Urban Girlz Ride

Claire and Lori had already headed home at this point.




More later.

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.

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.

Bicygnals

I just saw a link to a brand of wireless LED turn signals called Bicygnals on CNET. Could be interesting for serious commuters who ride at night, or it could make you look like a spaceship, not sure which?

Good Luck at Iceman

Good Luck to all the WORS peeps going to Iceman this weekend!!

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!

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!

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...

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

WORS Banquet

Last Photo: thanks to Superfly

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?

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!

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!