family was away except for me. It didn't work out that way at all. Which is ok, I enjoyed the Christmas meals I went to alot, but I still am behind. And I have had some wierd stomach flu-like thing. Have been feeling nauseous with stomach aches, ugh. I did get out for a ride on Christmas and Wednesday - the fresh air helped a little.
One project is figuring out how to use the digital photo frame I got my mom. I got the the one with the most memory and features, so I am hoping things go smoothly getting it loaded up with pics and working.
I tried to get a Wii, but I missed the order deadline. The store (Gamestop) had stopped taking prepaid orders the day before - they had gotten a store-wide email telling them to stop taking orders. They didn't even fill all their order slots because most people needed them before Christmas. I was mad at myself because I could have gone to the store Sunday had I known it only lasted a couple of days. They said it was the only time Nintendo had ever taken orders for them and that it wasn't likely to happen again. I asked if they could try to put my order through but the computer wouldn't take it.
I have spent way too much time and money at Best Buy in the last week. Christmas shopping is dangerous for me because I see all these things I normally wouldn't see when I am busy riding every day and going to races every weekend.
I stopped at the local snowboard/skate shop to look for stuff for my nephew. They didn't have that much stuff in stock for little kids, but I found some things. I saw one of these. Rachael has the women's version (different color scheme), and I thought it was really cool when I saw it on her. They only had one left in little kid sizes, and it's probably too big, but I had to get it. I hope he likes it. It has little monsters all over it!
Roller Coaster is having a reunion gig on Friday night in Wicker Park (today by the time you read this - it's late Thursday night now). I'm looking forward to it. I will get to see a lot of the old bike racing gang that I don't see much any more. Many of them have moved away, and many of the ones that still live here are no longer racing much, if at all. Some are back in town for the holidays. Sounds like a group of us are going out to dinner beforehand, can't wait.
Also like the day after getting home from Nats getting a box in the mail with my new brown Fisher sweater inside! I got a large back in September because that was all they had, but it was too big. So I have been waiting for a medium.
I thought I would have lots of time this week to get stuff done, since all of my family was away except for me. It didn't work out that way at all. Which is ok, I enjoyed the Christmas meals I went to alot, but I still am behind. And I have had some wierd stomach flu-like thing. Have been feeling nauseous with stomach aches, ugh. I did get out for a ride on Christmas and Wednesday - the fresh air helped a little.
One project is figuring out how to use the digital photo frame I got my mom. I got the the one with the most memory and features, so I am hoping things go smoothly getting it loaded up with pics and working.
I tried to get a Wii, but I missed the order deadline. The store (Gamestop) had stopped taking prepaid orders the day before - they had gotten a store-wide email telling them to stop taking orders. They didn't even fill all their order slots because most people needed them before Christmas. I was mad at myself because I could have gone to the store Sunday had I known it only lasted a couple of days. They said it was the only time Nintendo had ever taken orders for them and that it wasn't likely to happen again. I asked if they could try to put my order through but the computer wouldn't take it.
I have spent way too much time and money at Best Buy in the last week. Christmas shopping is dangerous for me because I see all these things I normally wouldn't see when I am busy riding every day and going to races every weekend.
I stopped at the local snowboard/skate shop to look for stuff for my nephew. They didn't have that much stuff in stock for little kids, but I found some things. I saw one of these. Rachael has the women's version (different color scheme), and I thought it was really cool when I saw it on her. They only had one left in little kid sizes, and it's probably too big, but I had to get it. I hope he likes it. It has little monsters all over it!
Roller Coaster is having a reunion gig on Friday night in Wicker Park (today by the time you read this - it's late Thursday night now). I'm looking forward to it. I will get to see a lot of the old bike racing gang that I don't see much any more. Many of them have moved away, and many of the ones that still live here are no longer racing much, if at all. Some are back in town for the holidays. Sounds like a group of us are going out to dinner beforehand, can't wait.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Finally, the Elite Men.
Finally, I have a chance (by staying up really late) to post some pics of the Elite Men at CX Nationals.
Below is Tim Johnson, about to cross the finish line in first place!
Jonathan Page is rounding the corner (below). He and Tim Johnson were in an intense battle for first place. He ended up second. Notice how bundled up everyone is (except apparently, Page's hand, brrr). Lots of spectators were wearing coveralls, mostly brown Carhartts, to stay warm and un-muddy. This pic is worth it just for the hot pink coveralls in the background. I think Holly needs a pair of these with skulls on them!
Todd Wells, who came in third, is on one of his last laps in this pic. The riders hit this part of the course shortly after the start. While I have better pics of Todd, I thought this one gave you a good view of the park and the pond.
Tristan came in eight place. Congrats Tristan, great finish! That corner had to be a lot harder with people dabbing right in front of you and following inches behind you.
Ooops! Not everyone made it around the corner. This happened to people all over the course, all weekend long! This guy apparently isn't a fan of gloves, either.
Kevin was looking really strong and then all of a sudden he disappeared! Turns out he had bad flat karma that day, as you can see.
Ben had a terrible starting position due to his last minute upgrade (congrats!) to Cat 1. In spite of that, he raced very well and had lots of fun!
Marko LaLonde raced the elite race for his second race of the day, after winning the singlespeed race at 8 freezin'o'clock in the morning! You can see Kevin behind him here.
Alister is another local racer who tackled the elite race after racing the collegiate race earlier. Snow on the front tire here, mud everywhere else.
More pics here.
Below is Tim Johnson, about to cross the finish line in first place!
Jonathan Page is rounding the corner (below). He and Tim Johnson were in an intense battle for first place. He ended up second. Notice how bundled up everyone is (except apparently, Page's hand, brrr). Lots of spectators were wearing coveralls, mostly brown Carhartts, to stay warm and un-muddy. This pic is worth it just for the hot pink coveralls in the background. I think Holly needs a pair of these with skulls on them!
Todd Wells, who came in third, is on one of his last laps in this pic. The riders hit this part of the course shortly after the start. While I have better pics of Todd, I thought this one gave you a good view of the park and the pond.
Tristan came in eight place. Congrats Tristan, great finish! That corner had to be a lot harder with people dabbing right in front of you and following inches behind you.
Ooops! Not everyone made it around the corner. This happened to people all over the course, all weekend long! This guy apparently isn't a fan of gloves, either.
Kevin was looking really strong and then all of a sudden he disappeared! Turns out he had bad flat karma that day, as you can see.
Ben had a terrible starting position due to his last minute upgrade (congrats!) to Cat 1. In spite of that, he raced very well and had lots of fun!
Marko LaLonde raced the elite race for his second race of the day, after winning the singlespeed race at 8 freezin'o'clock in the morning! You can see Kevin behind him here.
Alister is another local racer who tackled the elite race after racing the collegiate race earlier. Snow on the front tire here, mud everywhere else.
More pics here.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Fast Company
Holly has some very fast company in a cyclingnews.com gallery from the women's elite race at Cross Nationals last Sunday!!!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
U23 Champs Video
Here is Bjorn Selander winning the U23 National Champs, beating Jamie Driscoll at the line. Besides making you seasick (you'll see what I mean), it gives you a good idea of the conditions all the riders faced on Saturday.
Tough Girls
I was so impressed with Holly (above) for sticking it out in the brutal elite race, even though her hand was hurting from two encounters with a post on Friday. Go Holly! 
Devon, winner of most area races this year, just keeps going and going...
Jen G. at the top of the stairs.
Kristin W. seems right at home here.
I think that's Sam under that balaclava!These pics are from the women's elite race Sunday. Our regional women rock! Men will come later. These aren't as sharp as they should be, probably cuz I took multiple shots all the way up the stairs. I need to work on that. And I am sorry to say, I didn't get all of the area women this weekend. Due to the timing of my race, I didn't get any pics of the women racing on Friday afternoon. Check Madcross.org, which will have more, which will be better quality as well.
See a mud tutorial below.
The short version of my race day in pictures
The really short, short version: Survival. it was all about survival.
There was ice on everything, even the grass sticking out of the snow had ice on it! I love this pic.
There were two sets of super-slippery muddy stairs like this. The mud at the bottom of this one was like quicksand, each time it tried to suck my left shoe right off my foot! I don't know how people like this woman found the energy to shoulder their bikes up this, I sure didn't! (this is not me in the pic) This is one of many types of mud we experienced on Friday.
This is another type of mud found on the course. Wet, goopy mud. This is the last race of the day, a master's men's race.
And here the mud had turned into giant puddles! Splat! This is the same master's men's race at the end of the day.
I don't seem to have a photo of the mud that looked like rutted muddy mud but was really rutted frozen mud. That is probably good because the person in the photo would probably be lying on the ground after being bucked off their bike.
The shoes I raced in. I decided to wear my Lake winter shoes instead of my regular Sidis for various reasons, including cold, mud, and ankle support running and pushing in the treacherous frozen mud ruts. (My front wheel bumped against them alot as it flopped around in the mud, which affected my handling, so they might not have been the best choice from that standpoint.) They kept my feet dry in the puddles. I almost lost one before the stairs!!
The shoes I spectated in later that day. The tops are clean only because my pants covered them. The first few inches of the pants are covered in mud, as well. My toes froze even with toe warmers, so I switched to warmer shoes the rest of the weekend.
There was ice on everything, even the grass sticking out of the snow had ice on it! I love this pic.
There were two sets of super-slippery muddy stairs like this. The mud at the bottom of this one was like quicksand, each time it tried to suck my left shoe right off my foot! I don't know how people like this woman found the energy to shoulder their bikes up this, I sure didn't! (this is not me in the pic) This is one of many types of mud we experienced on Friday.
This is another type of mud found on the course. Wet, goopy mud. This is the last race of the day, a master's men's race.
And here the mud had turned into giant puddles! Splat! This is the same master's men's race at the end of the day.
I don't seem to have a photo of the mud that looked like rutted muddy mud but was really rutted frozen mud. That is probably good because the person in the photo would probably be lying on the ground after being bucked off their bike.
The shoes I raced in. I decided to wear my Lake winter shoes instead of my regular Sidis for various reasons, including cold, mud, and ankle support running and pushing in the treacherous frozen mud ruts. (My front wheel bumped against them alot as it flopped around in the mud, which affected my handling, so they might not have been the best choice from that standpoint.) They kept my feet dry in the puddles. I almost lost one before the stairs!!
The shoes I spectated in later that day. The tops are clean only because my pants covered them. The first few inches of the pants are covered in mud, as well. My toes froze even with toe warmers, so I switched to warmer shoes the rest of the weekend.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Time to hit the Road
It's been a fun weekend. The crazy conditions, constantly changing hour by hour, made for some challenging racing and some very interesting spectating. I don't have nearly as many photos as I had planned, mainly due to the cold, but I will get them up when I get home. It was really nice to have so many people from home to hang with throughout the weekend.
Yesterday made for an exciting day of racing! Congrats to Marko Lalonde for his stellar win in the early morning (frozen!) singlespeed race! Travis Brown, always a strong contender, got second. In the men's elite race, the intense battle between Johnson and Page ended in Johnson taking the win, with Wells in third. In the women's race Katie Compton won, of course, but Rachel Lloyd kept things interesting in her battle for second. Congrats to our area collegiate racers Devon Haskell (4th overall, and possibly 1st in her division. I am told they may have put U of C in the wrong division), Mike Sherer, and others, who did very well in the collegiate events.
It was fun to watch so many of our Il/WI racers in the elite races. I am not going to list them all now, I need to hit the road.
At breakfast this morning I heard that people were teasing last year's elite champ Ryan T. by calling him Ryan Tre-Boo-Hoo, because he gets so upset when he doesn't win. He crashed out of the elite race yesterday when someone hit him head-on when they broke the tape going the other direction and crossed over into his lane. Nasty crash. Someone at breakfast said they thought he broke his elbow. He looked like he was in one piece at the after-party, so I doubt that is true.
Thanks to Julie, Ben, Chris and Kim for treating me to my Birthday dinner on Friday night when we went out with a big group from WI and IL! That was really nice of you guys! We had a great table - dinner was lots of fun.
I hope everyone made it back safely! I hope Julie made it on time to her brother's graduation, as well.
Yesterday made for an exciting day of racing! Congrats to Marko Lalonde for his stellar win in the early morning (frozen!) singlespeed race! Travis Brown, always a strong contender, got second. In the men's elite race, the intense battle between Johnson and Page ended in Johnson taking the win, with Wells in third. In the women's race Katie Compton won, of course, but Rachel Lloyd kept things interesting in her battle for second. Congrats to our area collegiate racers Devon Haskell (4th overall, and possibly 1st in her division. I am told they may have put U of C in the wrong division), Mike Sherer, and others, who did very well in the collegiate events.
It was fun to watch so many of our Il/WI racers in the elite races. I am not going to list them all now, I need to hit the road.
At breakfast this morning I heard that people were teasing last year's elite champ Ryan T. by calling him Ryan Tre-Boo-Hoo, because he gets so upset when he doesn't win. He crashed out of the elite race yesterday when someone hit him head-on when they broke the tape going the other direction and crossed over into his lane. Nasty crash. Someone at breakfast said they thought he broke his elbow. He looked like he was in one piece at the after-party, so I doubt that is true.
Thanks to Julie, Ben, Chris and Kim for treating me to my Birthday dinner on Friday night when we went out with a big group from WI and IL! That was really nice of you guys! We had a great table - dinner was lots of fun.
I hope everyone made it back safely! I hope Julie made it on time to her brother's graduation, as well.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Multiple Personalities
Greetings from Cross Nationals! We have a "moody" course this weekend. What you get one hour might be very different two hours later! Each race has had it's own unique conditions not quite like the one before of after it, as far as I can tell. Frozen, then semi-frozen, then muddy, then downright sloppy complete with small ponds...yesterday was kinda crazy. My race was a churned up rutted mud pit interspersed with frozen skinny-tire-sized ruts, with puddles in the low spots. The mud got worse and worse as thee day went on, with the 45-49 men running through huge puddles in a few places. In some spots the whole course looked like a big, goopy puddle. Steve Tilford ran away with that event, he was way off the front the whole race.
The Wisconsin juniors all did really well, and the WI/IL women all survived, with most doing well Friday. On Thursday alot of IL/WI folks did well in the B races, too. I wasn't in good shape for this race, but I survived. Which I guess is all I should expect having driven all night to get there. It was kind of all a blur. I hope to write more later if I get a chance.
Today we have snow and about 23 degrees (or lower) for the masters men's races this afternoon. A guy in the elevator said the U23 races were pretty snowy and slippery. My guess is that they had a thin layer of snow on top of frozen mud ruts. I am headed out soon to watch the men's master's races. I hope conditions improve for them.
That's it for now... gotta head out to cheer on the guys!
The Wisconsin juniors all did really well, and the WI/IL women all survived, with most doing well Friday. On Thursday alot of IL/WI folks did well in the B races, too. I wasn't in good shape for this race, but I survived. Which I guess is all I should expect having driven all night to get there. It was kind of all a blur. I hope to write more later if I get a chance.
Today we have snow and about 23 degrees (or lower) for the masters men's races this afternoon. A guy in the elevator said the U23 races were pretty snowy and slippery. My guess is that they had a thin layer of snow on top of frozen mud ruts. I am headed out soon to watch the men's master's races. I hope conditions improve for them.
That's it for now... gotta head out to cheer on the guys!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
And then there's KC mud....
Seeing as how it's a couple of days before CX Nats, this would be a good time to revisit the many types of mud. I have a feeling many of us are about to become reacquainted with at least one grade of mud this weekend, if not more. I myself am having the hardest time getting ready - other things keep getting in the way. I am almost tempted to stay home.
Good Luck to everyone who is racing at Nats!
And for those spectating, it's going to be a blast. Bring your cowbells. And maybe your toe warmers...
Good Luck to everyone who is racing at Nats!
And for those spectating, it's going to be a blast. Bring your cowbells. And maybe your toe warmers...
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Hipster Olympics
I just found about this hipster olympics video. Hilarious! Maybe someone should make one about hipster crossers. Anyone game?
Monday, December 10, 2007
IL State CX Champs
Congrats to everyone who tackled the challenging course at Montrose in the IL State Cross Championships today. (I am writing this late Sunday night.)
I woke up, and when I went outside to get the newspapers, everything was coated with a sheet of ice. I had been going back and forth about whether I should race today, having been sick for two weeks, off the bike for three, and not racing the last 4 ChiCrossCup races. I wanted to do it because it is State Champs and kind of my "local" race. I ended up not racing, but had a great day at the races anyway!! What a fun day. It was great seeing so many friends and acquaintances do well. Just great to see them, period. Fun, fun, fun.
No spectator's race report for the blog yet - I spent the evening (besides a visit to the gym for some elliptical) looking at photos to see which ones were good enough to go with the race report that goes out to the websites. The skies were so overcast that the lighting was extremely poor. I was really disappointed in the quality of the pictures - I'm not sure any of mine will end up being published.
I woke up, and when I went outside to get the newspapers, everything was coated with a sheet of ice. I had been going back and forth about whether I should race today, having been sick for two weeks, off the bike for three, and not racing the last 4 ChiCrossCup races. I wanted to do it because it is State Champs and kind of my "local" race. I ended up not racing, but had a great day at the races anyway!! What a fun day. It was great seeing so many friends and acquaintances do well. Just great to see them, period. Fun, fun, fun.
No spectator's race report for the blog yet - I spent the evening (besides a visit to the gym for some elliptical) looking at photos to see which ones were good enough to go with the race report that goes out to the websites. The skies were so overcast that the lighting was extremely poor. I was really disappointed in the quality of the pictures - I'm not sure any of mine will end up being published.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
Cross in the NY Times
Here's a link to an article about cyclocross in the NY Times. The author does a race called Grumpy's in Minnesota.
And, here's an article on what I'm going to call Beat Bikes or BoomBox Bikes, urban bikes with elaborate sound systems attached.
On another note, I have lost my voice after a long day of phone calls yesterday combined with being sick. I have a meeting this afternoon. Anyone have a miracle cure for laryngitis?
And, here's an article on what I'm going to call Beat Bikes or BoomBox Bikes, urban bikes with elaborate sound systems attached.
On another note, I have lost my voice after a long day of phone calls yesterday combined with being sick. I have a meeting this afternoon. Anyone have a miracle cure for laryngitis?
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
My Skin Hurts
Chills. Fever. (is that an oxymoron, to have both at once?) Ache all over. Can't breathe too well. Sore throat. Ears are plugged up.
And above all, my skin hurts.
It seems like I always get sick when I go to Seattle. I think it's a combination of being around a sick toddler and all the mold in the damp air there. And maybe all the germs on the airplane. It's frustrating! At least this time I made it home before I got really sick. Last time I was sick during the visit. I like Seattle, but I hate being sick away from home.
I probably should have gotten one of these last month. And last night I went road riding for 1:40 with lights. I was warm enough, I didn't get chilled. I went slower than usual. But I started feeling really sick as soon as I got back. Before that I had just felt really tired. I wonder if exercising in the cold was the breaking point.
Arrrgh. I have so much stuff I need to do this week. And I didn't get to ride or do the eliptical last week - this week isn't looking so good for workouts now either.....
And above all, my skin hurts.
It seems like I always get sick when I go to Seattle. I think it's a combination of being around a sick toddler and all the mold in the damp air there. And maybe all the germs on the airplane. It's frustrating! At least this time I made it home before I got really sick. Last time I was sick during the visit. I like Seattle, but I hate being sick away from home.
I probably should have gotten one of these last month. And last night I went road riding for 1:40 with lights. I was warm enough, I didn't get chilled. I went slower than usual. But I started feeling really sick as soon as I got back. Before that I had just felt really tired. I wonder if exercising in the cold was the breaking point.
Arrrgh. I have so much stuff I need to do this week. And I didn't get to ride or do the eliptical last week - this week isn't looking so good for workouts now either.....
Deranged Yuppies on their Devil's Wheels
This letter from a reader was in the print edition of the Chicago Tribune last Monday (the 19th) in the "Voice of the People" section on the Editorial page.
Bicycles on Trails
"There have been many letters lately complaining about bicycles on roads and sidewalks, but nobody has mentioned forest preserve trails. I walk on trails occasionally and many times bicycles have come zooming by. Loose gravel and curvy trails are a recipe for disaster. I do not want to pay tax money for forest preserves that I cannot enjoy because they have been taken over by deranged yuppies on their devil's wheels. If bicycles are illegal on sidewalks, then they should be illegal on forest preserve trails."
Bicycles on Trails
"There have been many letters lately complaining about bicycles on roads and sidewalks, but nobody has mentioned forest preserve trails. I walk on trails occasionally and many times bicycles have come zooming by. Loose gravel and curvy trails are a recipe for disaster. I do not want to pay tax money for forest preserves that I cannot enjoy because they have been taken over by deranged yuppies on their devil's wheels. If bicycles are illegal on sidewalks, then they should be illegal on forest preserve trails."
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Gobble, Gobble.
Happy Thanksgiving from Seattle!
And good luck to all at Jingle Cross. Wish I could be there, I'm sure it will be lots of fun.
On Tuesday 3/4 of an hour or so into the flight to Seattle, the captain announces that a piece has fallen off the wing and to be safe, we are turning around and going back to the airport! So we turned around, went back, and eventually got a new plane. (well, it most definitely was NOT new, but it was a different one) Crazy....
And good luck to all at Jingle Cross. Wish I could be there, I'm sure it will be lots of fun.
On Tuesday 3/4 of an hour or so into the flight to Seattle, the captain announces that a piece has fallen off the wing and to be safe, we are turning around and going back to the airport! So we turned around, went back, and eventually got a new plane. (well, it most definitely was NOT new, but it was a different one) Crazy....
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Lansing CX
Congrats to Scott for winning the Cat 1/2/3's CX race today in Lansing. Awesome job!
And congratulations to the many other friends who had great rides today!
Congrats to Gina on her move to Cat 3 after the race.
And thanks to EVERYONE for the entertainment in the sand pit!
Holly (above) shows us her impressive acrobatic skills! Ouch!! I hope she's not too sore Monday morning.
Almost everyone struggled with the sand pit at some point. It was deep and there were some holes. In order to get up onto the grassy lip at the edge and avoid the sand, you had to make it through the deepest part and past a hole that tripped up many a rider. Eventually the promoters moved the stakes so that you could no longer ride on the skinny little strip of grass at the edge. They also took down that big green post, thinking that the huge cat 4 men's field would hit it! Some people took the "ride through the middle" line, some tried to get to the strip of grass on the side and avoid part of the sand, and some picked the traditional running method.
Ben toeing the fine grassy line between sand and tape.
Cat 3 men duking it out in the pit: John F. got 2nd, Brian D. got 1st, and Chris L. got 3rd. I was amazed at the speed at which the Cat 1/2 and the Cat 3 men rode through the pit. I had been watching the women and juniors race. When the 1/2 men came through on their first lap, I was totally caught off guard by how fast they powered through the sand! Practically a blur.
Kevin sand surfing. 
June and Holly battling at the barriers.More photos here.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Iceman Results (and more)
Finally, here is a link to some Iceman Results. And the story can be found here. As of now, Sunday morning, results are not up on the Iceman site yet. And there's a pic of Brian Matter crossing the finish line on the main page, you have to wait for the slideshow to cycle through the various pics. (The pic above came from the Traverse City Record Eagle website.)
Tristan 4th, Jesse 5th, Marko 7th, in the Pros. Ned Overend, now in his 50's and still going strong, got 6th! Sara K-J got 4th (battling back after a bad crash early on), Kelli Emmet was the first woman.
I noticed that Ronsta, Russell, and John Shull won their age groups. Congrats!
Congrats to all the WORS riders who rode their hearts out! I saw lots of familiar names in the results - great job, everyone.
AND, on a sadder note, I hear the underground cross series race yesterday got busted. I am not even going to use its real name here. I am sorry to hear that, I'm sure it was a secret training weapon for some. I hope they can keep it going. (I am not referring to this weekends races in WI)
This being Veteran's Day, thank you to all who have served our country. Your service to our nation is greatly appreciated.
IceMatter
Congrats to Brian IceMatter on winning the Iceman!!!
It's 1 am Saturday and I forgot about the Iceman until a few minutes ago. It's too late to call anyone who is there. So I've been doing a Tour de Blogs trying to find someone who has posted the winner. It took me a while to find one that told me that Brian Matter had won. I'm so glad one of our WORS guys won!! I really want to know if Sara K-J won the women's, but so far I haven't found that out. And I want to know how all the rest of our WORS peeps did!
I went to Brian's blog and felt a jolt of instant recognition from the photo of the "heavy hitters" he posted on Thursday. That's because I was there at the moment that it was taken, in the tent near the finish in 2005. I looked closer, and sure, enough, that's my shoulder, hair and nose at the edge of the photo. Funny. I'm trying not to feel bad about not going this year, but that sure gave me a twinge.
It's 1 am Saturday and I forgot about the Iceman until a few minutes ago. It's too late to call anyone who is there. So I've been doing a Tour de Blogs trying to find someone who has posted the winner. It took me a while to find one that told me that Brian Matter had won. I'm so glad one of our WORS guys won!! I really want to know if Sara K-J won the women's, but so far I haven't found that out. And I want to know how all the rest of our WORS peeps did!
I went to Brian's blog and felt a jolt of instant recognition from the photo of the "heavy hitters" he posted on Thursday. That's because I was there at the moment that it was taken, in the tent near the finish in 2005. I looked closer, and sure, enough, that's my shoulder, hair and nose at the edge of the photo. Funny. I'm trying not to feel bad about not going this year, but that sure gave me a twinge.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Raggedy Andy joins Ann in Toy Hall of Fame
Raggedy Andy just joined the Toy Hall of Fame, along with the Atari 2600 system and the Kite. Read about it here. Finally Raggedy Ann's brother joins her.
Interestingly enough - the Cardboard Box is in the Toy Hall of Fame, too.
Interestingly enough - the Cardboard Box is in the Toy Hall of Fame, too.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
New Cross Technique
I found out about this new dismount technique courtesy of an email from Lou. This technique is so advanced they will not be practicing it at cross practice.
Crossin' Estabrook
Jesse came in first place in the 1/2's.
Mike Phillips got second in the 1/2's.
Scott got 3rd.
Debbie (3rd place), Sam (1st place) and Devon(2nd place) rode together the whole 1/2's women's race. They were on the course at the same time as the 1/2's men and the 30+ men. Hence the guy in the pink helmet riding with them.
Holly was in a chase group of 4 fast women.
Goat sticking his tongue out in intense concentration. He came in 3rd in the 30+.
Kevin came in 2nd. He and Jeremey worked together most of the race for a super strong ride.
After the race we saw a guy who had on skull gloves that perfectly matched the Killjoy kit. He was nice enough to give them to Holly, who was pretty excited about her new pair of gloves!
Mike Phillips got second in the 1/2's.
Scott got 3rd.
Debbie (3rd place), Sam (1st place) and Devon(2nd place) rode together the whole 1/2's women's race. They were on the course at the same time as the 1/2's men and the 30+ men. Hence the guy in the pink helmet riding with them.
Holly was in a chase group of 4 fast women.
Goat sticking his tongue out in intense concentration. He came in 3rd in the 30+.
Kevin came in 2nd. He and Jeremey worked together most of the race for a super strong ride.
After the race we saw a guy who had on skull gloves that perfectly matched the Killjoy kit. He was nice enough to give them to Holly, who was pretty excited about her new pair of gloves!
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
The Unit
If there are any fans of "The Unit" out there, I read in the print newspaper that tonight's episode, at 8 pm CST on CBS, is going to be a really good one. The story line continues into next week. This columnist turned me on to the show last year, and it is much more than a military saga. It covers all sorts of morally complex issues and gives the viewer (well, me at least) an insight that I probably wouldn't have gotten otherwise. And it can be edge of your seat exciting!
Monday, November 05, 2007
Local Cross Photo Action
A couple of race pics I took at the local cross series race are up on Truesport and Cyclingnews.com, thanks to Imelda. I'm excited about that.
I didn't know she was going to ask me for pics, so I wasn't concentrating much on picture taking. So they aren't the best they can be. I am really out of practice on action shots, especially for cross! But I'll probably take some for them at the next race, hopefully it won't be too cold.
I have memories of camera batteries that barely worked in the cold, particularly at the various December cross nats I have been to where there was either 1) a snowstorm that closed the roads (Boston), or 2) very cold (Denver) conditions, with snow and ice on the ground that froze our gears. Another year it was chilly and raining so much there were gigantic puddles (CycloCanoe Nats in Seattle). I remember keeping the camera under my jacket in Boston to keep it warm, and out of the snow. I have no idea how this newer camera will do in the cold, I haven't really tried it in extreme conditions!!!
Cross Report to come - I spectated at both races, so other people's reports will be the best bet to get all the racing action...
I didn't know she was going to ask me for pics, so I wasn't concentrating much on picture taking. So they aren't the best they can be. I am really out of practice on action shots, especially for cross! But I'll probably take some for them at the next race, hopefully it won't be too cold.
I have memories of camera batteries that barely worked in the cold, particularly at the various December cross nats I have been to where there was either 1) a snowstorm that closed the roads (Boston), or 2) very cold (Denver) conditions, with snow and ice on the ground that froze our gears. Another year it was chilly and raining so much there were gigantic puddles (CycloCanoe Nats in Seattle). I remember keeping the camera under my jacket in Boston to keep it warm, and out of the snow. I have no idea how this newer camera will do in the cold, I haven't really tried it in extreme conditions!!!
Cross Report to come - I spectated at both races, so other people's reports will be the best bet to get all the racing action...
Sing your troubles away
I read an article about Complaint Choirs the other day, I think it was in the Chicago Tribune. Then I just heard a thing on the radio about the Chicago Complaints Choir. People put their complaints about everyday things into verse and the whole choir sings it! It's supposed to make them feel better.
The Chicago Complaints Choir just sang at the Bean in Millenium Park yesterday, and they were at the Empty Bottle Saturday.
What would a bike racers' complaints choir sing about?
flats? rain? traffic? drivers yakking on cell phones? potholes? squirrelly riders? mud? bees? bad tasting energy drinks? hating to do intervals? moldy Camelbak bladders? boring race courses? rude passers? numb toes? ugly race kits? chainsuck?
Here are some videos of various complaint choirs. And this one is a little livelier (though not by much) and has a verse about cycling in the beginning. So is this one, which has better people watching.
I thought it would be more fun to watch them than it really is - i'ts actually sorta boring, though funny in spots - it must be much better to sing your complaints than to watch. You can learn about other cultures, though, by watching the ones from other countries. Apparently people in Helsinki hide from the TV inspectors who come to check your TV license!
Check out the Nintendo Choir while you are at it.
The Chicago Complaints Choir just sang at the Bean in Millenium Park yesterday, and they were at the Empty Bottle Saturday.
What would a bike racers' complaints choir sing about?
flats? rain? traffic? drivers yakking on cell phones? potholes? squirrelly riders? mud? bees? bad tasting energy drinks? hating to do intervals? moldy Camelbak bladders? boring race courses? rude passers? numb toes? ugly race kits? chainsuck?
Here are some videos of various complaint choirs. And this one is a little livelier (though not by much) and has a verse about cycling in the beginning. So is this one, which has better people watching.
I thought it would be more fun to watch them than it really is - i'ts actually sorta boring, though funny in spots - it must be much better to sing your complaints than to watch. You can learn about other cultures, though, by watching the ones from other countries. Apparently people in Helsinki hide from the TV inspectors who come to check your TV license!
Check out the Nintendo Choir while you are at it.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Smoque BBQ
I got an email from an old racing teammate Nickie the other day. Her husband Mike (a former UCVC road racer) recently started a restaurant in Chicago called Smoque BBQ, and they are going to be on TV Monday night. She sounds pretty excited about it. It will be on the Food Network’s "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" show, on Monday, November 5, 9PM central.
Check it out if you like BBQ.
Check it out if you like BBQ.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Blogger Girl's Ride and Picnic
Great minds think alike.... (Christine, Rachael, and their toasters)It turned out to be a great day for the Blogger Girl's Ride. About 10 women met early for a ride at Kettle. I joined them later. We moved the picnic table into the sun and had a little picnic. It warmed up nicely and a good time was had by all! Thanks to Dave for taking the group pic. And a big thanks to Regina for taking on the role of organizer! More later I hope, this is a quick post.
I have been really short on free time the last week and haven't written about last weekend's race, much less yesterday's. I am so far behind. I wish I were a faster writer, it takes me forever to write a post.....last night I spent like 3 or 3.5 hours writing up my race resume from the past year. I had to look up all the dates and results on the web pages of the various series and races and then neatly organize it. I should have done it in September, or else been doing it all along instead of waiting... Last year I did like 30 races so it took even longer then. This year I didn't do quite as many, though it will be close if I end up doing more cross races.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
The Joy of Cross
Here is a must-read primer for crossers on the Bike Snob NYC blog.
He even somewhat addresses the crowd and cheering issues Julie was referring to the other day:
He even somewhat addresses the crowd and cheering issues Julie was referring to the other day:
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
The Green Monster
Thanks to Greg H. for a link to a little taste of what's in store for racers in KY this weekend! SIX sand pits? The Green Monster???? That ramp alone is enough to give me nightmares..... I do think it would be really fun to watch, but not so great for me to race.
Hmmmm
I just made the (big) mistake of looking at the start lists for the USGP of Cross in KY that is this weekend. There are only 4 cat 3/4 women. An unexpected temptation. At one time I had considered going to watch the pro races. Then I decided I needed to stay here so as not to miss any series races, hoping to do well in the series. But now that I can see that I likely won't be in contention for placing in the series, trying for a 5th (or whatever) place in KY, just for the fun of being there, is an idea that has just presented itself.... crazy, I know. I didn't even know there was a Cat 4 women's race until now. I am surprised there aren't more IL/WI 1,2,3 women signed up, we have some really fast ones that could do well.
Friday, October 19, 2007
The Bike Life
If you haven't already read it, you must check out MountainGoat's insightful post on "The Ties that Bind Us". It's so dead on you will have to stop and catch your breath after reading it. And then go back and read it again!
I have gone back to reread it several times. It's all so true.
He says: "When walking through your house are you always within 3 feet of something cycling related?" The concept of a Bike Room is lost on me. Over here, it's a Bike House.
The line that really got me: "Do you get bummed out about getting sick, not because you feel horrible, but because you may miss the next ride?"
So my question to MountainGoat is, "What, you don't ride when you're sick?"
And the scary part is, I'm only half kidding! It's taken me a long time to "learn" that I will get well much faster if I skip a ride or workout when I am sick... is that sick?
I have gone back to reread it several times. It's all so true.
He says: "When walking through your house are you always within 3 feet of something cycling related?" The concept of a Bike Room is lost on me. Over here, it's a Bike House.
The line that really got me: "Do you get bummed out about getting sick, not because you feel horrible, but because you may miss the next ride?"
So my question to MountainGoat is, "What, you don't ride when you're sick?"
And the scary part is, I'm only half kidding! It's taken me a long time to "learn" that I will get well much faster if I skip a ride or workout when I am sick... is that sick?
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Badger Cross
First off, I have to say thanks to Renee and her Capitol Velo Club crew for putting on such a great race Sunday! They did an awesome job of making the race a fun place to be. Fun course, free food and beer, great raffle prizes, music, an announcer, real bathrooms, cowbells, a small expo area.... Great event, Renee!
When I got back from Colorado last Wednesday night, it was after midnight and I was tired. All I could think of was how nice it would be to have a weekend at home where I didn't have to pack for anything or drive anywhere. Once I started catching up on blog reading, I found out that there was a mtn bike race that I hadn't known about, and that Renee's Badger Cross race was on Sunday. Funny how my resolve to stay home and take it easy immediately dissolved. Never underestimate the power of suggestion (power of obsession??) to a bike racer.
At first I thought that they were both on Sunday. On Friday I realized that one race was Saturday and one was Sunday. (Actually there were two races on Saturday!) Although I would have liked to go to both races, I decided that Sunday's Badger Cross was the one for me. Renee had left me a comment and we exchanged emails, and I have to say her race looked really fun. Chris said it was a fun course, as well. It seemed like it would be a great event even if I didn't race and just decided to spectate.
Friday night I got an email from Gabi asking if I wanted to go to the Beechwood race with her. I would have gone, but it was too late for me to switch gears and go to both. Too bad, it probably would have been fun, even just spectating.
Soooo, I ended up going to Badger Cross. To race or not? I packed everything up like I was going to race. I decided to take my old mt bike that I used for cross the last couple of years instead of my lovely cross bike since I had heard the course is bumpy and I would need some back-saving suspension. Having the mtn bike also meant I could do dismounts the way that's comfortable for me, not the traditional way. Can't do that on my new cross bike, I have found. The fact that there was a prize for the top mtn bike finisher helped, too.
I only got about 5.5 hours of sleep. I got to the race an hour before my race, which should have given me plenty of time to get ready. I have no idea where the time went - next thing I knew I had run out of time to warm up. Maybe the rain slowed me down. I didn't get to warm up at all, nothing more than riding to the bathroom and the start line. No pre-riding, didn't even really see the course. I'm used to not pre-riding courses, though, that didn't bother me that much. But not warming up affected my race.
About 11 women. It felt like a big field to me, though it was smaller than the 16 or so we had at Jackson Park in September. Maybe because I didn't know most of them. When I saw Amelia B. on the list at registration, I knew that my hopes of being the first mt bike finisher had been dashed. So much for that idea. There were several other women on mt bikes that I didn't know. Some of us were lined up in front, the rest of us behind the juniors. They asked the rest of us to move up, but we could only squeeze in on one side, as the juniors stayed where they were. That put me almost at the very back of our group. It made for a terrible start for everyone off to the side next to the juniors and not in the front row. The start, a nice long straightway, would have been good for me had I been warmed up and had I been a few rows up. I had some trouble clipping in right away, too. As it was, the front group got away right off the bat.
We turned off the wet pavement onto the grass, where we immediately encountered MUD! I was way too cautious at this point, slowing down too much for a bumpy downhill turn. I lost a lot of ground here. We crossed the road again, then had to be super cautious as we hit the trail going downhill, at speed, and having to make a turn onto muddy grass. Goopy soft ruts of mud had formed where the pavement met the trail. We headed uphill on the muddy trail, after trying not to slide out in that turn from the pavement. At this point sciatic misery set in - my body was rebelling at going from zero to 60 with no warning. I felt the hamstring and foot cramp coming on, and thought I was going to have to drop out in the first lap. The pain continued but I kept the cramping at bay, and eventually was able to block it out. I totally lost focus there for a bit, however. Someone passed me. Somewhere after the uphill barriers I lost sight of Angela, who had been in front of me. I know that we often finish close to each other in WORS races, so I felt bad about losing sight of her. I should have been able to keep up with her. To me that meant I was losing more ground. I think that I lost some fitness when I had to skip the last four mountain bike races. On the next road section there was a woman on my wheel. The road part is where I do best, and I didn't want to tow her along. I tried to shake her off my wheel the way I was once taught. It worked, I dropped her, and did not see her again.
The section near the parking lot and expo area had lots going on in addition to people screaming - barriers ( yep, agony), downhill stuff, a log barrier step up, and a bunch of tight chicane-type things. All muddy, you were always at risk of sliding out. In later laps I experimented with rounding the corners or trees with both feet on the pedals, vs. having a foot out for balance. I decided that for me, taking the tight turns with a foot out was definitely faster. I have always wondered if that was a total rookie thing to do - it works so well for me. It probably looks like one when I do it, but I read somewhere that even the mtb pros do it on occasion. It seems like when it comes to cross, I can't do anything by the book anymore! I could probably be the example for how not to do dismounts, remounts, and tight muddy turns. But this is one of those cases where I have had to adapt and do what works for me, or else no 'cross.
At various points in the race, the faster juniors were passing me. Nate flew by first - congrats to Nate on a great race! Sometimes there was no one around, other times there were juniors right behind me. On the uphill barriers I would ask if there was anyone behind me, and by the second lap they would say the next person was way back. I still worried about those girls back there catching me, so I tried to keep up my pace. In the third lap I dropped my chain on the uphill before the log step barriers, and it took several tries to get it to stay on. Some juniors caught me then, but I was hoping no one in my race would pass me. Sometimes I could see the person ahead of me, but it would have taken a longer race for me to catch any of them. I think a warm up, not letting the girls get away at the start, and being more aggressive in the mud might have gained me a couple of places, but not too many. In the first lap I coasted out of the saddle over the bumpiest sections to save my back (in the process letting people get away), but in later laps I sat and I pedaled more.
That last lap wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. As hard as the race was and as muddy and yucky as the conditions were, I really enjoyed the course. It had the feel of a mountain bike course in places.
Thanks to everyone who cheered me on! After it was over, I didn't know what place I had gotten in my mid-pack finish, but I knew I hadn't finished well enough to win anything. So I was excited to find out that I had won something in the raffle. I got a wonderful wooly/fleecy black turtleneck top with orange trim that I really like. And it fit !!!
My riding clothes were beyond muddy. Taking off the gear didn't get rid of the mud - it was still there. It migrated right through the lycra. Ugh. And lots of people were smiling at me - I asked why and someone said it was the mud smeared on my face!
It was nice to see Kim and Chris out with the World Bicycle Relief tent. I bought some raffle tickets from Kim. I won a sweet t-shirt, and Holly K. won some socks. Holly had a very strong field for her women's 1/2/3's race. Unfortunately someone right in front of her let a gap develop at just the wrong time. Devon H., who crushed us all in the 4's in the Chicago series last year, won both the women 3's race AND the women 1/2/3's event. Wow. She will be on fire at Natz.
Fellow blogger MountainGoat put on a good show in the last race, hopping some of the log barriers. It always amazes me that people can do that. It seemed like a particularly difficult place to do it, in terms of the approach. Chris was out there in the thick of the 1/2's race, getting acquainted with the mud after a strong finish the day before at CamRock! Scott got to test his Red components in the mud in the 1,2's. He was happy that the solid Red cassette and the components in general did so well in the mud. If I get a chance I'll post a pic of the muddy cassette later. And, no surprise, Jesse won the 1/2's race with Ronsta next, then Scott in third, behind him. The singlespeeds ruled.
And, when I was getting close to leaving, I heard someone calling my name. It was Troy T., who I hadn't seen in ages, since before he moved from Evanston to Madison. We got to chat for a little bit. The drive home was ok until the end, when I was tired, having not gotten much sleep. The way I felt Monday, I can tell I shouldn't have raced, should have just spectated. Too late now!
A fun day, in spite of the less than ideal weather conditions!
When I got back from Colorado last Wednesday night, it was after midnight and I was tired. All I could think of was how nice it would be to have a weekend at home where I didn't have to pack for anything or drive anywhere. Once I started catching up on blog reading, I found out that there was a mtn bike race that I hadn't known about, and that Renee's Badger Cross race was on Sunday. Funny how my resolve to stay home and take it easy immediately dissolved. Never underestimate the power of suggestion (power of obsession??) to a bike racer.
At first I thought that they were both on Sunday. On Friday I realized that one race was Saturday and one was Sunday. (Actually there were two races on Saturday!) Although I would have liked to go to both races, I decided that Sunday's Badger Cross was the one for me. Renee had left me a comment and we exchanged emails, and I have to say her race looked really fun. Chris said it was a fun course, as well. It seemed like it would be a great event even if I didn't race and just decided to spectate.
Friday night I got an email from Gabi asking if I wanted to go to the Beechwood race with her. I would have gone, but it was too late for me to switch gears and go to both. Too bad, it probably would have been fun, even just spectating.
Soooo, I ended up going to Badger Cross. To race or not? I packed everything up like I was going to race. I decided to take my old mt bike that I used for cross the last couple of years instead of my lovely cross bike since I had heard the course is bumpy and I would need some back-saving suspension. Having the mtn bike also meant I could do dismounts the way that's comfortable for me, not the traditional way. Can't do that on my new cross bike, I have found. The fact that there was a prize for the top mtn bike finisher helped, too.
I only got about 5.5 hours of sleep. I got to the race an hour before my race, which should have given me plenty of time to get ready. I have no idea where the time went - next thing I knew I had run out of time to warm up. Maybe the rain slowed me down. I didn't get to warm up at all, nothing more than riding to the bathroom and the start line. No pre-riding, didn't even really see the course. I'm used to not pre-riding courses, though, that didn't bother me that much. But not warming up affected my race.
About 11 women. It felt like a big field to me, though it was smaller than the 16 or so we had at Jackson Park in September. Maybe because I didn't know most of them. When I saw Amelia B. on the list at registration, I knew that my hopes of being the first mt bike finisher had been dashed. So much for that idea. There were several other women on mt bikes that I didn't know. Some of us were lined up in front, the rest of us behind the juniors. They asked the rest of us to move up, but we could only squeeze in on one side, as the juniors stayed where they were. That put me almost at the very back of our group. It made for a terrible start for everyone off to the side next to the juniors and not in the front row. The start, a nice long straightway, would have been good for me had I been warmed up and had I been a few rows up. I had some trouble clipping in right away, too. As it was, the front group got away right off the bat.
We turned off the wet pavement onto the grass, where we immediately encountered MUD! I was way too cautious at this point, slowing down too much for a bumpy downhill turn. I lost a lot of ground here. We crossed the road again, then had to be super cautious as we hit the trail going downhill, at speed, and having to make a turn onto muddy grass. Goopy soft ruts of mud had formed where the pavement met the trail. We headed uphill on the muddy trail, after trying not to slide out in that turn from the pavement. At this point sciatic misery set in - my body was rebelling at going from zero to 60 with no warning. I felt the hamstring and foot cramp coming on, and thought I was going to have to drop out in the first lap. The pain continued but I kept the cramping at bay, and eventually was able to block it out. I totally lost focus there for a bit, however. Someone passed me. Somewhere after the uphill barriers I lost sight of Angela, who had been in front of me. I know that we often finish close to each other in WORS races, so I felt bad about losing sight of her. I should have been able to keep up with her. To me that meant I was losing more ground. I think that I lost some fitness when I had to skip the last four mountain bike races. On the next road section there was a woman on my wheel. The road part is where I do best, and I didn't want to tow her along. I tried to shake her off my wheel the way I was once taught. It worked, I dropped her, and did not see her again.
The section near the parking lot and expo area had lots going on in addition to people screaming - barriers ( yep, agony), downhill stuff, a log barrier step up, and a bunch of tight chicane-type things. All muddy, you were always at risk of sliding out. In later laps I experimented with rounding the corners or trees with both feet on the pedals, vs. having a foot out for balance. I decided that for me, taking the tight turns with a foot out was definitely faster. I have always wondered if that was a total rookie thing to do - it works so well for me. It probably looks like one when I do it, but I read somewhere that even the mtb pros do it on occasion. It seems like when it comes to cross, I can't do anything by the book anymore! I could probably be the example for how not to do dismounts, remounts, and tight muddy turns. But this is one of those cases where I have had to adapt and do what works for me, or else no 'cross.
At various points in the race, the faster juniors were passing me. Nate flew by first - congrats to Nate on a great race! Sometimes there was no one around, other times there were juniors right behind me. On the uphill barriers I would ask if there was anyone behind me, and by the second lap they would say the next person was way back. I still worried about those girls back there catching me, so I tried to keep up my pace. In the third lap I dropped my chain on the uphill before the log step barriers, and it took several tries to get it to stay on. Some juniors caught me then, but I was hoping no one in my race would pass me. Sometimes I could see the person ahead of me, but it would have taken a longer race for me to catch any of them. I think a warm up, not letting the girls get away at the start, and being more aggressive in the mud might have gained me a couple of places, but not too many. In the first lap I coasted out of the saddle over the bumpiest sections to save my back (in the process letting people get away), but in later laps I sat and I pedaled more.
That last lap wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. As hard as the race was and as muddy and yucky as the conditions were, I really enjoyed the course. It had the feel of a mountain bike course in places.
Thanks to everyone who cheered me on! After it was over, I didn't know what place I had gotten in my mid-pack finish, but I knew I hadn't finished well enough to win anything. So I was excited to find out that I had won something in the raffle. I got a wonderful wooly/fleecy black turtleneck top with orange trim that I really like. And it fit !!!
My riding clothes were beyond muddy. Taking off the gear didn't get rid of the mud - it was still there. It migrated right through the lycra. Ugh. And lots of people were smiling at me - I asked why and someone said it was the mud smeared on my face!
It was nice to see Kim and Chris out with the World Bicycle Relief tent. I bought some raffle tickets from Kim. I won a sweet t-shirt, and Holly K. won some socks. Holly had a very strong field for her women's 1/2/3's race. Unfortunately someone right in front of her let a gap develop at just the wrong time. Devon H., who crushed us all in the 4's in the Chicago series last year, won both the women 3's race AND the women 1/2/3's event. Wow. She will be on fire at Natz.
Fellow blogger MountainGoat put on a good show in the last race, hopping some of the log barriers. It always amazes me that people can do that. It seemed like a particularly difficult place to do it, in terms of the approach. Chris was out there in the thick of the 1/2's race, getting acquainted with the mud after a strong finish the day before at CamRock! Scott got to test his Red components in the mud in the 1,2's. He was happy that the solid Red cassette and the components in general did so well in the mud. If I get a chance I'll post a pic of the muddy cassette later. And, no surprise, Jesse won the 1/2's race with Ronsta next, then Scott in third, behind him. The singlespeeds ruled.
And, when I was getting close to leaving, I heard someone calling my name. It was Troy T., who I hadn't seen in ages, since before he moved from Evanston to Madison. We got to chat for a little bit. The drive home was ok until the end, when I was tired, having not gotten much sleep. The way I felt Monday, I can tell I shouldn't have raced, should have just spectated. Too late now!
A fun day, in spite of the less than ideal weather conditions!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Why you crave Chocolate!
Breaking News!! They have found a reason for chocolate cravings.
I can't wait until they find a way to tame the cravings. Now THAT would really be news!
I can't wait until they find a way to tame the cravings. Now THAT would really be news!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Little Things
Got home late at night tonight (Wed.) from the airport. Now I know when they clean the airport. There were people busy mopping and squeegeeing at 11:00 or 11:30. The guy that cleans the glass below the railings on the moving sidewalks just holds the squeegee against the glass while the sidewalk moves him and the squeegee along.... and a woman was mopping the brushed metal one or two foot no-man's land between the up and down escalator handrails.
A little boy was sucking his thumb and holding his stuffed dog while riding the moving sidewalk. He insisted on going on the sidewalk while his parents were walking beside it, pushing the stroller. Neither arm was free for balance. His dad seemed to not want him to go on it alone. You could almost see his sigh of relief when the boy made a fairly good transition, hopping from the moving belt to the regular floor.
I get home and there is a box of sale stuff from twin six waiting for me. A nice welcome home. Then I am going through the pile of mail and I see the newest VeloNews. I should go to bed but I have to leaf through it. it's always hard for me to put a new VeloNews aside for later without at least skimming it. I feel a little twinge of excitement when I see in the table of contents that on page 92 there is an article about Chequamegon. They focus on Jesse LaLonde's singlespeed win, then they get into a little bit about this year's event in general. I love it when they cover our big Midwest races like Chequamegon, Iceman, etc.. The article was probably online a while ago, but I didn't see it.
You'd think I'd be feeling really energized with all this extra oxygen to breathe. That was the case for at first, but now I'm really tired. Time for sleep! Looks like everyone has found fun races to do this weekend. I hadn't given it much thought while away, I didn't realize there was so much going on, only getting on a computer once in five days. Maybe the cross race would be fun?
A little boy was sucking his thumb and holding his stuffed dog while riding the moving sidewalk. He insisted on going on the sidewalk while his parents were walking beside it, pushing the stroller. Neither arm was free for balance. His dad seemed to not want him to go on it alone. You could almost see his sigh of relief when the boy made a fairly good transition, hopping from the moving belt to the regular floor.
I get home and there is a box of sale stuff from twin six waiting for me. A nice welcome home. Then I am going through the pile of mail and I see the newest VeloNews. I should go to bed but I have to leaf through it. it's always hard for me to put a new VeloNews aside for later without at least skimming it. I feel a little twinge of excitement when I see in the table of contents that on page 92 there is an article about Chequamegon. They focus on Jesse LaLonde's singlespeed win, then they get into a little bit about this year's event in general. I love it when they cover our big Midwest races like Chequamegon, Iceman, etc.. The article was probably online a while ago, but I didn't see it.
You'd think I'd be feeling really energized with all this extra oxygen to breathe. That was the case for at first, but now I'm really tired. Time for sleep! Looks like everyone has found fun races to do this weekend. I hadn't given it much thought while away, I didn't realize there was so much going on, only getting on a computer once in five days. Maybe the cross race would be fun?
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Condolences
My condolences to the family and friends of former teammate Adam S. on his death. He was only 33. Although I haven't seen him in recent years, I will remember him as someone with enthusiasm and passion for cycling and for life in general. Very sad.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Ride on a New Highway before it opens
For one day, Nov. 11, you can ride on the new I-355 extension before it opens to cars. There is a fee that goes towards building a bike trail.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Fall Color Festival
The Fall Color Festival is one of my favorite races! I have been doing the 30 mile race since the first year of the event. I missed racing a few years when I was injured and neither racing nor riding mt bikes, but I still went to the event and hung out with my teammates. This was the race that most of my teammates would come to, and often bring their families as well. A few years our team volunteered at the race. One year we all went up there to help and it rained so it had to be cancelled and moved to the next weekend. So even though I am supposed to be taking a rest from racing, of course I still had to go!
Trek/Gary Fisher used to bring in some of their national guys for this race in the 90's. Travis Brown was there the most often, and some years other pros like Andy Bishop (road guy who did some mtb races), Pete Webber (Fisher, now works for IMBA), Daryl Price, Tim Swift (wasn't he a Saturn road pro?) and team mechanic Scotty D. (coulda been a pro) showed up. There always seemed to be an "understanding" in those days that they weren't supposed to win, that they were supposed to let one of the local guys come in first. They'd do an autograph session in the afternoon. There was also a children's play area where kids did all sorts of kid stuff (face painting, making stuff?) And of course the kid's races. It has a different feel to me now than it did then, I'm not sure why, maybe it's a bit smaller? Trek in recent years has been sending Doug, Tristan and Sara, the very fast guys and gal we know from WORS!
I looked at some of the old 30 mile results to see how much I have slowed down since the earlier years - almost 50 minutes diffference from my best 90's time pre-injuries to my worst time last year. That is so discouraging! (you sport women bloggers who want to upgrade - that is a good reason why you should do the upgrades you are considering soon, and not wait too long)
In the process I noticed a bunch of people in the results from a few years ago that I know now but didn't know then. Mountaingoat being one example. I probably started at the back of the men and never even saw most of them at the race! That's one of the great things about our blogs - getting to know so much more about our fellow racers - makes it way more fun.
I felt the same kind of anguish about not racing that I felt after my last-minute decision at Chequamegon. Maybe worse. I almost changed my mind and raced the 30. It would have been interesting to ride the connector. And I have usually raced myself into decent shape by this time of year. I feel like I am wasting it by having missed two favorite races!! Now, seeing the results and seeing that I might have placed (but definitely not won) in age, I am feeling those pangs again... I have always won great prizes there, too. So it goes, being injured and trying to be prudent. Blah.
The nice thing is, once I decided for sure, that meant I didn't have to get up at 4:45am to be there and ready for the 9:45 start!! I had a bunch of things to do Friday night and didn't get home until 10ish, at which point I made dinner and tried to get all my race gear ready in case I decided to go for a little ride or in case I decided to do the women's clinic. Silly me, I could have gotten a lot more sleep if I hadn't packed any of that stuff. Made it to bed by around 12:30ish.
Dragged myself out of bed at 6:45, spent way too much time getting ready, and went to Kettle. What a nice day for a race! Another perfect one, we have been really lucky around here the last few weekends. One of the first things I did was buy some FCF pint glasses. I knew once the racers all came in they would be gone! This year the logo was etched, so it will not wash off in the dishwasher like the last ones I bought. The finish line was in a different place than I remember it being in previous years. I saw the 30 mile leaders crossing the line, which meant I was very confused later when I looked at the 30 mile results and saw that the list was totally out of order from what I had observed.
When I took my glasses to the car, I saw that a bunch of teammates and friends had gathered around DJ and the Clif truck. It was nice to see everyone - some people I hadn't seen in a long time. Former teammate Mike K. was there - this is one race where I usually see him, but I think he missed last year. It was great to catch up. I found out that his wife Lisa (formerly of the Trek midwest team) is in a different band now and that they are going to sign a recording contract in L. A. soon! I'm glad to hear her many years of hard work are literally making her dreams come true. Scott M. rode up - he didn't know where he finished, but I later found out he got 2nd in his SS age group on a SS with a rigid fork. Did well overall too. Besides our teammates, including Wendy (congrats on 4th in the 20 mile) and Fran, a bunch of people drifted by for food and drink - Kevin K., Ray, and more. Kevin looked like he was feeling alot better than last week. I love the hot pink Killjoy jerseys. They really pop, even more so up in the lush green backdrop of Kettle vs. the cross race last week.
We all walked back to the tent area, where we milled around talking to people, eating, waiting for results, etc. I saw Holly and her teammate Kris, who had finished and changed. Congrats to Holly, on a great ride, 2nd in age! I think she got 3rd overall female. I talked to Regina and heard about her crash, ouch! She rallied, and was able to finish second in the 20, nice work! Teammate Dave P. got 3rd in age, nice. His whole family was there, the kids were racing too. The results were a little screwy and much of this info wasn't available until the end of the day.
I bought some raffle tix. After seeing the raffle prizes, and seeing that there were at least three sets of 10th anniversary chrome brakes being raffled, I went back and bought some more. I have wanted a set of those brakes since I first read about them - it's the lure of the chrome. They remind me of motorcycle brakes, I guess. First they did the results, calling up the top 3 overall in each race. I sat in the Trek tent for the results and raffle, which was a fun place to be, but had no lucky tickets this time around. I used to think I did well in raffles, but my luck has been spotty lately. Jason was doing the announcing again this year. He had a lot of not-easy-to-pronounce names this year. Doug (30 mile winner) was being silly, in a good way. The Cyclops trainer was "fitness in a box", said Doug, but really, Doug himself was fitness in a box. There were no chairs left so he went and sat in a box. It was kinda funny. The kids (big and little) were having fun diving after the red hats and t-shirts the guys were throwing to them. After the raffle we hung out a while longer, and people were able at that point to get their age group prizes.
I had a really good time, but there are alot of people I hardly got to talk to. I imagine alot of people felt that way, even though it's a lot smaller than a WORS race.
I finally got to meet Jason's new wife Stacy, who seems very cool. Congrats to both of them, they just got married last weekend! It was their one week anniversary. They are headed to Costa Rica next week for their honyemoon. And a big thanks to Chris from Trek for helping me out. I went out to dinner with Chris, Chris, Casey and Jason from Trek, Christine (Chris P's wife), Stacy (Jason's wife) and Mike K. at a little bar in Whitewater. Headed home after that.
Sunday and some photos later. Cable guy coming first thing in the morning to figure out why I don't get CBS in HD. Other channels work fine, but that one doesn't. Weird. Maybe it'll be fixed before The Unit on Tuesday.
Trek/Gary Fisher used to bring in some of their national guys for this race in the 90's. Travis Brown was there the most often, and some years other pros like Andy Bishop (road guy who did some mtb races), Pete Webber (Fisher, now works for IMBA), Daryl Price, Tim Swift (wasn't he a Saturn road pro?) and team mechanic Scotty D. (coulda been a pro) showed up. There always seemed to be an "understanding" in those days that they weren't supposed to win, that they were supposed to let one of the local guys come in first. They'd do an autograph session in the afternoon. There was also a children's play area where kids did all sorts of kid stuff (face painting, making stuff?) And of course the kid's races. It has a different feel to me now than it did then, I'm not sure why, maybe it's a bit smaller? Trek in recent years has been sending Doug, Tristan and Sara, the very fast guys and gal we know from WORS!
I looked at some of the old 30 mile results to see how much I have slowed down since the earlier years - almost 50 minutes diffference from my best 90's time pre-injuries to my worst time last year. That is so discouraging! (you sport women bloggers who want to upgrade - that is a good reason why you should do the upgrades you are considering soon, and not wait too long)
In the process I noticed a bunch of people in the results from a few years ago that I know now but didn't know then. Mountaingoat being one example. I probably started at the back of the men and never even saw most of them at the race! That's one of the great things about our blogs - getting to know so much more about our fellow racers - makes it way more fun.
I felt the same kind of anguish about not racing that I felt after my last-minute decision at Chequamegon. Maybe worse. I almost changed my mind and raced the 30. It would have been interesting to ride the connector. And I have usually raced myself into decent shape by this time of year. I feel like I am wasting it by having missed two favorite races!! Now, seeing the results and seeing that I might have placed (but definitely not won) in age, I am feeling those pangs again... I have always won great prizes there, too. So it goes, being injured and trying to be prudent. Blah.
The nice thing is, once I decided for sure, that meant I didn't have to get up at 4:45am to be there and ready for the 9:45 start!! I had a bunch of things to do Friday night and didn't get home until 10ish, at which point I made dinner and tried to get all my race gear ready in case I decided to go for a little ride or in case I decided to do the women's clinic. Silly me, I could have gotten a lot more sleep if I hadn't packed any of that stuff. Made it to bed by around 12:30ish.
Dragged myself out of bed at 6:45, spent way too much time getting ready, and went to Kettle. What a nice day for a race! Another perfect one, we have been really lucky around here the last few weekends. One of the first things I did was buy some FCF pint glasses. I knew once the racers all came in they would be gone! This year the logo was etched, so it will not wash off in the dishwasher like the last ones I bought. The finish line was in a different place than I remember it being in previous years. I saw the 30 mile leaders crossing the line, which meant I was very confused later when I looked at the 30 mile results and saw that the list was totally out of order from what I had observed.
When I took my glasses to the car, I saw that a bunch of teammates and friends had gathered around DJ and the Clif truck. It was nice to see everyone - some people I hadn't seen in a long time. Former teammate Mike K. was there - this is one race where I usually see him, but I think he missed last year. It was great to catch up. I found out that his wife Lisa (formerly of the Trek midwest team) is in a different band now and that they are going to sign a recording contract in L. A. soon! I'm glad to hear her many years of hard work are literally making her dreams come true. Scott M. rode up - he didn't know where he finished, but I later found out he got 2nd in his SS age group on a SS with a rigid fork. Did well overall too. Besides our teammates, including Wendy (congrats on 4th in the 20 mile) and Fran, a bunch of people drifted by for food and drink - Kevin K., Ray, and more. Kevin looked like he was feeling alot better than last week. I love the hot pink Killjoy jerseys. They really pop, even more so up in the lush green backdrop of Kettle vs. the cross race last week.
We all walked back to the tent area, where we milled around talking to people, eating, waiting for results, etc. I saw Holly and her teammate Kris, who had finished and changed. Congrats to Holly, on a great ride, 2nd in age! I think she got 3rd overall female. I talked to Regina and heard about her crash, ouch! She rallied, and was able to finish second in the 20, nice work! Teammate Dave P. got 3rd in age, nice. His whole family was there, the kids were racing too. The results were a little screwy and much of this info wasn't available until the end of the day.
I bought some raffle tix. After seeing the raffle prizes, and seeing that there were at least three sets of 10th anniversary chrome brakes being raffled, I went back and bought some more. I have wanted a set of those brakes since I first read about them - it's the lure of the chrome. They remind me of motorcycle brakes, I guess. First they did the results, calling up the top 3 overall in each race. I sat in the Trek tent for the results and raffle, which was a fun place to be, but had no lucky tickets this time around. I used to think I did well in raffles, but my luck has been spotty lately. Jason was doing the announcing again this year. He had a lot of not-easy-to-pronounce names this year. Doug (30 mile winner) was being silly, in a good way. The Cyclops trainer was "fitness in a box", said Doug, but really, Doug himself was fitness in a box. There were no chairs left so he went and sat in a box. It was kinda funny. The kids (big and little) were having fun diving after the red hats and t-shirts the guys were throwing to them. After the raffle we hung out a while longer, and people were able at that point to get their age group prizes.
I had a really good time, but there are alot of people I hardly got to talk to. I imagine alot of people felt that way, even though it's a lot smaller than a WORS race.
I finally got to meet Jason's new wife Stacy, who seems very cool. Congrats to both of them, they just got married last weekend! It was their one week anniversary. They are headed to Costa Rica next week for their honyemoon. And a big thanks to Chris from Trek for helping me out. I went out to dinner with Chris, Chris, Casey and Jason from Trek, Christine (Chris P's wife), Stacy (Jason's wife) and Mike K. at a little bar in Whitewater. Headed home after that.
Sunday and some photos later. Cable guy coming first thing in the morning to figure out why I don't get CBS in HD. Other channels work fine, but that one doesn't. Weird. Maybe it'll be fixed before The Unit on Tuesday.
Bike Gore - Not for the faint of heart
Warning: Skip this post if you are squeamish!
This chainring injury happened earlier in the week to a friend of a friend who was riding alone in the mountains in CO. He had some bandaids and some arm warmers that he tied around it to hold it together. He had to ride 10 miles with this leg to get back to town. Ouch is all I can say.
This chainring injury happened earlier in the week to a friend of a friend who was riding alone in the mountains in CO. He had some bandaids and some arm warmers that he tied around it to hold it together. He had to ride 10 miles with this leg to get back to town. Ouch is all I can say.
Monday, September 24, 2007
More Jackson Park Cross
What a perfect fall day for a race in the park on the lakefront! Huge race fields, super enthusiastic spectators, fast course that's good for me, what more could you ask for? Well, I was kind of nervous about all the glass in the parking lot and on the paved trail, but it didn't turn out to be an issue, at least for me. And I wish I had gotten to chat with a few people that I missed, but that's the way these things always go. I had a great time!
Thanks to the promoters, volunteers, and officials who put on the race.
Looking through the race results tonight, I was thinking how it was kinda cool that, with a few exceptions, I know many of the race winners. And quite a few of the others close behind them in the standings. I mean that in a living vicariously sort of way... I may only be mid-pack this year myself, but I can be happy for all of them - it must feel great to get the 'cross season off to such a good start. Congrats to everyone, no matter where they placed, who raced their heart out! Congrats to race winners Lou from the Pony Shop (masters 30+), Ben P. (Cat 3, but not for much longer!), Devon H.(Cat 1/2/3 women - she killed us all in Cat 4 last year and now she's winning Cat 1/2/3!), Debbie P. (Cat 4 women), and Mike S. from the Pony Shop (Cat 1,2). Holly (3rd, Killjoy, rocking the new hot pink jersey) and June (2nd, Active Endeavors) both had awesome rides in a strong field in women's Cat 1/2/3. It was great to see long-time mt bike teammate Tim B. take 3rd in the masters 40+, and catch up with him after the race. Tim used to do alot of mountain bike racing, but now we only get to see him at 'cross races! Goat had a strong ride in Cat 1,2, (coming oooh so close to the cash), especially considering he was traveling in a "foreign country"! I also noticed several Turin guys out there - Chris D., Christian, and possibly Joe. Evanston was well represented, I think.
Pete R. had some bad luck with his seat in his second race, but because he dropped out, we got a chance to catch up. Pete has a wonderful idea - he is donating $300 to the top two juniors in the series. Thanks to Pete for his generosity. We should all be thinking of ways to get young riders involved and help them with the various hurdles they might face (financial, transportation, etc.) Kevin K. toughed it out for a good result in the masters race and even entered the Cat 1,2 although he felt absolutely terrible from a cold. Hope you feel better soon, Kevin. Thanks to June and Jennifer G. for giving me some tire deflation advice (and literally letting air out of my tires) before the race. It helped. I joked with them that if they had been in my race I wouldn't have trusted them to let the air out of my tires, in case someone just happened to let it ALL out (ooops! sorry, did I do that?).... Like me, Gina K. also skipped the WORS race in Iola to go to the cross race. I saw Brad M. and Sara on bikes rolling around, but needed to warm up and didn't get to talk to them. I got to briefly say hey to both Tom F. and Fran of Killjoy and their son who is growing up so fast! I was glad to see that Chris McN. was looking alive and well at the race after having been almost run over (intentionally) by an angry driver in an SUV on a group ride on Saturday.
Thanks to everyone who cheered me on! I couldn't always tell who was yelling, but it made all the difference - it got me fired up when I felt like backing off and giving up. (Not the dropping out kind of giving up, but the not trying very hard anymore kind of giving up.) Julie and her crew at the Pegasi tent were radiating cheer and enthusiasm for cross, it was refreshing. Thanks, Julie, Ben, and Goat. Goat was riding around the course and cheering, which was just what I needed - no slacking off in the back stretch by the bushes, there's Jeremey cheering, have to keep moving! And thanks to Julie, Ben and their teammates for their tent hospitality. I also got to "officially" meet Julie, Ben, and Julie's WEMS share-a-bike teammates Amanda and Kisha, who I often see at WEMS races. The women do 12 hour races sharing one bike! Mike and Britt were cheering at a barrier, thanks, that barrier and uphill was hard. I am probably forgetting someone, and I apologize.
As some of you know, I had a tough time deciding whether to do cross or go to Iola. I do think maybe I should have gone to Iola. I loved being at the cross race, but I realized that the Iola course would have actually been easier on my back than the cross course, given that I would have had full suspension at Iola. After doing every WORS race but one in the last few years, it felt really really strange to be missing one.
I am falling asleep at the keyboard, so the actual race description will have to wait.
Thanks to the promoters, volunteers, and officials who put on the race.
Looking through the race results tonight, I was thinking how it was kinda cool that, with a few exceptions, I know many of the race winners. And quite a few of the others close behind them in the standings. I mean that in a living vicariously sort of way... I may only be mid-pack this year myself, but I can be happy for all of them - it must feel great to get the 'cross season off to such a good start. Congrats to everyone, no matter where they placed, who raced their heart out! Congrats to race winners Lou from the Pony Shop (masters 30+), Ben P. (Cat 3, but not for much longer!), Devon H.(Cat 1/2/3 women - she killed us all in Cat 4 last year and now she's winning Cat 1/2/3!), Debbie P. (Cat 4 women), and Mike S. from the Pony Shop (Cat 1,2). Holly (3rd, Killjoy, rocking the new hot pink jersey) and June (2nd, Active Endeavors) both had awesome rides in a strong field in women's Cat 1/2/3. It was great to see long-time mt bike teammate Tim B. take 3rd in the masters 40+, and catch up with him after the race. Tim used to do alot of mountain bike racing, but now we only get to see him at 'cross races! Goat had a strong ride in Cat 1,2, (coming oooh so close to the cash), especially considering he was traveling in a "foreign country"! I also noticed several Turin guys out there - Chris D., Christian, and possibly Joe. Evanston was well represented, I think.
Pete R. had some bad luck with his seat in his second race, but because he dropped out, we got a chance to catch up. Pete has a wonderful idea - he is donating $300 to the top two juniors in the series. Thanks to Pete for his generosity. We should all be thinking of ways to get young riders involved and help them with the various hurdles they might face (financial, transportation, etc.) Kevin K. toughed it out for a good result in the masters race and even entered the Cat 1,2 although he felt absolutely terrible from a cold. Hope you feel better soon, Kevin. Thanks to June and Jennifer G. for giving me some tire deflation advice (and literally letting air out of my tires) before the race. It helped. I joked with them that if they had been in my race I wouldn't have trusted them to let the air out of my tires, in case someone just happened to let it ALL out (ooops! sorry, did I do that?).... Like me, Gina K. also skipped the WORS race in Iola to go to the cross race. I saw Brad M. and Sara on bikes rolling around, but needed to warm up and didn't get to talk to them. I got to briefly say hey to both Tom F. and Fran of Killjoy and their son who is growing up so fast! I was glad to see that Chris McN. was looking alive and well at the race after having been almost run over (intentionally) by an angry driver in an SUV on a group ride on Saturday.
Thanks to everyone who cheered me on! I couldn't always tell who was yelling, but it made all the difference - it got me fired up when I felt like backing off and giving up. (Not the dropping out kind of giving up, but the not trying very hard anymore kind of giving up.) Julie and her crew at the Pegasi tent were radiating cheer and enthusiasm for cross, it was refreshing. Thanks, Julie, Ben, and Goat. Goat was riding around the course and cheering, which was just what I needed - no slacking off in the back stretch by the bushes, there's Jeremey cheering, have to keep moving! And thanks to Julie, Ben and their teammates for their tent hospitality. I also got to "officially" meet Julie, Ben, and Julie's WEMS share-a-bike teammates Amanda and Kisha, who I often see at WEMS races. The women do 12 hour races sharing one bike! Mike and Britt were cheering at a barrier, thanks, that barrier and uphill was hard. I am probably forgetting someone, and I apologize.
As some of you know, I had a tough time deciding whether to do cross or go to Iola. I do think maybe I should have gone to Iola. I loved being at the cross race, but I realized that the Iola course would have actually been easier on my back than the cross course, given that I would have had full suspension at Iola. After doing every WORS race but one in the last few years, it felt really really strange to be missing one.
I am falling asleep at the keyboard, so the actual race description will have to wait.
Jackson Park Cyclocross
What a great day for the first cross race of the season!
I didn't get a chance to get the camera out until the last race. At this race you couldn't go too many steps without running into someone you knew, which was really fun. But it made for getting easily distracted, and it took forever just to get to the car to get changed! So I don't have many photos, but I do have one of two very fast guys:
Ben was on fire and won the Cat 3 race. His eagerly awaited upgrade will be coming soon, I hope! Jeremey tore it up on the Cat 1,2 course and came sooo close to finishing in the money. Thanks for the cheers, too, guys! In the background is the tent where Julie and her enthusiastic crew kept us racers fired up with their cheers of encouragement.
Thanks to all of you who cheered me on, it helped so much!
Race report coming later, maybe tonight.
I didn't get a chance to get the camera out until the last race. At this race you couldn't go too many steps without running into someone you knew, which was really fun. But it made for getting easily distracted, and it took forever just to get to the car to get changed! So I don't have many photos, but I do have one of two very fast guys:
Ben was on fire and won the Cat 3 race. His eagerly awaited upgrade will be coming soon, I hope! Jeremey tore it up on the Cat 1,2 course and came sooo close to finishing in the money. Thanks for the cheers, too, guys! In the background is the tent where Julie and her enthusiastic crew kept us racers fired up with their cheers of encouragement. Thanks to all of you who cheered me on, it helped so much!
Race report coming later, maybe tonight.
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