Labor Day Weekend

(update: I added some pics below)

I am so behind. There's so much to write about. If only one could blog while driving to/from a race, or on a ride. That's when some of the best thoughts pop up... I haven't even had a chance to even write about how nice and how much fun Ben and Julie's wedding was! Until then, I will do a short version for Labor Day weekend. It may not be so short by the time I am done.

Labor Day weekend brought my favorite kind of weather - warm and dry. I have been waiting all summer for some hot weather! It's often cooler by my house so I have felt shortchanged this summer.

Friday night: went out to dinner with New Zealand Wendy, her ex-boyfriend, her ex-roommate's ex-boyfriend from France, and her soon-to-be roommate who also happens to be from France. The people from France came here (independent of each other) to teach for a year. We sat outside at Heartland Cafe. Then got ready for the race until about 2 am, then off to bed, later than I had planned.

Saturday: got up, got ready, got the food/cooler ready, packed the car and hit the road for Stump Farm near Green Bay! One of my favorite WEMS courses! I sat in at least four different traffic backups, three on the tollway, and one north of Racine where state troopers shut down a lane or two for an accident. This put me at least 45 minutes, probably more, behind schedule. (I really did leave on time!) I enjoyed watching all the Harley riders heading up to the 105th anniversary, it made the long drive alot more interesting. By the time I got registered, ready, and had to go back to get a second number plate after mine vanished into thin air, the race had already started. I saw the pack of LeMans starters go by, it was kind of fun to watch them all scrambling for their bikes. When it comes to LeMans starts, I'm not a scrambler. I'm more of an ambler.

I saw Amanda and Audrey right away when I got there - it seemed like they had had a good day on the trails and were ready to head home soon, complete with awards.  Congrats! Audrey got to experience, for a lap, what it was like to ride a mt bike that fits her. Someone lent her a bike for a lap.

About 15 minutes after the others, I finally got going.

I'm not sure if the big snake that slithered across the trail right in front of me midrace lived to tell the tale or not - I didn't feel a "thump", so I hope he was able to get out of the way. I couldn't believe how big he/it was! The course seemed a lot bumpier and less swoopy/flowy than I remembered from last year. One person suggested that the wors race had an effect on the course, in terms of increased wear. I don't know if that race used all the same trails, or not, so I can't comment.

I do know that there was a lot more sand than I remember, due to the recent lack of rain. This makes me think we might be in for a lot of sand at Chequamegon too? I didn't like the sand at all - I have forgotten how to ride in sand. There was one particular scary sandy downhill that didn't get any better each time I did it. I am close to deciding that this bike is not a great sand bike, after losing control over and over. I always made the save, though, just in time.

I was on edge the whole last lap, wondering if I should be trying to squeeze that lap in. I hadn't been keeping as close an eye on my lap times as I usually would. I got thrown off by the late start. Sure enough, it got down to the wire! Near the end when I was starting to worry, I got some friendly encouragement from Tim M., and some inspiration from watching two Hayes blurs on wheels that I think were Russell and perhaps Kyle. Having them roar by helped me mentally pick up the pace. Once I was in the open I gave it everything I had trying to make it before the 6:00 deadline. It was very close. At 5:57 I still wasn't sure exactly how close the finish line was, though I knew it had to be soon. I finished with around 25 seconds to spare!! And just now I noticed that the woman who was ahead of me finished only 33 seconds ahead. Wish I had known she was there! I passed several people in the first lap. If I hadn't started late I think I would have gained only two more places, looking at the results. Not that you ever know for sure how it would have gone. There was a pretty big gap up to the faster people from there.

Subtracting the late start time, my first lap and last lap were very close in time. I must have really slowed down in the second one though, that one was four minutes slower. Usually they are all within a minute or so of each other. The first lap I was torn between just going my own comfortable pace and having fun, or trying to catch some people. I had no idea of even how many women were in the race, but I did know there were some I couldn't catch under any circumstances! The second lap I fell apart a little, my singletrack skills got even worse that lap, I was all over the place and bobbling on stuff I cleared the first lap. The last lap I was under the gun to finish under the deadline, so I stepped it up in the second half.

After the race Susie led the awards ceremony for the three hour race. Lori got second and Brittany got third - nice work! They each got to take home one of those awesome Stump Farm pint glasses. Thanks to Susie and Bill for putting on the race! I saw at least one dad out there riding the whole race with his son, and one husband riding along with his wife in her first race, how cool is that? I think Susie and Eliott did a lap or two together, too. Eliott won a stuffed animal - they had some kid's prizes.
Brittany (3rd, 3 hour) and Lori (2nd, 3 hour) after the awards with their pint glasses.
Susie and Elliot. Susie's husband Bill is the race director. Susie rode laps with Elliot, who won the prize you see here.

After the race I chatted with some people and compared notes with Anne about the course. We all had dirt all over us - some smart people had sun showers with them. Thanks to Bill and Brittany for sharing some of their delicious bbq in the parking lot. It was fun talking to their Pedal Moraine group.

At the gas station/restaurant/convenience store on the way to the main road, the woman at the checkout counter asked how the race was. Apparently she was getting pretty good at spotting the white feet/dirty legs combination! Or maybe it was the dirty raccoon face thing some people had going on! And I thought I had gotten all the dirt off - there was just enough of a hint of a dirt ring left that she spotted me for what I was - an exhausted bike racer. She said people had been coming in to buy alot of icy hot, among other things.

Things that helped me stay awake on the drive home: running across the "House of Hair" show on The Hog radio station. Metal bands. Dudes with long hair. It was funny seeing the radio display showing "The Hog" and "House of Hair". I was amused by that for some reason. When that got old I discovered a station with call letters that included KM for "Kettle Moraine" (Northern Kettle) that was playing polkas! Lively stuff. I lasted about two songs, but it did perk me up.

Got home late, got to bed late.

Kettle on Sunday, met up with some teammates and some of their friends later in the day. I was feeling so beaten up from the race that I almost didn't go. Took 41 to avoid the tollway back-ups, which worked well . Tried the Rainy Dew trail for the first time - I like it. I was surprised to see a big log pile on the blue - it hadn't been there the week before. It was the height of two people, I would say. A good North Shore style rider might be tempted to ride down the side of it for fun. I'm sure someone's already thought of it... We ended up hanging out for quite a while, into the early evening. Fun. They were going to bbq but not enough of their friends could make it so we got stuff from the general store. I got everyone that had our team jersey on to pose for a pic.


Kettle again on Monday. Took 41 again. The girls ride was starting too early for me, but I had lunch with some of them (Christine, Sonni, Amelia and Ty) at the general store, then went back for another loop before heading home. (Regina and Bill left right after the ride.) I had to be at a going away bbq and was concerned that traffic at the end of the holiday weekend would be bad. It wasn't as bad as I expected!

The going away party was really fun. Brian is moving to Colorado, and it seems like he can hardly wait to begin his new adventure. I will be sad to see a good friend leave, but I know he's ready for something new. Our local group of friends has fallen apart as people have moved away in the last year. There goes one more.....

Pretty much all I did for the weekend was eat, pack, drive, race, drive, ride mt bikes, eat, drive, socialize, and so on. It was fun. I am tired. What happened to the two days of not traveling anywhere I had promised myself? Or all the house stuff I was going to get done? Oh, well, it was perfect weather for me. You have to take advantage of it when you can, with winters like ours!

105th anniversary

Anyone going to the 105th this weekend?

I'd kinda like to go, but it doesn't seem too likely, with all the other thing going on. And I haven't really made an effort to find people who are going. Stump Farm is higher up on the list, for one. Although it would be possible to stop Saturday night after the race and catch the last few bands on the way home...

'Cross Fever?

Are you getting 'Cross Fever?  I just heard about this site for cross videos. I haven't had time to check any of them out yet.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Ben and Julie on their marriage!  May they have a long and wonderful life together.  

Wish it were here...

I have serious Park Envy! My friend emceed a showing of Road to Roubaix in Boulder last week. She told the crowd about the future plans for the Valmont bike Park in Boulder. They are trying to raise a bunch of money by Friday to convince the powers that be that they have enough donors to make it fly. She was trying to get me to donate as well. Looks like the midwest will be losing even more people to the People's Republic of Boulder if this gets built! It could be amazing.

Maybe if we get the 2016 Olympics we can convince them to build something like this. Yeah, right.

Update: My friend sent me a link to an article about this park in Velonews.

Downer's Grove - U.S. Pro Crit Champs

Rahsaan Bahati of Rock Racing won.
As you can imagine, he was pretty much jumping for joy!

If you haven't heard much about Rock Racing, the above pic of their posse on the podium after the U. S. Pro win says alot.....
Hometown hero, from Paris to Beijing to Downer's Grove, off the front for six laps! He's a good sport for doing the race, I'm guessing it's been a while since he's done a crit.
(yeah, I know, I am a big geek.)

hopefully more to come... some so-so pics
here.

Air show

I've been hoping to make it over to the North Ave. beach to watch the air show practice this afternoon (blue angels, etc.) - and I am way bummed to find out that it's not a "practice" any more, they have made it an official part of the air show. That is going to mean terrible traffic and watching with about a zillion other people, vs. what would have been a pretty low key experience. The practices on Thursday and Friday used to be something known mostly to people that live or work around there. Oh, well, at least it's a beautiful day!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Belated Birthday to Ben, who turned 26 yesterday! I hope Ben is having a good birthday week, which will soon lead right into a good wedding week!

Error 99? and Leadville 100

Do any of you have any experience with an "error 99" message on the screen of your Canon DSLR? If you have had one, were you able to get the camera working again, or did you have to take it in for service? What was cause of the problem? My camera displayed an "error 99" at the race yesterday and froze.

Also, congrats to everyone that did the Leadville 100 over the weekend! (100, as in 100 miles with 14000 feet of elevation gain! hurts to even think about it) I know some WORS peeps and former WORS peeps went. I am trying to find a list of results to see who finished under the time limit. All I know right now is that Dave Wiens, who beat Floyd Landis last year, and has won six times (!!), beat Lance Armstrong. Armstrong took second, approximately two minutes behind over the course of a race that took just under 7 hours. Armstrong pushed Wiens to another course record - Weins shaved 13 minutes (!!) off his time and finished with a flat rear tire!!

One of my friends who does Leadville regularly says that the locals run something like 60+ psi in their tubeless tires for this race - anything less and they will flat. I find that interesting, given that people around here run super low air in their tubeless tires, from what I can tell. He also said that people from other places get a lot of flats before they figure it out. You'd think they'd put it in the race bible or something?

Race report later, my family is still in town, which will likely keep me busy. I pushed myself so hard yesterday in my quest to win my age group and do well overall that my muscles are sore. It hurts to touch my quad this morning. Strangely enough, the right one hurts when you poke the muscle on the outside, but the left one doesn't really. Weird.

24/9 Part 2

Chris on the run, after getting some food and encouragement from Kim and Sprout.

Brad coming through the check-in area. It had to be around 4:30 or 5 am at that point. Hmmm, they seem to be going a little slower at 5 am.... you can tell how dusty the trail was, much of it ended up on the riders!

Kim (and Sprout), pit crew star, seems to be in good spirits despite the fact that it's getting really chilly and really late.

Megan and Bubba. Both had strong teams and good races. Bubba and his team ended up on the podium.

John was on Don's 4 man WORS team in the Older than Dirt category. (There is also an Older than the Hills category, which is younger than Older than Dirt.) They won, and got Milk Shake Making Kits.

Keeping track of Chris Eatough. Support for Chris is a well-oiled machine and his support crew has to be in the right place at the right time.

Congrats to everyone who rode for hours and hours at 24/9, whether on a team or solo! It was great to see so many WORS and WEMS friends there - these pics only show a few of the familiar faces at the event! But this gives those of you who didn't go an inkling of what it was like to be there.

Red Bud Lounge!!
See what you missed as you rode through in a haze in the middle of the night. These were taken at 4:00ish am so things had quieted down considerably.





Did I mention that it got really cold that night? I wonder what the late night racers thought when they rode by and saw this fellow.

The devil seemed to be chasing the beer bottle around a lot.

One of the solo 24 hour women getting water. The riders were really covered with dirt as it got later, you can see it again here.



More pics here, including podium shots.

24 Hours of Nine Mile

I went to the best all-night bike party on the planet over the weekend.

It also happened to be 24 hour Nationals, for the third year in a row. This is my third year going, too. The first year I raced a 12 hour solo, and I had such a great time at the event I went back this year and last even though I wasn't able to race it. It's been exciting to cheer on friends and watch them do well in one of the most demanding events around. I didn't feel like I could miss it this year, with my wanting to support friends and with it being nats. When nationals of the sport you love are so relatively close to home, how can you not go?

My power keeps going out due to the big storm, which is slowing down my progress on this post quite a bit! I got absolutely soaked tonight while out riding - I guess I should really be doing laundry, stuffing my wet shoes with newspaper, and cleaning my bike....but here goes.

I got there late in the day, so I didn't get daytime racing action shots. I would have liked to be there for the LeMans start, but I had too much other stuff to do. I kept checking the results on my phone on the way up to see how friends were doing, so I sorta knew the basics of who was where. It made the drive more tolerable. I kept seeing "back building" in first place in the men's solo results, which really confused me. I thought it was a mistake, first because of the odd name, then later, not to have "Trek/VW" in first place. "back building" turned out to be someone named Josh Tostado, who I had not heard of before. I kept expecting that this "back building" person, whoever they were, would blow up and fade away. That did not happen, according to the results.


The World Bicycle Relief team had one of the best pit spots. Things were hopping when I got there, with Chris and Brad both in the pit at the same time. They were both riding very well - I think they were within a place or two of each other when I first got there. They are very fortunate to have such a dedicated and well-organized pit crew! Kim and crew were phenomenal. Such caring and encouragement, even when things got tough. Congrats to both Chris and Brad for riding your hearts out and doing so well!



Some more solo tents near the WBR tent. This area is near where the start line is for the WORS race many of us do every year.


I don't remember which tent this was on, but it must have been Dana's Bacon Riders team? They got second in the women's 4 person 12 hour event. I didn't know pigs could rappel, I thought you had to have opposable thumbs for that? There were a couple of piggies on that tent, nice touch.


Gabi, Dana and James. Gabi has been making cycling themed t-shirts to sell. She brought them to the race. Dana was on the Bacon team for the 12 hour. James is looking forward to cross season.


The waiting area where team members waited for their teammate to come in so they could start their lap. You can see Don from WORS there waiting for his turn to ride.


Rachael (in BKB stars) waiting to go out on the course. It is the middle of the night, or almost, by this point. Rachael, Holly K., MurphyKate, and Megan were on a 4 woman championship category team. Congrats to them on their strong race, they had some of the toughest competition around.


Holly resting and staying warm until her next lap. It got really chilly (50's) as it got later. Alot of people weren't expecting it and didn't have warm clothing with them. Anyone selling sweatshirts probably did well.


And here is Holly again, looking bright-eyed and ready to go in the waiting area. It was really late by this time.


Blinkie Man was on Team Twinkie, I think? If he indeed was, would that make him Blinkie Twinkie Man? When this fellow's teammate came in from his lap, Blinkie man stood there not moving, shell-shocked, instead of heading out for his lap right away. I think all those blinkies blinking must cause some kind of short-circuit. There were just as many on the front of the vest as the back!! I guess you had to see it to get the full impact.


(this is a work in progress, more to come!!! now I gotta really get some sleep.)

24 hours of Bike Love. I hear they only started out with two!! They must have multiplied over the weekend. (just kidding) Isn't that a happy sight, all those bikes in the woods?...... a picture like that reminds me of how much I love mountain bikes AND 24/9....

Good Luck at 24/9

GOOD LUCK to the many WORS and WEMS friends who are taking on the challenge of racing all night at 24 Hours of Nine Mile this weekend!!

I hope to be up there cheering you on, if all goes well.

Team Sprout - Good Luck and Go For It!!

Last year it was such a great feeling to be watching the awards ceremony on Sunday morning and to realize that most of the people on the podium were WORS and WEMS racers!! I'm sure I'll be seeing most of you up there again, though in different combinations.

Metro WEMS cancelled

The Metro WEMS race is cancelled for today, according to the hotline. At least I hadn't left for the race yet, unlike many of you who were probably already up there for the 12 hour. Tentative reschedule date is August 23rd. If that's the case, I'll only be able to do part of my event that day. I have to do that race, but I'll need to quit early to be somewhere else that evening. This weather stuff is very frustrating!! And it must be even more so for the WEMS guys this year.

WEMS Update

As of 12:30 pm, the Metro hotline is saying that the race at Crystal Ridge is still 50-50, although trail conditions at the moment are good.

3 pm update: race is still on, no rain on the course yet. The chance of the race being on is still less than 50 percent, but they are keeping their fingers crossed....

This is kinda frustrating - if I don't have to pack tonight, there is an interesting movie I could go to downtown with some friends.... I also want to ride later today, but it's looking like we're about to get some rain here.... bleeech. A friend who works in Highland Park said they had a 45 minute torrential downpour there. It's got to be much more frustrating for the race organizers, though! Thanks guys, for putting on, or attempting to put on, the race!!

Good Luck to those racing at Mt. Bike Nationals at Mt. Snow!

Wish I was there, though that course would have been waaay over my head....

Article about bikes vs. cars as the number of cyclists increase on the road.

Blue Mounds WEMS race is CANCELLED/Postponed

From Garett, the race director:

The 12 Hours of Blue Mounds will be Postponed to the rain date October 18th. We got a very large amount of rain Thursday night at the park, and it rained again Friday morning. The trails are very wet and there will be no chance for them to dry out before the race. The race would not be safe, and the trails would be destroyed if we attempted to run a race on them.

All pre-registrations will be valid on October 18.

Killer Blackbirds

A while back I wrote about an article I read that blackbirds were attacking cyclists and pedestrians. I talked to one of my friends tonight who told me that a cyclist in the north suburbs died over the weekend after being pecked by a blackbird . I don't know the exact details, but it sounds like he wasn't wearing a helmet and the bird pecked at him so relentlessly that he fell to the pavement and hit his head. He died a couple days later from the head injury. Again, this is third or fourth hand. It's very sad to hear, and makes me take the blackbird thing more seriously. My friend also said that there are two areas where "killer blackbirds" is (or was) written on the pavement to warn people. The dangerous period is June-July, when they are protecting their young.

Update on the killer blackbirds: apparently the cyclist was attacked near the Highland Park Lexus dealership, on the "bunny trail". Apparently someone else, on an earlier date, was pecked and fell off his bike and broke his leg. None of this has been verified - but my friend heard about it via an email warning other riders. It doesn't seem to be mentioned in the press anywhere. I don't know what the bunny trail is, but if you do and you ride it, be careful!

On another note, I tried to ride twice today but was thwarted by the rain. The first time I headed out, even though it was gray, and my cell rang a few minutes into the ride. I was a call I needed to answer, so I stood there for a few minutes talking. In that time it started to rain, so I turned back. I took care of a bunch of emails on the computer got ready to go, then the phone rang. I answered that one too, and it took a while to get off. The sun had come out before the phone call, but by the time I finished it was gray and menacing, and my bike was getting all wet sitting outside on the porch waiting for me to ride it. I really needed the workout, I guess it's going to be the gym for me, after I got get groceries. Arrrgh. The phone calls were probably a good thing because they kept me from getting far from home and getting really soaked each time.

Yes, I do still have race reports to catch up on from Levis Trow and from Chippewa Valley Firecracker in Eau Claire!

I'm volunteering instead of racing at Blue Mounds Saturday. Julie and her teammates will be volunteering too, we'll have fun. I might head over to Half Acre's time trial Sunday morning. I also noticed in the Reader that an old teammate's band is playing Sunday early evening at a festival at Belmont and Lincoln. I doubt I'll have the oomph to go, but I haven't seen her not-so-new-anymore band yet!

Evanston Criterium, Sunday July 20

I hope some of you are going to come hang out at the Evanston Criterium on Sunday July 20th! It was fun to watch last year.

It's a block or two away from both the EL and the Metra trains (Davis St. stop) and is very bike accessible. There is also a big parking garage right next to the course for racers, volunteers and spectators, complete with a bike valet for the event. Restaurants all along the course will have outdoor seating so you can watch the race!

It's the day after the Crystal Ridge WEMS race so you can do an easy recovery ride in the morning and then come out to watch the pro races in the late afternoon. Cat 4, Cat 3, Masters, etc. races from 9-3, music and kid's race at 3, pro women at 4, and pro 1/2 men at 5:30. The pro guys go so fast on the start/finish stretch of this course you can almost feel the air rattle!! The police department sets up one of those speed machines on the course that says how fast they are going, to keep the crowd entertained.

Last year was the first year - it's part of Super Week - and they did a great job with it. It was really fun to hear people who had never seen a big bike race before - ANY bike race before - say they really enjoyed watching it.

I'd say come and bring your family to the beach if you have kids - but I have to warn you that the beaches here charge admission. On the positive side, there is a beach just a few blocks from the course!

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th, everyone!

Looks like it's going to be a gorgeous weekend. It's 70 by the lake - I do wish it were 85, then it would be perfect (to me), but I really can't complain....

My Tribune horoscope today is giving me a pretty strong message:

"Today is a 7. Gather your paycheck early, and get a head start on your weekend travels. Sporting events, including races, are especially favored."

This weekend I am going to a race (as usual) and indeed, I am going earlier than I would normally. The plan right now is to pick up Holly K. by Kettle on my way to the Eau Claire race. So I am leaving in the morning instead of the late afternoon like I normally would.

I will have to skip some of the outdoor 4th parties in town today in order to get all ready to leave, but I am hoping to make it at least to a big block party at a friend's parents'. All three of the parties are close to the lakefront and are geared around eating and hanging out then walking over to the lake for the fireworks at 8 or 9. One is right on the lakefront - they stake out a good spot in the afternoon with a pop-up then have a good fireworks viewing spot for later....

My friend called me a bit ago about the block party at his parents'. He usually flies over the local 4th parade with his military squadron, but the squadron isn't doing it this year. So they called him last night and asked if he wanted to ride at the front of the parade in a Model T wearing his pilot's uniform. He was scrambling to get ready. Sounds kinda fun, to have a totally different perspective than flying over. I almost never go to this parade, I am usually out doing my ride, but it is so popular that people put out their lawn chairs on the street days ahead to save their viewing spots!!

American teams keeping it clean at the Tour

I just got an email from my friend Anne asking me to read her Tour de France story on the NBC Sports website. It's called American Teams vow to keep it clean at the Tour". Check it out (they keep track of how many people read the story), and if you enjoyed it, vote on the article so they will hire her to write more stories! I am going to go read it now.

I'm It

I'm it....
I've been blog-tagged by Rachael!

My six random things:

1. I took banjo lessons in high school and at the beginning of college. A favorite history/anthro teacher in high school was in a bluegrass band. Because of him, there were some students who played bluegrass. We went to see his band at a bar a few times - that was a big deal to us in high school! I still have the banjo, though I don't remember how to play it.

2. My first mountain bikes were all some variation of a Stumpjumper (Sport, Comp, etc.) When I got the second Stumpjumper, I didn't want an orange (or black) bike at the time so I got the next higher model in order to have the choice of a red or blue bike. (I was a part-timer at a shop so the price difference wasn't huge) So I guess it's sort of funny that much later, when I decided to get a Blur, I searched all over to find an anodized orange frame!! It's funny how much your tastes can change over time, now I love the color orange. (as well as some other colors that I didn't use to like!) (note: those were not my first bikes, just my first mountain bikes.)

3. Raggedy Ann and Andy, in various sizes, were my favorite toys as a kid, as well as Matchbox cars. I used to draw Raggedy Ann and Andy comic strips when I had to go somewhere boring with my parents and needed something to do, and I would also make my poor parents sit through boring "plays" with all the Anns and Andys as the characters. I also once wrapped up Andy's "broken" leg up in toilet paper to make a cast and then (probably) embarrassed my mother by taking him out in public with his leg wrapped in t.p.!

4. I love information. I like finding out why things are the way they are or how they work by asking questions or by reading. I also like passing along useful info to people.

5. Having to do math without a calculator makes me feel like I am in second grade again and class is about to end, but I haven't finished all of the questions on my math test yet.

6. Until not so long ago, I used to put peanut m&m's in the microwave for a bit, maybe 15 or 20 seconds, to partially melt the chocolate inside. They are really good that way!

I am going to tag Holly, Ben, Chris, Brittany, Renee, and Mike. 

(If any of you hate these things, or don't have time, and don't want to do it, I understand. Even if you don't want to tag other people, tell us the six things.)

here are the rules:

link to the person who tagged you.
post the rules on your blog.
write six random things about yourself.
tag six people at the end of your post.
let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
let the tagger know when your entry is up.